FOUR FRIENDS - SAVE THE FIRST NATIONS UNIVERSITY OF CANADA

COMA 200 Continued Praise & Appreciation

I just wanted to take the time to thank my peers and my instructor for the great experience in the COMA 200 course. I will surely miss you all when this course ends April 20th; however I am comforted to know I have met such great people. People who I am confident will be great Teachers. Some of you are entering the Aboriginal Teacher Education Program (U of A granted) at the Lac La Biche Portage College campus this fall too; however, I will be taking my program at the Cold Lake campus. I currently work at the Saddle Lake Education Department in Saddle Lake, AB and drive an hour to my course twice a week, then I drive an hour & a half to Kehewin Cree Nation after my course. I get asked how I can do that, well...I have no complaints ~ I have a dream to fulfill and COMA 200 is helping me achieve it, plus, I'm having the time of my life in this course & look forward to it each week. Therefore, I wish you the best & I know I have made awesome friends for life.

I also took the EDIT 202 @ U of A and I was quite impressed with the COMA 200 set-up, especially the practical on-hands assignments and our constant use of technology, Internet, Smartboard, various media etc. I loved the way Blair Norton, our Instructor had us create an igoogle account & we used this account to access, complete, and submit our assignment work etc. We were also encouraged to do all our notes on the Google notes application so we can bookmark our Internet sites which will be used in the classroom when we are engaging our students and using technology to achieve academic success. A great big thanks to Blair for his Exceptional Work!

As parents and teachers, we need to be in sync with our children’s ability and new style of learning and engagement of academics. Children today are used to accessing information from various locations at the same time. Their brains are like little computers receiving data all the time in various formats. The theory we only utilize 10% of brains has to me a myth with our children today. I’ve watched children watch TV, text on the phone, use a computer, and listen to music at the same time. You ask them what they just heard, saw, did, or wrote & they can tell you. It’s quite amazing!

This is why I highly recommend the COMA 200, if you want to be a effective teacher who is “with it” with technology as the kids are.

COMA 200 Course at Portage College

The end of this course is soon approaching. I really enjoyed the practical on hands course. I have been able to apply this information to my work and the creation of my e-portfolio is a great starting point when I will be applying for a teaching position. No more paper resume ~ e-portfolio is the present and future. At present companies, businesses, and organizations are requesting digital resumes etc. Technology is the way we are going full time in the classroom, especially with the new release of the iPad this April. Watch the way this piece of technology will change our world. Just like the Mac first changed our world forever ~ watch how the iPad will change us forever!
Times are changing people, it's up to us to get with it & catch up to our kids.

True Colors ~ get to know yourself & understand others

Well, I did my True Colors the first time about eight years ago and according to the first assessment eight years ago, I was a Gold-Green-Blue-Orange. That meant my Gold told me I was pretty much very organized, liked lists & making them, I liked lots of structure & rules etc. but my Green meant I was a thinker and liked to analyze and good at planning, strategy, and a great problem solver. My Blue said I was emotional, creative, & intuitive but the Orange was about adventure, risks, adventure, fun, & the freedom. My strongest traits were Gold my strongest & Orange my weakest. We are all of these traits just some are stronger than others.

However, as we change, grow, or are in situations which encourage certain traits we bring that part of us out. They also change over time and mine have certainly changed.

I recently did my personality assessment again and things have certainly changed. I was told that the assessment I did this past weekend was pretty much my True Color combination because I did the assessment in a safe & trusting environment. I am now Green-Orange-Gold-Blue. This assessment defiantly feels right!

It's quite interesting because these personality assessments can improve all types of relationships by helping us understand each other better by improving our professional, personal, and even platonic relationships.

If you would like to learn more check out True Colors website.

Remembering a Remarkably Compassionately Strong Dene Woman

From my last blog, my auntie left us that evening while I was smiling in her eyes, holding her hand, and laughing at hearing mischievous and hilarious stories of my aunt's younger days. I was so honored she chose to let me be present when she took her last breath and went into the spirit world. I will seriously miss the "ol girl"; however, I pray and send my love to her children ,grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. My family are the ones needing the support and continual prayers. Grief has no time limit!
My auntie left a great legacy and many lessons for us to follow and guide us through this life. Her 79 years here left a mark in all our hearts...this is the great reward at the end...to be surrounded by people who love you when you leave us. I'm so grateful the last thing she heard was laughter because that was what she was all about ~ JOY!
See you soon auntie and I love you with all my heart!