MSM 510: Šaltibarščiai, Bringing You Culture for Over a Decade

Summary:

Shawn and Troy reflect on the past school year. We share summer plans, thoughts on H5P, culture and more. Dave connects science, math, and computational thinking. 

Jokes:  

The CEO of IKEA was just elected president of Sweden. 

  • He should have his cabinet together by the end of the day. 

Why did the T-Rex’s business venture fail?

  • He was always short handed.

There are two words which will open a lot of doors for people. 

  • Push and Pull

I lost my pizza cutter, so I used a Brian Adams CD. 

  • It cuts like a knife. 

What becomes of the Terminator when he retires? 

  • He becomes the ex-Terminator

Did you know that if you flip over a canoe you can wear it as a hat? 

  • It becomes cap-sized

Have you ever tried blind-folded archery? 

  • You don’t know what you are missing

Where do you go to learn how to make a banana split? 

  • Sundae school

My friend hit rock bottom. 

  • So he added “Geologist” to his resume

Middle School Science Minute  

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

Mathematics and Computational Thinking

I was recently reading the May/June 2021 issue of “Science Scope” a publication of the National Science Teaching Association.  In this issue, I read the section “From the Editor’s Desk” written by Patty McGinnis.  Patty wrote an article entitled “Mathematics and Computational Thinking: A Bridge to STEM Careers.”

Science practices have changed drastically over the years as a result of digital tools at the disposal of scientists.  As a result, the sheer volume of data available necessitates an understanding of data management and analytics.

http://k12science.net/mathematics-and-computational-thinking/

Reports from the Front Lines

  • Summer Time
  • Student Screen Time
  • Student Reports
  • Parent Conferences

Advisory:  

Future Me

https://www.futureme.org/?#annotations:NijADs35EeubsLfMmYJjQQ

‘Dirty Jobs’ host Mike Rowe: Following your passion ‘rarely works out’ — do this instead

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/07/07/dirty-jobs-mike-rowes-career-advice-follow-opportunity-not-passion.html#annotations:OYFLVMylEeu4CWNRML9Maw

The Twitterverse

CBC Toronto  @CBCToronto

Ontario could see ‘tsunami’ of recovered COVID-19 patients with long-term symptoms: experts https://ift.tt/3wwhWpS

H5P @H5PTechnology

Moodle and Drupal 7 users may now start sharing their content in the H5P OER Hub! Contribute your content and help make sure the Hub is not empty when it releases! https://h5p.org/start-sharing-your-oer

TeacherGoals  @teachergoals

Benefits of Books by Maria Schriven

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

Resources:

Axis:  The Culture Translator

Growing Up and Glowing Up 

For many teens, the pressure to “glow up” during quarantine was acute; now that COVID restrictions are lifting, that pressure is spiking again. According to Urban Dictionary, glowing up refers to improving one’s physical appearance, individual style, and overall attractiveness. Social media abounds with tips, tricks, and models to help “encourage” glow ups—but this encouragement is wreaking havoc on how many teens and pre-teens see themselves.

As Sarah Tong wrote for student news site The Black & White, “Before quarantine, I had never felt especially concerned about my physical appearance. It was only through this new overexposure to tips and tricks on glowing-up that I became increasingly aware of “flaws” that I had never even noticed before. Although I had always been athletic and healthy, that no longer felt like enough. My main focus now was to achieve the model-tier beauty standard these videos advertised.”

The pressure to glow up affects boys as well. As one parent commented to us, “Seeing my eleven-year-old boy be so self-conscious is scaring me.” So what are some principles for parents of faith to help (pre-)teens navigate this sort of pressure?

Here are some questions you might ask your teens:

  • Have you felt any pressure to glow up?
  • Where do you think the line is between taking good care of ourselves and becoming image-conscious in an unhealthy way?
  • Do the accounts you follow tend to leave you feeling better or worse about yourself?

What Teens Need From Parents:  A Counselor’s Perspective 

  1. Be relational, but not their best friend.
  2. Convey enjoyment of them.  
  3. Know what technology changes.  
  4. Expect failure along with success.  
  5. Care deeply, but care about other things too.  

Slang of the Week

Sigma male: a male who neither submits to nor requires submission from others; a sigma male is seen by some as embodying healthy masculinity and self-confidence. Typically used in memes or YouTube videos about having a certain stoic and independent mindset, the sigma male “mascot” is actor Keanu Reeves.

Ex: “I’m not about being the leader of the pack, I’m about self-reflection and that sigma-male life.” 

https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/teens-need/

Slang of the Week, Part 2

Tiktok accountant (or just “accountant”): TikTok slang for an “adult content creator,” typically refers to a person who gets paid through an OnlyFans account or participates in real-life sex work. (Ex: “I know it’s hard to make money these days, but I didn’t expect her to start working as a TikTok accountant.”)

Web Spotlight:  

The Japanese Art of Making Boring Tasks Better

https://forge.medium.com/the-easiest-thing-you-can-do-to-make-a-boring-job-better-7166d9e9e202#annotations:jOFoHMyUEeuJwz8y6XdZmg

Random Thoughts . . .  

Saltibarsciai

Vasaros gardumynai!  

Šaltibarščiai  

Ingredients   2 servings

  • 500 g kefir
    100 g beets, boiled or marinated
    2 fresh cucumbers
    several onion leaves
    a pinch of fresh dill
    1 egg
    salt, to taste
    FOR SERVING
    400 g potatoes, boiled
    dill, chopped

Preparation

  • Step 1/3
  • Finely chop the vegetables: cucumbers, beets (you may grate these), onion leaves and dill. Mix them all in a large bowl.
  • Step 2/3
  • Pour the kefir over the vegetables, flavor with salt according to taste, mix and let stand for several minutes (the longer the mixed vegetables stand, the tastier the soup will be).
  • Step 3/3
  • Pour the soup into bowls, cut the boiled egg in pieces into the bowls. The cold soup is served with hot boiled potatoes flavored with dill.

Personal Web Site   

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MSM 509: Almost Summer, Technology Tips, and a lousy Thesaurus

Summary:

Shawn and Troy are back. We talk about summer plans, coming back in Fall, technology competencies, and much more. Dave talks about an Exploration Geologist. 

Jokes:  

I just grilled a chicken.

  • Still won’t tell me why it crossed the road

I don’t alway Whoop. 

  • But when I do, there it is

I own the world’s worst thesaurus. 

  • Not only is it terrible, but it’s terrible

The Black Eyed Peas can sing us a tune, but the chick peas can only hummus one. 


Why are trees so happy in Springtime? 

  • They are releafed now that winter is over.

What happens if you get ketchup in your eyes? 

  • You develop Heinzsight.



Middle School Science Minute  

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

Exploration Geologists

I was recently reading the March/April 2021 issue of “The Science Teacher” a publication of the National Science Teaching Association.  In this issue, I read the section “Career of the Month” written by Luba Vangelova.  Luba wrote an article entitled “Exploration Geologist Quinton Hennigh.”

Exploration geologists, also known as prospectors, look for new sources of mineral deposits.  They use a mix of geological, geophysical, and geochemical knowledge to analyze data and test hypotheses about where deposits are likely to be found.  “You identify targets, drill holes, and try to find treasure,” says Quinton Hennigh.

http://k12science.net/careers-in-exploration-geology-prospecting/

Reports from the Front Lines

  • The end is nigh!  
  • Moodle HQ 3.11 online training.  
  • Summer plans
  • LMS selection and use

The Twitterverse  

Typical EduCelebrity  @EduCelebrity

It isn’t the technology your school uses that’s important, it’s how your school markets it to the taxpayers.

Alice Keeler@alicekeeler

Try http://fonts.google.com to discover fonts and font pairings. #googleEDU

MiddleWeb  @middleweb

REVIEW: Building School Cultures That Support Us All. #mschat #educoach #leadupchat #satchat #cpchat #JoyfulLeaders Veteran school system admin @StoneyBeavers highly recommends Handle With Care by @casas_jimmy & @JoyKelly5 to culture-savvy leaders. https://middleweb.com/45304/building-school-cultures-that-support-us-all/

Kimberly Isham  @Isham_Literacy

This is my most recent purchase. First book by the creator of Kid President. #pd4uandme

TeacherGoals @teachergoals

For real! @shesatornado

Image

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

Strategies:  

How to Foster Metacognitive Skills for Independent Learning

Resources:

River Runner

https://river-runner.samlearner.com/#annotations:tT5kbskyEeufrMcEibUiPQ

The Day of Mourning and Hope

A virtual discussion of the Soviet deportees from the Baltics to Siberia.  Lines up with some state’s requirement to talk about holocausts.  

https://www.facebook.com/events/814417969186336/?ref=newsfeed

Bean Song

To share with your students.  Beans.  Wonderful stuff.  Josh Groban, take it away  …  

Axis’ The Culture Translator Slang of the Week

sus: someone or something that seems “suspect” or untrustworthy. While it’s nothing new, this term has become more and more popular as a result of the game Among Us in which the goal is to find a traitor in your midst. (Ex: “That leftover meatloaf had green stuff growing on the top… mad sus.”)  

Web Spotlight:  

The Exploratorium

Ever wondered what a LMS course could be?  Check out The Exploratorium for ideas and examples of what you can create in an LMS like Moodle.  

https://learn.moodle.org/course/view.php?id=27769

Busy Being Born

The Macintosh User Interface wasn’t designed all at once; it was actually the result of almost five years of experimentation and development at Apple, starting with graphics routines that Bill Atkinson began writing for Lisa in late 1978. Like any evolutionary process, there were lots of false starts and blind alleys along the way. It’s a shame that these tend to be lost to history, since there is a lot that we can learn from them.

https://www.folklore.org/StoryView.py?project=Macintosh&story=Busy_Being_Born.txt

The Pandemic Propelled CPS From The Tech ‘Dark Ages’ Into The Modern Computing Age

CPS bought 170,000 laptops and iPads in the last year. Elated school staff wonder if the tech focus can be sustained.

Over the last year during the pandemic, Chicago Public Schools transformed itself from a school district that was woefully behind in technology by adding roughly 170,000 laptops and iPads at a cost of more than $86 million.

The pandemic computer distribution in Chicago Public Schools stood in sharp contrast to the way the school district used to operate.

Historically, it was mostly left up to principals to prioritize technology for their individual schools and then figure out how to pay for it. That meant some schools might have a lot of computers if they fundraised, won a grant or gave up a security guard or a reading specialist to pay for them. Others had little.

https://www.wbez.org/stories/the-pandemic-propelled-cps-from-the-tech-dark-ages-into-the-modern-computing-age/2f5d55ea-964a-43ff-9833-9a5a4e07ea2f

Want to prevent sexual assault? Focus on middle schoolers.

C. Quince Hopkins is the director of the Levitas Initiative for Sexual Assault Prevention at the University of Maryland Carey School of Law. Marissa Neuman Jachman is executive director of the Erin Levitas Foundation. They wrote this for the Baltimore Sun.

CONNECTIONS: Is This Really Important?

https://www.connectedd.org/blog/connections-is-this-really-important#annotations:ummgPMnyEeuo2RvJ9sWupA

Random Thoughts . . .  

It is Superman Day

Cartoonist Chad Frye celebrates Superman Day:  

(Scan the Gratuitous QR Code to go to the image.)  

From Dr. Debbie Silver:  

Personal Web Site   

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