Dough Boy

In search of the perfect loaf of sourdough bread

Category: EDCI 336 (Page 2 of 2)

This is a category for the EdTech course. Please add this category in addition to the relevant edtech assignment category(ies).

Reflection 3

January 27, 2023 / / 0 Comments

Today

Today we learned how to do screencasting and explored the different ways it can be useful in educational contexts. I feel like this is something I will use to explain difficult subjects, topics, and concepts and put them somewhere they can be readily accessible for my students. The H5P feature is also extremely cool and brings another level of interaction to the screencast. It allows myself and the students to check their understanding, which is very useful for formative assessments to check on how my students are doing – and how i am doing as a teacher.

Though screencasting has a lot to offer learners and can greatly enhance the teaching practice – as we have seen during the pandemic when all schools went online – there may be limitations. The first limitation that comes to mind is access. Though technology has become much more widespread and available, there may still be many learners who may not have access to computers outside of the classroom. Another limitation i can see is that not all students learn well from video. This being said, it is important that material be presented in a variety of ways that make it accessible to all the learners in your class.

A small study conducted in 2012 on undergraduate students in a single department – quite a small study – suggests that screencasts as additional resources can improve students grades as students use it to gain more concrete understandings of the material being taught (Morris & Chikwa, 2014, p. 10). The study suggests screencasts are most effective when they are clear, concise, and short (p.11). I can speak to this from personal experience.

Before my acceptance to the PDPP program here at UVIC, I had to take two math prerequisites. The most difficult of the two was finite mathematics. My professor for this class had examples in the form of screencasts for all of the different material semester. It was an amazing resource I often used and – as mentioned above – I hope to replicate in my classroom.

References

Morris, C., & Chikwa, G. (2014). Screencasts: How effective are they and how do students engage with them? Active Learning in Higher Education, 15(1), 25–37. https://doi.org/10.1177/1469787413514654

Making the Starter

January 25, 2023 / / 0 Comments
Ingredients for making sourdough starter
Before you can make good sourdough bread you need a healthy culture of sourdough starter. Sourdough starter is basically a culture of wild yeast that you train.

The three things you need to make your starter are; flour (I will be using blended flour consisting of both white and wholewheat flour, but you can use white flour), water, and a container for your starter.

putting flour in the jar for making starter
In my container, I put about a half cup of warm water and began adding my blended flour.

It’s important that your container is clean and dry before you begin because you are growing wild yeast which is a bacteria. If your starter is contaminated, it will start growing mould and your starter will be no good.

sourdough starter after mixing
Add flour and mix until the starter is the consistency of thick pancake batter.
two sour doughstarters. one is a whole wheat flour and white flour mix and the other is just white flour.
When the starter is the right consistency, cover the top — though I am using a lid (resting on top, not sealed) you can use a kitchen towel — and put it somewhere in the shade.

At this point, the wild yeast culture needs to grow. If successful, this starter should bubble and double in size somewhere between 2 to 3 days from now. I will check back with you then and let you know how it is doing. There is always the possibility the starter has become contaminated as well…time will tell and I will bring you along for the process 🙂

image showing person walking in pre-painted footprints
Photo by Flickr user jfchenier under CC license: BY-NC 2.0

Welcome and Introduction

September 9, 2020 / / 0 Comments

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