Google Classroom Assignments to Calendar

     I stumbled across a very cool article today. It has great directions for creating your own script to sync Google Classroom with Google Calendar. Now, I'll be honest, I looked at the article and went...holy $**t that's a lot of work for a simple task. Then I asked myself, "is it really worth the effort?" I'm not lazy, but I don't want to take a lot of time setting up something that needs a lot of maintenance and tweaking. However, this article got me thinking. If someone has already written a script to do this, it is just a matter of time before Google adopts it and includes it right into classroom for those of us who have other things that require attention. I mean, Google Classroom spawned from Doctopus, eventually they will add this feature.

 But, if you are in dire need of being able to sync Calendar to Classroom, follow the tutorial here and you'll be happy.

Music Soothes the Beast

I'll be blunt and put it right out there...my students call me a hippie. Which, I take as a compliment. I am peaceful, loving, accepting to all walks of life, and am typically very calm (my 3 year old can unravel that calm and unleash the beast, but a 3 year old has magical powers to amaze and annoy within a matter of seconds.) But, I digress, the point is my students call me hippie, I'm guessing it's mostly because every class starts with Jerry jamming in the background while students enter and begin to settle into the routine. If it isn't Jerry its Trey, if it isn't Trey it's Melodious, a.k.a Thelonious Monk.

So why am I talking about music on a technology for education page? Here are some good music streaming sites, and a few reasons why musics sets the tone* of the class.

*yep, that was intended

First, here are some great streaming tools that are, of course, free.

1.   Google Music - it speaks for itself. Upload your own, purchase, or stream channels from other users.
2.   Pandora Radio - You have two options with this one, paid or free. The free version is the same, but with ads. Essentially, you're paying to remove commercials. It has a tendency to downward spiral into weirdness. For example, a station with Grateful Dead will throw in a   Zeppelin song, which is a good mix, but suddenly you're onto a classic rock spiral that gets way far away from the Dead. Or, you put on the Allman Brothers Band and it will horribly spiral into country music. Which will cause you to delete the channel immediately. However, you can combat these downward spirals  if you take the time to "thumbs up or down" certain songs to tweak your channel.
3. Archive.org - This is your best place to find live music. You can stream and download shows of just about any decent band you can think of. It is now also affiliated with etree.org and 
4.  Slacker Radio - This is similar to Pandora, the track selection is not quite as deep, but allows you to create some unique channels of your liking. Again it takes some time to customize the channel to avoid downward spirals. Again, the paid service really only removes advertisements. 
5. Spotify - This isn't my first choice, only because it requires a download and an install. I like to keep things in the cloud. It is a decent service, it allows you to archive your local music, create custom radio stations. However, it always thinks you want to listen to terrible pop, and always wants to share with facebook. 
6. iTunes - I'll mention this one, only because people know of the service. I don't think it is worth the download and install. In my experience, it always needs an update, it is slow, the store requires so much verification, to the point where you eventually just give up on your purchase and turn to a different place to buy it. It's not friendly with many devices, and the new streaming service is only specific to mac devices. I won't go into this much further. 

OK, so why music? Well music truely does soothe the beast. If you have some ramped up music playing, you will see the energy level of your students rise, to a point where they are out of control. If you play some jazz, or relaxing jam band music, you'll see the energy level reduce and become more focused. The music choice really does set the tone of the classroom. Many times I'll hear students come in and complain about the music playing, but within minutes they are sitting at their table, doing their introductory work, and tapping along with the beat. On the days, that I don't have music playing, I've discovered that these intro activities are a bit more cumbersome to start.  Again, the choice of music is key for the energy you want in the classroom. If you want your students to be very energetic and distracted, then put on current pop music or country music. ( I would never play country in school. Many of the lyrics, and themes are not appropriate, and in my opinion, the music is not all that interesting. However, it ramps up students). If you are looking for alert, but calm, then Jazz is the way to go, hands down. (Medeski Martin and Wood is a great choice for this energy.) If you're looking for calm, quiet, relaxed, and focused I would suggest a jam band of some flavor. Of course as you really dive into various music styles there are various intricacies in flavor. The point is, the right tone can create that attitude adjustment you need to maintain focus and hard work. So rock, on and work with tunes in the background. 

There isn't an app for that!

It has been quite some time since I last wrote a post. Those that care to read, sorry for the delay. Those of you that know me, know that summer is a time for me to focus on my other true calling; farming. I also use the summer to take time to teach at a unique school where communication, farming and other vocational work effectively tie into learning. I bet you never stopped to think about the physics, history and math that goes into choosing the proper shovel for a job? (not all shovels are for digging). Which brings me around to my point. There isn't an app for that.

You couldn't find an app to tell you what type of shovel to use, and if you are looking for that app you should probably find an app that can call someone else to do the job for you. Sorry to be so harsh, but technology has made us soft, in terms of actual work and learning. The best way to learn these lessons is from physically interacting with people who can pass this knowledge along by asking questions, and getting your hands dirty. Sure, there is an appropriate time and place for technology, but when is it too much?

During the time I've been avoiding writing I've done a lot of reading and reflecting on technology use in education. And, just like everything else that is engulfed by teachers, the use of technology to enhance education has blown way out of proportion. There is too much tech, too much pressure to use tech, and too much focus on the best tool to teach. Many of you know my classroom, and know how I interact with students. I treat them as equals, speak to them as equals, redirect them as equals, joke with them as equals, learn with them as equals, and discuss real relevant life events...you guessed it..as equals. It is perfectly OK to take 10 minutes to discuss issues like a jail break, the death of a pet, the song that's stuck in their head, the movie they love, a fight with a loved one...etc. How else are students supposed to learn how to deal with these real life issues, from misguided media that is only looking for good entertainment?

If you were to walk into my classroom, when the year is under way you would either catch me talking about a story I heard on the news, responding to a story a student has told, or seeing us gather gear for a lesson in the shop or outside. My classroom is filled with various projects, student built contraptions, student creations, science gear, samples, maps, and best of all tools. I have discovered that the best student engagement occurs when  they are comfortable communicating about anything and by using a tool. Not a typical piece of technology, but a tool. Something like a shovel, a skill saw, a miter saw, a hammer, a measuring tape, a chisel, a soil auger, things that require awareness of surroundings, critical thinking, and communication.

Sure, technology can offer and even enhance these skills under certain conditions, but educators have started to lose site of the goal. We are supposed to teach students skills to help them become productive members of society. There isn't an app for that. We have to put down the tech, get our hands dirty, and teach. I am guilty of trying to use too much tech, and need to tone it back. Which only means I plan to incorporate more hands on learning. So, my hikes will be longer to get to those good geology sites, the samples will be more substantial, and the work will be more meaningful. The sugar house will get built by students before winter, students will have the compost system up and running by fall, and best of all, this will all be something students can look back at and say...I built that and learned "this" as a result. There isn't an app for that, and teachers need to stop searching for those apps. Students need to discover that many times the best solution is to learn how to do it yourself. This requires using your own hands and brain, and learn by asking someone else the right questions. Google can't show you how design the field equipment you just invented to then use a skill saw to cut the custom angle for the board needed on that design.

So, as many educators enjoy summer, take time to reflect on ways to reduce the use of tech for the sake of using tech, and discover ways to ensure that an app can't teach your class.