Waffle Bytes

I've always enjoyed the movie "Apollo 13." There are so many good messages in it - about hope in a seemingly hopeless situation, about courage in the face of danger (and possibly even death), about creative problem solving for problems that are not "contingencies we remotely looked at." This scene is where we are right now with education - We have been asked to "invent a way to put a square peg in a round hole - quickly." And now we are in the room (or this course) looking at what is available to make that happen.  We have the resources, we have the tools...we now need to make it happen.  We are going to be innovative, creative, and make this work.  We are going to fail and have inelegant, imperfect solutions, but we will get solutions.  And we will continue to refine them until the emergency is over. One of my concerns is - and this is something often seen with students working on a problem - if we spend time on a solution that we think is goi...

My very first blog post ever was about 10 years ago (May 20, 2010).  It was titled  Textbooks: the Curriculum Security Blanket . I've been thinking about this post the last 24 hours as I prepare to help educators in local districts across 3 counties in my state rethink how they teach. This is such a high-anxiety time - our routines have been disrupted, our health (or our loved one's health) is at risk, daily life is DIFFERENT. We don't know how long this "disruption" is going to last, and we don't know how we will come out changed on the other side. On top of all that,  educators are now having to contemplate how to be "teachers" with our students at home.  And we are falling back to our "security blankets" for in the classroom.  We are trying to bring the comfortable into this new situation, and it concerns me for our success. Why?  I'm talking to educators that want to know what tool to use, and what content to get - they are fo...

Over 1500 new or updated resources have been added to #GoOpen Michigan! Check out these additions which provide more for every curriculum area - NEW International Astronomical Union (57 resources) - set of activities/lessons bundled under Astro EDU set NEW Code.org (342 resources) - includes lesson plans for CS Discoveries, CS Fundamentals, and CS Principles NEW National Endowment for the Humanities (405 resources) - EDSITEments set with a variety of resources including lessons, activities and readings NEW US Census Bureau (62 resources) - K-12 activities from the Statistics in Schools project UPDATED CK-12 resources (798 resources) - updated flexbook resources

Michigan Electronic Library has a plethora of resources available to Michigan teachers to support your teaching and student learning.  I would suggest exploring the following: the variety of curriculum resources , categorized by subject area and other topics such as career & college ready skills, Makerspace,  and technology.   flyers to help you educate students on evaluating electronic resources professional development eResources

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 ...

Black History Month Library - Google Drive Folder This resource, created and shared by Charles Preston , may provide some outstanding resources beyond what you have previously used.  The resources cover a wide range of history and people that may or may not be familiar to you.  This is a community contributed to work, so you will also see resources contributed by addition people.  Please note : many of the shared works are copyrighted, you be aware of Fair Use guidelines in using them with your students during classroom activities.  (The works that are creative commons licensed or in the public domain works have no such limitations.) Thank you to Charles Preston for sharing this out via Twitter - he may be someone you should follow.

If you are a Michigan Educator and you use MeL with your students, you should be aware of the following: From Christine Schneider, K-12 Education Specialist Michigan eLibrary Free Webinar: Meeting the Needs of Middle School Students with Gale’s Research In Context January 31, 2018 @ 2pm EST Register: https://cengage.webex.com/ceng age/onstage/g.php?MTID=e20bc09 8540255aef948a3f5d92914497 Research In Context, available through Michigan eLibrary, is created specifically for middle school level researchers.  It brings together authoritative content in a variety of formats on one modern, student-friendly, and mobile-responsive interface. Join us in this webinar to learn more about how to use Research In Context as a classroom tool, as a homework helper, and for entry level research projects at the middle school level.  Please register soon and share widely. I will post the recorded version on MeL Teachers as soon as it is available.

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...

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...

Stony Brook University's School of Journalism has some great free resources for teachers in the Digital Resource Center around the topic of News Literacy. There is a " Let's Get Started " area with shared activity/lesson ideas that can be used. There are also 14 lesson plans that can be used within a course or integrated into your own curriculum - "The full News Literacy course , developed at Stony Brook University, organizes the material into 8 concepts that are spread amongst our 14 week course that take students from the first information revolution of Johannes Gutenberg's printing press to the Digital Age of Mark Zuckerberg's Facebook. Each lesson stands alone or can easily be integrated into your program. Below, find a summary of each of those lessons, and a link to the most updated version of the teaching materials for each from our professors at Stony Brook University. Each of the following Course Packs include PowerPoint presentations, a...

From the Library of Michigan Michigan Reads! program - a great resource for use with preK-2 students.  Check out the Michigan Reads! link at the bottom for connection to past One Book, One Community resources. The  Michigan Reads!  Programming and Resource Guide 2017  for Bubble Gum, Bubble Gum is  now online !  The guide contains information on early literacy, activities directly related to the 2017 book, templates, coloring, and more!  Written by Meagan K. Shedd, PhD, with contributions by Catherine Lancaster and additional activities by Kris Remenar and Bubble Gum, Bubble Gum author Lisa Wheeler.   Access the Michigan Reads! Programming and Resource Guide 2017  Full Page Spreads here .  Or you may choose to open & print  single pages   of the Michigan Reads! Programming and Resource Guide 2017. Inside the Programming & Resource Guide for  Bubble Gum, Bubble Gum ...

Here are a couple of FREE professional development opportunities for educators from REMC 12E in the next couple weeks - eResources to Add to Your Classroom Toolbox We are excited to have Christine Schneider, K-12 Education Specialist for the Michigan eLibrary, leading us in a 2 1/2 hour session on all the changes that have been taking place in MeL! Date : January 13, 2017 Time : 12:30-3:00pm Where : Calhoun Intermediate School District (Gifford Schultz Building - Marshall) Cost : FREE Register at CISD's Professional Development Registration Portal Christine will be taking us into: accessing and using the subscription databases provided by the State of Michigan to all Michigan residents through MeL targeted preK-5 resources such as Scholastic BookFlix, Britannica School and WorldBook for Kids targeted grades 6-12 resources that include Research in Context, Gale Virtual Reference Library, and Health & Wellness Center.   She will be covering many of the spe...

The Henry Ford and Litton Entertainment are proud to sponsor a third year of The Henry Ford’s Innovation Nation Teacher Innovator Awards ! Looks like a great opportunity. From The Henry Ford: Do you know a teacher who has inspired others to challenge the limits of what’s possible? Who encourages others to create bold solutions? We are looking for teachers who demonstrate an original and creative approach to teaching, exhibit resourcefulness, engage students, and are making a positive impact on not only their classroom but their community, colleagues, administrators, school, and/or district. We want to know what makes these teachers innovative? How do they define innovation? How do they convey innovation to their students? Twenty teachers in total will receive prizes, with the top ten grand prize winners receiving a five-day long “Innovation Immersion Experience” at The Henry Ford in Dearborn, Michigan. Winners will be announced in June.  The aw...

One of the updates this past summer to Classroom was the ability to assign Topics to items in the stream.  This is a much appreciated addition, as it provides another way to find items in the stream.  Once you set up and use the topics, you have a "shortcut" list on the left side that let's you and your students quickly get to any item that is tagged with that topic - There are two ways to add Topics in your course.  The first is using the ADD TOPIC option on the left side - Click on ADD TOPIC - In the pop-up that appears, type in the name of the topic you wish to add -  The second way to add topics is from within an item that you are adding.  Next to where it says Topic, click on No topic to switch to the option Create topic -  You can then type in the name of the topic you wish to add -  To assign a topic to an item you are adding to your stream, click on the dropdown next to Topic - It will include any topics you have c...

For 6-12 th grade math, science, or civics teachers in Michigan. (from MDOT_TRAC) What : 1 day free MDOT-TRAC (Transportation and Civil Engineering) Training  When: Thursday November 17 Time: 8:00am-3:30 pm   Where: MDOT Transportation Service Center                   15300 West Michigan Avenue                   Marshall, MI  49068 Registration : Contact information provided at end of page For this FREE training and hands-on tools provided by MDOT:   Educators will learn to use (and will receive) hands-on math and science tools/exercises. Supplies are replenished as used.   Six SCECH hours are also available for the training. At least 1200 Michigan teachers have been trained to use these tools.  The program is used in 26 of the 50 states and is available for use in grades 6-12.  Training covers civil engineering r...

In honor of World Space Week, I encourage you to check out NASA Education.  NASA has developed quite a useful site for educators!  From the site : "As the United States begins the second century of flight, the Nation must maintain its commitment to excellence in science, technology, engineering and mathematics education to ensure that the next generation of Americans can accept the full measure of their roles and responsibilities in shaping the future.... NASA will continue to pursue three major education goals: -- Strengthening NASA and the Nation's future workforce -- Attracting and retaining students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, disciplines -- Engaging Americans in NASA's mission" Some of the items you will find on this site: Subscription to a weekly email with education opportunities Lesson plans & teaching materials searchable by keyword, subject and grade level Links to other useful materials, including NAS...

From the Library of Michigan -    Early Literacy Instruction: 10 Research-Informed Practices That Can Change Every Classroom Content provided by BloomBoard. This webinar takes place on September 26, 2016 @ 2 p.m. ET Register for this webinar now. As in many states, far too many of Michigan’s children are not reading proficiently by the end of grade three—and the situation continues to worsen. Addressing this problem can require broad and significant improvement in instructional practices. Toward that end, an Early Literacy Task Force (ELTF) in Michigan identified 10 research-informed classroom literacy instructional practices for Pre-K and 10 such practices for K-3 that can have a meaningful impact on student literacy. In this presentation, Nell Duke, Susan Townsend, and Naomi Norman will share these instructional practices, and discuss how the ELTF is working to make them a focus of professional development throughout the state of ...

REMC 12W, 12E, 11, and 15 are partnering together to offer Developing with Technology for Learning   part one of the 21Things4Teachers course.  Please share with the staff in your building/district that may be interested! FLYER: 21Things4Teachers Course Flyer When :  Oct. 10th through Nov. 18th Style : Blended with Face-to-face on Oct. 13 th from 4:30-7:00 Cost : $25 for educators in REMC 11, 12E, 12W, and 15  (this would schools served by the ESA/ISD's in Barry, Berrien, Branch, Calhoun, Hillsdale, Jackson, Kalamazoo, Lewis Cass, St. Joseph, Van Buren counties) $125 for educators outside this area -Cost includes a light dinner -30 SCECHs Available   Registration : http://goo.gl/forms/Q1jAuvZu6b

A great free family event on June 4 at St. Joseph, MI - take your kids and spend the day "making!" For more information, and to see some of the great makers that are hosting spaces, check out the FaceBook page .