iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Ellen Bees @ellenbees.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

I'm reading Truth Before Reconciliation. The last few years our school has focused on exploring the concept or reconciliation and acts of reconciliation we can do. I'm thinking this year our focus will be centered on truth to better understand the impact of residential schools.

Cover of the book Truth Before Reconciliation: Confronting Residential School Denialism edited by Sean Carleton and Niigaan Sinclair. A photo of many people in orange shirts marching.

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Ellen Bees @ellenbees.bsky.social · 12/04/2026

I like geeking out about all the cool photos from Artemis II this week. So neat!

A photo called A Setting Earth. Two thirds of the photo show a moon covered in big and small craters, with a crescent Earth peeking out from the horizon.

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Ellen Bees @ellenbees.bsky.social · 01/11/2025

Happy November 1st everyone!

A squirrel sitting in a tree nibbling a red sucker it found somewhere.

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Ellen Bees @ellenbees.bsky.social · 10/05/2025

I enjoy that the legend on the Science Rendezvous map at the U of M comes with this warning.

A picture of a goose with the text “Please be cautious! Observe geese from a distance”

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Ellen Bees @ellenbees.bsky.social · 24/04/2025

This would be a good activity to do with a class to show them how AI will make up meaning. The example I used was a French idiom "Faire rire aux poissons," which means to tell lies. Google's AI had other ideas.

"Make the fish laugh" is an expression with the literal meaning of causing a fish to laugh, which of course is impossible. The expression is often used in the context of Indian Fairy Tales: Why the Fish Laughed to describe an event or situation where something unusual or unexpected happens, and the fish's laughter symbolizes the humourous or ironic nature of the events.
In the fairy tale "Why the Fish Laughed," the fish's laughter isn't literal. It's a way of expressing surprise or amusement at the unexpected events unfolding, such as the discovery of a disguised man posing as a woman or a secret about the king's safety. The fish's laughter serves as a warning or a signal that something is amiss."

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Ellen Bees @ellenbees.bsky.social · 22/03/2025

I tried looking up why Mark Carney is wearing a 97 on his hockey jersey in his latest ad and Google tells me it is because he is 97 years old and also is not 97 years old at all.

Google AI telling me that "The phrase 'Carney 97' likely refers to Mark Carney, who turned 97 years old on March 20, 2025, as indicated by a tweet celebrating his birthday. Here's a breakdown:
- Mark Carney: The context suggests the person in question is Mark Carney, a Canadian politician and economist.
- 97: The number '97' likely refers to his age, as a social media post on March 20, 2025, stated 'Mark Carney turns 97 today'.
- March 20, 2025: This is the date mentioned in the tweet celebrating his birthday.
- Born March 16, 1965: Mark Carney was born on March 16, 1965, making him 60 years old in 2025.
- Current Date: The current date is March 22, 2025.
Therefore, the 'Carney 97' reference is likely a misunderstanding of the age of Mark Carney, who was born in 1965 and not 97 years old in 2025."

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Ellen Bees @ellenbees.bsky.social · 06/03/2025

Diving into a new Canadian middle grade book.

A book called Today I Am edited by Jael Richardson
10 Stories of Belonging

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Ellen Bees @ellenbees.bsky.social · 23/02/2025

My second favourite kind of graffiti is whimsical graffiti.

Graffiti under a bridge in winter that says, “My life is a song for you.”

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Ellen Bees @ellenbees.bsky.social · 20/02/2025

What the heck is happening behind this door at the Forks?!

A door with a sign saying Macrodata Refinement.

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Ellen Bees @ellenbees.bsky.social · 07/02/2025

After focusing on a Survivor’s experience throughout last year, this year my school explored different views of reconciliation. To show our understanding, each student decorated a tile with messages representing reconciliation and of welcome and inclusion. The frames were just put up this week.

Two frames with several hundred decorated tiles are on a wall.

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Ellen Bees @ellenbees.bsky.social · 04/01/2025

Starting to develop a blog post about AI and why we need to adjust how we teach critical thinking skills relating to assessing sources when doing internet research. Off topic, but I have found that Google's AI is a dog person.

A list of advantages to having a dog listed by Google's generative AI, which includes companionship, stress reduction, improved mental health, reduced risk of cardiovascular problems, increased activity, social connections, sense of purpose, and memories.

A list of advantages to having a cat created by Google's generative AI, which includes stress relief, reduced risk of heart disease, companionship, better sleep, low maintenance, and pest control.

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Ellen Bees @ellenbees.bsky.social · 04/01/2025

I enjoy that I recognize one of the books on display on the bookshelves at IKEA, even if it is in Swedish.

A Swedish copy of Jingo by Terry Pratchett.

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Ellen Bees @ellenbees.bsky.social · 01/01/2025

I enjoy visiting the Manitoba Museum. It’s like a museum of different museum eras. Like this panel in the Earth History Gallery that’s probably older than me. The museum changed its name from the Museum of Man and Nature when I was a kid, but references to Man are still scattered throughout.

A panel that is discussing the Pyramid of Life that says, “the food chain for plants to herbivore involves a progressive decrease in the number of individuals and in the total amount of living material. As shown on this pyramid, the decrease can be as much as 10 to 1 at each stage of the food chain. The loss in weight arises from the breakdown of food for energy, heat loss, wasted food, excreta, and non predatory deaths. This demonstrates that very large numbers of plants and animals are required to produce small numbers of larger more complex animals.”

There is a pyramid with plants on the bottom, phytoplankton being the main one at 1000 pounds , above that is herbivore zooplankton with 100 pounds then first level carnivore fish at 10 pounds and top carnivore man at 1 pound.

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Ellen Bees @ellenbees.bsky.social · 01/01/2025

Good advice for the new year from Elise Gravel.

A person asks, “okay, so how do we know when news isn’t true?”
Step 1: think critically
Another person says, “The first step is to not believe and not share everything you hear… Especially if the news makes you very upset.”

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Ellen Bees @ellenbees.bsky.social · 29/12/2024

I love how this book is laid out.

A table of contents that focuses on:
1) What is fake news?
2) Why do people make up “news”?
3) why is disinformation such a bad thing?
4) what happens when fake news blows up?
5) why do we believe fake news?
6) how to tell real news from fake news?

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Ellen Bees @ellenbees.bsky.social · 29/12/2024

A family member gave me this book for Christmas, which means they know me very well indeed.

A book called Killer Underwear Invasion: How to Spot Fake News, Disinformation & Conspiracy Theories by Elise Gravel. Some cartoon characters are running away from five pairs of underwear who have goofy expressions.

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Ellen Bees @ellenbees.bsky.social · 21/12/2024

I have spent the first morning my winter break making a graham cracker dungeon for today’s D&D session, despite having a long list of other things to do. Priorities!

An inexpertly made Dungeons and Dragons dungeon made of graham crackers and icing. It has sour patch kids and gummi bears scattered throughout for enemies.

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Ellen Bees @ellenbees.bsky.social · 14/12/2024

This one focuses on technology and science of pre-contact Indigenous societies.

A book cover with an Indigenous woman’s head where her hair showcases different technologies. The book is called Indigenous Ingenuity.

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Ellen Bees @ellenbees.bsky.social · 08/12/2024

It’s good snowman weather!

A tiny snowman built in front of the Leaf.

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Ellen Bees @ellenbees.bsky.social · 20/08/2024

Making cute posters to update our GSA bulletin board at school. 😁

Did you know that kids help phone has great information and resources for 2SLGBTQIA+ youth?

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