Hello fellow Bloggers! My name is Julio Hernandez and I am currently earning my credential to teach mild to moderate special education classes at CSULA. In all honesty this class has made me realize that getting started on something like a blog or a podcast is not that hard. And I think many of us have had those “I should have a blog” moments. I know I have. And one of the most common things I think is that everyone always makes it seem so easy, I mean, everyone seems to have one these days. So now that this technology class (EDSP 5100, shoutout to professor Kier!) has forced me to get started on a blog, I have to say that I’m actually kind of grateful.

The only real question going forward is; what do I blog about? I have no shortage of things that interest me. I love to ride bikes so that’s definitely one thing I can go on and on about. But I am also an adventurer and I love to explore new things and places. Oh and I love eating ramen! Ultimately I decided to call my blog the LA Chronicles because so many of the things I love to do and explore are in this great city that I love. I’ve lived here for the vast majority of my life and I feel like I am still discovering so many new things.

So my goal is to share what I love about my city, with an added emphasis on making everything as accessible to everyone as possible. As with most things in life, this will be a work in progress, but that is ok in the blogosphere because (and this is also like most things in life), the most important step is to just get started!

My DIY instructable aid was meant to be a jar opener that can be used one handed. Unfortunately, the widespread pandemic made it virtually impossible to safely enter a Home Depot or other such warehouse. The crowds weren’t being managed well and social distancing was virtually non-existent. I was able to ask a highly talented friend of mine if she could illustrate my concept for me. I told her over the phone about my idea and I even drew a (very) rough sketch of what I had in mind and sent it over to her. Not ten minutes later she sent me her conception. As you can see it is pretty amazing. She did, however, take some artistic liberties with my description, so its not a perfect one to one representation of what I had in mind. The materials and steps are as follows:

MATERIALS

Wooden Board (14x9x2) x 1

Small Wooden Blocks (3×2) x 8

Double Sided Tape (Gorilla or 3M is best) x 1 roll

Rotating Swivel Vise x 1

Glue x 1

STEPS

1. Glue small blocks to the each corner of the board. These will serve as the legs of the board. Be sure to glue blocks onto the side of the board that you will want to face the bottom. I recommend using two blocks per corner for a total of 8 blocks, but more can be used if the user will require a higher board. These blocks will serve as the base of the board. They allow for the board to maintain contact with the surface it is on, but still provide easy access to the bottom of the board for when it needs to be moved or cleaned. Adding blocks will also add to the number of steps required for this tool, but it is very much possible.
2. Use double sided tape on the bottom of each small block. This will provide adhesive for the board so it can stay in place when the jar lid is being removed. Every so often this may need to be replaced depending on use.
3. Place rotating swivel vise on board. Place it in a position that will allow the user to access the vise and be able to make the rotations on the swivel.
4. Place double sided tape onto the area where the bottom of the jar will be placed. This will also be directly next to the rotating swivel vice.
5. Place your new jar opener where it will be used. It should be somewhere that will be readily accessible to the intended user. It should also be on a surface that will allow for maximum adhesion.
6. Place jar between the swivel vise and adjust the grip. Adhesion at the bottom of the jar should also help keep it in place.
7. Twist jar lid with one hand. My illustration shows a hand using a second vise, but this is not necessary.

In all the total cost of these items can be anywhere between 15-25 dollars. The largest expense is the swivel vise, but that can be a bit misleading. Most swivel vises promoted are for industrial use. The one I am recommending is more for casual use and I have seen some for as low as 8 dollars. Hope to make this a reality soon!

The virtual reality experience my students might enjoy is a virtual reality traveling experience. When I was in 5th grade, I remember that our teacher was a total francophile. She had us “plan” a trip to France by looking at a bunch of travel magazines and picking places we’d like to see and estimating how much our budget had to be. I recall that our teacher never explicitly said that we would actually go to France, but when our “planning” was over, I was utterly devastated that we weren’t actually going on our fantasy trip. In my early twenties, I saved up enough money to visit France for real, and though there is nothing like a travel experience, I would have been completely blown away if I could have taken a virtual tour of France!

I will be working with students in an urban environment. I believe that they can be profoundly impacted by seeing for themselves that there is, quite literally, a world of wonder out there for them to experience first hand. As i said earlier, I have been very fortunate to have traveled, and I am all too aware of how life changing it can be to see new places and people. This could also have applications in multiple disciplines, such as history, science, English, and even math. For example, a student learning about ancient Egypt could take a tour of the pyramids, they can see the rain forest if they are learning about ecosystems, and they can see a virtual performance of a Midsummer Night’s Dream. VR can be a powerful tool in the hands of the imaginative educator!