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Wednesday, March 31, 2021

Author of the Month: Joel Donato Jacob (1 of 2)

The blog's featured author for the month of April is Mr. Joel Donato Jacob. He is the author of the 2018 Scholastic Asian Book Award winning novel Wing of the Locust and the Best Asian Short Stories 2019 Editor’s Choice, Artifacts from the Parent. He lives in Bay, Laguna with his mother and dogs. He enjoys the outdoors, cooking, and fitness.

In this interview, he shares titles of books he wished he had written, what gaps the Philippine book industry have and the challenges he experienced writing Wing of the Locust. If you have not read his award winning work yet and would need to read up in reviews, go to the Blog Tour: Wing of the Locust that we had last year. You can buy or reserve a copy from Dear Books

1.  What is the book or novel you wish you had written? 

I was reading two books at the same time and they were serendipitously linked: Haruki Murakami’s Hardboiled Wonderland and the End of the World; and Alan Lightman’s Einstein’s Dreams. They both talked about a concept of moving perpendicular to time. 

In Hardboiled, Murakami describes a grain of rice where you assign one tip as 0 and the other tip as 1. You then assign a number for each letter and punctuation mark and space using numbers. You can now draw a point on the grain of rice corresponding to everything that could possibly be written in the universe. From your name to the Holy Bible… and so on. Then the analogy continues to time, from say, point of birth to point if death, our mind moves perpendicular to the progress of time, we might explore past memories or future aspirations but when our mind does, it cannot affect either directly. And this is a fantasy suspense book! The protagonists escape their pursuers using this concept. Then in Einstein’s Dreams, Lightman describes how a town behaves in response to various time anomalies. Say what if life begins in one spot and ends in another and we can move freely from point A to point B?

I will have to mention Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse 5! Each chapter of Einstein’s Dreams talks of a different way to perceive time. So sorry three books. But the reason is the same, it’s when an author can use a complex concept and put it in fiction in a way that inspires the reader and evokes imagination and wonder. That was exactly what I wanted to do for the civilization if Ma’I in Wing of the Locust.

2.   What are the gaps and spaces in the Philippine book industry that must be filled or bridged?

Book production and food security have very similar challenges in making their products and getting those products to the consumer. First, both industries are rely profit, otherwise you have individuals who have to rely on passion projects, meaning they are expected to produce at a loss, breakeven is a vague aspiration. We can aspire for a time when writers (all artists, actually) and farmers (and most laborers too, like carpenters, masons) can be given universal basic pay so they can have subsistence that does not rely on the sale of the production. At the moment, writers in write as a side hustle. Many writers are academics or creatives in other fields, like advertising or web development, because writing does not pay a livable wage. Our farmers have it worse of course. Then we have access, are these products getting to the consumers?  Food is seasonal and we have both seasons of immense food waste and lean months because post-harvest practices do not support our farmers in distributing their goods. Farm to market roads/railways, preservation (flash-freezing, canning) could bridge those periods where we have too much to times when we have too little.

Wing of the Locust by Joel Donato Jacob, 2020

Similarly, book development and production have both lean and overproducing markets, that fail to meet. The academic book publishers are producing books because they have the funds with little regard to profit. Mainstream book producers prefer the bottom line profit to quality. Neither seem to willing to budge. We call out the academe for gatekeeping, they have access to wealth, and use that wealth to perpetuate established (colonial) writing traditions; not that mainstream book makers are not themselves patterned to global markets of book production (penny horror, erotica/romance)—but there is a resistance there to criticism and even proofreading and editing. One editor for big publisher of romance novels tells me the horrors of authors unwilling to revise their manuscripts! They go into print grammar problems and all! 

Art should be a conversation, the academe should recognize that mainstream literature IS literature; but mainstream literature producers must also be willing to see where criticism is not an attack on their work but a survey of where the foundations and pillars of craft are weaker, in order to build a stronger text.

Visit the blog next week for the second part of Mr. Jacob's interview.


Tuesday, March 30, 2021

Looking Back at YGoal's Learn From Home Program (2 of 3)

We continue to review the Learn from Home episodes of season 1. In episode 2, we had an interview with Shine Uy, a stay at home mother of two, wife and "plantita". Recall the many insights she gleans from the 2020 pandemic. Watch the video of our episode on YGoal's FB Page. 

We talked about the self and how personal care begins with a recognition of one's own needs. We can definitely give when we have something to give.



Monday, March 29, 2021

Looking Back at YGoal's Learn From Home Program

 Last year, as the COVID-19 pandemic rendered the world helpless, YGoal's Chief Executive Officer, JR Demacais and I planned a program for families and teachers, as well as allied professionals who are looking after children at home and from home. The adjustment and response to change was overwhelming. Many were confused, lost and anxious. Mustering our courage, we soldiered on.

With YGoal's guidance and support, we were able to design the Learn From Home (LFH) Program by listening and featuring families that have pivoted and shifted to the "new normal". We had three interviews with parents and their children sharing the challenges they encountered and the strategies they applied to pull through. 2020 was the year of pain, grit and resilience. It was not an easy journey, but we did learn that the pandemic can bring out the best in people and the family has to remain a strong unit for society to survive.

We are now preparing for the second run of Learn From Home (LFH) 2021 through a Parents' Hour. But before we connect with parents and families, a review of the learning and insights gained from LFH 2020 is necessary. This way, we are able to connect our learning with new discoveries that await us this year.

For starters, here is a poster of what LFH Season 1 Episode 1 was all about. The Madrid Family shared their response to the changes brought by the pandemic. Click the link to watch the video and read up the blog post as additional resources. If you are parent, a teacher or an allied professional working with and for children, we hope to see you on the first session of YGoal's LFH Parents' Hour.





Saturday, March 27, 2021

Online Author Visit: Character Development and The Hero's Journey at the Beacon School

I have always been fascinated with The Hero's Journey (John Campbell, 1949) as a framework for understanding and writing stories as well as developing character. Based on the writings of John Campbell, the Hero's Journey is a pattern that is present in all myths and religions of the world. Many writers and storytellers make use of it to craft stories and works of fiction. Thus, in my Author Visit at the Beacon School a few weeks ago, I started the grade 8 students with a priming activity on The Hero's Journey.

Good timing! According to the English Teacher, they are to begin with Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing where characters are flawed and blessed with the will to overcome them. The Hero's Journey, though plot driven focuses on the character and how he/she responds to events and people of his/her world.


For my input session, I first defined what I believe stories are and moved on to present the Hero's Journey connecting it to my views as an author. I then presented a compressed framework I use to develop character. For this, I made use of Nico, Daddy Elephant, Ate and Ino putting emphasis that what they go through is either determined by events and their relationship with other characters. I ended my session with three tasks that students can do on their own.

A few hours after, I received an email from the English teacher and the school's librarian saying how inspired everyone was to begin their own stories. This feedback from the learning community is a ray of light in this difficult time.

Let's carry on!

Thursday, March 25, 2021

March 26 is International SEL Day!

 March 26 is International SEL Day by the SEL4US and The Urban Assembly. Sign up to advocate and participate in the campaign for SEL at home, in school and in the learning community.



Tuesday, March 23, 2021

BA Library Online: Growth Mindset, Self Efficacy and the Attribution Theory

Here is another post I shared with our faculty last year when we were figuring out how engagement with students happen in Online Distance Learning. It concerns change and the response, thus, a growth mindset came up in one of our faculty meetings. The seminal research by Carol Dweck on growth mindset has been supported and extended by Angela Duckworth as she empahsizes grit and resilience and by product of a growth mindset. 

Neelen and Krishcner (2020) on the other hand, looked at the factors that are attributed in developing a growth mindset.

Goodbye Growth Mindset! Hello Self Efficacy and Attribution Theory!

The title tends to mislead. Click bait, yes. On a closer look, the article cautions teachers, educators and professionals working with children and young people in using and communicating ideas of a growth mindset without considering the learner's knowledge of self, the ability to anticipate difficult tasks and the skills to perceive or envision possible solutions to accomplish it.
Neelen and Krishcner discuss Self-efficacy and Attribution Theory as approaches to help and to support learners and meet them where they are at. Specific steps and strategies to accompany the learner in thinking through challenging work are included in the article. These are captured in two images which are posted below for easier acccess.
Growth mindset can lead to grit and resiliency. But simply saying to a learner that *"time management is easy and it can be done by scheduling" *on top of academic requirements and extra-curicular expactations may do more harm than good. Self-Efficacy and the application of the Attribution Theory, according to the writers' research help learners learn, gain confidence and perform better.

Monday, March 22, 2021

BA Library Online: Thinking Skills and The Learning Scientist

This month in the Academy, we have been busy trying out the Skill Tree. What we found from our small group discussions is the interconnection of skills across subjects. Take for example, the skills in reflection and remembering or retrieval are essential in writing big and small research papers or essays. Some teachers have the strategy to teach this. What research is telling us is that new strategies can be employed to help learners become better thinkers.

As a response to my colleagues' questions and needs, I re-posted the thinking skills and strategies from The Learning Scientist. I am putting it up in the blog to share with you, my dear readers.

The Learning Scientist has rich resources to guide students, teachers, and parents in studying and in the development of thinking skills. Of the varied materials that are posted in the website, the Six Strategies for Effective Learning is acclaimed as the most practical and beneficial based on decades of research in Cognitive Psychology. The Six Strategies are Elaboration, Concrete, Examples, Dual Coding, Retrieval Practice, Spaced Practice and Interleaving. Try setting them up as routines to discipline the mind and to train the brain to think clearly.

As teachers, we can use the strategies to break content into bite size pieces making it easier to understand. We can match the thinking strategies with our favourite graphic organisers. Conversation between teacher and student when using a graphic organiser becomes more meaningful. For example, we can ask students to elaborate on the relationships or similarities of ideas, concepts, elements or issues that they identified in their Venn Diagram. By using dual coding (drawing and writing), cognitive skills like long term memory and the retrieval process are strengthened. Thus, making infographics, mind maps and doodling a big hit to learners.

The strategies can also be taken as skills that students can apply during study hall, group work, study groups and independent study. Once the strategies are introduced and modelled, becoming a part of classroom teaching in synchronous and asynchronous learning environments, students are more likely to follow through. Feel free to download the files and do visit the Learning Scientist website for articles, new books, podcasts, tips for parents and sharing of learning strategies that work!

 

Thursday, March 18, 2021

Ajooma Reviews: True Beauty Ep 11 - 16

True Beauty 

Studio Dragon / TvN

Written by Lee Si-eun

Directed by Kim Sang Hyeop

True Beauty folded up last month. It has left us with good memories and lasting impressions. It had everything a Kdrama has to offer. A solid one true pairing (OTP); an unforgettable second male lead; an imperfect but admirable supporting cast and a sound track that is worth listening to over and over. I enjoyed it for what it is. I am forever grateful.

Our best boy, Seo Jun played by Hwang In-Youp, didn't get the girl but he has earned the admiration of thousands. He made it to my list of Second Lead Syndrome along with Lee Dong Wook (for Goblin) Woo Do Hwan, Choi Si-won, Kim Min Jae and Kim Jung Hyun. Kdramas have a way of allowing the second male lead to shine on their own and often, the actors portray their characters so well, they are elevated into the male lead status. What is interesting to note is the variety in which the leads are presented that even though they essay familiar romantic tropes and archetypes, they appear fresh and new (at least in my eyes, they are).

The same can be said with the arc of the OTP. The cold seemingly heartless male lead is smitten by the ugly duckling. We didn't know their connection from the past and their past lives, but the way it was revealed in the series make it exciting to follow. Another comfort food is the supporting cast. Imperfect as they are, they are admirable as they tried to rise above their own mistakes. And sometimes, an admission and an apology of one's mistake is all that matters.

True Beauty is campy and over the top. A romance and fantasy fodder for Kdrama fans all over. A light and fluffy entertainment we need to survive in these trying times.

Rating: 4 /5 Bowls of Ramyun

Tuesday, March 16, 2021

Priming Activity: Storytelling for Hope and Healing

Begin by viewing the slide presentation.


If you cannot view the video embedded in the slide, you can watch it here.

Monday, March 15, 2021

Magis Deo Kids Lenten Activity: Guide for Facilitators During Breakout Room Sessions

GUIDE FOR FACILITATORS DURING BREAKOUT ROOM SESSIONS

For Story Buzz 


  • Follow the Examen Format

    • What struck you in the story of the Giving Tree?

      • Struck - impression / feelings / observations that left a mark

    • What struck you while listening to group members when they were sharing their responses?

    • What are you thankful for after listening to the story and in the group sharing?

    • Summary of sharing and responses

    • Activity 1: Write or draw a prayer to God/Jesus 

    • Activity 2 : Write or make a simple Thank You card to a friend or a family member

    • Note: It is recommended that the activities be done weekly over the course of the Lenten Season. Encourage kids and parents to take photos of the activities to share with the community (in GC over Viber or in the Magis Deo Newsletter). Parents and children can use them for further reflection. Focus on feelings. Be aware of the emotion while doing the activities and after doing them.  Assist the child in identifying a feeling and connect it to a real life experience of the child. 

For example, I felt happy writing my prayer to God because it is like talking to a friend. Another example is, I felt happy making the Thank You card to my teacher because she is always on time during online classes.

If the child cannot express his/her feelings yet, as well as the reasons for it, do not force the issue. Allow the child to be. These things take time. Just like prayer, if done regularly and with fidelity, reflection skills will develop and the ability in knowing and understanding about feelings will eventually build up. 

  • 3-2-1 Technique (Sanacore, 2012)

    • Think of 3 important details you have on the story - characters / theme / problem-solution/drawings and illustrations

      • Sentence stems to help them think through (use only when kids are struggling)

        • The tree/boy is _________________________ because _____________.

        • The story is about generosity / love / sacrifice. The new idea I got from it is _________________________________________.

        • The drawings _____________________ because _______________. 

    • Think of 2 things that are of interest to you from the story that was read aloud

    • Ask 1 question you have on the story

    • Sharing of 3-2-1

    • For #1, you can collect the questions and post them on an electronic board or GC. Whoever wishes to answer any of the questions may do so. If you are ready to answer the questions during the breakout room session, you may do so keeping in mind the objectives of the Lenten activity.

  • See the worksheet in the folder on Google Drive

  • Introduce the worksheet, the instructions and the questions to the child. 

  • Give them ample time to write their answers in preparation for sharing time.

  • Recommend that they do the following activities for the duration of the Lenten season:

    • Activity 1: Write or draw a prayer to God/Jesus 

    • Activity 2 : Write or make a simple Thank You card to a friend or a family member 

Sunday, March 14, 2021

Storytelling for Hope and Healing: Magis Deo Kids Lentent Activity

 Magis Deo Kids Lenten Activity: Storytelling

Saturday, March 20, 2021

10:00 AM - 11:15 AM


Objective: To prepare their hearts to receive the message of Lent -- Christ gives His life for my good.

Story: The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein

Context: Magis Deo Kids age 5 - 12 years old; most of them are children of Magis Deo couples and families; school aged children living through pandemic times


Learning Experience

  1. Priming Activity: 

  • Opening Prayer

  • Song: Peace. Love and Joy

  • Motive Questions: How can love be given away? What does that mean? Think of something that is important to you. so Would you be willing to give it away?


  1. Encounter with story: The Giving Tree

Our story for today is about a tree who gives to a boy. As you listen to the story, think of something that is important to you. Would you be willing to give it away for someone else’s happiness?


Storytelling of the Giving Tree


Encounter During Reading 

  • Why did the boy love the tree? What actions and activities did the tree and the boy have together that made them happy/love each other?

  • Look at the drawing on this page. Read the phrase: And the boy grew older. What do you think of this phrase and the drawings that go with it? I think something is changing...

  • Look at the drawing on this page. Read the phrase: And the tree was often left alone. Imagine the tree being lonely. How does it feel to be lonely?

  • Why was the tree happy when the grown up boy picked her apples to sell in the market?

  • Look at this page where there is a drawing of a tree stump. Read the phrase: And the tree was happy, but not really. Let us wonder. Why is the tree unhappy? Make a guess or give predictions. Let us find out if your guesses and predictions fit into the next part of the story. Don’t feel bad if your guess or prediction did not match the story. The important thing is, you and I are thinking through the story together. :-)

  • The boy, now an old man returned to the tree. In the end, what made the tree happy?


  1. Responding to story

Let us have a few moments to breathe. 1-2-3-4-5. Stretch your arms. Stretch your legs. Drink a glass of water. Then come back for activities!

Breakout Rooms

BR 1 - Art activity

BR 2 - Art activity

BR 3 - Group Talk / Story Buzz Group

BR 4 - Group Talk / Story Buzz Group

BR 5 - Group Talk / Story Buzz Group

  1. Closure

  • Sharing of Art works and Worksheets (work in progress)

  • Closing Prayer: Bible Passage 

Thursday, March 11, 2021

Bibliotherapy During Pandemic Times: Designing a Bibliotherapy Module

I received an email from a grade 12 student who is working on a capstone project on Bibliotherapy. Below is my reply to the senior high school student and on the inquiry on designing an independent Bibliotherapy course for adults.

Your email made my day! It is good to know that people are interested in Bibliotherapy, especially when this interest comes from the youth sector. I have some questions for you and this may help us move to a discussion on ways to improve the course work that you are planning.


1. What key concepts do you have on Bibliotherapy? This would be your knowledge of Bibliotherapy.

2. Do you conduct bibliotherapy sessions? If yes, may I ask if you can share with me your experience? You mentioned a paper/study you conducted on the creation of a storybook for bibliotherapy. May I know the relevant findings of the study?

3. What is your vision of an independent bibliotherapy course for the faculty of ****? In my experience, a program such as this is best designed collaboratively. You can work with different departments of the school to plan, design and implement a bibliotherapy course -- but I'd rather call it a program. 
Who can be involved? The Guidance Counseling Department, the Learning Resource Center, the Faculty Development Center and the Human Resource Office. Each department has a role. The Guidance Team can assist in the methods of therapy or the processes involved in reading and writing therapies. The Library Team can provide the content and resources applicable for bibliotherapy. The Faculty Development Center and HR office will help you in determining the context of the faculty, their needs and concerns. I encourage you to work with them. It will also help if, together, you create a goal and objectives. A know-how on project management will come into play, and you also need to learn this. Or, I hope you already have a set skill on project management.

Personally, this academic endeavor that you are pursuing meets another learning objective. And that is for students like you taking on internships or apprenticeships within the school community. I hope that your school is aware of this. You may be completing an academic project under the Arts and Design track, but at the same time you are also experiencing how it is to work with adults, with departments and agencies in your school community - this will prepare you for college and life, in general.

4. It may help you look at models of Bibliotherapy programs as part of your research and development. I recommend The School of Life and the Kirkless Council in the UK. Check your library. I have been invited to speak about storytelling and bibliotherapy by your school's librarians. They may have a bibliotherapy program already in place and all you need is to expand it for faculty -- or even the staff of the school and the scholars under the school's outreach and community hospital. We all need inspiration and hope, and kindness. Such can be found in stories and in our acts of reaching out to people.

This is going to be an ongoing post on Bibliotheraphy. If you are an advocate of Storytelling for Growth and Healing and in the use of literature for empathy and compassion, feel free to follow this topic in the blog. 

Wednesday, March 10, 2021

The Lighthouse Diary Entry #28: The Research Skill Tree

This week at the Academy, we learned about the Skill Tree. A Skill Tree is a series of skills that programmers use to create games. Needless to say, we are learning how to incorporate gamification in teaching and instruction. Here is what I made for the library's instructional program for research skills.


There are two sets of Skill Trees. The first one is for the student who wants to learn about research and acquire skills in general. The second tree is made for the Grade 11 who is about to begin the Extended Essay. I used Joseph Campbell's Heroic Journey as basis for the two Skill Trees.




Skill Tree 1 begins with knowing the results of research skills assessment that students take at the beginning of the academic year. Through The Pioneer, I help them identify their goal and objectives using the assessment results. From there, students are offered to choose any of the three Cornerstones of Research Skills. Each cornerstone contains activities on research skills building. Since I am adapting principles in gamification, I plan to include tokens and badges, earning talismans and knowing different characters that will help them achieve a heart. Blue for Strength. Green for Courage. Gray for Hope.

Skill Tree 2 begins with a conversation at The Pioneer, where students will read about research. They will schedule a meeting with me. We will talk about topics that the student are interested in exploring. Using the KWL chart or the Inquiry Chart, students begin their research. In this phase of the research, students find out what gaps exist in their topics or subjects of inquiry recording and documenting their findings along the way. Teachers and the Teacher Librarian come in to lend clarity or direction to their inquiry through scheduled meetings. At the end, the Inquiry Chart has been accomplished and the student can make a decision or discover of the subject/topic of research is worth pursuing.

In essence, the Skill Tree helps me in improving the library's instructional program particularly on research skills. My next task is to put together the materials and content. Then, I will revise The Pioneer since it is the platform for the Skill Trees. 

Monday, March 8, 2021

Author Talk on AHA Learning Center (2of 2)

As a preparation to my online teleradio guesting on AHA Learning Center's #MakwentoMonday, here are my answers to the questions sent to me. The program will go live at 11.30AM on AHA Learning Center's Facebook Page. Note that this is just a guide. The flow of conversations may change on the live online show.

1. Ano ang matututunan ng mga bata sa kwentong ito? 

2. Bakit at paano nabuo ng may akda ang kwentong ito?

3. Ano ang kahalagahan ng pagkakaroon ng mga kwentong tumatalakay sa pagtanggap, pagkilala, at pagmamahal sa sarili? 

4. Ano ang pabaon ('pabaon' is what we call your parting message of inspiration or hope to the kids) niyo sa mga ka-AHA na nakikinig at nanonood ngayon?




 Mga sagot

1.     1. Magagalak ang batang makikinig ng kuwento. We learn at our leisure – bata man o mantanda. Matututunan niya ang systema ng pagbabasa ng aklat (left to right progression), na ang aklat ay binubuo ng manunulat, illustrador at publisher para sa kanya. Ang picture books ay makakatugon sa pagbuo ng aesthetics – good and virtuous.

2.      2. Ang Masaya ang Maging Ako ay kabilang sa proyektong Kuwentong Musmos ng Room to Read at 4 na publishers – Lampara Books, Adarna House, Hiyas/OMF at Anvil Publishing. May 20 aklat na nabuo sa ilalim ng pamamahala ng RtR at ang 4 na publishers. Naganap ang isang palihan or workshop para sa book project na ito noong Oktubre 2019. Ang mga aklat ay may tema ng gender equality, human productivity and empowerment at karapatang pantao. Dahil isang global NGO ang RtR, may kakayahan silang maghatid ng mga aklat sa iba’t ibang lugar at panig ng mundo kung saan walang access sa babasahin at learning materials ang maraming mga pamilya.

3.      3. Una sa lahat, naniniwala ako sa kahalagahan na makita ng mambabasa ang sarili niya sa pahina ng isang aklat o sa puso ng isang kuwento. Kapag nangyayari ito, may ginhawang nararamdaman ang isang mambabasa at nauunawaan niya na hindi siya nag-iisa na makaramdam ng lungkot, ligaya, takot at pag-asa. Dahil ang aklat ay may mga salita at larawan, maraming paraan ang pag-unawa ng mambasa ng mga tema o konseptong nabangit ko na may halaga sa kanyang buhay. Ang tawag dito ay mirroring. The reader is affirmed, validated and often, moved to ask questions or to act on an insight or a realization. Sangkap ito sa patuloy na paglaki at sa pagiging tao.

4.      4. Magbasa! Lumikha! Huwag mawalan ng pag-asa!






Sunday, March 7, 2021

Author Talk on AHA Learning Center ( 1 of 2)

Our story, Masaya Ang Maging Ako (Gagatiga and Bauza, Lampara Books 2020) will be featured in AHA Learning Center's Eskwelang Pampamilya Live tomorrow, March 8, 2021. After the storytelling, I will be interviewed about the book and my writing process. Here are the guide questions I got from Teacher Chynna.

1. Ano ang matututunan ng mga bata sa kwentong ito? 

What will kids learn from the story?

2. Bakit at paano nabuo ng may akda ang kwentong ito? 

Why and how was the book/story created?

3. Ano ang kahalagahan ng pagkakaroon ng mga kwentong tumatalakay sa pagtanggap, pagkilala, at pagmamahal sa sarili? 

What is the importance of having stories that discuss topics on self, acceptance and self-knowledge?

4. Ano ang pabaon ('pabaon' is what we call your parting message of inspiration or hope to the kids) niyo sa mga ka-AHA na nakikinig at nanonood ngayon? 

What is your "pabaon" to our listeners?




They have #MakwentoMondays and this March, they will feature stories with women empowerment, gender equality, and identity themes in line with the National Women's Month and we will be featuring "Masaya Ang Maging Ako" for our episode next week, March 8, 2021.


Visit the AHA Learning Center's Facebook Page!





Saturday, March 6, 2021

Online TeleRadio Guesting: Reading During the Pandemic in Usapang Mamshies

Another teleradio guesting I had last month was with Usapanag Mamshies, a 30 minute talk show for moms by moms. Super thanks to Mia Baquiran for the opportunity to talk about books and reading during the pandemic.

"Teaching life skills to children through reading, arts, music, and creative and practical experiences. Ang saya lang ng chikahan namin kanina sa aming programang "Usapang Mamshies," kasama si Miss Zarah Gagatiga , teacher-librarian, storyteller at award-winning children's book author. Nakakaproud dahil si Miss Gagatiga at isang Cagayana. Mabbalo po sa inyo!" ~ Mia Baquiarn (Facebook)


Watch the entire show by going to this link of the Cagayan Provincial Information Office.

 

Friday, March 5, 2021

Canva Dazzles Me!

 I have been using Canva since the lockdown in March 2020. I find the interface easy to use and the graphics pleasing to the eyes. I have made posters and infographics for my work in the library as well as some for my online classes and workshops. What's more, I find it therapeutic.

I recently subscribed to Gratefulness.org because I read in a research paper that thankfulness can be learned. There is a pedagogy to recognize and learn this act of thanking people, the community and the universe. The most accessible way I am able to blend the content I get from Gratefulness.org and Canva's maker web app features is to create posters which I share on social media. Below are samples.





I feel so tech savvy. I have tried creating an online virtual room also with some good effects. More on that for sharing on the next blog post.