blog
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5 People Write Every Pop Song Heard on the Radio
The Song Machine: Inside the Hit Factory by John Seabrook Everything changed though back in 1992 when Ace of Base was unleashed on the world with their debut album, The Sign. There wasn’t anything spectacular about this band. They might not have gone anywhere if it wasn’t for a broken car stereo. A music producer…
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Churchill Skateboard Park (Cambridge, ON)
Churchill Park is located at 200 Christopher Drive in Cambridge, ON. It’s a beautiful park with a lot to see and do. The latest edition is a uniquely designed skateboard plaza. The shape of this park in pretty interesting. Can you see what the designers did with it? This is one half of the course.…
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Find the Spark and Write
Story Sparks: Finding Your Best Story Ideas & Turning Them into Compelling Fiction by Denise Jaden Denise Jaden explores the concept of inspiration in her latest book, Story Sparks. She gives practical advice on finding story ideas in everyday life, how to nurture the creative power you already have, and suggests small exercises that can…
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St Clair River Trail (Corunna, ON)
The St. Claire River Trail is part of the larger Great Lakes Waterfront trail. Only portions of it run alongside the river. There are sections of the trail that detour onto neighbouring streets. My run took me from the First Nation community, Aamjiwnaang, all the way to the small town of Corunna. I went for…
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Posting a Music Video (TGJ3M Assignment)
I am teaching a Communications Technology class this term and I wanted to have the students create an online portfolio of their work. To that end, I had them design simple websites using the Blogger platform. This way, they can see the basic design elements needed for fully functioning websites. It also gives me, as…
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The March Trilogy is Complete
March: Book Three by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell This is the final book of a trilogy series that focuses on the challenges and horrors faced by those in the Civil Rights Movement as they fought to be recognized as human beings and awarded the rights that go along with that. It is…
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Website Design Assignment Part 2
This is the fourth assignment I gave my students for TGJ3M – Communications Technology. It builds off the skills we have been learning so far this term. First, we looked closely at the five different types of logos and collected examples of each. We then created a fictional media company and designed a logo for…
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Running Can be Terrible and Wonderful
The Terrible and Wonderful Reasons Why I Run Long Distances by The Oatmeal When I saw this book, it called to me almost immediately. I love running and the title and art were quite compelling. Now, first off, I have to admit that I am not a long distance runner. I run for less than…
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Paperless Classroom Solutions
I am teaching a Grade 11 Communications Technology class this term. It is my first time teaching anything like this. The students are creating websites, making photo edits, producing, recording, and editing audio and video files, and other digital projects. As such, I thought it would be a great idea to have a paperless classroom…
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Invincible or Infamous Iron Man?
Invincible Iron Man – Vol 1: Reboot Tony Stark has new armor and it is truly remarkable. There is a stealth mode, it can change colour, and it is incredible easy to get in and out of. Unfortunately Pepper Potts is not at Stark Industries anymore and Tony doesn’t have anyone to rely on to…