Final Posting

Hi Readers!

 

This has been quite the journey so far, and I am so excited I had the opportunity to share it with you!

I have learned so much and I am so excited to be able to learn that as a student it will be possible to travel on a budget. This genius hour project was a great chance to teach myself something as well as grow professionally as a future educator. I have learned many 21st century skills that will help me as I am teaching the future students of tomorrow. Technology is a great skill to have as it is becoming more and more advanced everyday and students are also learning at a very fast pace. This will be very important for teachers to keep up with them.

 

Overall I have grown both personally and professionally including my knowledge, comfort level, and skills, with teaching and learning. Technology is all around us and affects many different areas of our lives. This can be used in every class setting and subject, as well as outside of the classroom. The needs of learners are constantly changing and we need to keep up with the pace, just like the saying keeping up with the Jones's.

 

Rocky View Schools. (2017). 21st Century Learning. Retrieved from: http://springmd.rockyview.ab.ca/our-school/21st-century-learning

 

In my future classroom I will be integrating technology into all of my subjects. I can take many skills and resources that I have learned from during this technology course, as well as from completing this genius hour project. I will be using a flipped classroom style in my class where I will provide my students with short videos on the subject they will be learning at home so they can come to class and be prepared and ready to learn! The in class time will then be devoted to exercises, projects, and activities for students to apply and further advance their knowledge. I also loved the idea of using gamification as discussed early in my blog as it gives students a chance to engage in the material at their own rates, as well as use 21st century skills. The best part is it makes learning fun!

 

I am so thankful for taking this technology course at Brock during my teacher college year, and I would like to thank my professor Dave Potts for all of his wisdom and teaching. We all could of not done it with out you. Cheers and good luck to all of my fellow teacher candidates!

 

Cheers Readers!

  

Week 7

Hello Readers,

 

Welcome to my final post on my genius hour project, and I have laid out my dream vacation to travel to on a student budget and all of the options I chose to take based on my personality, and interests, as well as my budget! It has been quite the journey researching and learning about a lot of information on travelling. I am so excited that I chose this topic to research as it is something I am hoping to accomplish as soon as I graduate in June. I am so excited to share my final findings with you as this project was such a great experience. I will definitely be using this in my future classroom of students one day! Thank you so much for reading and following along I hope you found my tips helpful and are able to take a trip one day soon, on your student budget! 

 

Original Goals

 

When first starting out this project I had 5 main goals that I wanted to accomplish. These goals included:

 

1. I want to attain a budget and learn the cheapest and safest way to travel to a unique location in the world.

 

2. I want to visit as least 3 different places that I have never been to before.

3. My timeframe will be 2-3 months

And I am very happy to announce that I have accomplished each and everyone of them!!

 

My Student Budget Trip Break Down

 

After all of my hard work during this course, it has finally paid off as I have completed my goals for this project, completed all of the requirements, and now have a dream destination I can begin to save up for. I have a goal in mind and I am going to reach it with all of the great tips I have learned and shared so can you!  

 

I will now share with you where it is I want to travel to, my budget, transportation I can take, length of time I will spend there, how long I will be staying for, currency rates, where I will be staying, as well as some other information on the culture and mannerisms of the country I chose. I selected a place I have never been to and I have never been more excited! Drum roll please.....

 

 

IRELAND!!

 

The location that I have selected to travel to is indeed IRELAND! My top three places to travel too would include: Alberta, Paris, and Ireland, and after completing my research I believe this is a trip that I can afford, on a student budget!

Erin Bender (2013). Travel with Bender.
Retrieved from: http://travelwithbender.com/

 

Transportation:

 

I will begin my trip by travelling from Toronto airport (YYZ) to Dublin airport. The flight there costs $310 dollars through West Jet and if I buy it through Ebates (sign up for free discounts) I can get $25 dollars off each flight I buy. Then if I buy my return flight home it will cost around $345. I will be travelling on flexible dates around Wednesday June 7th (day after graduation) and will return home around Wednesday August 2nd. May and June are also the sunniest months in Ireland, and July and August are the warmest, so I picked the absolute best time to travel there! By paying for individual flights I will save money rather then buying all at once, and I will receive a $50 dollar cheque from Ebates as well! Also look into checking flights at random and weird times such as 11:05pm for flight deals or even last minute for flights home! When arriving into Dublin my mom's friend offered to pick me up and drop me off as well as show me around! I also would like to rent a car for a few days. However this will be the most expensive payment that I will be spending on. Renting a car you must be 21 years or older. For a small car it will cost $18 per day but however there is CDW insurance that I am required to buy when travelling in Ireland. Small cars are also ideal because of the narrow roads, just be careful and make sure all of your luggage can fit into those small cars! The worst part about renting a car is insurance! Many are mandatory including the: Collision Damage Waiver (CDW) and this can be around $10 a day which is $14 Canadian so it will add up. When they say small they mean it. If I decide to take any public transportation including the buses (most common, least expensive) I will pay $2 per trip. However I can buy a leap card as a student which gives me 20% off transportation so I will only pay $1.50 for bus fares. The leap card can be bought there or in advance for 5 euros which is just over $7 Canadian.   

 

Where I will be staying?

 

I will be residing at my mom's friends place who lives just outside of Dublin (capital) as she has a spare room I can stay in which will cost me no money. I however would like to show my hospitality with a small gift or some money or I would like to help with cooking, cleaning and groceries for letting me stay with them. If I do decide to go out on my own which I plan to I will then be staying at hostels which are very inexpensive of only $14-$21 per night/day. That is also for a 4star hostel price.

 Since I am staying with a family friend I am also able to take advantage that they have a kitchen and appliances where I can then buy my own groceries, and save money on eating out! If I do decide to eat out which I would like to experience a few Irish dishes a few of these would include:

1. full Irish breakfast

2. Dublin lawyer lobster

3. Dublin coodle
4. calcannon
5.  carrageen mass pudding
6. Irish coffee
7. Irish whisky

When I am eating dinner or any meal there are a few mannerisms I need to remember. There is a small plate for boiled peelings as I remove them off potatoes, etc, which is placed beside me like a bread plate. I also need to keep the knife in my right hand at all times and the fork in my left, these must never switch hands. When I finish any meal to show my appreciation and that I am done (so they don't put more on your plate) you will place your fork and knife across the center of your plate with the knife facing towards the middle of the table.

  

Where to explore? 

 

One of the main reasons I want to travel to Ireland is the country sides and beautiful breathtaking landscapes! I hope to do a lot of hiking, biking, and car trips around the countryside all over to a variety of different places. I can borrow a bike form my mom's friend, hiking is free to do, and the only cost will be for my gas and car rental daily fees. I also have been looking on pinterest, google, intagram, and other sites looking at Ireland bucketlist items and have selected a few I would like to complete. Most are $0 to do which is the best part!

 

Ireland Bucketlist:

1. Visit the graves of Ireland

2. Drink a Guiness beer where it was created

3. Have a drink at Sean's the oldest bar in the world  

4. Hike the cliffs at Moher (MUST DO)

5. Visit St. Georges famous market

6. visit castles (free for student tours)

7. Tour botanical gardens (free to visit all parks too)

8. Spend a night at Kilarney park

9. Hike to the most Northern part of Ireland: Malin 

10. Kiss the Balarney Stone

11. see the Sea Cliffs

12. see Dalemsn and ruins

13. see the Dark Hedges

14. Go to the kilmainham goal free exhibition and tour around

 

The best part is how FREE almost all of my excursions are that I want to do!! 

 

Vaccination/VISAS

 

When looking into what shots I needed before travelling there I was very pleased as I only needed one shot! They recommend taking a Tetanus/Diphtheria shot which is $20 or free for students as we are covered (from parents or schooling). Tetanus is a bacterial infection present in the soil, and can be seen worldwide. If you get a cut the virus can finds it's way into your body through your cut, and it has the potential to affect the nervous system. Most people in Ireland receive this as a child. They recommended you take this within 10 years to be safe. Diptheria is a disease part of the tetanus vaccine and is also a bacterial infection. It causes inflammation in the upper respiratory tract. This is an airborne caused infection travelled from person to person. 

Another great thing about travelling to Ireland there is no VISA needed to travel here!  

Ireland Tips

 

Number one tip to know is to ALWAYS PACK RAIN GEAR everywhere you go in Ireland! I would also look into buying a map of Ireland as well as making sure google maps works on your phone. I will be buying a data plan on my phone for calling and texting but will have no internet only emergency. This will only cost $10 a month extra through my phone provider. I would also suggest buying a safe adapter to plug your devices into before plugging them into the walls just in case it is different from what our outlets are like in Canada. The worst thing ever would be to fry your cell phone through the charger or your expensive straightener! I would also make sure you have good comfortable durable hiking shoes as you will probably wear these for most of the trip as you explore all over, being the curious tourist I know we all are! Another great thing is they speak English in Ireland as well as Irish so you will usually be able to talk to others and they can answer or at least understand what you are saying, and you don't have to worry about learning another language. After being there for a few days you will begin to pick up on any jargon and Irish slang they use just like people who travel to Canada do. Whenever you great anyone in Ireland just like Canada a firm handshake and locking eyes is the way to do it! 
 

When tipping over in Ireland you tip 10% to waitresses and tour guides, 0% to bartenders, or taxis, and $1-2 when you buy purses or accessories. The euro is the money over in Ireland they use and it is 0.71 to the Canadian dollar. Meaning they are a bit under but still close. This will fluctuate to closer to the dollar throughout the year. However things tend to be a bit cheaper over there which will balance out in the end to match the dollar. 

 

Do not forget to pack light and to stay safe!       


Thank you so much for reading my blog and I hope you have found it as helpful as I have! Good luck to all of you student travellers out there and feel free to message me if you have any questions about my tips and blog!

Until next time, and next trip!
 

 

Cheers Friends!

Week 6

Hey Readers!

To continue my research this week I will be looking into the transportation and costs that are involved when travelling. The type of transportation that you decide to take can make huge difference in how much it costs to get to places. I will be also discussing a trip idea with a travel agent and getting more advice from someone who works in the travelling field.

Transportation

There are many ways we are travel from place to place, these do not just include flying. Once you get to your destination you can rent a vehicle for a day, take taxi, train, limo, buses, bike, or even hike and walk to places on foot. When travelling on a student budget the cost of transportation can sometimes get yeah, so I am here to tell you how you can make it through with a low cost for transportation. I am sure you can guess the lowest cost of transportation...if you said walking/hiking you would be correct! The next cheapest way to travel would be by biking, city buses, and then renting a cheap car/taking a train. The most expensive way to travel is TAXI! Try to avoid taking a cab anywhere when you travel as these are very expensive and a waste of money, unless it is an absolute emergency! Taking a train can actually be a great money saver over a car when you are travelling to and from different countries. If you are over in England and want to travel to any surrounding country train is your least expensive option. If you pre book your train you plan on taking inadvance by one month prices to travel to another country like London/Paris could be as low as $12.50, where even if you book a day in advance the cost could be $22. The prices surprise most people, as where I am from back home if I were to take the VIA train from my school to hometown (3hour drive) it would easily cost me around $100 for one way. They do have wifi but those prices do not compare to the UK! Check out: http://www.seat61.com/uk-europe-train-fares-comparison.html for more information on travel rates in the UK. I also would recommend biking over a car but some cars can be $30 a day which you still have to pay for gas but then you can take your own adventures and travel where you want to on your own schedule. The option is up to you!   

Advice from a Travel Agent

Today I went to my local travel center: Marlin Travel and discussed some potential tips that this lady had for students on a budget. This lady was an absolute delight and gave me a ton of helpful information! We picked a random spot to travel to (AKA I PICKED PARIS!!) and we then broke down the points in which I would need to look into and how to budget for my trip. First we looked at cost of flights, and then transportation in the area. We chose a specific place to fly out of (Toronto) and a spot to fly into (Charles de Gaulle) in Paris. We then got out her books and looked at some online pictures of Paris to get ideas of what I wanted to do there. As a student I tended to go with the cheaper excursions and things such as hiking, touring, and visit museums using my student identity to get cheap discounts. We then talked about how I could also do stuff when I got there and decide on the go which could get me cheaper last minute options. The next step we took was looking at the shots if any were needed for this area and if I needed a VISA card as well. I will need to make sure that I am up-to-date on routine vaccines before every trip I travel. These vaccines include measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine, diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis vaccine, varicella (chickenpox) vaccine, polio vaccine, and your yearly flu shot. This is all because of safety! I also am covered for these mostly because I am a student. Use the student discounts as much as you can as you won't be a student forever! The best part about going through a travel agent is they are almost doing the hard work for you. They are on your team and will work with you to find the cheapest flights and hostel rates. I unfortunately do not know anyone in Paris so I will have to stay in hostels for the duration of my stay. When we went through all the final calculations at the end my total ended up being for 3 weeks in Paris $2,500 including my flights, hostels, food, and a bit of extra.  She said usual to travel to Paris she would budget 1,000 a week to be on the safe side but as a student and her great tips we can work to be around 500-750 you would be spending per week. I also would of been travelling in June, which is great weather in Paris as well! June is the best month for weather as it will be sunny and a bit dry. She also highly recommended getting travel insurance as it is my first time travelling and I am a student. A few other tips she provided included: keeping a list of every transaction I make (journal), do some research on the place I am travelling to, don't be afraid to ask questions, and look at the currency the prices are in before buying anything! She wishes we all the best and I want to thank her for all her help!  
 

Learning Object Jigsaw Task

 

Document your experiences participating in the Learning Object jigsaw exploration. How might you re-purpose a tech-enhanced activity like this for your own classroom?

One tool I created after using this jigsaw teaching technique was a quiz on quizlet, one of my peers in my group showed me this resource. You can create many different quizzes using flash cards and other tools online. I created one about any questions one might have on my genius hour topic: travelling on a student budget. Check it out by clicking on the link below!

https://quizlet.com/_374g4g


 Thanks for reading check in next week for my final post on my genius hour project.

Cheers!

Week 5 Posting

Hi Readers, welcome back!

This week my focus was to select my budget that I can work on saving towards as well as selecting how long I want to travel for. I will also be looking into travel VISAS and Vaccinations I will need for certain areas or diseases to be safe, as well as travel insurance.

 

Determining a Budget

 

The budget I have determined for myself is $2,000 to travel for 2 months. This is my goal budget however as I continue to further my research this budget will fluctuate and change with different aspects. These include where I decide to travel, the disease rates, tourist areas, where I decide to stay (if I know anyone staying there),  my excursions/extras, and my transportation I use while I am there. Other things that will influence my budget that I have discussed in previous blogs include currency exchange rates, popularity of locations, flights, and again where I decide to travel to. Below I am going to share a few tips on how to decide on a budget and how to save and make your budget a reality!

 

First thing is to start saving your pennies, stop spending money on extra stuff and only buy what you need. No extra candies at thee grocery stores, stop eating out, make your food and coffee at home, and do not go out as much. You can have just as fun going hiking, biking, or having wine nights in with friends as you can if you go out. Tip #2 make this trip a goal, it has been proven that if you create a goal for yourself you will be able to reach it faster and there is a higher rate of you actually getting it then if you don't. Creating a goal is also a great way to get excited about a trip and should always be the first step in planning your vacation. Tip #3 figure out how much you will need each day, and always round up when figuring out costs, it is better to be more prepared and safe then unprepared and sorry! Tip #4 Do not skimp on travel insurance (MUST GET) if you can't in afford travel insurance you can not afford to travel. Tip #5 The most important when budgeting for a trip is flexibility. You need to be willing to add on the go travel splurges. Tip #6 keep your money in a variety of different places not all in one spot just in case you lost or had it stolen you will not loose everything.     

 

Travel VISA
 

A travel VISA is an official document, usually stamped or glued inside a passport, giving permission from a foreign authority for you to enter a country. Before you leave to go away on a trip you need to consult a travel advisor/agent for a Visa specific information. You need Visa's  in most foreign countries if you are there for longer then 90 days. Visa's must be obtained before leaving Canada. You may be denied entrance to a country if they require one and you do not have this!! Which would suck after all of your hard work budgeting fro the trip!  

 

To get your travel Visa today check out this website: https://www.visahq.ca/

Vaccinations

Talk to your health care provider about recommended vaccines before you travel.

Check with your local health department. Some health departments provide travel vaccines.

Find a travel clinic in your area. 

For the yellow fever vaccine you will need to go to an authorized vaccine center.

 

These vaccinations will depend on where you decide to travel too look into this using Google to see which vaccinations you need to be safe when travelling to your destination.
One more tip is global medical insurance can cost around 62$ to anywhere in world if you are under 60 years old.
  

 

Check out my blog next week on transportation and my chat with a travel agent on more tips!!

 

Cheers!

Week 4

Welcome back readers!

 

This week I have a lot of exciting news to share with you all on my recent research on my genius hour project! Travelling on a student budget is becoming more and more of a possibility for students like myself and you, who are on a budget.

Check out my latest findings through my interview with my best friend!

The interview I conducted was with my best friend in the comfort of my home. We discuss places she has been and how she has travelled both with friends, and on her own, including Florida 14 different times!!

Video Interview

 

 

P.s. Do not mind my face as I had dental surgery a few days before and it is still very enlarged!!

 

Extra Costs 

When travelling we all know we will give in to random trinkets and souvenirs to prove that we really did travel to those places. I know I won't be able to pass up shot glasses from different places around the world as well as post cards or something unique from the towns I pass. However saying that I need to make sure I do not go over board as not everything will fit into my luggage and second I do not have a large budget to buy expensive gifts for every member of my family and friends. To avoid going above and beyond I am going to give myself $100-$200 limit for all extra costs this also includes excursions and extra stuff I want to do  while I visit these different places. Again this will come back to this or that tip I discussed in my second blog posting. Do you really need that $200 Vase from China or can you go bungee jumping instead and enjoy the experience more? 

Travel Insurance
 

The best way to travel is to be worry free, you never know what types of infections, diseases, viruses, or other things that you might catch. Some body systems will be different in how they react depending on where you are in the world, and it is because they are use to the different climates, temperatures, and environments as they have grown up in them. Another way to look at this is how your body adapts to different foods or places. I know that some foods that are too spicy to not agree with me, and pop makes me burp the loudest ever! When thinking about travel insurance one thing you need to know is it will help you and save you all the expensive fees if something were to happen to you and you had to go to a hospital in a different country. Travel insurance is a must! A MUST! How do I get travel insurance? There are many sites such as: https://www.insuremytrip.com, where you select you departure dates, cost of trip, age you are, and your home residence. They will compare all available travel insurance rates from all websites and will provide the best rates for you. An example: If I went to France today February 24th until March 1st and I am 23 years old from Canada, and my budget of my trip is $1,000 then I can pay $80 for full coverage insurance.  For travel insurance I would budget $100 just in case to make sure you will cover everything and that way you will be safe. Travel insurance can be lower or higher than $80 depending on the length of time you are travelling, when you go, and where you go!
 

Genius Hour in the Classroom

 

I would use this activity as a culminating task in my future classroom. I think this is a great task that shows students creativity and individual skills. It allows students to pick a topic that they are interested in which makes it more engaging for the students. They will be excited about doing this task, and it will feel less like work. By using this in the classroom students will also gain researching and computer skills, as well as learning how to explore a topic with no limits. Genius hour also teaches students to step outside of the box by have no limitations, as they are responsible for their own learning. Motivating students can sometimes be a challenge for teachers and by incorporating this genius hour task into your classroom can eliminate this challenge. However like all tasks this task can have challenges. One challenge that you could occur with using this in your classroom is how to assess it. There will be multiple projects all based on students choices and interests. How can you assess every students individual work? How will you make it equal by marking every student? This can be assessed by having students create the same tasks and completing them on different topics. For example students can all create videos to explain their topics and have the same outlines of what are expected on each. This can be used for the genius hour projects.

Cheers! 

Update Week 3

 

Welcome back readers!

 

We are now ending week 2 of my genius hour project and I will be sharing what I have learned so far on my project of: How to Travel on a Student Budget! I created a pinterest page and have been researching others blogs as well as taking notes comparing all of the tips and feedback. I have looked at a variety of different websites, and blog posts to gather my information!

Check out my pinterest post to see where I have collected information from:
 

 

New Findings:

I have recently looked into and learned about the currency and exchange rates for various locations. I compared them with the Canadian dollar. Here is what I found:

1 Canadian Dollar =

·         0.76 U.S.A. Dollar

·         1.54 Belize

·         0.61 British

·         421. 33 Costa Rica

·         2.88 Turkish dollar

·         14.36 Egyptian pound

·         1.31 German

·         5.23 Chinese Yen

·         37.93 Philippians

·         86.59 Japanese yen

·         465.61 Central Africa

·         12.5 Argentina Peso

The Canadian Dollar is however equal with Australia’s, but Australia is an expensive place to visit!

This information was found by going onto Google and searching an exchange rate converter and Google has one for you where you type in the amounts and search every area of the world. If you want to see any other rates you can simply check out Google! I just found ones that were most applicable to me and this genius hour project.

Online Travel Blogs

Did you know you can use your student ID to get you discounts all over the world!? It does pay off on being a student, and this shows that you are able to travel as a student. Here’s how!

        I found this great blogger called: girl vs. globe. She has been travelling all over and she is a student like you and me! She found there are even student discount cards that you can get. They are $20 but they can save you hundreds on travel, clothes, hotels, food, and transportation while you travel! Also as a student you can attend museums and landmarks all for free with your student idea! Can you imagine checking out the most famous museums all over the world for FREE!! You have to mark that one down on your bucket list! Another tip girl vs. globe suggested was to skimp on nights out and to drink more at home then you won’t spend as much money on alcohol too! Another helpful tip would be to look into studying abroad if you still have more time as a student left or look into getting a work VISA that lets you get a part time job overseas to make money while you travel! I have a few friends in high school who went to other countries and worked as an Au Pair and cared for children. The family paid for everything as well as gave you money for watching their kids. My friends got to go on vacations with the family, and had their own rooms too! That is definitely a great option to look into!   

To check out more about her and her tips check out:

http://girlvsglobe.com/2016/01/how-to-travel-the-world-as-a-student.html

 

Stay places for FREE

 

Another thing you can think about when selecting the travel destination is where to stay. Where do my family and friends live? I have quite of few friends all over the world including: Germany, Argentina, Australia, Ireland, England, Florida, Sweden, and Denmark. My mom even has a pen pal in Ireland that she has had since grade 4 and they still keep in touch to this day, I can definitely work my way to staying with her at some point! One thing I also learned about where to stay is how cheap hostels are, and you can bunk with other travelers in them. You get your own room but will share a bathroom, and kitchen/common room. This is another great way to meet people who are adventurous and crazy as you are, and you can share travel tips and ideas!  

Next Steps:

The next steps I will be taking is to go through the data I have collected so far and to pick the top places to visit on a student budget! I would love to visit so many different places, but it will definitely come down to the amount of money I have, and will be willing to spend! Then I will go further by beginning to collect data by interviewing my best friend who has a lot of experience travelling and she is still a student! I will also be looking at meeting with a travel agent the week after and talking to them about tips for travelling on a student budget.

The one obstacle I encountered was....to be honest after looking at all the amazing places I WANT TO GO TO THEM ALL!!! This definitely makes staying on a budget a hard thing to do! I need to remind myself I am still a student and I have a tight and strict budget. I am going to do more research on free things to do and look into walking to places vs. Taxing.

 

Educational Technology Tip for Teachers:

Today is class we used an educational technology resource known as Plickers. This resource was something that I had never seen before but was so AWESOME! My teacher handed pieces of paper that had a shape on them and on different sides of the shape was the letters: A,B,C, and D. Then my teacher asked our class a series of questions and we answered them using our shapes. All of the questions were multiple choice formats and we would flip the picture to select the option we agree with whether it was A, B, C, or D. I would recommend using this in your classrooms as it is a great tool to see how students are feeling, it is anonymous, only the teacher can see who responds, and it gives the teacher feedback on their lessons/activities while using 21^st century technology! I will definitely be adapting this in my future lessons! The best part is this app can be on your phone and you create the questions!

Thoughts and Feelings:

Overall I am beginning to feel more comfortable including technology in my lessons as a future educator. With all of these different resources I have discovered and been exposed to I am more than excited to try them all out. I won’t know until I try if I like the resources but the hardest part is if you are willing to even give them a chance! I sure am! I love a good challenge!  

Tavia Wright. (November 29, 2012). Teaching with Technology the Wright way. Pasco County Schools. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYowyQ-o4oQ

Thanks for reading talk to you next week!

Cheers!

Week 2 Update!

Hey readers!

Here is an update on how my genius hour project is going so far. After all my research on travelling I have done so far, I think I have caught the travel bug and want to go more than ever!! Every place that I have not been too (which is a lot) looks so exciting and beautiful, and I want to go to them ALL! What types of places do you want to travel to? What would you do when you get there? Are you more about the adventure or relaxing?
 

 

 

Unknown. (January 2009) Travel mail. Retrieved from: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/article-618576/Top-travel-destinations-2009.html

 

What have I learned so far?

Travelling is something that will occur in my near future, maybe even after I graduate in June. If I follow my own advice I can make this happen by then. As my project is a lot of research based I have found there are a million different sites to go through and check out what other people are saying about how they have saved money or been able to travel on a tight budget. What I am going to share with you is all of the combined knowledge and information on this genius project after going through all of the sources and sharing only the best advice for my readers! When you are thinking about travelling and saving up for a trip you need to think: This is not a question about money it’s a question about priorities. You need to put saving first and how to save, you need to be strategic with your planning and I am going to find out the deep secrets that make this possible. 5 tips that I have learned so far include:

1.       Make a plan (this includes where you want to go, and how long you want to go for) These are your goals for yourself.

2.       Save! (automate your savings so you trick yourself into saving more!) One way to so this is to set up an account for travelling and every month or week send over a few dollars a great app to use is called: Digit

3.       Save your singles! (save all your change don’t spend your bills)

4.       Save found money!

5.       Play this or that! (every time you go shopping pick this item or that, not both, do you really need this or that?) That TV that you want that’s $1000, could buy you a flight, and that new Kate Spade purse you had your eye on that’s $200 can buy you a few nights at a hotel! You decide!

Do you see this pattern with all the times I have said the word save above?? SAVE YOUR MONEY!! I will keep you posted on other great tips I find as I continue my research to travel on a student budget!

Challenges

So far everything has been smooth sailing in regards to researching for my genius hour except that I have so many different sites to visit and pick out the valid and reliable tips. This is something I am going to understand more of when I talk to someone who is an experienced traveller and a travel agent. Lucky for me my best friend has been travelling for a long time and she is willing to provide me with all of her insight as well. Stay tuned for more in my next blog posts! Do you have any questions or concerns with challenges you think you will come across in regards to travelling on a student budget? Contact me by commenting on my blog or send me a message.

 Now let's think about my future classroom how can I use technology in it? Which ways work best for me? Which do I like best?

Tech-enhanced classroom activity that could be useful to use in my future classroom

A few great tech-enhanced activities that I will be using in my future classroom would be twitter and pinterest. Twitter and pinterest are great to keep connected with students and get to know their interests. On twitter I could create my own class where we can tweet about homework questions, interesting resources available that could link to class work, and any upcoming work or events that occur at the school. It will be a great site to assign homework to the class and the students will always know what Is up coming. They can also use this on their phones and computers or tablets. I like to idea that if you forget your agenda at school then you are still able to know what you have to do for homework! That will cut all excuses for students not getting anything completed! NO MORE EXCUSES: MY DOG ATE MY HOMEWORK, MY BROTHER LIT IT ON FIRE….GONE! Pinterest is a great site to start out sharing information on interests from working out, games you like, to your favourite dish. I can learn so much more about my students without directly asking them. As a teacher building relationships is very important with your students and this can be done using pinterest. BONUS! I can also find some great teacher resources and lesson ideas on here as well! One great lesson with pinterest is having the students create a board called ‘ALL ABOUT ME.’ This board can have pictures of all of their interests and then each student can share theirs and talk more about why they chose those pictures, there are lots of great stories to hear behind each picture. A picture really does speak 1000 words!

 For some more great tips check out my twitter located in the side of my dashboard: paige_harris11

And my pinterest page for more details! Alright fellow readers now it’s your turn I challenge you all to make your own ‘ALL ABOUT ME BOARD’ on Pinterest and share them with me! Time to get pinning!

https://www.pinterest.com/paigeharris11/genius-hour/ 

Cheers!

Genius Hour Post 1

Hi Viewers!

My name is Paige Harris and I am doing a genius project on the topic of: How to travel on a student budget. This is something I am very interested in doing once I graduate from school in June and before I start my real career in teaching. Have you ever wanted to travel but do simply not have the funds? Let's work together and make this goal reality through genius hour!!

My goals for this project are:

1. I want to attain a budget and learn the cheapest and safest way to travel to a unique location in the world

2. I want to visit at least 3 different places that I have never been to before

3. My timeframe of this trip will be 2-3 months

 

Check in next week to see how my research is going!

 

 Today I am going to share with you a little bit more wisdom on genius hour and virtual field trips. I took a technology course while studying at Brock University and I learned all about virtual filed trips and about a neat activity called genius hour! In the class we went through a virtual filed trip on what one would look like. This gave me a lot of insight to write this blog post so share with my fellow readers. After reading my blog today you will know what a virtual field trip is, what field trip I participated in, and what I personally have learned about genius hour. This is a great teaching tool to use in the classroom for all of you future educators! I hope you find this blog post as helpful as I do!

What is a Virtual Field Trip?
 

A virtual field trip is an internet-based trip to take students individually or as a group. It brings the world to our students in the classroom by taking a trip online and is an effective way to expand education and save money as you can take a field trip but are staying in your classroom. The teacher is the tour guide for their students and how they engage the students is up to them! There are four elements of a virtual field trip, these include:

1. the pre field trip activity (introduce your students what virtual trip is and what will be exploring)

2. post trip activity (clarify, collaborate, share, discuss and give feedback on the trip)

3. made by others (maybe students missed parts) (students share what they found/did)

4. teacher created (teacher shares their adventure with their students)

 

Virtual filed trips Stretch old paradigms, as the students must use a wide range of critical and creative thinking skills, as well as information skills to use a virtual field trip effectively. Why should they be used in the classroom?

Consider the following

 

Virtual field trips allow for a variety of different points-of-view and perspectives of the trip by every student in your class, as it caters to all of their individual needs. Students are able to explore and judge authentic information, while weighing all of the evidence presented to them to make those decisions. They can also compare ideas and views with the rest of their peers through interactions and discussions right in your own class. The teacher is able to keep an eye on every student during this time to make sure they are all on task and making appropriate decisions, unlike field trips where students can go where they please. What are your thoughts on doing a digital field trip in your classroom? Where would you take your class? What classes can you take your students on a digital field trip in?

I would take my class on a art field trip to the MET in New York City! (I've always wanted to go to New York!!) They could go to the #METkids cite and view all of the art work through the virtual museum they have on their website. There are also lots of activities and videos on the cite which my students can use their selves under my supervision. They can do all of this with no costs at all! FREE! Did you say FREE? I sure did! What field trip is free now a days? I can't think of any can you?

Have you ever wanted to go into space? HOW COOL WOULD THAT BE? Below is a great video to show more about what your students will experience!

Space Explores. (Jan. 14. 2010). Your Virtual Field Trip Begins Here! Retrieved at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYdEAXciJW8

Why call it Genius Hour?

Genius hour is an activity that allows students to explore their own passions! Students choose the topic within reason on anything that they are interested in. This will encourage creativity in the classroom, show individuality, and you as teachers will learn more about your students.  It provides students a choice in what they learn, and is very student-centered, and hands-on learning. Students will work on passion projects, and will learn what they want to learn about. This is a dual teacher role as the teacher and students will be teaching one another. The learning therefore will be split 50/50.  Students will all become genius's on their individual topics! This also creates a sense of collaboration in the classroom, as well as an interactive learning environment. The pace is built to be flexible for a variety of different learners, and the assessment is created to be authentic. There are multiple names for genius hour a few you might of heard of are:   Passion Project, 20% Time, and Innovation Hour. What other activity let's you get that involved with your students and helps you as a teacher get to know each one individually? This makes learning fun, and that is a huge part of education in the 21st century! 

Where can I find Genius Hour resources?

 

Check out the list of resources below, as they can provide you with even more information about genius hour! You can also check out twitter and search the hash tags: #genius hour, #passionproject, or #techknowteach to see more stuff my class has done on these projects.

 

-> http://www.livebinders.com/play/play?id=829279

-> http://cybraryman.com/geniushour.html

-> https://geniushour.wikispaces.com/Student+Resources?responseToken=0d1f64dc63979d18b5d93af8a0fb93211

 

When creating your own genius hour what sort of questions can you ask, what questions should you not ask? What will give you the most information that is both reliable and valid? I created my genius project on HOW TO TRAVEL WHILE ON A STUDENT BUDGET! Check out the rest of my pages to learn more at the top of this blog!

 

Now it's your turn, what kind of genius hour project are you going to do? Can't wait to see what all of you creative people come up with!

Cheers!