January 2023 Newsletter
Welcome to 2023! I hope the year is off to a good start for you and yours, and that you have already been inspired by something a student said to you.
I love being able to share ideas and resources with teachers around the world in this newsletter, and thank you for taking time to read what we put together. As always, we welcome your thoughts on how to improve what we do.
Powerful Prompts
We continue to post weekly activities designed to give your students a thought-provoking story, and give you strong questions you can ask as part of a writing assignment or discussion.
This week’s offering is about a homeless guy who was looking for something, but not what the community thought. Learn how he inspired others and share with your students in the NVIV post, Reasons and Assumptions.
Contests
We’ve wrapped up our fall contest, and will announce the finalists in the February newsletter. If you’d like to have students try their hand at making videos to help others learn something, please let us know! We love helping teachers make these creative contests go smoothly.
Wildfire Education Grant
California teachers, we’re talking free PD, free webinars with fire experts, and the chance for students’ creative work to be recognized and perhaps even save lives. The big title is, “Educational Videos for the Science and Prevention of Wildfires,” and we hope your students will take part. Here are the prompts for them to consider. Get involved (or answer the previous question) 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)
Considering ChatGPT
Perhaps the most powerful education-related technology to be made widely available in the last year is one that appeared about six weeks ago and that I hope you’re discussing with colleagues: ChatGPT. Rather than place this in the resources section, I’ve decided to let you know how we’re thinking about it here.
ChatGPT is a text-prediction tool that can “write” essays, poetry, programming code, and more. It is most powerful when used developmentally, that is, by having it produce something, and then instructing it to refine what it wrote in some way. It is very different from a search engine, though they have similarities.
I have been studying the tool, and am interested in connecting with other educators to discuss the many negative and positive ramifications of ChatGPT for students. If you’re interested, send me a quick note using our Contact Us form.
Down the rabbit hole by Matt Halls from Unsplash (license)
Super Sips
A very happy new year to Dionne Clabaugh, who won our December Starbucks card drawing!
Would you like a hot drink on us? If so, take a look at the NVIV post, Reasons and Assumptions (or any of the other offerings) and tell us what you think. We welcome your feedback.
image by Nathan Dumlao from Unsplash (license)
First Finish
While coming to the end of a vacation break is often tough for teachers, do remember that for plenty of students, coming back to school is a return to structure, safety, and encouragement. You get to do work that means a great deal to those you work with. It’s often very hard, but it is a blessing.
As we say every month, may you inspire, and be inspired, each and every day!
Sincerely,
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
* Some hobbies are really common, like reading or photography. Others are rather rare, such as cluster ballooning. In this video from Great Big Story, you’ll meet Jonathan Trappe, who has a story to tell about why he flies using ordinary helium balloons. (5:14)
* I am a big fan of The Memory Project – Ben Schumaker’s nonprofit that has high school artists creating portraits for kids in some of the toughest circumstances around the world. Late last month, they released a new video about their work with Ukrainian refugee children, and it’s one you’ll want to share. (If it seems to just keep loading in your web page, try a different browser.) (6:24)
* Staying with the art theme, here’s a New York artist who uses bubble wrap to create his paintings. In part, this has to do with the history of bubble wrap, but it also generates a second painting along the way. Thanks to Art Insider for sharing this one. (3:14)
* The BBC makes plenty of clips from its Sir David Attenborough-narrated nature series available to us. This one, Painted Turtles Defrost Back to Life, is about the “world’s most northerly turtle,” and how it handles the very cold winters of its setting. (3:10)
* Those of you who study really unusual learning settings might already know about the Green School. This eco-friendly private option in Bali is built mainly from bamboo, mud, and grass, and is celebrated in this video both for its academic approach and its stunning architecture. (7:20)
* PBS Learning Media has a number of videos designed to help students better understand the technology they use every day. This one for middle and high school students is called How to Spot Fake Screenshots on Social Media, and could prompt some strong discussions about how to think about how they and we are targeted. Thanks to Lisa Highfill for sharing this one. (3:51)
Worth the Read
* At this point, you may well have heard of the online AI writing tool, ChatGPT (see above for a discussion about that). If you haven’t, Eric Curts’ post about it (along with the accompanying post written by the tool) is well worth your time.
* You might also take time to read The Future of the High School Essay by Greg Toppo. The article, also about the ramifications of ChatGPT, is from a site called “The 74,” which is named for the 74 million children in the U.S., and is a nonprofit that covers education at all levels.
* While I’m suspicious of any article that starts with a number (“3 things you must know now!” and the like), I decided to give 5 Ways to Stop Thinking for Your Students a try. What I found was a set of highly practical thoughts on what one does while teaching that can move students forward in very clever ways. It’s good for everyone, but especially for math and world language teachers.
* This article from the New York Times, “When Darkness Falls, Three Friends Find Ancient Art,” may be behind a paywall, but if not, it’s a strong read that may give your students a new perspective on how we think about our connection to people who lived long ago. You might also check with your librarian to see if there is a school account that will get you to the article, if needed.
Worth the Try
* I have become a big fan of Visual Capitalist in recent months, and this post on different metrics for countries across the globe is a trove of information for students learning about international topics. Try having students use one of the datasets to offer possible explanations for others.
* On the fun front, Animate from Audio is a new component of Adobe Express that allows you to record yourself saying something, and have an animated character that you choose deliver it as a little video. Super fun! A big thanks to Richard Byrne, whose weekly newsletter, Practical Ed Tech, introduced this to me.
* Ken Kay suggested the Rewordify site for those looking to simplify passages for students. It works to replace complex vocabulary with more easily understood terms. The site doesn’t seem to have an ad, other than the banner for the Chrome extension, and notes that all student accounts are anonymous.
* Eric Curts recommends using tools in Google Slides to create what he calls “photo words,” and has a highly detailed blog post explaining how to do it.
Recent Newsletters
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Last Bit
For many of you, this isn’t a new school year. That said, for your students who struggle, give them hope that they can turn the corner with the start of the term.
Act one Scene one by Kind and Curious
from Unsplash (license)
See you next month!
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