December 2021 Newsletter
December has arrived, and I hope that looking back over the year, there are moments among the challenges that remind you of the value of what you do.
Here at Next Vista, we’ve worked to launch some new opportunities (all free), and it’s good to provide both updates and also some encouragement that you join in. With that, let’s jump in!
Improve the World
We have now launched a project to give your students the chance to share ideas that will launch projects around the globe. Their ideas, in short videos, will be organized for, and the strongest ones shared with, service clubs in different countries (Rotary, Lions, Kiwanis, Soroptimist, etc.). People in these clubs are capable of launching great projects, and want to work with great ideas to make them happen.
This isn’t about launching a company. Rather, it’s an insight on how a community can work with talents and resources in a creative way to help those in need. We also go to some trouble to distinguish between a nice thought and a great idea. Learn more and get guidance at the project page, here.
Inspiring Questions
This semester, we have posted a weekly “NVIV” (Next Vista Inspiring Video) ready-made activity for teachers. The videos are not part of our library, but rather fascinating ones available online. We add prompts for writing and discussion that are designed not to be the obvious questions the stories raise.
The newest one is called Acting on Your Heart, and is about a man who saves an abandoned dog. It’s a touching story, and can also allow students to think about how they make decisions.
You can find all the NVIV posts at this page.
Engaging Edupreneurs
This semester we launched the Fascinating Folks series, and gathered educators to talk with people who have learning- and school-related startups. Our first was with Brett Kopf of Omella (a new way for schools to do fundraising and handle money transactions). The second was with three pilots who started The Daily Edit (a tool for identifying bias in news articles). The third was with Jeremy Wolf of MindReady (a new program of mental training for athletes at all levels).
We will likely do a few more of these in the spring, and if you are interested in being part of the discussion, just let us know.
Sharing Cool Stuff
Richard Byrne and I will do one episode of Two EdTech Guys Take Questions and Share Cool Stuff in December, and it’s this Thursday evening! On Thursday the 2nd at 5p Pacific / 8p Eastern, we’ll answer questions and share coolness, as we always try to do. If you’re looking for a fun way to spend a half hour or so, register (it’s free) and join in!
Cool Quotes
This month we’ll highlight one of the early American presidents talking about leadership. He might as well have been talking about teachers.
If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.
– John Quincy Adams
Super Sips
No, we didn’t forget our regular sharing of some Starbucks! Congratulations for last month goes to Leah Obach in Canada. A Woohoo to you, Leah! Enjoy that coffee or tea or hot chocolate for all of us.
You can get your name in the hat for the December drawing by letting us know what you think of the ideas on our Improve the World project. Give that a look and then send your thoughts via our Contact Us page.
image credit: untitled by Joshua Hill from Unsplash (license)
First Finish
My wife and I have a tradition at the end of each year of driving up to the Golden Gate Bridge, and then walking across it and back. On the way over, we talk about what we learned from this year, and on the way back, what we hope for next year.
As I mentioned in the opening, I hope there are plenty of moments worthy of celebration for you. With however much time you have left of this term, may you inspire, and be inspired, each and every day.
In service,
Rushton and the Next Vista team
Rushton Hurley (@rushtonh)
Next Vista for Learning (@nextvista)
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
* For those of us far enough north of the equator, winter calls to mind a variety of scenes, and this effort by a group in Utah might sing to those who are wishing they could visit such places! Thanks to the folks at Roadtrippers for this story. (2:52)
* Or perhaps you love skiing. This Vimeo Staff Pick from Vimeo is some rather amazing footage of skier Sam Favret with the mountains all to himself. Well, we should add the drone operator, who got some breathtaking shots, too. (4:32)
* In this PBS NewsHour story, you’ll meet two artists exploring the beauty and terror of climate change. It’s an interesting video for engaging students in discussions about the environment, and as it happens, Next Vista also has a recording of artist Jeff Frost talking via Zoom with students at a California high school. That page also has the trailer for the California on Fire piece he did as a result of his time embedded with wildfire fire crews. (8:14, 60:28)
* When someone has a horrible barrier that technology can help the person overcome, that’s cause for joy. That it can be a technology that was intended to do something completely different can inspire, as well. In this case, Google Street View became the tool a woman named Jacqui used to get over her agoraphobia. (4:17)
* This video may not be for anyone scared of heights. It’s a story of a church in Ethiopia built far up a cliff that one must climb to visit. It’s actually in Tigray, which is a place beset by conflict, as it’s the center of a rebellion against the Ethiopian government. You might consider the dissonance between the church’s beauty and the specter of conflict as serious fodder for meditation. (3:21)
* The Shut Up and Listen TED talk given by Ernesto Sirolli is a famed one in the service world. It starts with a wonderful story of Sirolli and others as part of an Italian NGO working in Zambia, and how their well-intended efforts met with regular, consistent, and even spectacular failure. The emphasis on switching from talking to listening is a message educators and leaders might find fascinating for thinking about what does and doesn’t work in schools. Thanks go to my friend Karin Semler for recommending this to me. (16:53)
* The nature of bias is certainly a hot topic at the moment, and if you are looking for a strong introductory video on the subject, Understanding Unconscious Bias from The Royal Society is a good choice. I felt the mathematical example of using instinct instead of analysis can prompt questions without stepping onto any political landmines. (2:59)
* For your students who like or plan to build big things, here’s a really, really big machine to help make it happen. It’s a 640-ton Chinese machine that places prefabricated bridge girders, which apparently saves a tremendous amount of time and money. For details, feel free to get your engineering deets in this post from a group called (what else?) Interesting Engineering. Thanks to the Future Crunch folks for sharing this one! (4:45)
* For your biology and physiology students, here’s a video from the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and the Vaccine Makers Project on how COVID mRNA vaccines work. Thanks to Mr Shagrin for sharing this one!
Worth the Listen
* Do your students focus enough? Do they focus too much? In this episode of Tim Harford’s Cautionary Tales, called Fritterin’ Away Genius, Tim explores the story of Claude Shannon, one of the pioneers of computer science, and his attempt to use what he knew to beat the odds in Las Vegas. (41:02)
* I’ve been impressed by the EdSurge podcast plenty of times, but this one holds a special place in my heart. It’s about the VING Project, which challenges teens to explain why someone they know (not themselves, not a family member) is deserving of a $1000 check. The program selects some of those submitted and sends them the check to take to the person. There are some really heart-warming stories, and as this is a season of thanksgiving and family, do yourself a favor and give it a listen. If you like what you hear, give the VING website a look; maybe your students can give this a shot! (27:06)
* My bad. Have I done something wrong? Plenty of times, but that’s not why I open with those two words. Rather, it’s a reference to a powerful podcast by Jeffrey Young in which he interviews Jon Harper, an assistant principal in Maryland who has his own podcast called My Bad. They talk about the power of admitting mistakes, and any teacher interested in raising their game and at the same time taking care of themselves will find this a powerful listen. (27:49)
Worth the Read
* If you haven’t heard of Outschool, you might give it a look. From this article by EdSurge writer Emily Tate: “Outschool’s business model is pretty straightforward. Teachers set their prices. Families pay those prices. And Outschool gets a 30 percent cut.” The article goes on to describe the challenges of taking the explosion of interest in the last eighteen months forward in some meaningful way.
* Just looking at the title, Improving Critical Thinking May Take Practice, I groan. Of course it takes practice. The article from EdSurge, however, is very much worth the read. Author Rebecca Koenig looks at work being done by Indiana University researchers to help people better identify logical fallacies and weaknesses in research, and they point to a number of other resources for those exploring digital and information literacy.
* Wikipedia is a fascinating subject for lots of reasons, and in this Edutopia article, you’ll see several reasons to encourage students to use the site. From using it to examine how knowledge is collaborative created, to assessing a variety of sources and citations, to actively becoming involved in assembling needed information, you have at the very least good fodder for a discussion with colleagues.
* One might decide that the title How To Handle The Student Disrespect Sweeping The Country is overblown hype. However, whether or not you believe there is a pandemic of disrespect, the seven teacher behaviors that the author, Michael Linsin, recommends are ones that should be carefully considered by all educators.
Worth the Try
* Those interested in the world of freely available, online textbooks will likely know of CK-12, one of the pioneers of the movement. Their “flexbooks” are constructed so as to give teachers maximum flexibility over which concepts are covered when. The 2.0 iteration of the flexbooks include controls for teachers using the books with students, and Spanish translations for some of the offerings.
* While in an ISTE-developed DEI course recently, I ran across a one-page resource called the Continuum on Becoming an Anti-Racist, Multicultural Institution. It’s a fascinating attempt to identify steps toward a fully inclusive environment, and I believe its complexity can allow for much more constructive discussions than the simplified messages so often highlighted in the news.
* Looking over a recent mailing from Richard Byrne (learn about that here), I learned that Flippity has made it even easier to quickly create a name picker spin wheel thing. From the page linked, add a list of names, click generate, and you’re good to go! Thanks, Richard!
* CNN has a weekly gallery of pictures for major news events around the world. Here’s the set for the week of November 11th. This is not a set filtered to make a resource for the tender-hearted, we should note; the world is full of both amazing and awful things. Still, being able to consider difficult images and discuss what they mean from a variety of perspectives is one way to educate a capable citizen. Always review these before using them in class, and make sure you’re prepared to talk about the highly controversial elements the images can prompt.
* Another impressive set of photos comes from the Historic Photographer of the Year Awards 2021, which is something that happens in the UK. Find some amazing photos on the BBC page linked above.
* One of the least useful things I’ve ever shared: balancing rocks. Thanks to my buddy Shags (a.k.a. The Paella Master) for sharing this gem.
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Last Bit
Building off my story in the First Finish section, I figured a nice image of the Golden Gate Bridge might be a good finish for 2021. Enjoy the final stretch of the year, everyone!
Golden Gate Sunset
by Chris Brignola
from Unsplash
(license)
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