MSM 677: You, Hallway, Now.
Summary:
Shawn and Troy talk about AI, and more AI. Dave Engineers another great segment.
Jokes:
Every machine in the coin factory broke down all of a sudden without explanation. It just doesn’t make any cents.
People snapping daily selfies with one of those sticks need to take a good, long look at themselves,
We need more things that come in the opposite of a childproof container.
During the times I lived on a farm or visited one, I have never seen anyone look for a needle in a haystack.
Why couldn’t the sailor find their playing cards?
- They were standing on the deck.
Middle School Science Minute
by Dave Bydlowski (k12science or davidbydlowski@mac.com)
Engineering in Middle School
I was recently reading the September-October 2025 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. She wrote an article entitled, “Engineering in the Middle School Science Classroom”
If you are looking for engineering ideas for your classroom, you can peruse sites such as:
teachingengineering.org or tryengineering.org
both of which contain a searchable database of Next Generation Science Standards aligned activities.
Reports from the Front Lines
- Addressing AI with students
- AI is wrong about 38% of the time. I don’t want you to embarrass yourself.
The Social Web
Today I offer a reminder of the word ‘forswunk’ (13th century): exhausted from too much work. To be ‘foreswunk’ (my own version) is to be exhausted before you even begin.
ANNOUNCEMENT! Coming next year to @bbctwo @bbciplayer and @pbs from @bbcarts and @bbcstudios!!! A palatial new series for you
NEW: How to Grow a Culture of Thinkers in Our Classrooms. When teachers build classrooms around how students think, they unlock a learning environment where curiosity replaces compliance & excitement replaces dread, writes @Kathie_Palmieri #edutwitter https://middleweb.com/52628/how-to-g
https://middleweb.substack.com/about
Strategies:
Strategies for Adopting Transformative Technology: A Brainstorming Session
- Balance Tradition with Innovation
- Problem: Students may prefer shortcuts (copy-paste answers, TikTok summaries) over deeper learning.
- Historical Parallel: Roman educators saw youth over-relying on rote memorization of written texts instead of oratory practice.
- Response Principle: Schools doubled down on oratory, discussion, and memory work to balance over-dependence on books.
- Modern Application: Use technology with tradition—have students debate, speak, and write without screens sometimes, so tech becomes a supplement, not a crutch.
- Ethical Framing of Use
- Problem: Students use tech impulsively—plagiarism, inappropriate sharing, unkind comments.
- Historical Parallel: With the printing press, pamphlets spread gossip and heresy; educators stressed the moral weight of words.
- Response Principle: Anchor use of tools in community values and ethics.
Modern Application: Teach “digital character”—every click, post, and share has moral weight, just as every word spoken in public did in earlier eras.
- Critical Evaluation and Discernment
- Problem: Students binge screens at home without guidance.
- Historical Parallel: Early mass-literacy worried adults—so schools restricted texts to religious or civic works before opening wider access.
- Response Principle: Provide guided exposure—curated apps, sandboxed platforms, structured time limits.
- Modern Application: Train “responsible release”: scaffold school tech use in stages (safe search → guided research → independent inquiry).
- Practical Skill Building
- Problem: Students bring conspiracy videos, fake news, or AI-generated answers into class.
- Historical Parallel: During the telegraph/newspaper explosion, educators pushed source evaluation and civic literacy.
- Response Principle: Turn “bad habits” into teachable moments by comparing sources, debunking fakes, and evaluating credibility.
- Modern Application: Have students fact-check viral content in class—showing that responsible use means slowing down and asking questions.
- Community & Civic Responsibility
- Problem: Students often misuse technology because they never learned its real power—typing with two fingers, sloppy searches, over-reliance on copy/paste.
- Historical Parallel: The calculator panic of the 1970s—kids “lost” math fluency until schools explicitly taught calculator literacy.
- Response Principle: Teach technical proficiency so misuse becomes less attractive.
- Modern Application: Show how AI or search engines work best with good prompts, or how social media can be used for civic projects rather than endless scrolling.
- Lifelong Learning & Adaptability
- Problem: Students lock into bad habits (“this is how I always use TikTok/AI/YouTube”).
- Historical Parallel: Every era stressed adaptability (e.g., monks adapting to codices, teachers shifting to films, etc.).
- Response Principle: Teach that habits aren’t permanent—responsible use is a skill you can relearn.
- Modern Application: Frame mistakes (plagiarism, oversharing, distraction) not as shameful failures but as practice opportunities for course-correction.
Resources:
Teachable Machine
A fast, easy way to create machine learning models for your sites, apps, and more – no expertise or coding required.
https://teachablemachine.withgoogle.com
Social Media and Mental Health: Considerations from experts this Mental Health Awareness Month
https://news.ufl.edu/2023/05/social-media-mental-health
Social Media Shortens Your Life. Here’s How to Get Time Back.
https://www.thefp.com/p/social-media-shortens-your-life-heres-how-to-get-time-back
Google Gemini 101
https://ditchthattextbook.com/google-gemini
Learn Your Way
Learn Your Way transforms content into a dynamic and engaging learning experience tailored for you.
https://learnyourway.withgoogle.com
AXIS: The Culture Translator
Enter: The Wilted Rose
What it is: Teens are swapping out the classic heartbreak emoji () for its moodier cousin: the wilted rose (
)
Why it’s trending: The heartbreak emoji is apparently so overused that it’s lost its edge. For a lot of teens, it feels too basic and obvious now. That’s where the wilted rose comes in. The wilted rose started as a way to say “I’m damaged, I’m heartbroken, I’m tragic,” but with a wink.
Web Spotlight:
“The Atlantic” Announces That Every U.S. High School Get Get Free Subscription For All Students & Staff
Key details about eligibility and how to request access are below and at our high-school access page:
- Open to all U.S. public high schools or districts (includes comprehensive, magnet, charter, and specialized schools).
- Schools may register for access at The Atlantic. The request must be submitted by either an administrator, librarian, or IT professional at the school.
- Access will be authenticated by IP address, giving students and staff access on browsers connected to a school’s Wi-Fi network. No individual accounts are required.
Clues by Sam
Random Thoughts . . .
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