Summary:

Shawn and Troy talk about Moodle, Christmas Break, Public Domain, and more. Dave continues with the best books about Science.

Jokes:  

“How many people does it take to change a light bulb?”

That’s just one of the many questions I should have asked before buying this lighthouse.

---

When you misspell things because you are over-excited, you’re making hypos

---

Walking home late last night , I passed a hot fudge sundae, a lemon cheesecake, and a slice of apple pie.

I thought to myself…

The streets are strangely desserted tonight.

---

Just bought “59 Ways To Remove Glue From Your Hands.”

Can’t put it down.

---

I really love my furniture… me and my recliner go way back.

---

They’ve crossed a homing pigeon with a woodpecker.

It not only delivers the message, it also knocks on the door.

---

What’s the best unusual Christmas present to receive?

• A broken drum, you can’t beat that.

---

Middle School Science Minute  

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

K12Science Podcast:  Two More of the Best Science Books of 2023

I was recently reading the December 7, 2023 issue of “Smithsonian” magazine. 

In this issue, I read the article “The Ten Best Science Books of 2023” written by Bridget Alex, Riley Black, Dan Falk, Shi En Kim, Carlyn Kranking, and Joe Spring.  

In the article they shared their top nonfiction science titles from the past year, selected by “Smithsonian” magazine’s editors and frequent contributors. In our last podcast, I shared the reviews of two of the top ten books.  In today’s podcast, we will look at the reviews of two more books from the list:

• Crossings: How Road Ecology is Shaping the Future of Our Planet by Ben Goldfarb
• Starborn: How the Stars Made Us (and Who We Would Be Without Them) by Roberto Trotta

http://k12science.net/two-more-of-the-best-science-books-of-2023/

Reports from the Front Lines

• Plans for Break
  • Moodle Net – Shawn McGirr
  • H5P Libraries
  • Books to Read
  • Moving Day
• Flooding in Maine
• AI in Education
• Moodle Comparisons

The Social Web

Jonathan Spike  @jonathanspike

Super disappointed that my #ISTELive session “Clippy Has Gone Rogue: What to do When Microsoft’s AI Starts Critiquing Your Bank Account” was NOT accepted at #ISTE24 #ISTERejects #ISTE2024

Richard Byrne  @rmbyrne

If you like the Peanuts comics, you’ll want to take a look at these lesson plans.

https://t.co/44ejqxBkd8

Susie Dent  @susie_dent

Word of the Day, because it’s getting closer, is ‘scurryfunge’ (from US dialect): to frenziedly tidy up the house just before guests descend.

Richard Byrne@rmbyrne·

The Fastest Way to Create Video-based Lessons  (English teachers take note.)

https://youtu.be/QQ92bruGrLI

Benjamin Waller @jamestagal@techhub.social

New & Unreleased H5P Creations by Oliver Tacke | A Detailed Showcase! In this video, I take a look at the new @H5PTechnology Game Map and some unreleased content types developed by our Lead H5P Ambassador, @otacke Check it out.https://youtu.be/xsauYHDUt9Y?si=bRzmxM

Strategies:  

EXAMPLES FOR TEACHING WITH FAKE NEWS AND PSEUDOSCIENCE

https://blog.tcea.org/fake-news-pseudoscience/

Resources:  

Public Domain Day

https://web.law.duke.edu/cspd/publicdomainday/2024/

10 Tips To Design Learner-Centered Training

Social Media and Adolescent Health

https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/27396/social-media-and-adolescent-health

H5P Content Types

https://www.olivertacke.de/labs/h5p-content-types/

Web Spotlight: 

Web Design Museum

https://www.webdesignmuseum.org/web-design-history

INFOGRAPHIC: “AMERICA’S TOP NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS FOR 2024”

https://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2023/12/23/infographic-americas-top-new-years-resolutions-for-2024/

---

The last day of this year is 123123

This won’t happen again…for awhile

---

UPDATED Most Popular Websites 1995 – 2023

Random Thoughts . . .  

Click the Play button below to listen to the show!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Summary:

Shawn and Troy talk about the upcoming break, virtual school days, AI and more. Dave shares a couple of the best science books of 2023.

Jokes:  

Did you hear about the Red ship that collided with the blue ship?

• They were marooned

---

I’m letting anyone who wants to use my French Revolution joke. 

• It’s Royalty free

---

I got kicked out of the coffee club.

• I wore a tea shirt

---

did you know Pavlov was known to have great hair?

he did a lot of conditioning

---

A man walks into a chemist’s and says, ‘Can I have a bar of soap, please?’ The chemist says, ‘Do you want it scented?’ And the man says, ‘No, I’ll take it with me now.

---

Lowe’s has all the Christmas stuff in the second row. In other words: 

• Aisle B – home for Christmas

---

The bad thing about being the first to ascend a mountain?

• It’s all downhill from there

---

People who drive electric cars, do they listen to AC/DC?

• Or something current?

---

i just learned about recency bias. Gotta say that’s the most interesting bias I’ve ever heard of

---

Dave considered majoring in mime but decided he didn’t want to get boxed in with a career.

---

On his last report card, Rudolph went up in Math and down in History.

---

How did Joseph and Mary weigh baby Jesus at birth?

They had a weigh in a manger.

---

---

---

Middle School Science Minute  

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

K12Science Podcast:  The Best Science Books of 2023

I was recently reading the December 7, 2023 issue of “Smithsonian” magazine.  

In this issue, I read the article “The Ten Best Science Books of 2023” written by Bridget Alex, Riley Black, Dan Falk, Shi En Kim, Carlyn Kranking, and Joe Spring.  

In the article, they shared their top nonfiction science titles from the past year, selected by “Smithsonian” magazine’s editors and frequent contributors.  In this podcast, we look at two of their selections:

• “Fire Weather: A True Story From a Hotter World” by John Vaillant
• “Of Time and Turtles: Mending the World, Shell by Shattered Shell” by Sy Montgomery

http://k12science.net/the-best-science-books-of-2023/

Reports from the Front Lines

• Break
• Last Day Plans
  • Attendance
  • Moodle
  • Executive Functioning
• Town Council Meeting
• Virtual Schooling Days

The Social Web

Fixing Education  @FixingEducation

I’m convinced 95% of my students spend 15 hours each day on TikTok. 

Susie Dent  @susie_dent

Word of the day is ‘bayardism’ (17th century): a confidence that is rooted in ignorance or a wilful misunderstanding of reality.

NJAMLE  @NJAMLE

Don’t forget to submit a proposal for the NJAMLE annual conference! Submissions due December 15th!

https://t.co/6qNbCUBkpo

MAMSE  @MI_MAMSE

Looking for an opportunity to learn with other educators from the middle? Join us on March 9th for the 2024 MAMSE Conference! For more information: https://mamse.org/conference

Strategies:  

Calendar End of Year Review

https://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2023/12/16/duh-why-have-i-never-thought-of-having-students-do-a-calendar-year-in-review/

New Years Resolutions

https://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2012/12/31/the-best-ways-to-help-make-your-new-years-resolutions-succeed/

Resources:  

Choice Boards

https://shakeuplearning.com/blog/category/choice-boards/

Bookmarking

Raindrop

Bookmarking service. 

https://eduk8.me/2023/12/managing-and-sharing-your-bookmarks-with-raindrop/

Hypothesis

I use Hypothes.is (open source and free). This is an annotation tool, but also does bookmarking. 

https://web.hypothes.is/

Clipboard Managers

The Case for Clipboard Managers

https://sixcolors.com/post/2023/12/the-case-for-clipboard-managers/

Clipy

This is the one that I use. This is an open source project, based on an earlier open source project (ClipMenu). 

https://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/58124/clipy

https://clipy-app.com/

How to create substitute teacher plans in 15 minutes with AI

https://ditchthattextbook.com/sub-plans/

Spanish: Beyond the Words

From the richness of regional dialects and accents, to vibrant modern culture across the Spanish-speaking world, “Spanish: Beyond the Words” tells the story of a truly global language.

https://artsandculture.google.com/project/spanish-language

Web Spotlight: 

Professional Development Is Dying — and It’s Most Evident in My Local Teacher Community

https://www.edsurge.com/news/2023-12-13-professional-development-is-dying-and-it-s-most-evident-in-my-local-teacher-community

101 Hidden Gems: The Greatest Films You’ve Never Seen

https://www.openculture.com/2023/12/101-hidden-gems-the-greatest-films-youve-never-seen.html

US does surprisingly well on COVID-era declines in latest PISA math test

https://jabberwocking.com/us-does-surprisingly-well-on-covid-declines-in-latest-pisa-test/

Can Kids Grow Up If They’re Constantly Tracked and Monitored?

https://www.edsurge.com/news/2023-12-05-can-kids-grow-up-if-they-re-constantly-tracked-and-monitored

Random Thoughts . . .  

Click the Play button below to listen to the show!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Summary:

Shawn and Troy talk about student research in Moodle, some inquiry cubes, and more. Dave hears an Acoustician.

Jokes:  

So, according to this BMI chart, my height has not been keeping up with my weight.

---

“Why is that book so thick?”

“It’s a long story.”

---

I tell strangers I’m “when Amazon only sold books” old.

In reality, I’m “when Amazon was only a river” old.

---

Got kicked out of the Liar’s Anonymous for telling them I was happy to see them.

---

Dave was lonely so he started a business.

Now he has a little company.

---

Middle School Science Minute  

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

K12Science Podcast:  Acoustician

I was recently reading the Fall, 2023 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.  In this section, she focused on the career of an acoustician. 

An acoustician is an expert in the branch of physics concerned with the properties of sound.  Tony Hoover is an acoustician and recommends interested students to have a great understanding of acoustics, which is an interdisciplinary field that involves a lot of physics, math, and engineering.  

http://k12science.net/acoustician/

Reports from the Front Lines

• Database Activity in Moodle for Research
  •    
  •    
  • 
• Professional Development – self-paced

The Social Web

Kevin Honeycutt  @kevinhoneycutt

129 free drawing lessons by me designed to fit the time you have in class! Everything from simple machines to national symbols to habitats. https://docs.google.com/drawings/d/1bC

Susie Dent  @susie_dent

(Unofficial) word of the day is ‘rememble’: to have a false memory of something. Possibly a blend of ‘remember’ and ‘fumble’.

John R. Sowash  @jrsowash

Taking screenshots is a #Chromebook feature I use dozens of times every day! I recorded this video for students to teach them how to use the screen capture tool: https://youtu.be/cGcUeTr_XMM?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=jrsowash&utm_content=edtechposts

Human Kind — Be Jingley @qurlyjoe@mstdn.social

I wonder what the part of my brain that used to store peoples’ phone numbers is doing now?

Mark Dunk @unklar@mastodon.education

A Free and Open-Source (FOSS) Geographic Information System

written by Miguel Guhlin

https://blog.tcea.org/social-studies-f

johnkuti @johnkuti@social.coop

visiting profiles of the Open Educators in this list https://edtechfactotum.com/open-educat

#mschat, #H5P, #msmatters

Strategies:  

Inquiry Cubes

https://passionatelycurioussci.weebly.com/blog/patterns-in-science-inquiry-cubes

Creating Experience Prototypes

https://dschool.stanford.edu/resources/educator-guide-this-is-a-prototype

Resources:  

EpicPBL 

Some Free materials

https://www.trevormuir.com/epicpbl

Revision History

Revision History adds a bar to the top of Google Docs with basic statistics like time spent writing, number of deletions and copy/pastes.

The replay feature (in beta) lets you watch a video of the student writing their paper.

Click on the details button to open a sidebar with more information about the student’s writing process, including what was copy/pasted and information on writing sessions.

• The plugin pulls from data that is already stored by Google. All the analysis is done on your computer. This tool respects your privacy (and that of your students), so no student data, including the document text, is ever sent to our servers.

https://www.revisionhistory.com/

Kialo Edu

Kialo Edu is a custom version of Kialo (kialo.com), the world’s largest argument mapping and debate site, specifically designed for classroom use. Its clear, visually compelling format makes it easy to follow the logical structure of a discussion and facilitates thoughtful collaboration. Kialo’s mission is to promote well-reasoned discussion online, and to that end, Kialo is free for educators to use.

https://www.kialo-edu.com/

Web Spotlight: 

 AXIS:  The Culture Translator

A Charismatic Selection

What it is: The Oxford University Press has chosen “rizz” for their 2023 word of the year.

What it means: The word “rizz,” if you aren’t familiar, is essentially short for “charisma,” and is generally used to refer to someone with an ability to attract others through their sense of style, charm, or general attractiveness. Other contestants for word of the year were “Swiftie” (referring to a Taylor Swift fan), “situationship” (referring to a romantic relationship that hasn’t been clearly defined), and “prompt” (referring to instructions given to an AI program like ChatGPT). As per usual, now that the word “rizz” has been given so much attention, expect it to fall swiftly and completely out of use with everyone under 25.

Slang of the Week

Erm: Maybe one of the more self-explanatory slangs, “erm” is an interjection used to express hesitation or as a response to something annoying someone said or did. It serves double-duty as a vocal-filler and a response. It’s not really new, but it’s been seeing a resurgence as vernacular with content creators, which, in turn, has trickled down to their audiences. To see some members of Gen Alpha explain “erm” and other slang, check out this TikTok by Nicole Pellegrino.

Click the Play button below to listen to the show!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Summary:

Shawn and Troy talk about AI in the classroom and education. Dave spotlights Joanna Haigh.

Jokes:  

I made a Belgium waffle this morning,

• This afternoon I’m going to make a Frenchman talk nonsense.

---

The guy at the computer store may have mentioned that I needed more RAM on my laptop.

• But I have no memory of it.

---

Why was Santa’s helper on the wall?

• He was a “SH…” elf

---

When did the cranberry sauce cross the road?

• To get to the other sides.

---

I met someone from a foreign country the other day. We got to talking. They stated that their country had banned scales. I said….”No way”. 

---

My wife is tired of cheese jokes. 

• She says that they really grate on her.

---

According to my chocolate Advent calendar….there are three days until Christmas

---

My friend met someone new, as soon as she told him she worked in the monkey exhibit, I knew…

• She’s a ‘keeper.

---

I told one of my jokes on a Zoom meeting today.

Turns out I’m not even remotely funny.

Middle School Science Minute  

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

Joanna Haigh

I was recently reading the Fall, 2023 issue of “The Science Teacher” a publication of the National Science Teaching Association.  

In this issue, I read the article “The Use of Storytelling to Model NGSS Science and Engineering Practices” written by Adrienne Larocque and Anna Babarinde. 

An important strand of three-dimensional learning in the Next Generation Science Standards is science and engineering practices.  These practices replace the oversimplified “scientific method” often presented in science textbooks that bears little resemblance to actual scientific research. It requires time and effort to research and prepare accounts about people who model the Scientific and Engineering Practices.  Joanna Haigh is one of those people.

https://directory.libsyn.com/episode/index/show/k12science/id/28816788

Reports from the Front Lines

• AI in the Title
• AI in the Classroom
• Tech Fair
• Google Tools
• AI for US
  • How do you use it?
  • Environmental Concerns?
  • Cost concerns?
  • Ethical concerns?

The Social Web

Shannon McClintock Fitzgerald  @shannonmmiller

It’s Here, Friends…Our December Choice Boards!  You will find everything you need here to use this with your students and teachers, including Holidays, 12 Days of Making, Hour of Code and more. Find the published link and link to copy here… https://buff.ly/48fTGev…

rebelEducator  @rebelEducator

This is an 8th grade graduation exam from 1912. 8th graders then were better prepared for life in the real world than 12th graders are today.

Joy Kirr (she/her)  @JoyKirr

Quote from a seventh grader today: I don’t know why I can’t do whatever I want to do. Why do I have to do what YOU want me to do? #mschat #middleschool #teacher

Matt Miller @jmattmiller

UNBOXING VIDEOSto show what they know Add some FUN to your video activities! Example unboxing videos to watch Downloadable student planning guide 20 video activity ideas Microsoft Flip tips http://ditchthattextbook.com/unboxing #ditchbook

Strategies:  

Bringing Artificial Intelligence to Middle School Classrooms

MIT researchers and collaborators have developed an open-source curriculum to teach young students about ethics and artificial intelligence.

Lots of resources. Seems to be a cost of about $50 per robot. 

These materials are licensed as CC-BY-NC under creative commons.

https://news.mit.edu/2019/bringing-artificial-intelligence-and-mit-middle-school-classrooms-1230

https://httyr.media.mit.edu/

Resources:  

Free Resources from Larry Ferlazzo

https://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2023/11/26/free-resources-from-all-my-books-35/

AXIS – The Culture Translator

Not Kidding

What it is: Gen Z is complaining on TikTok that kids thirteen and under are poorly behaved—and they think parents who enable too much screen time are to blame. #ipadkids has 833 million views.

Watermelon Activism

What it is: The watermelon emoji is being used as a symbol of the pro-Palestinian cause, primarily because the red, black, and green colors of a watermelon are the same as the Palestinian flag.

Web Spotlight: 

LRT Christmas Special

What does Santa look like in Lithuania?  What kind of problems does he have to solve?  Here’s LRT’s take on that:  https://fb.watch/oH4f6PoXrM/  

Random Thoughts . . .  

I’ve shared my H5P presentation on my personal blog.

Click the Play button below to listen to the show!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download