Summary:
Shawn and Troy talk about starting of the school year. Dave plants the concept of an Agronomist.
Jokes:
I bought my friend an elephant for his room.
He said, “Thanks!”
I replied, “Don’t mention it.”
Puns about actress Alison Brie can be rather cheesy.
John’s getting several rabbit tattoos on his bald head so he can have hares there again.
If your Canadian bacon keeps curling in the frying pan take away the broom.
A plateau is the highest form of flattery.
I often chortle a bit when I see a no-reply e-mail has a reply button at the bottom.
It’s still a bit odd when computers ask us to confirm we’re not a robot.
We’ve probably all kicked a pregnant woman.
Instead of a curse jar I have a pessimist jar.
At the moment it’s half empty.
Going with chimney jokes today. I have a stack of them.
(No charge — they’re on the house).
Pirated movies get 3.14 stars.
I’m starting a sarcasm society.
Would be honored if you joined.
Just realized I’ve never had an epiphany.
Self esteem is generated by heating water within your mind.
You don’t have to tell me twice because I don’t listen either time.
Middle School Science Minute
by Dave Bydlowski (k12science or davidbydlowski@mac.com)
K12Science Podcast: Agronomist
I was recently reading the July/August 2023 issue of “The Science Teacher” a publication of the National Science Teaching Association.
In this issue, I read the “Career of the Month” column, written by Luba Vangelova. She wrote an article entitled, “Agronomist.”
Agronomists, or agriculturists, use their knowledge of soil and plants to help farmers row crops more effectively. They can work for government agencies, nonprofits, academic institutions, or private enterprises. The article features Lee Briese a Certified Crop Advisor who lives in Jamestown, North Dakota.
http://k12science.net/agronomist/
Reports from the Front Lines
- Start of the Year
- Fans
- New Rooms
The Social Web
In the first instalment of LRT tapes, we bring you an odd TV report from 1994 about, well, we are not really quite sure about what. But it’s something about bananas. https://twitter.com/i/status/1702622445033685179
Word of the day is ‘shotclog’ (17th century): an unwelcome companion who’s only tolerated because they are buying the next round. (I like to think it can be used affectionately too.)
Etymology of the day is ‘conspire’: from the Latin for ‘breathe together’ – the idea is of hugger-muggering at close quarters in order to plot mischief.
Word of the day is ‘sudoriferous’: sweat-inducing.
A reminder, if you need it, that the word ‘swullocking’ means swelteringly and meltingly hot.
MMS MainStage Company, Director Louise Hickey @Theatricalteach
Jabberwocky in Sixth Grade Theatre! #MelissaSchools @MMSCardinals
Shannon McClintock Miller @shannonmmiller
Here’s the Dot Day Choice Board, friends. Let’s help our kids make their mark on the world by celebrating through singing, creating, playing, reading and more. You will find it here…and a link to make a copy for your own too. https://buff.ly/3Ex8Teb #DotDay… https://twitter.com/shannonmmiller/status/1700244959562215895/photo/1
Oh wow. After Apple blocked cookies in its Safari browser, Google has now built, RIGHT INTO CHROME, a tracker that “track[s] the web pages you visit and generate[s]a list of advertising topics that it will share with web pages whenever they ask.”
the red in northern michigan and blue in ann arbor cancel each other off (2020 election)
My son keeps getting homework he does not know how to do! So the Digital Twin AI tutor he built over the summer is now his go-to Teacher! It’s teaching him in ways I never could. Proud dad moment and a big high-five to the future of learning! #EdTech #AI #HomeworkHero
Strategies:
How to Cure Writer’s Block
https://www.languageisavirus.com/
Resources:
Antique Book Patterns
A collection of antique book patterns from front or end papers. Spanning from 1890-1930. Ordered by theme.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/bergen_public_library/albums/72157633827993925/
Photogrammar
The 170,000 photographs taken between 1935 and 1944 under the direction of the Farm Security Administration (FSA) and the Office of War Information (OWI) constitutes one of the richest photographic archives in the United States, arguably the world. One of the most famous documentary photography collections of the twentieth century, the “Historic Section” created visual evidence of government initiatives alongside scenes of everyday life during the Great Depression and World War II across the United States. Photogrammar provides tools to explore this abundant archive: maps to see photos taken in thousands of locations across the United States, a “treemap” to explore them categorically and thematically, a timeline to concentrate on a given moment in time or a specific photographer, and individual photographer pages with oral histories.
The Anti-Ownership Ebook Economy
Something happened when we shifted to digital formats that created a loss of rights for readers. Pulling back the curtain on the evolution of ebooks offers some clarity to how the shift to digital left ownership behind in the analog world.
Publishers and platforms insist that you only buy a license to access the books, not the rights to do anything else with them.
https://www.nyuengelberg.org/outputs/the-anti-ownership-ebook-economy/
Learn with Carlos
The Carlos App is an AI and machine learning-powered application that provides a real language immersion experience. It works on both mobile and desktop platforms and includes an audio feature for enhanced learning. The app is powered by OpenAI’s ChatGPT technology.
Puzzlemaker
https://puzzlemaker.discoveryeducation.com/
Google Tools for Art
https://www.techlearning.com/news/google-tools-and-activities-for-art-education
Kimstudies
English Language Resources
“Syftet med Kimstudies är att inspirera lärare till god undervisning och elever till att vilja lära sig mer engelska genom att goda exempel på undervisningsmaterial görs lättillgängligt.”
Web Spotlight:
Fighting Inequality Through Softball: Maya Women Make a League of Their Own
Oh, this is delightful: a short documentary about a group of Mayan women in the tiny town of Hondzonot in the Yucatan peninsula who formed a softball team called Las Diablillas (Little Devils).
https://kottke.org/23/08/maya-women-make-a-league-of-their-own
How Do Kids View Themselves? This Survey Shares the Answers
More than 80 percent of kids surveyed feel they can make a difference in their communities.
https://www.edsurge.com/news/2023-09-07-how-do-kids-view-themselves-this-survey-shares-the-answers
AXIS: The Culture Translator
What TikTok Did
What it is: The legacy of TikTok may be the total implosion of social media—or at least a marked, permanent difference in the way people use it, argues Kate Lindsay in The Guardian. It’s contributing to another phenomenon, called “ghost watching,” where thousands of users passively consume social media content and nobody who isn’t an influencer already wants to post anything on Meta-owned apps.
Not So Fast
What it is: Newly published data from the Pew Research Center suggests that the majority of Americans see job satisfaction and close friends—not marriage and family—as the essential elements of a fulfilling life.
Sweden Brings More Books and Handwriting Back to the Classroom
“As children across Sweden have recently flocked back to school after the summer vacation, many of their teachers are putting a new emphasis on printed books, quiet reading hours, and practicing handwriting as the country’s yearslong focus on the digital.”
Random Thoughts . . .
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