Jokes:

Why is everyone so tired at the beginning of April?

• Just finished a 31 day march

What do you call a bear with no teeth?

• A gummy bear

Hey, did you hear that they are banning the fifth month of the year?

• Everyone is dismayed.

If you think Thursdays are depressing, wait two days.

• It will be a sadder day

I saw a Delorean for sale. 

• Good shape, low mileage. 
• Yep, it was only driven from time to time.

What’s the fastest liquid on earth?

• Milk

I’m a kleptomaniac.

• Don’t worry though, I’m taking something for it. 

People said the I’d never get over my obsession with Phil Collins.

• Sussidio,  Against All Odds, Take a Look at Me Now

Middle School Science Minute  

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

Middle School Science Minute: Journaling Outdoors

“Journals provide a non-threatening place to explore learning, emotions, daily events, and language through writing.”  This statement is provided by Eva Varga, in her blog “Integrating Writing with Middle School Students.  

Journals can take many forms.  Michigan’s Department of Natural Resources provide a nature journal lesson for grades 6-8 on its “Natural and Historical Education Resources for Home” website,  which can be found at:

https://www.michigan.gov/documents/dnr/MS_HS_Journaling_Outdoors_684892_7.pdf

An example of a journal starter:

Compare two natural objects.  How are they different besides size? How are they alike? What do they resemble?

Interview:  Transitioning to LMS Based Learning – An Interview with Mr. Bob Harrison

Twitter: @R_O_Harrison

Introductions & Foundational Knowledge

Topic 1:  LMS Based Learning

Topic 2:  Pedagogy

  Differentiation

• More efficient than working on one’s own.  

• Teacher efficiency
• Student efficiency
• Use of teacher time  

Feedback based on the choices students make.  

Automating some of the tasks to free up time for prepping for the next student activity.  

Providing feedback for student work with immediacy.  

Enrichment vs. Taking Grades and Student Engagement

• Motivating students beyond doing it “just for grades”
• Using Badges  
  • Set Criteria
  • Arrange for multiple attempts at success  
  • Shifts learning from “just getting grades” to the importance of feedback in learning.  
  • Useful feedback.  
  • Emotional attachment
  • Useful data for the teacher to see student completion and rates of success.

• Creates a sense of “normality.”  
• Shifting from “Enrichment” to “Assessment”
• Course Collaboration – the Network is Smarter than the Node.
• Shared resources in a course
  • Discussions on student success within the LMS.  
    • Blind Grading
    • Sharing Strategies/Skills in the PLN.  

Strategies

• Discussion Forums
  • Creates a sense of community in learning
• Virtual Lessons
  • A progression of pages with formative assessment interspersed.  
• Interactive Videos
  • H5P plug-in to insert prompts in the video.  
• Print outs
  • Concept map, illustration
  • Alternative – use the drawing in Google Draw to illustrate the item.
• Quizzes
  • Bank of questions
  • Randomized assessment
  • Another way to give feedback
  • Share grading with PLC
• Big Blue Button
  • Video Conferencing – Not every teacher has to be on.  Share content delivery.  
• Blind Grading  

Meeting Student Needs

Asynchronous learning meeting teen sleeping/waking schedules.

Using Google Classroom

• It is a good beginning.  
• Understand what the tool does

Returning to Blended Model

• How has this changed your approach?  
  • Challenging educational philosophy
  • Opportunities for reflection 
    • Pedagogy – What does/should teaching look like?  
    • Student expectations
  • Building a library of content – useful for more than just “now.”  
    • Intervention strategy
    • Alternate teaching strategy
    • Student absence/ISS 

Closing:  Troy & Bob

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Jokes:

Someone told me it takes 5 sheep to make a sweater. 

• I didn’t even know that they could crochet.

I think I made a mistake. I put my dryer on spin. I asked why it lost one sock:

• “I didn’t lose your sock so much as I provided you an opportunity to stimulate the economy.” 

I’ve started investing in stocks: chicken, beef, vegetable

• One day I hope to be a bouillonaire.

I got into a fight with a fellow stamp collector. 

• There was no clear winner. We both got some pretty good licks in. 

What kind of lights were on Noah’s ark?

• Floodlights

I used to think that I was indecisive. 

• Now, I’m not so sure. 

I, for one, like Roman numerals. 

Middle School Science Minute  

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

Middle School Science Minute: From STEM to STEAM

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

In this issue, I read the “From the Editor’s Desk” section and the title of the article, within the section was “From STEM to STEAM” written by Patty McGinnis. 

The article describes how her school’s annual career day has morphed from STEM to STEAM.

Web Spotlight:  

Future

Natural disaster plus government botch job equals the board being swept clean, allowing players a golden opportunity to move in and clean up.

But while some folks may view this shutdown as a philosophical opportunity, for some it’s all about the investment opportunities. Like Katrina’s aftermath, vulture capitalism at its finest.

http://curmudgucation.blogspot.com/2020/03/the-ed-tech-vultures-circle.html

The Twitterverse

Greg Wolcott  @GregJWolcott

TEACHERS:1000’s of you work in schools that have been canceled in the upcoming weeks. Make it UR goal to either call every kid & say hi or write them a letter, telling them what you appreciate about them, recognize the strengths they bring to your classroom! #Significant72  

Typical EduCelebrity  @EduCelebrity

A number of schools are closing in order to do a “deep cleaning“ of the buildings. Normally, this might take a day to do, but thanks to all of the budget cuts throughout the years, it will take weeks with the two people each has remaining.  

Yo-Yo Ma  @YoYo_Ma

In these days of anxiety, I wanted to find a way to continue to share some of the music that gives me comfort. The first of my #SongsOfComfort: Dvořák – “Going Home” Stay safe.

Leonardo Carella@leonardocarella

Italians in lockdown all over Italy are keeping each other company by singing, dancing and playing music from the balconies. A thread to celebrate the resilience of ordinary people. This is Salerno:

See also this BBC Report:  https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-europe-51886547/coronavirus-italians-sing-from-their-windows-to-boost-morale  

TeacherGoals@teachergoals

It’s been a week to remember

Ms S. Scanlon @ShaunaScanlon10

When your white board is at school. Sometimes the most simple ideas are simply the best. This really made me smile  @Colaistebride

Dave Schmittou EdD  @daveschmittou

If you are a current assistant principal/vice principal, I would love your help. I am doing some research on your importance to your school. Do you mind completing this one minute survey? https://forms.gle/tKXtWdv9cnEp7gYW8

Please share! #leadlap #LeadUpChat #PIAchat   https://t.co/xAxuHBPjVQ?amp=1  

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

Strategies:  

Student Journals Could Be Primary Sources – So Write!

David McCullough, in one of his interviews on CSPAN, talks about the importance of daily writings he had access to to write his books.  If you want to influence the future, write things on paper now is essentially his advice to young people today because when the servers turn off, there goes the primary sources.  This article from MiddleWeb has some suggestions for turning your students’ journaling into the future primary sources for historians and educators.

Click the Play button below to listen to the show!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Jokes:

A friend stole the punctuation keys from a judge’s keyboard.

• He’s expecting a long sentence.

I signed up for a Prophecy Class, but I’m not sure that it is a good idea. 

• The first class was canceled due to “unforeseen circumstances”

My procrastinator’s group has been moved to next week by unanimous request.

I went to a very emotional wedding. 

• Even the cake was in tiers.

My wife called me at work and asked, “Do you ever get a shooting pain across your body, like someone’s got a voodoo doll of you and they’re stabbing it?”

Sounding concerned, I replied, “No…”

She responded, “How about now?”

Eileen Award:  

• iTunes:  tech.teacher

Advisory:

How Germs Spread Video

Courtesy M. Sweeten

https://www.buzzfeed.com/christopherhudspeth/this-youtubers-video-showing-how-easily-germs-spread-is

Check in with your students using Google Forms

Here’s a quick Google form to check in with your students on how they’re doing and about what kind of technology they have available for you to use with them in remote learning.  

Middle School Science Minute  

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

Middle School Science Minute: Best STEM Books

I was recently reading the March, 2020 issue of “Science Teacher,” a magazine published by the National Science Teaching Association. 

In this issue, I read the article “Best STEM Books.”  The books that appear in the list were chosen by a review panel made up of educators and other subject-area experts, all appointed by the National Science Teaching Association, and the Children’s Book Council.

They selected three books that are appropriate for grade 6-8 students.  The list includes:

“How to Become an Accidental Genius” by Elizabeth MacLeod and Frieda Wishinsky

“Save the Crash-test Dummies” by Jennifer Swanson

“Saving the Tasmanian Devil, How Science is Helping the World’s Largest Marsupial Carnivore Survive” by Dorothy Hinshaw Patent

COVID-19 Follow Up

• Communication – Messages, Chats, Hangouts, Moodle, Email, School Facebook Pages, Phones
• Supplemental Material
• “Free for now”
  • Investment in Options
  • Philanthropy vs Sales
  • Overwhelming
• Home/Work balance
• Technophobes
• Self-paced Teacher Training 
  • “More Than Moving Online” – Dr. Troy Hicks, CMU Webinar
    • Full video stream: https://youtu.be/h7jyeNaXs80
    • Agenda with links to slides:
    • Shared resource doc: 
  • PLN Support Groups
    • HyperDocs Support Group:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/HyperDocs/  
    • Twitter Hashtag:  #remoteteaching https://twitter.com/search?q=%23remoteteaching&src=typed_query  
    • Twitter Hashtag:  #remotelearning https://twitter.com/search?q=%23remotelearning&src=typed_query 
    • Facebook Group:  Educator Temporary School Closure for Online Learning  
• Following the Law
  • ADA
  • Copyright
• Fun Kids are having:
  • Zoom – “off-topic” conversations
  • Hangouts – Kicking others out

Click the Play button below to listen to the show!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Jokes:

Scientifically, a raven has 17 primary wing feathers, the big feathers at the end. These are pinion feathers. A crow has 16. Know what that means? 

• The difference between a crow and a raven is a matter of a pinion.

Hey, I was wandering through the grocery store and found some soup in the freezer. 

• Should I just let it go?

I recently took a pole. 

• Turns out 100% of the people were upset when their tent collapsed.

Turns out that you can’t speak poorly of aircraft. 

• It is plane offensive.

Taking notes around text in a book is marginal at best. 

Current Situation:

• Team 
  • Classes
  • Badges
  • Feedback (Images & GIFs)
  • Enrollment
  • Special Ed
  • Messaging through Moodle
  • Affective questions through Forums/Assignments/Tips (Send positive social media posts)?
• Remote Learning vs Online Learning
• Moodle
  • Sharing Courses/material
  • Co-teaching
• Training
• Communication
• “Free” stuff
• Post emergency declarations

Middle School Science Minute  

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

Middle School Science Minute: Organizing for Student Success

I was recently reading the March, 2020 issue of “NSTA Reports,” a publication published by the National Science Teaching Association. 

In this issue, I read the article “Organizing for Student Success.”  Science educators responded to a recent informal NSTA Reports poll and they were nearly unanimous (94.3%) in reporting they incorporate organizational strategies in their science or STEM teaching.

Also in the article were survey reports on “late work,” as well as educators sharing their favorite strategies for helping students organize and prioritize their work.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Jokes:

What kind of bagel can fly?

• A plain bagel

Why did they call it the “dark ages”?

• There were so many “knights”.

Why do EMTs travel in twos?

• They are paramedics.

Advisory:

 Notifications

Ziegarnik Effect

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

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

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

Middle School Science Minute  

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

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

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

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

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

From the Twitterverse:  

EL Magazine @ELmagazine

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

@barbphillips77 

Josh Chin @joshchin

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

Typical EduCelebrity @EduCelebrity

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

Mike Roberts @BaldRoberts

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

Fixing Education@FixingEducation

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

Typical EduCelebrity @EduCelebrity

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

Typical EduCelebrity  @EduCelebrity

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

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

Strategies:  

Resources:

Greeking Out!  Podcast 

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

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

The 1619 Project – Update

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

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

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

Web Spotlight:  

Earth Day

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

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

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

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

What do Teachers Want

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

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

Random Thoughts . . .  

Math Follow Up

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

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

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

Lotus Seed Pops

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

Find them here:  Lotus Seed Pops    

The Cost of Free

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

Click the Play button below to listen to the show!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download