Waffle Bytes

The MACUL Conference is this week!   (This is the third in a series of 4 to help you get ready and excited about going to the conference. Tipsheet #1 contains information about hydration, food considerations and special happenings at the conference. Tipsheet #2 contains information about planning for your conference - the conference app, choosing sessions. Tipsheet #3 contains information about registration, getting help, networking, and wearing comfortable shoes!) Here are some other tidbits that might help you out as you arrive at the conference next week: COBO Layout : COBO is now basically a big “L” with sessions dispersed over 3 or 4 levels on both sides of the L; the left side of the L faces the river.   The end hallway overlooks the river since it has been renovated. They have added escalators and a huge staircase which help with traffic flow.  Long time conference goers should know they dropped the old naming...

The MACUL Conference is less than a couple weeks away! (This is the third in a series of 4 to help you get ready and excited about going to the conference. Tipsheet #1 contains information about hydration, food considerations and special happenings at the conference. Tipsheet #2 contains information about planning for your conference - the conference app, and picking sessions.) 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 when there are several thousand people around!  Here are some bits of advice to avoid missing the opening keynote session: 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 Again this year there will be "self-check" registration where you check in at a computer, then proceed to where your badge is printe...

The 2019 MACUL Conference is now less than a month away! (This is the second in a series of 4 to help you get ready and excited about going to the conference. Tipsheet #1 contains information about hydration, food considerations and special happenings at 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 feel more prepared when coming to the 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 YOUR 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 bl...

(This is 1 in a series of 4 to help you get ready and excited about going to this year's conference.) Yes, you 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 in 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 special events 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/mug and keep filling it all day instead of purchasing expensive bottles of water Food at Cobo : there are several food vendors right in COBO; some tips about these: there will be around 4000 attendees AND hundreds of additional vendors at the venue, and everyone will be taking about the same meal breaks - either pick up foo...

The MACUL Conference is only a week away! (This is the third in a series of 4 to help you get ready and excited about going to the conference. Tipsheet #1 contains information about hydration, food considerations and special happenings at the conference. Tipsheet #2 contains information about planning for your conference - the conference app, speakers, session information. Tipsheet #3 contains information about registration, getting help, networking, and wearing comfortable shoes!) Here are some other tidbits that might help you out as you arrive at the conference next week: COBO Layout : COBO is now basically a big “L” with sessions dispersed over 3 or 4 levels on both sides of the L; the left side of the L faces the river.   The renovations are pretty near to full completion.  The end hallway overlooks the river since it has been renovated. They have added escalators and a huge staircase which help with traffic flow.  Long time confe...

So my #MACUL16 Tipsheets generated some ideas from all of you! Here's a bonus tipsheet with your ideas - Bring a power strip to make new friends at crowded outlets. ~Carol Isakson Get to your sessions early. Once a session is full, the doors will be closed and a “Session Full”  sign should be visible. If you see a session full sign on a door or a representative tells you it is full, please respect that and do not enter. Don't try to fill every session slot . Spend an hour in the exhibit hall or just sitting and reflecting on other sessions. Your brain and your feet both need a rest sometime. ~Andy Losik Wear your badge . The badge holder and lanyard will be in your conference bag. You will pick up your bag after check-in. Before you arrive at the conference stop by the store and grab some easy to eat bananas, granola bars, etc. ~The President (?? Not sure which president!) Come celebrate our 40th anniversary with us on Thursday night! The MACUL party wil...

Google Search does much more than search websites.  It has many features embedded right in.  These are great back-pocket nuggets for when you are in a hurry and don't have time to open another app or pull out a reference book. Here area a few ELA related items you can perform right in the search bar: Define a word Starting your search with define followed by the word will bring up a box with the definition at the top of the search results with links for translations, word origins and more definitions. Find books by author Typing in "books by" followed by the author's name in the search bar will result in a bar displaying books by that author at the top of the results list.  Additionally you get biographical information about the author below to the right. Current Events Adding "news:" before a search term will return news stories at the top of the search results.  Translate Type "translate" in the search box to b...

Google Search does much more than search websites.  It has many features embedded right in.  These are great back-pocket nuggets for when you are in a hurry and don't have time to open another app or pullout a calculator (or can't find a coin to settle the argument). Here area a few math related items you can perform right in the search bar: Calculator: If you start to type numbers into the search bar, a calculator will appear as the top search.  You can do complex arithmetic - just make sure to remember your order of operations and use parenthesis! Calculations: Not sure how to type symbols on your keyboard?  You can phrase the problem as a question and it will still calculate it for you. Graphing: It isn't just a calculator, it's a graphing calculator! Add the word graph before typing in your function to see the graph.  You can even mouse over the graph to get coordinate points. Playing the Odds: Typing in "flip a coin" brings up ...