Uncategorised – Abby Koning

Free Inquiry: Blocking for Beginners

At the beginning of this project I set out with a few questions that led me to pursue 4 new knitting skills: knitting on circular needles, using stitch markers, trying out some new stitches (and ultimately trying out lace knitting for the first time), and blocking.

I feel confident in saying that I now know how to use circular needles and feel comfortable doing so, and if you’ve been reading these blogs up until now you know that I feel pretty good about stitch markers too.

Finally, I want to learn how to block my knitting.

(For those who don’t know what blocking is, it’s basically a process that shapes your knitting through the use of steam or water)

In my research, I’ve found that there are lots of different kinds of blocking. I have found some useful guides for blocking lace knitting in particular, which is the kind of pattern I’ve chosen to knit for this project. However, this kind of blocking generally requires some tools that I do not have and that I am not looking to purchase at the moment (depending on how this scarf turns out maybe I’ll put that on my Christmas list…).

I have found one method that doesn’t involve any special tools, just a rolled-up towel and some pins, so this is the method I’m going to try.

Now all that’s left is to cast off and then actually block my scarf… wish me luck!

OERn’t You Glad We Have Open Educational Resources? (I am!)

I think nearly every teacher I’ve talked to has advised me on the benefits of using any existing resources I can find, rather than trying constantly to create everything from scratch. As new teachers, doing all we can to avoid burnout in those first years (and beyond) is key. And, after all, imitation is the highest form of flattery, right? Ironic, considering my last blog discussing copyright and fair dealing, among other things.

As an aid to myself, and anyone else who stumbles across this blog, I’ve started to collect a list of OER collections and OER-related resources that may be useful in the future:

A Whole New World (for me): Privacy, FIPPA, Copyright, and More

Much of the content of this course so far has been fairly new for me. Despite growing up in a very digital generation, apart from social media, most technology and online tools are not things I generally gravitate towards. So, along with learning about these tools and platforms that are new to me, learning the best practices – and legal practices – that go along with this is equally as foreign and even more important.

Whether it be gathering proper consent or understanding copyright and fair dealing, I’m learning more and more that there is a lot going on behind the scenes that it is essential for teachers to know. As I delve into this, I also feel that a) some this should be top of mind for more than just teachers, and b) some of these conversations are ones I should have been having a long time ago.

Once we graduate high school, a common refrain seems to be “why didn’t we ever learn that!” I’ve said it myself in regard to taxes, financial planning and other practical subjects I wished I had been introduced to in the classroom during my teenage years – or earlier. While there may not always be the time or opportunity for teachers to inquire into all the legalities surrounding technology, FIPPA, and online activities, I believe there should at least be many more conversations around privacy and safety – ones that I at least was rarely having.

As technology and internet use becomes increasingly ubiquitous, these questions and considerations are only going to become more complicated, so I’m grateful I’m being prompted to look into this now – especially as I come into my new role in the education system.