MSM 454: UGLY Gerry &#038; There’s a Full Moon On the Rise

Diane Ravitch@DianeRavitch

Do not feel guilty if a student fails your class. If admin doesn’t bump the grade up to inflate average GPA or graduation rates, the student will get the credits by taking a summer online course in which 95% of the grade is earned by successfully registering for the class.

Susan Edelman: Bloomberg’s Test Score Con

Strange as it may seem, the best education reporter in New York City works for Rupert Murdoch’s New York Post. Her name is Susan Edelman, and she regularly reports on what is happening in the…

dianeravitch.net

DoInk Tweets @DoInkTweets

@PSD_EReichert

: This is an awesome new feature to an already excellent app! App smashes wonderfully into @Seesaw too! Hey @PennridgeSD teachers- who wants to play?!!? https://twitter.com/doinktweets/status/1230975557158002689 #doink #greenscreen #everyonecancreate

Eric Curts @ericcurts

Using Google AutoDraw for Sketchnotes, Infographics, Drawings, and More http://controlaltachieve.com/2017/04/google-autodraw.html #ControlAltAchieve

Strategies:

Timelinely

Annotate videos. (Need to compare to H5P).

https://timeline.ly/

Resources:

3 Reasons Students Procrastinate—and How to Help Them Stop

https://www.edutopia.org/article/3-reasons-students-procrastinate-and-how-help-them-stop#annotations:l2yL3lM0EeqNOMPXWFxi1Q

Learning Objectives Builder

Learning Objectives Builder

Google Earth View

Wallpaper downloads available.

https://www.engadget.com/2020/02/19/google-earth-view-1000-new-images/?guccounter=1

100 Most Spoken Languages

Around the world, there are more than 7,000 regularly spoken vernaculars,

https://word.tips/100-most-spoken-languages/

Web Spotlight:

Why Sitting For Long Periods Can Affect Teens’ Mental Health

study finds that sitting still is linked to a higher risk of depression among teens, but even an hour of light physical activity every day reduces the risk of depression by 10%.

Kandola and his colleagues analyzed this data from when the children were 12, 14 and 16 years old. And they found that as these kids went through adolescence, they spent more time sitting.

https://www.npr.org/2020/02/17/806599794/why-sitting-for-long-periods-can-effect-teens-mental-health

Literacy Test

Spell backwards, forwards.

That may be a trick question. If you read it using normal syntax, you end up with the instruction to spell the word “backwards” forwards, which will give you the answer “b-a-c-k-w-a-r-d-s.” But, due to the comma, one could very reasonably read the command using a reversed syntax. In that case, the instruction would be to spell the word “forwards” backwards, resulting with “s-d-r-a-w-r-o-f.” Either answer is potentially correct — or, potentially, wrong.

https://slate.com/human-interest/2013/06/voting-rights-and-the-supreme-court-the-impossible-literacy-test-louisiana-used-to-give-black-voters.html

Gratitude and acknowledgement are more important than ever

“Dear audience members,

A couple of days ago, we commemorated the 100th anniversary of the birth of one of our greatest literary figures, Jaan Kross. In the beginning of a play staged at the Drama Theatre to mark the occasion, the author has the main character turn to the audience with the following address:

“If you really want to accomplish something in this world, start immediately! Not in the next minute, but the very instant the desire comes. Even if it’s in the middle of the night. Do it now, straight away. It doesn’t matter how – just begin. Anything started tomorrow will be completed only after you’re dead and gone.

“You don’t have to be in the theatre to imagine the crafty, playful gleam in the old master’s eyes accompanying those words. In essence, it’s the attitude of a child at play, for whom time still comes down to the here and now, with thousands of possibilities still open. Not someone in the throes of time constraints, but someone with mastery over time. Someone who is forever experimenting and examining, who rejoices in successes, who might shed some brief tears and then try, try again if at first, they don’t succeed.

Happy are those who embody this attitude.”

https://news.err.ee/1055597/kaljulaid-gratitude-and-acknowledgement-are-more-important-than-ever

Random Thoughts . . .

The Dities – Happy 30th Anniversary of the Restoration of Lithuanian Independence.

Click the Play button below to listen to the show!

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February 15, 2020

MSM 452: Notification! Greek Out!

Troy / MSM, Podcast /

Jokes:

What kind of bagel can fly?

A plain bagel

Why did they call it the “dark ages”?

There were so many “knights”.

Why do EMTs travel in twos?

They are paramedics.

Advisory:

Notifications

Ziegarnik Effect

What can waiters, the TV series ‘Lost’ and the novelist Charles Dickens teach us about avoiding procrastination?

when people manage to start something they’re more inclined to finish it.

https://www.spring.org.uk/2011/02/the-zeigarnik-effect.php

Middle School Science Minute

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

Why Can I See My Breath on Cold Days? (4 Minutes)

I was recently reading the January, 2020 issue of “Science & Children,” a magazine written for elementary school science teachers, published by the National Science Teaching Association.

In this issue, I read the “Science 101” section. The title of the article, within the section was “Why Can I See My Breath on Cold Days?,” written by Matt Bobrowsky.

Although this magazine is written for teachers of elementary students, the concept of condensation is really not introduced to students until 5th or 6th grade. So this topic is of interest to teachers of students at the beginning of middle school. When a gas changes to a liquid, that is called condensation

From the Twitterverse:

EL Magazine @ELmagazine

“If we create a culture where every teacher believes they need to improve, not because they aren’t good enough, but because they can be even better, there is no limit to what we can achieve.” —Dylan Wiliam ICYMI read “Take a Praise Walk!”

@barbphillips77 http://bit.ly/2AB8sPP

Josh Chin @joshchin

A photo from Caixin reporter Ding Gang of Wuhan doctors paying respects to Li Wenliang. 100% of my WeChat feed, from dissident lawyers to Huawei employees, is raging over Li’s death. Haven’t seen China unified like this since the Wenzhou train crash.

Mike Roberts @BaldRoberts

This Valentine’s Day, spend this special evening with your passion: grading, lesson planning, and curriculum writing. Remember, there is no greater love than a labor of love.

To all the teachers who are fed up with Tik Tok… Trust me – This too shall pass. Sincerely, FortNite, Minecraft, PokémonGo, SnapChat, Fidget spinners, that cup thing from “Pitch Perfect”, Crocs, Silly Bandsz, and all the members of One Direction.

Why Are Teachers Leaving The Profession? •Inadequate preparation for new teachers •Lack of support •Class sizes •They are worked to the bone •Low salaries •Little to no recognition •Their time isn’t respected •Better opportunities elsewhere MUST DO BETTER #EdChat

I probably shouldn’t be saying this, but word is that Trump, if re-elected, will appoint me as the new Secretary of Education. I hope you factor that into your decision of how to vote in November…

https://www.espn.com/espnradio/feeds/rss/podcast.xml?id=27807607

If students should not have to answer questions that they can get from Google, then teachers should not have to write lesson plans that they can get from Teachers Pay Teachers.

Strategies:

Resources:

Greeking Out! Podcast

This podcast is creatively written to catch your middle school social studies students’ attention.

The 1619 Project – Update

Princeton History professor Allen Guelzo says it “is not history; it is conspiracy theory. The 1619 Project is not history; it is ignorance” Guelzo goes on to say that it is a polemic rather than an historical account. Chicago Public Schools has ordered 200-400 copies for distribution to schools.

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/08/14/magazine/1619-america-slavery.html

https://www.city-journal.org/1619-project-conspiracy-theory

Web Spotlight:

Earth Day

Please spread the word to teachers that middle schools can Sign up for Earth Day.

Since 2004, the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, and the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development have hosted the annual Earth Day Celebration at Constitution Hall in Lansing, offering conference style session rotations. This year’s event has been modified to spotlight hands-on, interactive lessons that align with Next Generation Science Standards for middle school students.

Schools are invited to participate in the 2020 Earth Day Event, Poster Contest and the new Environmental Service Award competition. Visit www.michigan.gov/earthday for contest rules, deadlines, and application information. The attached email highlights school group opportunities and registration for the event. Schools can now register online to attend. Please see the attachment for event information and the registration link.

We are looking forward to celebrating the 50^th Anniversary of Earth Day focusing on climate action.

What do Teachers Want

The fastest-growing categories of requests are “warmth, care, and hunger,” health and wellness, and character education.

http://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/teaching_now/2020/02/an_analysis_of_almost_2_million_donorschoose_requests_shows_funding_inequities.html#annotations:87Fz_kzhEeqXuO8piBuRTQ

Random Thoughts . . .

Math Follow Up

Loved the example of 8% of 25 being the same as 25% of 8. I thought this was so cool (you mentioned it previously two weeks ago) I have told others, but then I mentioned this to a math teacher. She said, oh yes, that is the commutative property of math. It works for every pair of numbers.

https://www.mathwarehouse.com/dictionary/C-words/commutative-property.php

She was the only one to mention it. I don’t think any other of my friends remembered this property. 🙂

Lotus Seed Pops

Completely random item. They’re delicious. Wonderful snack. Strange enough your students won’t steal them off of your desk. Just sayin’.

Find them here: Lotus Seed Pops

The Cost of Free

We are stewards of student information. Do we have a responsibility to understand why something is free?

Click the Play button below to listen to the show!

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February 8, 2020

MSM 451: 10 Star Worthy, Annotate the Sourdough

Troy / MSM, Podcast /

Jokes:

Just a thought, if you take six and drop the s, you get more, 9.

If they make another Fast and Furious and don’t call it Fast 10: Your Seatbelts, someone needs to be fired.

Why is dark spelled with a K and not a C?

You can’t see in the dark

I have a friend who has started a new band. The name of the band is Duvet.

They’re a, wait for it, cover band.

Stephen King has a son named Joe. I’m not joking, but he is.

How do you make a waterbed bouncy?

Put Spring water in it.

I never trust stairs.

They are always up to something.
Then they bring you down.

Eight

Tolerate

I have a friend who tried to take a selfie in the shower. It came out all blurry.

Yep, my friend has selfie steam issues.

What has four letters, occassionally has twelve letters,

always has six letters but never has five letters.

In a job interview, the candidate was asked can you perform under pressure?

He responded, no but I’ll give Bohemian Rhapsody a go.

Advisory:

Fun Facts:

The word “helicopter” has two components. They aren’t “heli” and “copter”. They are “helico” and “pter”.

“Helico” (helix) and “pter” (wing, like with “pterodactyl”)

Words that are spelled the same but pronounced with emphasis on different syllables is actually indicative of the part of speech it is. Stress on the first syllable is a noun. Stress on the last syllable is a verb. Examples: CON-tract and con-TRACT. The former is a noun ( sign this contract) whereas the latter is a verb (the muscles contract). Same with record, address, impact, object, and a few others.

Everyone has seen shows or movies about traveling circuses, mainly in the 1930’s or 1940’s. During the Depression, running away to join the circus was a semi-reasonable option.

Many people scoff at the Florida law you must feed the meter where you park your elephant.

Those circuses had a travel season that heavily relied on summer and warmer months. They would spend the winter in Florida until the next travel season.

Potatoes didn’t arrive in Europe until the 16th century.

It’s so ubiquitous, you’d think it would’ve been a part of English culture since 10,000 BC.

I love that it took a huge scam just to get people to eat them.

French botanist and chemist Antoine-Augustin Parmentier planted a huge field full of potatoes and stationed armed military guards to protect it. However the guards were instructed to take any and all bribes. So people see this field full of potatoes under military guard and figure “they must be good if its worth protecting” and started bribing the guards to snag a few thus creating a new love of carbs.

You don’t actually bite down. You bite up because of your lower jaw.

World Wide Web contains fewer syllables than its intended short form – WWW, thus making the shorter version longer to say.

You know that old statistic that the average person eats 3 spiders in their sleep each year?

That was an intentionally made up statistic by a journalist to elicit the point that people will believe any “statistic” the media will tell them.

Percentages are reversible. 8% of 25 is the same as 25% of 8 and one of them is much easier to do in your head.

40% of all sick days taken by white-collar employees are on a Monday or a Friday. … not because people are trying for 3-day weekends, but because Monday and Friday account for 40% of all weekdays.

Middle School Science Minute

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

Middle School Science Minute: Sourdough Citizen Science

I was recently reading the January, 2020 issue of “Science Scope,” a magazine written for middle school science teachers, published by the National Science Teaching Association.

In this issue, I read the “Citizen Science” section. The title of the article, within the section was “Sourdough Citizen Science,” written by Jill Nugent.

Sourdough Citizen Science provides the opportunity to learn more about microbial influences on bread, including rise and flavor. For more information, please visit:

Sourdough for Science

From the Twitterverse:

Charles Mok 莫乃光@charlesmok

Chinese students in Australia who could not get back to Oz can’t access Google Scholar for remote school. I wonder if they objected to the Great Firewall before. Gotcha now! 【武漢肺炎】澳洲封關逾10萬中國留學生禁回澳，學生爆怒：無法瀏覽Google遙距上課！

Judy Bowling@jlbowling

Favorite new website of the day! Work with PDFs online. Great for Chromebook users. https://pdfcandy.com

@wagnerlearning @t_wallace92 @jasonsiko @AnupaminMI

China Commission@CECCgov

Chairs extend their condolences to the family & friends of Dr. #LiWenliang. He was silenced by the police for raising the alarm about the #Wuhan #CoronaVirus & tragically died from it yesterday. He is rightly being hailed as a hero by the #Chinese people.

Sotiri Dimpinoudis@sotiridi

#Breaking: Just in – Unconfirmed report of an uprising in #Kazakhstan, of insidious people in the region burning down Chinese restaurants and shops duo to the #Coronavirus.

Library Girl@jenniferlagarde

Y’all. I just learned today that the audible book for #FactVSFiction is now available on @audible– and I might be freaking out just a little bit! https://adbl.co/2vi8Jqs cc: @dhudgins #luckylibrarian

Strategies:

Hypothesis

https://web.hypothes.is/

Resources:

Stanford psychology expert: These are the top 3 things kids need—but most parents fail to provide

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/02/05/stanford-psychologist-3-things-kids-need-but-parents-fail-to-provide.html#annotations:WKK7SEiQEeqtEi8_Ii6_vQ

Web Spotlight:

Alfie Kohn vs Dwight Schrute

https://www.schooltube.com/media/Alfie-Kohn-vs-Dwight-Schrute/1_qwxjq9ym

Kryptos Sculpture

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/01/29/climate/kryptos-sculpture-final-clue.html

Why Innovation is Crucial in Education

Why innovation is Crucial in Education #Podcast

Random Thoughts . . .

Sightings:

Personal Web Site

Click the Play button below to listen to the show!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

February 1, 2020

MSM 450: Smile, It’s the Stupidity Opera

Troy / MSM /

Jokes:

Out of all the inventions of the last 100 years, the whiteboard may be the most remarkable.

***

The alphabet is really pretty terrifying

– A bee sea?

No thank you.

***

I did some mechanics work today.

I put a rear end in a recliner.

***

I just developed a thought-controlled air freshener.

It makes scents when you think about it.

***

A friend of mine just bought an empty hanger.

You can buy tickets for it now. It’s an “air and space” museum.

***

***

I’ve been walking to work lately. Every day the same bike tries to run me over.

It’s a vicious cycle.

***

What do you call a snake that is 3.14 meters long?

A python

***

Carpenter ants are just like regular ants except rainy days and Mondays always get them down.

Advisory:

Tale of Two Monks and a Woman

The tale of two monks and a woman is a well-known Buddhist parable. The story goes that two monks were traveling together, a senior and a junior. They came to a river with a strong current where a young woman was waiting, unable to cross alone. She asks the monks if they would help her across the river. Without a word and in spite of the sacred vow he’d taken not to touch women, the older monk picks her up, crosses, and sets her down on the other side.

The younger monk joins them across the river and is aghast that the older monk has broken his vow but doesn’t say anything. An hour passes as they travel on. Then two hours. Then three. Finally, the now quite agitated younger monk can stand it no longer: “Why did you carry that women when we took a vow as monks not to touch women?”

The older monk replies, “I set her down hours ago by the side of the river. Why are you still carrying her?”

The story is a reminder to not dwell on the past in a way that interferes with living in the present moment. I’m glad to have remembered it today — I’m feeling much better now.

https://kottke.org/20/01/the-story-of-two-monks-and-a-woman

School Pictures

Have the kids demonstrate their school picture pose. Pull yearbooks from the archive if possible. Have kids compare them over the years (if you are at a newer school, find some from the oldest school around).

Discuss “visual culture”.

http://people.eecs.berkeley.edu/~shiry/projects/yearbooks/yearbooks.html

100 Inspiring Questions That Make You Think About Your Life

Useful resource of basic questions. These are grouped by area.

https://www.lifehack.org/859346/questions-that-make-you-think

Middle School Science Minute

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

Middle School Science Minute: The Post-Truth Era

I was recently reading the January, 2020 issue of “Science Scope,” a magazine written for middle school science teachers, published by the National Science Teaching Association.

In this issue, I read the “From the Editor’s Desk” section, written by Patti McGinnis, the editor of Science Scope. The title of the article was “Scientific Literacy in the Post-Truth Era.” In this article, we learn about the need for our students to be able to gather, read, and synthesize information from multiple appropriate sources and assess the credibility, accuarcy and possible bias of each publication and methods used, and describe how they are supported or not supported by evidence.

From the Twitterverse:

Diane Ravitch @DianeRavitch

Peter Greene: The Meteoric Rise and Disappearance of Michelle Rhee

In thinking back over the past decade, Peter Greene realized that Michelle Rhee was one of its defining figures. For a time, she was everywhere. The media lover her stern and angry visage. She grac…

dianeravitch.net

Will Richardson @willrich45

Try this: Keep a running count of how many questions students ask in class today that signal that they want to learn more about whatever is being discussed. Then do a little math to see how often that happens. Then think about the result. Is it what you want? #justaskin

Will Richardson @willrich45

“It may be easier to assess whether students can add and subtract two-digit numbers than whether they are effective collaborators, but our learners deserve a system based on what is important to asses, not just what is cheap and easy.” https://buff.ly/30URRlt Yup.

Amber Mac @ambermac

Creative bunch: “Running your defrosters for awhile will loosen the suction cups… Other students suggested blocking the GPS signal… at least one student realized the device has an unlimited SIM card on it and used it to tether his phone to the internet”

Students defeat new ‘Barnacle’ parking clamp, skip fines and get free internet

MindShift@MindShiftKQED

RT@NextGenLC

Research-backed advice for building effective developmental relationships with kids in schools, with easy ways to get to know them. @mindshiftkqed #teaching #studentcentered

https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/55144/relationships-are-important-how-do-we-build-them-effectively-with-kids

Catlin Tucker @Catlin_Tucker

Rethink Your Grading Practices – https://catlintucker.com/2017/12/grading-practices/ #edchat

Rethink Your Grading Practices

Strategies:

Resources:

We asked teenagers what adults are missing about technology. This was the best response.

Social media makes us feel seen.

https://www.technologyreview.com/s/614897/youth-essay-contest-adults-dont-understand-kid-technology/#annotations:uGDlGj3gEeqMkEsUkDpVqw

Charting Politics in an Election Year – Electoral-Vote.com

Here’s an online resource to help keep track of the primary voting cycle and then the general election.

https://electoral-vote.com/

The Wormeli Archive

You’ve been looking for an article by Rick Wormeli, but he’s so prolific you can’t remember where you saw it

https://www.rickwormeli.com/articles?fbclid=IwAR0tFx0oTPCoS6iqg9tmaVBzgZJNAgkgK2jwqXhtKm8PxVfyZ-luH6D7rAo

Web Spotlight:

The Case For Professors of Stupidity

But what exactly is stupidity? David Krakauer, the President of the Santa Fe Institute, told interviewer Steve Paulson, for Nautilus, stupidity is not simply the opposite of intelligence. “Stupidity is using a rule where adding more data doesn’t improve your chances of getting [a problem] right,” Krakauer said. “In fact, it makes it more likely you’ll get it wrong.”

https://getpocket.com/explore/item/the-case-for-professors-of-stupidity

Just for fun: The Incompetence Opera

Oneteen and Twoteen

“Teen” simply means “ten more than,” and of course, the prefix is self-explanatory.

In short, “11” is not “oneteen” and for that matter, “12” is not “twoteen.” What is going on here?

Oneteen and Twoteen

Bonus: “Twelve plus one” is an anagram of “eleven plus two.” (And for whatever it is worth, “twoteen plus one” is an anagram of “oneteen plus two,” obviously.)

Leif Vollebekk Sees His Song ‘Hot Tears’ As Yellow

https://www.npr.org/sections/world-cafe/2020/01/29/800508338/leif-vollebekk-sees-his-song-hot-tears-as-yellow

Annotated by the Author: ‘Tiny Tyrannosaur Hints at How T. Rex Became King’

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/23/learning/annotated-by-the-author-tiny-tyrannosaur-hints-at-how-t-rex-became-king.html#annotations:xQTvij4FEeqXddNUClEP5Q

The Outsize Influence of Your Middle-School Friends

Friendship has real power for kids.

https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2020/01/friendship-crucial-adolescent-brain/605638/#annotations:cdsVuEMBEeqICANkQQZeDQ

Click the Play button below to listen to the show!

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January 18, 2020

MSM 449: Like Yeah, What’s It Called? No Gewgaw here.

Troy / MSM, Podcast /

Jokes:

***

To Whoever Stole My Copy of Microsoft Office,

I will find you. You have my Word.

***

***

***

What do you call a mouse that swears?

***

I started reading a horror novel in braille.

Something bad is about to happen, I can feel it.

***

I got thrown out of the local park. I was lining up squirrels by height.

Apparently, they didn’t like me critter sizing…

Advisory:

Starfish

One Outfit – 100 days

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2018/11/21/teacher-julia-mooney-sustainable-fashion-one-outfit-100-days/1917538002/

Middle School Science Minute

Middle School Science Minute: Phases of the Moon

I was recently reading the November/December, 2019 issue of “Science Scope,” a magazine written for middle school science teachers, published by the National Science Teachers Association.

In this issue, I read the “Disequilibrium” section. The title of the article, within the section was “The Phases of the Moon,” written by Cole Entress.

Middle-level students most commonly suggest that the phases of the moon are caused by the Earth’s shadow. In fact, the Moon is illuminated by the Sun in much the same way as the Earth—that is, one side of it is continuously in the path of the Sun’s rays.

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

From the Twitterverse:

The Modest Teacher@ModestTeacher

We have a student whose name is Logan, except it’s spelled, “Login”. …like you “login” to your computer. Parents…enough with trying to be cute with your kids’ names.

Some teachers buy a box of Girl Scout cookies from a student. Good teachers buy a case of cookies. Great teachers donate enough money to a student’s troop so that cookie sales are unnecessary. Elite teachers’ lessons are so fun and engaging that there’s no need for scouting.

Dave Schmittou EdD@daveschmittou

Don’t be upset if there is a shortage of subs in your building. It just means that they’re not many teachers out there on your level of awesomeness.

This weekend, spend time building relational capital with those who matter most. Like a car driving through a ditch, build momentum now to help you get to the other side. Spring will be hard. Plan for success now.

Joy Kirr@JoyKirr

Replying to@SteinbrinkLaura

Glad I checked out my “feed” instead of just the hashtags and lists I like to follow… Twitter has gotten so huge; it’s gotten harder to stay connected to PEOPLE.

Will Richardson@willrich45

“There is no cure for curiosity.” —Dorothy Parker Yet, more often than not, we in schools seek a cure. “Right” answers. Limited choices. Narrow curriculum. Grades. If we really want curiosity, we need to give it more space instead of trying to cure it. #justsayin (h/t@hjarche)

Dr. Debbie Silver

Fail Chart:

Don’t forget #mschat every Thursday at 8:00 pm EST. Look for your host Todd Bloch to have a middle school topic all ready to go! Make it a strategic part of your personal professional development.

Resources:

Wayne State University series aims to help you refine your language

https://www.freep.com/story/news/education/2020/01/06/wayne-state-words-improve-vocabulary/2823618001/

https://wordwarriors.wayne.edu/

Michigan Department of Natural Resources has a new Shipwreck App

With about 1,500 shipwrecks in Michigan waters, this new interactive map makes it simple to explore them. It offers information on each wreck including: the level of difficulty for diving to the wreck, whether or not you can canoe or kayak to it’s location, how it sank, and a description of the ship.

Michigan DNR adds interactive map for exploring shipwrecks

Trey Kennedy – Middle Schoolers Part 4

Parents and teachers will totally get it. Not sure the kids will. Which makes it funnier.

https://www.facebook.com/treynkennedy/videos/376632619672035/

Web Spotlight:

TWO STATES. EIGHT TEXTBOOKS. TWO AMERICAN STORIES.

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/01/12/us/texas-vs-california-history-textbooks.html

The 100 Worst Ed-Tech Debacles of the Decade

http://hackeducation.com/2019/12/31/what-a-shitshow

Articles of Impeachment

Random Thoughts . . .

Personal Web Site

Click the Play button below to listen to the show!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

January 11, 2020

MSM 448: Privileged Moose with ketchup chips.

Troy / Podcast /

Jokes:

Cheer up. You could be stuck in a hole in the ground full of water.

I know that you mean well….

Espresso may not be the answer, but it’s worth a shot.

A friend of mine tried to bother me with bird puns.

Toucan play at that game.

Where can you find the Arnold Schwarzenegger action figures?

Aisle B, back

The other day I yelled into a colander.

Yep, I strained voice.

I have a friend who is going bald. He’s getting a bunch of tattoos of rabbits.

From a distance, it looks like hares.

Advisory:

How Privileged Are You?

https://www.buzzfeed.com/regajha/how-privileged-are-you#annotations:mWyoTDL_EeqwLC89L6_W3Q

What You Need to Be Warm: Neil Gaiman Reads His Humanistic Poem for Refugees, Composed from a Thousand Definitions of Warmth from Around the World

What You Need to Be Warm: Neil Gaiman Reads His Humanistic Poem for Refugees, Composed from a Thousand Definitions of Warmth from Around the World

Middle School Science Minute

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

Middle School Science Minute: Hour of Code

I was recently reading the November/December, 2019 issue of “Science Scope,” a magazine written for middle school science teachers, published by the National Science Teachers Association.

In this issue, I read the “Citizen Science” section. The title of the article, within the section was “Advance Technology Literacy and Bring Learners’ 21st Century Skills Up to Code with the Hour of Code,” written by Jill Nugent.

The Hour of Code project provides an opportunity for every learner to try computer science programming/coding for one hour. The “Hour of Code” takes place the second week of December. For more information, please visit:

http://code.org

http://hourofcode.com

From the Twitterverse:

Brian Mendler@BrianMendler

5 non-negotiables for success w “hard to reach” kids. 1. Don’t take it personally. 2. 2nd to last word is best. 3. Late is better than not at all. 4. Some is better than none. 5. Private is better than public. Drop your best tip below! #edchat #edutwitter #thatonekid #tlap

Hong Kong Free Press@HongKongFP

Around 1,000 teachers have gathered at Central’s Edinburgh Place on Friday evening to protest against the Education Bureau’s investigation of complaints against pro-democracy teachers joining protests. Photo: Stand News screenshot. #hongkong #hongkongprotests #china #antiELAB

Teaching tip: When students persistently put their Instagram handles on the board, change one letter in each without their knowing Make accounts with those handles with video recordings of your lessons. This will trick students into learning while they browse social media.

PISA Peculiarities (2): Should Schools Promote a Competitive or Cooperative Culture?

The most successful students have high EQ’s (Emotional Intelligence), not necessarily high IQ’s. Those students are better able to manage their emotions, in support of their goals and dreams. Should schools help students improve their EQ? Do we have the time? Resources?

Yong Zhao@YongZhaoEd

There are many “peculiar findings” in #PISA2018. Just in case, you missed, here is the 2nd one: PISA Peculiarities (2): Should Schools Promote a Competitive or Cooperative Culture?

Zhaolearning.com

http://www.storyofmovies.org/

Your teaching is only as good as it is worthy of being a post on your school’s social media account.

Don’t forget #mschat every Thursday at 8:00 pm EST. Look for your host Todd Bloch to have a middle school topic all ready to go! Make it a strategic part of your personal professional development.

Strategies:

What do teachers need to know about Cognitive Load Theory?

What do teachers need to know about Cognitive Load Theory?

Resources:

Portraits of America – Democracy on Film

The Story of Movies is an interdisciplinary film literacy program for middle and high school students created and distributed by The Film Foundation.

All print materials are available online at no cost to educators who have registered on The Story of Movies website.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta

Classroom tools: https://www.frbatlanta.org/education/classroom-tools

Free Infographics Posters: https://www.frbatlanta.org/forms/education/infographics-order.aspx

Boundless OER Archive

Everything you’d ever want from the Boundless Open Education Resources project. Assessments, content, and stuff to keep your principal happy while he fills out that teacher observation sheet . . .

https://courses.lumenlearning.com/catalog/boundlesscourses

60 Ways to Help Students Think for Themselves

https://www.teachthought.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/128ED0A3-0E80-40B1-A4A2-3B73467E3E3A.png

Bunk History

Bunk is, at its core, a connection engine. Each day,^* we comb the internet for interesting articles, opinion pieces, videos, maps, visualizations, and other digital content that engages the American past. We manually tag each piece of content, and excerpt it on our own site alongside other material from our archive that intersects with it in some way.

As you explore the site, you’ll notice several specific types of connections being made. They are:

Idea: Shares several themes
Core Idea: Shares a fundamental theme
Person: Involves the same individuals
Place: Shares a geographical location
Previously: Similar themes in an earlier era
Later: Similar themes in a later era
Meanwhile: Happening around the same time

https://www.bunkhistory.org/

NPR Student Podcast Challenge

This contest is for teachers with students between 5th and 12th grade. Each podcast should be between three and 12 minutes long.

https://www.npr.org/2018/11/15/650500116/npr-student-podcast-challenge-home

Public Domain Day 2020

Why celebrate the public domain?

A wellspring for creativity. The goal of copyright is to promote creativity, and the public domain plays a central role in doing so. Copyright law gives authors important rights that encourage creativity and distribution. But it also ensures that those rights last for a “limited time,” so that when they expire, works can go into the public domain, where future authors can legally build upon their inspirations. As explained by the Supreme Court:

“[Copyright] is intended to motivate the creative activity of authors and inventors by the provision of special reward, and to allow the public access to the products of their genius after the limited period of exclusive control has expired.” Sony v. Universal (1984).

https://web.law.duke.edu/cspd/publicdomainday/2020/

Web Spotlight:

The 100 Worst Ed-Tech Debacles of the Decade. . . with Pigeons

Ms. Watters has been documenting the short-comings of educational technology for over 10 years with a yearly list. This is her one for the decade. Did your favorite teaching tech make the list?

http://hackeducation.com/2019/12/31/what-a-shitshow

Top 5 FERPA & HIPAA Misconceptions for Schools

1. “HIPAA applies to schools.”Nope.

2. “We can’t call the doctor who wrote the student note without a signed release.”That depends on who’s talking and what they’re sharing.

3. “Parents have access to all documents that mention their student.”Well, most documents, but actually ― not all.

4. “FERPA prohibits paraprofessionals/teacher aides from seeing IEPs and Section 504 plans.”That’s probably not right.

5. “Students can’t see other students’ grades under FERPA.”That depends on who’s grading.

https://www.frontlineeducation.com/blog/top-5-ferpa-hipaa-misconceptions-for-schools/#annotations:ZoYepDMnEeqI2HtrvNNpXQ

Canadian Clip Art

https://cira.ca/stock-images/gallery

This may be the fastest way to learn something new, according to science

“We reward perfection maybe too much,” Wilson said. “Errors and mistakes are just a part of life and as we’ve shown here, a crucial part of learning.”

https://www.inverse.com/article/61771-the-key-to-optimal-learning

Click the Play button below to listen to the show!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

December 21, 2019

MSM 447: Don’t Make Your Social Studies Teacher Cry!

Troy / MSM, Podcast /

Jokes:

Coders:

“Every day, the feuding codebreakers had cryptic cross words.”

****

“How much does it cost to buy a large singing group?”

“A choir?”

“Okay, fine… how much does it cost to ‘acquire’ a large singing group?”

****

“A courthouse is where you can play indoor tennis.”

****

“Only a nickel for an embroidered pinwheel?

Good buy, crewel whirled!”

****

My doctor was giving me a hard time about my health. To get back on his good side I bought a puppy and named him ‘Five Miles’.

That way, when I went to see my doctor I could tell him, “I walk five miles every morning!”

****

Advisory:

55 times people had no idea what they were looking at

55 times people had no idea what they were looking at until the internet stepped in to help

Middle School Science Minute

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

Middle School Science Minute: Making Science Come Alive with Clouds – Part 2

I was recently reading the November/December, 2019 issue of “Science Scope,” a magazine written for middle school science teachers, published by the National Science Teachers Association.

In this issue, I read the “Integrating Technology” section. The title of the article, within the section was “Making Science Come Alive with Clouds,” written by Marile’ Colo’n Robles, Jeffrey Bouwman, and Caryn Smith-Long. This is the second podcast in a two part series. Part 1 focused on the GLOBE Observer app and the second part will focus in on Investigations with the GLOBE Observer app taking place at Shumate Middle School in Gibraltar, Michigan.

The new GLOBE Observer app allows the general public to make observations of clouds, map out habitats of disease-causing mosquitoes, measuring tree height, and identify land cover from any mobile device.

From the Twitterverse:

Dave Burgess Consulting, Inc.@dbc_inc

Administrators must give ample time to their special education teachers to write IEPs. A single “IEP Day” is insufficient for all they need to do. It’s like giving them a five dollar gift card to Saks Fifth Avenue or a coupon for 10% off at Hammacher Schlemmer.

FREE Pajama PD! #DitchSummit = NOW! Read Dave’s latest blog w/a guest appearance from #DitchBook #DitchHW author, @jmattmiller (And #TechLAP in 2020!) https://daveburgess.com/the-return-of-pajama-pd/ Sign up info inside. #tlap #LeadLAP #dbcincbooks Dave Burgess @burgess_shelley @burgessdave

Massimo@Rainmaker1973

This giant elephant toothpaste experiment has been conducted by Nick Uhas and David Dobrik and it’s possibly one of the biggest reproduction of the rapid decomposition of hydrogen peroxide [full video: http://ow.ly/vX8o30q3Etc] [more about the experiment: http://ow.ly/D87r30q3Eth]

J.C. Derrick@jcderrick1

The new #EffectiveCompassion feed is now live! You can listen to the trailer and subscribe here:

Kristina A. Holzweiss #HackingSchoolLibraries

My grandmother passed away from Alzheimer’s. Years ago, she left home and was lost for hours before a policeman found her. She didn’t understand English. Please record a video about your loved one using @Flipgrid and create a #qrcode bracelet for them. It could make a difference.

Simon Henderson@simjhenderson

The education system in #HongKong continues to be viewed as a threat. Whether its liberal studies or teachers not being sufficiently patriotic. In the end, children will likely be affected, limiting their personal development & potential. Art 29, Convention Rights of the Child.

Xinqi Su 蘇昕琪 @XinqiSu

#THREAD HK Education Minister said the authority will adopt harsher measures on teachers arrested and complained in protest-related incidents to “correct mistakes”. Around 80 teachers were arrested in #HKProtests and 123 complaints on teachers were filed to the Buro.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License

Educators, enjoy your much deserved break. For the next couple weeks, you will be able to… •Use the bathroom when you want •Wake up at a reasonable time •Drink coffee when it’s hot •Go out to lunch •Sit down occasionally

Don’t forget #mschat every Thursday at 8:00 pm EST. Look for your host Todd Bloch to have a middle school topic all ready to go! Make it a strategic part of your personal professional development.

Strategies:

Resources:

Students’ Civic Online Reasoning: A National Portrait

The results—if they can be summarized in a word—are troubling

Question 1 How do students across the United States perform on assessments of civic online reasoning?

Overall, students struggled on all of the tasks.

The Website Evaluation task had the highest proportion of Beginning scores, with 96.8% of students earning no points.

Nearly all students floundered. Ninety percent received no credit on four of six tasks.

Education moves slowly. Technology doesn’t. If we don’t act with urgency, our students’ ability to engage in civic life will be the casualty.

Our results are sobering.

https://purl.stanford.edu/gf151tb4868

https://stacks.stanford.edu/file/gf151tb4868/Civic%20Online%20Reasoning%20National%20Portrait.pdf

Planets to Scale

https://xkcd.com/1071/large/

Mind Missions – Language Arts & Social Studies

Home

Social Studies instruction is enriched when students are given opportunities to experience the people and challenges of the past. In our lessons, students develop a deep understanding about historical people and events by constructing solutions to solve their problems. Mind Missions encourage students to interact with history as they learn it.

At the same time, Mind Missions develop skills critical for the future – encouraging creativity, developing problem-solving ability, and strengthening teamwork skills.

Sample: https://mindmissions.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Forge-Feet-Sample-Lesson-1.pdf

Web Spotlight:

Click the Play button below to listen to the show!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

December 14, 2019

MSM 446: Syrupticiously Deep Learning

Troy / MSM, Podcast /

Jokes:

Shop assistant: How about this one?

Psychic: That shirt is too small.

Shop assistant: You didn’t even try it on?

Psychic: I’m a medium.

***

Teacher: “How much is half of 8?”

Little Johnny: “Up and down or across?”

Teacher: “What do you mean?”

Little Johnny: “Well, up and down makes a 3 or across the middle leaves a 0!”

***

Me: “I just burned 2000 calories in 20 minutes.”

Friend: “How?”

Me: “I forgot to take my brownies out of the oven.”

***

Two guys went to a local pancake house that served real Vermont maple syrup but charged extra for it.

So the guys went to a supermarket, bought their own Vermont maple syrup, and brought it to the pancake house.

They didn’t want to get caught, so they were forced to pass the bottle between them… syrupticiously.

***

A guy gets shipwrecked and washes up on a beach.

The sand is dark red. He can’t believe it. The sky is dark red. He walks around a bit and sees there is dark red grass, dark red birds and dark red fruit on the dark red trees. He’s shocked when he finds that his skin is starting to turn dark red, too.

“Oh no!” he says. “I’ve been marooned!”

Advisory:

Fact or Fiction?

Use some of the useful tips to share with the students. Have the students create alternative, fictional purposes for those items. Then have them present to the class and let the class vote.

For example:

Soda Can tabs:

They’re designed to swing around so you can keep your straw in place.
They’re are designed to replace the tabs on a zipper.
They’re designed to be pulled off and used as a fishing hook.

https://living.alot.com/home/40-common-household-items-with-a-surprisingly-useful-purpose–17180?s=4

9-Year-Old Kid Who Kept Getting In Trouble For Doodling In Class Gets A Job Decorating A Restaurant With His Drawings

9-Year-Old Kid Who Kept Getting In Trouble For Doodling In Class Gets A Job Decorating A Restaurant With His Drawings

Middle School Science Minute

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

Middle School Science Minute: Making Science Come Alive with Clouds – Part 1

I was recently reading the November/December 2019 issue of “Science Scope,” a magazine written for middle school science teachers, published by the National Science Teachers Association.

In this issue, I read the “Integrating Technology” section. The title of the article, within the section was “Making Science Come Alive with Clouds,” written by Marile’ Colo’n Robles, Jeffrey Bouwman, and Caryn Smith-Long. This is the first podcast in a two-part series. Part 1 focuses on the GLOBE Observer app and the second part will focus on Investigations with the GLOBE Observer app taking place at Shumate Middle School in Gibraltar, Michigan.

From the Twitterverse:

Richard Byrne@rmbyrne

Proof that nothing good comes from comments on YouTube videos.

Explicit instruction is simply bad teaching. It stifles the student’s imagination and encourages the pompous teacher to show off what they know. Explicit instruction is ineffective. No one learns from explicit instruction. I am not sure how I can make myself any clearer.

Dennis Dill@DennisDill

Want to check your teacher-student relationship … stand in the hall during class change and say nothing. Will the kids initiate the “Hi” … do kids that are not in your class say anything to you? How many kids are late to your class? Reflect often. #CrazyPLN

Apple Education@AppleEDU

If it rains, open your umbrella . If it’s sunny, put on sunglasses. To plan for the unexpected in code, use an if statement.⁰⁰ Get your students coding with our free #HourOfCode Facilitator Guide! #EveryoneCanCode⁰⁰ #CSedWeek https://apple.com/education/docs

While we are at it, what [in the world] does it mean when teachers are told to “take a risk”? Unless there is a chance of doing something that leads to a bad evaluation, you’re not exactly taking a risk.

https://daveburgess.com/try-the-door-overcoming-groupthink/ #tlap #LeadLAP

Good morning class! Let’s recite our daily class self-affirmations: I have grit. I have a growth mindset. I am 6’8”. I am an NBA All-Star. I am going to Harvard on a full scholarship. I am immune to the limitations of the laws of physics. I am like Chuck Norris. Only better.

Dave Burgess@burgessdave

Have you allowed “groupthink” to limit your ability to create transformational change? Are you sure that door of opportunity is locked? Maybe you just need to Try the Door:

Don’t forget #mschat every Thursday at 8:00 pm EST. Look for your host Todd Bloch to have a middle school topic all ready to go! Make it a strategic part of your personal professional development.

Strategies:

Google Earth Creation Tools

Creating with Google Earth: 10 activities to try

How to Find Historical Comics and Create Lessons With Them

https://www.freetech4teachers.com/2019/12/how-to-find-historical-comics-and.html#annotations:Offl8hkPEeq8hZOq0GeyTg

Resources:

Understanding Comics

This is a wonderful comic on understanding comics.

http://mm12.johncaserta.info/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Understanding%20Comics%20(The%20Invisible%20Art)%20By%20Scott%20McCloud.pdf

How Learning Happens

Ton of resources about, well, how learning happens.

https://www.edutopia.org/how-learning-happens#annotations:VxD7vBkXEeq3188R7zbKzg

Web Spotlight:

Texting really is ruining personal relationships

Our increasing preference for texting over email and phone calls creates a higher quantity of interactions, but it decreases their quality, harming our relationships.

…missing the human contact and learning that comes from true dialogue.

…encourages passive — or more often passive-aggressive — behavior, what I call “hit and runs.” Typing on a screen invites impulsive responses.

…Written words can hide a great deal of emotion,

…texting enables more frequent contact, it also can be used to curtail conversation. The best example of this is the egregious way texts are used as preemptive apologies, as in the reflexive “sorrys” that accompany notes one is running late

https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/texting-really-ruining-personal-relationships-ncna1097461#annotations:uHERghlHEeqxlHPqefzT_w

Deep Learning and the Curriculum Disconnect

I see school learning in 3 buckets.

Introductory Learning directed and chosen by the adult…Taking advantage of the skills and interests of teachers
Mandated Learning (basic reading, math which could be embedded into other learning) ….the curriculum
Deep Learning and deep learning tasks chosen by students.

http://ideasandthoughts.org/2019/11/29/deep-learning-and-the-curriculum-disconnect/#annotations:TidUFhkREeqReztKyLIbCQ

Click the Play button below to listen to the show!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

December 7, 2019

MSM 445: But I was the Valedictorian, how can I fail Pinterest?

Troy / MSM, Podcast /

Jokes

I just started a new job at a factory making chess pieces.

This week I’m on knights!

***

***

I entered my first marathon and finished first!

Two steps into it I stubbed my toe and finished, first.

***

A Washington reporter was awakened by her husband in the middle of the night. “I think there’s a thief in the house,” he said.

“No doubt,” she said sleepily. “And there are a handful in the Senate, too.”

***

What do you call someone who can’t stick with a diet?

A desserter.

***

I had a crazy dream that I weighed less than a thousandth of a gram…

I was like 0mg!

Advisory:

Pinterest Fails

Pinterest provides the model. Sometimes, they even give you the recipe. What happens if you don’t follow the recipe? What happens if you are missing out on some background or details.

https://static.boredpanda.com/blog/wp-content/uuuploads/pinterest-craft-fails/pinterest-craft-fails-15.jpg

20 Hilarious Pinterest Fails

Middle School Science Minute

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

I was recently reading the November/December, 2019 issue of “Science Scope,” a magazine written for middle school science teachers, published by the National Science Teachers Association.

In this issue, I read the “From the Editor’s Desk” section, written by Patti McGinnis, the editor of Science Scope. The title of the article was “Moving Up the SAMR Model.” In this article, we learn about the SAMR Model for the use of technology. SAMR is an acronym for:

Substitution, Augmentation, Modification and Redefinition.

From the Twitterverse:

Marvin Olasky @MarvinOlasky

At holiday gatherings, go ahead and tell those funny, wild or inspiring family stories. Their lessons can be beneficial over time for children. “If I had to leave the children with one or two stories, what are the ones I would want them to know?” https://wsj.com/articles/the-secret-benefits-of-retelling-family-stories-11573468201?shareToken=st4eff87ff22544c958b32b782d0d586c5 via @WSJ

Nick LaFave @NFLaFave

40 teacher recommended math apps http://buff.ly/2tJb2Bb #EdTech #mathchat

Tony Vlachakis @tvlachak

Using Dystopian Novels to Teach Bill of Rights One teacher offers a guide to help students compare the freedoms lost in dystopian novels with the freedoms secured by the Bill of Rights. https://buff.ly/33zzLFI by

@edutopia

Gen (Ret) Rob Spalding @robert_spalding

The beginning of the end of freedom is the banning of speech.

Watch till the end. Angela Merkel says: we have to take away your freedom of speech, or else society won’t be free. pic.twitter.com/Y3qROvDQXg
— Ezra Levant 🍁 (@ezralevant) November 28, 2019