Summary:
Shawn and Troy talk about Gradebox, AI, teaching resources, and more. Dave anchors a phenomena.
Jokes:
I have a pen that can write under water.
- It can write other words too.
Ikea is known for furniture. But did you know they at one point also hosted large formal dances for single people?
Thus started the Ikea Swedish Meet Ball…
I was going to cook alligator for dinner tonight, but I realized I only have a croc pot.
What does James Bond do before he goes to bed?
- He goes undercover.
I’ve almost perfected my mime Elvis act.
- Just need a little less conversation. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zx1_6F-nCaw )
For Christmas, I bought my wife new beads for an abacus.
- It’s the little things that count.
Is a stolen Hershey bar considered
- hot chocolate?
A truck carrying a load of pool equipment has crashed on the highway.
- The driver is under arrest, and the cues go back miles!
I did a theatrical performance about puns.
It was a play on words.
https://www.gocomics.com/realitycheck/2026/09/18
Middle School Science Minute
by Dave Bydlowski (k12science or davidbydlowski@mac.com)
K12Science Podcast: Phenomena
I was recently reading the July/August 2026 issue of “Science and Children” a publication of the National Science Teaching Association.
In this issue I read the section “Teaching Teachers” written by Lin Xiang, Kristin Cook, Caitlin Ousley, Stephanie Harmon, and Corinne Lardy. They wrote an article entitled “Using a Tool to Demystify the Complexity of Choosing Anchoring Phenomena.”
The Next Generation Science Standards emphasize that making sense of phenomena in the natural and human-affected world is at the core of all science learning. Teachers should not merely use a phenomenon as a “hook” or confirmation of certain scientific concepts but use it to anchor their students’ learning throughout a unit of instruction to make sense of the phenomenon. These phenomena are known as anchoring phenomena.
https://k12science.net/phenomena/
Reports from the Front Lines
Panic at the Disco (i.e. try again later)
Gradebox experience (gradebox.ai)
Radio Pictures & Dr. Jack Sturgis
The Social Web
Eric Curts @ericcurts.bsky.social
EdTech Links for the Week of 9-14-26 – www.controlaltachieve.com/2026/09/LOTW… 📚 Plot Point 📖 Wonder Stories 🤖 TypeTastic AI Literacy Lessons 💬 Promptcraft Webinar 💎 New EduGems 📛 Google AI Badgeathon 📰 What’s New in Google
Today’s the day! Google AI Badgeathon – www.controlaltachieve.com/2026/09/goog… Get your snacks ready for: 🎓 10 hours of free bite-sized PD ✨ Wide range of AI topics ⏰ Sept 19th – 9am-7pm ET 📛 Earn badges & win prizes!
Linda Gray
“If I use AI for this task, what will I lose?” (ask students).
Keep Indiana Learning @keepinlearning.bsky.social
Classroom management has been a challenge since the days of the one-room schoolhouse. Ready for real solutions? Join us for a free, 6-week virtual book study of “Up Yours” and walk away with practical, game-changing strategies you can use immediately. www.eventbrite.com/e/virtual-bo… #EduSky
Resources:
Teacher Printables: Make STAAR Review More Useful with Science Supplemental Aids for Elementary and Middle School
There is a big difference between giving students a page packed with facts and giving them a visual cue that helps them retrieve something they already learned. This new collection tries to address that gap.
Filling the gap behind this new collection of Middle School Science Supplemental Aids for grades six through eight. The printables use mnemonics, diagrams, particle models, formula triangles, and other visual cues connected to science concepts students are expected to understand.
Experience AI
AI systems are already part of young people’s everyday lives. Whether you’re introducing AI concepts for the first time or building on existing practice, Experience AI provides free, award-winning resources and expert guidance to help you teach AI with confidence across the curriculum, whatever subject you teach
https://experience-ai.org/en-US/ai-literacy
Web Spotlight:
The Generative AI Pause in NYC Is Laudatory; We Don’t Even Know What This Stuff Will Cost Us in the Future and You Can Bet It’s Not Free
By: John Robinson Ed.D
School leaders thinking about the integration of generative AI products in their schools, should be considering future costs.
Silicon Valley and Ed Tech companies have a history of offering free or cheap up front, then, after the schools invest time in the product, springing a substantial cost increase on them.
Like a drug dealer, offering potential users samples to get them addicted, AI companies and Ed Tech seek to get educators so committed to their products that they will be willing to even cut other effective programs and expenses to maintain the habit.
https://the21stcenturyprincipal.blogspot.com/2026/09/the-generative-ai-pause-in-nyc-is.html
Why School Leaders Need to Delete Their School and School District Social Media Accounts Immediately
https://the21stcenturyprincipal.blogspot.com/2026/09/why-school-leaders-need-to-delete-their.html
AXIS The Culture Translator
An Honest Trade
What it is: A small survey asked 50 kids aged 5 to 14 what their dream jobs were. None of them said TikToker.
Why it’s surprising: Headlines like “57% of Gen Zers want to be influencers” and “Kids want to be influencers when they grow up because they ‘gets lots of money’ and ‘they want to be famous’” have been everywhere the last few years. Most of the research on kids and teens today heavily suggests that they all aspire to be content creators. And yet, when Yahoo News surveyed these kids, most of them gave decidedly “old-fashioned” answers, like volcanologist, ninja, firefighter, and surgeon. Is this survey simply a blip compared to all the other data showing the contrary—or could the tide be turning?
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