April 2023 Newsletter
It’s April, and you are welcome to count the number of times the word “cool” appears on this page. That is to say, we’ve got loads of great stuff for you!
Cars that Fly
One of the best ways to bring students into an active, positive frame of mind for learning is to put something in front of them that is clearly cool. As I often say when I’m speaking to groups or doing trainings, we don’t spend enough time talking about the pedagogical value of fun and cool.
In this case, the video is of the 2021 first inter-city flight of a combination car and plane. There is no dialogue, and only a bit of text at the beginning, which makes it easier for students at any age to find what fascinates them in the visuals.
The post is called Letting an Idea Take Off, and I hope you both enjoy it and find that it engages your students.
Creative Contests
Speaking of cool, wouldn’t it be cool for your students’ creative explanations to be videos that we celebrate with educators around the world?
You can make this happen by getting involved in Creative Spark ’23, our annual contest asking students to explain something they’ve encountered in school in 90 seconds or less. What they create could then become a tool for helping future students with challenging concepts (“Take a look at this video, and pause it when you get confused.”).
It’s part of our nonprofit’s mission to help teachers ease into doing these kinds of dynamic activities, so if you’re curious, just let us know!
Cool Questions
More coolness. In the most recent episode of Two EdTech Guys Take Questions, Richard (practicaledtech.com) and Rushton answer questions about policies regarding ChatGPT, end-of-year projects, and more.
In addition to the exploration that comes from the good questions folks have sent in, they also share a couple of great freebies. Richard described the tool Hello History, and Rushton showed a writing/discussion prompt resource related to a story about a performing group in which all the dancers are deaf.
Good Gigs
If you’re at NCEA, drop by my Wednesday session at 9:15 in Grand Ballroom 8 (Level 4), where I’ll do a session called The Stories of Your School and Their Power for PD and PR. I’ll focus on how what we create out of what happens at our school itself becomes a tool for building and sharing an exploratory culture.
Super Sips
Would you like to win a $5 Starbucks card? If you are Pat Hensley, you just did! Congratulations to her for winning the March drawing. If you’d like to be the April awardee, then click on the image above of the flying car, watch the featured video, and tell us what you think of the post. We welcome your feedback, and hope to give you a little treat as a thanks!
image by Nathan Dumlao from Unsplash (license)
Wildfire Grant
Our project Educational Videos for the Science and Prevention of Wildfires is one that is generating some great activities and videos at several California schools. You can see what students have sent (and refined with our feedback and sent back) at this page. We would love to have your students help others learn about wildfires by interpreting the prompts by sharing cool videos they make. Get the details by reaching out on our Contact Us page. If you’re not in California but curious, just let us know and we’ll find a way to get you involved, too.
image by Tengyart from Unsplash (license)
First Finish
As always, we hope you have already been inspired (or at least intrigued) by what’s above, and will be so with one or more of what’s below! May your term enter its homestretch well, and as we always say, may you inspire, and be inspired, each and every day.
In service,
Rushton and the Next Vista team
Muchas Freebies
We love sharing cool free stuff, and invite you to help us out. You can find the best of what we’ve gathered over the years on the Next Vista Resources pages, but if there is something free and powerful you love that you don’t find there, let us know about it using our resources submission form.
Images in the freebies section are screenshots from videos or web pages unless otherwise noted.
Worth the Watch
* June Grant is an architect in Oakland, California, who was born and raised in Jamaica. She brings fascinating perspectives on innovative approaches to community to her work, and in this talk to an audience at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco, she explains why in-law units might be an answer to several issues related to homelessness. (11:02)
* Did you know that whale sharks are considered the biggest fish in the ocean? In this 360° video from BBC Earth, you’ll learn a bit about them, and see them from very close up! (3:37)
* While we’re tapping the talents of the BBC, take a look at this piece about a bird handler getting a chance to paraglide for the first time. It’s a cool story about eagles, but also about what it means to experience something you’ve dreamed of doing. (4:27)
* If you haven’t been to the western part of North America, you might use this film by Mike Bishop, made mostly of drone footage, to get inspired to make the trip. (2:42)
* There’s something fascinatingly weird about the perfect look of the foods in advertisements. As you may already know, that’s because they have what we’ll call “techniques,” and in this video, you’ll learn some of the tricks to make things look much better than with the real process. (3:09)
* Finally, just in case you didn’t appreciate how fast AI is working its way into our world, here’s a guy (“Obscurious”) who shares the best of over 200 AI tools he examined. Several mind-blown moments happened for me in this one. Thanks to my buddy Leigh Zeitz for pointing me to this gem! (12:49)
Worth the Read
* This relatively short read from The Guardian is about confronting a fear – the big fear. For some impressive reflection on who we are, read What being a hospice volunteer taught me about death and life by Anna Tims.
* I love a thoughtful piece on our profession, and this one in EdSurge by Alice Domínguez is a strong one about the new world generative AI has ushered in. I recommend We Can’t Keep ChatGPT Out of the Classroom, so Let’s Address the ‘Why’ Behind Our Fears, and welcome any thoughts you might share (see the “Contact Us” link, above).
Worth the Try
* Richard Byrne recently recommended CocoMaterial and its free clipart collection as part of one of the episodes of Two EdTech Guys Take Questions that we recorded. You can also see Richard’s tutorial on the tool here.
* As I am spending a lot of time getting to know different generative AI tools, I come across some pretty impressive resources, and this one, The Sentient Syllabus, is loaded with interesting sample text and commentary on how to think about working ChatGPT and similar tools into your systems.
* For updates with Google tools, Eric Curts provides great explanations and examples. His post about the updates announced before BETT includes quite a few that are specific to Education Plus customers, but even if you’re not paying Google for that level, this post is good for knowing what the company has happening at the moment.
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Last Bit
As I write this, I’m kicked back in my parents’ home in Austin, Texas. I was probably a week late to catch them at their best, but have been able to enjoy some of the waning moments of what I’ll fondly call bluebonnet season. This photo, by Samantha Amidon on Unsplash, is a good one for getting the idea.
photo by Samantha Amidon
from Unsplash
(license)
See you next month!
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