Week 46 - In Aura of New Technology.......

My wonderful mlearning course came to an end on Friday and I will miss being a student!!  I have always loved studying from when I was a child and just enjoy the process of learning something new.  This way, my life is always interesting and full of new experiences!!

I created an 'Aura' (interactive experience featuring an animation, video, or image) on Aurasma, an Augmented Reality site for the first time. I struggled a bit at first with this new cutting-edge technology.  I was an Augmented Reality newbie, and I tried my best, but it involved a little bit of determination and tenacity to get to grips with it. If you join the site and then follow JanetBianchini you can see my auras!!  An 'aura' is an overlay on a trigger = image. 

I learned that Aurasma is already being used in educational projects in schools and here is an interesting review of it by Edudemic.  

If you download the Argos catalogue app, you will be able to view some of its products in AR format. 





Link: http://www.aurasma.com/news/argos-launches-aurasma-powered-augmented-reality-in-app/

Early in the week, I created an action plan for implementing mlearning in my future teaching projects.

 

I had to create an Augmented Reality video farewell and below is the 'trigger' image I created with simple MS Word shapes.  I printed it out, put it on blue card, and then embellished the card with hearts, diamante buttons and pearls to make it something eye-catching and memorable!!

I even got Fluffy hooked on AR and this is his 'trigger' picture:

 

K was curious about the Aurasma site and promptly created an account and started playing around with it.  He has already created some amazing 3-D models, which move around, and the results in static pictures are below:

I was online quite a lot and I was checking that my webcam worked when I took this 'selfie' test screenshot.  I then edited it with Picasa tools!



Leaf Mulch
Now changing the subject completely (and getting back down to reality!), this week I have been collecting leaves, and leaves and even more leaves to make nice friable leaf mulch for spring!!  


I created a set of labels to add to old recycled compost bags and spent hours going round the garden with my tub and gloves.  We have an incredible amount of leaves all over the place, so I think I won't have to buy much compost next year!  I experimented with Word Art.

..and here are the labels on the compost sacks!!  I hope to add even more sacks full of leaves in the coming days.  They will then be left alone and forgotten until early spring 2015.  I will add the mulch around olive trees and my veggie plot.  This time I am cutting all the leaves up finely before adding them to the sacks, adding a bit of compost on top and then adding water to give them a great start.  This is something practical I learned from my 'Backyard Composting' book!

Also we have had a bumper crop of apples this year and I have been collecting them and will need to continue turning them into jams, purees, compotes, stews etc. to put in the freezer.

Finally, this week sees the end of my EVO Moderator Training session and it has been a great experience.  I have been commenting on some of the proposals for next year, and there is an impressive line-up in store, including Teaching Pronunciation, Using Minecraft and so on!!  All sessions need to be approved before they go 'live' in January.  I hope to attend the final webinar this afternoon.

That's it for now.  It's been an action-packed week, and I am ready for Week 47!!

Week 21 - The Road & Countryside Pursuits

This week has basically been about our road.

The picture below shows you how perpendicular the angle was and our bumper was beginning to touch the road, scraping it and doing it damage. A quick temporary fix had been implemented to enable us to get out and about.

As a result of the constant friction between ground and bumper, our car is now under repair.. k has been busy fixing it, 3 new tyres ordered, which arrived mid-week after only a few days. My heart in my mouth every time we went up and down.The image below really doesn't do the terrible condition of the road justice. The middle bit was extremely steep!!!

Anyways, at least it was better than it was in December 2013.....

 
News Update
Our road has been fixed by the Comune, and it is now looking a lot better in the most terrible sections!

It looks rather rocky, and indeed big stones have been laid down in some parts.  We are hoping the Comune will add a finer layer on top of this..

Part of the top layer of our road..

 

What we would like to be added to the road...

 

We are very happy that this work has been undertaken, and we are very grateful towards the Comune.  We have heard through the grapevine that parts of our road may even have tarmac added, and this would be amazing.  Watch this space!!

Grubs
This week I have been out in earnest catching snails and then depositing them in our field as far away from my plants as possible.  I read that if they are placed 65 feet away from where you find them, they won't come back to the same place (ie pots).  Let's see if this works!  They have been decimating my plants, and this is not ok!

I have also been digging out all my fresh compost from the compost bin, to add to the veggie plot and towards the bottom I found quite a few of these grubs.  Please look away if you are squeamish!

I then placed them in front of the chicken pen and Freddy and co had a feast gobbling them all up in an instant!   

Thus, the life cycle goes round and round and then the chicken droppings will go straight into the compost bin and the grubs will turn the mixed contents of the bin around to make lovely fresh friable compost.  Nothing at all is wasted, and the book below, Soil, Humus & Manuring, printed in the year I was born, is providing me with invaluable advice about the gentle art of composting!!  It makes for fascinating bedtime reading, and I am not joking :-)  It's a really practical handbook.

 

Contents of the compost bin have been dug out:

 Not much left!

 

Added to the veggie plot area, ready to be spread out before planting begins in earnest at the end of May.

I have also been using this fresh compost in my flower pots and for seedlings.

Furkids' Update

One of the new kittens peeking out of a box

Samantha gazing out

It has been a very busy week, but ultimately very satisfying.  Roll on Week 22!