Sunday 12 January 2014

ETC: Sunshine Award Responses


I thought about breaking this up into a few posts. But no, let's just do this thing.


I was nominated for the Sunshine Award last weekend by two of my tweeps: Tammy Neil and Audrey McLaren. I then blogged about the history of this award, and have decided to keep the current format. That being:
-Acknowledge the nominating blogger.
-Share 11 random facts about yourself.
-Answer the 11 questions the nominating blogger created for you.
-List 11 bloggers: they should be bloggers you believe deserve some recognition and a little blogging love! Post 11 questions for them and let them know of their nomination.

As far as acknowledgements go, I have no idea. Kind of humbled. I've stopped by Tammy and Audrey's blogs in the past, but the Sunshine aspect caught me off guard. Tammy shares my interest in Dr Who and her current word is 'acceleration', while Audrey is a fellow Canadian, flipping her class collaboratively. Check them out.


I CHOOSE YOU!


Good stuff out of the way first, with blogs you should check out. If I nominate you, by NO means should you feel obligated to participate, or to answer my random nonsense. Just smile as you back away slowly. That said:
1) The Chaos Beast. Scott Delahunt is currently publishing a story in serial format along with commentary about his writing.
2) The one, the only, Pegraelian. Andrea Milne has self-published a Young Adult novel and blogs about a variety of topics.
3) Sonal Champsee. Sonal has published, taken courses, given courses, and is just someone you want in your corner.
4) SlamDunkMath. Alex Overwijk is doing some jaw-dropping stuff with the Ontario Curriculum.
5) The Pai Intersect. Jimmy Pai's posts make me think, be it about mathematics or beliefs in general.
6) (x, why?) Chris Burke's blog primarily features his math web comic, but has other noteworthy articles too.
7) The Reflective Educator. David Wees always seems to have great ideas. I should be reading his blog more often.
8) What Would Neil deGrasse Tyson Do? A science teacher! Located her blog via the "Explore MTBoS" missions and have stopped back a few times since.
9) Drawing on Math. Tina Cardone's blog is the first educator blog where I commented, and she always seems to have lots of initiatives on the go.

Keen observers will notice that's only 9. I have thought of a few others, but I know they already received nominations elsewhere, and I prefer to widen the net rather than create recursion. Meaning if I missed that you've been previously nominated, feel free to ignore me -- while if you HAVEN'T, feel free to be #10 or #11!

Now, the questions, which after AGONIZING thought (seriously, I don't tend to ask random questions) are as follows:
#1: Animation or Live Action?
#2: Handwritten or Electronic?
#3: Fiction or Non-fiction?
#4: Parabola or Circle?
#5: Introversion or Extraversion?
#6: How you see your alignment. (Good/Evil/Lawful/Chaotic: see image below)
#7: A regret you would NOT undo if given the chance.
#8: Favourite leisure activity.
#9: Favourite TV show. (Current or not.)
#10: Favourite time travel story. (Book, movie, whatever.)
#11: This space left blank. Option: Pose a question back to me.


Alignments, for those who don't understand question 6

You can choose the context. If you DO respond on your blog, I encourage you to post a comment back here with a link so that I don't miss it. But that's as optional as everything else. Now, on to the boring stuff:


11 RANDOM FACTS


1. I always sit through the credits in the movie theatre. People put time and effort into the production, the least I can do is watch for five minutes and maybe learn something.
2. I don't like beer or sports. I leave that stuff for my wife.
3. I also don't like coffee, and I'm proud of the fact that I got a degree in Computer Science without touching the stuff.
4. I went to University to major in Pure Math. I transitioned into Computer Science after second year, when I realized Pure Math was a bit too Pure for me.
5. I used to self harm. This is in part why I had the Parabola do something similar in my web serial.
6. I was once interviewed on CBC Undercurrents (TV show) for my interest in anime. I did not meet Wendy Mesley.
7. I have been to "Anime North" in Toronto every year since it's inception in 1997. That's 17 years straight.
8. I appear briefly in the Alex Lacasse music video "Like This, Like That"; he attended the high school where I taught.
9. I roleplay both genders online. Back when "BuffyMUX" was active, I played both Giles, and Alison Vunderlande (an original character who was Angel's secretary in LA).
10. I am utterly hopeless at remembering recurring dates. I can remember my wife's birthday, and sometimes my own, and if I'm lucky, our anniversary. Beyond that, fuhgeddaboutdit.
11. I was interested in time travel before seeing "Back to the Future" and "Doctor Who", which is why they're tops as far as my movie and TV show go.


TAMMY'S QUESTIONS


From "Teaching Now..."

Q1. What is your favorite subject/grade level? Why?
Mathematics, because it resonates with me. Grade level is harder; maybe Grade 12 because it's just before they make the transition.

Q2. What is your preference cheese or pepperoni?
Pepperoni.

Q3. What made you want to teach/work with children?
Didn't think I was cut out for other work; I blogged about it here.

Q4. What made you start blogging?
My web serial, personified math. Wanted a place people could comment.

Q5. If you were able to go back through time and give yourself a piece of advice, what would it be?
Don't stress out about dating. Also, apparently the secret to time travel.

Q6. What one movie should NEVER be remade? Why?
Back to the Future. You cannot make that better.


Pictured: My phone. No apps.
Q7. What was the last book you read? Would you recommend it to others?
"The Temporal Element", a collection of time travel short stories. Edited by Martin T. Ingham. If you like time travel, go for it.

Q8. What would your ideal classroom look like?
A setup that would allow learning collaboratively, but testing separately. Saves shoving desks together then moving them apart.

Q9. What is your favorite app? Why?
My phone is 12 years old. What's an app?

Q10. Who is your hero? Why?
... Okay, THIS one's hard. Huh. Maybe Joss Whedon. He has great tenacity, always seems to come up with interesting ideas.

Q11. Who was your favorite teacher? Why?
Mr. Crossley (math teacher); either he was fun, or his class was fun, or both, hard to say. Was sad when I heard he passed away.


AUDREY'S QUESTIONS


From "McSquared"...

Q1. What's the last book you read that had a profound impact on you, personally or professionally - fiction or non-fiction?
... Profound is tough. I mostly read to escape, and rarely find time. ... I'll go with "Time Machines" by Paul J. Nahin. It pulled together fiction with non-fiction and served as an occasional resource when I was writing my huge time travel story in the late 90s.

Q2. What is your number one most-hated-pet-peeve grammar mistake that when you hear it you want to scream? If you can't decide on one, I'd LOVE to hear them all!
Spelling bugs me more, but let's go with misusing prepositions.


Q3. How many careers have you had?
One, teaching.

Q4. Are you the same person face to face as you are online?
I'd say no, I'm more reserved.

Q5. What celebrity are you certain you could be good friends with if you ever had the chance?
I know celebrities like I remember dates, so no idea.

Q6. Everyone says pedagogy first, edtech tool second, but has it ever worked the other way around for you?
If I don't understand something, I can't use it in my teaching, so I'll say no.

Q7. What are your desert island foods, record albums, movies? (That only counts as one question.)
I like to think I'm adaptable, but we'll go with pizza (it can have most of the food groups), Great Big Sea, and the Stargate movies.

Q8. Who/what always makes you laugh?
Unexpected puns.

Q9. Do you spend any time at all playing something - alone or competing with others?
Roleplaying, in many genres. Collaboratively - I hate win/lose games.

Q10. What was the best professional conference session you ever attended, and what made it the best?
Perhaps OAME (Ontario Association of Math Educators) in May 2003. I'd just graduated, and it made me more aware of teacher-centred PD, putting me on the path to one day present myself. May involve rose-coloured glasses, but I still think of it when I drive through Oshawa.

Q11. Have you ever watched or heard of the movie Être et Avoir? If not, what do you consider to be the best movie about teaching?
I have not, nor have I watched lots of teaching movies. Guess I'll go with the stereotypical "Dead Poets Society".


BONUS: JUSTIN AION'S QUESTIONS


From "Relearning to Teach", directed at Whoever

Q1. Why did you pick your current content area?
Math speaks to me, I want others to understand it too.

Q2. If you could pick any other content area, what would you pick and why?
Possibly theatre. I've always liked acting, but have little idea of how to assess or evaluate it.

Q3. What is one thing that you would like to become expert in doing?
Marketing. Over two years and still no clue how to drum up more interest for my serial.

Q4. If you won $100,000,000, what would you spend it on?
Pay the mortgage, save the rest. I'm bad with finances, would be good to have a buffer like that in my account.


Q5. If you could have one piece of tech that doesn't currently exist, what would it be and why?
Something that would let me slow down time so that I could move faster when I needed, at the expense of having time speed up around me later, at a time of my choosing. Or maybe an electronic gradebook that handles rubrics, whichever's easier.

Q6. What is you favorite lesson that you have taught/seen?
I like teaching permutations and combinations using fruit.

Q7. If you could fight one historical figure, who would you fight?
Emperor Caligula could have used a punch in the nose, but I don't think I'd be the best person to give it to him.

Q8. What would you do if you knew you couldn't fail? (2 things only)
... Golly. Without the prospect of failure, one loses some sense of accomplishment. And if it involves others, it would be like me imposing my will upon them. Hm. I suppose find the cure for cancer, though that carries it's own baggage with it. Great question.

Q9. If you could only eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Guess we go with pizza, assuming I can vary up the toppings.

Q10. What makes your favorite book your favorite?
Here's something that describes a few books I really like - subtle foreshadowing. When a throwaway line ends up being significant, or a conclusion that unexpectedly ties things up makes perfect sense in retrospect. Makes me want to read it over again.

Q11. If you could change one physical characteristic about yourself, what would it be?
I sometimes wonder what life would be like if I were a different skin colour.


***
A FINAL QUESTION back to my nominees, or for whoever reads this: What's the most surprising thing about me that you saw in this post?

2 comments:

  1. Fascinating! I'd have to go with random fact 5, not only the fact, but the revealing of it. You are very brave. I have encountered that practice on a personal level as well, so believe me, I can empathize. And hey we both would have gone into acting! Coincidence? I think not! (which I noticed was in your history-of-sunshine post).

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    1. Thank you! Though I don't consider myself brave. Less than 100 people are likely to read it, with even less having that statement resonate. And if, by some weird fluke, I become popular, that's likely the sort of thing that would get out anyway.
      Heh, there you go - I've always considered teaching to be a form of acting or improv anyway. And yes, since I maintain two blogs, decided to sneak in the shout-out! Here it is for anyone else to scratch their heads over:
      http://mathtans.blogspot.ca/2014/01/s6205-cue-bid.html

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