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.
Try http://fonts.google.com to discover fonts and font pairings. #googleEDU
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
For real! @shesatornado
#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.
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?
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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