Physical and Health Education is usually thought of as a movement-based subject so technology is not always the first thing people associate with it. However, digital tools are starting to play a larger role in supporting learning in PHE classrooms. This inquiry explores how digital platforms can support skill development, student reflection, and student voice in PHE. For example, tools like Hudl or VEO can allow students to record and review their movements in slow motion, helping them analyze skills and improve technique. Technology can also support fitness tracking and goal setting, allowing students to see their progress over time.
Digital platforms such as Flip or Google Classroom can also create space for student reflection through video responses, journals, or exit tickets. This can help students think more deeply about what they learned and how they improved. In addition, tools like Google Forms or choice boards can give students more voice and choice in their learning, which may increase engagement.
At the same time, it is important to consider challenges such as access to technology, privacy concerns, and balancing screen time with physical activity. When used intentionally digital tools can enhance learning while still keeping movement at the center of PHE.
References: Cui, Z., Song, Y., & Du, X. (2024). Multilevel modeling of technology use, student engagement, and fitness outcomes in physical education classes. Frontiers in Psychology, 15. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1458899
This week I made jam! I followed this reel on instagram for the following.
This recipe requires about 4-5 cups of fruit about 1 cup of sugar (I used brown) and about .5-1 lemon juice
IngredientsBerries in the pot
So I threw all the berries, sugar, and lemon juice in the pot, stirred and got it bubbling and boiling, then turned the heat down to low medium. I had to keep stirring frequently for about 20 minutes. The video said the jam was ready when I swiped the back of the spoon with my finger and the jam doesn’t run.
I decided to throw it in the blender after it cooled a bit because I wanted a smooth jam like in the video I was following and I am so blown away by the product. It’s honestly so much tastier than jam you buy at the store, and so easy to make.
Jam concoction simmeringJam product in the blender
I am very happy with how this turned out. A few people asked me if I would use pectin next time and after some research I don’t think so. Even though my jam was not as set/as jelly-like as a traditional jam, from what I have seen online (here is an example) all I need to do is boil it longer so that it removes more water from the fruit. It also seems like pectin ratio depends on the fruit you use and that just seems so complicated for no reason when it’s just as good without.
Since Iâm hoping to teach senior math, coding and computational thinking actually make a lot of sense to include. Math is already about breaking problems into steps and thinking logically, which is basically what coding does. I could see coding being a cool way for students to explore patterns, model functions, or run probability simulations instead of just solving things on paper. At the same time, I think it has to be used intentionally. Not every math lesson needs coding, and I wouldnât want students focusing more on the programming than the actual math ideas. If itâs used in the right spots though, it could help students see math as more practical and connected to real-world problem solving.
Gaming could also be a fun addition to a math class, but I think it works best in small doses. Games can make students more engaged and give them space to experiment with strategies and make mistakes without feeling like theyâre being tested. Things like probability games, logic puzzles, or strategy-based challenges could help reinforce math concepts while still feeling interactive. That said, I wouldnât want gaming to become the main focus of the class. If it feels more like entertainment than learning, the math can get lost. I think games work best as a way to spark interest or reinforce ideas rather than being the primary way content is taught.
Screen recording of my Portuguese Soundboard made by AI tool Claude
Okay I saw this reel on instagram to marinate your eggs and so I had to do it and make ramen to go with it. Obviously.
It gave very specific instructions on how to boil your egg for the perfect jammy-ness. Bring the pot to a boil, put the eggs in all at once, leave it on high, after 6:30 mins exactly put the eggs in an ice bath. Also, he suggested I poke a tiny hole in the flatter part of the egg so that it would be easier to peel.
Eggs in a now melted ice bathLittle hole made with a thumb tackEggs in marinating sauce!
After 3 days, I could finally make ramen since I had to wait for the eggs to finish marinating!
To make the ramen, there was not one specific ramen recipe I could find that looked satisfactory to me. It either looked too boring, too complicated, I didn’t have enough ingredients, or the comments said it tasted bad. So after looking at a few different ones I’ll link herehere and here, I ended up just putting together random ingredients I had that were mentioned in the recipes.
The egg yolk baseThe broth base and noodlesThe marinating sauces
They all mentioned whisking an egg yolk, sriracha, kewpie mayo, and soy sauce together first. Then I made the broth with minced shallot and garlic, veggie stock and added fish sauce, rice vinegar, and more soy sauce. I also ended up adding some miso paste that I had in the fridge.
RAMEN EGGSThe finished ramen topped with green onions
The eggs turned out PERFECTLY (maybe 10 seconds overcooked) and the ramen I would rate it 8/10 which is pretty good for my first time. Next time I would like to try to make tonkatsu ramen (made with pork bones) and maybe experiment with some different ingredients I didn’t have like coconut milk or soy milk or gochujang sauce.
Small Accessibility Practices That Often Get Missed
One thing that stood out to me from the post is how many simple accessibility practices are actually easy to implement but still get missed all the time. Things like adding alt-text to images, using proper headings so screen readers can navigate a page, and making sure links are descriptive instead of just saying âclick hereâ are small things that make a big difference. I know I personally forget about alt-text sometimes when Iâm quickly making slides or posting something online. Itâs not usually intentional, itâs just not something people automatically think about unless theyâve been taught to design with accessibility in mind.
Why Accessibility Needs to Be Intentional
Another thing that surprised me a bit was how much intentional planning accessibility actually requires.The blog talks about how assistive technologies like screen readers or text-to-speech tools only work well if the digital content is designed properly from the start. That made me realize accessibility isnât just about adding tools for students later, itâs really about how the material is created in the first place. I think a big reason these practices arenât more commonly used is simply that many educators havenât been explicitly shown how to do them. A lot of teachers are using digital tools every day, but accessibility design isnât always part of that training, so it can easily get overlooked.
This seminar on Student AI Literacy by Cari Wilson gave a really practical overview of how AI is already everywhere and why students need some basic literacy around using it safely and responsibly. She gave this resource, that are some AI lessons and activities that give students baseline understanding. It’s important we don’t just tell them that it’s dangerous and to stop using AI, but instead be realistic since it’s already apart of their lives.
There was a conversation around privacy and she mentioned how her own blog content is now being used to train AI models. It is a good reminder, especially in the digital age we are currently living in, that once something is put online it lives there forever and we lose control of it. That feels especially important for students who donât always realize how permanent or reusable their digital footprint is. She also showed how you can upload an image into tools like Gemini and ask whether itâs AI generated, which was interesting but also raised questions about accuracy and trust.
The discussion around hallucinations was also pretty concerning. AI can confidently make things up, especially when students ask vague or poorly framed questions, and if students donât read critically, they might accept incorrect information without questioning it. This is also extremely worry some for deep fakes, and how these tools can be used in cyberbullying and extortion. We need to make sure we help our students learn about these so they are aware about what is out there.
Screenshot taken from Secondary level lesson 7 of the Focused Resources Lesson Plans
This week we had a field trip to the Pacific School of Innovation and Inquiry (PSII) which is an independent high school that does personalized, inquiry-based learning instead of traditional classes. Instead of following set courses and schedules like the rest of their grade, they co-design their oen learning pathways with teachers based on their interests and curiosity. Teachers act as a facilitator of learning and are adapting conditions to fit each learner. The curriculum still agrees with BC’s requirements but is personalized to each student.
The main pedagogy at PSII is inquiry. Students learn through projects instead of lessons and test. The big benefit of this is that learning feels meaningful and personal. This system works really well for those that are highly motivated, independent, and comfortable taking ownership of their own learning.
Some limitations included shorting a student on their social experience. Because the school is small and very individualized, there are no big classes, team sports, and structured peer interaction is not a focus. Some students might also struggle at a school like this without more structure or clear expectations, especially if they need external motivation or routine. I know I would not thrive in a school like this. I thrive off social experiences and am not motivated enough to do well in a school like this.
In theory, PSII is amazing for certain learners. I really respect this model and love how it can really allow some learners to bloom in these classroom settings. I also love how the teachers meet with the students every morning to determine their plan and see where they need to go. Although it’s not for me, I hope they continue to open up more institutions like this for those that need it.
I am using a kitchen scale to measure instead of cups. This is a more reliable and exact way to make sure I have the most control.
I kept the same recipe that my friend uses and just converted it to grams to see if that would make a difference too.
I changed my flour brand. It is still Semola but it’s by a different brand. Seems much finer than the previous so maybe this will turn out better?
I fed my starter twice before using it to bake and when I fed my starter I used a different ratio – 1:10:10 (better to leave for 12 hours according to my research).
When I would leave my starter or dough to rest, I would keep it in the microwave with the door left open so the light inside stayed on. This is so the temperature stays consistent and warm (about 25Ë C).
So after I fed my starter and it reached it’s peak, I measured out the ingredients for the bread which is 10 g of starter, 442 g of water, 11 g of salt, and 500 g of flour. The same recipe as before. Then after a good mix, I covered it in a damp tea towel and did 4 sets of stretch and folds. In between each stretch and fold I would leave it for 15 mins. Eventually it got a bit less sticky and then I left it covered until the next day!
The next day when I went to shape it, I see that my dough has expanded nicely however it had signs of over-proofing! Again!! With the poke test the indents didn’t spring back, it was very flat and sticky and it seemed to have risen over 50%. Frustrated because I didn’t want to bake a heavy dense bread again, I looked to instagram for support. Turns out, you can make focaccia bread with overproofed sourdough!
Spirits high again, I followed this recipe on pivoting to focaccia bread. I oiled my dish, spread out my dough, let it rest for just over 2 hours, then added more oil, did the dimpling, and added rosemary and flakey salt! When I took it out of the oven it looked so pretty and smelt so good I was so excited. It tasted okay… It was moist which was good and the rosemary and salt were super yummy but it was a bit sour (shocker).
I am happy with how this turned out! I am excited to try and make focaccia one day with a proper recipe and excited to try sour dough again….
For my inquiry project, I decided to do some experimenting in the kitchen! Initially it was just going to be a bread making journey but I have decided to expand and include other projects in the kitchen that I have never tried and/or require time and research. I am really excited about this, I like the idea of creating things from scratch. Some ideas I have are making butter, jam, and pasta.
My initial goals are to push past the idea of being successful right away and building mental resilience in the kitchen! I also want to be more comfortable with different sets of tools and items in the kitchen, as well as understand what goes into some of the items we eat. I will be utilizing instagram/tik tok the most honestly, because I find it really helpful seeing how they make it too and I like reading the comments to see other peoples experiences and thoughts. Then google will also be helpful as well to find quick answers.
For my first week I am attempting sourdough! My friend’s mom gave me some starter to try making sourdough (shout out Karen!). I made it one time a few weeks ago in Calgary and honestly I think it went pretty well for a first time ever. That was with Caputo’s Semola flour but now in Victoria I could only find Semolina flour by La Famiglia. I looked up the difference and this one is not as fine, better for pasta but could still be used the same. So I went for it.
I fed my starter. Everything I do I follow these step by step instructions that my friends mom gave me. So the ratio I used was 1/2 cup starter, 1/2 cup water, 1 cup flour (1:1:2). I get a lot of videos on my instagram about other suggestions throughout this process and I want to implement that into future attempts but I have to try it the way I was told first with this new flour. I noticed with this dough that the mixture is a bit denser, I can see that the different coarseness is making a difference in the texture. Nothing I can do about that so after I feed the starter I put it back in its jar, mark how far up the starter is, then leave it to double or triple on the counter with his chefs hat dampened up.
Flour I used
Starter that was fed and left to double
After it doubled, I mixed 1/3 c of starter and 1 and 7/8 c of water together until it was milky and shaggy. Then I added 2 tsp of salt, mixed that then added 4 c of flour. Then I covered in a damp tea towel and left it for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes I did a round of stretch and folds then let it rest again for 15 more minutes. I did this 3 more times then finally left it to rest on the counter overnight.
The next day I shaped the bread dough by tucking it around until it forms a tight ball. This was harder to do because it was stickier than I thought it would be. I think this means I over-proofed it? Meaning I left it on the counter for too long so it ferments for too long and loses its structure. After a quick google I decided to throw it in the oven anyways and see what happens. I preheat the oven to 475ËF with the dutch oven inside for an hour while the bread dough proofed in the fridge. After it proofed, I moved it into the dutch oven, scored it, and baked it. The recipe says to bake with the lid on for 30 minutes then pull the lid off for 15 minutes. However, after I did that I checked the internal temp just to make sure and it was still about 30Ë below what it should have been (around 200Ë-210Ë F). So of course I left it in and periodically kept checking on it until it was ready then let it cool down for an hour outside the dutch oven.
There is what is called a “knock-test” where you knock on the bottom and if it sounds hollow, then the sourdough is fully baked. Apparently you are supposed to do this after it comes out of the oven but I did it after it cooled. As you can hear below…. not very hollow. That is when you return it back to the oven but since I knew the internal temp was correct I knew something else was off. That and how sharp the crust was.
It took me a really long time to cut through the crust and low and behold, a un-airy, very dense sourdough bread. It was pretty gummy on the inside and the crust was so hard and sharp it was inedible. The bread itself when you pulled it out from the crust was okay. A bit more acidic and gummy than good sourdough but bread is bread! And this was only my second time! Not sure at all what went wrong but this is a learning curve and I can only try and do something different next time.
One of the biggest limitations of GenAI, especially in math, is how easy it is for it to take away the struggle that students actually need in order to learn. Math isnât just about getting the right answer, itâs about working through confusion, making mistakes, and figuring outwhy something doesnât work. AI tools are really good at giving fast and confident answers, which can be tempting for students who are stuck or stressed. When sstudents use AI as a shortcut, they get the answer without the thinking, which doesnât help them in the long run. Thereâs also the issue that AI isnât always perfect. It can give you the wrong answer, skip steps or explain things in a way that sounds right but isnât actually solid math, which is risky at the senior level. Especially if you are already confused.
That being said I donât think GenAI has no place in Grade 11 or 12 math. I actually think it could be really useful if itâs framed properly. One idea I liked from the Edutopia article was using AI to support productive struggle instead of eliminating it. For example, students could try a problem first, then use AI to check where their thinking went wrong or ask for a hint rather than a full solution.
In a senior math classroom I could see GenAI being used in really specific ways. Students could use it to get feedback on their own written solutions, ask for alternative methods after solving a problem, or generate extra practice questions at different difficulty levels when studying. It could also help students who are stuck rephrase a question or break a complex problem into smaller steps. I wouldnât want AI to replace teacher instruction or problem-solving time, but used intentionally and with clear expectations, it could act as a support tool that increases confidence and engagement without removing the struggle that makes math learning meaningful.
Here is a video on an effective way to use AI in a math class!
