Summary:

Troy and Shawn talk about remote learning moving forward, gamification and more. Dave discusses the importance of curiosity, persistence, and perseverance.

Jokes:  

I’m having a hard time getting rid of old magazines. 

• I’ve got issues. 

I told my 2 year old to pick out a bedtime story. She chose a seed catalog. 

• Lettuce get started. 

My wife is still mad at me. Seems I put super glue on her pen yesterday. She just can’t seem to let it go. 

Eileen Award:  

• iTunes: AllforJMJ

Middle School Science Minute  

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

Technology and Scientific Habits of Mind

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 “Editor’s Corner” written by Ann Haley Mackenzie.  Ann wrote an article entitled “Technology and Scientific Habits of Mind.”

The focus of her article was on the importance of curiosity, persistence, and perseverance.  If we are too busy covering the content instead of providing a place for uncovering the science content with the students, then many chances for curiosity, persistence, and perseverance are lost.  

Reports from the Front Lines

• The push to the end of the year . . . 
• How do you build/develop a course in an LMS?
• Do you share? 
• What do we focus on moving forward?
• Tone setting when kids come back

The Twitterverse  

Michelle Wagner @wagnerlearning

Wayne RESA continues to create short snippets of learning for educators. Perfect for your weekly staff email/newsletter. #WayneLiteracy #WRESA #PDminutes @GabrionLaura @HRottermond @strimbel1 @WayneRESAELA https://lln.resa.net/professional-learning/pd-minutes/

Ditch That Textbook  @DitchThatTxtbk

10 low-prep, high-return activities for class TOMORROW http://ditchthattextbook.com/2018/04/25/10-low-prep-high-return-activities-for-class-tomorrow/… #ditchbook

https://twitter.com/DitchThatTxtbk/status/1388311798768676866/photo/1

#mschat every Thursday at 8:00 pm Eastern Standard Time.  And as Troy says, “The Twitter never stops!” 

Strategies:  

How to Build a Resilient School Community, Phyllis Fagell, AMLE Mag. Oct. 2020.

1. Establish the Mindset – How will they look at this situation?  
   1. Use family stories of how they overcame a situation, resource materials for class that show how people have overcome adversity in the past.
2. Set up a culture of confidence and competence:  
   1. Create some parenting supports.  
      1. Establish what a learning situation at home looks like.  What teacher skills are useful for a parent in this situation?  Parents won’t be evaluated as teachers, different skill sets.  
   2. Provide supports for the teaching staff. 
   3. Play to student strengths and provide flexible assessments with choice boards that let students have choice in how they show mastery.  
   4. Feedback ratio:  6 positive to 1 negative.  
3. Emotions spread across a social network – Set the tone!  

https://www.amle.org/download/april-2020-duplicate-1/?version=full

Resources:

AMLE Resource Center

Announcing the new AMLE Resource Center. Search for resources and products across 30 categories, each with short, informative descriptors to help you quickly determine what might meet your school’s requirements. The Resource Center will be regularly updated, so you can check back frequently for the latest listings.

https://my.amle.org/Resources/Resource-Center

Axis – The Culture Translator

From Snapchat to SCOTUS

What it is: On Wednesday, the Supreme Court heard arguments in the case of Levy (a former high school cheerleader) vs. the State of Pennsylvania.

Why it will set a standard: Freshman Brandi Levy was furious when she discovered, four years ago, that she wasn’t going to advance to the varsity squad. So she did what many teens her age might do; she posted an expletive-filled rant to her private Snapchat account, which she anticipated would disappear after 24 hours. Instead, a screenshot of her post was shared with one of the cheer coaches, and Levy was kicked out of the program completely. A federal court ruled that Levy’s speech took place off-campus, making it within her rights to post whatever she wanted. But social media has changed the way that many people define a “place,” and the school argues that it’s hard to pin down where “campus” ends and private life begins. Current free speech protections for students are mostly based on a SCOTUS hearing on students’ rights to protest the Vietnam War, a ruling that came down in 1969. The SCOTUS verdict, expected in June, will likely set a landmark precedent for students’ free speech rights on social media.

Slang of the Week

issa vibe: when all the details of a situation come together to provoke one sensory feeling or experience. (Ex: “Ice cream, flip flops, my favorite tank top, the smell of the lake and an old beach blanket. Issa vibe.”)  

Web Spotlight:  

Random Thoughts . . .  

Personal Web Site   

Click the Play button below to listen to the show!

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Summary:

Shawn and Troy discuss teaching with Tech Tools. Should you change them frequently? Dave has a Cultural Responsive Middle School Science Minute. 

Jokes:  

Why does Waldo always wear stripes?

• He doesn’t want to be spotted

Which coffee place should you never play basketball against? 

• Dukin Donuts

What is an unemployed jester?

• Nobody’s fool

You know a wedding is an emotional day. Even the cake is in tiers.

What do you call an alligator in a vest? 

• An investigator

The Black Eyed Peas can sing us a tune, but the chick peas can only hummus one. 

According to a recent survey, 9 out of 10 people who are afraid of hurdles never get over it. 

What is it called if you are afraid of giants? 

• Feefiphobia

Middle School Science Minute  

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

Culturally Responsive Teaching

I was recently reading the March/April 2021 issue of “Science and Children” a publication of the National Science Teaching Association.  In this issue, I read the “Editor’s Note” section, written by Elizabeth Barrett-Zahn.  Elizabeth wrote an article entitled, “Culturally Responsive Teaching.”

At the heart of Culturally Responsive and Relevant Teaching is a willingness to listen, reflect, and celebrate the richness that cultural and linguistic diversity has to offer.  

AMLE.org reference:  https://www.amle.org/12-questions-to-ask-when-designing-culturally-and-historically-responsive-curriculum/  

Reports from the Front Lines

• The push to the end of the year . . . 
• Tool Talk
• Learning Loss
• Summer Plans
• MiVU – Research – Key Strategies for Engaging Students in Remote Virtual Learning Opportunities.  

The Twitterverse  

Lydia Jennings, Ph.D.  @1NativeSoilNerd

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs was informed by the Blackfeet Nation— and he mixed it up, because he didn’t know how to make it fit within America’s individualized culture.

https://t.co/oRaZEUKKzU?amp=1

Larry Ferlazzo @Larryferlazzo

The Best Places To Get Accessible History Texts For ELLs

https://t.co/yBe0etKEYr?amp=1

Will Richardson-BIG Questions Institute  @willrich45

A contractual obligation to hand in lesson plans a week in advance? Wow. That’s an interesting story about trust and power and respect, huh? #justaskin

NJAMLE  @NJAMLE

The Hunger for Learning remains a constant for Middle Level Educators in May & we @NJAMLE have just the recipe. Mrs. Kristyn Corace from @DoverMiddleNJ presents “Helping Learners with Disabilities during Remote Learning” Join us 5/12 at 4:00pm EST for this free virtual workshop!

#mschat every Thursday at 8:00 pm Eastern Standard Time.  And as Troy says, “The Twitter never stops!” 

Strategies:  

50 English Activities – 5 Minute learning Moments.

The pack contains fifty fun activities that will get your students thinking, talking and collaborating while they learn. Some of them are real classics used by teachers for many years, while others are new ideas sure to inspire your students.  

Video Annotation

Free service from the University of Minnesota. You can annotate videos and share those annotations. Allow your students to annotate as well. 

https://ant.umn.edu/

Pile of Words: Drive Deeper Engagement with Vocabulary at the Beginning of a Unit, Text, or Project

Step 1: Think about the unit, text, or project you are about to start and create a list of vocabulary words and key terms.

Step 2: Group students and give them time to discuss and define.

Step 3: Group the words into categories by shared characteristics and label each category.

Step 4: Ask students to make predictions about what they expect to learn based on the pile of words.

Step 5: As students progress through the unit, text, or project, ask them to revisit their predictions.

<a href=”https://catlintucker.com/2021/04/pile-of-words/#annotations:H2oscqCpEeuieVNcAxJjiQ” data-type=”URL” data-id=”https://catlintucker.com/2021/04/pile-of-words/#annotations:H2oscqCpEeuieVNcAxJjiQ”>https://catlintucker.com/2021/04/pile-of-words/#annotations:H2oscqCpEeuieVNcAxJjiQ</a>

Resources:

Axis:  The Culture Translator

Slang of the Week

lives in my head rent-free: refers to something you dwell on frequently, whether an experience, image, video, or person. (Ex: “I spent so much time learning the TikTok dance for “Savage,” now it’s going to live in my head rent-free forever.”)  

EASY AND QUICK PROMPTS TO HELP STUDENTS CONNECT TO YOUR CONTENT

Web Spotlight:  

Random Thoughts . . .  

Personal Web Site   

Click the Play button below to listen to the show!

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Summary:

Shawn and Troy discuss H5P, kids sneaking in, reopening schools and more. Dave books Middle School STEM. 

Jokes:  

“I read a history of sandpaper recently…The guy who invented it wasn’t sure how to go about it but he had a rough idea.”

“I found a spider in my shoes. He looks ridiculous; they’re way too big for him.”

“My favorite time on the clock is 6:30. Hands down.”

“Why do you never see pigs hiding in trees?

“When musicians perform onstage, the sound bounces around the room off of the walls. When a pigeon performs onstage, the sound does not bounce. 

• Because a coo sticks.”

Middle School Science Minute  

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

Best STEM Trade Books for Middle School Students

The National Science Teaching Association in collaboration with the Children’s Book Council released the 2021 list of the Best STEM Trade Books for Students.  In this podcast we look at the 7 books recommended for students in grades 6 – 8.

• All Thirteen: The Incredible Cave Rescue of the Thai Boys’ Soccer Team
• Beastly Bionics: Rad Robots, Brilliant Biomimicry, and Incredible Inventions Inspired by Nature
• Changing the Equation: 50+ US Black Women in STEM
• Galileo! Galileo!
• Machines That Think!: Big Ideas that Changed the World
• Spaceman: The True Story of a Young Boy’s Journey to Becoming an Astronaut
• Who Gives a Poop?: Surprising Science from One End to the Other

Reports from the Front Lines

• The push to the end of the year . . . 
• H5P Interactive Book Module – Love It!  
• Falsobordone:  1350 – Music for a Plague  
• Reopening Schools
  • Many are open
  • Air filtering (basic dust)
  • Temperature

Advisory:  

You Can Be a Different Person After the Pandemic

Our personalities are not set in stone. They are more like sand dunes.

Changing a trait requires acting in ways that embody that trait, rather than simply thinking about it. 

For example, in one study, putting more effort into homework led students to become more conscientious — a reversal of the popular notion that conscientious students put more effort into their homework. In another, people were able to become more extroverted or conscientious in four months just by listing the ways they’d like to change and what steps they would take to get there.

Here’s what a post-pandemic dispositional makeover might look like: Someone who was chronically late in the Before Times might work on being more conscientious, or timely. One way to show your friends how much you missed them is to start respecting their time.

Through painful isolation, this past year has, perversely, revealed the value of friendships and social ties. For those who want to renew connections that have atrophied, solidify friendships that have migrated to Zoom, or otherwise live differently, it’s very possible to do so. Remember that your personality is more like a sand dune than a stone.

The Twitterverse  

Phyllis Fagell, LCPC @Pfagell

Fair question.

Colby Sharp  @colbysharp

This school year is hard. I’m so tired. Overwhelmed. Everything feels so heavy.

Chad Livengood  @ChadLivengood

#Michiganian  https://twitter.com/i/status/1383216891645231104  

GIFQuote Tweet

Shailin Thomas  @shailinthomas

Michiganders imply the existence of a Michigoose.

Alice Keeler  @alicekeeler

Students Removing Files from Google Drive https://buff.ly/3dmyLLL via @YouTube

Mary Appleget  @teachtothebrain

Teachers Face Burnout More Than a Year Into Pandemic-Era Learning

https://t.co/d90d486zJ3?amp=1

Alice Keeler  @alicekeeler

Free Gamification Badge Game Template https://buff.ly/3dgQ1mR via @YouTube

https://twitter.com/alicekeeler/status/1383193531746029570/photo/1

Will Richardson-BIG Questions Institute  @willrich45

Apple’s upcoming mixed reality headset will reportedly weigh less than an iPhone

https://t.co/A0M9iocNDt?amp=1

#mschat every Thursday at 8:00 pm Eastern Standard Time.  And as Troy says, “The Twitter never stops!” 

Strategies:  

I Didn’t Allow Hand-Raising In My Class. Here’s Why.

https://www.weareteachers.com/student-discussions/#annotations:QeSQvJ1SEeu4l_dpA8JPaw

Resources:

 H5P Free Online Teaching Resources

www.H5P.org  

Top 50 Websites

Use Text Sets to Benefit Bilingual Students

Web Spotlight:  

AMLE Call for Presentations

AXIS – The Culture Translator

Slang of the Week

salty: feeling angry, agitated, upset, or annoyed. (Ex: “I tried to tell her I had to be home by my curfew and couldn’t drive her home, but she got real salty about it.”) 

John Hattie: We need to get better at learning transfer

“Surely, the purpose of teaching a child something is so that they can transfer it to another circumstance?” “Over the last 200 years, it’s kind of been our dirty secret: we know it’s important, but it’s hard to find evidence on how to teach it,” he says. 

Three phases of learning – surface learning, deep learning and transfer of learning – all require a different approach, he says.

Hattie believes too much time is dedicated to the surface-level learning, while the process of acquiring and consolidating deeper knowledge, and the transfer of this to other areas, has been neglected – evidence of which he has seen in a body of recent research. 

https://www.tes.com/news/john-hattie-we-need-get-better-learning-transfer#annotations:EC9NhpuHEeuIRxO7IvQ4mQ

MountainMoot 2021

My favorite conference. 

http://mountainmoot.com/ 

Random Thoughts . . .  

H. Resolution 222:  Supporting National Middle School Month

https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-resolution/222?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B%22Education%22%5D%7D&s=1&r=38

Polycam

https://poly.cam/

Personal Website   

Click the Play button below to listen to the show!

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Summary:

Shawn and Troy share pandemic strategies, a site about paraphrasing, and more. Dave has some Field Trip information for a lifetime. 

Jokes:  

I didn’t understand using mechanical keyboards. I used one the other day, and suddenly

• It clicked

I switched all the labels on our spices at home. I’m not in trouble yet, but

• The thyme is cumin

I went to Spelling bee:

• Announcer: Your word is “embarrassing”
• Student: That’s OK you can say it.
• Announcer: It’s really embarrassing
• Student: I promise not to laugh

There were 3 sailors on a boat. They had 4 cigarettes, but nothing to light them with. How did they solve their issue?

• Throw one of the cigarettes overboard. The boat then becomes a “cigarette lighter”.

You know the rule, i before e except after C. This has been disproved by science. 

I hired a handyman. I gave him a list of jobs. He only did 1, 3, and 5

• Yep, he only does odd jobs. 

Middle School Science Minute  

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

Field Trips Last a Lifetime

I was recently reading the January/February 2021 issue of “The Science Teacher” a publication of the National Science Teaching Association.  In this issue, I read the section “Current Science Classroom” written by Chris Anderson.  Chris wrote an article entitled “Field Trips Last a Lifetime.”

Nothing can replace the authenticity and impact of an in-person field experience for kids, however, until the public health and school funding battles are won it’s up to us to get creative and bring the world to our students.

Reports from the Front Lines

• Roman Emperors – Pokemon Go    
• Weighted Survey in Moodle
• Who is doing the work?

Advisory:  

Rocking Chair Hat Knitter

Challenge: Combine two things into one useful thing. 

https://mashable.com/2018/03/27/rocking-knit/#annotations:561AmIKuEeu8mffpwXW9Ig

The Twitterverse  

Typical EduCelebrity @EduCelebrity

Administrators: when school is fully back to normal, you better have one …. of a special pencil to give on Teacher Appreciation Day.

Bob Harrison  @R_O_Harrison

Engagement is higher when curriculum is a conversation.

Georgia Association for Middle Level Education  @GAMLEtoday

What advice would you offer your former self? #MLEM21AMLE #AMLE #gamle #mschat

Ditch That Textbook  @DitchThatTxtbk

Q3 Where would you guide a new teacher to go to get informal pd and to build their PLN? #Ditchbook

Bob Harrison  @R_O_Harrison

Didn’t know it had a name: The Carrot Principle. One of the 1000+ things that makes @Smhearty the great genuine leader he is. @Gwizzy, @kennibc, tech dept.: I’m sure you’d agree that we don’t have a greater advocate, guide, encourager, or cheerleader than Troy Patterson.  

Dr. Joanne Freeman  @jbf1755

I do wave at the end of Zoom calls. Someone (@TheTattooedProf?) named these end-of-Zoom-meetings waves “muppet waves”—and they will be that for me forever.

#mschat every Thursday at 8:00 pm Eastern Standard Time.  And as Troy says, “The Twitter never stops!” 

Resources:

National Virtual Teacher Association Resources

QuillBot

Paraphrasing tool

https://quillbot.com/

Web Spotlight:  

Female historians and male nurses do not exist, Google Translate tells its European users

If you were to read a story about male and female historians translated by Google, you might be forgiven for overlooking the females in the group. The phrase “vier Historikerinnen und Historiker” (four male and female historians) is rendered as “cuatro historiadores” (four male historians) in Spanish, with similar results in Italian, French and Polish. Female historians are simply removed from the text.

Random Thoughts . . .  

ArchiTechs of Learning

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/architechs-of-learning/id1541761752

Personal Web Site   

Click the Play button below to listen to the show!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Jokes:  

Hey, did you hear about the guy who ate some Clownfish? 

• He complained that it tasted funny

Did you hear about the shoe repairman who wanted a callus removed? 

• It was a corn on the cobbler

Did you hear about the new word that I came up with yesterday? 

• Plagiarism

Did you hear about fish that are in schools? 

• Sometimes they take debate

Did you hear about the chef who lost his job for stealing utensils?

• It was a whisk that he was willing to take

What do you get if you boil a funny bone?

• Laughing stock

That’s humerus

Did you hear about the guy named Joseph who went on the Dolly Parton diet? 

• It really made Joe lean, Joe lean, Joe lean

Did you hear about the guy who was singing in the shower and got shampoo in his mouth? 

• It became a Soap Opera

Did you hear about the group of Baby Soldiers? 

• They are the infantry

Did you hear about the guy who handed his Dad his 50th birthday card?

• His Dad said, “You know, one would’ve been enough”

Did you hear about the country that switched from pounds to kilograms overnight? 

• There was mass confusion

Middle School Science Minute  

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

What is Engineering?

I was recently reading the January/February 2021 issue of “Science  & Children” a publication of the National Science Teaching Association.  In this issue, I read an article written by Matt Bobrowsky.  His article was entitled “Q: Can a Simple Engineering Project Be Used to Teach Some Science?.”

Within the article, the author takes a quick look at the difference between science and engineering.  Science increases our knowledge about the universe and our surroundings in a systematic way, while engineering is the application of this knowledge to create new and better products.

Reports from the Front Lines

•  Video in the Classroom
  • Remote
  • After times
• Parents controlling access   
• Tabs
  • Tools
  • “Cost”
• Acquire
  • Whiteboard.fi | Kahoot!
  • Nearpod | Renaissance
  • Mystery Science | Discovery Education
  • Hoonuit | Powerschool  

Advisory:  

How old is my sister?

The Twitterverse

 Typical EduCelebrity   @EduCelebrity

You gotta hand it to the administrators who say that student homework is busy work and also expect teachers to turn in a reflection from what they learned at inservice.

Jenna @jennavd22

Some jerk sent my kid home for the weekend with a whistle.

SCAssoc. for Middle @The_SCAMLE

Check out the SCAMLE Conference Program at https://docs.google.com/document/d/1yML4-DCfCYWD-c-hwus1b1nZ_wKZAQ_gIO6JNuHcD4M/edit?usp=sharing… #scamle2021 @Princess_of_Edu @dmcdonald141 @jenkinstiger @MrsIngram @RJMotivates @JBerckemeyer @JemellehCoes @TeachMrReed @latoyadixon5 @psloanjoseph @Pied_SCAMLE

 Jordan Shapiro @jordosh

How to Help a Teen Out of a Homework Hole @lisadamour

https://t.co/vIJewAdTKa?amp=1

EL Magazine  @ELmagazine

Want to make your school a better place for everyone? Make emotional health a habit. @rickwormeli2 outlines the 7 habits of highly “affective” teachers.

https://bit.ly/2pu8K2A #edchat

#mschat every Thursday at 8:00 pm Eastern Standard Time.  And as Troy says, “The Twitter never stops!” 

Strategies:  

Emoji Writing Prompts

https://www.controlaltachieve.com/2016/11/emoji-writing-prompts.html#annotations:GrjKjHdxEeu1oUP2D6HMsA

Resources:

75 Questions Students Can Ask Themselves Before, During, and After a Lesson.  

Are there questions students can ask themselves while you’re teaching? Questions that can guide and support their own thinking and awareness before, during, and after your teaching?

AXIS:  The Culture Translator

On Knowing

What it is: New York Times columnist Ben Smith wrote at length (paywall) about the resignation of Donald McNeil, a public health reporter at the paper. It was conversations that happened on an international field trip with teenagers that brought an end (language) to McNeil’s 40-year career.

Why it’s insight into how teens are thinking: Some teens seem to be taking the Taylor Swift lyric, “I knew everything when I was young” pretty seriously. One of the people who went on the trip, who was 17 at the time, noted that McNeil wasn’t at all receptive when she and other students told McNeil that his opinions were offensive to them. Not only do many teens feel a certain moral obligation to point out when they feel an older person “needs educating” (the most withering of Gen Z insults), they presume that the older person would be open to learning from them, and would want to apologize. Of course, it’s nothing new for teenagers to think they know everything there is to know, but never before has a generation had access to so much information that can be instantly called upon; maybe it’s even somewhat understandable that Gen Z would think they know more about the world than their elders. As parents and caregivers, it’s important that we understand where our teens are coming from, and also that we help them understand that truly transcendent wisdom can’t be bestowed by a Google search or two.

Slang of the Week

we live in a society: a phrase originally used to describe the feeling of being left out or left behind in society, but now often used to make fun of people who think they’re being deep. (Ex: “I saw the Mayor of New York City eating pizza with a knife and fork. Truly we live in a society.”)  

Same Energy

Same Energy is a visual search engine. You can use it to find beautiful art, photography, decoration ideas, or anything else.

https://same.energy/

Web Spotlight:  

1000 Fails Lead to a Single Success

Pro freestyle mountain bike rider Matt Jones wants to try a new trick, something no one has ever done before. In this video, you see him go through the entire process of bringing a new idea or invention into the world:

https://kottke.org/21/02/1000-fails-lead-to-a-single-success

Random Thoughts . . .  

Legislative Update:  

1. H.R.542 — 117th Congress (2021-2022) Save Education Jobs Act  
2. S.45 — 117th Congress (2021-2022) School Security Enhancement Act  
3. H.R.204 — 117th Congress (2021-2022) STEM Opportunities Act 

Personal Web Site   

Click the Play button below to listen to the show!

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Jokes:  

I wrote a book about poltergeists, 

• It’s flying off the shelf

Did you know Yoda has a last name? 

• Layheehoo

Did you hear about the couple that had to break up? One of them only had 9 toes. The other one was

• Lack toes intolerant.

Do they allow laughing in Hawaii? 

• Or just a low ha? 

Nothing in the English language starts with an N and ends with a G. 

Whenever someone tells me a knock-knock joke, I sit there quietly and pretend that I’m not home until they leave.

At first there were only 25 letters in the alphabet. 

• Nobody knew why

Why do bees stay in their hives during winter? 

• Swarm

Why did the cow get a ticket?

• Moooo-ving violation

Eileen Award:  

• iTunes:  AllforJMJ – Thanks for the rating!!

Middle School Science Minute  

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

Middle School Science Minute — Pinterest

I was recently reading the January/February 2021 issue of “Science  & Children” a publication of the National Science Teaching Association.  In this issue, I read an article written by Ryan S. Nixon, Shannon L. Navy, Sarah Barnett, Marissa Johnson, and Delaney Larson.  Their article was entitled “Pinning and Planning: Five Tips for Using Pinterest to Teach Science.”

Pinterest is an online resource that teachers seem to enjoy and find useful.  Pinterest is a social media website where individuals can bookmark content found elsewhere on the internet in one convenient place.  Nixon and his students spent several months closely analyzing 1600 pins and their associated websites for teaching the topics of force/motion and adaptations.  Their research pointed out the benefits and weaknesses of Pinterest as a teaching resource.

http://k12science.net/pinterest/

Reports from the Front Lines

• H5P in Instructional Design
  • H5p.org and lumi.education    
• Does “Hybrid” mean the same as Distance learning, just that some do it in the same room and some do it . . . distance?  
• Technological skills? Sound matters
• Do we finally have a consistent, daily use for the Swivl?  

Advisory:  

Word(s) of the Year – George Grant, wordsmith

“The use of the right word, the exact word, is the difference between a pencil with a sharp point and a thick crayon.” – Peter Marshall   So, if you had to choose the precise word to describe 2020, what might it be?  

The Twitterverse

Ditch That Textbook  @DitchThatTxtbk

Create Netflix-style learning with screencasts http://ditchthattextbook.com/2017/09/21/create-netflix-style-learning-with-screencasts/…

Mike Roberts  @BaldRoberts

Teachers – Please complete this sentence. “The thing I miss most about pre-pandemic teaching is…” (I’m just trying to remember back to the good ol’ days…)

Pernille Ripp @pernilleripp

Are there other websites out there like the Pacific Northwest tree octopus one that is more recent?

Typical EduCelebrity   @EduCelebrity

One of the most important lines an educator should know is “Look, I don’t make any of the decisions around here”.

Mark Ryan  @RunEducator

How do you want your students to enter your classroom? Reply with an emoji

Senator Dayna Polehanki  @SenPolehanki

“Take it from a former teacher: focusing on the state summative assessment in the middle of a pandemic…will not provide any accurate measurement of performance and educational attainment.” @koleszar_matt

Quote Tweet:  

Bridge Michigan  @BridgeMichigan

Opinion | If teachers think standardized tests stink, maybe we should listen https://bit.ly/2NHOmMV 

John R. Sowash  @jrsowash

Yesterday @GoogleForEdu announced more than 25 updates to #GoogleClassroom, #GoogleMeet, #GoogleDrive, and #Chromebooks. Here’s a quick summary of the most important updates.

#mschat every Thursday at 8:00 pm Eastern Standard Time.  And as Troy says, “The Twitter never stops!” 

Strategies:  

Toolkit for “Mathematics in Context: The Pedagogy of Liberation”

This toolkit will help educators consider how to “humanize math” using Learning for Justice’s Social Justice Standards. It provides opportunities for reflection and examples of real-world applications.

https://www.learningforjustice.org/magazine/spring-2021/toolkit-for-mathematics-in-context-the-pedagogy-of-liberation#annotations:Wkb08m_8EeukKX_rM-MXIg

Resources:

The in-school push to fight misinformation from the outside world

“Overall, young people’s ability to reason about the information on the Internet can be summed up in one word: bleak,” the study’s authors wrote.

More than one third of middle school students report rarely or never having learned how to judge the reliability of information sources, which is “really the fundamental of what media literacy is,” said Helen Lee Bouygues, president of the Reboot Foundation, who is an expert on misinformation and critical thinking.

Web Spotlight:  

Wad-Ja-Get

Wad-Ja-Get? is a unique discussion of grading and its effects on students. The book was written by three education professors who have had first-hand contact with the problems of grading in all its forms. Written in the form of a novel, the topic is explored through the eyes of students, teachers, and parents in one high school embroiled in a controversy around grading. Possible alternatives to the grading system are examined in detail and the research on grading is summarized in an appendix. This 50th anniversary edition of the book includes a new introduction by Professor Barry Fishman, updating the research and setting the original book in the context of today’s educational and societal challenges. Wad-Ja-Get? remains timely five decades after its original publication, and will be inspiring to students, parents, educators, and policymakers.

https://www.fulcrum.org/concern/monographs/z316q358r#annotations:AGualHCZEeuLne9aK4-6jQ

WWII Museum

The National WWII Museum offers a number of fun and educational programs for classrooms and individual students. In addition to an annual Essay Contest, the Museum serves as Louisiana’s sponsor for National History Day, hosts an annual High School Quiz Bowl, and much more!

https://www.nationalww2museum.org/students-teachers

Speak Up About Racial Microaggressions in Schools

Microagressions – like that comment – tend to be subtle, unconscious or unintentionally prejudiced. But they are not harmless.

https://www.iste.org/explore/education-leadership/speak-about-racial-microaggressions-schools#annotations:oHJWdnCaEeu9kx_6yVWStQ

I Tracked Down The Girls Who Bullied Me As A Kid. Here’s What They Had To Say.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/middle-high-school-bully-depression_n_602c0800c5b65259c4e52240

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Jokes:  

Why do ice cream vendors make the best reporters?

• They always get the scoop

My friend married a woman who installs internet connections. 

• Definitely a Wifi can proud of.

If you wear cowboy boots, chaps, and a fringe shirt….

• You are Ranch dressing

What’s the opposite of Lady Fingers? 

• Mentos

If you got your breakfast in Germany delivered by drone….

• Luftwaffe

Middle School Science Minute  

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

Outstanding Science Trade Books for Middle School Students

The National Science Teaching Association in collaboration with the Children’s Book Council released the 2021 list of the Outstanding Science Trade Books for Students.  In this podcast we look at the 12 books recommended for Middle School Students.

• Condor Comeback
• Exploring the Elements: A Complete Guide to the Periodic Table
• Old Enough to Save the Planet
• Darwin’s Rival: Alfred Russel Wallace and the Search for Evolution
• Return From Extinction: The Triumph of the Elephant Seal
• Sea Otters: A Survival Story
• The Big One: The Cascadia Earthquakes and the Science of Saving Lives
• Blood and Germs: The Civil War Battle Against Wounds and Disease
• Born Curious: 20 Girls Who Grew Up to be Awesome Scientists
• Changing the Equation: 50+ US Black Women in STEM
• Plasticus Maritimus: An Invasive Species
• To Fly Among the Stars: The Hidden Story of the Fight for Women Astronauts

Reports from the Front Lines

• COVID Vaccine and The Day After . . . 
• Where is the tipping point where you call it the “Year of the Virtual” or bring ‘em back to school?  
• CDC Guidelines
• Teaching structures

Advisory:  

Life Lessons from 100 Year

If my cake fails, I made pudding…

People give up too easily…

9 habits of highly successful people, from a man who spent 5 years studying them

https://www.cnbc.com/2017/03/28/9-habits-of-highly-successful-people.html#annotations:cgwH4GsKEeufsRcgeHiMHg

Free Bayeux App

Now, anyone can create their own medieval-style storyboards, greeting cards, or memes using an online application known as the Historic Tale Construction Kit. Created by a team of programmers (Leonard Allain-Launay, Mathieu Thoretton, Maria Cosmina Etegan), the site allows users to digitally recombine the dramatic lettering and images seen in medieval tapestries to create their own, new image.

The Twitterverse

Phyllis Fagell, LCPC  @Pfagell

Sixth grader: “I’m so sick of smizing all day.” 

Me: “Smizing?” 

Sixth grader: “Yeah — smiling with my eyes..”  

Ditch That Textbook  @DitchThatTxtbk

Why your students need a podcast: How to do it fast and free http://ditchthattextbook.com/2018/02/28/why-your-students-need-a-podcast-how-to-do-it-fast-and-free/…

Run And Rant PLN   @runandrant

Did you know? “The modern shape comes from the Italian didactic poem Documenti d’amore by F. Barberino in the 14thcentury. One illustration — depicting cupid throwing arrows and roses at bystanders — included hearts. Shortly after it appeared in other works of visual art.”  https://twitter.com/i/status/1360628485845364744  

Michigan.gov  @migov

Stay Smart. Stay Safe. @MichiganHHS reports today, Feb. 12, 2021, 1,193 new COVID-19 cases & 10 deaths. This brings #Michigan‘s total cases to 573,372 & 15,062 deaths. Find the latest data & #COVID19 news at http://Michigan.gov/Coronavirus. #MaskUpMichigan

#mschat every Thursday at 8:00 pm Eastern Standard Time.  And as Troy says, “The Twitter never stops!” 

Strategies:  

Hold a School Dance . . . At Home . . . 

Not sure what your school dances are like, but the ones at my school are loud music and kids sitting around eating pizza and drinking Faygo.  So why not hold a virtual “dance” over Google Meet/Zoom/DingTalk/Jitsi?  Introduce the idea with a EuroVision video from The Roop:  https://youtu.be/CWqrdzNoBKA  

Backstory:  The Roop was a 2020 finalist in the EuroVision competition, but it was cancelled due to COVID-19.  The video above is their automatic entry to this year’s EuroVision contest and the first part is a take on their 2020 video:  https://youtu.be/YFzcmH1kDj8  It’s EuroVision, just keep that in mind . . . You can see an interview here with The Roop about the video.  I don’t get the hands thing either . . . https://www.facebook.com/LRT.LT/videos/169185998071537/  

Resources:

How to Spot Fake News

100-Plus Mentor Texts for Documenting Your Life in 2020

First Book Free Resources

https://www.fbmarketplace.org/free-resources/#annotations:3aMfOmvREeutP386Og75iQ

Synth Podcasting Platform Updates

The Culture Translator

Tech documentary The Social Dilemma starts with a quote from Sophocles: “Nothing vast enters the life of mortals without a curse.” If you’ve never peered into the vast pool of data companies like Google collect on us, consider reading this article from spreadprivacy.com, maybe even with your teens. Then ask them some of the following questions.

• Does the fact that companies track what we do online bother you? Why or why not?
• If smartphone data can help catch criminals, do you think it’s worth all of us being watched?
• When does data collection go too far?
• What would it look like for a company to use ethical or religious principles in how they collected data?  

Slang of the Week

acting brand new: when some development (often a new purchase or a new friend group) causes someone to act like they’re above what they used to enjoy. (Ex: “We always used to sit together at lunch, but ever since Topanga got that haircut, she’s been acting brand new!”)  

TikTok On a Platter

What it is: A simple recipe for baked feta pasta is all over TikTok.

Why it’s time to break out the Pyrex: Now known as “the TikTok pasta,” this concoction has blocks of feta cheese flying off the shelves. (Supermarkets in Finland even ran out of the popular Greek cheese, which is traditionally made from brined sheep’s milk). If your teen has any affinity for cooking at all, they’ve probably tried this recipe or at least want to. If you’re able to get ahold of a few cherry tomatoes and one of those 18 ounce hunks of feta, you might have a recipe for some family time together in the kitchen. (As the teens say, “Wholesome!”) Of course, it’s also possible that they’re quite sick of seeing the pasta all over their For You Page.

What is Love?  

What does love look like?  No, not that .. . . 

400 Years of Literary Examples

Web Spotlight:  

Maintaining Classroom Discipline (1947)

Why most schools won’t ‘reinvent’ themselves after the pandemic

http://dangerouslyirrelevant.org/2021/01/why-most-schools-wont-reinvent-themselves-after-the-pandemic.html#annotations:nMo78GjfEeud3qeMjn2rVw

Random Thoughts . . .  

Personal Web Site   

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