Monthly Archives: May 2022

May 28, 2022

MSM 548: 135 Critical Voices

Troy / MSM, Podcast /

Summary:

Shawn and Troy theoretically discuss the end of the year. Dave finds inspiration with End of the Year activities.

Jokes:

At the job interview, they asked me, “Where do you see yourself in five years?”
I told them, “I think we’ll still be using mirrors in five years.”

How many clickbait articles does it take to change a lightbulb? The answer will shock you!

How do you make a water bed bouncier?
Add spring water.

I always knock on the fridge door before opening it, just in case there’s a salad dressing.

Where do dads store their dad jokes?
In the dad-a-base.

I tried to start a professional hide-and-seek team, but it didn’t work out.
Turns out, good players are hard to find.

A cop started crying while he was writing me a ticket. I asked him why and he said, “It’s a moving violation.”

What is the difference between a literalist and a kleptomaniac?
A comma. A literalist takes everything literally. A kleptomaniac takes everything, literally.

I just found out Albert Einstein existed. My whole life I thought he was a theoretical physicist.

Why is it a bad idea to eat a clock?
Because it’s so time-consuming.

Why should you never brush your teeth with your left hand?
Because a toothbrush works better.

I like to spend my weekends playing chess with elderly men in the park. But it’s becoming more difficult.
You try finding exactly32 old guys.

Middle School Science Minute

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

K12Science Podcast: Finding Inspiration as the School Year Winds Down

I was recently reading the May/June 2022 issue of “Science and Children” a publication of the National Science Teaching Association.

In this issue, I read the “Editor’s Note” column, written by Elizabeth Barrett-Zahn. She wrote an article entitled, “Finding Inspiration as the Year Winds Down.”

This is the time of the year when teachers need a boost of energy or inspiration to help finish the school year. One way of finding that boost of energy is to create space for large-scale investigations and in-depth activities where the students are in the driver’s seat.

http://k12science.net/finding-inspiration-as-the-school-year-winds-down/

Reports from the Front Lines

June 6th Genius Week
End of the School Year Strategies
Meta Cognition

The Twitterverse

Jack Berckemeyer @JBerckemeyer

Parents- As the school year comes to an end-send an email to your child’s teacher and administrator and thank them for keeping your child safe while they are at school. Thank them for teaching the values of kindness and empathy. Tell educators you appreciate them. They need it!

Shake Up Learning @ShakeUpLearning

Teach Like the Tonight Show: Internet Pop Quiz w/ Google Slides (Teacher Ed.) https://shakeuplearning.com/blog/teach-like-tonight-show-internet-pop-quiz-google-slides-teacher-edition/ #edtech

RUTH BUZZI@Ruth_A_Buzzi

I ate a kid’s meal at McDonalds yesterday. I have to say his mother sure overreacted.

Bob Harrison @bharrisonEDU

With the rise of GPT-3 and other text generators, all bets are off on the authenticity and educational value of any written assignment.

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

Resources:

50 Best Games for Speech and Language Development

Free eBook!

http://usafiles.net/14X2/The_50_Best_Games_for_Speech_and_Language_Development.pdf

Great Teaching Toolkit

www.greatteaching.com#annotations:-o1GgN1YEeyy2J-cqxS1vA

Web Spotlight:

College Graduates Overestimate Starting Salaries

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/04/29/study-says-college-graduates-overestimate-starting-salaries-by-50000.html#annotations:s536ZNeiEeyUE7v6EE6W-w

These Words Were Invented by Mistake

https://www.wordgenius.com/how-were-these-words-invented-by-mistake/Xr0yWBPAJQAG8xAP

The Best Commencement Speeches

By Larry Ferlazzo

https://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2014/05/15/the-best-commencement-speeches/

How I Finally Stopped Working at Home as a Teacher

https://truthforteachers.com/how-i-finally-stopped-taking-work-home-as-a-teacher/

Random Thoughts . . .

Click the Play button below to listen to the show!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

May 21, 2022

MSM 547: Romantic AI & Transescents Today

Troy / MSM, Podcast /

Summary:

Shawn and Troy talk about relationships with Administrators, remote conferences, and more. Dave kind of gives us the Bird.

Jokes:

My doctor told me I was going deaf.

The news was hard for me to hear.

A century ago, two brothers decided it was possible to fly. And as you can see, they were Wright.

I’m reading a horror story in braille.

Something bad is going to happen, I can just feel it.

Anyone looking to buy a Delorean? Good shape, good mileage.

Only driven from time to time

During my calculus test, I had to sit between identical twins. It was hard to differentiate between them.

Does anybody know where a guy can find a person to hang out with, talk to, and enjoy spending time with? I’m just asking for a friend.

Why did the Invisible Man turn down a job offer? He couldn’t see himself doing it.

I didn’t want to believe that my dad was stealing from his job as a traffic cop, but when I got home, all the signs were there.

I have a joke about trickle down economics. But 99% of you will never get it.

Middle School Science Minute

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

K12Science Podcast: Mark My Bird!

I was recently reading the May/June 2022 issue of “Science Scope” a publication of the National Science Teaching Association.

In this issue, I read the “Citizen Science” column, written by Jill Nugent. She wrote an article entitled, “Mark My Bird!”

Mark My Bird is a global online citizen science project associated with the University of Sheffield that invites participants to study the how and why of bird biodiversity and change over time by studying bird bills. For more information, please visit:

https://www.markmybird.org

http://k12science.net/mark-my-bird/

Reports from the Front Lines

Moodle Moot UK
Building Relationships with Admin
MOOSE

The Twitterverse

Katie Powell @Beyond_the_Desk

Looking for a fun, easy, but impactful activity? Check out the #HungryHippos #BoredomBusters TikTok: https://tiktok.com/t/ZTdtuMMDN/?k=1 @dbc_inc (featuring Grayson Kitty)

Alice Keeler @alicekeeler

CommonLit: An Online Library of Free Texts https://cultofpedagogy.com/informational-text/ Via @cultofpedagogy

Patrick Calzone @MrPCalzone

Abandoned art project found in the bus loop…I am naming it: “Teaching Middle School in May”

𝓓𝓪𝓿𝓮 𝓢𝓬𝓱𝓶𝓲𝓽𝓽𝓸𝓾 𝓔𝓭.𝓓. @daveschmittou

Principals- Visiting every classroom every day is not instructional leadership if the goal is to simply be seen. That’s your ego. Leadership is support, encouragement, and guidance when and where it’s needed…for them, even if it’s in the shadows and background.

Save Your Sons @SaveYourSons

A great father is a great teacher Here are five critical thinking skills to master and teach to your kids (thread)

1. Pattern recognition Figuring out “what things have in common” Our brains are pattern recognition machines. We constantly analyze the similarities between people, events, and scenarios to make decisions. Pattern recognition is how we deduce danger. It’s also how we prosper.

2. Reverse engineering Figuring out “what’s required” It’s nearly impossible to create anything if you can’t first picture it in your mind. Effective thinkers begin with the result in mind and work backward to determine what steps they need to take. The whole informs the parts.

3. Inference Figuring out “why something happened” We won’t always have all the facts. And a smart person doesn’t always need them. They’re able to analyze scattered facts and make deductions about why and how certain outcomes came to be. You can train this in your kids.

4. Prediction Figuring out “what will happen next” Cause-and-effect runs our lives. We must constantly determine the consequences of our actions. If we can’t deduce an action’s outcome, we can’t make beneficial decisions. And if we make bad decisions, we lead horrible lives.

5. Synthesis Figuring out “what’s important” As an adult you’ll need to sort through masses of information, retaining what’s relevant and discarding what’s not. Our brains are incredible, but they function best when we’re able to focus on what matters and ignore what doesn’t.

Conclusion: The world is full of data. Don’t rely on schools to teach your kids how to think. Everyday events can be used to spur countless conversations about how the world works. As your children get older, scale up the difficulty. Tailor the discussions to their interests.

Todd Finley @finleyt

How to Make Student Thinking Visible–Assess Kids’ Processes of Learning and Depth of Understanding | #students #k12 #edchat #education #teachers #ukedchat #teaching #thinking

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

Resources:

Merlin Bird ID

Merlin is powered by eBird, allowing you to build custom lists of the birds you’re likely to spot wherever you are. Use the filter options to explore birds for different locations or time of year, or switch to show all the species in the Bird Packs you’ve downloaded. Get more from the app with these Merlin Tips and Tricks.

https://merlin.allaboutbirds.org/

The Kids Should See This

The Kid Should See This is a Webby Award-winning collection of 5,000+ kid-friendly videos, curated for teachers and parents who want to share smarter, more meaningful media in the classroom and at home. And thanks to our members, it’s free and available for everyone.

Selections are grown-up-friendly, too. TKSST champions smart STEAM, history, and culture-focused content by museums, organizations, and creators who celebrate curiosity, collaboration, creativity, critical thinking, problem-solving, kindness, and other essential themes for all ages.

Enjoy around 10 to 15 newly-added videos every week, browse the collections, and search topics in the archives. Founded in 2011, The Kid Should See This is curated and maintained by me, Rion Nakaya, with input from my 11 and 14-year-olds.

https://thekidshouldseethis.com/#annotations:2n9tJNC5EeyE1muU8iW5_g

Coco Material

Discover CocoMaterial, the Open Source hand-drawn illustration library with 1,927 images. Customize & download!

https://cocomaterial.com/#annotations:ynnPitUqEey06oupkBwHPA

AXIS: The Culture Translator

Beau Bots

What it is: Chatbots like the Replika app are creating avenues for romantic relationships between people and AI. Replika allows users a limitless chat experience for free, but requires a payment plan to provide a girlfriend or boyfriend experience.

More Than Words

What it is: The terms “algo-speak” and “Voldemorting” have been coined to refer to ways social media posters modify certain phrases to sneak past automated algorithm censorship.

Web Spotlight:

Trent Shelton

Trent Shelton had what can only be described as a failure in his career as a pro football player. But at his lowest point, he found the strength to turn his life around. He joins “CBS Mornings” to share his wisdom.

https://www.cbsnews.com/video/former-football-player-turned-motivational-speaker-trent-shelton-says-only-giving-up-is-failure/

What Makes A Good Life?

What keeps us happy and healthy as we go through life? If you think it’s fame and money, you’re not alone – but, according to psychiatrist Robert Waldinger, you’re mistaken. As the director of a 75-year-old study on adult development, Waldinger has unprecedented access to data on true happiness and satisfaction. In this talk, he shares three important lessons learned from the study as well as some practical, old-as-the-hills wisdom on how to build a fulfilling, long life.

Random Thoughts . . .

Click the Play button below to listen to the show!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

May 14, 2022

MSM 546: We Don’t Say That Outloud

Troy / MSM, Podcast /

Summary:

Shawn and Troy talk about the end of the school year, visual literacy, and more. Dave has an important minute on equity.

Jokes:

Someone complimented my parking today!

They left a sweet note on my windshield that said “parking fine.”

I just applied for a job down at the diner.

I told them I really bring a lot to the table.

“Cop: I’m arresting you for downloading the entire Wikipedia.”

Man: “Wait! I can explain everything!”

I’m Buzz Aldrin, second man to step on the moon.

Neil before me.

This year’s Fibonacci convention is going to be really special.

Apparently it’s as big as the last two put together.

I’m addicted to collecting vintage Beatles albums.

I need Help.

In 2017 I didn’t do a marathon. I didn’t do one in 2018, 2019, or 2020, either.

This is a running joke.

Ever since we started quarantining, I’ve only been telling inside jokes.

If you’re feeling depressed, try drinking a gallon of water before you go to sleep.

It’ll give you a reason to get out of bed in the morning.

My landlord told me we need to talk about the heating bill.

“Sure,” I said. “My door is always open.”

I built a model of Mount Everest and my son asked if it was to scale.

“No,” I said. “It’s to look at.”

My friend claims he glued himself to his autobiography.

I don’t believe him, but that’s his story and he’s sticking to it.

When I was a kid, my mother told me I could be anyone I wanted to be.

Turns out, identity theft is a crime.

Middle School Science Minute

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

Equity in the Science Classroom

I was recently reading the May/June 2022 issue of “Science Scope” a publication of the National Science Teaching Association.

In this issue, I read the “From the Editor’s Desk” column, written by Patty McGinnis. She wrote an article entitled, “Equity in the Science Classroom.”

Despite advances in science education, there remains an opportunity gap; historically underperforming populations often opt out of advanced courses and are not equitably represented in the STEM fields. As teachers, we are tasked with closing this gap through practices that allow all students to succeed and thrive.

Reports from the Front Lines

The Heat is On! Warm Weather Behavior
MoodleMoot IE & UK 2022
- Is the future in AI?
  - WriteSonic AI authoring software: https://writesonic.com/
  - DALLE-2 AI generated art from caption to image instead of image to caption. https://openai.com/dall-e-2/
The Beginning of the End
PD Plans
Created vs Creation

The Twitterverse

Frank Noschese@fnoschese

Did this in class today. 10/10 would recommend

Quote Tweet

Joe Cossette @cossettej

New Blog Post!! https://passionatelycurioussci.weebly.com/blog/mcwordle-review

My students needed extra practice on multiple choice questions but I wanted something more group-worthy and interactive, so I created a game called “MCwordle”. All of the details and files are shared in on the blog. https://twitter.com/cossettej/status/1520871067841187840/photo/1

Alice Keeler @alicekeeler

8 Google Classroom BUMMERS https://alicekeeler.com/2020/03/29/8-g

Richard Byrne @rmbyrne

How to Create and Send Personalized Certificates in Google Workspace https://freetech4teachers.com/2022/05/how-to

Nika Melkozerova @NikaMelkozerova

Bonnie and Clyde were presented as “Ancestors who faught Nazism until victory” during a concert dedicated to May 9 celebration in Russia. Ahahah. That explains looting.

Ukrainian Memes Forces @uamemesforces

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

Strategies:

24 ideas for creating a discussion-rich classroom

https://ditchthattextbook.com/discussion/

Resources:

AXIS The Culture Translator

It Takes a Dataset

What it is: A tool called the Opportunity Atlas shows that choosing where your children will grow up might be one of the most important indicators of their earning potential and stability.

Slang of the Week

Buy the Dip: A term used by crypto enthusiasts and in-app daytraders to mean “buy when the market gets low,” now being used sarcastically to refer to something that’s going down and probably not going to come back up; the joke is that since everyone’s assets are tanked, nobody can buy the dip. (Ex: “Robin: I can’t believe this, my entire savings just crashed now that Dogecoin is worth nothing.” “Little John: Well, you know what they say — buy the dip!”)

Old Maps Online

https://www.oldmapsonline.org/

Living Wage Calculator

WHAT IS THE LIVING WAGE CALCULATOR?

Families and individuals working in low-wage jobs make insufficient income to meet minimum standards given the local cost of living. We developed a living wage calculator to estimate the cost of living in your community or region based on typical expenses. The tool helps individuals, communities, and employers determine a local wage rate that allows residents to meet minimum standards of living.

https://livingwage.mit.edu/

Web Spotlight:

Why So Many Teachers Are Leaving, and Why Others Stay

https://www.cultofpedagogy.com/teachers-leaving/

Rollins College Commencement Speaker

Rollins College valedictorian Elizabeth Bonker ’22, who is affected by non-speaking autism and communicates solely by typing, urges her fellow graduates to use their voices, serve others, and see the value in everyone they meet.

https://www.rollins.edu/college-of-liberal-arts/news/elizabeth-bonker-commencement-address

Random Thoughts . . .

Click the Play button below to listen to the show!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

May 7, 2022

MSM 545: Full Participation

Troy / MSM, Podcast /

Summary:

Shawn and Troy talk about Shawn’s new computer, conferences, and more. Dave is all about Cool Water.

Jokes:

If a pig loses its voice…does it become disgruntled?

A panic-stricken man explained to his doctor, “You have to help me, I think I’m shrinking.” “Now settle down,” the doctor calmly told him. “You’ll just have to learn to be a little patient.”

A ship carrying red paint and a ship carrying blue paint collide in the middle of the ocean. Both crews were marooned.

What is a guitar player’s favorite Italian food?

Strum-boli.

Why’d the alternate universe Spider-Man do so well on his driving test?

He’s an excellent parallel Parker.

Never date a tennis player.

Love means nothing to them.

What did Yoda say when he saw himself in 4K? HDMI.

What’s an astronaut’s favorite part of the computer?

The Space Bar.

Why didn’t the vampire attack Taylor Swift?

She had bad blood.

Today I’m attaching a light to the ceiling, but I’m afraid I’ll probably screw it up.

I hate it when people say age is only a number.

Age is clearly a word.

Middle School Science Minute

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

K12Science Podcast: Cool Water

I was recently reading the March/April 2022 issue of “Science & Children” a publication of the National Science Teaching Association.

In this issue, I read the Science 101 column, written by Matt Bobrowsky. He wrote an article entitled, “What’s Cool About Water?”

Water is a good example to use when discussing how matter can be in different states — solid, liquid, or gas. Students are quite familiar with solid water and liquid water but gaseous water is a bit more abstract. Bubbles in boiling water are made of water vapor (gaseous water). They are not empty, they are not air bubbles, and they are not made of separate hydrogen and oxygen gases.

http://k12science.net/cool-water/

Reports from the Front Lines

Spark & Tell – AMLE
- SES-09050-S7M6 The Online Tools You Need – H5P
ACTEM
End of year testing . . . lots of testing . . .
MoodleMoot IE & UK begins on Monday!
Moodle 4.0 Theme: LearnR https://moodle.org/plugins/theme_learnr
Mountain Moot July 20-July 22

The Twitterverse

Ditch That Textbook @DitchThatTxtbk

12 FREE social media-inspired Google Slides templates! Yelp Spotify YouTube Netflix LinkedIn Twitter Snapchat TikTok Instagram Facebook Pinterest Get ’em here: http://ditchthattextbook.com/social-media-t… #DitchBook #TechLAP

Typical EduCelebrity @EduCelebrity

The beginning of May is a time when school isn’t quite yet over but everyone likes to think it’s good enough.

Monica Burns, Ed.D. #EdTech @ClassTechTips

Although you might have students create a comic strip using a digital medium, this type of activity is perfect for connecting to print experiences.

Jack C Berckemeyer

Love this

PACE Scholarship Academy tSernsp18Mytau94:8 t 4at0A Mg7a

REPOSTING AGAIN

Parents PLEASE stress the importance of email etiquette to your children. Students send me emails ALL THE TIME with their entire question in the subject AND NO GREETING AT THE BEGINNING OF THE EMAIL. If they send emails like this to me, they will surely do it with a scholarship organization. Another reason why your child may not win a scholarship . Follow us on Facebook for daily scholarship posts PACE Scholarship Academy

#fullridesarepossible

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

Resources:

Voices of Hope

Beginning in May, Maine Public will share stories of recovery from across the state with the program, Voices of Hope: The Rugged Road to Recovery. Voices of Hope is a documentary series aimed at reducing the stigma associated with substance use disorder, interviewing young people sharing their recovery stories. This documentary series was created for use in classrooms to facilitate conversations about the use of chemicals and their consequences. This in-depth documentary series dives into how substance use disorder is affecting lives across the state.

https://www.mainepublic.org/voices-of-hope-documentary-series#annotations:RyayOsvSEey7YweegIqWVQ

11 Mysterious Monuments From Around the World

https://www.interestingfacts.com/mysterious-monuments/YkuaY1m3LQAHz-TC

Web Spotlight:

103 Bits of Advice I Wish I Had Known

https://kk.org/thetechnium/103-bits-of-advice-i-wish-i-had-known/#annotations:LSMJvMjnEey7H5NgPBWSkQ

BeamNG.Drive

The BeamNG physics engine is at the core of the most detailed and authentic vehicle simulation you’ve ever seen in a game. Every component of a vehicle is simulated in real-time using nodes (mass points) and beams (springs). Crashes feel visceral, as the game uses an incredibly accurate damage model.

https://www.beamng.com/game/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lqx2KKWI8aM