Posts in Category: Uncategorised
Plant Snap Review
For the Tech Inquiry project I am, along with my group, researching plant identification apps. The first one I have tried is called Plant Snap. It’s free and pretty reliable. Here’s a bit more about it…
What can I do with PlantSnap?
🌿 take photos of unknown plants, flowers, cacti, and succulents, and discover their names
🌿 upload a plant photo from my photos to use in the app
🌿 put “snaps” into “my collection” folder on the app
🌿 search within a database of 585,000 plants
🌿 search for gardens, and people/accounts
🌿 scroll through a “feed” page that has recently posted PlantSnaps by the app’s users
🌿 add “friends” by following other PlantSnap users
Pretty sweet! What don’t I like? Well…
🍂 limited to taking 10 snaps a day as a non-premium user
🍂 have to view advertisements as a non-premium user
🍂 my feed is filled with people I do not know and I can’t stop that
🍂 there’s a lot of extra stuff I don’t need; like the “feed”, explore function (allows me to view plants around the world), and I also keep getting posts asking if I am learning a new language
🍂 sometimes the PlantSnap calculator is incorrect; it mistakes the plant I’ve uploaded for another plant, and I have to do a bit of digging to see if each plant I have photographed really is what the app tells me it is.
🍂 when I post a photo to my collection it automatically attaches my photo to the plant’s page. For example, the photos below are mine, and were added to the plants page without my permission. I don’t actually mind this, but someone else may be bothered
Some of my own snaps!
Loved learning this berry is edible! I ate one the other day thanks to this app!
This was a test to see if the app could identify the common snowberry. It did!
Final Thoughts
I do like this app. Its pretty user friendly, despite the ads, and I don’t have to engage with the explore function and feed if I choose not to. These functions might also be very useful to another person unlike myself. I also bet that if I purchased the premium (which is $12.00 for a lifetime), many of the minor annoyances would disappear and be replaced with some perks. For me,10 snaps a day is definitely manageable, and I’m not using the app to connect with other users but merely as a way to figure out which plant I have discovered!
If you’re curious about trying PlantSnap, I’d say go for it. Its free and does the job if you’re just looking to learn the name and some brief information about a plant you’ve stumbled across.
Website Link
https://www.plantsnap.com/
Ed Camp Reflection
In today’s EDCI 336 class we had the chance to do a mock version of an Ed Camp. Ed Camp is a teacher-created discussion session, formed by the interests of the people in the room. In Ed Camp, there everyone is one the same level and there is no main presenter, and no slide shows. These group discussions are meant to be learner driven by those in the room who share their experience and expertise on the discussed topics.
Here’s a link to the Ed Camp website —> https://www.edcamp.org/
Our Mock Ed Camp
Our group discussed who our favourite teacher was in high school and why. There was a common thread amongst our group; that our favourite instructors were those who…
1) did things differently/weren’t afraid to break out of the traditional mold of teaching
2) were kind and genuinely believed and supported our growth and success as both a student and an individual
Personal Thoughts
These two attributes were things that brought us closer to ourselves and our teachers, which in turn created a more inclusive and diverse learning environment. For myself, school was a struggle. I didn’t enjoy the day to day routine, long days, and never ending homework load. Added on top of that was, for the most part, boring class time caused by teachers who didn’t include creativity or unconventionality in their classrooms. Being a creative and slightly unconventional person, I felt unsupported and crushed by my high school environment. The teachers that stood out to me were those who brought elements of theatre in their classrooms and weren’t afraid to think outside the box and encourage their students to do so, too. This made me feel like I was welcome somewhere; that my different way of thinking and being was accepted by at least someone in the school environment. It made me feel less alone and awkward, especially when I saw how well received the teacher’s teaching was taken by other classmates. It gave me the self esteem I needed to fell comfortable in my own skin.
Professional, Unprofessional Online Presence
How Do Teachers Host an Authentic and Professional Online Presence?
Photo by Victoria Heath on Unsplash
The Presentation Made Me Wonder…
Today’s presentation with guest speaker Jesse Miller provided me with some valuable information regarding online safety, security, and presence as a teacher. It was both informative and unsettling. While I learned useful information, I’m left feeling unsettled and irritated that teachers are still held to a puritan standard. I wonder how we as teachers can hold an online presence that is true to ourselves and professional?
Oh, The Irony… And I rant.
I wonder why, in a time where we’re trying to teach honesty and transparency to youth, teachers are asked to essentially be flawless. Teachers cannot be witnessed in a photograph doing something legal and completely harmless, like having a glass of wine with a friend. As a teacher in training, I find this to be a potential invasion of my personal life. Not that a student sees a photograph of me drinking a glass of wine, but that I have been asked to not enjoy that glass of wine in the presence of anyone who may have a camera and post that online. To get persnickety about this, that would mean that I am not able to go anywhere where a camera and alcohol is present, on the chance that I may end up online with a glass of wine in hand. Same goes for other joys in life. What if I enjoy laying on a beach with my top off? While it is legal, and women have fought for centuries for equal rights and the end of objectification to women’s bodies, would I be reprimanded for doing this? Using the current logic, If a person decides to take a photograph of me without my knowing, places it online, and a student somehow sees it, I am the one who will be reprimanded despite my actions being legal.
How to (Hopefully) Ensure Privacy
Turn your privacy settings ON. What I gathered from the presentation is that in order to stay safe as a teacher in the world of online presences is to turn all social media settings to private. Never have a student as a contact/friend. Use an alias. Don’t tell other co-workers about your online presences. What other precautions could teachers take to keep their work and social life separate?
Final Thoughts
How do you see being able to express yourself honestly in social media, if there are parts of your life that have to be censored? Do you see this as being valid, given that teachers are teaching other peoples’ children? Do you think the censorship of teachers lives is outdated and needs to change? If so, why?
Here is a link to a CBC article about social media and its effects on teachers reputations –> https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/why-social-media-can-be-a-minefield-for-teachers-1.3219179
Thank you to Jesse Miller for the thought provoking presentation and being available to approach with questions regarding this issue.
Sources
unsplash.com