Blog Summary and Reflection Part 1
Blog Summary and Reflection Part 2
Educational Technology Presentation
Gamification in Classrooms
Iron Works Cafe and Creperie
64 Station St. Duncan, BC
This weekend I went up island to Duncan and found this amazing crepe cafe Iron Works Cafe and Creperie. I went with my friends and I got a strawberry and Nutella crepe, it was one of the best crepes I had ever had! It was super sweet and chocolaty and the strawberries were so fresh, the crepe itself was very soft and so good. I also got a caramel iced coffee and that was very good, it had the perfect amount of sweetness and you could taste the caramel flavour and it had a strong coffee taste which I love! I also tried some of my friends strawberry Italian soda and it was not the best, it was flat and lacking in flavour and only had a mild taste of strawberry. The cafe was very clean and nice, and the staff were very kind. I would recommend coming in and trying their crepes especially there sweet crepes!
Strawberry Nutella Crepe: 9/10
Caramel Iced Coffee: 7.5/10
Strawberry Italian Soda: 4/10
Mosi Bakery Cafe and Gelateria
5303 West Saanich Rd Victoria, BC
https://vt.tiktok.com/ZSfYaHLFd
I tried out a bakery called Mosi Bakery Cafe and Gelateria that came highly recommended from TikTok. TikTok is typically where I find a lot of new cafes or restaurants around town as it shows the food and reviews it. I got an iced matcha and a lemon berry cream cheese danish. The matcha was pretty decent but lacked matcha flavor and sweetness, more or so tasted like milk with a hint of matcha. A way I would improve this would be to add more matcha powder and add more syrup and less milk. The danish was one of the best danishes I have ever had and would get again, it was very sweet and dense in the middle and fluffy on the sides which is how i like my danishes. The filling was super fresh and had the perfect sweetness and tanginess. The cafe was very busy and constantly had a long line, I would not recommend this cafe as a study spot due to the constant foot traffic coming in and out the door but the cafe was beautifully decorated and resembled a bakery in Italy which fits on their theme. The staff were friendly and the service was fast. In reflecting through all the different matcha drinks I’ve had at different cafes it has made me realize that not all matcha is the same and even if it more expensive than other places does not guarantee it to be better or higher quality. A downside to this cafe would be the parking situation as it is near impossible to find any open spots as parking is extremely limited and there are not many places to park close by especially during peak hours. Overall, I would try Mosi again but would consider trying their gelato or sandwiches as that is what they are known for.
The Nest Cafe
132-2311 Watkiss Way Victoria, BC
This cafe was by far my favorite one. The Nest cafe is located near Highland Pacific golf course and has such a cozy and comfortable vibe. I found this cafe through google maps and decided to give it a try as it had raving reviews. I got an autumn fog and an apple cake that was both on the seasonal menu. The autumn fog was very delicious and sweet and had a cinnamon taste that reminded me of fall. The apple cake was sweet and moist, and had a great apple taste, the texture reminded me of a dense banana bread. I came to this cafe with a friend and I have to say it is a great place to either study or catch up with friends as the environment was very calm. The staff were so incredibly kind and welcoming and created an atmosphere that makes people want to return. One downside is that parking is limited and can get quite busy during prime time. Through my journey this semester in searching for the best cafe I have learned the best ones are the calm hidden locally owned ones rather than the flashy trendy ones. Overall, I would definitely recommend this cafe to everyone that appreciates a calm neighborhood friendly environment and a good seasonal menu.
Autumn fog: 9/10
Apple cake: 10/10
Atmosphere: 10/10
Weekly Reflection #6
11/14/25
Rich McCue Group Conversation: Phone Bans and Tech Access
Today in our tech class we had Rich McCue talk in our zoom lecture and he had us create questions and ideas about technology in education and he would group us up based on the question we chose and we had to discuss the topic and take notes with our group. In my group we got to discuss phone bans in school and their effectiveness and how access or lack of access to technology in school impact students learning. In our group we all agreed that high schools should not have the authority to ban phones in schools and we believe that students at that age should have control over their learning and decide whether or not they want to use school time to go on their phone, but the teachers should be able to decide if they want phones away during instructional time or have a phone wall to keep phones away during instructional times. Although for elementary schools we think that they should not bring phones to school at all as they are very young and most students do not have phones at that age, however for middle schools we think that there should be wifi blockers that blocks access to social media when connected to wifi as it can lead to less distraction for them during school time. We talked about the effectiveness of phone bans and found that from most of our experiences students only found ways to sneak around the policy, with wifi blockers they simply use their data or vpns to get around it. I think that phone use during instructional time is not beneficial for a students learning but i think there should be a different way to reduce screentime at school rather than to ban them all together. For tech access we believe that technology in schools is super beneficial for a students learning as they use it for research and learn how to use technology in a safe way. Comparing technology with books we see that using computers to do research is way more efficient compared to reading through a book to find information, it is way more time consuming and not efficient. Especially now in university our whole schooling is done on our laptops. This whole discussion has taught me the impact that technology has in our everyday life and how different it would be if we did not have access to it.
Weekly Reflection #5
Cari Wilson Presentation On AI In Schools
10/31/25
Today in class Cari talked about AI in schools and how to better teach and understand how to use it to help us rather than to take advantage of it. Cari brought up some important points about AI used in school and whether it should or should not be allowed. Cari talked about the different types of AI such as reactive AI which is task specific, and one input always produces same output such as a vacuum robot, predictive AI that uses machine learning to identify patterns in data and makes predictions, an example would Netflix recommending you shows based on the shows you have watched, and generative AI which uses algorithm to identify patterns and structure within data to generate new materials an example would be ChatGPT. It is cool to see the different types of AI as before I only thought that the only AI there was, was from the websites and I did not realize that other programming things like that counted as AI. In her presentation she talked about how AI can help kids with learning disabilities with being able to better cater to their needs. Cari talked about her brothers experience in primary school dealing with ADHD and dyslexia and how much he struggled in school and could not form full sentences until grade 3 and the school told his parents that he was stupid and that they did not know how to help them. But now that we have more knowledge and resources to help people with learning disabilities, we can use AI to help them. I think for things like that it can help students learn better as everyone learns in different ways and would be more beneficial for them. There were many important ethical questions brought up in her presentation specifically about AI used in schools and if a student uses AI for brainstorming or creating an outline for an assignment would it still be considered their work and where you would draw the line between support and substitution. I think in our time now where the use of AI is so predominant, using AI to help you brainstorm ideas or create an outline would not be considered cheating but would lessen the idea of it being considered your work depending how what you do with the idea or outline AI gave you. Where I would draw the line is when you solely rely on it and copy word for word rather than gain inspiration from it to build on those ideas. Cari Wilson brought up many important point during her presentation and has helped future educators during the rise of AI in schools.
Caffe Levant
550 6th Ave SW Calgary, AB
During reading break I went to Calgary and we found this amazing cafe spot for breakfast called Caffe Levant. First impressions it was super cute and aesthetic and felt very modern and cozy. The pastries looked delicious and the staff were super friendly and welcoming. I ordered a cookie butter Bischoff latte as well as a chicken panini sandwich. It was decently priced with the total coming to around $20. The latte was so delicious and had the perfect amount of sweetness and creaminess, I could taste the Bischoff and was definitely worth it to try. The chicken panini was pretty good and had a bunch of flavor it was grilled to perfection, the chicken was a bit dry but other than that it was great, it had lettuce, tomatoes, and chicken. I would definitely try this cafe again if I ever visit Calgary again!
Cookie butter Bischoff latte: 10/10
Chicken panini: 7/10
Atmosphere: 10/10
Rhino Coffee House
2840 Peatt Rd Langford, BC
This weekend I tried out a highly recommended coffee shop in Langford called Rhino Coffee House. When I first walked in the vibe was very calm and you could see people in groups talking, so it is definitely a good place to meet with friends and chat. I got a gingerbread latte which was on the seasonal menu and it was amazing! The foam on top was so creamy and delicious and the drink itself was the perfect sweetness and had a good amount of espresso taste and flavor! The coffee shop itself was very clean and chill and had a dark vibe, the staff were very friendly and kind and I would definitely recommend this place for others and would find myself calling it a regular go to spot. As I progress through this blog it helps me learn more about myself and my preferences, especially in how I like my drinks with sweetness, flavors, strongness, and foaminess. This drink particularly made me realize that I prefer cappuccinos over lattes as it contains more foam. I would definitely try other drinks on their menu.
Gingerbread Latte: 8.5/10
Atmosphere: 8/10
Meadowcure Pharmacy + Coffee
215-1331 Westhills Dr. Langford BC
Went to a new coffee shop that just opened near my local YMCA called Meadowcure Pharmacy + Coffee. Funny enough it is combined with a pharmacy as it says in the name. First impressions it felt very clean and sterile, understandable as it is also a pharmacy. Right when you walk in you are greeted with a small area of the coffee shop and the rest is the pharmacy side. Decided to try their specialty latte, a hot cookie butter latte as it is fall time and wanted to fit the theme. The latte had a hint of cookie butter taste but was not very sweet, it was a pretty good latte none the less, but would consider adding more sweetness. The drink on the right was my friends drink and she got an iced strawberry matcha, this matcha was hands down one of the best matcha’s I have ever drank! It had a strong matcha taste as well as fresh strawberry sauce that sweetened the drink to perfection. The flavors were incorporated very nicely and I enjoyed it so much I went back another day and got my own strawberry matcha! I also got a gingersnap cookie which was so soft and chewy and had a strong ginger taste which was very nice and was a very large cookie so definitely worth your money. The drink and cookie were fairly priced and was not overly expensive at all. I would highly recommend trying this coffee shop, although I would not consider it to be a study spot as it has limited tables and a small area that may feel crowded.
Atmosphere: 6.5/10
Cookie butter latte: 6.5/10
Iced strawberry matcha latte: 10/10
Ginger snap cookie: 8/10
