MSM 205: Split or Steal?

Jokes You Can Use:

“I haven’t slept for days.”
How come?
I only sleep at night.

On Our Mind:

ESL objectives, Professional Development & How to Win Friends and Influence People.
#PLNfail
Congrats to all the EMU students who were dismissed today . . .

Eileen Award:

  • Jeffry Prickett (Facebook & Twitter)
  • Eleanor Ricardo

Advisory:

Food

http://twentytwowords.com/2012/04/25/chart-showing-the-10-companies-that-own-most-of-the-food-products-we-buy/

Split or Steal

Here’s the deal. £13,600 are on the line. Each contestant must choose Split or Steal. If they both choose Split, they each get half of the money. If one chooses Split and the other Steal, the one who chose Steal gets all the money. And if they both choose Steal, nobody gets any money.
Before they choose, they are allowed to discuss their plan together. It is a battle of wits, combining both logic and the ability to read and manipulate one’s opponent. Check out how one ingenious contestant chose to let this scenario play out…

http://twentytwowords.com/2012/04/28/split-or-steal-a-creative-and-kind-use-of-logic-and-manipulation/

Middle School Science Minute

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

The topic is Reading Ladders and Science.  “Climb on up and enjoy the podcast.”

In the March, 2012 issue of Science Scope, a publication of the National Science Teachers Association, Colleen Sheehy and Karina Clemmons shared an article entitled, “Opening the door to science instruction for all through literature.”

The article focused on a strategy called “reading ladders.”  The vision for reading ladders came from envisioning different levels of text difficulty to be different rungs on a ladder.  Teachers can use the idea of reading ladders as a metaphor and framework when employing text to enhance and supplement inquiry-based science instruction.

They provide a very good example of reading ladders in which they show how themed picture books, children’s books, and young adult literature novels can be used to build content knowledge and enhance science instruction.

From the Twitterverse:

50 resources for #iPad use in the classroom zite.to/L1EOng via @zite ~ @msmatters #fhuedu642 #mLearning #edtech

Social Media For Administrators [Blog Posts] #fhuedu642 #edtech ~ Great for @msmatters listeners tinyurl.com/d5lh5jm

25 Ways To Use #iPads In The Classroom by Degree of Difficulty | Edudemic #mLearning #edtech => @msmatters tinyurl.com/ctnwk5y

* Scott McLeod ‏ @mcleod
New bookmark: Backward Design – Digital Learning Toolbox

New bookmark: What’s the “problem” with MOOCs?

DangIrrel: Nurture your kids’ passions, even if they’re making Pokemon game walkthrough videos #edtech

* Nancy White ‏ @NancyW
RT @cmt1 How Do You Create A Culture Of Innovation? http://zite.to/IHQBqu via @zite #edchat #education #edchat
* Terie Engelbrecht ‏ @mrsebiology
RT @NMHS_Principal: Creating Assignments That Work for Digital Learning Environments http://j.mp/IZsCAe #edtech #edchat #elearning
* Will Richardson ‏ @willrich45
Depressing figures on the appeal of teaching in the US #edchat #edreform
* Mark Barnes ‏ @markbarnes19
Neat ideas “@technolit: Creative classroom seating ideas: http://tinyurl.com/7r82ldo via The Big Fresh enewsletter from @ChoiceLiteracy
* Miguel Guhlin ‏ @mguhlin
Ways to Evaluate Educational Apps ipad http://dlvr.it/1WsJ2W
* E-Learning Council ‏ @learningcouncil
RT @stileskelly 50 Best Sources of Free Education Online #edchat #edtech http://j.mp/Jyz5nk More sources for an information junkie!
* Terie Engelbrecht ‏ @mrsebiology
Formative Assessment Strategies List: http://goo.gl/R1z7X #edchat #midleved #elemchat
* Tweeter of Wit ‏ @TweeterofWit
@Kill_Weather: INSTALLING SUMMER….. ███████████████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ 44% DONE. Installation failed. 404 error: Season not found. #iwn
* russeltarr ‏ @russeltarr
Evidence that IQ tests provide a very limited definition of “intelligence”: http://tinyurl.com/3wrm5cz
* Chris Christensen ‏ @christensen143
New website aims to guide educators through education technology maze #edtech
21h ☆ Lee Kolbert ‏ @TeachaKidd
25 educators to follow on Twitter. http://www.mathgametime.com/blog/2012/05/top-25-teachers-educators-on-twitter/
Watch for #midleved on Twitter!

News:

Change the World

by Vickie Davis – Cool Cat Teacher
We CAN change the world, say my ninth grade students Kerrie and Madison. These girls chose to animate a song using Nomad Paint brushes on touch screen (Lenovo m90z) computers and a Bamboo tablet for their Freshman project (see assignment here). They each animated half of this film. There is a definite improvement in their abilities as each half of the film progresses.
http://coolcatteacher.blogspot.com/2012/05/we-can-change-world-one-child-at-time.html

Parents who sued school over son’s punishment for cheating receive hate messages

Jack Berghouse doesn’t dispute that his son, a sophomore at Sequoia High School, copied someone else’s homework. But the Redwood City father believes the school district was wrong to kick his teenager out of an English honors class for the offense, and his decision to sue has embroiled the family in a public, opinionated debate.
Berghouse believes the punishment is disproportionate to the offense and will jeopardize the academic future of his son, who he said has a chance at attending an Ivy League school.
“He knows it’s wrong,” he said of his son. “You cannot imagine the mental and emotional penalty that has been inflicted upon him. We’ve offered several penalties, anything other than being kicked out of the English program.”
The parents suggested, for example, that their son could work as an after-school teacher’s assistant for the rest of the school year, Berghouse said.

http://www.mercurynews.com/san-mateo-county-times/ci_20493867/parents-who-sued-school-over-sons-punishment-cheating
and the follow up:
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/opinion-la/la-ol-school-cheat-20120427,0,1656872.story

Evaluate Me, Please

I want to know what works and what doesn’t. Like my students, I thrive on feedback. So evaluate me, please. But let’s lay down a few ground rules.

  • I teach children, not targets or standards, so please don’t walk into my classroom expecting to see me teaching a specific skill at an exact moment in time. That’s not how it works here.
  • Don’t assume you know my kids as well as I do. That little boy with his back to me? Yeah, I know he’s off-task, but six months ago he would’ve thrown a desk when he was angry. Now he just turns his back. If I leave him alone, he’ll calm down and eventually apologize. If I say something to him now he’ll explode. Ask me about it later, but right now, trust that I know my kids.
  • If you want to know how far I’ve taken my students, then look at where they were when they came in my room and where they are when they leave. I do good work, but I can’t bring a child who is three years behind up to grade level in one year. If I could, believe me I would.
  • Understand that social and emotional growth can’t be measured on a test, but they are measured in real life. When we meet, let’s talk about how my kids have progressed in these areas as well.
  • Join in. Ask questions. Talk to my kids. You’ll learn a lot more by being part of the learning than you will sitting in judgment in the back of the room.
  • Talk to me. You bring a different perspective to my room. Ask questions, offer suggestions, but don’t forget to point out my strengths.
  • Remember that every year is different. What was an area of strength last year may be an area of struggle this year. Don’t assume it’s because I’ve slacked off or done something wrong. Make me feel safe enough to ask for support.
  • Build a climate of collaboration and trust. My students don’t learn in isolation, and neither do I.
  • By all means, hold me accountable for what I do within the classroom.

Evaluate me, please. Just remember my worth shouldn’t be determined by some arbitrary value added model based on subpar standardized tests. It should come from what I do with the students I have each year, from my professional growth, and from formative, ongoing conversations.
http://teachfromtheheart.wordpress.com/2012/04/24/evaluate-me-please/

Resources:

KANEX Pro- AirPlay® Mirroring For VGA Projector

Kanex ATV Pro allows a VGA projector to use Apple AirPlay mirroring from an iPad to Apple TV.  Eliminate the need for expensive HDMI projection equipment upgrades.  Join the thousands of classrooms nationwide that can mirror and stream content direct to a VGA projector via an Apple TV.
http://www.kanexlive.com/atvpro

Technology Integration Matrix Grade Level Index

This page provides a breakdown of videos within the Technology Integration Matrix by grade level. Although you may be primarily interested in a particular level, we encourage you to view the ways in which technology is used in other grade levels. For example, you will find videos of high school classrooms in which the technology tools could be used in the same way with middle school or elementary level students. Some videos involve students from both middle and high school grades and some involve students from both middle and elementary grades. These videos appear in both lists below.
http://fcit.usf.edu/matrix/gradelevel.php

TED-Ed – Insults by Shakespeare

  • Watch
  • Quick Quiz
  • Think
  • Dig Deeper

If you sign in, you can make adjustments on most sections of the page. For example, you can deselect Quick Quiz questions, add Think questions, and add links to the Dig Deeper section.
http://ed.ted.com/lessons/insults-by-shakespeare

Google Education On-Air

https://sites.google.com/site/eduonair/home

Virtual 4T Conference

The Virtual Conference will be held May19th through May 22nd. It is a 24/7 conference and is free and open to any educator.
*Disclosure- I’m presenting a session.
http://4tvirtualcon.soe.umich.edu/
Conference Sessions:
http://4tvirtualcon.soe.umich.edu/?page_id=54
or
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/pub?key=0Amyg3kn2ZRP0dC1yMGxfVV9xTzkwYVIzVDhhbUtfUGc&output=html

Web Spotlight:

Broomstick

I’m Sebastian, a 14 year old Kiwi innovator, Mac app developer, student and tech enthusiast from New Zealand, currently living in Paris.
http://www.zibity.com/broomstick

Dangerously Irrelevant:  Web videos educators should see

http://dangerouslyirrelevant.org/2010/11/12-videos-to-spark-educators-thinking.html

Strategies:

TinkerCad

Design in 3D what you’ve always dreamed of, but never thought possible. Until now.
Join the Tinkercad community and learn how to create your first real things in just a few minutes.
https://tinkercad.com/home/
or

3D Tin

Create 3D models in your browser.
http://www.3dtin.com/

Events & Happenings:

Calendar of Events:

Ohio Middle Level Association:


AMLE Affiliate Conferences:


Classroom 2.0’s Live Calendar.