It's "Madden For the Classroom" Eve! Sneak Peak of Tomorrow's Launch

It's one day away! Tomorrow Madden, Discovery Education, and the NFL Players Association launch their "EA Sports Madden NFL: Football by the Numbers" interactive site to promote math and science in the classroom through football.

Brandon Wislocki and I share our experience of getting to preview the site and the simulations. We talk ease of use and some of the key features of the offensive and defensive sides of the ball as we preview some of the core math and science skills being explored.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qWeQPJorpc&feature=youtu.be[/embed]

The Discovery Education blog posted its own previews with a couple of screen shots.

Be sure to check back tomorrow for the official launch URL.

DiscoveringFarmland.com: 7 Tools For Teaching Where That Thanksgiving Feast Came From

As a huge chunk of our population sits down tomorrow and eats way too much, how many will think of the hours, dollars, sweat, and luck that went into producing the bounty in front of them? Probably not many.

Discovery Education and the United State Farmers and Ranchers Alliance have teamed up to help change that through a number of teaching and learning resources at DiscoveringFarmland.com.

Through video and print resources, the site is broken into four lessons (45-60 minutes each) that explore a wide array of farming and ranching topics that are important to not only the sustainability of the industry but also our food supply and the cultural heritage of farming and ranching that has been a part of America since its first settlers.

You might also really strike a chord with one or many of your students who are already passionate about farming or ranching like my former student and Hamilton (MI) Middle Schooler Nate Freyhof, "What got me interested in hobby farming was having a good environment and having fun playing outside instead of sitting inside all day. I also think gardening and training or working with animals is fun to do. It is sometimes good to have technology around like tractors to pull a plow or dig up something."

Steve Dembo recently detailed on the Discovery Education Blog some of the resources available and that the project is based around the award winning documentary Farmland by James Mol.

Here are 7 great things about teaching with the Discovering Farmland site.

1. The videos and the lessons really put a human face on farming and ranching. This is done visually but one whole lesson focuses untangling stereotypes.


2. The four lessons fit nicely into a variety of units. Teachers can spread it out to where they spend an hour per week on top of their prescribed curriculum. Think of it like Google 20% time where you step away from "what has to get done" for a little bit to supplement with projects based on interest or that might be especially impactful. Teachers could do two lessons a week and be done in two weeks or maybe full week is dedicated to a deep dive through the entire set of lessons.


3. Resources provided make these units ready to roll out, even if the teacher knows nothing about farming or ranching.
   
   
   
   • Teacher guide for each lesson
   
   
   • Student activity sheet for each lesson
   
   
   • Formative assessment exit ticket or activity for each lesson
   
   
   • Video snippets of the Farmland movie to support each lesson
   
   
   • Web links to extend the research and learning for each lesson
   
   
   
   


4. All lessons are vocabulary rich with words that fit into science, social studies, and technology.


5. Even though each lesson is well designed, each can be modified to meet more personal or curricular needs. For example, an economics class could research where its county ranks in terms of agricultural production or what the taxable value is on a 40 acre plot of farmland.


6. Discovering Farmland transports students who may have never left their own urban city limits to a completely unknown and almost foreign seeming part of our world. The virtual visit is one of the truly transformative things educational technology can do and this site and resources are perfect for creating those learning opportunities.


7. There are great resources already in place but there is still more to come from Discovery and the USRFA. Both are committed to showing not only how important our agricultural heritage is but how there are exciting high-tech careers to be had in farming and ranching. There is no food without farming and there is no farming without great science, technology, engineering, and math skills.

Somebody somewhere grew the potatoes, the turkeys, the cranberries, even the cinnamon for the apples sauce we will be feasting on tomorrow. Why not use the resources in Discovering Farmland when you return to the classroom and challenge your students to find out more about who and where our food comes from?

 

Mr. Losik's 2015 Holiday Gift Giving Guide

It's too early to put up your tree. It's too early to even turn on the 24 hour Christmas music station. No, it is.....well at least at our house. When the turkey dinner is cleaned up, then it.....is.....on!

It's never too early though to get a jump on holiday shopping and here is your 2015 gift giving guide from MrLosik.com. In the past I have talked iPads and tablets. Last year it was all about putting STEAM in a kid's Christmas. This year it's all about "learning toys that kids don't know are learning toys" with just a little tech sprinkled into the mix. I have included the link to most of these products on Amazon and most have Prime shipping available. Most are also available from the big box department stores like Walmart and Target as so keep your eyes open when out battling the crowds. Keep your eyes open for me as well on WOOD TV next Monday morning (November 30) to about a bunch of these.

Squishy Human Body - The "visible man" human body models have been around for a long time but what makes this one different is that all of the guts come out and kids can spend endless hours doing surgery by extracting them and putting them all back in together. Smart Lab Toys also includes a great guide book that teaches about each body part. This just one of a bunch of amazing products the company offers. There's a squishy brain that looks totally gross. Get the Squishy Human Body on Amazon for $21.99.

Star Wars Science - Death Star Planetarium - With Star Wars The Force Awakens opening soon, there is no doubt that Star Wars toys are going to be hot this season. It reminds me a lot of the Christmas when I was a first grader. The first movie (or Episode IV - A New Dawn or whatever you want to call it) had just come out and I can't remember anything I got that Christmas that didn't have Darth Vader on it. Here comes a great model of the Death Star from Uncle Milton Toys and their line of Star Wars science that turns a dark room into a full map of our night sky or the Star Wars planetary system.


Get the Death Star Planetarium from Amazon for $17.17.

Candy Craft Chocolate Pen - Doodling is great. Doodling with chocolate in a variety of colors is amazing. This pen uses a variety of chocolate-filled cartridges and allows free-hand creativity or is great for filling 50 different molds that are included in the starter kit. I was exploring traditional 3D printers and doodlers, the ones that create plastic objects when I discovered the chocolate pen. Give me chocolate over plastic any day and you will save a bunch of money too. There are a ton of optional accessories that can be added from the Candy Craft line of products from Skyrocket toys. Amazon has it available for $24.93.


Anki Overdrive Race Track Starter Kit - Take the old slot car race track and move it 50 years into the future. Anki's starter kit comes with two robotically controlled race cars and eight pieces of easily adjustable track. Instead of just a little trigger that makes the cars go fast or too fast, these cars are controlled by an iOS or Android app. The app talks to the car and the car talks to the track helping to prevent endless spinouts and slide-offs. The app even keeps track of race position and laps completed. No one to race against? No problem. These cars can drive themselves. Yes, just like those Google cars we keep hearing about. If you think that is amazing, they also come with electronic weapons like phasers and forcefields that disrupt the other cars on the track. The starter kit is expandable with more cars and more track pieces, even jumps. This toy is more expensive at $135 but you get a lot of play for the money.  it is still cheaper than most gaming systems or larger electronic devices and it stimulates the science, tech, and engineering of racing along with the creativity of designing the ultimate track layout. Get it at Amazon.

Stay In The Game: Jared Veldheer's Journey To The NFL - I am 100% biased on this one but having spent the last five years creating this book I know it will provide a lot of entertainment and insight to any sports fan age 10 and up. Jared Veldheer was an over-sized, brainy kid who often found it hard to fit-in. Things all changed when he realized he could combine his amazing athletic gifts and size with his intelligence in order to do big things in the sports world. Now he's one of the top left tackles in the National Football League.  If Jared hadn't made a career of football, the core principles of his life would have likely made him successful in whatever he had decided to pursue.

Jared's offensive line coach at Hillsdale College was one of the first to read it and said he couldn't put it down, “ ‘Stay In The Game’ is a great story and a great read. I think current and future football players will benefit tremendously from the insight it provides.”

Get a copy from Lulu.com for $11.99. It will be one book that won't bring any Christmas morning eye rolls like other books might.

Here is a bonus. I have had people ask about what the best Chromebook and tablet buys are this season so I offer up this device from ASUS. The ASUS Chromebook Flip 10.1-Inch Convertible 2 in 1 Touchscreen starts as a Chromebook but the keyboard flips all of the way back so the touchscreen can serve as a tablet.

 For $219 this is a great device that does anything you can do with your Chrome browser all with the convenience of the touchscreen and its price comes in way below what tablet makers like Samsung and Apple can offer. It's made believers out of a lot of educators and I know of at least two districts in Michigan that are selecting this device for their upcoming 1:1 technology initiatives. There is a ton of learning and fun in this one.

 

A few other odds and ends to explore:

• Amazon Fire Tablet: At $49 this is a great little 7" device for playing games, surfing the web (Do people still say that?), or watching streaming content. It might not have the full capability of an iPad but for under $50 it still packs a lot of fun and functionality.


• Ruby Rails - The new action figure from Goldieblox - She's a computer engineer who skydives.


• Compose Yourself - A music card game that lets kids hear their creations played by the London Symphony.


• Chrono Bomb - Set up a course and maneuver your way through a laser maze before time is up...just you're the 12th member of Ocean's 11.

Introducing Discovery Education Program Champions | Discovery Education

What an honor to be chosen for this great opportunity to share all of the great stuff Discovery and its corporate partners are doing to help promote a vast array of learning initiatives across the entire spectrum of education.

We are thrilled to welcome 14 members of the Discovery Education Community as our Discovery Education Program Champions. These educators have been recognized for their commitment to sharing innovative digital resources, enhancing student engagement and improving academic achievement.Chosen through a competitive application process, the 2015-2016 Program Champions demonstrated their extraordinary commitment and expertise in specific topic areas – such as STEM, health and wellness, and social studies – and excellent use of Discovery Education’s programs. The Program Champions will represent one or more subject areas to share various resources and supporting programs with their colleagues and peers around the world. Champions will also represent Discovery Education and education events and virtual conferences, and help shape the development and implementation of future Discovery Education programs to ensure they are standards-and curriculum-aligned. To kickoff this new initiative, the Program Champions recently attended a two-day launch event at Discovery Education’s headquarters in Silver Spring, Md.

Full Release: Introducing Discovery Education Program Champions | Discovery Education

MACUL To Feature Michigan Educators at 2016 Conference #miched

Something that I have been suggesting for years to whoever was nearby at the annual MACUL conference is that there needs to be a strand or a room or a whatever that highlights Michigan's best.

Now we will never know whether the seeds I planted actually sprouted or somebody in MACUL leadership had the same ingenious idea. All that matters is that MACUL is launching a Michigan Educators Series that features a whole bunch of people doing great things around the Great Lakes State.

Check out the lineup:

 

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="228"] Julie Leach and Tosha Miller[/caption]

Second Grade teachers and 2015 MACUL Technology Teacher of the Year Runners-Up Julie Leach and Tosha Miller. Find their stuff at TwoSassyApples.com

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="230"] Nick Provenzano, @thenerdyteacher himself[/caption]

High School English teacher from Grosse Point was the 2013 National ISTE Teacher of the Year. TheNerdyTeacher.com is his home base but you can find Nick contributing globally.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="494"] Gregory Green, Clintondale High School[/caption]

Gregory Green created the first entirely flipped high school. Check out how this approach is increasing engagement and achievement at flippedhighschool.com.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="290"] Dave Tchozewski, Jenison Public Schools[/caption]

There aren't many people in the edtech game I know that can just flat out teach. Dave has a way with any audience to make any concept he is sharing seem do-able and at the same time very applicable to great teaching. Dave is all over the web but his help page at Jenison Public Schools is a great place to start finding resources.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="247"] Melody Arabo, 2015 Michigan Teacher Of The Year[/caption]

From her elementary classroom in Walled Lake, Melody Arabo shares all kinds of resources and has dedicated her notoriety as Michigan's Teacher of the Year to a number of causes like bullying. Her very reflective book "Diary of a Real Life Bully" takes a unique slant on an issue that effects all of us as educators and parents.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="371"] Dan Spencer, Western High School[/caption]

There aren't many people in Michigan who have taught me more than this guy. He is the ultimate connector and excels in ways to flip a classroom. Dan's Twitter feed is full of inspiring ways he's teaching science in Jackson County.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="444"] Apple Distinguished Educator Rebecca Wildman[/caption]

Need a way to engage upper elementary kids? This lady has an answer. Rebecca Wildman has great resources for any elementary 1:1 program at her iPad Pd site. She's pretty good with the Google too.

 

The 2016 MACUL Conference might be a ways off in March but I am excited to learn as much as I can from the new Michigan Educator Series. Also check out the newly revamped MACUL.org.

Teaching Math with Google Drawings - Eric Curts

Northwest Ohio Google Certified Innovator for Education Eric Curts delivers a great webinar on using Google Drawings for teaching math.

Eric takes viewers through the ins and outs of Drawings but excels when he starts to unpack Common Core standards and show practical activities for elementary teachers. The geometry examples are good but the fraction activity is really innovative.

Check out the recording of the webinar as well as some great tip sheets for using Google Drawings for any purpose at Teaching Math with Google Drawings 

Get to Know Your Community | Discovery Education

I take a turn "in the barrel" as the guest of Brandon Wislocki and Kristen Davis on Discovery Education's "Get to Know Your Community" video series.

We talk about a fun way my students have been mashing up Discovery content with Apple's Keynote, some Sketchnoting teaching strategies, and 20 random questions.

Apologies for the poor lighting and the Tom Brady/Go Blue informal apparel...well, at least for the lighting.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54nvKRerBp4[/embed]

Get to Know Your Community, introduces you to your fellow community members in a way that’s never been seen before. Each week, we will interview a new community member. You’ll get to know who they are, what their favorite Spotlight on Strategies is, and they’ll play 20 questions in 60 seconds. Each participant will see how many questions they can answer in 60 seconds. You’ll get to know more about each community member in a brief amount of time.

Check it out at: Get to Know Your Community: Andy Losik | Discovery Education

#CUERockStar Admin Camp - An Inside Look

 

There is #CUERockStar Teacher Camp, but what is #CUERockStar Admin Camp? Check out this great look inside as shared by camp founder Jon Corippo.

Visit cuerockstar.org for camp dates and more information.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdvvG6AUosw&feature=youtu.be[/embed]

The CUE Rock Star Admin Hero's Journey is all about providing new, hands-on skills for administrators who desire to create a positive, disruptive process of change in their organizations. These will be three full, hard-working, challenging and rewarding days. The faculty and curriculum will deliver administrators (Assistant Principals, Principals, Curriculum Coordinators, Directors, Assistant Superintendents and Superintendents) the skills they need to lead their districts in more agile and adaptable ways.

Lego's Build With Chrome Is Incredibly Simple, Incredibly Addictive

Check out buildwithchrome.com and make awesome stuff right within your Chrome browser. There is a lot to explore here but what I love about using it with my elementary students is that is an intuitive builder that doesn't bring in all of the distractions at the main Lego site does.

There are three basic sections and one can get lost for hours in each. The "Builder" section is just that, a 32x32 base plate and a big supply (They do run out) of 21 brick shapes in 10 colors . The "Build Academy" is a set of tutorial challenges hosted by characters from The Lego Movie that gradually build in difficulty and teach advanced techniques.

 

 

My favorite part though is in the "Explore the World of Builds" feature where through the magic of Google Maps a user when signed into their G+ account can stake claim to and build on literally any corner of the Earth they would like. So far I have rebuilt the swimming pool I spent most Arizona summer days in, have started work on a football stadium and spent way too much time on a late Friday Night/Saturday Morning resurrecting the greatest off-campus house ever, The Asylum, on its former corner on  the Hillsdale College campus. Yes, that is an ugly yellow couch out in front along the sidewalk. 

I have been a big fan of the Minecraft in the Classroom movement and some of the great ways teachers have kids show learning on the building/gaming platform. There have always seemed to be a number of setup hassles I didn't feel like tackling like setting up a server and getting student accounts set up. For me, this is way easier. There is far more familiarity for kids and myself with Legos all you have to do is go find some area where no one has built and take it over to start building the castle from Hamlet or the Great Hall from Beowulf.  All builds have links and anyone who is exploring the builds can find you and your students' creations.

Build With Chrome also works on the mobile Chrome browser. Maybe I just have fat and stubby fingers but it is much more difficult than the computer version.

Hour of Code: Learn Code With Star Wars and BB-8

The Hour of Code project has teamed up with Star Wars and it could not be any more awesome.

In lesson 1 learn to use blocks of code to program BB-8's movement and then dabble in some java script. Give it a shot and begin to build your own galaxy with code.

It's Polar Bear Week With Discovery Education

Discovery Education is in the tundra this week with four virtual field trips (VFTs) from Churchill, Manitoba. Webcasts are available free to educators, even if their schools aren't subscribers to DE Streaming. Polar Bears International will serve as hosts and all events can be found at their event page.

[caption id="attachment_1194" align="alignleft" width="421"] Discovery Education[/caption]

The VFTs are not only live but will also be archived and available on demand.

Register your class for the live showings and submit questions for the hosts to ask scientists in the middle of each broadcast.

Check out "Tundra Connections" from earlier today for a sample of the high quality learning experience available to students and educators or people who just love to learn.

Discovery Education also is providing its subscribers with additional polar bear and tundra resources to support the virtual field trips. Check out those here. You'll be transferred once you've logged in to DE Streaming.

Polar Bears International has also launched an iTunes U channel with great support resources to use in conjunction with the VFTs as well.

Makey Makey Just Got Easier With Makey Makey Go

It is not like inventing with the original Makey Makey was extremely hard to begin with, but things just got more simple and more mobile with the "Go" version.

Makey Makey Go will begin shipping in December and is the size of a thumb drive making it totally mobile and less likely to get you taken "behind the curtain" by TSA when on the way to some nerdfest you're carrying kits with lots of wires, panels, and alligator clips through airports (I know a lady who experienced this.).

What exactly is the "Go"? Well, this video can explain and describe it way better than I can.

How Colorado teenagers hid a massive nude sexting ring from parents and teachers - The Washington Post

Here is a must-read wakeup call for educators and families. Kids will probably always out-pace us in the deception race but we owe it to them and ourselves to at least stay in the race.

Disguised to look and function like an innocent smartphone app, photo vaults — also known as “ghost apps” — allow people to conceal photos, video and information in plain view on their phone. They’ve been around since at least 2011, but have grown increasingly common as smartphones have gained popularity. The App Store and Google Play are littered with apps designed to help users hide their activity and camouflage sensitive information. “If you look at your kid’s phone, everything looks normal, but one of

Source: How Colorado teenagers hid a massive nude sexting ring from parents and teachers - The Washington Post

'Madden NFL' makes a play for the classroom - USA Today

Last week I had a chance to catch a glimpse of this fabulous new partnership in the works. Talk about a way to "hook" the reluctant learner. EA Sports, the NFL Players Association, and Discovery Education are teaming up on an educational partnership that brings the math and science of the gridiron into the lives of kids, fans, and gamers.

Below is an exert and link to Brett Molina's article in USA Today about the new program.

Math and science students may soon huddle up with a name familiar to many video game fans: Madden NFL.

Electronic Arts announced Wednesday it is teaming up with the NFL Players Association and Discovery Education on a program called EA Sports Madden NFL: Football By The Numbers, aimed at teaching math and science to students between fifth and ninth grades.

The program will kick off on December 1. It's free to any math and science teacher seeking to incorporate Madden into their curriculum.

"We’ve always strived for Madden NFL to be a teaching tool for the sport of football, and now we’re marrying the art of the video game to the science behind our young fans’ favorite sport, teaching them both the fundamentals of the sport and the math that fuels it," says Anthony Stevenson, vice president of marketing at EA Sports.

The plan features several interactive scenarios based around exploring, learning and game play. The program combines football concepts with math and science principles including physics and probability. For example, one lesson involves throwing the football, broken down by the velocity and angle required to complete each pass. In another lesson, players pretend to be a defensive coordinator, using probability to choose the right play and stop an opponent.

"What's really fun about it is whether a student loves football and knows the game, or has never played football before, it's so easy for them to come in to the interactive, to understand the core concepts that drive decisions that are made during the football game, and be able to apply those critical thinking skills," says Lori McFarling of Discovery Education.

Read more: 'Madden NFL' makes a play for the classroom

Flite Test | Tile Can Help You Find Almost Anything

I have often infuriated my family by not being able to find my keys when we are all ready to go someplace. Last January they bought me a Tile ($25 on their site) that hooks on my keys and connects to an iPhone app. Now when I can't find my keys and I am within less than 150 feet I tap a button on my phone and the tile starts to chirp. The app uses bluetooth to locate the tile and pinpoints it on a map. Even if I am a greater distance away, the map shows the last place the tile talked to my phone.

All of the above would be cool enough but Tile uses all other users with the app as anonymous trackers. That means that any time anybody gets within 150 feet of a Tile no matter who it belongs to, it's location is registered with the company and updated on the owner's app. Imagine losing your keys or a camera or anything at Disney World. Instead of having to look under every seat of every boat in It's a Small World, just fire up your app and chances are it will get pinged by another Tile user.

The guys from Flite Test have created a great video demonstrating how all of these features work together. Check out the Tile Blog as well.

 

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8nvzFZ38h4[/embed]

#Sketchnotes | Doodling that really helps you remember

If you went back to all of my notebooks from high school and college you would notice a lot of doodling. It wasn't random though. It was a series of pictures I created to help me remember more deeply the content being presented. There might be a crude White House next to something that was supposed to be the Washington Monument as we were learning about the Executive Branch. You'd probably find a lot of flames and snow flakes in my Chemistry notes as I tried to keep straight whether certain elements exploded or froze when they reacted with one another.

What was once perceived as random scrawlings or worse yet time wasting is proving to be an effect way for learners of all ages to help remember material more effectively.

Seeing some of the great stuff Karen Bosch was doing with sketchnotes during the 2015 MACUL conference made me realize I had been on to something since the mid 1980's. Below are slides from the introductory presentation she gives on sketchnotes.

Digital Sketchnotes 101 from Karen Bosch

Susan Bowdoin wrote this past September on the Discovery Education blog about sketchnotes as an instructional strategy. Personally I like how she ties sketchnoting into the research of Robert Marzano that shows non-linguistic representation plays a powerful role in making learning stick.

Visual or graphic note taking, also called Sketchnoting, is gaining greater popularity as a strategy for increasing engagement in lectures, seminars and video presentations. When sketchnoting, learners use visual means to analyze information, make comparisons and develop analogies to better understand and communicate what they’ve learned. This requires higher level thinking. It is also directly related to Robert Marzano’s research on the significant positive affects that nonlinguistic representations have on student achievement.

Read all of Susan's tips on SOS: Sketchnotes at the Discovery Education blog. She not only provides practical strategies for implementing the strategy but also delivers some app suggestions for making this digital.

Wow, and to think all of the mean looks I got from Mr. Stuyver in Trigonometry for "doodling" too much were all for naught. Those weren't doodles; they were sketchnotes. Maybe if he hadn't discouraged my use of non-linguistic representation, I would have remembered more from his class.

Sketchnote on, my friends.

Inserting Pics and Marking Them Up Is Now Easier in iOS 9 Mail

A couple of neat updates in the iOS 9 Mail app makes inserting photos and then marking them up a lot easier and intuitive.

At an Apple seminar in Jenison today I learned that in iOS 9 the Mail app now has a camera icon above the keyboard when you type in the body of the message.



Once you have inserted your picture, tap it to bring up a toolbar with the new "Markup" choice.



Mark up your picture with a set of drawing, text, and signature tools.



This is a great addition that allows us to communicate more clearly and then saves a bundle of time without having to mark up pictures in additional apps.

Rubik's Cube: A question, waiting to be answered - Google

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1K2jdjLhbo&feature=youtu.be[/embed]

Rubik's cube is more than a puzzle- it's a question waiting to be answered. And when the right person finds the right question, it can set them on a journey to change the world. We salute Ernő Rubik and everyone helping young minds find the questions that challenge, excite, and let them see the world in a new way. See artists and designers remixing the Rubik's Cube at http://chrome.com/cubelab ~Google

Connect With NFL Play 60 Challenge Teacher Materials

The NFL and American Heart Association have been presenting the "Play 60" program for a number of years in attempts to get kids moving and building active lifestyles. Now materials are easier than ever for teachers to access.

The Play 60 Teachers Guide site offers a downloadable teachers manual as well as student challenge journals customized to local teams. Activity can now be tracked online and there are training orientation videos.  Classroom scoreboards and certificates of completion are also available for teachers to download. Resources are also available in Spanish.

In addition to the much shorter four-week challenge, extension activities are provided for making an active lifestyle part of a schools culture once the initial challenge is over. There are also getting started guides and quick tips for keeping kids and staff motivated throughout the year.

Play 60 now also has its own app. It might seem counter-intuitive that an organization committed to getting kids active would create something connected to electronic-induced stillness. The cool thing about the app is that to play the game, kids have to run and jump in place.

Vidmate Apk for Android Mobiles, Windows PC, MAC, iPhone

As we probably am aware Vidmate is an exceptionally valuable and simple application and everybody can work this application. In addition, you can introduce the application on different stages. Further, however the application isn't accessible on Google play and App store along these lines, you can discover the technique to download the application beneath.

How to Download Vidmate on your Android Device:

You can download the application for your Android gadget without paying a solitary penny. It's allowed to download and utilize.

• You can download Vidmate free of cost from the official site of the application. Along these lines, simply visit the site.


• Next pick the most recent of rendition of the application and download the Vidmate .apk record on your Android gadget.


• When you download the apk record now exchange this document to your Android telephone from your PC utilizing a USB link, on the off chance that you have downloaded the apk on your PC.


• After you get the apk on your gadget then you have to introduce it.


• Be that as it may, before you introduce the application you have to roll out a few improvements in the settings of your Android gadget. Along these lines, open settings>Applications>check the "permit establishment from Unknown sources" choice.


• Presently open the document supervisor at that point open the apk record on your telephone.


• Presently tap the apk document to introduce it. Pick 'Introduce'.


• The Vidmate for Android will be introduced on your Android gadget now.

How to Download & Install Vidmate for PC:

We have uplifting news for the PC clients who need to download and introduce Vidmate App in PC. Presently you can likewise download and introduce Vidmate on PC or tablet for nothing. Jus for doing this take after the simple strides beneath:

• First of all, you have to download and introduce BlueStacks Android emulator on your PC or portable PC. You can visit the authority www.bluestacks.com/download.html page for downloading the application.


• When you have introduced the BlueStacks on your PC at that point run the application and scan for Vidmate .apk.


• If not downloaded the Vidmate application, at that point download the application on PC.


• Next in the wake of downloading right tap the apk document and pick 'open with' Bluestacks.


• After this the Bluestacks application player will open and introduce the application consequently on your PC.


• Presently after establishment of the application open the BlueStacks and now scan for Vidmate application on your PC utilizing seek bar.


• Now in the wake of running the Vidmate application you can appreciate the application.

Download Link - watch movies on vidmate

How to Download Vidmate App for iPhone, iPad, & iOS:

Lamentably, the Vidmate isn't accessible for iPhones and iPads till now. Along these lines, the iPhone and iPad clients can't get to the application on their gadgets. In any case, there are a few substitutes of the application that you can download on your iOS gadgets. Such substitutes incorporate TubeMate which enable you to download YouTube recordings effortlessly.

How to Download Vidmate for BlackBerry:

Vidmate for Blackberry is an exquisite alternative for the BlackBerry clients. Despite the fact that the application is basically accessible for the Android gadgets yet you additionally get this application on your Blackberry gadget. In the event that you claim a BlackBerry gadget running OS 10.2.1 or above, at that point you can download and introduce most Android applications on your gadget. Take after underneath ventures to download Vidmate on Blackberry gadget.

• Firstly, download Vidmate apk document from web.


• Presently go to your download administrator and open the downloaded apk record.


• In the event that you host a third-gathering application then you can utilize that to find the apk.


• Presently to introduce it tap the apk document.


• Acknowledge consents while introducing the application.


• When you approve of the considerable number of consents at that point tap "Introduce".


• Your application will introduce in a couple of moments seconds. Appreciate the application.

Explore these 8 Avatar Makers

Here are a bunch of sites for creating avatars or custom characters. Due to ads and some character options, not all sites may be suitable for younger students.

Face Your Manga - Anime feel

DoppelMe - Super simple, classic character generator

Madmen-me - Characters in the theme of the show

Mii - Make Wii like characters

Marvel - Create your own superhero

Mini-mizer - Create your own Lego characters

My Blue Robot - Nice editor with many easy to use features

Get Peanutized - Create characters in the style of the new Charles Schulz Peanuts movie out in November

Don't Judge these Sorority Girls for Taking Selfies

 

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ecjyR59qw1M&feature=youtu.be&list=PL3ZQ5CpNulQmg11sF8YZgXqBoNQTWpo42[/embed]

It was a night out at Chase Field for some sisters from Alpha Chi Omega and the Fox Sports Arizona announcers had lots of fun commenting on the barrage of selfies the girls were taking.

The video quickly went viral with no doubt  the stereo-types of self-absorbed girls completely engrossed in a self-absorbed session of selfies fueling the fire.

When the Diamondbacks tracked down the girls to offer them tickets to a future game, the ladies of A Chi O revealed a completely different side of themselves and their organization. Instead of accepting the tickets the sorority asked that they be given to their national philanthropy A New Leaf,  an organization that supports victims of domestic violence. The sorority is now using the ensuing publicity to generate even more support for the cause.

This is a great example of how quickly society jumps to conclusions about people and how inaccurate they can be. As educators we have to be really careful not to do the same thing in our classrooms by pegging kids with our own assumptions.

Great job Alpha Chi Omega!

Stream the Hamilton Soundtrack #hamiltunes

It is Broadway meets "Flocabulary" in this American History rap biography of Alexander Hamilton.

Vulture.com has the streams shared by NPR of the cast recordings. Whether you've seen the show or just hearing about it now. These are well worth the listen. #StraightOuttaSaintKittsAndNevis

It's here!

Check it out: You Can Finally Stream the Hamilton Soundtrack -- Vulture

@EdtechHulk Say It All 'Bout Bad PowerPoint

Sometimes the silliest things make the most sense. A tweet this afternoon from the always entertaining @edtechhulk sums up my thoughts on bad PowerPoints to a tee.

Discovery Education Offers Virtual Field Trip and Visit from Supreme Court Justice on Constitution Day

Discovery Education is offering a two-part interactive learning opportunity for next Thursday's Constitution Day.

At 12PM Eastern, Supreme Court Justice Stephen Beyer will host a Q&A about his role on the high court in a video town hall format.

From 1:30 to 2:00 PM US Appeals Court Judge Marjorie O. Rendell will give a tour of the National Constitution Center and field questions as well.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="317"] Judge Marjorie O. Rendell[/caption]

Visit Discovery's event page to learn more, view grade level appropriate activities, or register your class for this FREE online learning event.

AT&T You Will Ads From 1993 - Amazingly accurate predictions

I vividly remember these AT&T ads from College and half-thinking "I can't wait," and half-thinking "Yeah, right!".

Well, twenty-two years is a long time but almost all of these predictions have come true in one form or the other.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PJcABbtvtA&feature=youtu.be[/embed]

55 Tips from Google for Teaching and Learning

As the United States trickles back to school, Google is offering up some great tips for both educators and students.

All kinds of things from staying better organized with calendars to understanding how work is stored are covered in these quick hitting tutorials.

One of my biggest personal initiatives is to dig deeper into working with Google Classroom. A handful of the tips will help with that from both the teacher side of it and from the learner's perspective.

55 Google Tips for Teaching and Learning.

Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about Google Geotools

Check out all of these resources from Google All-star David Saunders. Maps, Maps Engine, and Tour Builder are all covered. Best of all you'll get the educational angle as well.

David Saunders: Resources from his CUE Rock Star Geotools Sessions.



 

Boiling Down What Makes #CUERockStar Rock

Check out Jon Corippo explaining why the CUE Rock Star model has proven so effective when it is so different from the typical educational conference or PD.

Jon Corippo - CUE Rock Star #BLC15 - YouTube.

Call For Presenters Is Open! #MACUL16

Join me in proposing a session or two for MACUL 2016 in Grand Rapids, one of America's best educational technology conferences.

Call For Presenters Is Open!.

Trekker from Google Street View Takes You to #PureMichigan

Take a deeper look at some of Michigan's most breathtaking spots.

Trekker is new in Street View and takes you to places the Street View cars just can't maneuver. Michigan.org has compiled links to all of the spots in Michigan like this trek across the Grand Hotel's famous porch.

This video is a great look at what goes into capturing all of the amazing images provided by Google Trekker and a link to what's available around Michigan.

Explore Amazing Michigan Locations With Google Trekker's Stunning Street View - YouTube.

#cuerockstar Teach Wild Resources

We had a great adventures at Rock Star Saugatuck and Rock Star MASSCUE playing "Oh Deer", crossing the Kalamazoo River on the only operating hand-crank chain ferry in the U.S., and climbing Mt. Baldhead's 302 steps, and digging into the Google Cultural Institute. Better yet were the great conversations we had about effectively bringing nature into your curriculum and taking kids out into it. Here are resource links.

Project Wild - Find more information on the program and link to trainings and curriculum
Project Wild and Project Aquatic materials listed on eBay.

The Nature Connection by Clare Walker Leslie



 

Easel.ly - Great infographic maker

Canva - Create beautiful graphics to show findings.

Google Cultural Institute - Take students to museums all over the world and have them create collections of the ways animals have been portrayed in art over the years.

Trimble Sketchup - Have your students build their own Mt. Baldy steps or recreate structures you discover with them. It's as real as math gets.

Walkmeter App

GPS Altimeter App

BirdCaller App

Leaf Snap

[caption id="attachment_1086" align="alignleft" width="717"] On top of Mt. Baldhead, all covered in S.T.E.A.M.[/caption]

#cuerockstar Shoot Like a Pro

Shoot like a pro!

Here are 19 different camera techniques for producing professional quality video productions with whatever device you have. Learning these or teaching them to students will greatly improve the quality of video that is produced. Once you see them, you can't help but use them.

Watch this presentation to see examples of each. You will be asked to take each of these shots on your own and put them together in your own "Shooting Gallery".

REMEMBER THESE ARE 5-10 SECOND VIDEO SHOTS, NOT PHOTOS.

Download the shot sheet here.

Minarets Shooting Gallery Level One from Minarets High SchoolBelow is one of the finished products 5th Graders at Bentheim Elementary completed. Watch it to see the shots in action but make yours original.
Anti-Gravity Shooting Gallery from Andy Losik on Vimeo.More creativity resources for your projects.

Scary Mary and Shining, A Romantic Comedy show the power of Music.



What will you create?

If you can't build it in Keynote, you don't need it. - #cuerockstar Links

Here are the resources and links from Day 1 of CUE Rock Star Saugatuck hosted by MACUL.

Giphy
EZGif.com

National Archives
Archive.org
flick.com/commons
How to search for copyright-free images in Google
Pixabay
Copyright Friendly Wikispaces
PhotosForClass.com

 

Animated Text Cut-out Tutorial
Apple Preview Tips and Tricks

Go Ask Siri to Divide 0 by 0. I Dare You.

The best laugh of today came from asking my iPhone's Siri what zero divided by zero is. I won't spoil it with her response. It's something you will have to give a try. She would make quite the math teacher.

A Whole Lot of Outdoor Learning Coming to Saugatuck

Here are my Saugatuck Rock Star sessions and 2/3 of them will be led outdoors. Day 1 is all about tricking out Apple's Keynote, but Days 2 and 3 are about taking advantage of learning in one of Michigan's coolest little town.

Day 1: If you can't build it in Keynote, you don't need it.
The antidote to torturous presentations lies in Apple’s Keynote. Now free and online to anyone with a web browser, Keynote can make presentation slides, but excels when you let your creativity run wild. It is the ultimate app smasher because what you build in Keynote can enhance just about any creative project. Build infographics, animate, create high-end layered videos, and blow stuff up in this, “Hey, howdya do that?” kind of session.

Day 2: On Top of Mt. Baldy All Covered in STEAM
Bring your athletic shoes and sense of adventure as we head down the hill and across the river to the 302 steps of Mount Baldhead. Along the way we will stop to play some Project Wild games, use the sensors built into your smart phones, and explore a fragile dune ecosystem.

Day 3: Shooting Around Town

Discover practical ways to build high end photography and video skills in you and your students as we explore the target rich environment of the Saugatuck area. Within two hours you will learn simple to lead activities and editing techniques that will boost your confidence and creative abilities.

Check out the rest of the offerings at the camp sessions page.

Register at cue.org/regrockstar.

Rock Star Saugatuck Registration Closes July 1

Make "Sign up for Rock Star Saugatuck" the first thing you cross off of today's to-do list.

We have room for 34 more attendees so gather up your colleagues and get registered before the July 1 deadline arrives. Consistently groups of teachers find that three days of Rock Star give them an amazing leg up on kicking off the coming school year with great ideas and energy. Check out the three days of sessions listed on the Rock Star Saugatuck page. Don't miss this great joint venture between CUE and MACUL.

Register at cue.org/regrockstar.

Watch Apple's WWDC 2015 keynote in under 2 minutes

Great rundown of Apple's latest product announcement.



Watch Apple's WWDC 2015 keynote in under 2 minutes.

Education on Air- Keynote from Jennie Magiera: "Power to the pupil" - YouTube

The definite high point for me of the recent Google Education on Air conference my friend Jennie Magiera's great presentation. She really nails the power of empowering students has on the educational process.

Education on Air- Keynote from Jennie Magiera: "Power to the pupil" - YouTube.

How to Shred - #cuerockstar

Not many workshops, camps, or conferences offer anything like Rock Star Shred Sessions. Each morning after everybody grabs some caffeine and sugar, Rock Star faculty "sing for their suppers" previewing their sessions but more importantly giving attendees a chance to find the best fit for what they want to learn and who they want to lead them in their exploration.

How to Shred - YouTube.

Chirp for Chrome is Huge Convenience for Teachers

Chirp has proven itself to be incredibly helpful to teachers who want to send content or links to students using iPads or Android devices. Now with a free install, teachers can send content from their Chrome browser to devices running the app. This opens a whole world of convenience in that data doesn't have to be moved to a teacher device before it can be sent to students.

Check out Chirp's blog post below on this development and its plans to soon make Chirp be able to send data in the other direction, from mobile devices back to Chrome.

Chirp for Chrome is out!.

EdTech and the Rock and Roll Church

Here is another repost from a couple of years ago but it's one of my favorite pieces I have ever written. Original Post from May of 2011

Today at my kitchen sink, while cleaning up some breakfast dishes, I had one of those “ah ha” moments. It was as if it was sent from above.

Here is the idea. Think about what educational technology and the “contemporary” Christian church service have in common. Whether you are a believer or not, it is hard to deny the similarities.

Over the course of the last twenty years, many churches have seen big changes to the typical Sunday morning worship formats they offer. For years, churches were seeing a decline in numbers and an apathy amongst its congregation. When asked why, many members…and especially young ones…said they just weren’t getting a personal connection with the traditional singing of hymns and congregational responses. Sound familiar? What are educators hearing when they ask today’s student who seems disinterested in school and apathetic? It’s pretty much the same thing. These students are struggling to make the personal connection with the traditional way schools operate and present content.

What did churches do? They listened to those they aim to serve and they tailored their offerings….well, some did. For many of those who did, they saw a return of parishioners and renewed interest. According to a Crosswalk.com article, a 2009  study found 64% of churches that updated their services or created contemporary offerings saw their numbers grow.

Education should be paying attention and following some of the same principles when it comes to integrating technology.

Principle #1: If we don’t meet their needs, we will lose students. If these churches hadn’t gotten creative and realized the legitimacy of the desires, church goers would do just that…go, and take their tithes and offerings with them. With the increase of “schools of choice” laws and the pushing of vouchers by some politicians, it is just as easy for families who don’t feel the personalized connection to take their state foundation grants down the road with them to a different district. The proper use of educational technology can tailor that education and create that personalized connection. We in education need to listen.

Principle #2: Meet those we aim to serve on their schedules. Churches began to meet members more on members’ schedules and not just on the church’s schedule. Many of the “mega churches” offer Saturday night services or Sunday evening services for those that just can’t roll out of bed or have mid-Sunday morning conflicts. They are also using technology to stream church via the Internet or they create podcasts of their services. Educational technology has amazing abilities to break down the same dependencies schools have on rigid scheduling and limited course offerings. Content, courses, and lectures can all go online and on portable devices. It can be streamed over the Internet and classes can meet in the virtual spaces of wikis and classroom management systems like Moodle. Schools can be creative and unlock learning time from the 8 to 3 mold, just as churches are unlocking worship from 11:oo to noon on Sunday morning.

Principle #3 Remain true to your core content. Even though there may now be a five piece rock and roll band up by the altar, the music is still about the same God that “What a friend we have in Jesus” is. The service may look vastly different from the outside but it’s the same truths that are being pursued. It’s the same Scriptures being studied. Philosophically for me, educational technology is a way to pursue academic truths and develop deeper understanding of the content to be learned. I am a firm believer that the liberal arts must be cherished and that classical studies teaches the contemporary human to inquire and think on a higher level. Now harness those pursuits to the tools we have technology wise and the discovery is ramped up 100 fold. Bringing the classics into the context of today makes it personal to kids.  GoogleLitTrips.com is a perfect example of taking great literature and exploring it through Google Earth…relating sometime ancient locales to our contemporary world. Even Steve Jobs during the launch of the iPad2 heralded this pursuit. “It’s in Apple’s DNA that technology alone is not enough. It’s technology married with liberal arts, married with the humanities that yields the results that makes our hearts sing.”

What neither education nor the rock and roll church can lose sight of is the human relationship factor. Isn’t that mission of both really? Technology can do a lot of things for both, but if we are not fostering respectful inter-personal relationships in either space then we are missing the boat and no matter how slickly produced, the messages will never find their targets. Computers can never replace great teachers and podcasts can’t replace exceptional preachers.

The Framers and Founders of America called for a separation of Church and State. It doesn’t mean the two can’t learn from one another though.

Marathon Dad Mike Rossi is Right, Handled Situation the Wrong Way

"What's Trending", that new staple of news broadcasts brought to my attention today a situation where a family took its kids out of school for a few days to watch father Mike Rossi compete in the Boston Marathon.

Upon returning from what Rossi describes to the school as a "once-in-a-lifetime experience, one that can’t be duplicated in a classroom or read in a book” the family received a letter from the school's principal Rochelle S. Marbury stating the absences would not be excused and that "an accumulation of unexcused absences can result in a referral to our attendance officer and a subsequent notice of a violation of the compulsory school attendance law."

Come on Ms. Marbury! Seriously let's talk big picture here, one that does not need to be clouded with threats of referrals to law enforcement.

Think about what a momentous experience watching Dad compete in one of the world's great events was for these children. It's something they will always have. Could anything happening in that Pennsylvania elementary school really be as special as what they experienced in Boston? Even if it was the greatest school on Earth, it's doubtful these kids would be taking away anything they'll remember as long as the memories they made.

We as educators work at the pleasure (or displeasure apparently) of families. These are not our kids. We are entrusted with a great responsibility but ultimately school is not the most important thing in their lives. Sadly for too many kids, school is the best thing they have going and we can never forget that either. It is great hubris though to operate with an air that life should bow to compulsory attendance. In the end all we really have are experiences and memories and if we are really here to do what is best for kids then we need to be supportive of that...especially an experience like this.

Rossi responded to the school with an eloquent 340 word response. Here are some highlights of his proposed response he put on Facebook. It is unclear though if he actually sent it to the school or just left it as a status update.

“While I appreciate your concern for our children’s education, I can promise you they learned as much in the five days we were in Boston as they would in an entire year in school. Our children had a once-in-a-lifetime experience, one that can’t be duplicated in a classroom or read in a book.”

“They watched their father overcome, injury, bad weather, the death of a loved one and many other obstacles to achieve an important personal goal.”

“They also paid tribute to the victims of a senseless act of terrorism and learned that no matter what evil may occur, terrorists can not deter the American spirit. These are things they won’t ever truly learn in the classroom.”

Yes. Yes. Yes.

I do have a problem with this though. Mr. Rossi's response is fabulous but it should have been delivered to the school exclusively and not posted publicly on Facebook...at least not immediately. Everyone has the right to express themselves and write open letters but there are proper steps to take first

No matter how upsetting the school response might have been, opening up a civil, face-to-face dialogue with the school is what the Rossi's owe that to the district. I am sure the teachers and administrators at Abington Schools have given a lot to the members of the family over the years. This was a disagreement between parent and school and a private matter. Ms. Marbury deserves the opportunity to be included in a private conversation and not just roasted at the stake of social media.

If nothing else, maybe this will open up some civil discussion about looking at the tedious relationship between family-life and school. This case exemplifies how a little consideration on both sides could have benefitted everyone.

Today Show coverage
Inquistr article with links to full letter

Five Things In Education We Have To Stop Pretending

I was challenged this weekend to really think. Lisa Nowakowski, many of you know from her work with CUE Rock Star, listed  five things we have to stop pretending in education. and then she tagged five other educators including me to list five more things as part of the #makeschooldifferent challenge. Okay, here it goes.

Stop pretending:

1) We need more technology in schools.
Solution: We don't need more technology in schools. We need a better focus on how technology can improve teaching and learning. Start with great teaching and then ramp it off the charts by giving students tools to deepen their understanding, dig for more, and then share their knowledge or skills in authentic and impactful ways. Now, in areas where that vision and set of priorities is in place, bring on the technology! LA Unified Schools systemically lacked all of the above on their failed, massive iPad initiative and is now trying to blame Apple and Pearson. It's not the technology's fault for the shortcomings. Technology can have zero impact or worse without great teaching and know-how. It's like a chainsaw. Don't buy if you don't know what you're doing.

2) Technology use needs to redefine every task, providing experiences previously inconceivable.
Solution: I am a big proponent on the SAMR model of technology integration and have presented a number of times on it and its value. SAMR identifies at what level teachers apply technology. A major misinterpretation comes when people think the only good integration is the highest level of redefinition, or that what was previously inconceivable. Trevor Shaw wrote about some of that today in eSchoolNews. Nobody wants the iPad being used solely a $300 worksheet, but it's unrealistic to expect every tech use to earth shattering. Sharing documents via Google Docs might not be "redefinition" but it has huge inherent value over just typing something. We can't live in "redefinition". It's just not practical.

3) Teachers need to be trained in how to work new tech tools.
Solution: Teachers don't need to be trained how to push buttons, copy-paste, or export to Quicktime. What teachers need is to be immersed in an experience where they learn to put specific technology tools to work in their classrooms to boost teaching and learning. Too many presentations or workshops end up being magic shows with cool tricks but not much depth in how to make a difference. The learning needs to be continuous as well. For growth and sustainability to happen, co-workers need to be constantly helping each other by sharing little victories,  their tribulations, and ideas for better management.

4) Initiatives are like satellites. All they need is strong engineering and a solid launch.
Solution: Planning, design, and a great roll-out are essential to any initiative. The problem is that too many people think that after the launch the work is essentially done. Initiatives aren't satellites though. Initiatives are more like the cooking and serving of a seven course meal where the food needs constant attention, and the diners do too. How many things have you seen in your career rolled out with great energy go on to fizzle quite quickly because there was no follow up after the launch? If you're going to "set it and forget it," just forget it.

5) We are just teachers and only administration can bring meaningful change.
Solution: This one might be getting a little hacky because it seems like it has been stated emphatically in every keynote address I have attended in the last year but it can't be stated enough. A lot of real, positive, sustainable change in education comes from individual teachers or small groups of teachers who find things that work and they share those ideas. For whatever reason, co-workers often put more clout into something new they see or hear about from another teacher as opposed to it coming from an administrator. There is something powerful in knowing this technique, app, or strategy actually works in someone's actual classroom. Whatever works in your classroom needs to be shared. It's not bragging. It's moving education forward.

So, there you go. Those five have been begging to be shared. Thanks Lisa for lighting the fire!

Now it's time to pass the challenge along to five more great educators. Let's see what else we need to stop pretending. You are now officially on the clock Kelly Croy, Sue Gorman, Sean Junkins, Brad Wilson, and Ben Rimes.

 

Creativity in Hand - MACUL Mobile Learning Conference 2015

Here are great app I am focusing on for my Michigan Mobile Learning Conference. Smash these up to make great graphics.

Keynote

Canva

Neu.Draw

Adobe Photo Shop Color Effects
Adobe Photo Shop Mix

Penultimate
Pixlr-o-matic
Pixlr Express

PegLight 2
BitDraw

Action Movie Producer

 

Best kids’ apps to download for Spring Break | WOODTV.com

Spring Break might be history for 2015 but these apps rock anytime of the year.
 

 

Best kids’ apps to download for Spring Break | WOODTV.com.