Jokes:

Someone told me it takes 5 sheep to make a sweater. 

• I didn’t even know that they could crochet.

I think I made a mistake. I put my dryer on spin. I asked why it lost one sock:

• “I didn’t lose your sock so much as I provided you an opportunity to stimulate the economy.” 

I’ve started investing in stocks: chicken, beef, vegetable

• One day I hope to be a bouillonaire.

I got into a fight with a fellow stamp collector. 

• There was no clear winner. We both got some pretty good licks in. 

What kind of lights were on Noah’s ark?

• Floodlights

I used to think that I was indecisive. 

• Now, I’m not so sure. 

I, for one, like Roman numerals. 

Middle School Science Minute  

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

Middle School Science Minute: From STEM to STEAM

I was recently reading the March, 2020 issue of “Science Scope,” a magazine written for middle school science teachers, published by the National Science Teaching Association. 

In this issue, I read the “From the Editor’s Desk” section and the title of the article, within the section was “From STEM to STEAM” written by Patty McGinnis. 

The article describes how her school’s annual career day has morphed from STEM to STEAM.

Web Spotlight:  

Future

Natural disaster plus government botch job equals the board being swept clean, allowing players a golden opportunity to move in and clean up.

But while some folks may view this shutdown as a philosophical opportunity, for some it’s all about the investment opportunities. Like Katrina’s aftermath, vulture capitalism at its finest.

http://curmudgucation.blogspot.com/2020/03/the-ed-tech-vultures-circle.html

The Twitterverse

Greg Wolcott  @GregJWolcott

TEACHERS:1000’s of you work in schools that have been canceled in the upcoming weeks. Make it UR goal to either call every kid & say hi or write them a letter, telling them what you appreciate about them, recognize the strengths they bring to your classroom! #Significant72  

Typical EduCelebrity  @EduCelebrity

A number of schools are closing in order to do a “deep cleaning“ of the buildings. Normally, this might take a day to do, but thanks to all of the budget cuts throughout the years, it will take weeks with the two people each has remaining.  

Yo-Yo Ma  @YoYo_Ma

In these days of anxiety, I wanted to find a way to continue to share some of the music that gives me comfort. The first of my #SongsOfComfort: Dvořák – “Going Home” Stay safe.

Leonardo Carella@leonardocarella

Italians in lockdown all over Italy are keeping each other company by singing, dancing and playing music from the balconies. A thread to celebrate the resilience of ordinary people. This is Salerno:

See also this BBC Report:  https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-europe-51886547/coronavirus-italians-sing-from-their-windows-to-boost-morale  

TeacherGoals@teachergoals

It’s been a week to remember

Ms S. Scanlon @ShaunaScanlon10

When your white board is at school. Sometimes the most simple ideas are simply the best. This really made me smile  @Colaistebride

Dave Schmittou EdD  @daveschmittou

If you are a current assistant principal/vice principal, I would love your help. I am doing some research on your importance to your school. Do you mind completing this one minute survey? https://forms.gle/tKXtWdv9cnEp7gYW8

Please share! #leadlap #LeadUpChat #PIAchat   https://t.co/xAxuHBPjVQ?amp=1  

Don’t forget #mschat every Thursday at 8:00 pm EST.  Look for your host, Todd Bloch, to have a middle school topic all ready to go!  Make it a strategic part of your personal professional development.

Strategies:  

Student Journals Could Be Primary Sources – So Write!

David McCullough, in one of his interviews on CSPAN, talks about the importance of daily writings he had access to to write his books.  If you want to influence the future, write things on paper now is essentially his advice to young people today because when the servers turn off, there goes the primary sources.  This article from MiddleWeb has some suggestions for turning your students’ journaling into the future primary sources for historians and educators.

Click the Play button below to listen to the show!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Jokes:

A friend stole the punctuation keys from a judge’s keyboard.

• He’s expecting a long sentence.

I signed up for a Prophecy Class, but I’m not sure that it is a good idea. 

• The first class was canceled due to “unforeseen circumstances”

My procrastinator’s group has been moved to next week by unanimous request.

I went to a very emotional wedding. 

• Even the cake was in tiers.

My wife called me at work and asked, “Do you ever get a shooting pain across your body, like someone’s got a voodoo doll of you and they’re stabbing it?”

Sounding concerned, I replied, “No…”

She responded, “How about now?”

Eileen Award:  

• iTunes:  tech.teacher

Advisory:

How Germs Spread Video

Courtesy M. Sweeten

https://www.buzzfeed.com/christopherhudspeth/this-youtubers-video-showing-how-easily-germs-spread-is

Check in with your students using Google Forms

Here’s a quick Google form to check in with your students on how they’re doing and about what kind of technology they have available for you to use with them in remote learning.  

Middle School Science Minute  

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

Middle School Science Minute: Best STEM Books

I was recently reading the March, 2020 issue of “Science Teacher,” a magazine published by the National Science Teaching Association. 

In this issue, I read the article “Best STEM Books.”  The books that appear in the list were chosen by a review panel made up of educators and other subject-area experts, all appointed by the National Science Teaching Association, and the Children’s Book Council.

They selected three books that are appropriate for grade 6-8 students.  The list includes:

“How to Become an Accidental Genius” by Elizabeth MacLeod and Frieda Wishinsky

“Save the Crash-test Dummies” by Jennifer Swanson

“Saving the Tasmanian Devil, How Science is Helping the World’s Largest Marsupial Carnivore Survive” by Dorothy Hinshaw Patent

COVID-19 Follow Up

• Communication – Messages, Chats, Hangouts, Moodle, Email, School Facebook Pages, Phones
• Supplemental Material
• “Free for now”
  • Investment in Options
  • Philanthropy vs Sales
  • Overwhelming
• Home/Work balance
• Technophobes
• Self-paced Teacher Training 
  • “More Than Moving Online” – Dr. Troy Hicks, CMU Webinar
    • Full video stream: https://youtu.be/h7jyeNaXs80
    • Agenda with links to slides:
    • Shared resource doc: 
  • PLN Support Groups
    • HyperDocs Support Group:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/HyperDocs/  
    • Twitter Hashtag:  #remoteteaching https://twitter.com/search?q=%23remoteteaching&src=typed_query  
    • Twitter Hashtag:  #remotelearning https://twitter.com/search?q=%23remotelearning&src=typed_query 
    • Facebook Group:  Educator Temporary School Closure for Online Learning  
• Following the Law
  • ADA
  • Copyright
• Fun Kids are having:
  • Zoom – “off-topic” conversations
  • Hangouts – Kicking others out

Click the Play button below to listen to the show!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Jokes:

Scientifically, a raven has 17 primary wing feathers, the big feathers at the end. These are pinion feathers. A crow has 16. Know what that means? 

• The difference between a crow and a raven is a matter of a pinion.

Hey, I was wandering through the grocery store and found some soup in the freezer. 

• Should I just let it go?

I recently took a pole. 

• Turns out 100% of the people were upset when their tent collapsed.

Turns out that you can’t speak poorly of aircraft. 

• It is plane offensive.

Taking notes around text in a book is marginal at best. 

Current Situation:

• Team 
  • Classes
  • Badges
  • Feedback (Images & GIFs)
  • Enrollment
  • Special Ed
  • Messaging through Moodle
  • Affective questions through Forums/Assignments/Tips (Send positive social media posts)?
• Remote Learning vs Online Learning
• Moodle
  • Sharing Courses/material
  • Co-teaching
• Training
• Communication
• “Free” stuff
• Post emergency declarations

Middle School Science Minute  

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

Middle School Science Minute: Organizing for Student Success

I was recently reading the March, 2020 issue of “NSTA Reports,” a publication published by the National Science Teaching Association. 

In this issue, I read the article “Organizing for Student Success.”  Science educators responded to a recent informal NSTA Reports poll and they were nearly unanimous (94.3%) in reporting they incorporate organizational strategies in their science or STEM teaching.

Also in the article were survey reports on “late work,” as well as educators sharing their favorite strategies for helping students organize and prioritize their work.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download