Random Acts of Kindness--BE THE LIGHT!

We are living in strange times.  We have to remain distanced, yet we still have to find ways to work together.  This past year has done quite a number on all of us, and if we are not careful, it can bring us all to the darkest of places, which will make getting back to the light more than just a simple challenge.  What can we do to help one another?

BE THE LIGHT

Be the light?  YES!  Every act of kindness, no matter how small, is NEVER wasted or forgotten.  A simple word of encouragement to a colleague who is having a not-so-great day can make a world of difference.  It doesn't have to cost you anything but a little bit of your time and care.

BE THE LIGHT

Let someone know you are thinking about them.   A text, an email, or even a small post-it note...let the people around you know that you care.  Again, it can make someone's day or even their week.  We don't know what others are struggling with, and just offering a small gesture of care may be the one and only thing that a person needs to move forward.

BE THE LIGHT

When you are the light for others, THEY become the light for YOU!  You will be surprised at how such a small act of kindness can help you, too!  Focus on the good in yourself and others, and the bad will just fade away into the background.

BE THE LIGHT

Don't Hide In The Dark,
YOU WERE BORN TO SHINE!

Minecraft Education Edition on ChromeBooks!

 In case you have been hiding yourself away, (well, we all have this past year) Minecraft Education Edition has FINALLY made its way to ChromeBooks!   So, what does this really mean?

Minecraft Education Edition (Minecraft EE) can be found in the Google™ Play Store for download, but there are a couple of exceptions to this.  First of all, your Chromebook must be fairly new in order to use the play store, and if you want to download and install it all on your own, you will need to ensure that your ChromeBook is unmanaged.

So, what about managed devices?  If your devices are managed, one of the Google™ Administrators at the district level can push the application out to the Google™ Play Store for students and teachers to install.  Once the application is installed, the user will find it in the applications on the ChromeBook.

So, can anyone use Minecraft EE?  Well, yes and no.  Yes, anyone can use to program, but the individual MUST have a Microsoft Office 365 account and a license to use the program.  Schools can purchase licenses for $5.00 per student per year if they don't already have an Office 365 subscription for their district.

Ok, so I have Minecraft on my ChromeBook, now what?  Open up the application, use your Office 365 credentials to log in, and start crafting!  If you wish to join other worlds, you will ONLY be able to join worlds within your domain, and that is a safety feature (very cool) that has been put in place.  In the case of my district, we have some students learning from home and others that are physically in the classroom.  Unfortunately, at this time, if students are on the district network, they cannot join with others that are on outside networks.  This has caused a few issues with teachers trying to teach Minecraft EE, but they have all found ways to work with it.  Just be aware that this can happen in your district as well.

What about memory and saving worlds?  I recommend that students save their worlds and then EXPORT them to the desktop, and then upload them into their Google™ Drive.  In this way, less memory on the device is being used.  When the student wants to add more to a particular world, they just download the world to their ChromeBook and import it.

Welcome to Back to School in 2020!

 

So, the year 2020 has not been that great so far...I mean, we had Covid, protests, economic decline, quarantines, I could go on and on.  Now, our students are coming back to our virtual classrooms, and we have to be more than ready for them.

With all of the isolation and social distancing, our kids have faced lately, they need YOU more than ever.  So, what can you do to be there for them?  Make connections in ANY WAY that you can.

Reassure Them

Our students have to know that we will be there for them, no matter what happens in the coming days.  After everything our kids have been through over the past months (months??? It has ONLY been months??) They need some normalcy.  The schedule that you make for your students will count for everything, so ensure that you stick to it.  Your students will depend on you each and every day, and keeping a consistent schedule will do wonders.

Reach Out to Them

Our kids are dealing with anxiety, depression, loneliness, and a host of other issues that we know nothing about.  Using breakout rooms and mini-conference times will allow you to really get to know your students on a much deeper level.  They want connections, and you have to be there to provide them for each and every student, which means, you will need to have some virtual one-on-one time with your kids.

Engage Them

We CANNOT teach the way we used to, where the teacher talks for an entire class period while students take notes.  That will not be effective, and you are likely to turn off your students and make them "check out" of the class altogether.  So, how can you engage?  Use a variety of online tools that keeps students focused and still allow them to learn and problem-solve for themselves.

• Nearpod
• Whiteboard.fi
• Quizizz
• Flipgrid
• YouTube
• Screencastify
• GSuite Creation Tools

Just Be There

Your role is SO vital and crucial right now, and each student deserves the best school experience possible.  This really bizarre 2020 experience should be one that they NEVER forget, and that should be that they know HOW MUCH YOU CARE.  Hope you all have an AMAZING week because you all are AMAZING people!  Let's rock this year like there is no tomorrow because honestly, we all don't know what is coming next!

Limiting Internet and Device Time

Wifi and Internet are everywhere, especially in our homes.  If you have kids, you know what it means when they don't have a Wifi connection.  What do you do if you don't want them to have a connection?  Yes, you could have that dreaded fight every evening, or you can have the Wifi just "shut off" for your kids.  What?  I can have the Internet shut off??  But what about MY Internet?  Nope.  Yours will always stay on!  Here is what you do:

First, you will need to have a wireless router that will allow for parental controls.  I can tell you, that almost every router out there has this ability, you just have to be willing to find the settings and get them adjusted.  You will also need to get the MAC addresses for the devices that you want to control.  Don't know how to get the MAC address?  Here are a couple of sites that will help.

CLICK HERE to learn how to get the MAC address of a ChromeBook

CLICK HERE to learn how to get the MAC address for all other devices

Ok, so now you have the MAC address, what do you do?  We are going to look at the settings on my Apple™ Airport Extreme.  I need to open up the Airport Utility on my Mac.

This is where I can control my kids' devices, and turn the Internet on or off depending on what I feel they need.

Notice that I have 4 devices listed.  I added them with their MAC addresses, and then named each device.  Let's see what the schedule looks like for Alex's ChromeBook.

I have it set up the same for weekdays and weekends.  Basically, Alex's device is only connected to the Internet between 2:00 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.  Before 2:00, his device will NOT be allowed to connect to the router, and after 8:30, the router cuts ties with the device.  Yes, I still have all of the Internet, streaming, and Google™ Drive I want, but my kids are limited.  I know you are saying, "So you let your kids on the Internet for 6 and half hours??"  No way.  They usually have homework, sports & band practice, etc. during the week, and on the weekends, they know they are to spend time outside.  Yes, they do get time to surf, but only when we are all in the same room.  Phones are the same.  No charging or using ANY devices in their room, because the Internet can disappear faster than you can say log on.

After I set up my router with the restrictions, I did get a couple of grumbles, but my kids know and understand the time limits.  There have been just a couple of incidents when they were working on a big project and they needed the Internet longer for their ChromeBooks.  I set it for a half hour later for that particular day, and then reset it after they were finished.

We have no more fighting, complaining, or attitude about Internet access, and my mind is totally at easy that my router takes care of remembering when to turn on and off Internet access.  Thank you, wireless router, you have saved me time, stress and worry!

Remember, that each router has the settings in a different location, so read the user's manual.  If you use a router from your Internet provider, there is an online manual somewhere, that will show you how to set up parental controls.  These controls are FREE, and you should use them to the best of their ability.

 Now, these controls will not FILTER content, so YOU need to be the filter.  BE AWARE of what your kids are doing online.  Be a snoop.  Walk up behind them and intentionally look over their shoulder, so they know you are there.  Yes, kids get really good at clicking out of tabs, but if they know you are watching them, the chances they are getting into inappropriate sites will go down.  Be a diligent parent, and get a router that will limit their Internet time.

What Does Technology Integration Look Like?

Today, many districts are going 1:1 with device deployment, and some teachers truly believe that sitting their students in front of those devices with a computer assisted learning application is integration.  Others think that uploading PDF documents for students to fill out digitally is integration, but a worksheet is still a worksheet, and drill and skill is still drill and skill.  So, if these examples are NOT integration, what is true integration?

Students are arriving to our campuses with more knowledge in their pockets than all of the books in the library.  Is it really important that our students be able to rattle off multiplication facts or historical dates and times?  Yes, that is needed information, but do YOU use it in your everyday life, or is it something you REFER to when required?   We need to be supplying students with real tools that will help them be responsible for their own learning, as well as be able to solve real problems, not just have them memorize facts and figures.  So, how do we integrate?

Seamless Use of Devices

First of all, students should not be able to determine that there is a “technology time” in the classroom.  Devices should be utilized just like paper and pencils for student use.  Students should be able to take out their devices when needed, instead of the teacher planning an entire lesson around using them  Do you plan when you will use your cell phone, tablet or laptop? Or, do you just take it out and use it when you need it?  These same rules should be applied to students.  If our students view the use of technology as a way to learn, and a tool to help them solve problems, true integration can occur.

Teachers need to have REALLY GOOD classroom management in place to ensure that learning and thinking are happening.  Rules, expectations and consequences need to be in place to keeps kids on-task and focused.   Students will be appropriate and do what is expected if they know what will happen if they choose to not to follow the rules.  You wouldn't let a student stab another student with a pencil and let it go right?  Same applies for devices.  These digital portals are just another tool to help our students, and should be treated in that manner by teachers.

Relevant Learning

Teachers need to provide ample opportunities for students to utilize these tools in a real and relevant way.  Students need to know the "why" of learning, not just the "how" or "what".  

If there is true meaning behind what we are teaching students, a connection is made, allowing TRUE learning to occur.  We, as teachers, are not just competing with television programs anymore.  We are competing with Minecraft, Wii, X-Box, the Internet, and a list longer than my arm of digital games and applications.  Instead of competing against these engaging learning distractions, we need to find ways to use them.

So, if we are expected to utilize digital devices and applications in the classroom, then we will be expected to know how to use them first right?  No, not right.  What better way to learn something well than to teach it to someone else?  Give your students the leadership and communication skills that they need by allowing them to teach YOU and others how to use these tools.  No longer are the days where we, the teachers, have all of the answers.  We are allowed to get information from others, and that includes our students. Giving our students the role to teach others about digital applications allows you to focus on concepts and real-world connections.

I know some of you are saying, "Sure, Mesha, that all sounds great. But, in the real world of teaching, when will I have time for this?" You already have the time. You are just converting whole group instruction for blended learning activities. There are many schools that are not quite 1:1, yet ALL of the students are proficient in digital literacy, as they have centers or rotations to utilize technology and complete projects either in groups or individually. Rethink how you are running your classroom. Rethink how your students receive information. Rethink the whole entire concept of teaching and learning, so our students can and will succeed.

The Fifth "C"

Research has shown us that we MUST teach relevant learning skills to our students.  We always talk about the "Four C's" that consist of Creativity, Communication, Collaboration and Critical Thinking, but I believe we are cheating our children out of one of the most beneficial "C's" of 21st Century Learning: CODING!

In this world that we live in, more and more devices are being generated, which means we need people to program these devices to work and run the way we, as people, want them to.  Who is going to code all of these devices and get them up and running?  Our children.  Right now, there are about 1,000,000 jobs in coding world-wide that are unfilled.  These are high-end jobs, where beginning salaries are in the upper five digits.  So, this is about money?  Um, NO!  This is about our children's future!

We now have refrigerators that can scan what is inside and send you a picture and cell phones that can record video better than any expensive camcorder.  Our technological advances have really exploded over the past ten years, with new tools and applications appearing each and every day.  Students that are in our schools today do not know a world without Google or the Internet, which should be a clue to us as to how connected we really have become!  Coding is they key to all of our futures.  We need people to code apps that will solve issues that we face, revolutionize the way we do things, and ultimately, make our lives easier and better.  So where do we find these gifted people?  They are already all around us. They just need to be given the opportunity to learn what coding is, and what it can do.  

There seems to be a stigma about coding, that it is "hard" or that it is only for those "really smart" kids.  Coding is truly about using logic and problem-solving in order to get a device or object to complete a particular task or function.  Coding is not some secret language, it actually is a very easy list of commands. The hardest part about coding is figuring out the correct configuration of these commands, which requires a lot of trial and error events.  Wow.  Sounds like a lot of creativity and critical thinking skills to me!

Teaching a person to code is like teaching a person to fish.  The possibilities are endless, and you are teaching skills that will truly better someone's life.  These kids who can code turn into to thinkers, dreamers, and creators, which are the individuals who, will in fact, change the world.

Want more information on how YOU can teach code at your school?  Click on the links below to learn more!

Teach Basic Code with Code.org

Create Your Own Games with Scratch

Set Up An After School Coding Club with Google CS First

Learn to Code Minecraft "Mods" with Tynker

Getting Kids to Code

With our world depending more and more on technology, we need individuals who can not only create the applications and devices that we seek, but also maintain them.  Research has proven that as our need for technology grows, the number of people who can code is dropping.  WE NEED TO TEACH OUR CHILDREN TO CODE!  How do get started in teaching this very necessary but foreign language?  There are a lot of free sights out there, like Code.org, Tynker, and of course, the great CS First courses offered by Google.  But, if you have a little bit of a budget, you might look into Sphero.

Sphero is a robot ball that can be programmed in matter of minutes from very simple commands at the Kinder level, to extremely complex commands for expert coders.  It really is quite amazing to watch someone who has never coded before actually program a Sphero to move and light up!

The Sphero is about the size of a cue ball, and it does move at great speed.   Check out the video here to watch Sphero in action.  Sphero costs about $120 per unit, but they do have an educator discount, allowing you to buy 12 for about $100 each. 

Are your kids into Star Wars?  Say hello to the BB-8 version of Sphero!  He can be purchased for about $20 more than the original Sphero, but how cool would it be to have your own BB-8 to program?

If that is just a bit too pricey, there is an Ollie, which sells for $99.  He looks like a cylinder and works pretty much the same way as Sphero does. Click here to watch how Ollie works and moves.

So let’s say I am lucky enough to be able to purchase this great little guy…now what?  Sphero is compatible with all types of devices and systems, making it ideal for classroom use.  There is a Lightning Lab Google Chrome application, IOS app and Google Play app, that will allow the user to not only simply control the Sphero, but also program it.  Even Pre-K students have the ability to draw or drop commands of how they want Sphero to move.

The programming begins with drag and drop movements, statements and functions, (which is how all of the coding applications work) each one having a command for Sphero to follow.  As students begin to get proficient in using the application, they can move to typing in the actual coding commands.

Using the Lightning Lab application, students can save their work, load files they have already created and even view and execute file examples by others to help them to learn the code better and faster.  

These coding skills are helping students to master the four c's of collaboration, communication, creativity and critical thinking all while working with Sphero.  Many studies have found that learning through failure is essential for all of us to learn more deeply and fully, and I couldn't agree more.  When Sphero doesn't move or behave the way it should, students will need to problem solve to figure out what part of their code is not working properly.  If you find that your budget is just too thin to purchase a Sphero or an Ollie, please consider using Code.org, Tynker or the Google CS First courses.  We need to expose our students to coding in order to help them see the benefits of it.  If we run out of coders, our technology and eventually our society, will fail, and we will all be lost!  Save the world by teaching your kids to code!