Halina's Portfolio

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Category: EDCI 336 (Page 1 of 2)

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Willows Beach

February 19, 2025 / / 0 Comments

Today I was on a mission to see some of the waves in the ocean thanks to the wind. I drove along Dallas road, and landed at Willows Beach. Willows Beach is located in Oak Bay and is the beach that the Oak Bay tea party takes place at. It has beautiful, white sandy beaches, and you can see the Oak Bay marina to the right, and Cattle point to the left.

Despite the wind, it felt like there was spring in the air today. The sun was shining, and the beach was beautiful.

The beach is an easy walk, and there is a concrete path that follows most of the water front, so if you do not want to walk on the beach, this is a good alternative. The beach is usually rather busy as it is in the heart of Oak Bay, there is a great playground, and the views are spectacular.

The beach is also dog friendly, so naturally I had to bring my favourite adventure buddy Koko. She was a big fan of the beach and was pretty tired after the beautiful walk.

The beach is great all year round, especially for swimming in the summer! The way that the tide comes in and out allows the sun the heat the sand, so when the tide comes in, the warm sand heats the water and makes it a very pleasant place to swim.

I would recommend coming to this beach if you are looking for a place to lounge in the sun, or a nice stroll to get some fresh air.

Below I have linked the directions to Willows Beach from UVIC!

Willows Beach – Bing Maps

Weekly Reflection #4

February 11, 2025 / / 0 Comments

Today Rich came into our class to talk about creating/ editing videos in a way that can be helpful for your classroom. He started by breaking down the different aspects of video editing that can be helpful like adding sound/ music, using titles, credits, slow motion and cutting videos. He also talked about the importance of incorporating videos into your teaching, and the different ways you can do that. One thing I did not know that I learned was that you can put a larger video into your lessons, but you can start it at a different spot. So if you only want 30 seconds of a video, and that 30 seconds starts at 13 minutes into the video, you can input the video into your lesson at 13 minutes so when you are teaching your lesson in class, you do not have to spend time finding the right spot in the music.

After talking about videos, Rich gave us time to create our own videos, and using that time I created the video below.

Island View Beach

February 11, 2025 / / 0 Comments

This weekend, I went for a walk at one of my favourite beaches on the south island, Island View beach. I have been going to this beach since I was a kid, and it has always been a favourite. It is located out by Michell’s farm, on the way to the ferry. It is a beautiful drive, through some farm lands were you may see some animals.

(All of the pictures below were taken by me throughout the year visiting this beach)

The walk is a very relaxing gravel path, that follows the shoreline, and is beautiful during every season.

There is a campsite at the beach, and a covered picnic area which is great for parties and get togethers. There is lots of parking, and there are year round washrooms so you can spend the whole day there.

Since this is one of my favourite beaches, I have photos from different months of the year I want to share.

July

August

September

October

November

As you can see, I love to go to this beach to watch the sunrise and sunset as it has one of my favourite sky lines. On a windier day, you can even see people flying some large kites down at the beach! It is also one of my favourite places to watch the stars as there is little to no light pollution, so the sky is full of them.

Even though the beach is quit a drive from UVIC, I 100% recommend going to this beach at least once for all the reasons I have explain above.

Below are the directions from UVIC to get to Island View beach!

island view beach – Bing Maps

Tod Creek Inlet

February 4, 2025 / / 0 Comments

Over the weekend I took advantage of the snowfall and went for a walk with my sister at Tod Creek Inlet. This walk has always been one of my favourite spots as you get a little bit of everything. The walk follows a river in the woods that takes you out to an inlet with a small doc.

The walk is relatively easy, however the walk back is mostly uphill as you have to get down to sea level to reach the inlet. Our walk was very pleasant, the snow was still covering the trees and the lighting through the trees made for a very pleasant afternoon.

Tod Creek Inlet is located near Butchart Gardens, so it is a bit of a drive from Uvic, but it is always worth it. The walk feels like you have escaped the city, and the inlet it always such a pleasant surprise when you make it the the end of the trail.

The inlet always has boats docked there and is full of moon jellies so if you are wanted to look at some sea life this is a great place to do it. Overall I would recommend this for anyone who is looking to get out in nature and go for a easy, but lengthy walk.

Below you can find the directions to Tod Creek Inlet!

Tod Creel Inlet – Search

Stewart Bay

January 28, 2025 /

One of my favourite beaches the walk to is Stewart Bay. This beach is located at the end of Stewart Avenue in View Royal and has a spectacular view and nice hidden beach. I took my dog there for a walk the other day at golden hour and it was beautiful.

To get to the beach, you do have to go down quit a few stairs, but there is a bench down on the rocks and one above the beach so you can still see the view without walking down the stairs.

My dog Koko is my favourite adventure buddy, and she is a big fan of this beach.

Here is a link for the maps of how to get to Stewart Bay!

Stewart Bay view royal – Bing Maps

Week #3 Reflection

January 28, 2025 /

This week we talked about the importance of multimedia learning. I had never considered just how much I relied and still do rely on multimedia for learning as I am someone who uses pictures and videos to reinforce concepts constantly. One point that we talked about that stood out to me was how multimedia allows us to see the unseeable. The example used to explain this idea was trying to teach students how to use a bike pump. When we talk them through the mechanics of what is happening inside of the bike pump, some students may understand, but most will not be able to visualize what is going on. By showing them a photo of the mechanisms working inside of the bike pump, students can then see the unseeable and connect the words to the concepts. To support this idea, we talked about how it is important to use pictures and videos that are relevant to the work that students are doing and that will support the explanation.

For example, if we are teaching our students about the rain cycle, we should use graphics that support and reinforce the concepts. This first photo below is great to see rain in real life, but it does not tell us anything about the cycle itself.

Nature Images In Rainy Season

A graphic like the one below would be much more helpful for students as it breaks down the different parts of the cycle and shows students how rain is created.

Water Cycle Precipitation

Spectacle Lake

January 28, 2025 /

This weekend I went for a walk around Spectacle Lake. This lake is located on the Malahat, tucked away in the bushes. I had never been to the lake before and actually found it when I was looking for new fishing spots, as Spectacle Lake is the only place on the island where you can fish for brook trout. I am glad I ventured out to this lake as it was absolutely stunning. The lake itself is very small, and the walk is relatively easy, so if you are looking for a walk that you can focus on the scenery not on tripping on a root, this is the walk for you. When I went, it had been very cold over night and the whole lake was frozen. In fact, it was so frozen that there were some very brave people walking on the frozen lake.

I definitely will go back to the lake as I think it would be beautiful to see it throughout the different seasons, and I am looking forward to heading there once the ice has melted and hopefully catching some brook trout!

Here is the map link for the directions to Spectacle Lake from UVIC. It is quiet a long drive, but it is definitely worth the commute for a serene walk that makes you feel like you have escaped the busyness of the city.

spectacle lake – Search

Cordova Bay Beach Clean Up

January 21, 2025 /

Over the past weekend, I took part in a beach clean up at Cordova Bay Beach. While I was trying to plan out where I wanted to go for a walk, my friend texted me and asked if I wanted to join her with a beach clean up she was partaking in. This was a great opportunity as I got to spend the morning walking down a beautiful beach, while helping to keep it clean. If you have never been to Cordova Bay Beach I would 100% recommend it! It is a beautiful, long beach and it is relatively close to the university. There is a park above the entrance where you can sit on some benches and look at the view, which is spectacular and the walk is relatively easy as walking on sand can always be somewhat of a challenge. To access the beach, you have to walk down a couple of flights of stairs, so keep that in mind before you make the trip. Despite the beach swarming with fellow beach cleaners, It is relatively busy, so if you are looking for a more secluded walk it might not be the place. However, it was a sunny, beautiful Saturday morning so it makes sense that everyone wanted to be out!

This is a picture I took while sitting on the bench at the park above the beach!

Here is a picture I took of me and my friends walking on the beach and picking up garbage.

And finally, I have connected a link to Cordova Bay Beach access on the maps so you can find it!

Cordova bay beach – Bing Maps

Weekly Reflection 2

January 21, 2025 /

This week, Jesse came into our tech class to present on social media and digital literacy. His presentation was full of information, advice, and stories, but something that stood out to me was when he talked about how the students we work with in the future will not know a world without the internet and technology. I grew up in the early 2000s and while the internet was around during that time, the first iPhone did not come out till I was a bit older, and even then, no one in my close circle had a smartphone till I was even older. I grew up in a household with little to no technology/ internet. The only computer in our house was my dad’s work computer, which we were not allowed to use, our landline for phones, and a TV with no cable. I remember going with my mom to the public library or Blockbusters to pick out a Friday night movie and being shocked when I went to a friend’s house and they had an Xbox. Because of the way I grew up, it is even more crazy to think of how the internet and technology are all kids know now. To support that statement, Jesse then went on to talk about the importance of meeting kids where they are when it comes to technology. Because easy access to the internet and technology are students’ norms, it would not make sense to take it out of the classroom. Rather, the focus should be on integrating technology into the classroom safely and responsibly and educating students on digital literacy and how to be responsible online.

Weekly Reflection 1

January 14, 2025 /

This week, we watched the film Most Likely to Succeed, directed by Greg Whiteley, where we followed a group of students through their day-to-day life at their school High Tech High in San Diego. While observing the students, we saw them prepare for their year-end exhibition, where they would present a project they had been working on throughout the year. While watching the film, there was a student who stood out to me named Brian. Brian had a very ambitious idea for his project and unfortunately did not finish it in time for the presentation. What I found very encouraging was that even once the presentation opportunity was over, he did not give up on the project and continued to work through it, even in the summer. He had support from the teachers and his parents to finish the project, but the drive came from him as it was a project that he was truly passionate about. Seeing this drive and passion come from a student was very inspiring. It encouraged me to look more into inquiry-based projects and activities and how I can incorporate them in my future classroom.

I also loved to see the amount of learning that Brian experienced due to his project not being done in time. As teachers, we tend to micro-manage our students with due dates, specific assignments, and deliberate instructions. All of this has its time and place, however, it does not allow students to learn independently. Brian’s teachers could have told him that he would not get his project done in time and encouraged him to change it to something more reasonable, but they didn’t. Because of this, Brian had to learn the hard way about time management and biting off more than you can chew. After working on this project, he will now know more about the organization and won’t make the same mistakes in the future. Mistakes are how we learn, and High Tech High allows students to make their own mistakes and learn from them.

Overall, I think that High Tech High has some really amazing components and lessons that we can choose from and incorporate into our future classrooms. These components can encourage us to think in a different, more out-of-the-box way when we approach teaching. I am not saying that every school should be like High Tech High, but it is encouraging to see schools question the norm of education and promote a different approach to teaching in general.

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