May 2021 Newsletter, Part 2
Hi everyone!
This short version of the Next Vista newsletter is a chance for a little end-of-term coolness in the midst of the maelstrom many are mired in about this time of year.
Do I get any alliteration accolades for that sentence?
Wonderful Webinars
Richard Byrne of the highly hip Free Tech for Teachers site and I will do another episode of Two EdTech Guys Take Questions and Share Cool Stuff today (Thursday, May 20th) at 4p Pacific, 7p Eastern. Register for free here.
If you’ve got a question, feel free to toss it our way, and we’ll try giving it a good answer.
Super Stories
One of the favorite elements of the newsletter, if comments I’ve received are representative of the realm, is the set of cool things to watch. Here are three that might make you smile or provide an extra idea for an activity.
A squid as tall as a two-story house? That may sound like sci-fi, but in the last decade a team that included Edith Widder managed to find such a creature. The story of how is a window on innovation that may prove intriguing for your students of any age. Check out “How we found the giant squid” on TED. (8:21)
For more reflection on life, there’s Ms. Zhang, who sells vegetable pies between 11p and 5a every night in her city in China. The story from the South China Morning Post deepens as it goes, though the pace may require either pausing or slowing it down if you’re not a speed reader of captions. (4:54)
Food hacks represent a genre of video that may not normally make an appearance in school, but what if the idea is to use something like this food hack video as a prompt for getting students to make learning hacks videos? If you like that idea, get in touch with me, and let’s do a project together. (5:26)
Powerful PD
You might also take a look at a really strong set of free offerings from San Jose State University for summer PD. Called the SJSU Lurie College of Education Summer 2021 K-12 Teaching Academy, you’ll find a wide variety of offerings on tech, reading, bias, and more.
Gorgeous Glimpses
I recently ran across this image taken in central Ukraine, and was struck by the range of beautiful elements in it. Enjoy!
ВідьомÑькі пороги на Ñвітанку (witch thresholds at dawn)
by Vian
from Wikimedia Commons (CC by-sa 4.0)
See you in a few weeks!
Rushton and the Next Vista team
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