Summary:
Shawn and Troy have AI tips, uses, and more. Dave cheats his way to the AI information as well.
Jokes:
I used to work in a shoe recycling center.
- It was sole destroying.
It’s still way too early to know what mood I’m in today.
I asked a gardener which herbs were snitches…
He said only thyme would tell.
How do I get back *on* kilter though?
What do you call frozen peas that fall out of the freezer?
- escapeas
What does Nike’s operational financials look like?
- A shoe string operation
A vegan said to me people who sell meat are disgusting.
- I said people who sell fruit and vegetables? They’re grocer…
I know four guys that all play tubas. They have a band called…
- The Tuba Fours.
Rejected International sports team names:
- Brussels Sprouts
- Cannes Openers
- Amsterdam Yankees
- Czech Bouncers
- New Deli Catessans
- Buenos Airheads
- Seoul Brothers
- Taipei Personalities
- Syria Killers
- Hungary Jacks
- Doublin Mint Twins
- Prague Tologists
- Peking Toms
My sword doesn’t weigh much. It’s my light saber.
The human body is composed of Sodium (Na), Carbon (C), Hydrogen (H), and Oxygen (O).
You are NaCHO!
Who is the coolest doctor in the hospital?
- The hip consultant.
Unfortunately, Superman won’t be able to fight Dracula this evening…
He won’t go near the crypt tonight.
Middle School Science Minute
by Dave Bydlowski (k12science or davidbydlowski@mac.com)
K12Science Podcast: Stop Cheating in an AI World
I was recently reading the March – April 2026, issue of Science Scope, a publication of the National Science Teaching Association.
In this issue I read an article written by Patty McGinnis. She wrote an article entitled “AI in the Classroom.”
The rate of cheating in science classrooms has not changed after the availability of ChatGPT and other generative AI tools. The sudden alarm to do something about a problem that we have been complacent about for decades highlights some fundamental misconceptions about both why cheating happens and the role that technology plays (or doesn’t) in enabling it.
https://k12science.net/stop-cheating-in-an-ai-world/
Reports from the Front Lines
- Filters
- Classwise
- Adults
- AI in the classroom
- End of the year?
The Social Web
Dublin City University @dublincityuni.bsky.social
Ever closed your laptop after an exhausting day and thought: ‘What did I actually achieve?’ You might be experiencing ‘rustout’. In Image Magazine Ireland, Dr. Sabrina Fitzsimons, DCU Institute of Education, explores the phenomenon wearing high achievers down. Read more: launch.dcu.ie/42Xv8X2
The New Yorker @newyorker.com
People are pining for old technologies—CD players, VCRs, Walkmans. What’s behind our longing for inconvenience? www.newyorker.com/culture/essa…
Eric Curts @ericcurts.bsky.social
💎 New EduGem: www.edugems.ai/gem/sorting-… 🔀 Sorting Activity – Create classroom-ready sorting activities for knowledge building, critical thinking, and application for any grade and topic.
💎 New EduGem: www.edugems.ai/gem/google-f… 🖼️ Google Forms Header – Generate a custom image for a Google Form header based on the Form purpose and your preferred style.
💎 New EduGem: www.edugems.ai/gem/cra-math… 🧮 CRA Math Activity – Design Concrete-Representational-Abstract (CRA) math activities aligned to grade level and learning targets.
💎 New EduGem: www.edugems.ai/gem/single-p… 🎯 Single Point Success Criteria – Create a single anchor of success paired with tailored scaffolds and extensions for any grade level and content area.
DCU Library @dculibrary.bsky.social
It’s World Dracula Day! Why not take a break and sink your teeth into this excellent article: phsjournal.ie/article/pubi… It’s from the Policeman’s Helmet Soup Journal, a new undergraduate open access journal developed in collaboration with the School of English. 📚 🧛♂️#worlddraculaday
Resources:
NCSS Position Paper on Middle Level Education
“Middle-level social studies is more than just learning facts—it’s about helping young learners understand the world they live in, their place within it, and how history, culture, and society shape their lives today. For students in grades 5 through 8, social studies is a critical part of their educational journey, where they begin to explore history, geography, civics, economics, and culture in a deeper, more interconnected way. This interdisciplinary approach allows students to see the relationships between past events, current issues, and their own lives, building a foundation for informed, active citizenship.”
Google Generative AI Course.
As a teacher, we know your time is valuable and student needs are broad. With Generative AI for Educators with Gemini, you’ll learn how to use generative AI tools (like Gemini and NotebookLM) to help you save time on everyday tasks, personalize instruction, enhance lessons and activities in creative ways, and more.
https://grow.google/ai-for-educators
Web Spotlight:
Teachers union president calls for limits on AI and screen time in schools
“This can’t simply be a call for what should stop,” she told NBC News. “This needs to be a call for what we should be doing instead.”
“Talkin’ ‘Bout My Generation”: On the New “Learning Recession”
https://paulthomas701128.substack.com/p/talkin-bout-my-generation-on-the
Five Pillars, One Summer: A 1:1 Recalibration Plan — Not Another Viral Clip
https://andrewmarcinek.substack.com/p/five-pillars-one-summer-a-11-recalibration
Matt Miller’s Ditch That Textbook – AI Ideas
I saw Matt Miller’s post on AI literacy (https://ditchthattextbook.com/ai-cheating-considerations/) and asked an AI on ways to make it work. Here’s what I got:
Matt Miller’s point is that AI can make the final artifact less useful as evidence of student learning, so the teacher should collect evidence of the student’s thinking along the way. He also argues that expectations need to be clear, not just “don’t use AI to cheat.”
1. Add a “Process Receipt” to every assignment
Instead of only collecting the final paragraph, slide, worksheet, poster, or answer, require students to turn in a short process receipt with it.
Tomorrow’s version: half sheet of paper or Google Form.
Student must answer:
- What was the most important thing you learned?
- What part was hardest?
- Show one place where your thinking changed.
- What is one decision you made that AI could not make for you?
- If you started over, what would you do differently?
Why it works:
The product may be polished, but the process receipt reveals whether the student actually understands the work.
Teacher move:
Grade the final product lightly and grade the process more heavily.
Example:
- Process receipt: 10 points
- Evidence/accuracy: 5 points
- Final product neatness/completion: 3 points
This tells students: “I care more about how you thought than how shiny the final answer looks.”
2. Use a 90-second “Defend Your Thinking” conference
As students work, the teacher walks around and asks quick questions. This can be done with 5–8 students per class period.
Teacher says:
“Show me the part of your work you are most confident about.”
Then ask:
- Why did you choose that?
- What evidence supports it?
- What is one thing you changed or improved?
- What would you still fix if you had more time?
Why it works:
A student can turn in an AI-generated answer, but he usually cannot explain the choices, evidence, and revisions unless he actually understands the work.
Tomorrow’s version:
Keep a clipboard with student names and mark:
- ✅ Can explain thinking
- ⚠️ Partly understands
- ❌ Cannot explain yet
A student who cannot explain the work does not automatically “fail.” Instead, the teacher says:
“Good. That tells us this needs revision. Go back and make it yours.”
That keeps the focus on learning instead of turning the class into an AI-policing game.
3. Build the assignment in three visible steps: Think → Draft → Reflect
Do not let the final product be the first thing the teacher sees. Break the task into three quick checkpoints.
Step 1: Think first
Students write their first ideas without AI.
Examples:
- three bullet points
- a claim and two pieces of evidence
- a quick sketch
- a rough outline
- a vocabulary prediction
- a “what I already know” list
Step 2: Draft or create
Students make the product.
Step 3: Reflect before turning it in
Students answer:
“What changed from my first thinking to my final product?”
Why it works:
The teacher now has a trail. Even if AI helped somewhere, the student has to show growth from first thought to final work.
Tomorrow’s classroom example:
For a short writing assignment:
- 5 minutes: Write your claim and two pieces of evidence.
- 15 minutes: Write the paragraph.
- 5 minutes: Underline one sentence you improved and explain why.
That turns the assignment from “submit a paragraph” into “show me how your paragraph was built.”
Best simple rule for tomorrow
Tell students:
“Your final answer matters, but it is not the only thing I am grading. I need to see your thinking, your struggle, your changes, and your explanation. AI can make a product. Only you can show me your process.”
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