Waffle Bytes

The application period for the 2015-2016 school year is open now through April 3, 2015 for teacher interested in participating in the Classroom Champions program.   The year-long program pairs your classroom with an Olympian or Paralympian Athlete Mentor - people who are the best in the world at skills like goal setting, perseverance and how to plan steps towards success. Classroom Champions focuses on schools whose students are in grades K-8. To learn more & apply, go to: http://www.classroomchampions.org/apply  

Often I get asked how to make links within a long Google Document.  While this is a useful skill to have, upon further questioning most people really want a Table of Contents page that links to the major headings and sub-headings of the document - similar to what I have here in a Google Document I used for a recent meeting: Really, a table of contents area can be a powerful and quick tool to use in longer documents.  And learning how to create them may actually make you more efficient if you are a person that likes to take time to format your headings within the document. Here are the steps on how to setup and insert your Table of Contents - to start, here is a picture of my document prior to my setting it up: Note that in addition to the table of contents not being there, my headings look like normal text at this point. 1. First you need to "mark" what you want to appear in the table of contents.  To do this: Put your cursor somewhere in your heading...

Michigan Residents invited to help eliminate, reform criminal laws From an announcement provided by Michigan Representative Brett Roberts: With nearly 1,000 sections, Michigan’s penal code is eight times larger than the Model Penal Code and substantially larger than other Midwest codes, according to a recent study by the Manhattan Institute for Public Research and Mackinac Center for Public Policy. Lawmakers are focusing on repealing unnecessary and outdated statutes, adjusting disproportionately high criminal penalties and ensuring that penalties are consistent for similar crimes. People can participate in their state government by submitting ideas to reform outdated criminal laws to a legislative workgroup.    High school government classes are encouraged to research Michigan laws and participate in the statewide reform as well. Residents can submit their ideas  online .

(This is the final  tip sheet  in the series of 4 to help you prepare for one of MACUL’s largest conferences ever!)  I’m guessing you will be arriving at the conference sometime next Wednesday or Thurtsday. Here are some other tidbits that might help you out as you arrive at the conference: COBO Layout : COBO is now basically a big “T” with sessions dispersed over 3 or 4 levels on both sides of the T; the top side of the T faces the river.   They haves been doing a major renovation, and we will mostly be in the renovated area.  The end hallway now overlooks the river.   They have added escalators and a huge staircase which should help with traffic flow.  Long time conference goers should know they dropped the old naming conventions - It's numbered by floor and area, and what used to be the basement is now floor one. The main entrance is now on what used to be the basement on the river side - you enter into an atrium. Get...

The  MACUL  Conference  is just  over a week away!  This is the third  tip sheet  in a series of 4 to help you get ready for Michigan’s largest education conference. Today I'm sharing some general tips for getting the most out of the conference. Checking In : Checking in on Thursday morning can be overwhelming!  Here are some bits of advice to avoid missing the opening keynote session (you don’t want to miss George Couros on Leading Innovative Change - he will truly inspire you!): If you come into Detroit Wednesday prior to 5pm, go to registration then instead of waiting until Thursday If you come into Detroit Thursday morning, registration opens at 7 am Thursday - plan to get there around that time to avoid long lines Getting Help:  There are over 100 volunteers (including myself!) available to help you if you have questions during the conference.  If you are unsure of anything, please ask!  Ways you can identif...

The 2015 MACUL Conference is now just 2 weeks away! (This is the second in a series of 4 to help you get ready and excited about going to the conference.) The conference sessions are all locked and loaded...meaning you can peruse the list at your leisure.  Here are some suggestions that may help you better organize for the conference- Know What You Want : have some idea(s) of what you want to walk away from the conference with.  Use these ideas to help you plan your time so you meet those goals. It's easy to become overwhelmed with all the options, and identifying the walk-aways will make sure you take back meaningful learning.   For example, you are looking for new uses of Google Apps in your classroom, look for sessions about that.  Or, if you are involved in looking for new school purchases make sure to block out some time to spend in the exhibit hall.  Conference App :  http://app.core-apps.com/macul_2015 This year’s conference ap...

(This is 1 in a series of 4 to help you get ready and excited about going to this year's conference.) Yes, we are attending the conference for all the great learning and networking.  However, eating is still a necessity and it is important to know where to find food while at Detroit...especially food that you can get quickly, without waiting in long lines!  Here are some tips and hints for dealing with that while at Cobo, along with some other tidbits you should know about: Staying Hydrated : make sure you stay hydrated! there are several fountains and water coolers provided throughout the venue to get water - bring along a refillable cup and keep filling it all day instead of purchasing expensive bottle water Food at Cobo : there are several food vendors right in COBO; some tips about these: there will be nearly 4000 attendees AND hundreds of additional vendors at the venue, and everyone will be taking about the same meal breaks - either pick up food at odd ...