Middle School Matters

Call Us at (262) 724-6653 (ana-schoold) (Google Voice)

Diigo Group: http://groups.diigo.com/group/middle-school-matters

email: [email protected]

Twitter: @MSMatters

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Middle-School-Matters/348279537549

iTunes: http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/middle-school-matters/id261383649

Google+:https://plus.google.com/u/1/104676757968930789769/

Comments: Middle School Matters: http://middleschoolmatters.com

MSM 252: He took the Rhom-bus, Jim!

Presented in collaboration with the Association for Middle Level Education.

Jokes You Can Use:

An American tourist was lunching in a restaurant in China where the specialty was duck. The waiter explained each dish as he brought it to the table. "This is the breast of the duck; this the leg of the duck; this is the wing of the duck; etc." Then came the dish that the American knew was chicken. He waited for the explanation. Silence. "Well?" he finally asked, "What's this?" The waiter replied, "It's a friend of duck."

Waiter: And how did you find your steak, sir?

Customer: Well, I just pushed aside a bean and there it was!

What do you call a bear in the rain? A drizzly bear

What did the bean say to the bean?

Why do are seagulls called seagulls?

Three tomatoes are walking down the street.

What lights up a soccer stadium?

When’s the best time to go to the dentist?

Eileen Award:

Twitter: Mike Hanlon, Steve Woods

email: Patti Kinney (NASSP)

Advisory:

Middle School Science Minute

by Dave Bydlowski (k12science or [email protected])

Nature Study Practitioners:

I was recently reading the Spring, 2013 issue of Green Teacher magazine. One of the articles in this issue was entitled, "The Nature-Study Movement" written by Kelly Johnson. She found that by revisiting this historic movement it reinforces the importance of integrating art and science when helping children get engaged with the natural world. Within the article, the author shares stories about her three favorite Nature-Study Practitioners. They are:

1. Anna Botsford Comstock

2. Beatrix Potter

3. Rachel Carson

http://k12science.net/Podcast/Podcast/Entries/2013/7/3_Middle_School_Science_Minute-Nature_Study_Practitioners.html

From the Twitterverse:

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

Resources:

Movie Teachers

Read more: http://entertainment.time.com/2013/09/05/back-to-school-10-great-movie-teachers/slide/all/#ixzz2eDTIaJNS

http://entertainment.time.com/2013/09/05/back-to-school-10-great-movie-teachers/slide/all/

Task Timer

from Richard Byrne

http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2013/09/a-task-timer-to-use-offline-or-online.html#.Uis1J2RASQk

Visual.ly

Click on the search button to find infographics for your area.

http://visual.ly/

Delayed Gratification

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

Things to Think About

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/things-to-think-about/id664670576?mt=8

Socrative Back Channel

http://www.socrative.com/garden/?p=1651

Web Spotlight:

The Ruthless Global Battle for Your Back-to-School Shopping Dollars

http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2013/08/the-ruthless-global-battle-for-your-back-to-school-shopping-dollars/279057/#comments

The Biggest “Game-Changer” in Education

September 5, 2013

By George Couros

http://connectedprincipals.com/archives/8916#

School bullying's chilling new front

By Francey Hakes, Special to CNN

http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/05/opinion/hakes-bullying/index.html

http://dangerouslyirrelevant.org/2013/09/this-is-not-the-answer-to-cyberbullying.html

MSM 251: Baby needs a new pair of shoes, Shawn needs a new MODEM...

Presented in collaboration with the Association for Middle Level Education.

Jokes You Can Use:

Eileen Award:

Twitter: Diana Darrow, Jason Elsom, Miles MacFarlane, Pat McCarty

Advisory:

Twitter Beard

(from Ron King)

For the past three years I've been teaching "Digital Illustration" in a local college VC program. For this terms final project I assigned the students an "Illustrative Mask" for them to create over a four week period were we focused on each phase of the creative process: Thumbnails, Sketches, Comps, and Final Art all being art directed by myself and peer reviewed.

*Includes link to model beard.

http://artbackwash.blogspot.com/2009/06/twitter-beard.html

9 Skills That Every Kid Should Learn

http://www.lifehack.org/articles/lifestyle/9-skills-that-every-kid-should-learn.html

Middle School Science Minute

by Dave Bydlowski (k12science or [email protected])

Eyewash Stations

http://k12science.net/Podcast/Podcast/Entries/2013/6/28_Middle_School_Science_Minute-Eyewash_Stations.html

From the Twitterverse:

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

Resources:

http://www.upworthy.com/we-have-been-mislead-by-an-erroneous-map-of-the-world-for-500-years

Money

http://www.theatlantic.com/video/archive/2013/08/what-is-money/278980/

Web Spotlight:

Add Images to a Google Form

Terrific tutorial by Richard Byrne.

Yhttp://www.freetech4teachers.com/2013/08/how-to-create-image-based-quizzes-in.html#.UiH7smRASQk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRl1dG4iehk#t=169

Moon Phases Explained (with Oreo cookies)

Hey, Oreo cookies, what more could you want?

http://davidwarlick.com/2cents/?p=4400

Hi Guys,

Thought of you when I saw this on ASCD:

Five follow-worthy ed-tech Pinterest boards

Administrators, educators will find ed-tech resources for engaging instruction, professional development

Shelly Terrell‘s 46 boards focus on a variety of resources, including digital storytelling, presentation tools, word cloud tools, online games, graphic organizers, and collaboration tools.

http://pinterest.com/shellyterrell/

Eric Sheninger‘s Twitter Resources board includes tips for administrators and teachers alike, including using Twitter for professional development, how to help teachers overcome Twitter fears, and more. Sheninger’s other boards focus on personal learning networks, Web 2.0, and iPad apps for administrators.

http://pinterest.com/esheninger/

Kristin Brynteson‘s ed-tech board includes pins on iPad apps, interactive learning sites, flipped learning, and collaborative and engaging educational resources.

http://pinterest.com/kbrynteson/ed-tech/

All Things Technology, from Mary Lirette, features writing websites, free online books, and professional development videos in its more than 800 pins. Lirette’s main Pinterest board is chock full of educational resources and has more than 4,200 pins.

http://pinterest.com/marylirette/all-things-technology/

Erin Klein‘s EduTech Resources board offers users a multitude of ed-tech tips and tools, including a list of educational and ed-tech websites, ISTE sessions, instructions on how to integrate various apps with one another, resources on digital citizenship, and more.

http://pinterest.com/erinklein/edutech-resources/

Time Management: Planning for the Adventure

Think of planning for the school year as planning for an adventure. If we are going to teach like pirates, we'd better be well prepared for those duels and treasure hunts.

Prioritize

Make a List and Set a Timeline

Enlist Students to Join Your Crew

Refer to Your Outside Compass and PLN

Don't Be Afraid to Say "No" (Arrr . . .)

http://www.edutopia.org/blog/time-management-planning-the-adventure-clara-galan

Parents hope school district learns from heat cancellations

http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2013/08/29/parents-react-heat-class-cancellations

Presented in collaboration with the Association for Middle Level Education.

Jokes You Can Use:

Why was the archaeologist depressed?

His career was in ruins.

What's the most commonly misspelled blood group?

Typo.

What do you call Santa's helpers?

Subordinate clauses.

Why was the computer tired when it got home?

Because it had a hard drive.

What do you call dyslexic owls?

Slow.

Eileen Award:

iTunes: Busbyscience

Twitter: Joy Kirr, Paul Dunford, Don Wettrick, Kyle Mayer

Diigo:

Facebook: Christine Fleisher, Smoth John

Advisory:

Red Cross Baby Sitting Courses

Introductory Video -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mIS1UQY2_Q

http://www.redcross.org/take-a-class/program-highlights/babysitting-caregiving

Middle School Science Minute

by Dave Bydlowski (k12science or [email protected])

Choice Eliminates Complacency

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. An article that caught my attention was:

"Choice: The Dragon Slayer of Student Complacency." It was written by Douglas Llewellyn.

The article focuses in on the the skills that middle level teachers have that help them capture student interest. The teacher skills are:

1. Differentiate instruction to suit the needs of individual students.

2. Provide intrinsic motivation for learning by offering choice.

3. Engage students in the learning process.

You can find it online at:

http://k12science.net/Podcast/Podcast/Entries/2013/6/24_Middle_School_Science_Minute-Choice_Eliminates_Complacency.html

From the Twitterverse:

Resources:

http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2013/08/100-tips-for-new-teachers-and-good.html#.Uhi6JmRASQk

47+ Alternatives to Using YouTube in the Classroom

http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2010/09/47-alternatives-to-using-youtube-in.html#.Uhi7nmRASQk

Lingualy.

http://lingua.ly/

Getty

http://blogs.getty.edu/iris/open-content-an-idea-whose-time-has-come/

Unsplash

Free (do whatever you want) hi-resolution photos.

10 new photos every 10 days.

Good for background images. Also useful for writing assignments.

http://unsplash.com/

40 maps that explain the world

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2013/08/12/40-maps-that-explain-the-world/

RIP, Elmore Leonard: The Beloved Author’s 10 Rules of Writing

http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2013/08/21/elmore-leonard-10-rules-of-writing/

Web Spotlight:

Moodle

Inspiring better teaching everywhere. Welcome to the first official Moodle MOOC (Massive Open Online Course). Our first course for teachers runs for four weeks, starting 1st September 2013.

http://learn.moodle.net/

A teacher's heart speaks on the first day of school

http://coolcatteacher.blogspot.com/2013/08/a-teacher-heart-speaks-on-first-day-of.html

How come officials could predict new test score results?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2013/08/12/how-come-officials-could-predict-results-on-new-test-scores/

MSM 249: In spite of it all, here’s a show....

Presented in collaboration with the Association for Middle Level Education.

Jokes You Can Use:

Eileen Award:

iTunes:

Twitter: Michael Smith, Todd VanHorn, Sue Waters, AJ Juliani, Shelley Burgess, Patrick Larkin, Lisa Linn, Alec Couros, Darin Jolly and Vicky Smart,

Diigo: Ron King.

Facebook: Kathy Rose

Advisory:

7 Word Autobiographies

http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2013/07/11/nypl-live-holdengraber-7-word-bios/

Middle School Science Minute

by Dave Bydlowski (k12science or [email protected])

Design Based Troubleshooting

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. An article that caught my attention was:

"Troubleshooting: A bridge that connects engineering design and scientific inquiry." It was written by David Crismond.

This article compares classic troubleshooting versus design-based troubleshooting. The emphasis of troubleshooting is on observing, diagnosing, explaining, and fixing. Troubleshooting stands ready as a bridge that can link the practices of engineering design with those of scientific inquiry.

From the Twitterverse:

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

Resources:

ISTE Videos

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?hl=en&gl=US&client=mv-google&list=PL6aVN_9hcQEFDH57WbT4sY8xQ6Mpp5kbO&nomobile=1

Goals

http://coolcatteacher.blogspot.com/2013/07/why-you-should-set-soft-goals-for-your.html?m=1

How to Nap

http://holykaw.alltop.com/how-to-nap-effectively-infographic?tu2=1

ColAR

Color in the book pages and then see them come to life as they pop out of the page as 3D models on your mobile

http://colarapp.com/

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/colar-mix/id650645305?mt=8&ign-mpt=uo%3D4

RSA Videos:

Sir Kenneth Robinson - How to find your element

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

Carol Dweck - How to Help Every Child Fulfil Their Potential

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyVZ0KKJuTg

Web Spotlight:

ISTE Follow Up

Everyone loves Instagram.

Pinterest is gaining popularity as a way to collect and share resources.

Google Glass has the biggest “wow” factor amongst the ed tech crowd since the first iPhone.

The shift from tools to best practices has made major strides (or maybe I just picked better sessions this year.)

ISTE is less about technology and more about education reform, transformation, and 21st century learning.

The commercialization of education is far too prominent at ISTE.

My best learning still takes place in unstructured situations.

We as teachers need to learn how to be learners again.

Students need to hear less talking and have more time for exploration, self-directed learning, and failure.

We need to take back play and bring the fun and games back to learning.

Teachers don’t share their work because they don’t think they have anything remarkable to share.

You and I are the change makers.

http://thecornerstoneforteachers.com/2013/06/big-ideas-from-iste-2013.html

The world’s most famous teacher blasts school reform

The most famous teacher in the world is not a fan of high-stakes standardized tests, Teach For America or the Common Core State Standards.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2013/07/16/the-worlds-most-famous-teacher-blasts-school-reform/?wprss=rss_education&clsrd

Music that you listen to as you work:

Wait, what about teachers?.....

http://columnfivemedia.com/work-items/sonos-infographic-working-jams-what-music-to-listen-to-on-the-job/

Half-Baked Ideas . . .

BossJock

Visual Notes.

MSM 248: Visual Notetaking . . . but this is a Podcast . . .

Presented in collaboration with the Association for Middle Level Education.

Jokes You Can Use:

Eileen Award:

Advisory:

Futuristic Inventions

200 Calories

Middle School Science Minute

by Dave Bydlowski (k12science or [email protected])

Middle School Science Minute -- PBL and Fossil Finders

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. An article that caught my attention was:

"Fossil Finders: Engaging All of Your Students Using, Project-Based Learning." It was written by Timothy Conner, Daniel Capps, Barbara Crawford, and Robert Ross.

The article does a nice job of explaining Project -Based Learning (PBL), why they use PBL and how Fossil Finders fits into the curriculum. You can learn more about Fossil Finders by visiting:

http://www.fossilfinders.org

From the Twitterverse:

Resources:

Adobe FormsCentral

One take on Standardized Testing

Do you know a class like this?

Coggle

Unleash your creativity

https://coggle.it/

MindMup

These can be created in a number of places. You can create a public one, an offline version or save one in your Google Drive.

http://www.mindmup.com/#m:new

Free Resources from Larry Ferlazzo

Web Spotlight:

How To Learn Math

http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2013/07/how-to-learn-math.html

Cinema Effects

http://youtu.be/XHa98mDfOR4

Visual Notetaking

http://www.speedofcreativity.org/2013/06/26/visual-notetaking-at-iste-2013/

How to Create Visual

http://youtu.be/qRJG46hUAW8

Stop Penalizing Boys for Not Being Able to Sit Still at School

http://www.theatlantic.com/sexes/archive/2013/06/stop-penalizing-boys-for-not-being-able-to-sit-still-at-school/276976/

Half-Baked Ideas . . .

Visual Recording

Presented in collaboration with the Association for Middle Level Education.

Jokes You Can Use:

Eileen Award:

iTunes:

Twitter: Chelsy Hooper, Dianne Krause, Emily Runyan, Kelly Dumont, Matt Graves, Bob Krause, Mark Levine, Gayle Andrews

Diigo:

Facebook: Raymond Porten

Advisory:

9 Ways To Be A Better Person

1. Be Willing To Change

2. Stop Making Excuses

3. Stop Being Angry

4. Be A Role Model

5. Forgive Someone

6. Listen To People

7. Be Honest

8. Do Something You Don’t Want To

9. Surprise Someone Special

http://www.lifehack.org/articles/communication/9-ways-better-person.html

Middle School Science Minute

by Dave Bydlowski (k12science or [email protected])

Safety Contracts

From the Twitterverse:

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

Resources:

PhotoFilmStrip

PhotoFilmStrip creates movie serial output possibilities for VCD, SVCD, DVD up to FULL-HD. Creates animated slideshows.

http://sourceforge.net/projects/photostoryx/

THE GIFT OF DOUBT

Albert O. Hirschman and the power of failure.

BY MALCOLM GLADWELL

In the mid-nineteenth century, work began on a crucial section of the railway line connecting Boston to the Hudson River.

James Hayward, one of New England’s leading railroad engineers, estimated that penetrating the Hoosac would cost, at most, a very manageable two million dollars.

Everyone was wrong. Digging through the Hoosac turned out to be a nightmare. The project cost more than ten times the budgeted estimate.

http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/books/2013/06/24/130624crbo_books_gladwell

Web Spotlight:

Nine Things Educators Need to Know About the Brain

The human brain wasn’t designed for industrial education.

1. The brain is a social organ.

Our brains require stimulation and connection to survive and thrive.

From a neurobiological perspective, the position of the teacher is very similar to that of the parent in building the child’s brain.

2. We have two brains.

Most tasks, though, involve contributions from both hemispheres. So, it is important to understand how to engage both in the classroom context.

3. Early learning is powerful.

4. Conscious awareness and unconscious processing occur at different speeds, often simultaneously.

Because of this, it is especially important to teach students to question their assumptions and the possible influences of past experiences and unconscious biases on their feelings and beliefs.

5. The mind, brain, and body are interwoven.

6. The brain has a short attention span and needs repetition and multiple-channel processing for deeper learning to occur.

7. Fear and stress impair learning.

Evolution has shaped our brains to err on the side of caution and to trigger fear whenever it might be remotely useful.

Success in school depends upon a student’s ability to somehow decrease their stress.

8. We analyze others but not ourselves: the primacy of projection.

Simple exercises that guide students to examine what and how what they think and feel about others may be true for themselves can open a window of self-awareness, empathy, and insight.

9. Learning is enhanced by emphasizing the big picture—and then allowing students to discover the details for themselves.

When problems are represented at higher levels of abstraction, learning can be integrated into larger schemas that enhance memory, learning, and cognitive flexibility.

http://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/nine_things_educators_need_to_know_about_the_brain

HOW DO YOU KEEP PEOPLE ENGAGED?

Ownership. Give them ownership.

http://www.chrisbrogan.com/engagement/

Half-Baked Ideas . . .

Why did I want a Microsoft Surface RT? Do I still want it?

ISTE Keynote 2013

Introduction of Jane McGonigal

Gamification

“Reality is Broken: Why games make us better and how they change the world.” title of book.

Game designers are essentially fun engineers.

Presented in collaboration with the Association for Middle Level Education.

Jokes You Can Use:

Eileen Award:

iTunes: MSM Fan

Twitter: Chuck Taft, Mary Yonker Vales, Craig Frehlich

Diigo: Annette Duffy

Advisory:

Stupid Calculations

Take a variety of obscure thoughts and put math to them...

http://www.stupidcalculations.com/

Middle School Science Minute

by Dave Bydlowski (k12science or [email protected])

MIDDLE SCHOOL SCIENCE MINUTE-BEST 6-8 TRADE BOOKS PART 4

Each year the National Science Teachers Association announces the outstanding science trade books from grades K-12. This list includes books published in 2012. This is the fourth in a series of 4 podcasts that will look at the best books for grades 6 - 8.

The books included in this podcast are:

1. The Plant Hunters: True Stories of Their Daring Adventures to the Far Corners of the Earth, by Anita Silvey

2. The Polar Bear Scientists, by Peter Lourie

3. Wild Horse Scientists, by Kay Frydenborg

From the Twitterverse:

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

Resources:

HTML Tables

Copy your spreadsheet cells and, poof, an html table. This can be very helpful to quickly create HTML tables.

http://tableizer.journalistopia.com/

Teachers Training Teachers Video

Lots, and I do mean LOTS, of videos about teaching. Most are about technology and using technology as a teacher.

http://teachertrainingvideos.com/

EduGalaxy

Because of Winn Dixie Study Guide:

http://edgalaxy.com/literacy/

Web Spotlight:

Principal: Why our new educator evaluation system is unethical

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2013/05/20/principal-why-our-new-educator-evaluation-system-is-unethical/

Mindset Matters

http://www.personalizelearning.com/2013/06/mindset-matters.html

Stabbed With a Pencil

http://bcurrie.wordpress.com/2013/02/17/stabbed-with-a-pencil/

Technology Safety

As an educator in today’s modern world, your guidance is critical for students to navigate through the intricacies of new media and cybersafety successfully. To help you teach your students to safely and ethically use their digital devices in the classroom–and throughout their communities–iKeepSafe has created the following programs:

http://www.ikeepsafe.org/educators/

Want to Improve Teaching? Listen to Students

Half-Baked Ideas . . .

Why do I want a Microsoft Surface RT?

Pick up your Microsoft Surface RT at the Grand Hyatt Ballroom . . . for free. Why in the world would they give away a $499.00 tablet? Get yours here if you’re going to ISTE: https://wicexperience.itnint.com/RegOnline/RegLogin.aspx

Presented in collaboration with the Association for Middle Level Education.

Jokes You Can Use:

Advisory:

What Career Is Right For Me?

http://www.rasmussen.edu/resources/what-career-is-right-for-me/

Middle School Science Minute

by Dave Bydlowski (k12science or [email protected])

Middle School Science Minute-Best 6-8 Trade Books Part 3

http://k12science.net/Podcast/Podcast/Entries/2013/5/2_Middle_School_Science_Minute-Best_6-8_Trade_Books_Part_3.html

Each year the National Science Teachers Association announces the outstanding science trade books from grades K-12. This list includes books published in 2012. This is the third in a series of podcasts that will look at the best books for grades 6 - 8.

The books included in this podcast are:

1. Super Nature Encyclopedia: The 100 Most Incredible Creatures on the Planet

2. Scholastic Discover More: Elements

3. Moonbird: A Year on the Wind With the Great Survivor B95

From the Twitterverse:

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

Resources:

Free Vintage Posters

Useful for graphics. Be aware that some images may be inappropriate.

http://www.freevintageposters.com/

Dictionary of numbers

Chrome extension that explains large numbers in terms of common things.

http://www.dictionaryofnumbers.com/

Shakespeare Uncovered

http://www.pbslearningmedia.org/collection/shakespeare-uncovered/1/

Developing Communication Skills With YouTube & iPad Videos

http://www.speedofcreativity.org/2013/05/16/developing-communication-skills-with-youtube-ipad-videos/

Web Spotlight:

Grading Apple's digital textbook technology

Shortly after his world history students began a pilot program testing a digital textbook for the iPad, Ken Halla noticed something different: His students were actually reading their textbooks.

“To call it a book anymore,” Halla said, “is a false pretense.”

A year later, Apple’s digital textbook effort still seems to be in the early stages.

Where they’re used, the tablet and the digital textbooks find enthusiastic responses.

But there’s a long way to go before students using iPads to read their iBooks becomes the rule, rather than the leading-edge exception, in American education.

“Textbooks for middle school aren’t available,” said Marsha Messinger, language arts and social studies teacher at Robert Saligman Middle School of Perelman Jewish Day School in Philadelphia. “They [the textbook publishers] are working their way from college down.”

….is ready to push iBooks and other digital textbooks when more schools are ready to buy.

But the same educators who complain about the lack of available content also offer high praise for the iBooks that do exist.

Teachers have never relied entirely on textbooks. Often they cobble together lessons out of worksheets and other reading materials that fade as copies are made from copies. College students have traditionally bought class “readers” filled with excerpts and articles.

Now? If teachers find an article or a PDF that illustrates their point, they can plug it into iBooks Author and distribute custom-tailored, in-house digital supplements for their students.

“They don’t really have a set textbook, so the little bits and pieces that they’ve found to teach from, that’s the way they pull it all together,”

“For the faculty that has been using it, aggregation has been a key driver,” he said. “Rather than run off a four-page PDF, they take it and dress it up with some video and pictures.”

Creative Strategies’ Bajarin said that textbook publishers—like newspaper publishers before them—have proven reluctant to give up the income associated with printed-paper products.

http://www.macworld.com/article/2039650/grading-apples-digital-textbook-technology.html#tk.rss_all

The Periodic Song

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=zUDDiWtFtEM#!

Presented in collaboration with the Association for Middle Level Education.

Jokes You Can Use:

Advisory:

What is a second?

How long is a second? Who decided what a second is? How did people agree that a second is a second?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=NXRVtfCpLr4#

Hand Gestures

Many times we tend to use our hands to explain our needs and thoughts. The same hand gesture may mean something quite nasty and offensive to a person from a different cultural background. Hand gestures are a very important part of the body language gestures. In this article we shall understand what are hand gestures.

http://www.buzzle.com/articles/hand-gestures-in-different-cultures.html

The Etch-a-Sketch

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=hq3Et9gOISI

Middle School Science Minute

by Dave Bydlowski (k12science or [email protected])

MIDDLE SCHOOL SCIENCE MINUTE-BEST 6-8 TRADE BOOKS PART 2

Each year the National Science Teachers Association announces the outstanding science trade books from grades K-12. This list includes books published in 2012. This is the second in a series of podcasts that will look at the best books for grades 6 - 8.

The books included in this podcast are:

1. Book of Blood by HP Newquist

2. Invincible Microbe by Jim Murphy and Alison Blank

3. Sneed B. Collard III's Most Fun Book Ever About Lizards by Sneed B. Collard III

Also wanted to share a couple of comments regarding the last show:

1. A great place for free textbooks is: ck12.org

They produce free texts that can be used on computers, kindles, iPads, other tablets, etc. Their books geared to middle and high school.

2. Regarding funding of the Common Core. The House has talked about not funding anything for MDE regarding Common Core. But it is far from reality. The House must propose its budget, then the Senate, their budget, then a team of 6 comes together to finalize the budget, from the two plans. It does not have anything to do with districts funding the common core, only MDE.

From the Twitterverse:

Resources:

Parenting

Variety of short videos that are useful for parents.

http://m.kidsinthehouse.com/

Web Spotlight:

Response: Using -- Not Misusing -- Ability Groups In The Classroom

By Larry Ferlazzo on May 12, 2013 11:55 PM

Standards Based Grading Videos

A Dress-Code Enforcer's Struggle for the Soul of the Middle-School Girl

JESSICA LAHEYFEB 14 2013, 12:18 PM ET

http://m.theatlantic.com/sexes/archive/2013/02/a-dress-code-enforcers-struggle-for-the-soul-of-the-middle-school-girl/273155/

Half-Baked Ideas . . .

Conference

Would you give up a day in summer to learn about Moodle (online learning)?

Would you pay for it?

What would you want to get out of it?

Presented in collaboration with the Association for Middle Level Education.

Jokes You Can Use:

Eileen Award:

Twitter: Sarah Cooper

Happy Birthday Award: Ron King

Advisory:

7 Bridges

http://mashable.com/2013/05/03/google-maps-seven-bridges/

Middle School Science Minute

by Dave Bydlowski (k12science or [email protected])

MIDDLE SCHOOL SCIENCE MINUTE-BEST 6-8 TRADE BOOKS PART 1

Each year the National Science Teachers Association announces the outstanding science trade books from grades K-12. This list includes books published in 2012. This is the first in a series of podcasts that will look at the best books for grades 6 - 8.

The books included in this podcast are:

1. Alien Deep: Revealing the Mysterious Living World at the Bottom of the Ocean by Bradley Hague.

2. Black Gold: The Story of Oil in our Lives by Albert Marrin and Alfred A. Knopf.

3. Bomb: The Race to Build--and Steal--the World's Most Dangerous Weapon.

From the Twitterverse:

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

Resources:

Generated Paper

http://generatedpaper.com/en

Web Spotlight:

News:

The First Race to the Top

By WILLIAM J. REESE

Published: April 20, 2013

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/21/opinion/sunday/the-first-testing-race-to-the-top.html?ref=opinion&_r=2&

You'll Be Shocked by How Many of the World's Top Students Are American

http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2013/04/youll-be-shocked-by-how-many-of-the-worlds-top-students-are-american/275423/

In Utah’s digital shift, students turning the page on traditional textbooks

A shift from traditional textbooks to e-books is gaining speed in Utah, as the state Office of Education coordinates efforts to develop digital texts in science, math and language arts. At least two state math texts are already available and the first of the science texts will be released this summer.

But schools can use the savings from free open-source textbooks to buy digital devices for students to read them, said David Wiley, an associate professor in instructional psychology and technology at Brigham Young University who studies innovation as a Shuttleworth Fellow.

Or, he added, schools can print out open-source textbooks at a lower cost than buying traditional texts from publishers.

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/56179223-78/digital-textbooks-students-open.html.csp

Free Teacher PD Courses

https://www.coursera.org/courses?cats=teacherpd