26 books challenge, new tool

I learned how to use a new tool today - the Pixlr Online Photo Editor. It popped up as a connected app when I tried to open an image file in Google Drive.

For a free tool, it worked well enough to suit my needs. It occasionally frustrated me by having windows pop up in a place where I couldn't access the "ok" button to complete a task, but in the end, I accomplished what I wanted, which was to add the titles and authors of the books I'd read for the 2016 "Bringing Up Burns" reading challenge. You can check out other peoples' choices by following #26BooksWithBringingUpBurns on Instagram or Twitter.

Comments

Has it been 10 days yet?

Yup. I just counted from my first post, and it was on January 16, making today day 10. I missed a couple of days - both times I had begun writing, but didn't finish or didn't publish the draft - but I also double posted a couple of times, to try and catch up. Still, this is post number 8, on day 10. Not bad for a rookie, right? We started exams today, and since my first class doesn't write until Friday, I'm trying to be productive and mark their major lab reports before I have to start marking their exam papers. It's going slowly... #BellLetsTalk day is in full swing, making my phone buzz and my computer bong with alerts as people tweet and re-tweet. Yes, I am easily distracted when faced with a task I don't always enjoy. I also wrote a reference letter for a former student who is applying to the SickKids Summer Research Program , and its deadline is before my mark-entry deadline, so I justified writing it before grading papers, too. Just imagine if ...

No buses... so now what?

For the second time in as many weeks (both Tuesdays, I might add...) we've had buses cancelled due to inclement weather. Sometimes, these days can be a blessing, as when a number of students are bussed in, we have few in the building and it may be an opportunity to catch up on paperwork, the dreaded grading that we all try to minimize and still manage to collect too much of... but this close to January exams, I'd rather be able to work with my students and help them study and review the semester's content. I had 4 students in my grade 11 class, and we took up the answers to the genetics problems test they wrote last week. One student in grade 12? He's taking samples from the lab we set up yesterday ( using dialysis tubing to model the small intestine ) so the next class can use the equipment tomorrow. What about me? Did I make good use of my time? I copied my grade 11 exam and delivered it to the main office for safe-keeping until my students write it n...

I missed yesterday...

...but I'm not going to get discouraged. Yesterday, we used the spirometer in class - the one I learned how to use on Monday - and we got decent results. First, we'd examined respiratory rates (resting, after jumping jacks for a minute, and after a calming breathing exercise) for the whole class. That in itself was an interesting activity, with 17-year-olds getting very giggly when they were supposed to be following a simple, alternate-nostril breathing exercise. They also got distracted and asked if I could start a yoga club... but that's typical. Tangents are the natural order in my classes. For sanitary reasons, we use disposable mouthpieces for the spirometer, so instead of having everyone use it, we usually take a few volunteers, as they are in limited supply. Rule number one: don't inhale! (It's full of water.) Rule number two: listen to Ms De Jong! One of the measurements is actually a two-step process so we can...

Ms De Jong's Diary of Discovery

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