How Much is Too Much Sharing?

 

What is appropriate to share? What is not?

Professional Teacher Networks

We have expanded our Personal Learning Networks (PLNs) this summer but here are a few additional suggestions, in case anyone is interested.

1. The Teaching Channel: This site offers numerous free videos by grade level and subject.
2. The Current of Learning and Teaching Today: This is a collection of innovative resources created and curated by community members. Check it out -- it's really cool!
3. National Writing Project: This is a collection of writing resources and topics.
4. KQED: This site offers free medial literacy teaching and learning resources.
5. Teaching Degree: This site offers opportunities for professional networking in teaching.
6. 4Teachers: This site has been around for a very long but their tools are still pretty awesome. Check them out!

Do you have any favorite resources?

St Petersburg, Russia: The Hermitage Museum Tour

Even though all of us were negatively impacted by COVID-19 global pandemic, there is always a silver lining somewhere. We now have an amazing YouTube collection of recordings of many famous museums around the world. When global travel halted, many lovers of art used the power of social media to share their beloved museums with other people around the world. How cool is that?

Here is a tour of one of my favorite museums, The Hermitage, in St Petersburg, Russia. You can wander the Winter Palace for days, admiring its architecture and enormous collection of art. Did you know that its façade is 705 feet long and 98 feet high? There are 1,886 doors, 1,945 windows, 1,500 rooms, and 117 staircases. 

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winter_Palace#:~:text=The%20green%2Dand%2Dwhite%20palace,1%2C500%20rooms%20and%20117%20staircases. 

Piazza for Produsage Project?

I have tried out Piazza for our class a few weeks ago and was pleasantly surprised that I will be using this tool for the upcoming Beauty and Joy of Computing (BJC) Professional Development. It is a great tool for hosting a project!

Here are some screenshots of how it is being used, in case any of you need more ideas for the produsage project. Our class example was awesome, by the way, so you may want to go back and take a look, if you have not done that yet.

Digital Citizenship Memes

 

I wholeheartedly agree with this statement! Simply telling students what to do goes in one ear and flies out the other. We need to provide opportunities to apply digital citizenship best practices and behaviors and model those ourselves.

I usually share real-life stories with my students and we discuss the implications of permanent digital footprint.

This poster hangs in my classroom and I refer to it often, as we discuss various related scenarios.

Good Source vs Bad Source

Finding information online is not an issue -- there is an abundance of it! Did you know that more than 1.7 megabytes of new information is being created every second for every human being on the planet? You will find more fascinating statistics HERE, if interested.

However, much of this information is of questionable quality. As information explosion is gathering momentum, it's becoming more and more difficult to navigate the information and sift out poor quality sources.

Source: https://humanistlife.org.uk/2015/06/29/avoiding-bad-information/ 

I found an interesting blog post that offers four ways to differentiate between good and bad sources:

1. Check the domain name
2. Take a closer look at the source
3. Search for additional information to back up what you have found
4. Use certain sources only to jump-start additional research

What are you thoughts on this topic?

HVAC Adventures (with Social Media Component)

This meme is so true... and that's where I am right now, since yesterday early afternoon! 😭 Not cool, literally...

I finally found an old friend who is a reliable and honest HVAC technician, after trying to track him down through another uncooperative friend (that's another story about egos and such). Social media to the rescue (Facebook, specifically)! I was very happy to see a reply last night. He and his wife are amazing people.

In the meantime, I could not just sit and wait, so I called one of the local companies (thank you, Google). The technician came, delivered the dreaded news of "locked up compressor," and recommended a new system, to the tune of $6,100. 

OK, not good, so I started calling around for quotes (haven't heard back from my friend at that time yet). Home Depot-affiliated Florida Home AC sent someone within a couple of hours (a plus for fast response, on Sunday afternoon). Then their salesperson showed up. He supposedly knocked on the door (don't believe him; yes, my fan was running but it's not very loud; I would have heard someone at the door). Instead, he called the home ship and reported that I was not at home. The office person called and I found the salesperson sitting in his car in front of the house. He barely glanced at the outside unit and I let him inside, to look at the air intake system in our basement. 

He immediately stated that he needed to use the bathroom first (yes, stated, not asked -- there is a difference). He whined that he drove an hour to get to the house and must use the bathroom before he can do anything else. Really, in the age of COVID? I don't like other people using my bathroom and here is this stranger, being very pushy? There are plenty of gas stations near the house as well as interstate rest area nearby. My high school students can plan better! The bathroom is upstairs, next to the bedroom, so I kept an eye on him, not really knowing what he is truly up to.

He finally took another quick glance at the air intake and declared that replacement cost is $10,271. By that time, I have done my homework and knew that this quote was baloney. I told him as much and he turned on the slimy salesperson mode, stating in saccharine voice that he was a professional and I did not really know how to price the system. Oh, no -- that does not work with me, especially since I was already furious with him regarding barely glancing at the system and the bathroom demand. I politely but firmly asked him to leave and threw his quote in garbage.

The ratings for the first company are good so the first guy was probably honest, but I will still wait for my friend, as he can double-check and offer a much better replacement deal, if it comes to that. In the meantime, I am sitting next to the fan that is running at full blast. How did people survive pre-AC???

Lesson Plan Design Tips

I have written countless lesson plans in my 24 years old of teaching. However, here is a great resource for those of you who have never created a lesson plan in your life! :)

Saying NO and Focusing on Important Things

My journey as a PhD student has been long and treacherous, mostly due to my foolishness and unfocused meandering, often getting distracted by what seemed to be important at the time but was not really, in the hindsight. When I almost lost my dream of earning a PhD, I have made a promise to myself to chuck anything that distracts me, no matter how enticing or seemingly important.

I have kept that promise to myself when I turned down a number of cool opportunities during the past school year and several times this summer. There were several interesting professional development as well as consulting opportunities but I only allowed myself one, just one, and only because it kind of relates to what we are doing in this class, does not interfere with my ability to focus on two classes I am taking, and will be over by early August.

It feels amazing to be able to say No and do it consistently, for almost one full year now. I do not allow anyone to guilt me or try to talk me into something. If it interferes with my PhD completion plan,

The Role of Social Media During Storms

As Hurricane Elsa is swirling just offshore the Tampa Bay area, with heavy rains and gusty winds already spreading inland, I am keeping an eye on it and learning some interesting facts. Did you know that the last time Category 1 Hurricane made landfall on the west coast of Florida in July 134 years? The landfall is predicted north of Tampa Bay sometimes on Wednesday morning. 

It should not severely impact the area where I teach (Wesley Chapel) but that area is under Tropical Storm Warning. I am on the opposite coast, in St Augustine, for the summer but some inclement weather is expected here as well, with thunderstorms and winds 20-30 mph, with gusts around 40 mph.

As I was searching for information, I came across this article:

Ulvi, O., Lippincott, N., Khan, M. H., Mehal, P., Bass, M., Lambert, K., Lentz, E., & Haque, U. (2019, December 10). The role of social and mainstream media during storms. Journal of Public Health and Emergency. https://jphe.amegroups.com/article/view/5543/html.

Did you know that Twitter is the most widely used social medial tool for storm information? Facebook is also popular. Then they mention Plurk... What is it? Never heard of Plurk! Of course I had to check it out. Here is a link, if anyone is interested: https://www.plurk.com/portal/. 

Weird... Should I start plurking? Yes, that's what you apparently do here. It looks fishy so I think I will delete my account.

ss

Pelmeni and Community Building

Pelmeni, or meat-filled dumplings, is a Russian National dish. Mom's recipe, tried and true, fail-proof, is found HERE. 

While now everybody is using the pelmeni mold, to save time, but making pelmeni by hand (see shaping technique below) used to be a family (or even community) event. People caught up on news, made plans, and made delicious dumplings. Some dumplings were cooked and eaten while fresh but most of pelmeni were frozen, to be used for quick meals. In Siberian villages, where it was very cold and snow was clean, pelmeni were frozen outside and stored in a cold cellar.

Sure, you can buy frozen ravioli but there is nothing like homemade pasta that melts in your mouth, with juicy meat inside. Is your mouth watering yet? Head to my Facebook group and make them today! :)