MSM 273:  Maestro, my Kindergartener is now “College and Career Ready”.

Presented in collaboration with the Association for Middle Level Education.

Jokes You Can Use:

“They call him Maestro”

A guy walks into a pet store wanting a parrot. The store clerk shows him two beautiful ones out on the floor. “This one’s $5,000 and the other is $10,000.” the clerk said. “Wow! What does the $5,000 one do?” “This parrot can sing every aria Mozart ever wrote.” “And the other?” said the customer. “This one can sing Wagner’s entire Ring cycle. There’s another one in the back room for $30,000.” “Holy moly! What does that one do?” “Nothing that I can tell, but the other two parrots call him ‘Maestro’.”

A wife asks her husband, a software engineer…

“Could you please go shopping for me and buy one carton of milk, and if they have eggs, get 6!” A short time later the husband comes back with 6 cartons of milk. The wife asks him, “Why the hell did you buy 6 cartons of milk?” He replied, “They had eggs.”

 

To the optimist, the glass is half-full.

To the pessimist, the glass is half-empty.

To the engineer, the glass is twice as big as it needs to be.

 

http://www.buzzfeed.com/jessicamisener/21-jokes-so-stupid-theyre-actually-funny

Eileen Award:

  • Twitter:  Jason Hovey, Tara Becker-Utess, Anna Asti, Andrea McKay, Kevin Sigaty, Jerri Wood,
  • Google+: Heather Valdespino

Advisory:

 

10 Jobs that will

 

http://mashable.com/2014/04/28/jobs-of-the-future/

Middle School Science Minute

byDave Bydlowski (k12science or davidbydlowski@mac.com)

MIDDLE SCHOOL SCIENCE MINUTE-HAND WASHING

 

I was recently reading the January, 2014 issue of Science Scope, a magazine written for Middle School Science Teachers, published by the National Science Teachers Association.  One of my favorite sections in each Science Scope is the “Scope on Safety” section, written by Ken Roy, Director of Environmental Health and Safety for Glastonbury Public Schools.

Ken shares his advice on hand washing.

From the Twitterverse:

Monte Tatom ‏@drmmtatom 10h

Blended learning simplified & explained in video  http://feedly.com/k/1k95i73 ~#sigadmin#tn_teta#fhuedu642 =>@MSMatters

Monte Tatom ‏@drmmtatom 15h

Some Notable Tools & Apps for Special Needs Students  http://feedly.com/k/1jPKFgz ~#fhuspe348#spedchat#edwebchat =>@MSMatters

Monte Tatom@drmmtatom 15h

End of School Year Tools for Creative Summative Assessment  http://feedly.com/k/1sA77L3 ~#fhuedu642#tn_teta#edwebchat =>@MSMatters

Monte Tatom ‏@drmmtatom May 15

New C-SPAN Bell Ringers – Good Lesson Ideas for Social Studies Teachers  http://feedly.com/k/RVl7Uq ~#histedchat#fhuedu320 =>@MSMatters

Monte Tatom ‏@drmmtatom May 15

New: 11 of the best iOS and Android apps  http://feedly.com/k/1va0inE ~#tn_teta#sigadmin#fhuedu320#edwebchat =>@MSMatters

Monte Tatom ‏@drmmtatom May 15

The Anatomy of Project Based Learning Process  http://feedly.com/k/1v9Tma5 ~#tn_teta#fhuedu642#edwebchat =>@MSMatters

Monte Tatom ‏@drmmtatom May 9

7 Effective Ways to Engage on@Twitter http://feedly.com/k/1oxtwIh ~#fhuedu642#tn_teta#sigadmin =>@MSMatters

Monte Tatom ‏@drmmtatom May 7

Edmodo Snapshot – Quickly Create Common Core-aligned Assessments  http://feedly.com/k/1no4Jqh ~#edwebchat#fhuedu320#tn_teta =>@MSMatters

Scott McLeod@mcleod · May 15

Activate Instruction | A free tool to personalize learning

Scott McLeod@mcleod · May 13

For Students, the Importance of Doing Work That Matters |@MindShiftKQED

Scott McLeod@mcleod · May 10

4 Powerful Formative Assessment Tools For The Chromebook Classroom |@edudemichttp://bit.ly/1uOwug9

Robin Ashford@rashford 8m

The British Library has just launched a major new website for digital manuscripts, well worth exploring:http://bit.ly/1lsYBL7 via@wcronon

Bill Cronon@wcronon May 14

If you ever wonder about how long your old CD’s will last, here’s what the Library of Congress thinks. Be worried.http://bit.ly/1nPViQw

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

 

Strategies:

Google Lesson Plans

We’ve created a series of lessons to help you guide your students to use search meaningfully in their schoolwork and beyond.

On this page, you’ll find Search Literacy lessons and A Google A Day classroom challenges. Our search literacy lessons help you meet the new Common Core State Standards and are broken down based on level of expertise in search: Beginner, Intermediate, or Advanced.

A Google A Day challenges help your students put their search skills to the test, and to get your classroom engaged and excited about using technology to discover the world around them.

http://www.google.com/insidesearch/searcheducation/lessons.html

Resources:

Curriculet

Create/Use classroom texts that include mark ups, notes, and quizzes. Uses Google sign in.

www.curriculet.com

 

Twine is an open-source tool for telling interactive, nonlinear stories.

http://twinery.org/

 

Google Classroom

Welcome to a preview of Classroom, a new tool coming to Google Apps for Education. Classroom weaves together Google Docs, Drive and Gmail to help teachers create and organize assignments quickly, provide feedback efficiently, and communicate with their classes with ease. And it lets students organize their work, complete and turn it in, and communicate directly with their teachers and peers.

Classroom was designed hand-in-hand with teachers to help them save time, keep classes organized, and improve communication with students.

http://www.google.com/edu/classroom/

Web Spotlight:

Digital Reading Poses Learning Challenges for Students

By Benjamin Herold

Comprehension may suffer when students read on the digital devices now flooding into classrooms, an emerging body of research suggests.

When reading on screens, for example, people seem to reflexively skim the surface of texts in search of specific information, rather than dive in deeply in order to draw inferences, construct complex arguments, or make connections to their own experiences. Research has also found that students, when reading digitally, tend to discard familiar print-based strategies for boosting comprehension.

And many of the multimedia elements, animations, and interactive features found in e-books appear to function primarily as amusing distractions.

…also quick to acknowledge a big problem: “I understand better when [text] is on paper, because it’s all right there, and it’s not skipping ahead and back all the time.”

A study last year by Heather R. and Jordan T. Schugar, a wife-and-husband research team at Westchester University of Pennsylvania, found that a small sample of students comprehended traditional books at “a much higher level” than they comprehended the same material when read on an iPad.

 

“We live in two worlds now,” she said. “We have to adapt.”

http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2014/05/07/30reading_ep.h33.html?tkn=PMMFo4tLGmh6NCiNzQJqSzJEzUsX5Cmy25wx&cmp=ENL-DD-NEWS1

Kindergarten show canceled so kids can keep studying to become ‘college and career ready.’ Really.

An annual year-end kindergarten show has been canceled at a New York school because the kids have to keep working so they will be “college and career” ready. Really.

 

This didn’t come out of the blue. Kindergarten (and even preschool) has increasingly become academic — at the expense of things such as recess and the arts — in this era of standardized test-based school reform.

 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2014/04/26/kindergarten-show-canceled-so-kids-can-keep-working-to-become-college-and-career-ready-reallyV

Random Thoughts . . .

eCommunity for Moodle

Personal Web Site

MSM 266: Shawn’s had enough, enough I tell you! And most of this you can use for Advisory, Advisory, Advisory!!!- Patent Pending.

Presented in collaboration with the Association for Middle Level Education.

Jokes You Can Use:

Why is it called a ‘Picnic’?

Betty Sue wanted to eat outside on a hot summer day with her boyfriend. Problem: she had two boyfriends, Fred and Nick. Considering she knew she wouldn’t have a very happy lunch if the two boys were arguing, she decided just to choose one boy to have the meal.

She Picked Nick.

 

If a cat won an Oscar, what would he get?

An a-cat-emy award.

A mechanic was removing a cylinder head from the motor of a Harley

motorcycle when he spotted a well-known heart surgeon in his shop.

The surgeon was there, waiting for the service manager to come and take a look at his bike.

The mechanic shouted across the garage, “Hey, Doc, can I ask you a question?”

 

The surgeon a bit surprised, walked over to the mechanic working on the motorcycle. The mechanic straightened up, wiped his hands on a rag and asked, “So Doc, look at this engine. I open its heart, take valves out, fix ’em, put ’em back in, and when I finish, it works just like new. So how come I get such a small salary and you get the really big bucks, when you and I are doing basically the same work?”

 

The surgeon paused, smiled and leaned over, and whispered to the mechanic…

“Try doing it with the engine running.”

Bubba and Johnny Ray, two good ole boys from North Carolina, were sitting’ on the front porch when a large truck hauling rolls and rolls of sod went by.

“I’m gonna do that when I win the lottery,” said Bubba.

“Do what?” asked Johnny Ray.

“Send my grass out to be mowed,” answered Bubba.

 

Somehow we always think we are aging at a slower rate than everyone else, this was true of this older woman who is seeing a doctor for the first time.

She was taken into a room and told to “make herself comfortable.” While reading the doctor’s diploma on the wall, she realizes that she went to high school with him many years ago.

The doctor enters the room; he is very gray, and slightly bent over from old age, and says “hello, how can I help you?”

The woman asks; “Did you attend Roosevelt High School?”

“Yes I did”, the doctor answered.

She asks: “Class of 79?” “Yes I was”, was the answered.

The woman was delighted, and said: “You were in my class!”

The doctor responded: “What did you teach?”

Eileen Award:

 

Advisory:

Best City to Visit

London is on track to being the most popular tourist destination in the world, beating Paris and New York, with latest numbers showing visitors to the UK capital up 20 per cent. The rivalry between ‘The Big Smoke’ (London) and ‘The City of Love’ (Paris) comes amid another media-based spat between Britain and France over the economy.

http://www.englishblog.com/2014/01/reuters-video-london-eyed-as-best-tourist-city-.html#.UtqRsGQo4_U

Trending Words

Kind of like Word of the day,

http://www.merriam-webster.com/trend-watch/2014/01/17/

Middle School Science Minute

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

 

MIDDLE SCHOOL SCIENCE MINUTE-SAFETY IN VIDEOS

 

I was recently reading the November, 2013 issue of Science Scope, a magazine written for Middle School Science Teachers, published by the National Science Teachers Association.  In this issue, I came upon an article entitled, “Safety in Videos,” written by Ken Roy, Director of Environmental Health and Safety for Glastonbury Public Schools.

Ken shares his advice on how teachers should always review media with an eye toward appropriate safety practices.

 

http://k12science.net/Podcast/Podcast/Entries/2013/12/20_Middle_School_Science_Minute-Safety_In_Videos.html

 

From the Twitterverse:

* Vicki Davis ‏@coolcatteacher

How To Install Chromecast and Listen to Podcasts on Your TV http://shrd.by/fkEPMB  via @Ileane

* Derek McCoy ‏@mccoyderek

7 Creative Apps That Allow Students To Show What They Know http://feedly.com/k/1dcBmlW

* Marygrove College ‏@MGCollegeMAT

“Why won’t my students engage?!” Here are 5 quick strategies to increase student engagement: pic.twitter.com/0VTPy5XeoM

* Nicholas Provenzano ‏@thenerdyteacher

Excellent Classroom Poster on How to Cite Information from Internet http://zite.to/1cDRycx

* Mike Muir ‏@mmuir

Interesting exploration of making tough choices in Ed Tech, and “settling” due to financial concerns… http://dangerouslyirrelevant.org/2014/01/the-digital-equity-concerns-of-good-enough.html

* Diane Ravitch ‏@DianeRavitch

Maryland: Common Core Testing Will Codt $100 Million http://wp.me/p2odLa-6UC

* TAKS to STAAR ‏@STAARtest

Your input requested: Educators have until Jan. 28 to comment on new standards that will impact appraisals. http://ow.ly/sHNuh  #txed

* pammoran ‏@pammoran

Tchrs use SM in their personal lives but avoid in class due 2 possible repercussions via Ed Week #satchat http://mobile.edweek.org/c.jsp?DISPATCHED=true&cid=25983841&item=http%3A%2F%2Fblogs.edweek.org%2Fedweek%2FDigitalEducation%2F2014%2F01%2Fsuvey_teachers_shy_away_from_e.html%3Fcmp%3DENL-CM-NEWS2 …

* Judy O’Connell ‏@heyjudeonline

Engaging with Ebooks Can Aid Children’s Literacy, Study Finds http://fb.me/6zHLgVUf5

* Hemanshu Nigam ‏@HemanshuNigam

Trolls Force Olympian to Quit Twitter Until Games Are Over http://ow.ly/sGZG9

* AMLE ‏@AMLE

We’re reading: Middle School: Not So Bad – Hilary Conklin – The Atlantic http://ow.ly/sGme2  #mschat #midleved

#mschat every Thursday at 8:00 pm Eastern Standard Time.

 

Strategies:

True Grit: The Best Measure of Success and How to Teach It

Can you predict academic success or whether a child will graduate? You can, but not how you might think.

http://www.edutopia.org/blog/true-grit-measure-teach-success-vicki-davis

http://www.sas.upenn.edu/~duckwort/images/12-item%20Grit%20Scale.05312011.pdf

Resources:

This scientist has three patents pending. He also happens to be 12.

http://blog.ted.com/2014/01/13/this-scientist-has-three-patents-pending-he-also-happens-to-be-12/

Web Spotlight:

 

40 more maps that explain the world

Maps can be a remarkably powerful tool for understanding the world and how it works, but they show only what you ask them to. You might consider this, then, a collection of maps meant to inspire your inner map nerd. I’ve searched far and wide for maps that can reveal and surprise and inform in ways that the daily headlines might not, with a careful eye for sourcing and detail. I’ve included a link for more information on just about every one. Enjoy.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2014/01/13/40-more-maps-that-explain-the-world/

Rag Linen

Rag Linen, named for the heavy-duty paper on which pre-19th century news was printed, is an online museum of rare and historic newspapers, which serve as the first drafts of history and the critical primary source material for historians, authors and educators. Curator and publisher Todd Andrlik has built one of the most significant and comprehensive private collections of Revolutionary War era newspapers. Glimpses of the newspapers can be found on RagLinen.com, but the full archive of American Revolution newspaper coverage will be made public for the first time in the forthcoming book, Reporting the Revolutionary War: Before It Was History, It Was News (Sourcebooks, November 2012).

Before 1870, newspapers were printed on a sturdy paper made by pulping linen rags, often from clothes or ship sails. Thanks to the durability of rag linen paper and Johannes Gutenberg’s invention of the printing press, history’s most important events from the 16th through the 19th centuries are often well preserved in printed form.

http://raglinen.com/

Rick Rolled my physics teacher…

https://twitter.com/sairamg3/status/422906182152757248

History Picz

https://twitter.com/HistoryPicz

MSM 263: How do I love thee? Let me calculate the snow days . . .

Presented in collaboration with the Association for Middle Level Education.

 

Jokes You Can Use:

The local sheriff was looking for a deputy, so Gomer, who was not exactly the sharpest nail in the bucket, went in to try out for the job.

“Okay,” the sheriff drawled, “Gomer, what is 1 and 1?”

“11” he replied.

The sheriff thought to himself, “That’s not what I meant, but he’s right. What two days of the week start with the letter ‘T’?”

“Today and tomorrow.”

The sheriff was again surprised that Gomer supplied a correct answer that he had never thought of himself.

“Now Gomer, listen carefully: Who killed Abraham Lincoln?”

Gomer looked a little surprised himself, then thought really hard for a minute and finally admitted, “I don’t know.”

“Well, why don’t you go home and work on that one for a while?”

So, Gomer wandered over to the barbershop where his pals were waiting to hear the results of the interview. Gomer was exultant. “It went great! First day on the job and I’m already working on a murder case!”

 

At school one morning the teacher asked little Johnny what he had for breakfast. Little Johnny said, well, on my way to school I come cross this Apple tree, so I climbed up there and started eating apples. I guess I eat about six, said little Johnny. No, said the teacher, it’s ate! Little Johnny said well it could’ve been eight I don’t remember.

 

Q. What did the traffic light say to the other traffic light?

A. Don’t look now am changing!

 

Q: What kind of insects to you find on the Moon.

A: Lunar Ticks (Lunatics)

 

Q. Why did the kid eat his homework?

A. His teacher said it was a piece of cake.

 

Eileen Award:

  • Twitter:  Shawn Davids, Middle Grades Ed UGA,

  • Google+: Jaguar Ed,

Advisory:

One Job

Have students write a story about one of the pictures.

http://hadonejob.com/

 

Middle School Science Minute

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

 

Science Literacy

I was recently reading the November, 2013 issue of Science Scope, a magazine for middle school science teachers, published by the National Science Teachers Association.  I then read the article “Building Science Literacy by Reading: Science News” written by Kent Schielke, a 7th-8th grade science teacher in Naperville, IL.

Every year, she challenges her 8th graders with the question, “Where will you get your information about new science after you take your last science class.”  She then shares the assignment that she uses to help her students answer this question.

 

From the Twitterverse:

* Dean Shareski ‏@shareski

Want to impress Canadians? Use one of these terms in a sentence. http://www2.macleans.ca/2013/06/20/11-more-canadian-words-phrases-or-slang-most-americans-wouldnt-understand/ …

* Todd Bloch ‏@blocht574

#miched Metro Detroit Tweet-up for Jan 3. Here is the RSVP form https://docs.google.com/forms/d/18f3g6-04TCpfyfeSTjhMLkKrBXEniXvNUTN68_vyC-g/viewform … CC: @MR_ABUD @thenerdyteacher @StanleyTeach

* MichaelSmithSupt ‏@principalspage

Smart people surround themselves with smarter people.

* Dr. Jeff Butts ‏@WayneTwpSuper

If the purpose for learning is to score well on a test, we’ve lost sight of the real reason for learning. pic.twitter.com/B1TLTPy25K

Retweeted by Marzano Research Lab

* Scholastic Teachers ‏@ScholasticTeach

“A mug from SeaWorld that said NICEST NIECE.” —Seema B. #TeacherGifts

* Mr. Jordan ‏@jkltraveler

@awit19 has kids that make reindeer food. #Christmas #TeacherGifts pic.twitter.com/XFIGjJ32A2

* shirely grohmann ‏@ShirelyG

@ShirelyG: @ScholasticTeach An engagement ring a 6th grader gave to me. It belonged to his mom. I returned it.#TeacherGifts

* Scholastic Teachers ‏@ScholasticTeach

“A heartfelt letter in which the student told me I was her second-favorite teacher. I don’t know who number one is.” —Becky G. #TeacherGifts

* McKenzieBrannen ‏@Bran96Mck

#CraftyChristmas #teachergifts made the Christmas tree things around the soap out of old box springs from a bed

 

Strategies:

Club Academia

Mission: Club Academia strives to organize existing knowledge in ways that make learning easily accessible while simultaneously inspiring people to discover and innovate.

 

Since its founding, Club Academia has provided supplemental instruction to students who are struggling with a particular concept and are looking for further explanation. We recognize that often fellow students can most easily help peers understand difficult classroom material. Starting with only four high schoolers uploading videos to a YouTube account, Club Academia has expanded nearly exponentially, currently with 17 video makers and over 300 videos on our website. With the help of the $20,000 Westly Prize grant, we are able to provide equipment for our video-makers and thus create a strong video base. As a result, we are able to expand into more schools and recruit more volunteers to make high-quality videos for our learners!

 

http://clubacademia.org/

Five Tools That Help Students Plan Stories

As a student the importance of planning a story before writing it was driven into my head. Then when I became a teacher, I drove that same message home to my students. Here are five free tools that students can use to plan and outline their stories.

http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2013/12/five-tools-that-help-students-plan.html#.UrW-a2RDu8s

Resources:

Snow Day Calculator

http://www.snowdaycalculator.com/calculator.php

 

Free Images from the British Library

 

We have released over a million images onto Flickr Commons for anyone to use, remix and repurpose. These images were taken from the pages of 17th, 18th and 19th century books digitised by Microsoft who then generously gifted the scanned images to us, allowing us to release them back into the Public Domain. The images themselves cover a startling mix of subjects: There are maps, geological diagrams, beautiful illustrations, comical satire, illuminated and decorative letters, colourful illustrations, landscapes, wall-paintings and so much more that even we are not aware of.

http://www.openculture.com/2013/12/british-library-puts-1000000-images-into-public-domain.html

 

AMLE 2013 Annual Conference

Flipped Classrooms in the Middle Level

Nichole Carter (@MrsCarterHLA)

Conferene handout:  http://goo.gl/r/VnTg  (Note:  the page is down at the time of this podcast.)

Back Channel:  http://goo.gl/f3VaKN

(Note:  The audience was very not back channel savvy and the presenter didn’t incorporate it in their presentation.)

Video Scribe app:  Sparkol Videoscribe is a cheap app for her video presenting.

What is the Flipped Model?

   At it’s core the idea is to take out direct instruction from the classroom and to move the application of the knowledge back in.  It also asks that you rethink the valuable face to face time with students.

   Rethink your face-to-face time with the kids.

   Discussion

   Collaboration

   Project Based Instruction

   Video:  Flipped Classroom G. Johnson from Canada

   nathjohnson.com

Think Feasible!

   If it isn’t something you can maintain, you won’t do it!

   All flipped models are different, that is okay!  Find what works for you and your population of students.

Think about your options:

   Do you want to create your own material?

   TED Ed

   Do you want to use previously made videos?

Can you deliver the content with videos, articles, podcasts?

Delivering the content:

   In a proficiency based program use backwards design linked to the standards.

   Once you know the ending summative assessment you can better breakdown how to deliver the content.

   Jon Bergman says to keep the videos to 15 minutes per grade level.  (For sure 15 minutes or less,)

   2-3 videos per week.  (Max)

   Routine is important.

   Think about what you want to do with them while they are watching these videos.

Do the WSQ!  Flipping with Kirch (look this up)

   Watch and take notes

   Summarize the content

   Question

Think HOT!

   Higher

   Order

   Thinking question

   (See the website for the details.)

The Power of the Pause Button

   It’s important to train students on how to use the videos.

   Teach the students the proper behavior for watching these vidoes.

   They should watch on their own.

   Go at their own pace, teach the  power of the pause button.

   This style of teaching is great for ALL students, they can rewind, pause for their own pace and note taking and rewatch!

First few days of school

   It’s a good idea to model these ideas in class before unleashing the students on their own.

   I like to watch a video that I made explaining these concepts in class. (It’s five minutes long.)

   I have a student come up to my SMART board and control the video, and pause it when they need to.

How to make a video

   Research and create the content.

   Stick with a presentation medium you are comfortable with.

   Do a screencast of the video.

   Recommended:  Screencastomatic.com (Free) limited to 15 mins.

   Sophia.org

   You could use Quicktime on a Mac.

To Face or Not to Face?

   My videos generally are a prezi, or a powerpoint and a voiceover

   Feedback from students last year was that they were fine with a disembodied voice!  This year that might change!

   NO SCRIPT!  DON’T BE A ROBOT!

Guided Notes or Not?

   I started with guided notes last year and ended up dropping them due to keeping my sanity!

Going Digital with Google Forms

   Did a template.

   It saved her sanity!  Grading is now a breeze!

   Name

   Class period

   Type out their summary

   Answer some questions

   Learning target:

   This is an excellent idea!

   Time stamped, sort by name, hour, etc.

   Example:  Summarize, Define 2 terms, What is your question?

Flipping with Sophia.org

   One place to embed your videos, google forms and additional links and resources.

   Track student usage.

   Provide short formative assessment in small quizzes on the content.

   Organize tutorials into playlists.

   Tutorial is one lesson

   Playlist is a unit of content.

Learning Management Systems & Google Sites

   Edmodo and Schoology

   Used in the classroom to push stuff out to the students in a blended learning environment.

   Also a great place for students at home for a central log in and contact with the teacher

   Google Sites.

   One place for parents to go to for information on class.

Accessibility

   Create a google form and find out what students have at home:  technology

   Viewing Parties

   I provide, at least once a week, essentially office hours for students to come in and catch up on their homework.

   Sometimes snacks are provided.

   Videos in class?

   Other Interventions?

Face to face time, how does that change?

   Discussion in class on nightly homework

   Activities and application in class.

   In her class specifically:

   Proficiencies worked out together.

   Reading and discussion time

   Essays done together in class where help can happen whenever a question appears.

   One on one intervention for those students that need help.

Develop your PLN!

   Twitter

   Monday 8-10 pm EST follow #flipclass

   Flipped Learning Network Ning:  http://flippedclassroom.org/

   Google+

   Use the LMS systems too!

Now it’s time for exploration!

   On the conference handout site she has provided a symbaloo full of links that might be helpful to get you started.

email:  ncarter@fgsd.k12.or.us

CEU Code:  ZH-36

 

Random Thoughts . . .

Moodle https://moodle.org/

 

MSM 261: Tynkar, “Waver”, Heartbreaker, Spy (Where’s Waldo?)

Presented in collaboration with the Association for Middle Level Education.

Jokes You Can Use:

Q: What did the ground say to the earthquake?

A: You crack me up!

 

Q: Why did the music teacher need a ladder?

A: To reach the high notes.

 

Q: What’s the worst thing you’re likely to find in the school cafeteria?

A: The Food!

 

Q: What kind of plates do they use on Venus?

A: Flying saucers!

 

Q: Why did nose not want to go to school?

A: He was tired of getting picked on!

 

Q: How do you get straight A’s?

A: By using a ruler!

 

Q: What did the pen say to the pencil?

A: So, what’s your point!

 

Q: Why did the kid study in the airplane?

A: Because he wanted a higher education!

 

Eileen Award:

Advisory:

 

Heartbreak Mapping in Action

 

http://www.angelamaiers.com/2013/11/heartbreak-mapping-in-action.html

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kirrclass/sets/72157636333106976/show

Where’s Waldo

When attempting to find Waldo you can scan the page completely from top to bottom, or you can focus your search around certain landmarks where Waldo seems likely to be hiding (in a castle’s moat, riding a blimp). Neither approach is particularly efficient. Which got me to wondering: What if there’s a better way?

http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/culturebox/2013/11/where_s_waldo_a_new_strategy_for_locating_the_missing_man_in_martin_hanford.html

Middle School Science Minute

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

 

Wave Warnings

 

I was recently reading the October, 2013 issue of Science Scope, a magazine written for Middle School Science Teachers, published by the National Science Teachers Association.  In this issue, I came upon an article entitled, “Wave Warnings,” written by Ken Roy, director of environmental health and safety for Glastonbury Public Schools in Glastonbury, CT.  Within the article, he shares ideas on safety when doing hands-on activities in the study of energy and waves.  He recommends providing safety awareness when students use:

  • Slinkys

  • Lenses

  • Mirrors

  • Light Sources (laser, lightbulb, etc)

  • Tuning Forks

  • Drinking Glasses

  • Wave Tank

  • Sink

  • Student Designed Sound Generators/Musical Instruments

 

http://k12science.net/Podcast/Podcast/Entries/2013/10/24_Middle_School_Science_Minute-Wave_Warnings.html

From the Twitterverse:

Illinois school blocks student access to Google http://trib.in/1h7J3h3  ‘Cause blocking’s better #savekidsfromgoogle #edtech #plaea

* Carol A. Josel ‏@schoolwise

A Third Of Schools Saw Scores Fall After Getting Federal Grants http://huff.to/1ekxFej  via @HuffPostPol

* AppAdvice.com ‏@AppAdvice 9h

PowerPoint Alternative Haiku Deck Now Features Web Syncing For Presentations http://apadv.co/18Y4ARm

George Takei ‏@GeorgeTakei 13h

Nerd humor. pic.twitter.com/7GC7aK06oK

Retweeted by Rick Wormeli

* Jeff Crews ‏@crewsertech

5 Fantastic iPad Apps to Learn Phrasal Verbs: Anytime I reminisce about my English language learning journey, …

* Monte Tatom ‏@drmmtatom

Azendoo – Organize Group Projects Through Documents and Skype Chats http://feedly.com/k/1aNwuTd  ~ #fhuedu642 #fhuedu320 #fhucid #edwebchat

#mschat every Thursday at 8:00 pm Eastern Standard Time.

 

Strategies:

Response: ‘There Is No Such Thing as an Unmotivated Student’

It’s the last staff meeting of teacher work-week.  In two days students will fill the building and the first bell will ring signaling the beginning of the school year. Before this happens, teachers will have the chance to hear from selected members of the student body.  They have been asked to share what motivates and engages them.

Javier starts, “Know our names.  When teachers know who I am, I act better.”

“Yeah,” says David.  “I try harder when you try to help me.  Help us when we get stuck.”

Marisol quietly follows, “I try hardest for teachers who ask me how I am. Sometimes you could ask us how we are doing.”

Smiling, with eyes down, Humberto shyly says, “Try not to be boring.  Teach us stuff we need to know.  Make class interesting.”

All down the line similar responses emerge: Know us.  Care about us.  Engage us.  It is clear kids want to like school.  They want to be motivated.

 

http://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/classroom_qa_with_larry_ferlazzo/2013/11/response_there_is_no_such_thing_as_an_unmotivated_student.html

 

 

Resources:

Tynkar

What it is: Tynker is about the coolest way for kids to learn how to computer program- absolutely NO prior programming experience is needed!  Tynker leads kids through design thinking through interactive courses where kids can learn how to program at their own pace.

http://ilearntechnology.com/?p=5183

 

Web Spotlight:

How Benoit Mandelbrot Discovered Fractals: A Short Film by Errol Morris

Even if you know little of mathematics, you probably have some awareness of fractals. You’ve almost certainly heard them invoked, correctly or otherwise, to describe things that look or act the same at the large scale as they do at the small.

http://www.openculture.com/2013/11/how-benoit-mandelbrot-discovered-fractals-a-short-film-by-errol-morris.html

http://twentytwowords.com/2013/11/22/mathematically-inaccurate-6-year-old-gets-self-confidence/

AMLE 2013 Annual Conference

NAPOMLE (National Association of Professors of Middle Level Education):   Best Practice Presentation Session

Table 5:  CE-MIST  Center for Excellence interdisciplinary

   Ruth Patrick Science Education Center

   http://rpsec.usca.edu/

   Three prongs:  Student, Teacher, . . . ?

   RPSEC modeled the interdisciplinary lesson plans for the schools.

   This was a course requirement, not a field experience piece.

Table 3:  Middle School Student Teachers and Special Education Student Teachers Working Together.  Radford University

   Co teaching situations with special education and regular education teachers doing their student teaching together.

   Cooperating teacher fills out a notebook with talking points and the co-teachers then also fill out a notebook that the supervisor from the university then also looks at when they visit.

   By exchanging the teaching responsibilities, the students viewed the intern as a co-teacher.

   Co-teaching is one content and one special education student teacher in the same room together teaching.

   Prof. Question:  What was the role of the cooperating teacher while the co-student teachers were teaching?

Ans.:  Same as if it was the normal arrangement.

   There was a month of planning before entering the classroom.

   Each student teacher had their own supervisor.

   Student teacher does lesson, other student teacher does the Activity.

   Marilyn Friend has a book on co-teaching.

https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0BxBIONT_-Zb4a2NoMmlkMmJObDg&usp=sharing

Table  3:  Middle School Resident Teacher Program

   Reflect on your first year of teaching

   A significant percentage of teachers quit in the first three years.

   20% of the teacher population is retiring in the next 5 years.

   Purpose is to provide strong mentoring program

   There’s a teacher who mentors the four teachers brought in

   She is there to co-teach, bring in literature, shoulder to cry on, etc.

   She is their mentor

   There’s a university contact that is a university supervisor.

   These are master’s candidates.

One of the purposes is to increase confidence compentency.

   They take on leadership roles in the schools.

   How do you fund the on-site person?  The district hires one person to do this with the university.  She mentors the four residents.

   There are 4 resident teachers per year.

   55 out of 56 are in the teaching profession.

   The mentorship and support makes this happen and the fact that they get to mentor others along the way puts them in a leadership role that lends itself to not leaving the profession because they feel empowered.

   30 of 32 of their master’s credits is waived if they go through this program.

Our Thanks . . .

  • Dave Bydlowski
  • Ron King
  • Dr. Monte Tatom
  • Our listeners

 

MSM 256: Chocolate from nothing – I need to Telegram this!

Presented in collaboration with the Association for Middle Level Education.

Jokes You Can Use:

A group of doctors were out duck hunting, when a large bird flew overhead.

The family doctor raised his gun to shoot, but then lowered his gun saying “I am not sure that is a duck.”

The Psychiatrist raised his gun, but then lowered it again saying “I know it’s a duck, but I’m not sure that it knows it’s a duck.”

The surgeon raises his gun and blasts the bird out of the sky. He turns to the pathologist and says “Go see if that was a duck.”

A frustrated father told a work colleague: “When I was a youngster, I was disciplined by being sent to my room without supper. But in my son’s room, he has his own color TV, computer, games console, cell phone and CD player.” “So what do you do?” The father replied: “I send him to my room!”

 

Did you hear about the dead cabbage?

There was a big turnip at the funeral.

 

Q: What do you get from a pampered cow?

A: Spoiled milk.

 

Vocabulary – Men & Women

 

FINE

This is the word women use to end an argument when they feel they are right and you need to shut up. Never use “fine” to describe how a woman looks – this will cause you to have one of those arguments.

 

FIVE MINUTES

This is half an hour. It is equivalent to the five minutes that your football game is going to last before you take out the trash, so it’s an even trade.

 

NOTHING

This means “something,” and you should be on your toes. “Nothing” is usually used to describe the feeling a woman has of wanting to turn you inside out, upside down, and backwards. “Nothing” usually signifies an argument that will last “Five Minutes” and end with “Fine”

 

GO AHEAD (With Raised Eyebrows)

This is a dare. One that will result in a woman getting upset over “Nothing” and will end with the word “Fine”

 

GO AHEAD (Normal Eyebrows)

This means “I give up” or “do what you want because I don’t care” You will get a “Raised Eyebrow Go Ahead” in just a few minutes, followed by “Nothing” and “Fine” and she will talk to you in about “Five Minutes” when she cools off.

 

LOUD SIGH

This is not actually a word, but is a non-verbal statement often misunderstood by men. A “Loud Sigh” means she thinks you are an idiot at that moment, and wonders why she is wasting her time standing here and arguing with you over “Nothing”

 

SOFT SIGH

Again, not a word, but a non-verbal statement. “Soft Sighs” mean that she is content. Your best bet is to not move or breathe, and she will stay content.

 

THAT’S OKAY

This is one of the most dangerous statements that a woman can make to a man. “That’s Okay” means that she wants to think long and hard before paying you back for whatever it is that you have done. “That’s Okay” is often used with the word “Fine” and in conjunction with a “Raised Eyebrow.”

 

GO AHEAD!

At some point in the near future, you are going to be in some mighty big trouble.

 

PLEASE DO

This is not a statement, it is an offer. A woman is giving you the chance to come up with whatever excuse or reason you have for doing whatever it is that you have done. You have a fair chance with the truth, so be careful and you shouldn’t get a “That’s Okay”

 

THANKS

A woman is thanking you. Do not faint. Just say you’re welcome.

 

THANKS A LOT

This is much different from “Thanks.” A woman will say, “Thanks A Lot” when she is really ticked off at you. It signifies that you have offended her in some callous way, and will be followed by the “Loud Sigh.” Be careful not to ask what is wrong after the “Loud Sigh,” as she will only tell you “Nothing”

 

Advisory:

How to Create Chocolate Out of Nothing

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y13tSEyOqGs

 

Find more Activities:

http://www.marianotomatis.it/EN/index.php

Middle School Science Minute

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

 

MIDDLE SCHOOL SCIENCE MINUTE-ARGUMENTATION AND DISCOURSE

I was recently reading the Summer, 2013 issue of “Science Scope,” a magazine for middle school science teachers, published by the National Science Teachers Association.  Within this issue is the monthly column, “Editors Roundtable,” written by Inez Liftig.  This month, Inez writes about nurturing argumentation and discourse and how it is necessary as we shift toward the Next Generation Science Standards.  She then shares some observations from years of trial and error with implementing student-student interactions and argumentation in her own teaching.

 

http://k12science.net/Podcast/Podcast/Entries/2013/8/23_Middle_School_Science_Minute-Argumentation_and_Discourse.html

From the Twitterverse:

* Derek McCoy ‏@mccoyderek 15m

11 Teaching Strategies For Spotting The Blind Spots In Your Classroom | http://ow.ly/ppg3R

* Kristy_Larson ‏@Teeechur 10h

Ss had the ahha moment 2day “U mean, what I want to do?” This after 3 wks of lead up #geniushour. So thrilled they get it.

* USA TODAY News ‏@usatodaynews 2h

So you want to be an astronaut? Here’s what it takes http://usat.ly/190ENL9

* Marlon Ng ‏@NgMarlon 51m

@the_explicator Words their Way has an ELL edition that goes into the accommodating dif languages #satchat

* Yoon Soo Lim ‏@DoremiGirl 53m

Grant Wiggins: Curriculum Is More Important Than Learning Technology http://zite.to/16p8Zzh  #edchat

* Doug Peterson ‏@dougpete 2h

Teach Kids To Be Their Own Internet Filters | MindShift http://ow.ly/pwqpQ

* StephenPerse PrePrep ‏@SPFPreprep 30 Sep

iPad club learn to ‘Explain Everything’ @SPFSchools pic.twitter.com/0QIOeYJzqe

* Ed ‏@Primary_Ed 5h

54 Classroom Management Resources http://edut.to/16oXBFA  #ntchat #edu #edchat #ukedchat #edtech

* BBC News (World) ‏@BBCWorld 8h

Morocco teens held for kissing photo http://bbc.in/1gcFeFn

* Sean Junkins ‏@sjunkins 3 Oct

PD on Twitter is everything a teachers lounge or faculty meeting should be… inspiring educators with engaging ideas. #denchat

* Paul Blankenship ‏@instruisto 10h

Catherine the Great (“Poker Face” by Lady Gaga) http://youtu.be/SI8UmlYNFNQ

#mschat every Thursday at 8:00 pm Eastern Standard Time.

 

Strategies:

Twitter Posts as Telegrams

These works on paper suggest a speculative overlap between two disparate periods in the history of social media: the 21st-century advent of Twitter, and the 19th- and 20th-century era of the Western Union Telegram. Although the two technologies were never concurrent (the last Western Union Telegram was sent on January 27, 2006, only weeks before the very first tweet on March 21), there are notable similarities between formats, such as the economy of words and syntax imposed by a limited number of characters. Where the two messaging systems differ fundamentally is in the fact that telegrams were expensive and required a massive physical infrastructure for delivery, whereas Twitter is so easy and ubiquitous that users typically broadcast their most banal activities and passing thoughts.

http://charlesgute.com/index2.html

Once I believed

“Recently my leadership coach presented me with a challenge: write about what you have learned in your years of experience as a school leader that you bring to the new position you have begun this year. The task sparked my imagination as I remembered the young educator I was thirteen years ago when I began my first principalship and sixteen years ago when I began my first school administrative position. What is it I believed then, I wondered, and what is it I believe now?”

 

– Although this is done from an educator’s perspective, it could be quite fun to have kids reflect on what they have learned. Have them write out things that they once believed on index cards. This could be a good way to reinforce metacognition.

http://connectedprincipals.com/archives/9038

Resources:

How to Make Your Own Luck

by Maria Popova

If the twentieth-century career was a ladder that we climbed from one predictable rung to the next, the twenty-first-century career is more like a broad rock face that we are all free-climbing. There’s no defined route, and we must use our own ingenuity, training, and strength to rise to the top. We must make our own luck.

Lucky people take advantage of chance occurrences that come their way. Instead of going through life on cruise control, they pay attention to what’s happening around them and, therefore, are able to extract greater value from each situation… Lucky people are also open to novel opportunities and willing to try things outside of their usual experiences. They’re more inclined to pick up a book on an unfamiliar subject, to travel to less familiar destinations, and to interact with people who are different than themselves.

 

We can’t, however, simply will ourselves into better habits. Since willpower is a limited resource, whenever we’ve overexerted our self-discipline in one domain, a concept known as “ego depletion” kicks in and renders us mindless automata in another. Instead, Young suggests, the key to changing a habit is to invest heavily in the early stages of habit-formation so that the behavior becomes automated and we later default into it rather than exhausting our willpower wrestling with it.

 

http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2013/10/01/how-to-make-your-own-luck/

Vizify

Turn your Twitter feed into a video. Learn about your followers and other statistics.

https://www.vizify.com/

https://www.vizify.com/shawn-troy/twitter-video

Free Materials

These top-quality financial literacy materials, including classroom modules, games, DVDs and brochures, are free and available for access now by all educators, parents and consumers. Click “Download” to download an item, or “Add to Cart” to receive it by mail.

 

http://www.practicalmoneyskills.com/resources/free_materials/

MathsFrame

Mix of free and paid Math resources. May be a bit elementary.

http://mathsframe.co.uk/

SciShow

YouTube channel that has tons of good Science stuff. Range in time from a couple of minutes up to about 15.

http://www.youtube.com/user/scishow

 

Graham’s Hierarchy of Disagreement

You’ll want to change the bottom line.

http://thisisnthappiness.com/post/62781098396/grahams-hierarchy-of-disagreement

 

Stanislav Petrov: The man who may have saved the world

Thirty years ago, on 26 September 1983, the world was saved from potential nuclear disaster.

In the early hours of the morning, the Soviet Union’s early-warning systems detected an incoming missile strike from the United States. Computer readouts suggested several missiles had been launched. The protocol for the Soviet military would have been to retaliate with a nuclear attack of its own.

But duty officer Stanislav Petrov – whose job it was to register apparent enemy missile launches – decided not to report them to his superiors, and instead dismissed them as a false alarm.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-24280831

 

Download The Chronicles of Narnia as Free Audiobooks

Through Open Culture I learned that Harper Collins has allowed Ancient Faith Radio to publish free audio recordings of Chrissi Hart reading the stories of The Chronicles of Narnia. You can listen to the recordings online or download them to your computer.

http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2013/10/download-chronicles-of-narnia-as-free.html#.Uk9sCWRASQk

Web Spotlight:

All Technology Is Assistive Technology

Six dispositions for designers on disability

You might imagine that “disability studies” is just one more category of identity that’s purely for political advocacy, interesting only to those directly affected by issues of accessibility, accommodation, or special rights. But “disabledness” is a far more slippery designation than even the other notorious ways cultures have of historically organizing themselves—

First, it’s a false divide to make a we/them: either able-minded, able-bodied, or disabled.

Kids Speak Out on Student Engagement

1. Working with their peers

2. Working with technology

3. Connecting the real world to the work we do/project-based learning

4. Clearly love what you do

5. Get me out of my seat!

6. Bring in visuals

7. Student choice

8. Understand your clients — the kids

9. Mix it up!

10. Be human

 

http://www.edutopia.org/blog/student-engagement-stories-heather-wolpert-gawron

Surface Tablet Review

Likes:

1.  Screen resolution is easy on the eyes.

2.  Programs load fairly quickly.

3.  On-screen keyboard is fairly easy to use.

4.  Battery time is pretty good.

Dislikes:

1.  The non-responsive keyboard is worthless.

2.  Boot time is a little slow.

3.  Updating programs is SLOW.

4.  The Windows 8 tile system is a clunky.  I can only see a few apps at a time and it is a little tricky to move app tiles from place to place.

5.  Sometimes getting the Wi-Fi to work is a pain.  Sometimes it’s easier than the iPad.

6.  OneNote stinks.

7.  Version 2 is coming out not long after I get version 1 . . . granted it was free . . .

MSM 254: Close reading, Misdirection and Misconceptions.

Presented in collaboration with the Association for Middle Level Education.

 

Jokes You Can Use:

An executive was interviewing a young woman for a position in his company. He wanted to learn something about her personality, so he asked, “if you could have a conversation with anyone, living or dead, who would it be?”

 

She quickly responded, “The living one.”

 

What did Mrs. Claus say to Santa as they were looking out their front window?

“Looks like rein dear”

 

Did you know that “verb” is a noun?

If two mouses are mice and two louses are lice, why aren’t two houses hice?

Why is the plural of goose-geese, and not the plural of moose-meese?

Q: Why is the Dalmatian always found when playing hide and go seek?

A: Because his is spotted!

“Last Christmas I got a new rifle for my wife. Good trade, don’t you think?”

On the first day of school, the kindergarten teacher said, “If anyone has to go to the bathroom, hold up two fingers.” A little voice from the back of the classroom asked, “How will that help?”

 

There were three pigs. The biggest pig went to the market and asked for the largest soda. He gulped it up and asked where the bathroom is. “Right over there,” says the store clerk. Then, the middle pig went to the market and asked for the largest soda. He gulped it down and asked where the bathroom was too. “Right over there,” said the store clerk. Finally, the littlest pig came in the market and asked for the largest soda. He gulped it all down. The store clerk asked,” Aren’t you gonna ask where the bathroom is?” “Nope,” said the little pig,” Don’t you remember I’m the one that wee wees all the way home.”

 

Eileen Award:

  • Twitter: Samantha Jenkin, Michelle Cordy,

  • Facebook: Dennis McCall, Susan Rona Stein

 

Advisory:

 

The Art of Misdirection

Have the students watch the video. Ask them some questions about the video. Then ask them if they would be fooled by him. (If possible, pause at the 8:00 minute mark – this is where he reveals that he has adjusted his outfit).

http://www.ted.com/talks/apollo_robbins_the_art_of_misdirection.html

What every teacher ought to do… before it is too late

Posted by Vicki Davis

Many of you have been sharing on Twitter how you’ve had students create cards and do things to say “thank you.” Wherever you live, whoever you are, if you teach – make sure you’ve scheduled one day and one activity this year to thank these heroes of our community.

Yesterday as my students delivered and set up an appreciation for local law enforcement, they were met with gratitude. In two separate places they were told:

“People don’t really want to come down here for good things, it is always the tough things we deal with.”

http://coolcatteacher.blogspot.com/2013/09/what-every-teacher-ought-to-do-before.html

 

Alice Eve explains fitting in….

Good for a discussion about fitting in versus not.

http://twentytwowords.com/2013/09/18/english-actress-discusses-faking-an-american-accent-as-a-child-at-school-in-california/

Middle School Science Minute

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

 

MIDDLE SCHOOL SCIENCE MINUTE-SCIENCE MEETS THE ARTS

I was recently reading the April/May, 2013 issue of “Science Scope,” an magazine for middle school science teachers, published by the National Science Teachers Association.  Within this issue is an article entitled “Science Meets the Arts” written by Lawrence Perretto.  “Science Meets the Arts” is a program that engages students in scientific inquiry by having students create their own realistic wildlife art.  Embedded in this artistic/scientific process are key content connections that meet the Next Generation Life Science Standards.

http://k12science.net/Podcast/Podcast/Entries/2013/7/19_Middle_School_Science_Minute-Science_Meets_the_Arts.html

From the Twitterverse:

Bloom’s Taxonomy for iPads. pic.twitter.com/XIbZyVHdGZ #ukedchat #edchat #edtech #ipadchat #iPad #ipaded

* Scott S. Floyd ‏@woscholar 34m

OH: “I didn’t choose to do homeschooling. Why are you sending 2 or 3 hours of homework home with my child?” #GoodPoint

#mschat this week was co-hosted by @amle on the topic of homework.  Here’s a resource they shared:  http://www.amle.org/BrowsebyTopic/WhatsNew/WNDet/TabId/270/ArtMID/888/ArticleID/332/Value-of-Homework.aspx

* Tami Brass ‏@brasst 34m

“How to Make School Better for Boys” – Boys are born tinkerers… http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2013/09/how-to-make-school-better-for-boys/279635/ …

* Tami Brass ‏@brasst 44m

“6 ChromeOS Tips to Make Chromebook Sparkle” – Although I’m not a diehard Chromebook user, do love the speed http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Gottabemobile/~3/yq441h1APgY/ …

* Jon Samuelson ‏@ipadSammy 58m

Here is the link to the @LiveBinders for @wfryer session on Classroom 2.0 http://www.livebinders.com/play/play?id=966172 … #edcampatl #edcampps

* Larry Ferlazzo ‏@Larryferlazzo 1h

“Parents: 19 Meaningful Questions You Should Ask Your Child’s Teacher” http://engagingparentsinschool.edublogs.org/2013/09/14/parents-19-meaningful-questions-you-should-ask-your-childs-teacher/#.UjSCNXUiCM0.twitter …

* edutopia ‏@edutopia 12 Sep

6 Free Online Resources for Primary Source Documents: http://edut.to/19LsYYa

* Mark Dunk ‏@unklar 2h

How to Close the Achievement Gap: Arts Education http://edut.to/15kqHDA  via @edutopia

* Alec Couros ‏@courosa 2h

To my #ecmp355 preservice teachers – you may want to read this: http://mgraffin.edublogs.org/2013/09/14/meeting-my-first-year-self/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+AReliefTeachersJourney+(A+Relief+Teacher’s+Journey)#.UjR4rGRFxjE … (You have a great opportunity before you right now)

* Scott McLeod ‏@mcleod 12m

#Reading logs aren’t learning, they’re obedience | @lisamorguess HT @raybake #edchat

* Scott McLeod ‏@mcleod 49m

“In education, bad ideas are timeless & good ones are incredibly fragile” | @garystager #edreform #iaedfuture #plaea

* TechSmith ‏@TechSmith 17 Sep

Looking for a better screen recorder? Get a deal on Camtasia for Mac for a limited time! https://stacksocial.com/sales/the-name-your-own-price-mac-bundle-3-0?aid=a-be2zqtey …

* Class Tech Tips ‏@ClassTechTips 1h

iPad QR Scavenger Hunts! Check these out! #edtech #ipaded #edapp #freeapp http://wp.me/p2qsME-5M

* Kevin Cummins ‏@edgalaxy_com 1h

Looking for new ideas to Teach History and Geography – Look no Further than here http://brev.is/h8j2

* MrAspinall ‏@mraspinall 2h

Five obsolete teaching practices. I appreciate #3 http://the21stcenturyprincipal.blogspot.ca/2013/09/5-obsolete-practices-and-ways-of-doing.html?m=1 …

#mschat every Thursday at 8:00 pm Eastern Standard Time.

 

Strategies:

Some Common Alternative Conceptions (Misconceptions)

 

Assign students a misconception that they will teach to the class. Assign can be done via student interest (ie. self-select, random picking or teacher assigned). Have the students work in groups. Their assignment will be to teach the class the misconception and the correct version.

 

  • Science

    • Seasonal Change

    • Knowledge about the Earth

    • Day/Night Cycle

    • Plants

    • Path of blood flow in circulation

    • Categories of Misconceptions (Erroneous Ideas) (See Pelaez, Boyd, Rojas, & Hoover, 2005)

    • Force and Motion of Objects

    • Gravity

    • Ontological Misconceptions

    • Other Misconceptions in Science

    • Epistemological Misconceptions about the Domain of Science Itself (its objectives, methods, and purposes)

  • Mathematics

    • Money

    • Subtraction

    • Multiplication

    • Division

    • Negative Numbers

    • Fractions

    • Decimal/Place-Value

    • Overgeneralization of Conceptions Developed for “Whole Numbers” (cited in Williams & Ryan, 2000)

    • Algebra

  • Language Arts

    • Poetry

    • Language

http://www.apa.org/education/k12/alternative-conceptions.aspx

Resources:

EditMinion

A Web-based companion to Write or Die, EditMinion is similar to After the Deadline. This writer’s companion doesn’t track your work, though. Rather, it provides an editing box for you to cut and paste work for immediate analysis and grading.

Adverbs, clichés, weak phrasing, repetitive usage and more are all laid bare for the author to see, making initial edit passes quick, if not painless.

EditMinion is also free, so the only thing you have to lose is your dignity when a beloved scene fails to make the grade. At least there are no witnesses.

http://editminion.com/

North Jersey schools offering yoga as part of curriculum

 

Many schools in the region offer yoga as part of the curriculum, either in physical education courses or in the classroom setting. In the Fort Lee school system, yoga is incorporated into part of the traditional gym curriculum for grades 9 to 12.

Yoga originates from Eastern religions like Buddhism and Hinduism, but many schools incorporate the physical poses and relaxation without the spiritual aspect.

“A lot of yoga is about being mindful of your space, and that can be a big thing in the classroom,” she said. “Or if kids are having a hard time in class, a teacher might say, ‘OK, let’s refocus and work on our breathing.’ “

“We’ve taken physical education out of many schools and also lost recess in many places,” she said. “At the same time we have an increase in technology, more sitting in one place. I think the increase in popularity of yoga in schools has also come about because of the general interest in mind-body medicine.”

“I talk to them about quieting the mind,” she said. “It’s hard for teenagers to just close their eyes and breathe, but once they get into it, it can be so helpful. I remind them that when they are anxious about a test to use their yoga breathing.”

http://k-12yoga.org/index.php

http://www.northjersey.com/community/224184921_Schools_offering_yoga_as_part_of_curriculum.html

Web Spotlight:

Will an emphasis on ‘close reading’ kill the joy of reading?

 

As most educators know by now, the new Common Core standards emphasize ‘close reading.’ It’s hard to argue with that as a necessary skill for understanding complex writing.

 

BUT… I keep thinking back to some quotes from Kelly Gallagher’s phenomenal book,  Readicide:

 

So I’m torn. I want students to be able to critically analyze what they’re reading but even more importantly I want them to love to read.

 

http://dangerouslyirrelevant.org/2013/09/will-an-emphasis-on-close-reading-kill-the-joy-of-reading.html

 

Half-Baked Ideas . . .

 

David Knox and screen capture.

  • Screenflow
  • Screeny
  • Camtasia
  • Swivl

MSM 253: King Me or Pin Me, the Odds Aren’t Good.

Presented in collaboration with the Association for Middle Level Education.

Jokes You Can Use:

Do you know what happens to quarterbacks when they reach the ends of their lives?

They just pass away.

 

A woman went to her dentist to have her dentures adjusted for the fifth time.

She said they still didn’t fit. “Well,” said the dentist “I’ll do it again this time, but no more. There’s no reason why these shouldn’t fit your mouth easily.”

“Who said anything about my mouth?” he woman answered.

“They don’t fit in the glass!”

 

This police officer sees an old lady driving and knitting at the same time so after driving next to her for awhile he yells to her,”PULLOVER”. She replies,”No, a pair of socks”.

 

A school teacher injured his back and had to wear a plaster cast around the upper part of his body. It fit under his shirt and was not noticeable at all. On the first day of the term, still with the cast under his shirt, he found himself assigned to the toughest students in school. Walking confidently into the rowdy classroom, he opened the window as wide as possible and then busied himself with desk work. When a strong breeze made his tie flap, he took the desk stapler and stapled the tie to his chest. He had no trouble with discipline that term.

Eileen Award:

  • Twitter: Sharon Kea, Michelle Davis, kelboe, Laura Blanchard

  • Diigo (aka ScoopIt for some show hosts): Kaylen Miller

 

Advisory:

 

Can you trust your eyes?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZflIMBxyIak#t=114

 

What are the Odds?

 

What Are The Odds?

by sofyay.
Explore more infographics like this one on the web’s largest information design community – Visually.

http://visual.ly/what-are-odds

Middle School Science Minute

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

Respect the Web

I was recently reading the April/May, 2013 issue of “Science Scope,” an magazine for middle school science teachers, published by the National Science Teachers Association.  The theme of this issue is biodiversity.  In the Editor’s Roundtable, Inez Liftig, writes about the need to respect food webs, food chains, and energy pyramids.  This is because students often think they are “above” nature, not “part of” nature.  We need to help our students understand that our human existence is inextricably linked to the maintenance of Earth’s biodiversity.

From the Twitterverse:

* Cristina Milos ‏@surreallyno

‘”Classroom routines and consistency are far more important in the long run than gimmicks.” @LearningSpy Marathon vs sprint – good analogy.

* Jon Samuelson ‏@ipadSammy

5 Brilliant iPad Educational Apps For Design Learning | @LearnPal http://sco.lt/6rzdgH  #edcampatl #udlchat

* EDTC@UTB ‏@EDTECH_UTB

RT @steinman: Stanford flips the #flipclass model with impressive results http://shrd.by/5w2rH6  #edtech #edchat

* Miguel Guhlin ‏@mguhlin

We Are Teachers http://zite.to/17RLYTo

* Richard Byrne ‏@rmbyrne

Create Mind Maps and Flow Charts With Lucidchart for iPad http://ipadapps4school.com/2013/09/12/create-mind-maps-and-flow-charts-with-lucidchart-for-ipad/ … via @feedly

* Larry Ferlazzo ‏@Larryferlazzo

Fun Cartoon For English Teachers: “A Tense Situation” http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2013/09/13/fun-cartoon-for-english-teachers-a-tense-situation/#.UjRS8hgTar0.twitter …

* Scott Shelhart ‏@KD9SR

Google and Raspberry Pi join forces to create Coder http://gigaom.com/2013/09/13/google-and-raspberry-pi-join-forces-to-create-coder/ … via @gigaom

* Mark Dunk ‏@unklar

Frogs in space: NASA snaps the ultimate photobomb | Fox News http://fxn.ws/1eIqvRZ  via @fxnscitech

* amhistorymuseum ‏@amhistorymuseum

Today in 1814: Soldiers at Ft McHenry raise huge American flag that inspired National Anthem. Visit the flag: – http://ow.ly/oPxQv

* Tra Hall ‏@tra_hall 1h

Four instructional moves to get kids talking in math class http://zite.to/19Qi4jQ  #txed #fundamental5

Miguel Guhlin ‏@mguhlin 2h

The Post-Lecture Classroom: How Will Students Fare? http://zite.to/1gbrvfi  #flipped

#mschat every Thursday at 8:00 pm Eastern Standard Time.

 

Resources:

After the Deadline

After the Deadline helps you write better by adding spell, style, and grammar checking to web applications. You can learn more on our features page.

After the Deadline is available as:

You can also find it as:

  • A plugin option for the IntenseDebate comment system

  • Your proofreader on WordPress.com

For developers we provide plenty of tools to help After the Deadline spread far and wide.

http://www.afterthedeadline.com/

http://www.polishmywriting.com/

 

14 Profound Quotes From The Harry Potter Books

http://www.buzzfeed.com/ariellecalderon/profound-quotes-from-the-harry-potter-books

Web Spotlight:

Why are you working on that?

I’m astounded at how often my children do things for class without understanding the bigger reasons behind WHY they’re doing those things.

http://dangerouslyirrelevant.org/2013/09/why-are-you-working-on-that.html

 

The Two Things Teachers Focus on Most….Instead of Learning

Written by Mark Clements

It’s accidental really. You start off with every intention of making your classroom entirely focused on learning.

Trouble is there are two things teachers frequently “focus” on by accident.

Many teachers spend an exuberant amount of time stressing and punishing kids in the name of “teaching responsibility”.

Behavioral expectations on steroids aren’t the only thing that can cause a classroom teacher to lose focus either.

If you REALLY want to push the boundaries of this “Focus on Learning” thing, then consider you’re your grades actually reflect. Do they reflect student growth? Student knowledge? Or are they some conglomeration of responsibility, task completion, knowledge and skills.

Accurate grading is essential, as is developing a “growth mindset” where students are more interested in improving their knowledge and skills than in simply jumping through the teacher’s hoops.

Teachers believe they are forced to give busy work assignments, grade everything, take off points for late work and give completion points as a means of controlling students.

Instead, teachers should lesson plan and be prepared every day to give quality assignments that only reflect student understanding of a content objective.

 

http://edunators.com/index.php/becoming-the-edunator/is-my-classroom-focused-on-learning/the-two-things-teachers-focus-on-most-instead-of-learning

 

Rick Wormeli: Redos, Retakes, and Do-Overs, Part One

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TM-3PFfIfvI

Why I Hated Meredith’s First Grade Teacher: An Open Letter to America’s Teachers

And then, somehow, without me even realizing, Meredith’s small hand moved from mine to Ms. Miner’s and she was gone. She was swallowed up by the sheer joy this other woman brought into her classroom, into learning, and into my child’s life. “I guess I’ll be going now,” I said to Meredith who was busy putting school supplies away in her desk. “So, I’ll be just around the corner at our house,” I said blinking hard to keep away the tears.” I think she nodded. Perhaps she even paused to wave. My feet couldn’t move and Ms. Miner gently helped me and a few other moms out of the classroom. “She’s really shy,” I said to Ms. Miner just as Meredith sped by holding a new friend’s hand showing her “all these hooks where we can hang our backpacks.”

 

http://kylenebeers.com/blog/2012/08/20/why-i-hated-merediths-first-grade-teacher-an-open-letter-to-americas-teachers/

Be Sure To….

Strategy to help kids reflect.

 

https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/student-goal-setting

MSM 238: Don’t Snooze, Read This, Teach This, Do This

Presented in collaboration with the Association for Middle Level Education.

Jokes You Can Use:

A man was telling his neighbor, “I just bought a new hearing aid. It cost me four thousand dollars, but it’s state of the art. It’s perfect.”

“Really,” answered the neighbor. “What kind is it?”

“Twelve thirty”

 

Steven Spielberg was busy discussing his new action adventure about famous classical composers. Bruce Willis, Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger were in the room. “Who do you want to play?” Spielberg asked Bruce Willis. “I’ve always been a big fan of Chopin,” said Bruce. “I’ll play him.”

“And you, Sylvester?” asked Spielberg. “Mozart’s the one for me!” said Sly.

“And what about you?” Spielberg asked Arnold Schwarzenegger.

“I’ll be Bach,” said Arnie.

 

Eileen Award:

 

  • Google+: Corivida Raven

  • eMail:  Robert Jackson

  • Diigo: Rob Belprez

 

Advisory:

Family Research

The more children knew about their family’s history, the stronger their sense of control over their lives, the higher their self-esteem and the more successfully they believed their families functioned. The “Do You Know?” scale turned out to be the best single predictor of children’s emotional health and happiness.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/17/fashion/the-family-stories-that-bind-us-this-life.html

 

Snooze

Do your students use the snooze button?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=P6zcSFA7ymo

Middle School Science Minute

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

 

Meaningful Science

I was recently reading the March, 2013 issue of Science Scope, a magazine for Middle School Science Teachers, published by the National Science Teachers Association.  Inez Liftig, Editor of Science Scope writes a column entitled “The Editor’s Roundtable.”  In this month’s column, she wrote on the topic of making science meaningful.  Here are her four suggestions:

1.  Get to know your students.

2.  Use authentic tasks to build conceptual bridges between school and everyday life.

3.  Design tasks at the right level.

4.  Give students choices.

 

 

From the Twitterverse:

* Larry Ferlazzo ‏@Larryferlazzo

March Madness In The Classroom – Teaching With Tournament Graphics http://theasideblog.blogspot.com/2013/03/march-madness-in-classroom-teaching.html … via @theASIDEblog

* Rich Kiker ‏@rkiker

Some Tips You Must Learn If You Get A New Google Chromebook http://www.businessinsider.com/google-chromebook-tips-2013-3 …

* Sean Banville ‏@SeanBanville

“South Korea ‘bans’ miniskirts” A 26-page + 30-online-activity lesson – #esl #efl #twinglish #esol  

* Rebecca Davies ‏@becdavies00

Why iPads are better than netbooks in the classroom – a teacher’s perspective http://innovateeducate.edublogs.org/2013/03/20/why-ipads/ … #ntchat #vicpln #edtech

* Will Richardson ‏@willrich45

In case you missed it, we’ve launched Raising Modern Learners, a newsletter for parents. http://willrichardson.com/post/45833469604/announcing-raising-modern-learners … Spread the word!

* Scott McLeod ‏@mcleod 11m

My new video… (Education in a digital world [VIDEO] | Dangerously Irrelevant) http://dangerouslyirrelevant.org/2013/03/education-in-a-digital-world-video.html …

* Todd Bloch ‏@blocht574 22m

AMLE Twitter Event March 28,2013 #MLEM13 http://wp.me/p1Jl35-6P

* Sean Junkins ‏@sjunkins 53m

Instead of teachers evaluating teachers, we use something we call Idea Bandit – visit a classroom and ‘steal’ a great idea. #edcampomaha

* Karle Rewerts ‏@KarleRewerts

What else should I add to this LiveBinder of #MACUL13 resources? http://www.livebinders.com/play/play?id=837423 …

* Monte Tatom ‏@drmmtatom 22 Mar

Studies of #iPad Use in Education http://flip.it/Kvium  #mLearning #fhucid #fhuedu642 ~ for @MSMatters followers

* Monte Tatom ‏@drmmtatom 20h

The 8 Elements Project-Based Learning Must Have http://flip.it/MuAPS  #fhuedu320 #fhuedu508

#mschat every Thursday at 8:00 pm Eastern Standard Time.

 

Resources:

Open Sankoré

Since its inception in 2003, the Open-Sankoré, known at the time as Uniboard, was conceived of for and with teachers/users. With the help of a team made up of professors from the University of Lausanne, specialists in communications, neuropsychologists, and IT developers, Uniboard came to being in the form of a computer tool with the main goal of being as easy to use as a traditional blackboard.

The Open-Sankoré program is a program that combines the simplicity of traditional teaching tools with the advantages that teaching ICTs bring. It works as well on an interactive screen (graphic tablet, PC tablet) as on any other digital interactive table or simply on your personal computer for preparing your presentations.

An integration tool, this combination of a video projector and PowerPoint lets you benefit from the essential contribution of handwriting, while adding the possibility of displaying visuals, images, graphics, videos, or even browsing the internet. These supports can then be commented on or added to at any time, with passages highlighted or commented on in your handwriting using the pen. In the end, class tables are auto-saved and archived in your document library.

http://open-sankore.org/

 

 

Teach This

I created Teach-This.com in order for teachers to share ESL/EFL teaching activities, lessons, worksheets, articles, games and ideas for free. I hope this website can help both new ESL/EFL teachers, and more experienced teachers improve their teaching skills and knowledge.

 

This website is a place where ESL/EFL teachers can come to download the latest teaching materials for use in the classroom. We have teaching activities for all ages and levels. We also have a large variety of ESL games and teaching tips to help you get the most out of teaching. Teach-this.com is aimed at being a hassle-free website without any subscriptions or limitations.

 

I am looking for English teachers who wish to share the ESL/EFL resources they have created. This is vital to the website. The more teachers who submit their teaching activities the bigger and better the site will become. I hope that you will join me in making teach-this.com one of the best ESL/EFL resource sites on the net. Not only will you get to see your resource used by teachers all over the world, but you will also be entered into our monthly competition. If you would like to share, please submit your materials in PDF or Word format on the submit page. You can also email them directly to me at the email address below. Your resources will then be uploaded and shared among our users.

This is a new website, so I would be happy to hear any suggestions or feedback from you to make this website better. I have spent many months creating this website, and I look forward to sharing my teaching knowledge with you. The website is being continually updated, and I thank you for taking the time to view my website.

 

http://www.teach-this.com/

 

 

http://www.opusmath.com/

Web Spotlight:

http://thisisnthappiness.com/post/43964027331/james-baldwin-illuminated

 

 

John Hattie – Educational Research

Part 1 & 2 of edited highlights of a talk given by John Hattie who has led a team at Auckland University, New Zealand which compares the effect on learning of over 100 classroom interventions.

This section looks at methods with negative, or very low effect sizes. Hattie points out that most educational debate is about things which do not really work well.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sng4p3Vsu7Y&feature=youtu.be

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3pD1DFTNQf4

 

iPad:

Makayama Movie Mount for iPad 2nd, 3rd, 4th Gen

Movie Mount  (See also Show 176)

iPad Video Production

With the Movie Mount, you get 10 new features for your iPad (beware that the additional equipment is not incuded):

 

  1. Attached a tripod for stable shots, pan & tilt camera movements. Standard screwfitting.

  2. Use 37 mm conversion lenses, such as wide angle and zoom*. Such as: US / EU

  3. Slide on-the-fly between the built-in lens and the conversion lens.

  4. Use shotgun microphones for better sound (requires splitter cable). Such as: US / EU

  5. Use an optical viewfinder to shoot in bright sunlight. Such as: US / EU

  6. Use a video light for better performance in low light. Such as: US / EU

  7. Easier iMovie editing, with a 9 degrees working angle.

  8. The mount allows your iPad to stand upright and be used as monitor.

  9. The free Movie Mount iPad app allows you to manually control video recording

  10. Fully compatible with Smart Cover.

http://www.makayama.com/moviemount.html

 

 

Half-Baked Ideas . . .

Are conferences better if they are free or paid?

 

 

MSM 208 Pushing the Button

Jokes You Can Use:  

RUTH BUZZI ‏@Ruth_A_Buzzi
Our cat ate a neighbor’s canary this morning; his favorite breakfast is Shredded Tweet. #HappyCATurday
RUTH BUZZI ‏@Ruth_A_Buzzi
People who steal cats are not cat burglars; they’re purr-snatchers. #HappyCATurday
RUTH BUZZI ‏@Ruth_A_Buzzi
You can’t stand puns and you hate cat jokes? You gotta be kitten me. #HappyCATurday

On Our Mind:

Eileen Award:

  • Dr. Monte Tatom, FunDave:  Twitter
  • Curtis Fuller:  email
  • Carol DenOtter:  Facebook

Advisory:

32 Innovations that will change the world

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2012/06/03/magazine/innovations-issue.html

Where kids sleep or A Girl and her room:

http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2012/05/30/a-girl-and-her-room-rania-matar/
http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2011/08/08/where-children-sleep-james-mollison/

The New (AB)Normal:

Big portion sizes have become the new abnormal, and it’s time to scale back.
http://makinghealtheasier.org/newabnormal

Liter of Light

http://isanglitrongliwanag.org/

Effect of Sunlight

http://twentytwowords.com/2012/06/01/what-the-sun-did-to-the-face-of-a-veteran-truck-driver/

How to be Kind:

http://coolcatteacher.blogspot.com/2012/06/10-inexpensive-ways-to-be-kind.html

Middle School Science Minute

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

In the April/May, 2012 issue of Science Scope, a publication of the National Science Teachers Association, there is an article entitled, “More Than Just Guessing: The Difference Between Prediction and Hypothesis,” written by Michelle Scribner-MacLean.
The topic of the article is to help teachers and students understand the difference between the two terms.  Knowing the difference between making a prediction and formulating a hypothesis can go a long way toward helping students develop scientific literacy.

From the Twitterverse:

* Chris Christensen ‏@christensen143
8 iOS Apps for the Hearing Impaired | Mac|Life #spedchat #ipaded
* Larry Ferlazzo ‏@Larryferlazzo
In case u missed it “Several Ways to Connect With Disengaged Students”

“Twilight Of The Lecture”

New additions to “The Best Sites To Practice Speaking English”

* Will Richardson ‏@willrich45
I’m stunned by how many educators are willing to embrace the Common Core w/o even a question as to their efficacy. #justsayin
* Rich Kiker ‏@rkiker
How Teachers Make Cell Phones Work in the Classroom
* Kelly Hines ‏@kellyhines
I love it when my morning email from my calendar says “You have no events scheduled for today”
* Gary Johnston ‏@GaryJohnston1
How to make flipped lessons meaningful. I’ll link some video examples next year. http://teachingaheadofthecurve.blogspot.com/2012/06/making-flipped-lessons-meaningful.html
* DeeAnna Nagel ‏@TherapyOnline
Using Laptops at Conference – useful or irritating? Join the discussion! http://brev.is/hPy2
* Luann Lee ‏@stardiverr
Burning mine. RT @nancyflanagan School dist. outside Philly decides to force teachers w/ PhDs to work part-time:http://tinyurl.com/77ww8vy

@stardiverr @nancyflanagan You know our society is really going down fast when teachers must now hide the fact that they are highly educated
laflin ‏@Zach_NxNW
@stardiverr That makes sense. Make the more educated teachers work less!

* Times Education ‏@TimesEducation
Social mobility tsar demands new curbs on private schools http://thetim.es/Mghowj
* Rich Kiker ‏@rkiker
Illiteracy in America: INFOGRAPHIC #edchat
* Diane Ravitch ‏@DianeRavitch
Long Arm of Federal Control Reaches Districts http://wp.me/p2odLa-cw via @wordpressdotcom
* Patrick Larkin ‏@bhsprincipal
School Leadership is A LOT like Lifeguarding [Slide] via @plugusin #cpchat
* Chris Sousa ‏@csousanh
Really, schools aren’t struggling because of failing teachers! Another politically motivated beating: http://huff.to/N02GbW #midleved #edchat
* Monte Tatom ‏@drmmtatom
5 Ways Twitter Strengthens A School’s Learning Community ~ for @msmatters followers ~ #fhucid #fhuedu642 http://tinyurl.com/brz9cyw

News:

Bunkum Awards

The award show for shoddy Educational Research…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=P-hJagz6ytM
http://nepc.colorado.edu/think-tank/bunkum-awards/2011

Resources:

Google World Wonders Project

The Google World Wonders Project is a platform which brings world heritage sites of the modern and ancient world online. Using Street View, 3D modeling and other Google technologies, we have made these amazing sites accessible to everyone across the globe. With videos, photos and in-depth information, you can now explore the world wonders from your armchair just as if you were there.
http://www.google.com/culturalinstitute/worldwonders/
or
http://coolcatteacher.blogspot.com/2012/06/world-wonders-new-flipped-classroom.html

How Long Would It Take You to Read “War and Peace?”

From Lee Kolbert:
I just stumbled across this reading test that assesses how fast you read at your normal pace. (My score was 369 WPM – 48% faster than the national average.) The free test includes a just a few comprehension questions and in all will only take a few minutes.
http://www.leekolbert.com/2012/05/how-long-would-it-take-you-to-read-war.html

Web Spotlight:

Child Poverty


http://scholasticadministrator.typepad.com/thisweekineducation/2012/05/charts-pay-no-attention-to-the-nations-child-poverty-rate.html
The Chart:
http://scholasticadministrator.typepad.com/.a/6a00e54f8c25c988340168ebef9408970c-popup

Examples of PBL

APHistory. Interesting use of Google Sites. What if projects. The kids also published their work.
https://sites.google.com/a/micds.org/apush-2011-2012-final-projects/

Nathan Hall: 100+ Student Sites that don’t require registration

http://www.diigo.com/list/nathanghall/no-registration-needed-for-students

Strategies:

Games to Enhance Classroom Teaching

http://people.uncw.edu/ertzbergerj/all.html

ScienceFix: YouTube Science Channel for Middle School Experiments

My name is Darren Fix, and I made ScienceFix.com to share my favorite demos that I do in my middle school science classes.
http://www.youtube.com/user/sciencefix

Video of the Podcast:

http://youtu.be/Bh_3Jl_eHEk

Events & Happenings:

Calendar of Events:

Ohio Middle Level Association:


AMLE Affiliate Conferences:


Classroom 2.0’s Live Calendar.

MSM 207 Hanging Out

Jokes You Can Use:

All visual jokes today.  (Go see the Google+ recording.)  

On Our Mind:

Kathy Hunt-Ullock 1951-2012
AMLE Remarks:  “Kathy Hunt-Ullock passed away on Saturday, May 19, surrounded by family and friends. She was a well-loved member of the AMLE family, developing friendships along the way as she espoused doing what’s best for middle grades students. She will be greatly missed by all of us in the middle level education community.”
Kathy’s Website

Virtual Presentations:

MiddleTalk:  9 Dangerous Things & Book Club this summer

9 Dangerous things you were taught in school:
1. The people in charge have all the answers.
That’s why they are so wealthy and happy and healthy and powerful—ask any teacher.

2. Learning ends when you leave the classroom.
Your fort building, trail forging, frog catching, friend making, game playing, and drawing won’t earn you any extra credit. Just watch TV.

3. The best and brightest follow the rules.
You will be rewarded for your subordination, just not as much as your superiors, who, of course, have their own rules.

4. What the books say is always true.
Now go read your “world is flat” chapter. There will be a test.

5. There is a very clear, single path to success.
It’s called college. Everyone can join the top 1% if they do well enough in school and ignore the basic math problem inherent in that idea.

6. Behaving yourself is as important as getting good marks.
Whistle-blowing, questioning the status quo, and thinking your own thoughts are no-nos. Be quiet and get back on the assembly line.

7. Standardized tests measure your value.
By value, I’m talking about future earning potential, not anything else that might have other kinds of value.

8. Days off are always more fun than sitting in the classroom.
You are trained from a young age to base your life around dribbles of allocated vacation. Be grateful for them.

9. The purpose of your education is your future career.
And so you will be taught to be a good worker. You have to teach yourself how to be something more.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/jessicahagy/2012/05/02/nine-dangerous-things-you-were-taught-in-school/2/

 

Eileen Award:

  • Twitter People:  Gary Johnston, Jeff Trudell, Aric Haley, Michael Jones, Connect Michigan (Michigan Public Service Commission), and @HeyLeeAnn!

Advisory:

New Computer Algorithm Knows Your Phony Smile [VIDEO]

Can you tell whether a smile is real or not?
http://mashable.com/2012/05/25/algorithm-smile/

Middle School Science Minute

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

In the April/May, 2012 issue of Science Scope, a publication of the National Science Teachers Association, two articles dealt with the topic of misconceptions

In the first article, “Misunderstanding Misconceptions,” Page Keeley defines the term misconceptions.  In the second article, “Investigating Students’ Ideas About the Flow of Matter and Energy in Living Systems,” authors Melanie Taylor, Kimberly Cohen, R. Keith Esch, and P. Sean Smith give examples of student misconceptions and provide the corresponding correct ideas.  The topic of this podcast mainly focuses in on the process of photosynthesis.

 

From the Twitterverse:

* Ron Peck ‏@Ron_Peck
Pls help @cybraryman1 get to #ISTE12 by assisting the #istenewbie12 project -> #cpchat #edchat #edcampphillyYay! We are at 70% of our #ISTE12 Newbie Project goal and payday is near. Plz help @cybraryman1 get to ISTE. #edchat
iPad Plaza ‏@iPadPlaza
Apple iPad May Be Getting Microsoft Office Soon http://sns.mx/gnlDy1 #iPad
* Jeff Johnson ‏@ipadeducators
iBooks & grade7: http://ow.ly/bah12 #ipaded #ipadedchat #abed
* Eric Sheninger ‏@NMHS_Principal
Think-Pair-Share Variations by @kathyperret http://buff.ly/KGb0t1
* Jeff Russell ‏@jrussellteacher
A Standardized Composition Test http://pulse.me/s/9EpL9
* ABC News ‏@ABC
10 Cheap Gizmos and Ordinary Items Every Traveler Needs http://abcn.ws/JBuPX7
* pammoran ‏@pammoran
Why one shot “national” tests of any kind fail as authentic assessments of and for learning http://j.mp/JBjLV3 shared by @saorog
* Carol A. Josel ‏@schoolwise
‘Facebook parenting’ is destroying our children’s privacy http://www.cnn.com/2012/05/25/opinion/sultan-miller-facebook-parenting/index.html #cnn
* Maggie Cary ‏@maggiecary
How to Handle the Class Clown:
* World and Everything ‏@TWERadio
A Memorial Day edition of ‘The World & Everything in It’: Guarding the Tomb of the Unknowns, 150th anniv. of Taps, more http://ow.ly/basz5
* LeeAnn ‏@HeyLeeAnn
Grockit Launches Learnist, a Pinterest for Education http://zite.to/LtePR0 via @zite
 Larry Ferlazzo ‏@Larryferlazzo
How NOT To Prepare A Student For A Standardized Test“Parents Describe Why and How They are Engaged in Their Children’s Learning”
* Bill Ivey ‏@bivey
MT @plugusin: from @teachingquality: The Sad Irony Behind Teacher Leadership – http://ow.ly/b0MrM <Is it an irony deliberately created?
* Steven W. Anderson ‏@web20classroom
From @timbuckteeth-5 Tools For The Global Educator:
*Neil deGrasse Tyson‏@neiltysonKnowing how to think empowers you far beyond those who know only what to think.

 

 

News:

Educators Use Mobile Devices More Than General Public

Principals and administrators are also more likely to use those devices than the teachers and librarians they oversee, the report says, though teachers are also more frequent users of those tools than the general public.
“For many of us, we cannot truly appreciate the value of a new technology tool until we have realized a direct benefit from its use in our personal or work life,” said Julie Evans, the president and CEO of Project Tomorrow, the Irvine, Calif.-based nonprofit education research organization that conducts the Speak Up survey, in a statement. “That’s the same for educators.”
Administrators who used smartphones or tablets were found roughly twice as likely to consider a bring-your-own-technology approach for students at their campuses, pilot such a policy, or work in a school or district that provided students mobile devices for educational use.
http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/DigitalEducation/2012/05/educators_more_likely_to_use_m.html

How summer increases the achievement gap

Much of the discussion about the wide discrepancies in educational achievement between poor and affluent students is focused on what schools and teachers should be doing to close it. But researchers are gathering more evidence suggesting that summer—when students are typically out of contact with their schools and teachers—is one of the root causes of the gap.
http://hechingered.org/content/how-summer-increases-the-achievement-gap_5072/

 

Our Principal’s Reaction To Being Included In The Wash. Post’s List Of Top High Schools

Two years ago we were on a list of schools described as ‘dropout factories.’ And now, two years later, without doing anything substantially different, we are listed among the top nine percent of high schools in the country only because a different metric was used.  This seems to be a blatant example of how these types of quantitative evaluations lack substance.”)
http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2012/05/20/our-principals-reaction-to-being-included-in-the-wash-posts-list-of-top-high-schools/

 

Standards would immerse Arizona students in science

Arizona is one of 26 states leading a nationwide initiative aimed at improving science education by requiring a deeper understanding of key concepts and incorporating science and technology in all subjects.
The new standards are based on a framework developed by the National Research Council with input from the National Science Teachers Association and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
The science standards are separate from but align with the new Common Core State Standards that Arizona will implement in English and math.
Under Next Generation, students will be expected to tackle actual problems — for example, a jammed-up school-bus lane — using engineering concepts.
Adding more hands-on projects will be a big change for teachers
Kaufmann said the next step will be to create a national science exam, which is probably at least five years away.
“I have to tell you, until there is a test that counts, science is still is not going to be as important, especially in the elementary grades.”
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2012/05/17/20120517arizona-science-standards.html

Student Principals (Contributed by Ron King)


How would students run the show if given a chance?
http://groups.diigo.com/site/redirect_item/student-principals-5342100

Resources:

Mr. Rogers talks sarcastically about children and consumerism

Apparently, kids and consumerism is nothing new.
http://twentytwowords.com/2012/05/25/mr-rogers-talks-sarcastically-about-children-and-consumerism/

Web Citizenship and Media Literacy Curriculum (Contributed by Ron King via Diigo)
http://groups.diigo.com/site/redirect_item/digital-literacy-and-citizenship-curriculum-for-grades-6-8-5342096

Play me a story?

Playfic, the online community that lets you write, remix, share, and play interactive text-based games with the world.
There is definitely a learning curve with the site.
http://playfic.com/

Burn Note

Burn Note lets you send messages that are deleted after they are read.
You can use Burn Note to send a password or have an off-the-record conversation with a friend.
https://burnnote.com/#/

Readlists

What’s a Readlist? A group of web pages—articles, recipes, course materials, anything—bundled into an e-book you can send to your Kindle, iPad, or iPhone.
http://readlists.com/

Easy Web Calendar

Localendar is great for Churches, Schools, Teams, Non-Profits, Families, and Webmasters that need a free web calendar
http://www.localendar.com/elsie

Web Spotlight:

Honesty In The Computer Lab

The reason I’m writing about this today is because of a guest column written by researcher Dan Ariely in The Wall Street Journal today — Why We Lie. It’s an excerpt from his newest book.
I’ve found that when I remember to apply my own version of that method — before we head to the lab, I take less than a minute to remind people why it’s important to listen to the English audio for their own development and because I want to be able to trust them — it’s hardly ever an issue. After that 40 second “spiel,” I also ask people to raise their hands if they commit to staying only on the assigned sites.
http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2012/05/25/honesty-in-the-computer-lab/

 

Knowledge Graph

The Knowledge Graph enables you to search for things, people or places that Google knows about—landmarks, celebrities, cities, sports teams, buildings, geographical features, movies, celestial objects, works of art and more—and instantly get information that’s relevant to your query. This is a critical first step towards building the next generation of search, which taps into the collective intelligence of the web and understands the world a bit more like people do.
http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2012/05/introducing-knowledge-graph-things-not.html

Strategies:

Project-Based Learning: Success Start to Finish

http://www.edutopia.org/stw-project-based-learning-best-practices

Events & Happenings:

Calendar of Events:

Ohio Middle Level Association:


AMLE Affiliate Conferences:


Classroom 2.0’s Live Calendar.

View the video of the recording here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtMMxnQFY1c