Waffle Bytes

 If you have Google Classroom on your mobile phone,  there is a new feature that will randomly select students for you and allow you to track who you have selected (and not selected). To use this feature, start by clicking on "People" at the bottom of your classroom -  Click on the icon in the upper right corner -  You will get a welcome screen, click on START to start using it -  It will randomly select a student.  You can choose from the following options: CALL LATER - will put them back in the "pool" to draw from  ABSENT - will move them to the absent list so they are not called again NEXT - will move them to the PICKED list  At any time, you can see the number of students you have not selected, selected or marked as absent - Clicking on any of those options will provide an actual list of students that are in each group -  At any time you can reset with the Reset button at the upper right corner -  If you select all the students, you ...

 After seeing a couple teachers laboriously type in the email of each student from a Google Classroom, it occurred to me I should show how you can easily email all - or even just some - of students in a Classroom.   First, click on the People tab at the top. If selecting all students, click on the top checkbox -   If selecting a subset of students, check the boxes next to the students you want to select -  Once you have the boxes check, click on Actions and select Email- A new email will open up in a new tab.  Notice that all the students are in the BCC field so they are not aware of who you did (or didn't) email which helps keep you FERPA compliant -  Compose your subject and email message, then send! Thank you for joining us for this episode of Technology Tidbits, brought to you by Melinda Waffle (Calhoun Intermediate School District), and CJ Walker and Du Bui (Jackson County Intermediate School District) - members of REMC - RITS

Email from DroneBlocks: We are excited to announce that  DroneBlocks  and  Drobots  are partnering to develop a unique STEAM-based competition for middle school students:  The   Synchronized Dancing Drone Competition!   Participating teams from across the country will submit their final performances in a virtual manner to be reviewed and graded by competition judges. The top four winning teams will be invited to display their Dancing Drone Performance during halftime of the high school  2019 BELL Vertical Robotics Competition  on  December 7th . Competition criteria include... Participation for current middle school students Evidence of demonstrating the "A" in STEAM Combining Drones + Programming with DroneBlocks + Music + Creativity Final projects shared through a virtual presentation Top-rated Final Four Teams will be invited to perform in front of hundreds of participants during the High S...

Do you know any high school juniors or senior interested in pursuing a career in public service?  If so, share this opportunity with them! The United States Senate Youth Program, established in 1962 by U.S. Senate Resolution, is a unique educational experience for outstanding high school students interested in pursuing careers in public service. The 58th annual program will be held in Washington, D.C., from March 7-14, 2020. It provides an opportunity for qualified high school juniors and seniors to deepen their understanding of America’s political processes. Please make sure this opportunity is available to all interested students. Applications are due Friday, October 4, 2019 by 5pm EST.   Learn more about the program at the  2020 United States Senate Youth Program website . Michigan residents - refer to this MDE memo . (Please note that all schools are responsible for the administration of the USSYP Qualifying Exami...

From the Michigan Department of Natural Resources -  Help design the 2020 wild turkey patch K-12 students, here’s a chance to make your mark by submitting the winning design for the 2020 wild turkey patch! All entries must be received by Dec. 31, 2018. Original, hand-completed designs should include an eastern wild turkey or components of a turkey (e.g., feathers, tracks). Drawings may be done in any medium (pencil, oil, pen and ink, chalk, crayon, etc.) and be color or black and white. If color, no more than 13 colors may be used. All entries must be submitted on 8.5-inch-by-11-inch paper, and submitted without mat, glass, frame or cover sheet (spray chalk with fixative). Each patch design entry must include the following phrases or elements: "Wild Turkey Management Cooperator" "2020" The DNR logo (or simply create a circular placeholder for the logo) The web URL " mi.gov/turkey " First-, second- and third-place winners will receive...

From the  Raspberry Pi blog  - This week we also launched the brand-new Code Club Book of Scratch , the first-ever print publication from the team at Code Club. You can learn more about the book on the Code Club blog , and you’ll also find it in the Raspberry Pi Press store , and in bookstores alongside The Raspberry Pi Beginner’s Guide. You can download the free PDF here , but the print version of the Code Club Book of Scratch is rather special. As well as being stuffed full of amazing Scratch projects to try down at your local Code Club, it also comes with magic glasses that reveal secret hints in some of the guides. It’s spiral bound, so it always lays flat, and there are 24 exclusive Code Club stickers as well! The pictures here don’t really do it justice – it’s a wonderful book, even if I am a bit biased.

From the Raspberry Pi blog - [T]his week, we’re pleased to announce the release of The Official Raspberry Pi Beginner’s Guide, a 244-page book that will help get you well on your way to Raspberry Pi domination. The Official Raspberry Pi Beginner’s Guide From setting up your Raspberry Pi on day 1, to taking your first steps into writing coding, digital making, and computing, The Official Raspberry Beginner’s Guide is great for users from age 7 to 107! It’s available now in the Raspberry Pi Press store, with free international delivery. As always, we have also released t he guide as a free PDF .

The 2018 Global Day of Design will be May 4th!  Sign your classroom up now From AJ Juliani - This year the  Global Day of Design  will take place on  5/4/18 . We will be sharing students designing, building, making, and tinkering on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram using the hashtag  #GDD18! Use the Hashtag #GDD18 on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Live stream if you can! *Note: If your school can't participate  on   5/4/18  pick a date that works for you and still use the hashtag to share out! Already we have over 75,000 students signed up to participate from 600+ schools, in over 14 countries and four different continents for the 2018 Global Day of Design. Go to the  GlobalDayOfDesign.com  and get access to 20+ FREE design challenges that you can use or tweak/modify. Enter your details into the form at the bottom of this post and receive a Design Challenge for FREE. You can also  fill out this Google Form ...

I'm looking for some teachers in Branch or Calhoun county (Michigan) that would like to participate in an end of the year challenge! Challenge Title:  Why We Celebrate Memorial Day Challenge/Problem to Solve :  Challenge your students to explore why we celebrate Memorial Day.   Type: Multimedia Challenge Challenge Parameters : Challenge is limited to 10 teams Students must create all elements for the challenge The student product must meet the following criteria: Utilize the green screen to support the project Be equivalent to a G or PG movie rating (for instance, in use of language and dress) Possible Ideas: Historical news cast about Memorial Day Reenactment of historical event related to Memorial Day Public Service Announcement related to Memorial Day Interview of vetern(s) - what Memorial Day means personally Opposing Viewpoints panel - should we celebrate Memorial Day Time Frame : approximately 4-5 weeks April 30: Deadline to sign up...

From Christine Schneider, Mel Education Specialist - “Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it” - Confucius MeL is here to help share the beauty of poetry this April!  As you prepare for National Poetry Month, consider using the following resources found in MeL databases: Britannica School ( Elementary ,  Middle ,  High ): Once again we had some resource packs pulled together for you and your students to use!  Please click into one of the levels of Britannica FIRST, and then click on one of the following resource packs: National Poetry Month-Elementary National Poetry Month-Secondary   eBooks : A general search for “poetry” within the main eBooks collection yields over 6,500 hits!  The following are some books that might be of specific interest (Remember to click on  eBooks FIRST, then any of the following links): Flower Fables  by Louisa May Alcott.  This is a collection of fairy tales and poetry that Alcott firs...

There is a new challenge being put on by Google, Girls Make Games and ESA Foundation called Change the Game. Submissions are due by May 16, 2018.  It's worth checking out! From the site - Are You Ready to Change The Game? Change The Game’s mission is to make mobile gaming truly for everyone by celebrating and empowering women as creators and players. We’re calling on the next generation of game-makers to share their mobile game design ideas and what they want to see for the future of gaming. We’ve joined forces with Girls Make Games and ESA Foundation to challenge teens to use their creativity and skills to develop a game idea, and to take their first step towards change. The top 5 finalists will win a VIP trip to an exclusive experience at E3 in Los Angeles. There, they can showcase their game ideas and join a celebration of women in gaming. The Grand Prize Winner will also receive a $10,000 college scholarship, a $15,000 technology contribution to their school, and...

Recently I read about a post by Adam Llevo ( @MrAdamPE ) about creating and using interactive Drag & Drop worksheets for students.  With drag & drop questions being a part of our current state assessments, this intrigued me.  Upon checking it out, all I can say is...WOW!  There are so many applications for this idea - here are a few that I thought of initially: drag & drop the appropriate equation on a variety of graphs (Algebra) drag & drop the parts of a flower (3rd grade Science) drag & drop the appropriate word into sentences (Upper El ELA) drag & drop to label a map (Social Studies) and of course, Adam's examples show how to use it in Health & PE! The applications for this are boundless.  And if you are using Google Classroom, turning your prepared document into a template that is share with students is so easy! Check out his blog post & examples -  From Adam Llevo's blog post " Using GDrawings in #PhysEd...

Get your district registered today - Speak Up 2017 began on Monday! Let your voices be heard! From the site - Speak Up 2017 Opens Monday ! Speak Up is the research tool districts use to learn what students, educators, parents and the community have to say about education issues. This will be the 15th year Speak Up has supported education leaders in including the voices of their stakeholders in annual and long-term planning. Educators from more than 30,000 schools have used Speak Up data to create and implement their vision for the next generation of learning. You can too! Get registered ! Get started ! View & view the 2017 surveys today! Speak Up will be open for stakeholder participation from October 16, 2017 through January 19, 2018 . Data will be delivered to registered schools and districts in February 2018. If you have any questions, please let us know!

If you are looking for some activities for Digital Citizenship Week (Oct 16-20), check out the resources from CommonSense Education !  From CommonSense Education: Get Dig Cit-Ready Digital Citizenship Week 2017 Help students think critically, behave safely, and participate responsibly online. Internet safety? Creative copyright? Fake news? With so many topics on your "to teach" list that go above and beyond the core curriculum, it's essential to have a game plan. For Digital Citizenship Week 2017 (Oct. 16-20), we've gathered a few stellar resources into one place. Whether you're just getting started with digital citizenship, are looking for resources to share with colleagues or parents, or are ready to lead a school- or districtwide program, Common Sense Education is here to help you get it done. Ready, set, go Dig Cit!

Webinar about Michigan History resources available to you and your students via MeL!  From Christine, MeL K12 Educaiton Specialist -  Help your genealogists, students, researchers, and history buffs by connecting them with best sources for Michigan history. Join us on  October 25 at 3:30pm Eastern for a 30-minute webinar focused on Michigan history resources available through MeL. Learn about tools within MeL Databases which can help your genealogists, students, researchers, and community. Registration is free and open to all Michigan library staff, educators, and other interested users. Read more and  register for this webinar . https://store.mcls.org/index. php/michigan-history-with-mel. html This webinar will be recorded, and made available on demand anytime. http://mcls.org/mel/mel- training-events/ MeL training is funded in part by the State of Michigan through the Library of Michigan. Additional service support comes from th...