Summary:

Shawn and Troy discuss Moodle Update, Greek God Projects, Drones, and more. Dave asks “Why”?

Jokes:  

We all know Albert Einstein was a genius

• but his brother Frank was a monster.

---

I stayed up all night wondering where the sun went.

• Then it dawned on me.

---

Werewolves are notoriously hard to find…

• Otherwise they’d be known as Therewolves.

---

My movie about the ceasefire…

• Is on its last day of shooting.

---

What kind of bug can you wear?

• A Yellow Jacket

What do you call it when the crew gives the Captain the silent treatment?

• A Muteny

Did you know that now is a good time to buy Angel’s Wings?

• There on Clarence

---

It’s time for people to stop looking up and complaining every night. 

• There’s no reason to DRONE on and on about it.
• I won all the trophies at the Janitor Association Awards.
• It was a clean sweep.

---

---

Middle School Science Minute  

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

K12Science Podcast:  Asking Why

Recently, I had the pleasure of reading the November-December 2024 issue of “The Science Teacher,” a journal published by the National Science Teaching Association.

Within this issue, I encountered the “Right to the Source” section, authored by Michael Apfeldorft. His article, titled “Joyfully Asking Why,” provided insightful information on a list of questions compiled by Carl Sagan and his wife, author/producer Ann Druyan.

In the mid-1990’s, Carl Sagan and Ann Druyan conceived of an interesting way to help young learners confidently ask questions and think about the world around them.  Carl and Ann compiled a list of 150 questions to develop a book series, where the title of each book would begin simply with the word WHY?   To download this manuscript of questions, please, visit:

https://www.loc.gov/item/cosmos000083

http://k12science.net/asking-why/

Reports from the Front Lines

• Break Plans
• How Did You Handle the Day Before Break
• Sweets!

The Social Web

Susie Dent  @susie_dent

Word of the day is ‘apanthropist’ (18th century): someone who dislikes company and desires to be left alone.

NJAMLE  @NJAMLE

Happy Holidays from NJAMLE! We wish everyone a wonderful and restful break and a Happy New Year!

Figen  @TheFigen_

So smart Grandma.  https://x.com/i/status/1870248833868874027  

‪Bronwyn Desjardins‬ ‪@bronwynwritehttps://x.com/i/status/1870248833868874027s.bsky.social‬

Just leaving this here #EduSky

Glow Scot  @GlowScot

Looking to create a Christmas quiz for your learners? You can make your own quizzes for learners to complete using H5P in #GlowScot Blogs! Take a look at these examples for some ideas! https://ow.ly/yqAW50UsoVs  @H5PTechnology   #glowspotlight

https://blogs.glowscotland.org.uk/glowblogs/h5pexamples/examples/

Rebecca Gulka‪@yesyoucanteachthat.bsky.social‬

“No, but Rebecca, Google just told me that penguins are mammals’ is why I teach literacy, ok

Matt Wolfe  @mreflow

We’ve been seeing a lot of amazing video models over the past couple weeks from the big companies. But let’s talk about open-source for a minute. LTX Video is generating 5-second videos and it’s taking only 4-seconds to generate them… And you can do that locally on a consumer-grade RTX 4090 GPU! It’s especially good at image-to-video conversion. …And because it’s open-source, the community is helping to improve upon it and iterate off of it, so we’re only going to see this model get better and better. LTX Studio is an ongoing partner and sponsor of mine and I’m super excited to see what they, and the open-source community, build with this technology!

Strategies:  

Gateway to Grammar: Question Tags – What Are They and How Do They Work?

https://www.wrightenglish.com/blog/gtg-questiontags2

Resources:  

Framadate

Useful for collecting information for scheduling. AND, can also collect information in a grid. Privacy forward. Open-source. 

https://framadate.org/abc/en

Trinket.io

Python that runs in the browser

https://trinket.io/python

Web Spotlight:

No Phones?! Now What? Catching Kids’ Attention

https://www.middleweb.com/51606/no-phones-now-what-catching-kids-attention/

The carbon impact of artificial intelligence

https://www.nature.com/articles/s42256-020-0219-9

Random Thoughts . . .  

Click the Play button below to listen to the show!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Summary:

Shawn and Troy talk about AI in education, oven mitts on trees, and more. Dave reads science. 

Jokes:  

Where do birds meet for coffee?

• Nest Cafe

---

What do you get if you copy a mockingbird 1,999 times?

– 2 Kilo Mockingbird

---

I can’t find a German who knows the square root of 81.

---

Not to brag, but I fall between being a genius and a complete idiot.

---

I accidentally took my cats meds last night. 

• Don’t ask meow.

Did you know you should always take an extra pair of pants golfing? 

• Just in case you get a hole in one.

The average height of an Imperial Stormtrooper is about 5’11”, or 180cm for a Metric Stormtrooper.`

---

I’m ashamed to say I haven’t cleaned my mirror in years.

• It reflects badly on me.

---

My great grandmother used say that things were better in Russia before the revolution, but I think she was being Tsarcastic.

---

They say, “Dress for the job you want,” which is why I just shuffled past your cube in my bathrobe and slippers. 

---

Have you heard about the owl sanctuary job opening? It’s all night shifts but they’re all a hoot over there.

---

I’m not a fan of the 1970s female solo singers because of how vain they are. 

• They are a bunch of pre-Madonnas.

---

ME: I thought Tom Jones was a dead English singer, but he’s alive and Welsh.

WIFE: You write some awful jokes.

ME: It’s not unusual.

---

Middle School Science Minute  

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

Reading in Science

k12science.net/reading-in-science

Recently, I had the pleasure of reading the November-December 2024 issue of “Science Scope,” a journal published by the National Science Teaching Association.

Within this issue, I encountered the “From the Editor’s Desk” section, authored by Patty McGinnis. Her article, titled “Reading in the Science Classroom,” provided insightful information on the science of reading.

Reading plays a pivotal role in all disciplines, and science is no exception. If you are seeking reading-based strategies to incorporate into your classroom, The California Academy of Sciences offers several before, during, and after active reading strategies that can assist students in comprehending science texts. To access these active reading strategies, kindly visit:

https://www.calacademy.org/educators/active-reading-strategies

To listen to this podcast, please visit:

https://directory.libsyn.com/episode/index/show/k12science/id/33998732

Reports from the Front Lines

• Grades
• Prohibited Technologies
• Oven Mitts on the Tree
• Spatial Images of YIG
• Diffit
• Self Paced Learning

The Social Web

Susie Dent  @susie_dent

Word of the day is ‘librocubicularist’ (early 20th century): someone who loves nothing better than reading in bed.

Etymology of the day is ‘jargon’, from the old French ‘jargoun’, meaning ‘the chattering of birds’.

AMLE  @AMLE

AMLE relies on volunteer committee members to guide the work of our association. If you are passionate about middle level education and want to volunteer your time to advance your profession, consider applying for one of AMLE’s constituent committees! http://amle.org/get-involved

NJAMLE @NJAMLE

#NJAMLE2025 Annual Conference Call for Presenters! Interested in presenting at our annual conference on March 19th at Brookdale Community College? Submit a proposal here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc1N-XYAZaNavbqBwDomDlL18wOXdYDD_oLFqn3SewfVsrnfQ/viewform  Submissions due by December 15th!

PUNS  @ThePunnyWorld·  

This morning, I was walking down the street and I was hit by a violin, then a clarinet, and then a french horn! I think it was an orchestrated attack.

‪Hart Wilson‬ ‪@riversidehart.bsky.social‬

For my fellow Moodlers, a couple of presentations from the true US Moot held each summer In Helena, MT, the justly famous Mountain Moot. Here’s my first from 2022 when we were still on 3.11: My Favorite Moodle Hacks (presented to audible gasps and the odd “shut up!”) docs.google.com/presentation.

Asterija Rudienė

oestrdoSnp5 e 51etc38D418fea5Pi6ma r14 2bm9923:m90Mttm1m14u36

AI Tool to Help your Students Understand Any Video, in any Language, in seconds!

Theodosis KarageorgakisAI for Teachers

oestrdoSnp5 e 51etc38D418fea5Ai6ma r12 2bm9913:m90Mttm1m14u96

Wayin AI Link:  https://youtu.be/qVJ7X_Z-YoI  

Strategies:  

Zoom In on Reflection in Math Problem Study

There are four seemingly simple but powerful steps in Word Problem Workshop that engage every learner in problem-solving.

Step 1: Launch – Prepares students to make sense of the problem and take the first step toward a solution.

Step 2: Grapple – Gives students time to dive into the problem, take risks, and learn through trial and error as they work through their solution pathway.

Step 3: Discuss – A student-led discussion where 2-3 selected students share their strategies, allowing everyone to consider different approaches.

Step 4: Reflect – Offers time to review the experience of solving and discussing, helping students solidify and apply their new learning to future problems.

https://www.middleweb.com/51542/zoom-in-on-reflection-in-math-problem-study/

Take good notes

Facts are important, but facts don’t create learning. Stories do.

A story fits into (and changes) our understanding of the world. Good teachers are storytellers, and storytellers are teachers.

Notes, then, aren’t recitations of facts. They’re story prompts. A good note reminds you of a story that you already understand.

​​https://seths.blog/2024/11/take-good-notes-2/ 

Using Student Discourse to Increase Engagement

…when students are compliant, it is because the adult is doing all the work or talking. A simple yet powerful strategy to move from compliance to engagement is discourse through turn & talk. 

Student discourse, the interaction and exchange of ideas among students, is a vital component of learning. When students engage in meaningful conversations, they are not only actively constructing knowledge but also developing essential competencies for academic and personal success.

https://esheninger.blogspot.com/2024/11/using-student-discourse-to-increase.html

Resources:  

NotebookLM on Project 2025

https://www.speedofcreativity.org/2024/11/28/notebooklm-on-project-2025/

Why School?

Twelve years ago (!), TED Conferences asked me to write an ebook about my thoughts on the state of education and schooling in that moment. It actually sold pretty well, (probably because the price was $2.95). Recently, TED took the book off of its list and offered me the copyright, which I gladly accepted.

That means I can share it freely…so for anyone interested, here you go!

Twelve years feels like a long time given how quickly things seem to be changing, but as I’ve reread what I wrote, there is so much that still holds true today. Back then, the emphasis on interrogating “why?” was on the affordances of the Web. Today, there are a whole bunch of things going on right now that should prompt us to ask the “Why School?” question with even more urgency. But it is interesting how the underlying systems, structures, and practices of school remain largely unchanged.

Anyway, if you’re looking for something to do…enjoy. Would love to hear your reactions.

​​https://media.licdn.com/dms/document/media/v2/D4D1FAQEnZmrKGd7OUA/feedshare-document-pdf-analyzed/feedshare-document-pdf-analyzed/0/1731337686524?e=1733961600&v=beta&t=WcV1EbgMj0QN5qaLQKEROD_CMpZUy0hV8g0PdUMgcEU 

AXIS:  The Culture Translator

Australia Bans Social Media Under 13

What it is: Australia just passed a bill effectively banning social media for children under the age of 16.  

Why it could just be the beginning: As we’ve previously reported, social psychologist Jonathan Haidt strongly argued in The Anxious Generation that age 16 should become the enforceable minimum age for social media use. As Reuters puts it, Australia’s ban “sets a benchmark for jurisdictions around the world with one of the toughest regulations targeting Big Tech.” 

MiddleWeb Article

https://www.middleweb.com

The Six Characteristics of Effective Praise by Barara R. Blackburn

1. Positive
2. Reinforces High Expectations
3. Appropriate
4. Independence is Promoted
5. Sincere
6. Effort and Progress are Noted

Consider supporting MiddleWeb:  https://middleweb.substack.com/about  

Web Spotlight: 

Bongo

https://www.puzzmo.com/puzzle/2024-12-07/bongo

Random Thoughts . . .  

Click the Play button below to listen to the show!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Summary:

Shawn and Troy talk about AMLE conference observations, blue ribbon schools, and more. Dave is thankfully giving us Food Scientist information.

Jokes:  

How do flat earthers travel?

• On a plane

I went to a pet shop the other day and ordered a dozen honeybees. When I picked them up there were 13, they said that the last one was a free bee.

---

My editor dislikes my use of contractions but it’s what it’s

---

I have so many good telegram jokes that just don’t work in today’s media. Stop.

---

Yesterday a clown held a door open for me. 

• I thought it was a nice jester.

My old math teacher was arrested today.

In his home was a protractor, a calculator, and ruler.

He was arrested for carrying weapons of math instruction.

---

There’s a fine line between hyphenated words.

---

My dog kept chasing people on a bike.

It got so bad I had to take his bike away.

Then he started barking and wouldn’t shut up, so I gave him his bike back.

Because his bark was worse than his bike.

---

How do you know how heavy a red hot chili pepper is?

Give it a weigh, give a weigh, give it a weigh now…

---

In the coming weeks I plan to make a revolution to become a better proof reader.

---

Middle School Science Minute  

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

K12Science Podcast:  Food Scientist

I was recently reading the September-October 2024 issue of “The Science Teacher,” a journal published by the National Science Teaching Association.

In this issue, I read the “Career of the Month” section, written by Luba Vangelova.  She wrote an article entitled: “Amy DeJong, Food Scientist.” 

Food science is an applied science that combines chemistry, engineering and microbiology in efforts to bring safe, tasty and nutritious food from farms to consumers.  Amy DeJong is a process development engineer assigned to a research and development team at Mars Wrigley in Chicago.

http://k12science.net/food-scientist/

Reports from the Front Lines

• AMLE 
• Perplexity
• Downie 4 & BBC 4 is a beautiful thing 
• MacWhisper

The Social Web

‪Heather Lieberman‬ ‪@heather527.bsky.social‬

I love reading to my students and thankfully google meet lets me read to all of them at the same time in both buildings! Happy Thanksgiving 🦃 #edusky #educators #principal @eduskyteam.com

‪Alice Keeler‬ ‪@alicekeeler.com‬

Use my Bingo Add-on to create individual Bingo sheets for each of your students. alicekeeler.com/codedbyalice

Susie Dent  @susie_dent

Word of the day is ‘librocubicularist’ (early 20th century): someone who loves nothing better than reading in bed.

Miguel Guhlin‪@mguhlin.bsky.social‬

Free ebook – Peachey, N. (2024). AI activities and resources for English language teachers. British Council. doi.org/10.57884/DKK… #EduSkyAI https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/publications/resource-books/ai-activities-and-resources-english-language-teachers 

Wesley Fryer, PhD (he/him)@wfryer@mastodon.cloud

I signed up for & started the free #KQED #MediaLit course “Analyzing Media Messages: Bias, Motivation and Production Choices”

https://teach.kqed.org/p/analyzing-med

Strategies:  

A Look Back: Student Examples Of “Explain It To Me Like I’m Five” Projects

https://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2024/10/27/a-look-back-student-examples-of-explain-it-to-me-like-im-five-projects/

Resources:  

(Almost) Every Type of Cognitive Bias Explained

Among the 200+ biases that exist, many are simply variants or subcategories of others. Some are duplicates, like the bizarreness effect and humor effect, while others complement each other, such as optimism bias and pessimism bias. Others aren’t exactly cognitive biases but rather basic cognitive principles or logical fallacies.

Download 1,600+ Publications from the Metropolitan Museum of Art: Books, Guides, Magazines & More

Now, at the MetPublications digital archive, we can read a great variety of the books, guides, and periodicals it’s put out for more than a century–from a 1911 catalog of the museum’s collection of pottery, porcelain, and faïence (which refers to pottery of the tin-glazed variety) to — as of this writing — the latest issue of the Met’s Bulletin, on Mexican printmakers including Diego Rivera and José Clemente Orozco. They and the more than 1,600 publications that lie between them are free for you to explore, some readable online, and some downloadable in PDF form.

https://www.openculture.com/2024/11/download-1600-publications-from-the-metropolitan-museum-of-art.html

The Metropolitan Museum of Art has put online 492,000 high-resolution images of artistic works. Even better, the museum has placed the vast majority of these images into the public domain, meaning they can be downloaded directly from the museum’s website for non-commercial use. When you browse the Met collection and find an image that you fancy, just look at the lower left-hand side of the image. If you see an “OA” icon and the words “public domain” (as shown in the example below), you’re free to use the image, provided that you abide by the Met’s terms.

https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection

Redirect Detective

Redirect Detective is a free URL redirection checker that allows you to see the complete path a redirected URL goes through.

Some of the many uses for Redirect Detective are:

• See where an affiliate link goes to and what affiliate network is being used.
• Check if those bit.ly links (or similar URL shortners) redirect to a legitimate site.
• Check your own redirects to ensure they work correctly.
• Check to see if your redirected domain correctly redirects to your new domain.
• See at what point in the redirection path cookies are being set.
• Avoid being tracked by not being redirected via adware/tracking sites.
• Discover just how many redirects certain sites use. You might be surprised to how many.

https://redirectdetective.com

Web Spotlight: 

Why We Knock on Wood

Why We Knock on Wood, and the Origins of 7 Other Superstitions

10,946

I animated 30 frames a day for 1 year.

Set at 30 frames a second, each second represents 1 day.

All audio was sourced from videos taken with my phone from the year of daily animation.

Fold paper. Insert lens. This $2 microscope changes how kids see the world

https://www.npr.org/sections/goats-and-soda/2024/11/24/g-s1-35181/microscope-lens-students-foldscope

AMLE Research:  Effective Strategies for Building an Engaging Culture of Success

Effective Strategies for Building a Culture of Success

David Yeager, Ph.D. – 10 to 25: The Science of Motivating Young People

Neuroscientists have discovered that around age ten, puberty spurs the brain to crave socially rewarding experiences, such as pride, admiration, and respect, and to become highly averse to social pain, such as humiliation or shame. As a result, young people are subtly reading between the lines of everything we say, trying to interpret the hidden implications of our words to find out if we are disrespecting or honoring them. Surprisingly, this sensitivity to status and respect continues into the mid-twenties. In his first book, 10 to 25: The Science of Motivating Young People, acclaimed developmental psychologist David Yeager, Ph.D. (FAN ’16) helps adults develop an ear for the difference between the right and wrong way to respect young people and avoid frustrating patterns of miscommunication and conflict.

Yeager explains how to adopt what he terms the mentor mindset, which is a leadership style attuned to young people’s need for status and respect. Anyone can adopt the mentor mindset by following a few highly effective and easy-to-learn practices such as validating young people’s perspectives (rather than dismissing them), asking them questions (rather than telling them what to do), being transparent about your beliefs and goals (rather than assuming that they will accurately guess your thoughts), and holding them to high standards (rather than coddling them). Yeager’s pioneering research and interventions have shown these practices reduce a wide variety of behavior problems, including school dropout, unhealthy eating, stress, purposelessness, mental health problems, and more.

Click the Play button below to listen to the show!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Summary:

Shawn and Troy talk get “wordie”, talk about what it means to be a middle schooler, and more. Dave addresses misconceptions. 

Jokes:  

The guy who invented the snooze button, did he invent anything else?

---

Giuseppe was a rising star as a trapeze artist until he was let go.

---

If I was a superhero I’d be known as Typo Man. 

• I write all the wrongs.

Today my wife said I would love to go to the south of France one day. I replied: That would be Nice.

---

Just received a mind-controlled calculator for my birthday.

• Not the greatest present but it’s the thought that counts.

---

Where did people hang out during medieval times?

• At the knight club.

---

Starting your day with running is a great way to make sure your day can’t get any worse.

---

We argued all day over what to call a medieval soldier.

• But it was getting late so we called it a knight.

---

First rule of Thesaurus Club:

• You do not talk, speak, chat, deliberate, confer, gab, or converse about Thesaurus Club.

---

Last time I went to the gym I hopped on the treadmill.

• But people were looking at me funny so I decided to run instead.

---

I gave my friend 10 puns hoping that one of them would make him laugh. 

• Sadly, no pun in ten did.

---

Jiujit’su: (Noun):

1: The gentle art of folding clothes while people are still in them

2: Involuntary yoga

---

Middle School Science Minute  

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

K12Science Podcast:  Addressing Science Misconceptions

I was recently reading the September-October 2024 issue of Science and Children, a journal published by the National Science Teaching Association.

In this issue, I read the “Science 101” section, written by Matthew Bobrowsky.  He wrote an article entitled: “Q: How Can I Address Science Misconceptions Using Phenomena-Driven Instruction?” 

A phenomena might just be the best way to address misconception because research has shown that misconceptions are very persistent, and merely teaching the correct information doesn’t automatically remove the misconception.  

http://k12science.net/addressing-science-misconceptions/

Reports from the Front Lines

• Conferences and Such
• Security
• Workflows
• Vendors

The Social Web

RUTH BUZZI  @Ruth_A_Buzzi

I heard our clocks have to go back next month, and I can’t even remember where I bought it.

Susie Dent  @susie_dent

Word of the day is ‘laughter-lit’ (19th century): animated and restored by laughing alongside others. That is what @JaneyGodley gave to many of us.

Still one of my favorite stories.

The ‘h’ in ‘ghost‘ is a historical hiccup. William Caxton, having first practised his trade in Flanders, brought Flemish typesetters back to England to help set up his printing press – they lobbed an ‘h’ into English ‘gost’ because their own native word was ‘gheest’.

AMLE  @AMLE

Middle School Journal Call for Manuscripts! Seeking Papers on Instructional Strategies and Assessments in Middle Level Education Teacher Preparation See full details here  https://ow.ly/7vWK50TVUp5 Submit by Nov 18, 2024!  

Pat Sajak  @patsajak

I hate to sound like an old grump, but I’m tired of all these smart-alecky kids on Halloween. The only proper response when I hand out a treat is, “Thank you for the liverwurst, Mr. Sajak.”

Strategies:  

Teaching After an Election

• Know your community
• Know the policy of the school

https://cteresources.bc.edu/documentation/teaching-during-a-tumultuous-election-year/teaching-after-an-election

Random Groups for Math Discovery and Practice

Random grouping in math class has so many benefits: it gets students working with other students, it helps prevent students from being left out, and it encourages students to talk in math class.

https://www.middleweb.com/51449/random-groups-for-math-discovery-and-practice/

Resources:  

BBC Bitesize

Loads of practical steps for music-making and inspiring examples from famous musicians and artists.

https://www.musicmark.org.uk/resources/bbc-bitesize-ks3-music/  (Requires a VPN)  

AXIS The Culture Translator

Baking Brits

What it is: Dylan Bachelet, Gen Zer contestant on The Great British Baking Show, is being called “The Captain Jack Sparrow of Baking” and compared to the Dread Pirate Roberts online.

Why it’s pretty accurate: The Great British Baking Show is a long-running reality show where bakers of all ages and backgrounds compete for ultimate glory. For many, the show is like watchable comfort food, and the antics of co-host Noel Fielding (who once played scaly manfish Old Gregg) are by turns hilarious and absurd. The 12th season is halfway over as of today, and Bachelet is still fighting his way to the top. Viewers appreciate his creativity, humility, and pirate-adjacent sense of style—as well as how his unique blend of culinary influences (with an Indian mom, a Japanese-Belgian dad, and a gap year spent enjoying Southeast Asian cuisine) continues to impress the judges.

Dudes Posting Their W’s@DudespostingWs

Men are simple creatures:  https://x.com/i/status/1852349895497142369  

AMLE Middle School Journal:  What’s It Like Being a Middle Schooler Today?  

“The purpose of middle school is to make a strong enough foundation where you can build from it, through high school and, more importantly, through life. To keep adding more stories until you are in or beyond the clouds. One extremely important thing to remember is that you are not alone. You don’t have to make your own foundation by yourself.”  

See more at https://www.amle.org/student-sound-off/  

Presidential elections provide opportunities to teach about power, proportions and percentages

• Topic 1: Ratio
• Topic 2: Minimum and maximum
• Topic 3: The shape, center and spread of data
• Topic 4: Gerrymandering

https://theconversation.com/presidential-elections-provide-opportunities-to-teach-about-power-proportions-and-percentages-238152

Take The Near Impossible Literacy Test Louisiana Used to Suppress the Black Vote (1964)

https://www.openculture.com/2024/10/take-the-near-impossible-literacy-test-louisiana-used-to-suppress-the-black-vote.html

Guess Where You Are

https://guesswhereyouare.com

Web Spotlight: 

Film Club: ‘Pony Boys’

Two brothers traveled alone from the suburbs of Boston to the 1967 World’s Fair in Montreal by pony cart! Do today’s children need more parent-free adventures?

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/04/learning/film-club-pony-boys.html

Parents sue son’s high school history teacher over AI ‘cheating’ punishment

The legal complaint said using artificial intelligence to assist in crafting an outline didn’t violate school rules at the time.

The parents of a Massachusetts high school senior are suing his teacher, school district faculty members and a local school committee for punishments he received after he used artificial intelligence tools to research and create an outline for a history class essay. 

https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/ai-paper-write-cheating-lawsuit-massachusetts-help-rcna175669

Password Creation

https://beta.xkpasswd.net

Click the Play button below to listen to the show!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Summary:

Shawn and Troy talk about Frustration Busters, PD, and more. Dave heads out for Fieldwork Fridays. 

Jokes:  

Does Bill Nye have a daughter Dee?

---

What do you call a droid that takes the long way around? 

• R2 detour.

---

Karma cafe now serving just deserts!

---

The urge to sing the Lion King song is just a whim away.

---

As I get older, I think of all the people I lost along the way. Maybe a career as a tour guide wasn’t such a good idea.

---

Animal Fact #25: Most bobcats are not named bob.

---

*Reversing the car* “Ah, this takes me back”

---

I met a microbiologist yesterday. 

• She was a lot bigger than I expected

---

---

---

Middle School Science Minute  

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

K12Science Podcast:  Fieldwork Fridays

I was recently reading the September-October 2024 issue of Science Scope, a journal published by the National Science Teaching Association.

In this issue, I read the “Interdisciplinary Ideas” section, written by Katie Coppens.  She wrote an article entitled: “Fieldwork Fridays: Connecting Scientific Learning to Nature.” 

Each Friday, in what are referred to as “Fieldwork Fridays,” the author brings her students outside to apply what they learned that week in class to the environment around them.

http://k12science.net/fieldwork-fridays/

Reports from the Front Lines

• Presentation “Thanking Your Past Self”
• Prepping for student experience – MYIG
• Book Study
  • Bird Watching

The Social Web

Ann Morgan  @A_B_Morgan

My seven-year-old asked for a dictionary this week. We went to the bookshop today to buy one. She walked home hugging it, pausing every so often to look up a word, grinning as though she had been given a book of spells, the key to wonders.

Susie Dent  @susie_dent

I’m writing today about kennings in Old English. Essentially these are two word-metaphors that were used instead of concrete nouns, and they are exquisite. A ship was a ‘wave-horse’, the sea was a ‘whale-road’, the mind was a ‘thought-chamber’, and the sun was a ‘sky-candle’.

Mr H5P  @mrh5p

How to create a ‘Sort the Paragraphs’ activity in #H5P To see the finished example and more tutorials, check out http://mrh5p.com and subscribe to the H5P Builders newsletter. https://mrh5p.com/h5p-examples/how-to-make-a-sort-the-paragraphs-activity-with-h5p/

  #instructionaldesign

Strategies:  

AI Image Generation in Education

https://blog.tcea.org/ai-image-generation-in-education/

Ten ways to boost learning in class with pictures

https://ditchthattextbook.com/dual-coding

Resources:  

 HTML for People

https://htmlforpeople.com

Why we are teaching science wrong, and how to make it right

“An outcome confirmed in hundreds of studies: students gain a much deeper understanding of science when they actively grapple with…questions than when they passively listen to answers”: 

https://www.nature.com/articles/523272a

Web Spotlight: 

The Ada & Zangemann Movie

Released as an Open Educational Resource, under a Creative Commons By Share-Alike Licence, it tells tells the story of the famous inventor Zangemann and the girl Ada, a curious tinkerer. Ada begins to experiment with hardware and software, and in the process realises how crucial it is for her and others to control technology.

This fascinating story, by Matthias Kirschner and Sandra Brandstätter, encourages children, especially girls, to tinker with hardware and software and encouraging them to shape their own technology.

https://fsfe.org/activities/ada-zangemann//movie

Why Do Students In My ELL Newcomers Class Appear To Be Acquiring English So Much Faster Than In Past Years? Here Are Some Possible Answers

https://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2024/10/05/why-do-students-in-my-ell-newcomers-class-appear-to-be-acquiring-english-so-much-faster-than-in-past-years-here-are-some-possible-answers/

AXIS The Culture Translator

English or Spanish?

What it is: A TikTok trend started by @alfonsopinpon_ involves saying to strangers, “Excuse me, English or Spanish?” Then, after the stranger answers, the speaker says, “Whoever moves first is gay,” and films how long they stand still.  

How it works: The initial question, “English or Spanish?” helps lower participants’ guard. “Why would someone be asking my preferred language?” unsuspecting subjects might think. The follow-up comment, that “Whoever moves first is gay,” is maybe the last thing they expect to hear—and many people instantly freeze. The surreal result resembles the “mannequin challenge” from a few years ago, and is sometimes soundtracked by a slowed down version of the song “Static” by Steve Lacy.

Random Thoughts . . .  

Click the Play button below to listen to the show!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Summary:

Shawn and Troy talk a lot about AI in education. Dave discusses the elephant not in the room. 

Jokes:  

What do you call a fish wearing a bowtie? 

• Sofishticated.

Past, present, and future walked into an ice cream store….

•  It was tense.

I used to work in a shoe recycling shop. 

• It was sole destroying.

The other day I was listening to a song about superglue, 

• it’s been stuck in my head ever since.

To the guy who invented zero… 

• thanks for nothing.

You know that cemetery up the road? 

• People are dying to get in there.

Why was Pavlov’s beard so soft?  

• Because he conditioned it.

---

---

---

Middle School Science Minute  

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

K12Science Podcast:  Elephant ID

I was recently reading the September-October 2024 issue of Science Scope, a journal published by the National Science Teaching Association.

In this issue, I read the “Citizen Science” section, written by Jill Nugent.  She wrote an article entitled: “Snapshot Safari: Elephant Edition.” 

Elephant ID is an online project that leverages Zooniverse’s people-powered research platform to address behavior and conservation questions related to the African savanna elephant, a species facing pressing challenges, including habitat loss.  To learn more, visit the project website at:

https://www.zooniverse.org/projects/aeuk/elephant-id

http://k12science.net/elephant-id/ 

Reports from the Front Lines

• Kid Crud
• Shawn’s Preferred AI’s
  • JAN – local AI (Mistral 7B), open source
  • ChatGPT – content creation
  • Stable Diffusion
  • Canva
  • Adobe FireFly
  • Gemini
  • NoteBookLM

The Social Web

Susie Dent  @susie_dent

Word of the day is ‘cockalorum’ (18th century): a self-important individual who struts across every stage as though they own it.

Positive Side of 𝕏  @positivesideofx

Paired as pen pals in middle school to practice their cursive writing, they’ve stayed close friends for over 60 years. After all that time, they finally met face-to-face for the first time.  

Tutela  @TutelaCanada

NEW RESOURCES added to the Literacy H5P Resources for Online and Blended Learning Collection on Tutela! Check them out here: https://tutela.ca/Collection?ite  

Strategies:  

My God! I Can’t Believe How Much Time ChatGPT Is Now Going To Save Me In Creating One Of My Favorite Teaching Resources!

https://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2024/09/16/my-god-i-cant-believe-how-much-time-chatgpt-is-now-going-to-save-me-in-creating-one-of-my-favorite-teaching-resources/

Bribing students: Another ‘magical solution’ that doesn’t work

https://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2024/09/18/bribing-students-another-magical-solution-that-doesnt-work/

Resources:  

Journeys in Film

We transform entertainment media into educational media by designing and publishing cost-free, educational resources for teachers to accompany carefully chosen feature films and documentaries while meeting mandated standards in all core subjects. Selected films are used as springboards for lesson plans in subjects ranging from math, science, language arts, and social studies to specific topics that have become critical for students to learn.

https://journeysinfilm.org/

Youth in Government

Grants are opening up, registrations are happening, lessons in Civis to learn . . . 

https://www.myig.org

Web Spotlight: 

High School Math Students Used A GPT-4 AI Tutor. They did Worse.

A study of nearly a thousand high school math students found that using AI tutors didn’t add up to success.

Students who had access to an AI tutor for practice exams did better than students without access in these practice exams. However, on a subsequent exam, when none of the students had access to an AI tutor, the students who worked with an AI tutor did worse than other students.

https://www.techlearning.com/news/high-school-math-students-used-a-gpt-4-ai-tutor-they-did-worse

5 concerns about AI in education

1. AI bias can impact students and schools in ways we might not expect.

2. Keep humans in the loop in high-stakes decisions in education.

3. AI doesn’t help us break down historical prejudices. It only reinforces them.

4. AI poses personal and academic threats to students.

5. Protect student data and privacy.

https://ditchthattextbook.com/ai-perils

Why Teachers – & Everyone Else – Should Ignore The Dancing Guy’s Leadership Advice

https://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2024/09/17/why-teachers-everyone-else-should-ignore-the-dancing-guys-leadership-advice/

Family’s Holocaust Story Too Graphic for District

In the year 2000, Holocaust survivor Felix Goldberg testified at our synagogue in Columbia SC about his experiences as a slave laborer during World War II. I was in the audience, and after delivering that speech, he approached me (knowing that I was an educator) and asked me to “do something with it.”

…with the blessing of the family members, we initially created a website for teachers: www.StoriesofSurvival.org which details his story and that of his wife Bluma, starting before the war and continuing during and after the war. 

We will continue to offer educators in grades 5-12 the classroom sets of our book, after they respond to a series of questions about how they will use the book with students. One of those questions asks them if they will consider inviting us into the classroom so that we can elaborate on the text and visual content and answer student questions.

https://www.middleweb.com/51330/familys-holocaust-story-too-graphic-for-district/

New AI trick: ‘synthetic human memories’

AI-edited photos can alter memories of things you experienced in real life. This knowledge will be weaponized. Here comes the False Memory Industrial Complex.

https://machinesociety.ai/p/new-ai-trick-synthetic-human-memories

Random Thoughts . . .  

Click the Play button below to listen to the show!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Summary:

Shawn and Troy share Earth, Wind, and Fire Day, experiences in safety and more. Dave brings SEL to Science.

Jokes:  

I used to work for an origami company but they folded.

---

Dickens: It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.

Schrödinger: Nice.

---

I asked the surgeon if I could administer my own anesthetic, they said: go ahead, knock yourself out.

---

Clem entered the barn to see two horses fighting over a bale of hay. It was the last straw.

---

A good dictionary gives meaning to life.

---

I think circles are pointless.

---

Got fired from the custom kitchen shop for making too many jokes about taking countermeasures.

---

How do you keep a moron in suspense?

---

They call them Jersey cows, but if you look closely you can see that they don’t even have numbers on their backs.

---

I have a friend who writes songs about sewing machines. 

• He’s a Singer songwriter. Or sew it seams. 

---

Middle School Science Minute  

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

K12Science Podcast:  Social-Emotional Learning

I was recently reading the September-October 2024 issue of Science Scope, a journal published by the National Science Teaching Association.

In this issue, I read the “Editorial” section, written by Patty McGinnis.  She wrote an article entitled: “Social-Emotional Learning in the Science Classroom.” 

Perhaps nowhere else in education is social-emotional (SEL) more crucial than in the middle school science classroom, a place where students are expected to collaborate, communicate, and participate respectfully in the practice of argumentation.  For more information about SEL consider exploring the site for the Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning (CASEL), a nonprofit organization that utilizes research to guide SEL initiatives.  For more information, visit:

https://casel.org

http://k12science.net/social-emotional-learning/

Reports from the Front Lines

• Course on Teaching Exceptional Children
• Movie AD
• Exciting Times – “Testing” the Boot System
• Curriculum Work
  • iReady
  • NWEA
• Apple Vision Pro Update
• Earth, Wind, and Fire Day  

The Social Web

Alice McFlurry @Alice@beige.party

What do they teach in Social Studies nowadays? Like, do they even cover MySpace and Friendster or do kids only learn about those in History class?

Wylfċen  @wylfcen

Another wonderfully specific Old English word: merecandel ‘sea-candle’, the Sun as it rises from or sets in the sea.

Jack Berckemeyer  @JBerckemeyer

Great teams come up with awesome grade level team names along with amazing visuals. This 6th grade team is all in on the mighty ducks. #pumpedup

BERCKEMEYER Breaks are back – Read the Room and show me shocked. Feel free to share with others and if you like these check out our webinar series. http://Jackberckemeyer.com

https://twitter.com/i/status/1835304245572129107

Moodle | Online learning, delivered your way.  @moodle

Free webinar: Moodle AI plugins! Join us on Thursday, 26th September, at 08:00 UTC. Register now: https://moodle.me/aipluginswebinar  #MoodleAcademy  @moodleacademy

Resources:  

REVIEW: Why Don’t Students Like School (Daniel Willingham)

https://readwriterespond.com/2024/09/review-why-dont-students-like-school-daniel-willingham/

Not-so-great expectations: Students are reading fewer books in English class

Chris Stanislawski didn’t read much in his middle school English classes, but it never felt necessary. Students were given detailed chapter summaries for every novel they discussed, and teachers played audio of the books during class.

“When you’re given a summary of the book telling you what you’re about to read in baby form, it kind of just ruins the whole story for you,” said Chris, 14. “Like, what’s the point of actually reading?”

Some teachers focus instead on selected passages — a concession to perceptions of shorter attention spans, pressure to prepare for standardized tests and a sense that short-form content will prepare students for the modern, digital world.

Deep reading is essential to strengthen circuits in the brain tied to critical thinking skills, background knowledge — and, most of all, empathy, said Maryanne Wolf, a cognitive neuroscientist at UCLA specializing in dyslexia research.

“We must give our young an opportunity to understand who others are, not through little snapshots, but through immersion into the lives and thoughts and feelings of others,” Wolf said.

https://www.bangordailynews.com/2024/09/17/nation/not-so-great-expectations-students-are-reading-fewer-books-in-english-class/

AXIS The Culture Translator

Keeping Accounts

What it is: Meta is rolling out “teen accounts” for minors on the app.

What parents should know: Meta is claiming that this change will provide “protections for teens, peace of mind for parents.” All teens under 16 with Instagram accounts will be automatically opted in to this type of account, and those who sign up for a new account before they turn 18 will be opted in, as well.

Out to Lunch

What it is: MrBeast, Logan Paul, and KSI are teaming up to launch a Lunchables competitor called “Lunchly.”

Why pre-teens might gobble it up: Lunchly is aimed at the same demographic that has made both MrBeast’s Feastables chocolate bars and Paul/KSI’s Prime Energy drinks a smashing success—young people between the ages of 9 and 13. 

Time to Waste

What it is: Social psychologist and author Jonathan Haidt partnered with the Harris Poll firm to try to capture what Gen Z really thinks about social media.

What it shows: The nationwide poll of over a thousand 18-27 year olds asked “Do you wish TikTok was never invented” (47% said yes) and also posed questions about what steps they’re willing to take to limit their social media use. Maybe most eye-opening were the questions about time spent on these apps—over 60% said they spend over 4 hours a day on social media, and almost a quarter said they spend over 7 hours a day.   

Web Spotlight: 

From Book to Podcast in Minutes: My First Experience with Google Notebook

Today, I played with Google’s Notebook, followed Alec Couros’s suggestion, and uploaded a copy of my book. I also added my blog. Within minutes it created this 9-minute audio podcast of my book.

https://ideasandthoughts.org/2024/09/18/googles-lm-notebook-made-this-podcast/

Random Thoughts . . .  

Click the Play button below to listen to the show!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Summary:

Shawn and Troy talk about Moodle, culture of the kids, quiet hallways, and more. Dave styles some learning about Science. 

Jokes:  

R.I.P. boiled water. 

• You will be mist.

My New Years resolution is to stop leaving things so late.

---

I was just looking at my ceiling. Not sure if it’s the best ceiling in the world, but it’s definitely up there.

---

I had a pair of racing snails. I removed their shells to make them more aerodynamic, but they became sluggish.

---

How many seconds are in a year?

---

For Valentine’s day, I decided to get my wife some beads for an abacus.  It’s the little things that count.

---

My child is studying to be a surgeon, I just hope they make the cut.

---

If you ever get a call from an unknown number, pick it up and say “Hi, you’re on the air.”

---

Did you hear about the guy who invented Lifesavers? They say he made a mint.

---

Middle School Science Minute  

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

K12Science Podcast:  Learning Styles

I was recently reading the July-August 2024 issue of Science and Children, a journal published by the National Science Teaching Association.

In this issue, I read the “Science 101” section, written by Matt Bobrowsky.  He wrote a Q and A article entitled: “Q: If Students Have Different Learning Styles, What Kinds of Science Activities Are Best for Reaching All Students?”  

For a more well-rounded educational experience, teachers can use “multimodal” teaching.  Examples include visual, kinesthetic, and auditory.  But that does not mean that students have specific “learning styles.”  If students believe they have a particular “learning style” it can lead to a self-limiting mindset.

http://k12science.net/learning-styles/

Reports from the Front Lines

• Students in the Hallways
• Annual Training
• ACTEM
  • Thanking Your Past Self – Documentation Tips
• Moodle Movement
• New Curriculum Director

The Social Web

otacke @otacke@chaos.social

Uuuh, the #H5P core is now shipped with CKEditor version 5, so get the latest update of your H5P integration (and hope it supports the latest version of H5P core already)

Marcus Green @marcusgreen@fosstodon.org

This screenshot was taken from a recent version of #Moodle 4.5dev+ (alpha code) which includes the new #AI Subsystem. #Ollama allows you to host #LLM’s on your own hardware. By that I mean you can unplug the internet and interact with various Models.
I am rather excited by it.

Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library  @Ford_Library

“Civics for All of US” student Constitution programs kick off this week! Join us for a live webinar and discover how the Constitution connects to our communities: https://civics.archives.gov/webinars #ConstitutionDay #CivicsforAllofUS

iCivics  @icivics

#ConstitutionDay is coming up on Sept. 17! Teach students about the text, history, and relevance of the U.S. Constitution, Bill of Rights, and additional amendments with our video series, The Constitution EXPLAINED, created with  @CivicEducation. https://bit.ly/4d1muJG

We have the perfect game for #ConstitutionDay! Our Constitutional Compromise game challenges your students to find a way forward for a young nation as disagreements mount. Experience the main historical debates of the Constitutional Convention with https://bit.ly/4gcMaWb

Street Law  @StreetLawInc

Because #ConstitutionDay (Sept. 17th) falls in the thick of the 2024 election season, check out our curated page of Street Law curricular resources on voting, elections, and the presidency. https://store.streetlaw.org/election-votin

Susie Dent  @susie_dent

Word of the day is ‘bayard’ (16th century): one who has the supreme self-confidence of ignorance.

Strategies:  

Free Reading  

A Way to Increase Free Reading Outside of Class

…pare down the teacher-centered lessons, and free up enough time for “Free Reading Friday,”…

Most students were able to commit to reading 100-150 pages per week. This worked out to be about the same amount of time as they were spending before, but the weekly goal gave them more agency in deciding when to read, and many students reported that this helped them develop a better reading routine.

Students don’t spend “Free Reading Friday” reading. Instead, our Friday class is focused on talking and writing about free reading.

https://www.middleweb.com/51237/a-way-to-increase-free-reading-outside-of-class/

Resources:  

26 Tips for Beginning Teachers, from A to Z

https://www.middleweb.com/51194/26-tips-for-beginning-teachers-from-a-to-z/

AXIS The Culture Translator

1. Impossible Creatures

What it is: The US edition of a fantasy book for middle-graders is expected to be one of the bestselling titles of the year.

What parents should know: Impossible Creatures, by British author (and Oxford fellow) Katherine Rundell, became an instant bestseller when it was published in the UK last year. The premise of the book is simple (and a bit Narnia-esque): a young man discovers a portal to a hidden world where creatures like griffins, sphinxes, and dragons exist. What follows is equal parts action and adventure in the vivid tradition of Robert Louis Stevenson. The book has some darker themes and violence, but reviews say it ultimately serves as a morality tale about duty, sacrifice, and doing what is right.

2. Young Americans, Online

What it is: A newly-published survey showed that Gen Z and millennials say they feel more like “themselves” online than offline.

What it tells us about the rising generation: It is, perhaps, not all that surprising that a majority (45%) of Gen Z say they feel more like themselves online. This is a generation that has grown up expressing themselves in digital spaces. What is a bit of a surprise is that those that feel more themselves online beat out those that feel more at home offline by only 3%. Compare this to the millennial split in the statistics, where 47% said they feel more at home online than offline and 40% felt more fully themselves in person. Gen Z may see online life as indistinguishable from “real life,” but they may also be more likely to bring the same sort of caution to life online that previous generations brought to life offline.

“Monday” Video

A parody on the “Friday” video . . . . But for Monday.  

https://youtu.be/qBEUIxCcqlY

Web Spotlight: 

Infinite Mac

Infinite Mac is a collection of classic Macintosh and NeXT system releases and software, all easily accessible from the comfort of a (modern) web browser.

Pick any version of System Software/Mac OS or NeXTStep/OPENSTEP from the 1980s or 1990s and run it (and major software of that era) within a virtual machine. You can also run a custom version with your choice of machine and virtual disks. Files can be imported and exported using drag and drop, and System 7 and onward have more advanced integrations as well – refer to the welcome screen in each machine for more details.

https://infinitemac.org

Sort out your life! 100 tiny tricks to help with everything from digital overwhelm to lumpy sugar and unpaid bills

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/article/2024/sep/03/sort-out-your-life-100-tiny-tricks-to-help-with-everything-from-digital-overwhelm-to-lumpy-sugar-and-unpaid-bills

Food Mood

https://artsandculture.google.com/experiment/food-mood/HwHnGalZ3up0EA

Random Thoughts . . .  

Click the Play button below to listen to the show!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download