MSM 383: Totally Accurate Podcast! Unpronounceable. Imagination. Differentiation.

 

Jokes You Can Use:  

 

Forward I’m heavy, backward I’m not. What am ?

  • ton

 

A man has a bee in his hand. What’s in his eye?

  • Beauty

 

What tastes better than it smells?

  • Tongue

 

Imagine you’re in a dark room with no windows and a locked door. How do you get out?

  • Imagine you have a key

 

I’m light as a feather, but the longer you hold me, the harder I am to keep. What am I?

  • Breath

 

Two fathers and their two sons go hunting in the woods. They each shoot a rabbit and bring it home. They don’t lose any rabbits but only have three when they arrive. How is that possible?

  • Three generations.

 

Advisory:

Words:

  • Kummerspeck (German) – weight gained from emotional overeating
  • Tartle (Scots) – The feeling of hesitation right before you have to introduce someone whose name you don’t remember
  • Mamihlapinatapai (Yaghan language of Tierra del Fuego) – the look shared between two people when both want the other to do something they both want, but neither want to do first
  • Backpfeifengesicht (German) – a super punchable face
  • Pelinti (Guli, Ghana) – to move hot food around in your mouth
  • Yuputka (Ulwa) – the phantom feeling of something crawling on your skin, like when you’re walking alone in the woods
  • Zhaghzhagh (Persian) – the chattering of teeth from the cold or from anger
  • Lagom (Swedish) – just right (not too much, not too little)
  • Seigneur-terraces (French) – café patrons who sit at the shop for a long time but don’t spend much money
  • Luftmensch (Yiddish) – an impractical dreamer
  • Sobremesa (Spanish) – happy, relaxed conversation that you partake in after a good dinner and drinks with friends
  • Shemomedjamo (Georgian) – translates to “I accidentally ate the whole thing,” when you’re really full but you can’t stop eating
  • Gigil (Filipino) – wanting to pinch something super cute
  • Pana Po’o (Hawaiian) – to scratch your head to help you remember something
  • Greng-jai (Thai) – The feeling of not wanting to ask for a favor because it will be a pain for the other person
  • Iktsuarpok (Inuit) – the feeling of anticipation when you’re waiting for someone to show up at your house
  • Koi No Yokan (Japanese) – Upon meeting a person, the immediate feeling that you two are going to fall in love
  • Zeg (Georgian) – the day after tomorrow

 

Middle School Science Minute  

by Dave Bydlowski (k12science or davidbydlowski@mac.com)

Part 5 — Peers

This is the fifth in a seven part podcast series on the book, “Lifelong Kindergarten,” written by Mitchel Resnick.

 

This fifth podcast focuses in on chapter four in the book, “Peers.”  In chapter three, Mitchel emphasizes:

Beyond Rodin

Learning Communities

Openness

Culture of Caring

Teaching

Tensions and Trade-Offs: Expertise

 

http://k12science.net/Podcast/Podcast/Entries/2018/2/13_Middle_School_Science_Minute__Lifelong_Kindergarten_Part_5.html

 

From the Twitterverse:

Kelly Malloy‏ @kellys3ps

Some students really benefit from a list of sentence starters to get them going. You can grab this freebie here https://buff.ly/2odmaSq   Note:  Clicking on link will as you to join a link.  

𝒟𝒶𝓃 𝑀𝒸𝒞𝒶𝒷𝑒 💥‏ @danieldmccabe

Differentiation Is. Differentiation Is Not. #satchat

 

Connie Hamilton Ed.S‏ @conniehamilton

There seems to be a lot of talk about choice/voice around differentiation – while it’s helpful for Ts to consider S interests. Differentiated instruction is largely planned an intentional to allow all students to reach the same learning goal – maybe in different ways. #satchat

Connie Hamilton Ed.S‏ @conniehamilton

Let’s not confuse differentiation with “dummy-down” for struggling learners. Allow them access to rigorous and complex concepts by differentiating the content, process, or product. #satchat

Lee Araoz‏ @LeeAraoz

Differentiate by offering student choice with Passion-Based Learning!! Genius Hour and the Four Pathways to Genius #satchat Read about how we do it here: http://wp.me/p5D09s-nC

Richard Erdmann‏ @rerdmann

A2: Genius Hour is an excellent example of providing Ss voice, choice and is an excellent example of differentiating learning to meet all Ss interests & passions! #SatChat

Miriam GuerreroCheuk‏ @MiriamCheuk

A1: Differentiation of Instruction entails using methods that meet the needs of every unique learner in the classroom to maximize their growth & success. 1 size doesn’t fit all. The teacher adapts content, process & product. #satchat

Eric Curts‏ @ericcurts

5 Fantastic Word Cloud Tools for Chromebooks http://www.controlaltachieve.com/2016/04/chromebook-word-cloud-tools.html … #edtech

#mschat every Thursday at 8:00 pm Eastern Standard Time.  And as Troy says, “The Twitter never stops!”  

 

Strategies:

 

An unexpectedly positive result from arts-focused field trips

The surprising result is that students who received multiple field trips experienced significantly greater gains on their standardized test scores after the first year than did the control students.

The treatment and control groups do not differ in their baseline test results and otherwise appear similar, so these changes seem to be the result of the treatment.

We still do not believe that arts instruction and experiences have a direct effect on math or ELA ability. We think this because the bulk of prior research tells us so, and because it is simply implausible that two extra field trips to an arts organization conveyed a significant amount of math and ELA knowledge.

Our best guess is that test scores may have risen because the extra arts activities increased student interest and engagement in school.

Maybe arts-focused field trips do not teach math or reading, but they do make students more interested in their school that does teach math and reading.

The odd thing about trying to write a paper with these results to present at conferences and submit to a journal is that there is strong pressure for us to pretend like we expected our findings all along. Discussants and reviewers generally don’t want to hear that you found something you didn’t expect and don’t really know why.

 

https://www.brookings.edu/blog/brown-center-chalkboard/2018/02/16/an-unexpectedly-positive-result-from-arts-focused-field-trips-in-school/

 

Free Math App

Students digitally record step-by-step math work.

Teachers simultaneously review all assignments with complete solutions grouped by similar final answer.

Free for teachers and students.

No account setup required. Student work and grading feedback both save as files that integrate seamlessly with standard LMS tools.

http://freemathapp.org/

 

Resources:

Simple Articulation Strategy: 5 Ins and 5 Outs

As I researched articulation strategies, I found “5 Ins and 5 Outs” mentioned in a Teaching Channel video. The basic idea is that teachers identify 5 “outs” or skills students will master by the time they leave their class. These “outs” become the “ins” for the next grade level. So, if I say that students will leave my 9th grade English class able to “correctly cite strong textual evidence that supports analysis” then the 10th-grade teachers can feel confident that the incoming sophomores will be able to demonstrate that skill.

It was interesting to work with a room full of 6-8 grade English language arts teachers as they worked on their ins and outs. A few things became clear:

#1 Teachers used different language to describe similar strategies.

#2 Teachers interpret the standards differently.

#3 Transparency between grade levels helps teachers identify skill gaps.

 

We worked collaboratively on a shared Google Document so teachers could see the outs for the previous grade, ask questions, and make suggestions. The conversations about what teachers were seeing in terms of skills at the start of the school year helped to refine the outs for the previous year.

http://catlintucker.com/2018/02/simple-articulation-strategy-5-ins-and-5-outs/

 

ScienceLinks

Lots of Science Lessons.

http://sciencenetlinks.com/lessons/

 

QRCode Creator – Bulk

Create QR codes in bulk. (like a whole classroom full of links).

https://qrexplore.com/generate/

 

StoryMap JS

Maps that tell stories.

https://storymap.knightlab.com/

 

Anchor

Podcast Creation Made Easy

https://anchor.fm/

Web Spotlight:

 

Is Gates America’s Dumbest Smart Guy?

If you glanced at EdWeek’s Teacher Beat blog last week, you could be forgiven for thinking that Bill Gates had joined the growing list of tech “regrets” writers. It’s a cool new writing genre in which some longtime techy reformster announces that he’s had an epiphany and realized all by himself that there’s something fundamentally ineffective, misguided and just plain wrong with the baloney he’s been frying up lo these many years.

If we look at last fall’s speech (both the pre-speech PR and the actual edited-down version he delivered), we can see that Gates knows he’s supposed to be learning things, that a shift in direction and emphasis needs to look like a pivot based on a learning curve, and not just flailing off blindly in another direction because the previous flails didn’t turn out like you hoped (against all evidence and advice) they would.

What looks on the surface like an admission of failure turns out to be an assignment of blame. Small schools, teacher evaluation, merit pay, and the ever-unloved Common Core have all been a bust, and yet somehow, their failure is never the result of a flawed design, a bad concept, or being flat-out wrong about the whole picture. What Gates invariably announces he’s “learned” is that he was basically correct, but he underestimated just how unready people were to welcome his rightness, and he needs to tweak a few features.

Now, if I order miracle hair grower on line and I use it, and my hair doesn’t grow back, I might be inclined to question whether or not the hair grower was as miraculous as it claimed. If I had a great system for improving teachers, and I used it, and it didn’t look like it worked, I might question whether my brilliant ideas were really brilliant or not. In short, I might wonder if I weren’t, you know, wrong. But not Gates. He gives us the three measures for success– good pilot, self-sustaining system, and spreading to other locations. Then he provides the excuses for why his teacher system failed all three.

http://curmudgucation.blogspot.com/2018/02/is-gates-americas-dumbest-smart-guy.html

 

Totally Accurate History

Kids say the darndest things! From explaining the extinction of the dinosaurs to detailing the bizarre history of the waffle, these precocious teachers are way more entertaining than a textbook… and maybe even a tiny bit right.

https://www.lightworkers.com/original-series/totally-accurate-history/

 

Random Thoughts . . .  

 

Personal Web Site

 

Click the Play button below to listen to the show!

 

MSM 382: “I Wonder” Questions – i.e.  “I Wonder What The Show Is About?”

 

Jokes You Can Use:  

 

A woman came to her doctor in a panic.

“Doctor, all day long my daughter eats yeast and car wax, and won’t get out of bed! What will happen to her?”

  • “Don’t worry,” said the Doctor, “eventually she will rise and shine.”

 

I swallowed some food coloring the other day.

  • I’m dying inside.

 

I changed my iPod’s name to Titantic.

  • Because it’s SYNCING.

 

Why are fish so easy to weigh?

  • They have own scales.

 

How can you check to see if Lady Gaga is dead?

  • Poker face.

 

Have you heard about the new movie “Constipation”?

  • It hasn’t come out yet.

 

What’s the difference between boy snowmen and girl snowwoman?

  • Snowballs

 

What’s the most famous fish in the sea?

  • Starfish
  • (If you know a better fish pun, please let minnow).

 

Why did the Roman chicken cross the road?

  • Because she was afraid someone would caesar!

 

What do you call the story of The Three Little Pigs?

  • A pigtail!

 

Advisory:

 

U.P. concrete worker shares lesson of 4th-place Olympic finish with son

He finished in fourth place. No-man’s land. No medals. “No glory,” as Baumgartner said with an accepting smile.

“Fourth place!” Baumgartner said to his son. “The wooden spoon. Just think how famous you would be at school, if I was on the podium.”

Baumgartner has taught his son to savor every second, to squeeze everything out of every opportunity. Baumgartner plans to stay the duration of the Games to show his son “the full on Olympic experience.”

https://www.freep.com/story/sports/2018/02/15/nick-baumgartner-pyeongchang-winter-olympics-snowboard-cross/340029002/

 

Blaming

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODz3fIKQZLU

 

 

Accepting consequences

A very short video from Bagger Vance. He moves some vegetation which inadvertently moves the ball. Everyone wants him to not follow the rules.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=glRTERPpfxU

 

Amazon Day One Videos

A variety (currently 29) of videos that focus on Entrepreneurs. Some good leadership choices. All of the videos are under 3 minutes.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLaQihAe6OdwLCqg2drq3k_LXyPh-WCcAR

 

Text neck and other Modern Maladies

 

http://twentytwowords.com/text-neck-and-9-other-modern-maladies-we-have-now-because-of-technology/

Middle School Science Minute  

by Dave Bydlowski (k12science or davidbydlowski@mac.com)

Lifelong Kindergarten – Part 4 — Passion

This is the fourth in a seven part podcast series on the book, “Lifelong Kindergarten,” written by Mitchel Resnick.

 

This fourth podcast focuses in on chapter three in the book, “Passion.”  In chapter three, Mitchel emphasizes:

  • Building on Interests
  • Wide Walls
  • Hard Fun
  • Gamification
  • Personalization
  • Tensions and Trade-Offs: Structure

 

http://k12science.net/Podcast/Podcast/Entries/2018/2/4_Middle_School_Science_Minute__Lifelong_Kindergarten_Part_4.html

 

From the Twitterverse:

Coach Ben 😎👍‏ @cogswell_ben Feb 14

With the Chinese New Year almost here, it’s time for you or your students to test your mastery with this differentiated #hyperdoc WARNING ADVENTURERS ONLY-> http://tinyurl.com/cnyhyperdoc  #alisalstrong #tosachat #cuerockstar #ditchbook

Bored Teachers‏ @Bored_Teachers Feb 15

Let the games begin!

edublogs‏ @edublogs

“PBL is not a license to ditch the standards or take a break from real learning. It’s not the same thing as a pizza party or Field Day.” How Do You Teach to the Standards When Doing Project-Based Learning?” http://www.spencerauthor.com/?p=56917  via @spencerideas #PBL

Karly Moura‏ @KarlyMoura Feb 15

It’s HERE!! The Educator’s Guide to Flipgrid FREE eBook 2nd Edition Packed full of resources to help you blast off with awesome ideas and take flight with NEW features @SEANJFAHEY #SolidGold #FlipgridFever http://static.flipgrid.com/docs/Flipgrid_eBook_2nd_edition.pdf …

Jennifer Williams‏ @JenWilliamsEdu 15 Dec 2016

‘I Wonder’ Questions: Harnessing the Power of Inquiry http://edut.to/2ghzwGT  Revisiting this great post! @edutopia #wonder #inspireinquiry

Library of Congress‏Verified account @librarycongress

We have posted some great stories on @Medium about how people use the Library’s collections and how you can too. Take a look, https://medium.com/@librarycongress ….

#mschat every Thursday at 8:00 pm Eastern Standard Time.  And as Troy says, “The Twitter never stops!”  

 

Strategies:

 

5 WAYS TO STOP BULLYING IN EVERY SCHOOL

  • Tip 1: Know your school’s anti-bullying culture and showcase it proudly.
  • Tip 2: Give everyone the resources to live and to thrive in the culture that you’ve actually just created.
  • Tip 3: Empower your students to take a stand.
  • Tip 4: Reinforce effort. Work at leadership success.
  • Tip 5: Be there for your students and families. Serve their needs each and every day.

http://www.coolcatteacher.com/e255/

 

Resources:

Reach for Greatness: Personalizable Education for All Children by Yong Zhao

How do you close the achievement gap? Start by changing the question.  

 

When we use the achievement gap to define success, we shortchange our students. It’s time to recognize that the potential for greatness lies in a unique form within each child―and that the goal of education should be to encourage and develop it. This inspiring manifesto brings in research from different disciplines and demonstrates how to uncover individual greatness by giving students control of their learning. You’ll also find:  

  • Strategies for implementing personalizable education
  • Examples showing practices that have gone wrong―and right
  • Guidance for teaching disadvantaged students

 

Personalized Learning Vs Personalization of Learning

…the idea of “personalization of learning,” meaning more in how does the teacher understand the student, build on their interests, and create learning opportunities for the student3.  I can get behind this idea.

The personalization of learning creates the opportunity for more depth and authenticity, whereas “personalized learning” seems to be more about knowing the “stuff”.

https://georgecouros.ca/blog/archives/8056

 

Web Spotlight:

 

John Spencer

“As you know, I am a huge fan of the design thinking process. And, for that reason, my friend Jochem Goedhals (who I met in the Netherlands) and I want to get a sense for how educators use design thinking and design processes as they develop, implement, and improve their practice.

This is part of the initial research we are doing on a book that Jochem and I will be writing in the future. This survey will be part of what drives our research and writing.

It’s a quick survey and it would mean the world to me if you took the time to fill it out.”

 

Random Thoughts . . .  

 

Personal Web Site

 

Click the Play button below to listen to the show!

 

MSM 381: Avoiding the Binary, But Not the Struggles.

 

Jokes You Can Use:  

 

Why were the Cincinnati Bengals were the last NFL team to get a website?

  • They had trouble stringing three W’s together.

Why did the dude only lift weights on Saturday and Sunday?

  • The other days are week days.

What happened to the lumberjack who slept like a log on the job?

  • He got axed.

Why did the student write all of his answers as such:

llllll lllll lllll lllll llll

  • The student wrote the answers in bar code so no one could cheat.

My wife broke my lamp. Now, I’ll never be able to see her in the same light again.

 

Advisory:

‘I have daily struggles’: Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles reflective after victory

Rather than glory in this victory, indeed, he was keen to talk about harder times. “I think the big thing [to tell people] is ‘don’t be afraid to fail’. I think in our society today, you know, Instagram, Twitter, it’s a highlight reel. It’s all the good things. Then when you look at it, then you think like, ‘wow’, when you had a rough day or your life’s not as good as that, you’re failing.

“And failure’s a part of life, that’s a part of building character, and growing. Without failure, who would you be? I wouldn’t be up here if I hadn’t fallen a thousand times, made mistakes. We all are human, we have weaknesses, and throughout this being able to share that and be transparent.

“I know that when I listen to people speak, and they share their weaknesses, I’m listening because I can resonate. So, I’m not perfect, I’m not Superman. I might be in the NFL, and we might have just won the Super Bowl, but I still have daily struggles … And that’s really just been the message, simple. If something’s going on in your life and you’re struggling, embrace it, because you’re growing.”

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2018/feb/05/nick-foles-super-bowl-mvp-philadelphia-eagles-nfl

 

Phone-addicted teens are unhappy

Teens whose eyes are habitually glued to their smartphones are markedly unhappier, said study lead author and San Diego State University and professor of psychology Jean M. Twenge.

“Although this study can’t show causation, several other studies have shown that more social media use leads to unhappiness, but unhappiness does not lead to more social media use,” said Twenge, author of “iGen: Why Today’s Super-Connected Kids Are Growing Up Less Rebellious, More Tolerant, Less Happy–And Completely Unprepared for Adulthood.”

Looking at historical trends from the same age groups since the 1990s, the researchers found that the proliferation of screen devices over time coincided with a general drop-off in reported happiness in U.S. teens. Specifically, young people’s life satisfaction, self-esteem and happiness plummeted after 2012. That’s the year that the percentage of Americans who owned a smartphone rose above 50 percent, Twenge noted.

https://ukedchat.com/2018/01/23/phone-addicted-teens-unhappy/

 

Middle School Science Minute  

by Dave Bydlowski (k12science or davidbydlowski@mac.com)

Lifelong Kindergarten Part 3

This is the third in a seven part podcast series on the book, “Lifelong Kindergarten,” written by Mitchel Resnick.

 

This third podcast focuses in on chapter two in the book, “Projects.”  In chapter two, Mitchel emphasizes:

  • Makers of Things
  • Learning Through Making
  • Toys to Think With
  • Creativity on the Screen
  • Fluency
  • Knowledge

 

http://k12science.net/Podcast/Podcast/Entries/2018/1/28_Middle_School_Science_Minute__Lifelong_Kindergarten_Part_3.html

 

From the Twitterverse:

Participate‏ @participate Feb 9

🎨🖌️📚

Friday shoutout to all of the AMAZING teachers painting a path of success for their students!👩‍🎨👨‍🏫👨‍🎨👩‍🏫

Tag a teacher or educator friend you appreciate! #trendthepositive

RedCedarWritingProj‏ @RedCedarWP 20h20 hours ago

Pre-Service Teachers and education students: Are you interested in working as a mentor to youth writers during one the #RCWP18 summer programs, #SpartanWritingCamp (K-8) or #GreenrockWritersRetreat (9-12)? Check out the flyer for more info!

WIRED‏Verified account @WIRED

The coolest part about the Olympic opening ceremony: 1,218 drones flying in concert. Here’s how they pulled it off

 

Jason Mood‏ @MrJMMood

Choice boards are a great way to give students choice! @ShakeUpLearning #TCEA #TCEA2018

Cyndi Williams, Ed.D‏ @CyndiWms5

Good morning from VA! Excited to learn from our #bookcamppd PLN @teresagross625 @burgessdave

AMLE‏ @AMLE Feb 7

This middle school teacher allows all students to turn in late work—no matter how valid or invalid, good or bad, truthful or deceptive the reasons. Read about her philosophy and how students are held accountable.

 

#mschat every Thursday at 8:00 pm Eastern Standard Time.  And as Troy says, “The Twitter never stops!”  

 

Strategies:

 

Writing

https://globaldigitalcitizen.org/failsafe-writing-strategy

 

Youtube Essays

YouTube video essays are long-form (relative to many other internet videos) critical videos that make arguments about media and culture. They’re usually meticulously narrated and edited, juxtaposing video footage, images, audio, and text to make an argument much like a writer would do in a traditional essay.

How Can They Be Used in Classrooms?

First, a caveat: Most of the channels below offer content that’ll work best in an upper-middle or high school classroom. Some videos can also be explicit, so you’ll want to do some browsing.

  1. Conversation starter or lesson hook: Many of these videos serve as great two- to 10-minute introductions to topics relevant to classrooms across the curriculum.
  2. Active viewing opportunity: Since video essays present often complex arguments, invite students to watch and rewatch videos and outline their theses, key points, and conclusions.
  3. Research project: Have students find more examples that support, or argue against, a video’s argument. Students could also write a response to a video essay.
  4. Copyright lesson: Video essays are a great example of fair use. Show students that by adding their own commentary, they can use copyrighted material responsibly.
  5. Assessment: Have students create their own video essays to demonstrate learning or media-creation skills like editing.

 

https://www.commonsense.org/education/blog/why-and-how-to-use-youtube-video-essays-in-your-classroom

Resources:

 

Cue Prompter

CuePrompter is a free teleprompter/autocue service. Your browser works like a teleprompter -no extra software needed.

http://www.cueprompter.com/

 

MentiMeter

 

Mentimeter is an easy-to-use presentation software used by more than 8 million people. With Mentimeter you can create fun and interactive presentations. We help you make your events, presentations, lectures, and workshops innovative and memorable.

https://www.mentimeter.com/

 

The Strange Brands in Your Instagram Feed

The material has the softness of a Las Vegas carpet and the rich sheen of a velour jumpsuit. The fabric is so synthetic, it could probably be refined into bunker fuel for a ship.

 

What Ganon does is pick suppliers he’ll never know to ship products he’ll never touch. All his effort goes into creating ads to capture prospective customers, and then optimizing a digital environment that encourages them to buy whatever piece of crap he’s put in front of them.

 

Given the array of behavioral tricks arrayed against your average Internet user, some of them take the free lion bracelet deal. But for those that don’t, merely by visiting his site, they’ve been tagged in Facebook’s system because Ganon has installed a standard Facebook tracking pixel. That means Ganon can now re-target those people who visited but left without purchasing anything through Facebook. And he spends a lot of time designing and testing ads that will bring them back for the purchase.

https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2018/01/the-strange-brands-in-your-instagram-feed/550136/

 

Web Spotlight:

 

Security Planner

Answer a few simple questions to get personalized online safety recommendations. It’s confidential – no personal information is stored and we won’t access any of your online accounts.

 

https://securityplanner.org/#/

 

Avoid Binary Thinking. Go To The Grey.

Much of what we do in education falls into grey areas. Yet, many of the conversations we have regarding education seem to use black and white statements and fall into the category of binary, or dichotomous, thinking. Binary thinking leads to look at ideas in education as right or wrong and good or bad. It can create an ‘us vs them’ mentality – “You are either with us or you are not!”  It can also prevent engagement in the conversations we need to have.

http://chriswejr.com/2018/01/28/avoid-binary-thinking-go-to-the-grey/

 

Personalized Learning Vs Personalization of Learning

 

Laura presented the idea of “personalization of learning,” meaning more in how does the teacher understand the student, build on their interests, and create learning opportunities for the student.  I can get behind this idea.

The personalization of learning creates the opportunity for more depth and authenticity, whereas “personalized learning” seems to be more about knowing the “stuff”.1

https://georgecouros.ca/blog/archives/8056

 

Random Thoughts . . .  

 

Personal Web Site

 

Click the Play button below to listen to the show!