11/12/16

Branch “Snowfall: The Avalanche at Tunnel Creek”.

Snowfall: I don’t think I could ever imagine being stuck in an avalanche, the lady in the video describing it as hard to breathe. I would never want to feel like I was suffocating in snow, or suffocating at all. She was covering in snow and trying to figure out ways to get out of such a horrifying situation. She went out that day set on being able to ski and have a good time! She was laying on her, her face was looking down the hill. She felt all the snow weighing on her legs, but couldn’t move them. Her head was stuck in the ice so she was not able to move it.  Trying to wipe the snow from her face, only being able to see the clouds. The articles describe her as being mummified which to me would just be an understatement to how she probably actually felt! “Using her hands like windshield wipers, she tried to flick snow away from her mouth. When she clawed at her chest and neck, the crumbs maddeningly slid back onto her face. She grew claustrophobic. Breathe easy, she told herself. Do not panic. Help will come. She stared at the low, gray clouds. She had not noticed the noise as she hurtled down the mountain. Now, she was suddenly struck by the silence.”

Tunnel Creek: “In late February 1910, ceaseless snowstorms over several days marooned two passenger trains just outside the tunnel’s west portal. Before the tracks could be cleared, the trains were buried by what still stands as the nation’s deadliest avalanche. It killed 96 people.” Bodies were taken and wrapped in blankets, then had to be taken away on sleds. Unfortunately, some people were not found until months later when the snow melted. Could you imagine how those families were feelings. Knowing they were on a train, that train, and not able to be found. Their bodies rotting away from frost bite. I couldn’t not even come close to thinking about how that would make me feel, knowing they couldn’t find my relative and they had to stay there until the snow was gone! “Powder and people are key ingredients for avalanches,” to me this statement means that the more people that go on the avalanche to ski and mess around on, the more the snow loosens and begins to fall causing an avalanche, although tunnel creek is free for everyone to go up on those mountains. In 2011 a student from the University of Washington was drug into trees, although his friends unburied him within a few minutes, he was still found dead. “I’ve always been a naysayer of Tunnel Creek,” the snowboarder Tim Wesley said. “I’ve seen a big avalanche back there before. It has about 2,600 vertical feet. Not typical. The snow changes a lot in that distance. That’s the reason I always have a second thought about Tunnel Creek. In Washington, there’s a saying: If you don’t like the weather, wait five minutes. And it’s true. You’ll be on the chair and it’ll be freezing, and then all of a sudden there’s a warm breeze that smells like the ocean.” Tunnel creek doesn’t sound very safe; id recommend to stay away from there.

Hutchinson “Exploring The Use of IPad for Literacy and Learning.”

IPad: Using iPad in class could be a really good idea! You could put twitter into play with the iPad by using it as a ticket out the door, or they could type their papers through it. I personally think using a computer would be better than using an iPad only because a computer is more convenient and easier to use then an iPad, its bigger and more compatible with typing and writing papers. Using a device could increase the students learning ability because, students are very involved with phones, iPads, computers, etc. I feel like giving them an iPad and letting them use them to do school work, will bring the students in to focus and actually want to work because they are using a device they find interesting for themselves rather than just paper and a pencil. It is also a possibility to look up educational games for the students, engaging them in activities that are fun and exciting, students are more willing to participate and come to class if learning becomes fun for them! If a student isn’t understanding a word, instead of feeling embarrassed they can look it up and get a general understanding about what is going on in class. Putting a lock on the iPad is also a good idea because students will be getting on Facebook and other social media at inappropriate times, making sure the students stay on task and only getting on what they are supposed to, or educational sites would be advisable. That way, the students are focusing, as well as the teacher isn’t having to worry about them not paying attention to what’s going on in class. I don’t know if this idea is possible but it would be a good idea for the teacher to be able to monitor the devices from her computer, if the students know that their teacher has access as to what they are on they are more opt to stay on what they are supposed to because they will get talked to if they don’t. When I become a teacher I would like to see my students use an iPad, I would like to make using the iPad fun for all students. Making sure my students stay on task! “One way the iPad provides potentially useful opportunities for literacy classrooms is through digital, interactive books. However, it is important to consider that digital texts, as compared with printed texts, offer different affordances that create new modes of reading and writing” the reason I quoted this sentence is because I feel that this describes what I have said through this entire paragraph, using devices could be great for trial and error and great for the opportunity to see growth in students!