Learning in the Lou

I was driving from Dressel to Sappington and back again today. I happened to glance over at the Grant's Farm fence and noticed a bit of rust on it. As I drove I saw lots of rust running on the chain link running from one end of the property to the other. It reminded me a lot of the USS Fredrick. I lived on the Fast Freddy for six long months. What was that like you ask? Kinda like living in your classroom for six months only not as nice. While on ship I noticed the Navy was constantly scraping and painting to stop the always advancing rust. Rust that was slowly eating away any metal surface. USS Fredrick, LST 1184 Mombasa,Kenya This metal eating rust has me worried about the fence. It also make me think about the wonderful STEM connections I saw. Here are the questions I started coming up with as I drove by the farm. They are random, maybe impossible but they all could start a conversation. Some I know the answer to and some I may never know.  How much strength...

There are times when you can explain something so well that you wish you could publish that somewhere to help the kids when they are at home. Other times it would be sweet to clone yourself so you could help with all the individual needs in your classroom. Have you ever considered creating short video tutorials? It is wicked easy and very powerful to the kids who just need that extra little boost, attention or guidance. This post will show you how to use Screencat-O-Matic and some best practice ideas to help you get started. Things to consider before you begin recording:     1. Have a plan. I usually keep a bullet point list of what I want to say to help guide the video.     2. Keep it short. Short as in a handful of minutes.     3. Watch your video before you publish it. This is the best way to catch your mistakes.     4. Patience. It takes a little time to perfect the art of video creation.     5. Discovery. How will the ...

We showed you how to use your laptop to type by voice and that was pretty cool. Now check out how to do that on your mobile devices. Both of these samples are using the Google Docs app. It is recommended that you download the app before you start voice typing. iOS Note: These screenshots are using the iOS 11 beta. Your screen might look slightly different. Open the Docs app. Create a new document. Click the microphone on the keyboard. Start voice writing. 1. You should see a wavy line at the bottom indicating the microphone is picking up your voice. 2. Click the check when you are finished voice typing. Android Open the Docs app. Create a new document. Click the  microphone . Start voice writing. Click the check in the upper left when finished.

I love my Google Home and Amazon Echo, all I do is ask and they deliver. I am also impressed with how well my mobile can translate my voice into text messages so I don't have to type. Take these two amazing ideas and wrap them together to get Voice Typing in Google Docs. All you need to do is talk and the computer converts what you say into actual editable text. I know... it isn't perfect. As I use my old school keyboard to create these words I am making a number of mistakes, nothing is 100% perfect. When I write on paper that process isn't 100% perfect either. If I used paper, keyboard or voice they are not perfect but they are good enough to get ideas down so we can then edit them. Getting Started Open Google Docs. 1. Click Tools . 2. Click Voice typing... Click to speak to get started.  Note: You may get a popup asking to allow Chrome to use the microphone, you must allow this for voice typing to work. As I talk the red microphone emit...

My daughter also loves Post-Its. While my thoughts might fit under one wide umbrella they are sometimes scattered. That isn't good or bad, it is just how I think from time to time. At times I think it is a strength, thinking of different possibilities and letting the mind wander down random paths. Other times it might just hinder forward momentum. I also love Post-It Notes. I love them so much I carry them in my bag. When I only have one color I start to worry. Here is a way to take the very best of Post-It Notes and technology mashing them into one slick tool. Padlet - Overview This quick overview shows how flexible Padlet could be for you and your classroom. Padlet - Getting Started I used my Lindbergh Google account to log into Padlet. 1. Clicking Padlets allows me to see everything that I have created. 2. Click + New to create a new Padlet page. Select a Padlet type. For this example we will use Canvas . 1. Choose a title for the whole ...

If you asked my kids how long a minute is they would have two versions. One is how long an actual minute takes and the other is how long Papa thinks a minute lasts. These two are wildly different. Does this sound like you? I'll tell them that we are leaving in one minute and that could mean thirty seconds or a full five minutes. Same thing happened to me in the classroom, time kinda dissolves into the unknown. I recently found a Chrome extension that would have helped me better manage classroom time. As a bonus, check out the YouTube timer trick below. Chrome Check out the Timer Chrome extension for a super fast timer and easy to use timer. I set up a five second timer. When time runs out a YouTube video appeared and plays a series of chimes. Pretty cool. Getting Started Install the extension . 1. Click the Apps icon in the upper left corner of Chrome. 2. Click Timer to launch the site. You can quickly create all types of fast timers. YouTube ...

So I have a PDF and I need to edit it. Here is one method that works pretty well for me. Open Word. Click File .  1. Click Open . 2. Click Browse . 3. Find the PDF you want to annotate. 4. Click Open . Click OK when you see this box. Bam! Your PDF now opens in Word. Note: you maybe have to click Enable Editing at the top of the screen. Finished editing and want to turn it back into a PDF? Click File . 1. Click Save As . 2. Click This PC . 3. Pick a location. I usually save things to my desktop. 4. Click Save as type - and choose PDF. 5. Click Save .

Like you, my music tastes are pretty wide. One minute I'm listening to old punk and the next Taylor Swift. Sometimes these artists are not exactly classroom friendly. This post is dedicated to finding some great music to play over the speakers that won't cause any issue. Top Picks      Quickly play some mellow tracks on Google Play Music . Make sure you pay attention to how to toggle off the explicit lyrics, very nice. This same idea applies to Pandora but I can't seem to find the setting within Spotify.       Piano Guys - a modern take on many original hits       2cellos - similar to the Piano Guys       Yo Yo Ma - classical instrumental music       The Vitamin String Quartet - new versions of well known songs played on string instruments       George Winston - mellow piano music Don't forget to check out all the noise generators that are a click away. These range from white/pink n...

connected! This summer technology has updated the network and the process for connecting your personal devices has changed. Open your WiFi settings and connect your device to the LindberghBYOD network. It will say connected but that is only the first step. It may show that you are connected but you have to move to step two to fully authentic into the network. Try to connect to a website. I usually pick something short and quick, like CNN.com. The above screen should appear. Click or add your Lindbergh email address. Then add your Lindbergh email password if it asks. After entering or selecting your credentials it is now fully connected to the LindberghBYOD network. My Daily   Monthly Process:      1. Connect to LindberghBYOD. I wait until it says Connected before moving to the next step.      2. Open a random website.      3. Click on my Lindbergh Google account. There might be another way to ...

While I'm not a huge chip fan I like them from time to time. Maybe a better title should substitute chips for cupcakes. I'm pretty sure I could eat cupcakes from The Cup for all three meals a day. Not as a dessert but for the actual whole meal and then have a cupcake for dessert. It might be fun for a while, I know in the long run eating that many sweets would not be a good idea. I apply this same concept to twitter, too much junk in my feed and my overall health declines. I hit twitter a few times a day and each time I find gold. The treasure I find is mostly due to who I follow. Here are a few people that have given me great ideas, insights and hope. Jo Boaler - I was not a huge math fan until I was maybe 20. I think if I could have followed Jo I would have seen things in a much different light. Even if you do not teach math I would encourage you to still follow her. Alice Keeler - I get so many new Google Classroom ideas by following Alice. Not a week goes by...

I was at the gym today and this memory of a video hit me. I was standing by some equipment and a guy came over and nodded towards the bench. All I had to do is shake my head. Nothing else needed. No words, just minor head movements. This whole thing made me wonder how often I allow my nonverbal expressions to tell a story. I wonder how many times my students weren't met with a friendly smile, did that put a damper on their day? How often do I turn teachers away just by some expression I'm not even aware of? A few years ago we came across this video. We played it during a training and then I forgot about it. Maybe a month later I was walking through Truman and I saw a bunch of signs posted. I spent maybe twenty minutes walking the halls looking at each one. These simple posters changed my whole attitude, made me think and feel differently. My whole week was more energizing just by reading a few words. I wonder... what if we held signs like in the video? How might that c...

We have visited a number of modern office buildings, businesses, schools and labs over the past few years. Most have many options for seating. These options ranged from tall stools and chairs to sitting on pillows. All of these are pretty sweet choices for people to make. About two years ago we visited a design firm that offered one last layer to this modern work space feel, sound. Think of any open work space, like a classroom, and you have a ton of noise. Even if no one is talking, the classroom still produces a lot of noise. What this firm had was an active noise canceling system which is similar to the headphones a lot of people wear. The speakers emit a very low, soft white noise that helps soften the sounds within the space. I thought it might be a gimmick so they told me to just look out over all the workers in the open space. They pulled out a device and shut the system noise canceling system off. Within seconds all these heads started popping up looking around. When the...