MSM 661: The Law of Unintended Lessons

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Summary:

Shawn and Troy talk about Blookit, AI, and more. Dave fosters Innovation, Creativity, and Curiosity. 

Jokes:  

Napoleon and his wife are buried next to each other.

  • They’re only a bone apart…..

Every horse in the 2025 Kentucky Derby traces back to Secretariat.

  • This is a clear case of neighpotism.

I just saw a sign “Laser hair removal” Why would anyone want to remove their laser hair? Laser hair would be awesome

the formula to measure the area of a pun is

  • Length time wit!

I don’t mean to alarm anyone, but the orcas now have two F/A-18 Hornets

DO people in electric cars listen to AD/DC…

  • or something current?

I have a phobia of trampolines.

I can’t help it, they just always make me jump.

what do you call fire fighters who become influencers?

  • Stop, Drop, and Roll Models!

My favorite butcher links their own sausage, to make ends meat…

What do Alexander the Great and Winnie the Pooh have in common?

  • Same middle name.

Middle School Science Minute  

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

K12Science Podcast:  Innovation, Creativity and Curiosity

I was recently reading the May – June 2025 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 Brooke A. Whitworth.  She wrote an article entitled, “‘Fostering Innovation, Creativity, and Curiosity in Science Education.”

In this article, Brooke shared many practical strategies that teachers can implement immediately, regardless of resources, in the areas of:

  • Community-Connected Science
  • Resource-Conscious Innovation
  • Curiosity-Driven Learning

http://k12science.net/innovation-creativity-and-curiosity/ 

Reports from the Front Lines

  • ACTEM Spring 2025
    • AI DIY
    • JAMF
    • Google Admin
  • Blookit!
  • DHMO Project Update

The Social Web

Susie Dent  @susie_dent

Wonderful. Although I quite like ‘restaurant’ because it rests on the idea of being ‘restored’. Restaurants were originally establishments supplying fortifying meat broth intended to restore health.  

Wylfċen @wylfcen

DON’T say “restaurant,” which is from French. The native English word is SNEEDINGHOUSE. 

Dupont La Joie  @HyperDupont

Indeed, Restaurant being derived from French should be the word for places serving food fit for human consumption whereas. Another word is needed for places offering British food.

4 Frens  @4_frenz

I feel like this is knowledge I was never, ever meant to learn.

‪Martin Compton‬ ‪@martc.bsky.social‬

The AI festival is just round the corner … a ton of events and an entire day dedicated to AI in Education – if you can be in London 20th-24th May, sign up for events here: www.kcl.ac.uk/events/serie…

‪Bernie Goldbach “topgold”‬ ‪@topgold.bsky.social‬

Ethics, morals, road rage killing, and forgiveness: www.bbc.com/news/article…

‪Dublin City University‬ ‪@dublincityuni.bsky.social‬

Who owns my child’s data? Teachers, parents and children should have a say in the role of technology in schools. Piece by DCU’s Dr Eamon Costello  @eam0.bsky.social and Dr Rob Lowney @lwnyrb.bsky.social for @rtebrainstorm.bsky.social. Read here: launch.dcu.ie/3EZO0Mt #RTEBrainstorm

‪Duncan at CAPDM‬ ‪@capdm.com‬

This is a *really* good set of tactics for reducing the impact of AI rot in teaching and learning.

Dan Hassler-Forest‬ ‪@danhf.bsky.social‬

After the brutal reality of dealing with student papers in the ChatGPT era finally hit me, here are a few tactics that I’ve found at least somewhat effective in getting students to do their own writing:

1. LOWER THE BAR: most students don’t think they write well, so they are easily tempted to “improve” their writing by asking AI for alternatives. Giving them extra credit for imperfect but genuine writing while teaching them to take ownership of their words and ideas has helped.

2. MAKE IT PERSONAL: Rather than asking students to explain a theory, apply a conceptual framework, or reproduce material they rarely feel confident they really understand, I ask them to reflect in writing on what an essay or an idea has meant to them.

3. FEEDFORWARD, NOT FEEDBACK: instead of having students submit a paper and return a grade (with maybe a little bit of feedback), I now have students submit a first complete draft, for which I give them a provisional grade and feedforward that they can use to revise and resubmit for a final grade.

4. RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE: in every course I teach, I now make sure to incorporate at least two moments in which I launch into a diatribe about the evils of AI. It gives me an opportunity to vent and the students love it because deep down, they know it’s wrong and need to hear that.

5. DON’T PANIC: after a moment of deep depression, I realized that most students really can be persuaded to do work in good faith. Some will of course end up cheating, but this has always been the case and it always will be. So focus more on inspiring them and less on making courses “AI-proof.”

6. NEVER USE IT YOURSELF. EVER! The most common issue I hear from students is that some of their lecturers use ChatGPT for feedback, syllabus creation, etc., so why shouldn’t they? Of course I’m not the boss of you, but as soon as you use it for ANYTHING, you’re giving students implicit permission.

Reposted by

Rick Wormeli

‪Hypervisible‬ ‪@hypervisible.bsky.social‬

“Massive numbers of students are going to emerge from university with degrees, and into the workforce, who are essentially illiterate…Both in the literal sense and in the sense of being historically illiterate and having no knowledge of their own culture, much less anyone else’s.”

https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/openai-chatgpt-ai-cheating-education-college-students-school.html

Reposted by

Rick Wormeli

Jane Rosenzweig‬ ‪@janerosenzweig.bsky.social‬

Reply to

Jane Rosenzweig

What structures are in place that make students choose to outsource their own thinking, and how we got to a point where the step that seems important to do yourself is the “writing up” of a bot’s ideas rather than the thinking. /2

Whenever Wendy uses AI to write an essay (which is to say, whenever she writes an essay), she follows three steps. Step one: “I say, ‘I’m a first-year college student. I’m taking this English class.’” Otherwise, Wendy said, “it will give you a very advanced, very complicated writing style, and you don’t want that.” Step two: Wendy provides some background on the class she’s taking before copy-and-pasting her professor’s instructions into the chatbot. Step three: “Then I ask, ‘According to the prompt, can you please provide me an outline or an organization to give me a structure so that I can follow and write my essay?’ It then gives me an outline, introduction, topic sentences, paragraph one, paragraph two, paragraph three.” Sometimes, Wendy asks for a bullet list of ideas to support or refute a given argument: “I have difficulty with organization, and this makes it really easy for me to follow.

Resources:  

Your Student Finished Early—Now What?

These extension activities for all grades will help teachers keep fast finishers engaged in meaningful work.

https://www.edutopia.org/article/fast-finishers-school-keeping-students-any-grade-engaged

AXIS The Culture Translator

Please Don’t Stop The Music

What it is: Some young people are taking a break from listening to music

Why it’s happening: There was a time when hearing music required access to an actual musician. Now, the infinite availability of music on apps like Spotify can lead to a paradox of choice, and to a desire to find the “perfect” soundtrack for every moment. Some young people are finding that the ability to completely control every sound they hear is turning into an unhealthy coping mechanism—a way of managing their thoughts and feelings into submission, instead of truly sitting with them. Others find that constantly filling their space with music is making it harder to think clearly. As Dazed puts it, “The rise of algorithmically generated playlists and near-constant headphone use means music has often become background noise, something to fill space, not deepen experiences.

Web Spotlight: 

The LLMentalist Effect: how chat-based Large Language Models replicate the mechanisms of a psychic’s con

https://softwarecrisis.dev/letters/llmentalist

Parents’ Phone Use May Harm Kids’ Health and Development

A new study published in JAMA Pediatrics found that when parents use technology in the presence of their young children—a behavior researchers call “parental technology use” (PTU)—it may be harming key aspects of kids’ health and development.

https://www.newsweek.com/parents-phone-use-harm-kids-health-children-screen-2067235

Productive Struggle: What We Lose When AI Does the Thinking

https://ideasandthoughts.org/2025/05/06/productive-struggle-what-we-lose-when-ai-does-the-thinking/

AI Is Bad At Grading Essays (Chapter #412,277)

The main hurdles to computerized grading have not changed. Reducing essay characteristics to a score is difficult for a human, but a computer does not read or comprehend the essay in any usual understanding of the words.

Like self-driving cars, robograding has been just around the corner for years. 

The Learning Agency. TLA is an outfit pushing “innovation.” It (along with the Learning Agency Lab) was founded by Ulrich Boser in 2017, and they partner with the Gates Foundation, Schmidt Futures, Georgia State University, and the Center for American Progress, where Boser is a senior fellow. 

TLA has dug through data again, to produce “Identifying Limitations and Bias in ChatGPT Essay Scores: Insights from Benchmark Data.” They grabbed their 24,000 argumentative essay dataset and let ChatGPT do its thing so they could check for some issues.

This particular study found bias that it deemed lacking in “practical significance,” except when it didn’t. Specifically, the difference between Asian/Pacific Islanders and Black students, which underlines how Black students come in last in the robograding.

…result is that ChatGPT just isn’t very good at the job. At all. There’s more statistical argle bargle here, but the bottom line is that ChatGPT gives pretty much everyone a gentleman’s C. 

Using ChatGPT to grade student essays is educational malpractice. It is using a yardstick to measure the weight of an elephant. It cannot do the job.

TLA ignores one other question, a question studiously ignored by everyone in the robograding world– how is student performance affected when they know that their essay will not be read by an actual human being? How does one write like a real human being when your audience is mindless software? What will a student do when schools break the fundamental deal of writing–that it is an attempt to communicate an idea from the mind of one human to the mind of another?

“The computer has read your essay” is a lie. ChatGPT can scan your output as data (not as writing) and compare it to the larger data set (also not writing any more) and see if it lines up. Your best bet as a student is to aim for the same kind of slop that ChatGPT churns out thoughtlessly.

https://curmudgucation.blogspot.com/2025/05/ai-is-bad-at-grading-essays-chapter.html

Why Even Try if You Have A.I.?

https://archive.md/DaoUj

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MSM 660: The Dangers of Dihydrogen Monoxide (DHMO) and Seventh Graders

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Summary:

Shawn and Troy talk about charts, graphs, Dihydrogen Monoxide, and more. Dave stops. 

Jokes:  

Why did the pencil get flushed down the toilet? It was a #2!

Did you hear about the piece of fruit that left it’s wallet at a George Michael concert in Zurich?

  • It was a Careless Swiss Pear.

Which word becomes shorter when you add two letters to it?

how do you tell the sex of an ant?

  • Put it in water.  If it sinks, girl ant.  If it floats….  boy ant

Today, my son asked “Can I have a book mark?” and I burst into tears. 11 years old and he still doesn’t know my name is Brian.

To the person who stole my glasses. I can still drink from the bottle.

My mate is the biggest Beatles fan in the world.

He’s got every single they made except one.

I think he needs Help.

I’m giving my chimney away for free… You could say it’s on the house

“I’m now up to 1000 crunches a day. Between the capt crunch, cornnuts, pringles, bugles, crunch bars, crunchy general tsos, granola and bunch a crunch. I’m getting it done!”

The Swiss must’ve been pretty confident in their chances of victory if they included a corkscrew in their army knife.

I don’t get all the excitement surrounding Nintendo’s new product announcement…

My house is full of light switches!

Middle School Science Minute  

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

K12Science Podcast:  STOP Doing

I was recently reading the March – April 2025 issue of “The Science & Children”, a publication of the National Science Teaching Association.

In this issue, I read the section, “The Poetry of Science” written by Amy Ludwig VanDerwater  She wrote an article entitled, “‘If We Stopped.”

When we imagine acting as Earth’s stewards, we often focus on what we can DO, but in this poem, the author challenges us to consider what we might STOP doing.

http://k12science.net/stop-doing/ 

I checked out birdcast.info.  It is a pretty good website.  It had a ton of information regarding the birds that are in the air.  The only thing was that it did not go into specifics regarding species of birds.  I look forward to the return of hummingbirds and baltimore orioles.  For hummingbirds, I use:  https://www.hummingbirdcentral.com/hummingbird-migration-spring-2025-map.htm

Reports from the Front Lines

The Social Web

Nathan Lowell (he/him)@nlowell@indieauthors.social

What does the word creativity mean to you?

I thought I knew.

Like “making something new” but sometimes it’s making something different.

Or looking at something old from a different perspective, with a different lens.

Or sorting through a pile of maybe to find the one.

Now? Having thought about it?

I don’t know.

Susie Dent  @susie_dent

Word of the Day is ‘apricate’ (17th century): to turn your face to the sun and bask in its warmth.

‪Rick Wormeli‬ ‪@rickwormeli.bsky.social‬

New piece out today in Principal Leadership (NASSP) with behinds-the-scenes advice when talking with faculty about changes in grading practices, which can be challenging. www.https://www.nassp.org/publication/principal-leadership/volume-25-2024-2025/principal-leadership-may-2025/viewpoint-may-2025/

Resources:  

Landmark Cases of the Supreme Court

Street Law, Inc. and the Supreme Court Historical Society developed and launched LandmarkCases.org to provide teachers with a full range of resources and activities to support the teaching of landmark Supreme Court cases.

https://landmarkcases.org/landmark-cases

How To Say The Number 92

https://brilliantmaps.com/number-92/

Chart of the Day

Looking for some great charts? Need examples to show kids? Want a good discussion topic?

https://www.statista.com/chartoftheday

Based on A True Story?

https://informationisbeautiful.net/visualizations/based-on-a-true-true-story

AXIS The Culture Translator

Hard to Believe

What it is: According to Politico, being a digital native doesn’t make someone information-savvy—and Gen Z is the generation most likely to be duped by unverified information online.

Why there’s more to it: We know that teenagers, young adults, and their parents are all susceptible to being misled by wild claims shared online. (That’s why we teamed up with The Pour Over last year to make a Media Literacy Kit.) Politico gives some extreme examples of Gen Z’s credulity, including a TikTok trend from several years ago that insisted Helen Keller had faked her disabilities. The article points out that young people just don’t trust institutional sources of information, which could be part of why they sometimes don’t bother to verify facts by looking them up. But this cynicism about traditional media isn’t limited to just young people—and maybe, that isn’t entirely a bad thing.  

National History Day

Is funded through 2025 and is looking for funding for 2026.  States and affiliates are funded for next year.  

https://nhd.org/en/

Web Spotlight: 

Responding to Calls for “Free Speech”

In reality, the First Amendment is a limit on government power. It ensures that the state cannot punish or restrict most types of speech. It does not compel private individuals, organisations, or platforms – centralised or decentralised – to host, promote, or tolerate any particular content.

Put simply, free speech in the US is a legal guarantee against government censorship, not a free pass to say anything without consequence in any context.

 Most social media platforms, including decentralised ones, are operated by private individuals or communities. These platforms are free to establish their own rules, block or restrict content, and curate community standards that suit their values and needs. This is not a violation of free speech, it is a legitimate exercise of community autonomy.

Within the legal boundaries of the US, certain forms of speech are not protected under the First Amendment. The US Supreme Court has long recognised that some categories of speech carry such significant risk of harm that they may be legally restricted or punished. These include:

When community guidelines prohibit content that falls within or even near these legally unprotected categories, they are not stifling freedom, they are building safer, more inclusive environments.

https://connect.iftas.org/library/community-management/responding-to-calls-for-free-speech

People You Should Know

Mike Rowe’s Show is back . . . 

“Your mission this weekend, should you choose to accept it, is to share this trailer with everyone on the planet. Or at least, with a few friends who might enjoy a show about the neighbors you wish you had. Episode one of People You Should Know drops right here on my YouTube Channel May 2nd. I don’t have a network behind me on this one, or a big production company, so you guys are my marketing and publicity department. No pressure, but the entire endeavor is in your hands.”  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4w2y1fixzpU

Click the Play button below to listen to the show!

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MSM 659: AEIOU and Sometimes Y I Didn’t Pay Attention

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Summary:

Shawn and Troy talk about AI, middle school students who are not lazy, and more. Dave goes to the birds. 

Jokes:  

To stay in shape my grandma started walking five miles a day when she was 60.

  • She’s 97 today and we don’t know where she is

No matter how kind you are, German children are kinder.

I was told that exercise helps with your decision-making.

It’s true…

After going to the gym earlier I’ve decided I’m never going again.

chopping cheese, but I think that I may have a grater problem

It’s alright if you don’t know what “prefix” means.

  • It’s not the end of the word.

One shouldn’t throw sodium chloride at people.

  • That’s a salt.

Frazz by Jef Mallet

Middle School Science Minute  

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

K12Science Podcast: Bird Count History

I was recently reading the March – April 2025 issue of “The Science Teacher”, a publication of the National Science Teaching Association.

In this issue, I read the section, “Right to the Source,” written by Jessica Fries-Gaither  She wrote an article entitled, “‘The 1900 Christmas Bird Census: Introducing a New Annual Tradition and Citizen Science Project.

This “historical” podcast provides an entry point for students in the Christmas Bird Count’s history and current applications in ornithology.  Students use data from the Count’s history to help construct their scientific understanding.

http://k12science.net/bird-count-history/ 

Bonus: 

https://birdcast.info/

Reports from the Front Lines

The Social Web

Susie Dent  @susie_dent

Soubhiye, from Lebanese Arabic, is the enjoyment of a quiet moment of peace in the early morning, before everyone else is awake. Gökotta is a Swedish term for waking up early to enjoy the birdsong.

Kit Bashir@Unixbigot@aus.social

Via Mx 17 (final year of high school):  “One of the kids in my class called a landline a ‘table cellphone'”

MiddleWeb‬ ‪@middleweb.bsky.social‬

NEW: Vision Boards Can Help Us Reignite Our Career Goals. If you know your ‘why,’ parlay it into a set of directions that will motivate your daily work. Educator Kelly Owens shows how vision boards help both teachers and their students. #edusky #mschat #educoach www.middleweb.com/51732/vision…

Michael Taylor‬ ‪@teacherrunner42.bsky.social‬

One of my FAVORITE parts of the old place was #MSChat – a place where middle school educators could come together – I haven’t seen much here yet want to restart #MSChat in 2025 – Please join us on January 9th at 8:00 PM Eastern! @blocht574.bsky.social  #edusky #booksky #mathsky #elasky

Strategies:  

“I Got Nothin…”

https://bsky.app/profile/tcea.org/post/3lnpqnt6cmr2e

Resources:  

AXIS The Culture Translator

Ice Breaker

What it is: The Ice Bucket Challenge is back, this time to raise awareness for mental health.

Why it’s resonating: The University of South Carolina’s MIND (Mental Illness Needs Discussion) Club is bringing back the social media trend under the new name #SpeakYourMIND. In the videos, a teen stands somewhere outside, they say a few words about mental health, they tag three friends to keep the trend going, and then someone drenches them with a bucket filled with ice water. The movement began at USC in honor of two students who died by suicide, and it has since raised nearly $300,000 for the mental health non-profit Active Minds. It’s personal, it’s performative, and it’s everywhere—especially on TikTok and Instagram. Gen Z is embracing this new version of the challenge not just because it’s going viral, but because mental health issues have affected so many members of their generation.  

Harvard X

https://www.edx.org/school/harvardx

EZ Gif

Ezgif.com is a simple, free online GIF maker and toolset for basic animated image editing.

Here you can create, edit and convert GIF, APNG, WebP, MNG and AVIF animations.

https://ezgif.com

Google Learn About

Discover how Learn About can enhance your learning experience. Learn About is a generative AI learning companion that brings Google Search, Gemini, and teaching principles to provide interactive learning experiences.

https://learning.google.com/experiments/learn-about

Learn About Learn About

https://support.google.com/websearch/answer/15662709?visit_id=638812767833106988-560311743&p=learn_about&rd=1

Web Spotlight: 

COPPA Update

https://natlawreview.com/article/ftc-publishes-final-coppa-rule-amendments

https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/04/22/2025-05904/childrens-online-privacy-protection-rule

The Professional Development Paradox: Why Good Intentions Go Astray in Schools

PD is the cornerstone of district and school culture. The idea is sound: equip educators with new skills, knowledge, and strategies to better serve their students. Yet, for many teachers and administrators, the mention of PD evokes a sigh rather than excitement. Why does this crucial investment so often fall short of its potential? The answer lies in several common pitfalls that plague PD initiatives in schools.

https://esheninger.blogspot.com/2025/04/the-professional-development-paradox.html

10 factors to consider when lesson planning with AI 

https://ditchthattextbook.com/learning-genie

Yes, Middle Schoolers Are Hard To Teach, and Nobody Is Really Lazy

I taught 39 years, and I never met a lazy student in my entire life. What I met were students who were making choices about their own agency.

https://curmudgucation.blogspot.com/2025/04/yes-middle-schoolers-are-hard-to-teach.html

https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2025/02/disengaged-teens-parents-nagging-school/681834

Random Thoughts . . .  

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MSM 658: Teacher’s Artistry

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Summary:

Shawn and Troy talk about AI in the classroom and education. Dave gets us prepared for Earth Day. 

Jokes:  

They don’t make time machines like they’re going to.

The first time Michael Jackson pondered his signature moonwalk, he walked it back.

No man is an island, unless his name is Archie Pelago.

It’s been months since I bought the book “how to scam people online”. 

  • It still hasn’t turned up.

Any pizza is a personal pizza if you believe in yourself.

Have you heard about corduroy pillows?  

  • They’re making headlines!

What did the rabbit say to the carrot?

  • It’s been nice gnawing you.

Why can’t the sailor play cards?

Because they’re standing on the deck.

Who is the highest ranking officer at a rock concert?

General Admission.

Middle School Science Minute  

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

K12Science Podcast: Earth Day 2025

I was recently reading the March – April 2025 issue of “Science and Children”, a publication of the National Science Teaching Association.

In this issue, I read the section, “Editor’s Note,” written by Elizabeth Barrett-Zahn  She wrote an article entitled, “‘Human Impacts.

As Earth Day 2025 approaches, we must ask: What kind of world are we leaving behind?  Will we continue to exploit resources without regard for limitations, or will we treat the Earth’s resources as gifts to be respected and shared?  The choices we make now will shape not only the future of the planet but also the future of the children we teach.

http://k12science.net/earth-day-2025/ 

Reports from the Front Lines

  • Professional Development
    • Brisk
  • Vacation

The Social Web

National History Day  @NationalHistory

We have a small but mighty slate of NHD state/affiliate contests happening today and this weekend! Good luck to all of the students competing in North Dakota, Michigan, Oregon, and Wyoming. We can’t wait to see your winning projects at the National Contest in June.    

Susie Dent  @susie_dent

A reminder of a pretty etymology to brighten the day. The ‘daisy’ takes its name from the Old English ‘dæges ēage’, ‘day’s eye’, because it opens its petals at dawn, and closes them again at dusk.

Resources:  

AXIS The Culture Translator

“Let Them”

What it is: #LetThem has 208,000 posts on TikTok. The theory, which comes from a book of the same name by author Mel Robbins, is being embraced by some, and mocked by others.

Why it resonates with young women: Robbins’ poised, unruffled delivery style on her popular podcast is striking a nerve with a generation desperate for grown-up mentors. The basic premise of Let Them is that the things you cannot control are not worth worrying about—and that includes the thoughts, opinions, and even actions of other people. The concept came to Robbins when she was trying to micromanage her son’s junior prom, to which her daughter advised, “Mom, if Oakley and his friends want to go to a taco bar for pre-prom, LET THEM.” For young people in the thick of adolescent insecurities, “letting them” can be a revelation. The idea has also been the source of memes, since there are obviously things you should not “let them” do.

Web Spotlight: 

AI Day Off

A friend’s daughter fed her mom’s voice to AI and then used it to get out of school to hang with her friends. She also used it to have her friends sleepover. We are absolutely cooked.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DIKy0nKxMVT/

Why philosophers hate that ‘equity’ meme

https://josephheath.substack.com/p/why-philosophers-hate-that-equity

​​How Generative AI Can Propel Education

https://www.techlearning.com/news/how-generative-ai-can-propel-education

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MSM 657: I Trusted the Student . . . I Held Out My Hand

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Summary:

Shawn and Troy talk about testing, spaced practice, trusting students, and more. Dave balances negative and positive, discusses polarity, and well, isn’t all wet. 

Jokes:

Why do nurses carry around red crayons? 

  • Sometimes they need to draw blood.

Albert Einstein is a real person.

  • I thought he was a theoretical physicist.

I passed all my courses except for Greek mythology.

  • That has always been my Achilles’ elbow.

Choices over escalators or elevators reflect a difference in upbringing.

“I’d like to sit by the window, please. 

  • I’m here for a light breakfast.”

The tobacconist was replaced by an apparel shop.

  • Clothes, but no cigar.

What was a more important invention than the first telephone? 

  • The second one.

I walked down a street where the houses were numbered 64K, 128K, 256K, 512K and 1MB.

  • That was a trip down memory lane!

Do you think Neil Young still sings “Old man” ? 

  • And if so, who is he singing to?

Tub of hummus: serves ten

  • Me: challenge accepted

What do you call a really fast escalator? 

  • – An escasooner…

I went to a specialist shop the other day and bought some binoculars, but they cost a fortune.

  • I think they saw me coming.

I’ve often heard that icy is the easiest word to spell.

  • Looking at it now…

I
see
why.

Middle School Science Minute  

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

K12Science Podcast: Water for Life

I was recently reading the March – April 2025 issue of “Science Scope”, a publication of the National Science Teaching Association.

In this issue, I read the section, “Scope on the Skies,” written by Bob Riddle.  He wrote an article entitled, “‘Water Bound: Part I”

Space missions that search for water are important because they could add to our understanding of the origin and evolution of life on Earth and elsewhere in the solar system and beyond.  Finding the presence of water is an important aspect of the search for life beyond the confines of our planet.

http://k12science.net/water-for-life/

Reports from the Front Lines

  • Testing Season
    • PSAT
  • Data Structure

The Social Web

Susie Dent  @susie_dent

I’m not sure what was going on in the 16th-century imagination, but this is at least a reminder that ‘to steal someone’s thunder’ originated with an event in 1709, when one theatre company nicked a thunder-making machine from another to use in their own play, leading the wounded

Quote:  

The OED  @OED

OED #WordOfTheDay: rounce robble hobble, n. The sound of a clap of thunder; a sound 

resembling this. View the entry: https://oxford.ly/4cmZztu

Dublin City University‬ ‪@dublincityuni.bsky.social‬

Crisis in the classroom: burnout and stress amongst Irish teachers. Piece by DCU’s Dr Sabrina Fitzsimons, Dr Pia O’Farrell and Professor Catherine Furlong @dcucreate.bsky.social, for @rtebrainstorm.bsky.social. Read here: launch.dcu.ie/43Iojdm #RTEBrainstorm

https://www.rte.ie/brainstorm/2025/0410/1506656-ireland-teachers-schools-burnout-stress-mental-health-dcu-survey

‪DCU Library‬ ‪@dculibrary.bsky.social‬

How noisy is it in the library today? Look out for our noise thermometers at the entrance of each library. Play your part to keep the library nice and quiet! Noise monitors will update the scale depending on noise levels, which library will be the quietest space?!

@dublincityuni.bsky.social

‪Kane Murdoch‬ ‪@ccguerilla.bsky.social‬

Seen on campus today. They seem like a real go getter, an entrepreneurial type.

Strategies:  

Hexagonal thinking: Creating connections in the classroom

Hexagonal thinking is all about creating connections. Imagine each idea, concept, or term as a hexagon on a board. As students arrange these hexagons, they’re essentially building a web of interconnected thoughts. The beauty of this method lies in the discussions it fosters because students must explain and justify their connections, which leads to deeper understanding and critical thinking.

https://ditchthattextbook.com/hexagonal-thinking

Spaced Retrieval Made Easy

On day one, I prepare three questions; two either multiple choice or fill in the blank questions and one short answer question. I will task my classes with answering these three questions from the first lesson of this unit before we even begin the first lesson. It may seem somewhat odd to ask students questions about a topic we haven’t covered, but there is growing evidence that pretesting has beneficial effects on student learning.

The next day (day two), instead of just answering three questions at the beginning of class, they will now answer six; the same three from the previous day (so now they’ve attempted to answer those questions three times) and three new questions from today’s lesson.

At the end of day two, depending on how much time we have, I may have them answer just that day’s three questions again or I may have them attempt all six again. 

On day three, I drop the three questions from day one and students attempt the three questions from day two (spacing out that retrieval) and then pretest them on the questions for day three…and this pattern continues for the entirety of the unit. 

Now, the real magic in this is that they are seeing the very concepts and terms they will be tested on during the unit summative assessment several times before they even consider studying for that test. 

https://theeffortfuleducator.com/2025/04/09/spaced-retrieval-made-easy/

Resources:  

AXIS The Culture Translator

On the Scent

What it is: For teenagers, the hottest trends in fragrance smell like bakery items and spice rack staples.

Why they’re selling so well: In a piece for Vox, Kyndall Cunningham outlines some basic reasons why sugary scents are selling out. First, since a lot of fragrance purchasing now happens online, a scent with notes of marshmallow, brown sugar, or vanilla is easy enough to imagine. There’s also the TikTok factor: influencers and celebrities, most of whom are being paid to shill these scents, make hefty claims about how much passers-by love the smell of these perfumes.

A Minecraft Movie

What it is: Teens are clapping and cheering so enthusiastically during A Minecraft Movie that theaters are requiring chaperones and/or calling the police.

Why it’s not what the internet predicted: When trailers for A Minecraft Movie first started coming out in 2024, people were horrified at the movie’s CGI renderings of sheep, villagers, and other game elements. (Plus, why was Minecraft’s main character, Steve, rendered as a human, but other game characters weren’t?) And yet between audience nostalgia (and/or an ongoing love of the game), Jack Black’s sheer ridiculousness, and so many inside jokes about game mechanics, the movie has been a big hit—at least with teen boys. In fact, the movie made more money on its opening weekend than any Warner Bros. movie since 2023.

YouTube AI Music Rollout

Got the students making videos?  Wish they had some Intro/outro or underlying music?  YouTube is rolling out an AI that will generate that very thing.  Check out the TechCrunch article for details:  https://techcrunch.com/2025/04/10/youtube-rolls-out-a-free-ai-music-making-tool-for-creators/  

Web Spotlight: 

Hard work feels worth it, but only after it’s done – new research on how people value effort

When deciding if something is worth the effort, whether you’ve already exerted yourself or face the prospect of work changes your calculus. When you consider a future effort, more work makes the outcome less appealing. But once you’ve completed the work, more effort makes the outcome seem more valuable. 

Not everyone responds to effort the same way. Our study also uncovered striking individual differences. Four distinct patterns emerged:

  1. For some people, extra effort always subtracted value.
  2. Others consistently preferred items with more work.
  3. Many showed mixed patterns, where moderate effort increased value but excessive effort decreased it.
  4. Some experienced the opposite: initially disliking effort, then finding greater value at higher levels.

…people, and even animals, often prize things that require hard work for no additional payoff?

In health care, starting an exercise regimen feels overwhelming when focusing on upcoming workouts, but after establishing the habit, those same exercises become a source of accomplishment. 

https://theconversation.com/hard-work-feels-worth-it-but-only-after-its-done-new-research-on-how-people-value-effort-252684

The average college student today

https://archive.md/XBbk2

Bouncy Balls

Control noisy classrooms with bouncing balls!

A fun and free noise management tool.

https://bouncyballs.org

https://help.classroomscreen.com/article/31-sound-level

https://www.hmhco.com/blog/free-online-noise-meters-for-classroom

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MSM 656: Taking The Thinking Out of the Teacher

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Summary:

Shawn and Troy talk about AI in education, curriculum, and more. Dave has a water Eco challenge.

Jokes:  

Studies show the most expensive vehicle to operate is the Costco shopping cart.

What has three letters and starts with gas? 

  • A Car.

Camping is intense.

What do you call a careful wolf? 

  • Aware wolf.

My friend lost his job at the dairy farm because of his erratic behaviour. He was a danger to himself and udders.

If you see someone doing a crossword today, lean over them and say 7 up is Lemonade.

Went to the postcard museum the other week.

  • Nothing to write home about.

Without geometry life is pointless.

Two dogs in front of a house door that is open with two more dogs answering the door. There is a thought bubble that says, "We were driving by when Cheryl said, "Life's short. Let's top and smell the Roses." So, Here we are.
Bart Simpson with the words "This is the worst day of my life." Then another panel with Homer and Bart and the words, "This is the worst day of your life so far."

Middle School Science Minute  

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

EarthEcho Water Challenge

I was recently reading the March – April 2025 issue of “Science Scope”, a publication of the National Science Teaching Association.

In this issue, I read the section, “Citizen Science,” written by Jill Nugent.  She wrote an article entitled, “‘Water’ Are You Waiting For?  Dive Into Action With the EarthEcho Water Challenge.”

The EarthEcho Water Challenge engages students in local water quality monitoring while fostering environmental stewardship.  The project is part of EarthEcho International, founded by the Cousteau family in honor of Jacques Cousteau’s legacy and life’s work advocating for environmental and ocean conservation.  To learn more about the challenge visit the project website at:

https://earthecho.org/contact

http://k12science.net/earthecho-water-challenge/ 

Reports from the Front Lines

The Social Web

Jonathan Steele@steelefamlaw@esq.social

Your password is like your underwear – change it often, keep it private, and never share it with strangers.

Lithuanian MOD   @Lithuanian_MoD

We bid farewell to the fallen U.S. soldiers with respect and gratitude. Because, as we have said many times, they are our soldiers too. In this moment of tragedy, we stood together. It is a testament to the strength of unity even in the darkest times.  https://x.com/i/status/1907808880744095931  

Dovilė Šakalienė  @DSakaliene

Lithuania mourns. The pain of the U.S. soldiers’ families is our pain, and we stand together in this time of sorrow. Today, Lithuania paid homage to to the fallen U.S. soldiers  Video by Arūnas Kisielius  https://x.com/i/status/1907859402222190676  

Susie Dent  @susie_dent

Word of the day is ‘quiddler’ (18th century): one who focuses on unimportant issues as a way of avoiding the important ones; who fiddles while Rome (etc.) burns.

Strategies:  

Ditch the lecture, dig into learning: Level up your Social Studies classroom with the FIELD Guide

The heart of the FIELD Guide, focusing on evidence, student inquiry, and the use of appropriate tech tools, is both practical and immediately applicable.

https://ditchthattextbook.com/social-studies-field-guide

Remembering What It’s Like To Be A Student

https://theeffortfuleducator.com/2025/04/02/remembering-what-its-like-to-be-a-student/

Resources:  

AXIS The Culture Translator

What it is: Old-school braces are now not just cool, but even becoming a kind of status symbol—at least according to the Washington Post.

Why it’s surprising: Cultural influencers like Abbey Clancey, Charlie James, Kitty Hayes, and Lil Uzi Vert are on the cusp of a movement that is making braces cool. Although once seen as the purview of hideous nerds, braces today can represent “openly working on yourself” (instead of hiding it with Invisalign), having money (because they’re often not covered by insurance), and generally seeming youthful (apparently many adults and young people are jumping on the bandwagon). Plus, being able to choose your rubber band color enables a degree of self-expression.

Web Spotlight: 

TV Garden

Welcome to tv.garden, your gateway to free live TV streaming from anywhere.

Our goal is to make discovering and watching global channels as easy and enjoyable as possible.

Explore a wide range of channels, including international news, live sports, movies, entertainment, and cultural shows.

Dive into global cultures through our intuitive interface: pick a country on our interactive 3D globe, use the handy sidebar, or try your luck with the “Random Channel” button to explore something new. Who knows what you’ll discover next? Inspired by the simplicity and fun of discovering channels on Radio Garden, tv.garden brings that same effortless experience to live TV. Fast, user-friendly, and completely free—no account needed, no hidden steps—just click and enjoy.

https://tv.garden

Science: What it is, how it works, and why it matters

https://thinkingispower.com/science-what-it-is-how-it-works-and-why-it-matters

How to SET Healthy Boundaries for a Sustainable Career in Teaching

https://www.coolcatteacher.com/talkteaching/

Random Thoughts . . .  

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MSM 655: Haiku Clues!

/ , /

Summary:

Shawn and Troy talk about Haiku clues, AR, parent conferences, licensing, and more. Dave isn’t all wet, when he discusses the importance of water.

Jokes:  

“6:30 is the best time of day—hands down!”

I really want to buy one of those supermarket checkout dividers, but the cashier keeps putting it back.

The farmer next door is wandering his fields, conversing with their plants.

  • Jack and the beans talk.

I knew a guy who collected candy canes, they were all in mint condition

My wife says that I wasted money by ordering a 3 meter wide frame for our wedding photo. Well I think she should look at the bigger picture.

I decided to sell my Hoover… well it was just collecting dust.

My tree trimmer is so awesome when he’s done he takes a bough.

When dad died he left me his Subaru. It was his final legacy.

What is the world’s longest punctuation mark?

  • The hundred meter dash.

Do you want a brief explanation of what an acorn is? 

  • In a nutshell, it’s an oak tree.

All tribute bands are also The Pretenders.

Middle School Science Minute  

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

K12Science Podcast:  The Importance of Water

I was recently reading the March – April 2025 issue of “Science Scope”, a publication of the National Science Teaching Association.

In this issue, I read the section, “From the Editor’s Desk,” written by Patty McGinnis.  She wrote an article entitled, “Water: Earth’s Most Vital Resource.”

Oceans, rivers, lakes, glaciers, and groundwater are all part of a dynamic system that not only shapes Earth’s physical landscape, but also supports all forms of life.

 http://k12science.net/the-importance-of-water/

Reports from the Front Lines

  • Use AI to create Haiku clues for weekly vocabulary words.  
  • Use Halo AR and ChatterPix to create a “Virtual Museum” on a poster.  
  • Parent Conferences online
  • Michigan HB 4153 (Local Licensure Law) – School Districts and ISDs may create a teacher license under the rules to be created by the State Superintendent.  The law expires 2035.  

The Social Web

Susie Dent  @susie_dent

Word of the day is ‘erumpent’ (17th century), which describes buds and blossom that are bursting forth with vigour. Can also be used of energetic humans.

‪Ilana Horn‬ ‪@ilanahorn.bsky.social‬

for a student who used AI to write a paper #poem

A photo of a poem titled, "To a student who used AI to write a paper." Now I let it fall back in the grasses. I hear you. I know this life is hard now. I know your days are precious on this earth. But what are you trying to be free of? The living? The miraculous task of it? Love is for the ones who love the work.

ALT

Strategies:  

My Middle School Students Can’t Read!

  • Focus Area 1: Decoding
  • Focus Area 2: Fluency

https://www.edutopia.org/article/middle-school-students-cant-read-building-basic-skills

Resources:  

‪AXIS The Culture Translator

Adolescence on Netflix

What it is: Netflix’s Adolescence is a four-part fictional crime drama about the secret lives of teen boys. Viewers across generations are buzzing about how true the show feels to their own experiences.

Why it’s so unsettling: One of the main conceits of Adolescence is that parents truly struggle to decode the ways teens talk to each other online—no matter how hard they might try to get it right. In the series, these crossed wires mean that even a seasoned detective can’t grasp obvious clues about a teen suspect’s motive without his own teenage son’s help. The detective, with painful clarity, then realizes how little he knows about his own son. This moment of recognition leads him to reach out for connection with his child. For other teen boys in the show, alienation from a parent goes unrecognized, with tragic consequences.

Smithsonian Game Center

We offer free Smithsonian STEM games and simulations online or for download! Our games are designed with clear learning objectives, vetted by our team of curriculum experts, and are used by students around the world!

https://ssec.si.edu/game-center

Number of the Day

https://mathsstarters.net/numoftheday

AI for Educators

This FREE 2-hour, hands-on course is designed to help educators get started using ChatGPT to save time, engage students, and implement AI responsibly.

  • Familiarize yourself with AI and get started using ChatGPT
  • Learn how to save time on lesson planning and administrative tasks
  • Be able to immediately create engaging, personalized learning experiences for your students
  • Develop strategies and activities for introducing AI to your students
  • Gain access to our Prompt Library, a curated resource developed specifically for educators

https://www.aiforeducation.io/ai-course

Dimensions of AI Literacies: An Introduction

https://archive.reclaim.tv/w/3708f231-1720-43bd-a3a1-75e6fddfc28d

Web Spotlight: 

11 Incredibly Useful URL Tricks for Google Spreadsheets

https://www.benlcollins.com/spreadsheets/url-tricks-for-google-sheets/

OpenAI Admits That Its New Model Still Hallucinates More Than a Third of the Time

https://futurism.com/openai-admits-gpt45-hallucinates

Random Thoughts . . .  

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MSM 654: Shout Out to the Cough Button

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Summary:

Shawn and Troy catch up on student-produced work, Interleaving, and more. Dave shares an Aurorasaurus.

Jokes:  

I’m reading a horror story in Braille..

Something bad is going to happen..

I can feel it.

I bought my wife new beads for her abacus. 

  • It’s the little things that count.

I got an A on my origami assignment when I turned my paper into my teacher

Today is the last day of your life so far.

A quick shoutout to all of the sidewalks out there… Thanks for keeping me off the streets.

Why do gold miners support ghosts?

Because they are pro-spectres.

Middle School Science Minute  

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

K12Science Podcast:  Aurorasaurus

I was recently reading the January – February 2025 issue of “Science Scope”, a publication of the National Science Teaching Association.

In this issue, I read the section, “Citizen Science,” written by Jill Nugent.  She wrote an article entitled, “Illuminating the Northern Lights with Aurorasaurus.”

Aurorasaurus invites participants from around the world to contribute to aurora research by reporting sightings and observing real-time data.   Auroras are stunning natural light displays that occur near our planet’s poles.  To learn more about this citizen science project, visit:

Reports from the Front Lines

  • Interactive Book Follow Up

The Social Web

Carl Azuz  @CarlAzuz

Now streaming on The World from A to Z: an unbiased explanation of the Department of Education order — along with supportive and critical responses to it: http://WorldAtoZ.org Please check out our March 21st show! #sschat #edchat #apush #worldgeochat

Advancedcskills   @advancedcskills

#H5P Interactive Video Generator v2 Drop a summary, pick a Groq model, get H5P lessons in seconds—MCQs, fill-ins, more. Streamlit-powered, .env-ready. Check it out! #Groq #Streamlit #EdTech #AI #H5P

‪Keep Indiana Learning‬ ‪@keepinlearning.bsky.social‬

Shape #CounselorConnect’s future! ✨ Tell us what you need for next year’s programming. Share your thoughts today! bit.ly/3Xcy5Aa #EduSky

Susie Dent  @susie_dent

German was my first love. My favourite word (well, one of them) is ‘Fernweh’, ‘far-sickness’: the yearning for distant places. #shoutoutforgerman

Strategies:  

Easy Application of Interleaving in the Classroom

…what is interleaving? 

“Practicing problems (1, 2, 3) of related concepts (A, B, C) in a mixed-up order (A1C1B1C2B2A2B3C3A3).” (1)

This is in contrast to the more popular blocked practice of problems. Using the same pattern as above, blocked practice would look something like (A1A2A3B1B2B3C1C2C3). 

Easy Application of Interleaving in the Classroom

Resources:  

‪AXIS The Culture Translator

The Art of Conversation

What it is: Through hours-long podcasts, Twitch livestreams and YouTube shows, conversation has become a preferred cultural medium for consuming (and distributing) content.

Why it’s encouraging: Unlike lectures, which essentially involve one person transmitting prepackaged information—and articles, which represent static, crystallized knowledge—a public conversation allows for ideas and understanding to grow and develop in real-time, both for participants and for anyone tuning in. Novelist and media critic Tope Folarin argues, “A conversation provides a way for you and your interlocutor to co-create meaning, to achieve understanding (of a kind, anyway) of complex issues, and to impose order on chaos, simply by talking things through.”

Random Thoughts . . .

Now #2 on FeedSpot’s list of Middle School Podcasts!  https://podcast.feedspot.com/middle_school_podcasts/  

Click the Play button below to listen to the show!

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MSM 653: A Bunch of Reprobates

/ , /

Summary:

Shawn and Troy talk about frustrating and empowering students. Dave moves kids from learning about to figuring out. 

Jokes:  

The first time I got a universal remote control I thought to myself, “This changes everything”

Did you know? By replacing your coffee with green tea, you can lose up to 92% of what little joy you still have left in your life.

In the House of Lords today, Lord Bellamy passed a note to Lady Billingham.

  • This is an example of peer-to-peer communications.

What do you call two guys hanging out by your window? 

  • Kurt & Rod.

does refusing to go to the gym count as resistance training?

Hello everyone, welcome to Plastic Surgery Addicts Anonymous

  • I see a lot of new faces here tonight

Where did you learn to make ice cream? 

  • Sunday school.

Middle School Science Minute  

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

K12Science Podcast:  Sensemaking

I was recently reading the January – February 2025 issue of “Science Scope”, a publication of the National Science Teaching Association.

In this issue, I read the section, “From the Editor’s Desk,” written by Patty McGinnis.  She wrote an article entitled, “Helping Students Make Sense.”

Creating a classroom in which the emphasis shifts the learner role from “learning about” to “figuring out” requires students to engage in the collaborative task of sensemaking.  The type of classroom discussion is critical to sensemaking.  STEM Teaching Tools, at:

https://stemteachingtools.org/tools

http://k12science.net/sensemaking/

Reports from the Front Lines

The Social Web

Susie Dent  @susie_dent

Word of the day is ‘whiffling’ (17th century): fickle, inconstant, and making it up as you go along.

RTÉ Brainstorm‬ ‪@rtebrainstorm.bsky.social‬

What’s the Irish for catfish? How 3,000 new Irish words are created every year. By Aoife Ryan-Christensen with insights from Gearóid Ó Cleircín @dublincityuni.bsky.social www.rte.ie/brainstorm/2…https://www.rte.ie/brainstorm/2025/0306/1500101-new-irish-words-gaeilge-tearma-an-coiste-tearmaiochta-national-terminology-database-for-irish/?a  

‪ALTUK.bsky.social‬ ‪@altuk.bsky.social‬

Our Open Education Conference, OER25 will bring together #OE specialists from across the globe to leverage shared expertise for change in policy and practice on 23 – 24 June 2025. Explore the Keynotes from last year – buff.ly/4byRwJP Follow #altc for the latest #OER25 updates. #OEWeek25

‪Rick Wormeli‬ ‪@rickwormeli.bsky.social‬

I wrote this for a middle school journal (AMLE), but as I work with high schools, it applies there, too. It’s focus is on how the adolescents learn best and thereby, what that means when using generative AI in our classrooms, including eight important guidelines: www.amle.org/with-a-i-let…

Per my last post on the cautions of using generative A.I. with middle and high school students, I offer a particularly insightful new book (Feb 2025) from

@biblioracle.bsky.social…

‪Marion McGarry‬ ‪@marionmcgarry.bsky.social‬

For Pancake Tuesday – read all about the Irish traditions of this day via

@rtebrainstorm.bsky.social  www.rte.ie/brainstorm/2…  @atu-ie.bsky.social

Strategies:  

Sherlock Holmes and Covert Thieves of Attention

These covert thieves of attention are not harmless. They negatively impact student motivation, student rating of how important the lesson is, how many notes are taken, and how students perform on assessments. What is especially alarming is the finding that students are pretty good at recognizing whether those around them are attentive or inattentive, but they do not seem to recognize that those behaviors have an impact on themselves. 

https://theeffortfuleducator.com/2025/03/03/sherlock-holmes-and-covert-thieves-of-attention/

Resources:  

‪

Fun Facts

https://www.weareteachers.com/weird-fun-facts/

AXIS The Culture Translator

Reeling

What it is: Last week, the algorithm for Instagram’s Reels briefly went haywire. When they opened the app, some scrollers (including minors) were deluged with pornographic material and videos of people being maimed or killed.

Why it’s revealing: Users often operate with the expectation that social media algorithms will weed out this sort of grotesque content.  

AMLE Free Sticker!

https://my.amle.org/Shop/Store/Product-Details?productid=%7B2fb97e17-65f0-ef11-9341-7c1e5259e86a%7D&fbclid=IwY2xjawI5UgBleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHViAgCuzuQLqfAwQ7AVSc1nDqMQHYqT1WlRry2JAfDVHI1gRpAiS8a6PNw_aem_fSP1yGff-87MFzafg-J1Zg

Click the Play button below to listen to the show!

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MSM 652: Six Things or AI Will Stupify Our Kids

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Summary:

Shawn and Troy talk about AI, break, and more. Dave remembers why we remember. 

Jokes:  

Crocodiles can grow up to 15 feet.

  • But most have only four.

Just watched a documentary about beavers… 

  • It was the best damn program I’ve ever seen.

There exists a quantity of artificial butter flavor beyond which people begin to believe it’s not butter.

  • This is known as the margarine of error.

If you’re feeling down, why not just go for a run? 

  • You’ll quickly realize your physical health is way worse than your mental health.

Going to the park without any food… Is no picnic…

Microwave safe? 

  • It doesn’t seem like a sensible place to keep your valuables.

I was fired from the keyboard factory yesterday.  

  • I wasn’t putting in enough shifts.

I’ve no idea why my new plug-in air freshener won’t work.

I plug it in and switch it on.. nothing!

  • It just doesn’t make scents.

A new tennis player goes to the library and asks for books about aces.

  • “No way”, says the librarian, “You won’t return them”.

My new car has a button for everything. There is even one that says, “rear wiper”.

  • I’m still afraid to try that one.

I bought a new plane the other day.

  • I was disappointed they wouldn’t let me keep the hangar.

Middle School Science Minute  

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

Why We Remember

I was recently reading the December 9, 2024 issue of “Smithsonian” magazine.

In this issue, I read an article entitled, “The Ten Best Science Books of 2024,” written by Joe Spring, Riley Black, Shi En Kim, Dan Falk, Christian Elliott, and Benjamin Cassidy. 

The book review that I enjoyed the most was “Why We Remember: Unlocking Memory’s Power to Hold On to What Matters,” written by Charan Ranganath.  Ranganath draws on 25 years of experience studying the mechanisms of human memory to explain how remarkable it is that we remember anything at all.

http://k12science.net/why-we-remember/

Reports from the Front Lines

  • Reading
    • Anne Tyler – Three Days in June
    • Fredrik Backman
      • And Every Morning The Way Home Gets Longer
      • The Deal of a Lifetime
    • Matt Haig – The Life Impossible
    • Hendrik Groen – On The Bright Side – The New Secret Diary of Hendrik Groen, 85 Years Old
  • Moodle Work
    • Filters
    • Competencies
    • Learning Plan

The Social Web

Susie Dent  @susie_dent

Word of the day is ‘blutterbunged’, from 19th-century dialect: to be open-mouthed in astonishment.

Marion McGarry‬ ‪@marionmcgarry.bsky.social‬

For #IrelandReads day, I highly recommend this one! It’s in all good Irish bookshops or you can buy direct from the publisher here www.orpenpress.com/books/irish-… And it’s written and illustrated by me!

‪Michael Dashow‬ ‪@mdashow.bsky.social‬

I’m finally able to share this cover I created for Garrett’s Forester’s book ‘Garrett’s Ventures – First Profit: Gum.’ It’s about a kid learning about financial responsibility as he tries to make money, and also about friendship. See more at www.garrettsventures.com

‪Cassie Rorie‬ ‪@cassierorie.bsky.social‬

Yesterday I had my students doing Catch up Pickle time (catch up on work then pick something to do from a list)…”I shouldn’t hear talking, you are silent pickles! Pickles don’t have mouths so they are silent!” Then heard kids repeating “be silent pickles” to each other. 🤪🤣

Jason Chen‪@chenphilosophy.com‬

One of my top tips for teachers is to use pattern interruptions in class. 

I elaborate on what I mean in the linked article.

https://chenphilosophy.substack.com/p/use-pattern-interruptions-to-retain

Strategies:  

AI Will Stupify Our Students If We Don’t Do These Six Things 

“As a veteran teacher (this is year 39), I, too, fear that our students will not be prepared for the future. Many students lack the grit and willpower to resist the temptation to take the easy way out. If I may be so bold. Many current students will be downgraded by AI, and that future might be inevitable without a radical change in how we do school.”  

  1. Reimagine what happens IN the classroom.
  2. Deemphasize inappropriate use of technology in the classroom.  
  3. Use AI as a tutor when in class.
  4. Teach students how to use AI as a collaborator to enhance learning.  
  5. Implement the Mastery Learning model at scale.
  6. Expect More. 

https://edu-ai.org/ai-will-stupefy-our-students-unless-we-do-these-six-things/?fbclid=IwY2xjawIhbXxleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHSP6MdRM-kTE3LnDD5LLi0B1N5RRaqC73FgCUKr-NGrcuZPy5j4WY2eLXg_aem_3mgy5gtMPcHrdyBi3OVbhw

Nordic Baltic Region of FIPLV – BBC English – Running Dictation  

Dictation is a great way to learn English.  Running dictation is having a short text at one end of the room and have a pair of students alternate going to that text then coming back and telling their partner what it says in order to accomplish a task at their table.  

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/165U6eKa3V

Three Ways You May Be Cognitively Overloading Your Students

  1. The Seductive Details Effect
  2. The Split-Attention Effect
  3. The Redundancy Effect

https://www.cultofpedagogy.com/cognitive-overload/

Resources:  

‪KwizAI

The quiz is generated by LLM models (like ChatGPT), which are far from perfect and weren’t designed for purposes like this. They may contain errors, confusing questions, inaccurate answers, and repeated questions – especially if the prompt is similar.

With KwizAI’s AI-driven quiz generator, you can currently create single-answer multiple-choice quizzes, true-or-false quizzes, or fill-in-the-blank quizzes. The exact quiz format depends on how you structure your prompt, ensuring flexible and precise quiz creation.

https://kwizai.com

AXIS The Culture Translator

Angling Toward the Light

What it is: A doomed anglerfish swimming from the dark depths to the sunlit surface of the ocean has captured the internet’s heart this week.  

Why it’s connecting with people: The tale almost writes itself: an anglerfish, knowing her end is near, chooses to reject the darkness of her home and, as her final act, swims to the surface to see the sun for the first and final time. The light hitting her face—a face some might consider horrifying—is maybe the only “true” light she has ever seen. The internet’s telling of the tale has been poignant, beautiful, and with a hint of tragedy. Of course, a variety of things could’ve motivated the fish’s final exodus, but that doesn’t change the empathy the doomed anglerfish is inspiring in others.  

the case for lowercase

why it matters: for many teens, lowercase letters feel more informal, relaxed, and conversational. even though most smartphones start with auto-capitalization turned on, teens often disable this feature in order to avoid seeming too formal in their texts to friends and family. as gen zer maelle kouman puts it, “lowercase feels like an ongoing conversational tone without a start or end. it removes the serious tone certain texts can exude, without even trying.” gen z artists like olivia rodrigo reinforce this trend with lowercase song titles like “drivers license” (although others, like billie eilish, have resorted to all-caps titles like “BIRDS OF A FEATHER”). in professional relationships and environments, many teens still opt for standard capitalization, and this is sometimes equated on tiktok with growing up

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