Week Two Syllabus

Source: Uploaded by user via Kurt on Pinterest

Source: Uploaded by user via Kurt on Pinterest

Take These Bauerlein

Here is a 14 year old "citizen scientist" who makes a significant discovery.  So much for those millennials wasting their lives and intellects on digital media.  In this case, digital media helped cause the discovery.




Here are another couple of millennials who send a Lego mini figure to space.  For fun.  Damn millennials.  Again, digital media was vital.



Again, more about those self-absorbed and narcissistic millennials.

And here is an example of their tolerance and acceptance as a young man comes out to his entire school while accepting an award.  He receives a standing ovation.  If that would have been 1950, what would have happened?  Anyone remember the tragedy of Matthew Shepard?




And this millennial attempts to break a Guinness world record (and it's not for text messages in a day or Facebook friends added); it's for hugs in a single day.

And don't forget about Gen Z either.  An amazing trans-gender girl's essay in response to the President's speech..

Second Semester Assignment 1.0

Mark Bauerlein's book The Dumbest Generation has the subtitle, "How the Digital Age Stupefied Young Americans and Jeopardizes Our Future."

For Thursday's assignment, leave a response detailing how you think the digital age stupefies your generation.

For bonus points, you may choose to leave feedback to a classmate's response.

Thanks!

This is due by midnight tonight (Wednesday).

Error and Exaptation

Thanks to a snow day and a senior focus trip, we had to push our last two lesson plans from Where Good Ideas Come From back to the final day 

This final week of the semester was one of the most stressful I've ever had.  First, Monday went well.  However, on Tuesday and Wednesday, Cash was sick, so I had to stay home . . . while my College Comp 2 class had their fist day of interviews out at Digi Key on Tuesday and my College Comp 1 had their first deadline for their research paper on Wednesday.  Thankfully, Gail offered to take the little ones at her house, so I could get back to school on Thursday for the second day of interviews at Digi Key.  

After the interviews, Taylor, presented her remarkable project, a piano recital, for us.  It was incredible.

What a whirlwind it was.  And we also had Sydney present her remarkable project, six cupcakes per student, that she baked the night before.  They were excellent.

I was so caught up with the "Error" assignments that I didn't have time to snap any pictures.  But that is a compliment to the lesson.  I was fully engaged in the riddles and wuzzles they had us work on.

Good job Alex and Ashley.

The final chapter, "Exaptation," belonged to Jenna, Miranda, and Amit.

For "Exaptation," which is a term used in evolution to explain how some creatures convert features designed for one purpose to another function.  For example, several species of dinosaurs didn't use feathers for flight.  Instead they used them for warmth.  Penguins, too, don't actually use their wings for flight, but they use them to swim.

So this group gave us Oreos, frosting, and wafers.  Then they gave us some world famous landmarks and had us repurpose the Oreos, frosting, and wafer to construct imitations of them.  Brilliant.

Here are the results.

Big Ben.  (Nice us of technology too)

Stone Henge

The Taj Mahal.

And the most remarkable thing of all: my College Comp 2 class.  

Robotics Week #2

Ch. 4 Serendipity

Here are the pictures of the fourth chapter of Where Good Ideas Come From.  This lesson had it all - brainstorming, collaboration, discussion, lecture, slideshow, and ice cream!

Kylie and Kirsten talking about serendipity.

Leandra leading a brainstorm/connecting session on, of all things (blasphemy, I know) - gulp, gasp - hockey!

The Slow Hunch

The group for Chapter three, "The Slow Hunch," had the class play a version of Clue to illustrate how knowledge slowly evolves into an insight.  

Human perception may retell the moment of insight or breakthrough as an epiphany moment.  But most of the time, the epiphany is the result of years of knowledge and experiences accumulating before reaching a tipping point that allows for the breakthrough moment. That's what "The Slow Hunch" is all about.

Hanna, Sydney, Shunay, Amanda, and Taylor working on their slow hunch.

Two groups putting the clues together.

Isaac is trying to get his group to come around to his way of thinking.

Alex tries to hear what their rival group is thinking.

Hanna holds up their finished product.

The presenters, Cassi, Bailey, and Marcus.  Excellent job guys.  Thanks to Mr. Mumm too, who couldn't be there because of the flu.

Final Weekly Reports

Lesson #2 Liquid Networks

Our second lesson had a bit of everything: Smartboard technology, gym class, science experiment . . . even 80's music trivia.

Great job guys!

Isaac explaining a group activity to illustrate the three levels of communication (solid, which is too harsh; liquid, which is just pliable enough to be very effective; and gas, which has no substance at all and is useless).

First, students were randomly given three cards.  They had to get a full house.  But the catch was that they couldn't move.  They could just whisper to their neighbors and try to get a full house through networking.  This was difficult, thus representing a solid state of communication.

The next step was to have students again try to get a full house.  The catch this time was that they were free to move about the room.  This was quite easy, thus illustrating the effectiveness of a liquid network.

Finally, students had to get a full house.  The catch, though, was they had to try and exchange cards but only by running about the room.  This was difficult, though not impossible as the next picture illustrates.

Amit celebrating that he won the the final competition.

Isaac proving the benefits of liquids.

The Adjacent Possible

Excellent job Syd, Taylor, and Cullen.  We had a blast!  Great way to start out the lesson plans for Where Good Ideas Come From.  Thanks to Mr. Hickman for helping out and being our celebrity judge.

Leandra and Jenna hard at it.

Mr. Hickman our faculty assistant and celebrity judge.

Isaac and Ashley hashing it out.

Miranda all focused on her work of art.

Cassi and Kylie having fun.

The loner: Marcus.

Bailey and Amit putting on the finishing touches.

Shunay, Amanda, and Hanna are quite proud of their creation.

Putting on the final touches.

Again, all smiles.

Alex and Kirsten.  Someone doesn't like to get

his hands dirty.

Miranda's creation.

Shunay, Amanda, and Hanna's entry.

Marcus' piece.

Up front and presenting.

"I can top my sister's creation," Marcus.

Amit and Bailey are quite pleased.

Isaac and Bailey's creation.

Talk about making the most out of the supplies!  Kirsten and Alex

Leandra and Jenna show off.

Cassi and Kylie's fishbowl creation.