When I thought about wrapping up this project I was trying to figure out what I had not tried/done yet. I had created many different styles, tried new designs, different mediums, and then I realized that I have haven't created a card & envelope combo yet. So, I decided what better way to wrap up this project than with challenging myself by making an envelope to fit my last card into.

I started by looking up some ideas and came across the creator "Little Craft Nest", her youtube video outlined how to develop a custom envelope using design space. I watched her video and followed her steps: opening up design space, picking out the design, changing the size to fit the card I wanted to make. The only step I chose to skip was write on the front of the envelope. Then, once I had done all of that I started designing the card that was going to go into my envelope. 
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For this I started with a rectangular shape, make one for the background and then another for the card itself. I found a design that I wanted to cut into the base of the card. I did this by looking up "flower stencils" in the image search bar on design space. Once I found a design that I liked I selected it, added it to my canvas and resized it so that it would fit onto half the card. I added a score line in the middle of the card to make folding easier. Then, I attached and used the "subtract" tool so that the machine knew to cut the design out of the card. After everything was ready on my canvas I was ready to cut the pieces out!

I have to be honest, I definitely did not use discord as much as my peers. I am terrible for checking my notifications and so I feel that I would miss out on certain questions or the opportunity to share something with the class because I did not check the discord as often as others did. However, I was very thankful to have it because it was comforting when someone else shared a similar concern/question that I had and would ask it in the chat. That gave me the opportunity to read through the messages, find the answers and sometimes have some peace of mind for certain things. 

I did really enjoy when I got the opportunity to help others. By no means do I think I am a tech wizard, however, I do know a thing or two so when I saw someone asking or advise or assistance and I was able to answer their questions I was happy to do so. There were a few times when someone needed assistance with blog formatting or adding elements to their blog and it was a great opportunity to connect and help someone out when they needed it! By being a part of the conversation I also got the opportunity to see how other people do something and receive a different approach or point of view when it came to adding documents, videos, pictures, and more to my blog! 

From the start I really liked that this project provided step by step instructions on how to develop this card. Some of the card designs that I had looked at before deciding on this one did not provide any direction and I just felt far too overwhelmed by the design to go ahead with it without some instruction on how to develop it. Something I definitely like about the Youtube creators/bloggers is that they provide such in depth step-by-step instructions which helps me to feel a lot more comfortable with creating the design. Unfortunately, not many Cricut creators offer that same level of direction/instruction. 

​The first thing I did was customize the project. Because I did not have black card stock, I decided to change the eyelashes to the draw function instead of cutting and gluing them on. The rest of the design I kept the same. Once I made sure that the pieces were attached properly on design space I started cutting the design. Once all the pieces were cut I began to assemble the card. This was a pretty easy and straightforward process so it did not take me long to create. First I glued the nose/mouth and blushed cheek onto the base of the card. Then, I attached the purple layer that had the mane and horn onto the back of the white base. After everything was glued on I alternated between folding the mane pieces back and forward to add dimension and folded along the score lines for the horn and ears to make them seem more 3-D. Then, just like that I had an adorable unicorn card done and ready to go!

This week I tried out a few different "educational AI" sites. Some of the ones I looked through were Magic School AI, Eduaide.AI, and School AI. From the looking I did it seems like lots of these AI tools are free for teachers (which is a really nice) and they all seem to offer similar features (lesson plans, quizzes/tests, worksheets, school newsletters, parent letters, EIP's & BIP's). The site I decided to generate some AI materials from was School AI. The first thing I tried to do was make a worksheet. Something I thought was cool with School AI is that it directly pulled Saskatchewan Curriculum outcomes & indicators while I was in the process of generating the worksheet. However, when I went to make the worksheet I felt that it would still need A LOT of work to make it something that I could give to my Grade 1/2's, it was above grade-level (even though I said it needed to be grade 1 level) and just seemed very bland and standardized. In my mind I did not see this as being a very beneficial tool for me as someone who teaches little ones because if I am going to put work into an AI generated worksheet to make it into something that my grade 1/2's would understand I would just much rather create my own from scratch on Canva. 

The next thing I tried to use AI for was developing an events newsletter. I decided to input some of the December events that we would be doing at my school. All I did was write what the event was and what day it would be (ex: PJ day on December 13th). Once I had input all of the dates and hit generate I was surprised by the extra detail that was added in for each event. I liked that there was a descriptive blurb for each as well as just some extra things added to be able to make it seem more like a well put together formal letter. This is definitely an AI tool that I could see myself using more often. I like that it took the bare minimum information that I put in and made it into a nicely formatted letter to send to parents. If I were to use this letter I definitely would copy and paste the writing into a nicer looking format so that it did not look so bland and plain but it is helpful to have something that would create a letter that quickly! I would be interested in seeing what kinds of things would come up if I were to use the EIP or BIP tools. It would definitely be helpful if you could input all the important information and leave all the formatting and organizing of data to the AI tools However, this also makes me think of the ethical side of things and when it comes to something like an EIP or BIP those are very personal documents and it might be iffy to input such personal data about a student into an online AI database.

Kristi's post "Cricut Baby Shower Card - Free Baby Shower SVG Files" offered a few different kinds of baby shower cards, however, the one I wanted to create is the one represented above. Her post provided a really helpful step-by-step tutorial on how to create it. First, starting with downloading the SVG file off of her post (this was free which was SUPER awesome!). Once I downloaded the file I opened my design space and uploaded it into a new project. After it was opened, I followed her steps on how to separate all the layers, change certain ones to score lines (for folding) as well as change others to the writing function. Something I decided to do differently though was delete all the text she provided and instead input my own. My best friend's Baby Shower is Taylor Swift themed so I wanted to adjust the card theme so that it matched the theme! I also adjusted the colours from pink and blue to pink and purple! I decided to add some drawn butterflies as well to fill in the empty space and just add some cute decor to the front of the card. 

I also changed the colours on the inside of the card as well as wrote my own personal message inside. Finally, I reattached all the pieces of the card so that the drawings and score lines would all show up in the correct spots on the card. Once everything was attached and ready to go I turned on my Cricut machine and started letting it works its magic! After all the drawing, scoring and cutting was complete it is time to assemble!

My first step in assembly was to remove all of the pieces from the cutting mats and start to organize the squares, letters and baby onesies! After I finished organizing I started glueing. The first thing I did was glue on all of the letters to the boxes and baby onesies. Then, I stuck the onesies onto the front of the card along the cloths line. I also coloured in the butterfly drawings to add a bit of extra POP! Then, I had to start folding all of the score lines to make the 3-D boxes start to accordion out. I followed Kristi's youtube video on how to fold it properly. I found the folding process quite difficult at times because her video did not really explain how to fold the different pieces so I tried to follow her the best I could through the video (I had to rewind and rewatch many, many times LOL). After I thought I folded it the best that I could I did the next step which was glue the second layer onto the inside of the card. This also was difficult at times because glue and paper can be unforgiving and stubborn at times, especially when there is lots of glue. BUT, I managed to get it on to the best of my ability. Once that layer was secured I started popping out the different levels and glueing on the squares to make the "building block" effect come to life! After everything was glued on and dried I folded up the card to make sure it would open and close properly! Then, just like that, I had a beautiful, 3-D, baby shower card for my best friend!

I am so happy with how it turned out and I cannot wait to give it to her in a few weeks! 

Through the outcomes above students will be able to develop the following skills based off the NCTE Framework Goals:

• Participate effectively and critically in a networked world
• Consume, curate, and create actively across contexts
  
• Build and sustain intentional global and cross-cultural connections and relationships with others so as to pose and solve problems collaboratively and strengthen independent thought
  
• Promote culturally sustaining communication and recognize the bias and privilege present in the interactions
• Examine the rights, responsibilities, and ethical implications of the use and creation of information;
• Determine how and to what extent texts and tools amplify one’s own and others’ narratives as well as counter unproductive narratives

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So this week I decided to watch Monica Lewinsky's TED talk. I was intrigued to watch it because her name sounded familiar but I had NO clue who she was or what had happened to her. But WOW, can I just say that as soon as I started watching I was completely sucked into her story. At the beginning of her talk she mentioned how she has been mentioned in over 40 rap songs and that is when I clued in that I have totally heard her name dropped in different songs but I never had any context behind it so I never really paid much attention. What happened to her was so heartbreakingly devastating. It is also crazy how quickly her story spread for it happening in 1998, that just goes to show how powerful the internet is, even back when it was just starting and how quickly it can truly ruin someone. So many points Monica made were extremely relevant to the world we live in today. She talked about how easy it is to infringe on someones privacy online and that something you have done can explode so quickly and reach anyone and everyone across the world in a second. She made the comment about how cyber shaming has the power to make someone's life so public "public without concern, public without context, and public without compassion" (The Price of Shame TED talk - 8:50). It is sad because while I was watching her talk all I could think about is the fact that cyber shaming is SO normalized now. There is always videos or posts about "Karens" and "fails" or someone having an emotional moment or making a mistake... we live in a world that THRIVES on laughing at other people's pain and misfortune. There is no limit to the humiliation of someone because once something personal goes viral there is no escaping it. People are far too willing to knock others down and embarrass others online, cyber shaming is relentless and cruel. Monica also talked about how desensitized people have become to cyber shaming, that "public humiliation is a commodity and shame is an industry." This makes me think about how quickly some people will jump on a juicy gossip story, or have a good laugh from someone else's downfall and then that post can be shared so quickly without a second thought. Except, we forget that these people being targeted are HUMAN, that they have lives and families and feelings, all of which aren't being considered when people are spreading their misgivings like wildfire. 

I was genuinely surprised with how deeply I felt about this after I watched Monica's talk and how quickly I reflected on my own behaviours and how I can sit and judge a random stranger based on a video I watched or laugh/share a video that was posted to hurt someone else without taking deep consideration into the story behind it. It is not necessarily something I do often, however, it is also something I am not completely innocent of either. 

Monica's TED talk

As an educator it is our responsibility to teach our students the importance of being kind to others in person AND online. In order to end the cycle of Cyber Shaming/Bullying we need our students to understand the damage that can be done from feeding into hateful and unkind actions. We need to teach kids (and lets be honest, adults too) that it takes NOTHING to be kind to someone. As someone who teaches young children it is so important for me to model kindness and empathy to my students. It is also important to teach the significance of being someone who stands up for others and that instead of sharing others embarrassing moments, share a kind or positive message/comment instead. When we start to shift the narrative and encourage kindness or shut down hate it can cause a domino effect. I know that this is not an issue that can be fixed over night and that as long as there is social media there will be people who are hateful and thrive off the downfall of others, however, we can teach kids that they do not have to feed into that negativity and that they can choose to make a positive impact instead. 

- UNICEF Cyberbullying 
- Cyber Safety through Envision Counselling Services (this is Saskatchewan based)
- "So You've Been Publicly Shamed" (TED talk and book by Jon Ronson - he also touches on Monica's story)
- Teaching Students About Cyber Bullying - Common Sense Education
- Cyber Bullying and Students - ReachOut Schools

As I was reading through Abby's step by step tutorial and I watched her video that she had made, I decided that instead of just downloading her pre made templates I would challenge myself and attempt to make something similar on my own! I went through her entire video and post so that I knew what materials I needed, the settings I needed to use on my machine as well as the different steps I would need to take in design space in order to create all the necessary elements for this card. Then, I got to creating!

Once my design space was opened on my computer I started with picking two square shapes so that I could make the different layers of the card. This week I decided to make something similar to a cut-way card (which I made a few weeks back), but instead of there being an adhesive layer like with the Cricut branded cards I had used before I was using glitter card stock and regular green card stock. I decided to make the main layer 5 in tall by 8 in wide to give myself a decent sized card. Then I made my second layer 4.75 in tall by 3.75 in wide so that it would tuck in to the font half of my card. Then, once those layers were the right side I began to make the corner cut outs using a skinny half circle. I placed one circle in each corner of the front side of the card so that my paper would slide in as the background once the card was all completed. After that I chose the elements I was going to put in. I decided on a Christmas tree that was broken up into 3 pieces. When choosing the picture I had to make sure it was solid pieces otherwise the shape wouldn't appear correctly. I then had to choose a stencil style font for my text because I needed something with small breaks in the letters so that things like the middle of the letter "e" would still appear. After I had all those elements figured out and sized correctly I attached the pieces to the main layer of the card so that my machine would know that I wanted to cut them out on that paper. 

Once I had everything ready to go I had to make sure my Cricut was set to cut glitter card stock since it is so much thicker than normal card stock. This ensured that everything I needed cut out would come apart properly and not end up ripping the card. Once all the layers were cut I began to assemble. First I removed all the excess materials from the glitter card stock. Then, I grabbed my green layer and started tucking it into the edge slices from the back side of the card so that there was a solid green background behind the design. This all came together so nicely! I was really happy with how well I did with the sizing and dimensions of all the cuts I made. Once that was placed I added some clear tape inside the card to make sure that the green layer did not slip out. Then, I folded it and VIOLA I had a beautiful and sparkly Christmas Card! 

This week my learning project was SO FUN! This week I decided to challenge myself a bit and I made something called a shaker card. It involves cutting multiple layers of card stock, using acetate sheets, and filling the space with glitter. This week I watched a video from a creator named Lorrie Nunemaker. Unlike some of the other creators I have found, Lorrie does not just focus on Cricut crafts, she also has videos on sewing, embroidery, sublimation, iron on projects and home DIYs! What initially drew me to her video was the appearance of the card. It looked cute but yet still simple enough for me to try since it was going to me my first time making a shaker card. Her video was also extremely easy to follow with clear instructions which made the card making process this week so seamless and enjoyable! I liked that she explained different ways to personalize it to your own liking and that it is not something that has to be exactly the same as hers like some templates that are provided/downloadable.

Once all the different layers were cut out and drawn on then I needed to begin assembling. For this I used my double sided tape to stick all the layers together. First I took the hot pink and green layers and stuck them together. Once they are together I stuck that layer onto the silver card stock which is the base layer of my card. Then I took out a sheet of acetate to create the "window" and attached that to the peach coloured card stock since that is going to be the top layer of my card. Once all the pieces were together I put glitter in the gap that was made between the pink/green layers and the silver base. Then I covered it with the peach layer and acetate to essentially seal the glitter inside the card. This gives it the shaking effect. 

After the card was sealed together I drew on some strings for the balloon to add some additional detail. Then I stuck on the final piece of the card which was the "Happy Birthday" banner to tie it all together. All in all I loved the way that this weeks card turned out. It was cute and basic but still so unique and fun to make. I really like the effect of the shaker card, so I definitely plan to find some different kinds of shaker card templates and designs!

Something I would change for next time is using a thicker middle layer rather than sticking multiple layers of card stock together. Something Lorrie used was a type of foam as that middle layer that gave her good dimension with her card and lots of room for the glitter. I think if I used a thicker card stock or a type of foam it will make the card making process a but easier since I would eliminate the step of layering multiple card stock sheets together. I would also add more glitter as I feel like the space looks a little empty. I was also thinking that I could use a combination of the chunkier glitter as well as a more fine glitter to give it a little extra POP! 

It is safe to say though that I will be making a lot more shaker cards from here on out!