#Lars3ebDoesSF - #100DayProject - Day 029

Today has been amazing and it's not even done yet! I've been able to meet so  many cool people I feel so lucky and happy.

As I mentioned earlier, I was accepted to come to the #Picademy training in Mountain View, CA this weekend and I am still shocked and honored! So I loaded up my car late Thursday night and started driving West towards California for a little weekend of learning and nerdery. Little did I know just how amazing the trip would be in its first 12 hours or so.

Upon arriving in Mountain View, CA I was told I was too early to check-in to my hotel and would have to keep myself busy for roughly 6 hours. Six hours! What was I supposed to do? I jumped to social media and started contacting some ed-tech companies I love and arrange to meet-up and tour their facilities.

Outside the @Voxer HQ.

First up was Voxer. Voxer is an app that turns your smartphone into a walkie-talkie, kind of like the old Nextel phones of days past. I LOVE this app because it allows me to actually TALK with others and get to know them better than just typing or texting with them. I use Voxer daily and have found it to be a great tool for personalized professional development. I was able to meet some of the team and have a great chat with them. I want to thank Amanda for helping me find the place and even providing me with a little snack. Thanks Voxer!

Sad face outside the @ClassDojo door.

After Voxer, I tried to go visit the great folks over at Class Dojo, but they weren't there. Now, in all fairness, I didn't give them much warning because I didn't know I'd be in the area, but I know that if they had been around they would have welcomed me with open arms and shown me around their neck of the woods. Class Dojo is a great app that allows me to track my students' behavior in a non-threatening way that allows parents to see what is happening each day. It also allows for messaging between parents and teachers which is always nice. I really love using Class Dojo and my students (and their parents) do too!

The wall of quotes at @RemindHQ.

And now, I'm sitting in one of the amazing conference rooms of Remind while they finish a whole-team meeting. Remind (formerly Remind 101) is another excellent app that I use to send messages out to parents. I mainly use it as a reminder for events or assignments, but there have a built in messaging service as well that is outstanding. I have my parents subscribe to my Remind class and then they can receive my reminders as well as message me questions to answer or even just comments. I realize I have two different places parents are sending me messages, but I feel that they should be able to use whichever is more convenient for them and whichever will have them contact me. The whole point is that they feel comfortable enough to have an open communication with me. While at Remind, I met Brett Kopf, one of the co-founders, face-to-face for the first time. We've been on GHOs together and even chatted, but it was great to meet him and shake his hand. I love the Remind service and am so grateful he started it. Special thanks to Jordan for helping me find the Remind offices, even though she wasn't there to meet face-to-face, she still helped me get to the right location!

I can't believe the day still has more greatness with a tour of the Computer History Museum and a meet-and-greet with the #Picademy crew and then the Raspberry Pi action will begin tomorrow and Sunday. Stay tuned for more on the weekend. If you want to follow my antics in San Francisco, feel free to follow #Lars3ebDoesSF online, it's sure to be crazy!

Analog Tools - #100DayProject - Day 028

I realize I have already shared one of John Spencer's great Sketchy Video for this #100DayProject, but he's gone and created another one that resonates with me so fully that I have to share it. Don't worry, you'll thank me after watching it.

This one is called Kids Need Vintage Tools and is all about the need to allow kids to use analog tools and NOT just the amazing digital ones. Those long-time readers of ETB will know that the idea of analog tools and taking time to recharge away from digital tools is something I feel very strongly about. Things like taking time at conferences to have discussions, or making room for cursive and handwriting in general. To this day, my most popular post here at ETB is when I wrote about my love of all things analog back in 2014 and the fact that I like going off-grid at times. So, of course, I wold fall in love with this Sketchy Video. I encourage you take some time and watch this excellent video and then, take some time to see if there are ways you can help bring back some analog love to your classroom!

As if the theme of the video wasn't enough, John has infused his sense of humor into the video from the very first line, "I was born in the Ice age," clear to the end. Please watch this video and take it to heart and then share it with everyone you know, especially teachers. Like John, I love all the digital tools, but I still want kids to have a love for analog tools. I hope by the time you finish the Sketchy Video, you too, will be a lover of analog tools for student learning.

Congrats @LorePodcast! - #100DayProject - Day 027

Image Source: LorePodcast

I am a huge fan of podcasts, as many of you already know, and have even been lucky enough to appear on one or two as a guest. One of my favorite shows of late is called Lore, created by Aaron Mahnke. Lore is a podcast that explains the origins of some of the world's cultures scariest stories in an incredible way that is almost like listening to a really good audiobook, but with an excellent soundtrack that really helps set the tone. You see, Aaron is a writer and an excellent one at that, so of course his podcast would be well written and entertaining.

Last week Mr. Mahnke made a HUGE announcement on Twitter regarding the future of the Lore podcast:

My podcast Lore is currently in development for television, by the producers of The Walking Dead: https://t.co/PencU6ZVZ3— Aaron Mahnke (@amahnke) April 20, 2016

Congrats Aaron, on the amazing news about Lore becoming a TV series and being produced by the same people responsible for The Walking Dead! I am so excited for you and your family. What a crazy ride and yet, probably a little bit of a dream come true. But more than anything, I'm glad the podcast will continue so I can continue enjoying it the way I've always enjoyed it, through listening.

If you don't already subscribe to Lore, please open your podcast player of choice and download it now, you won't be disappointed!

#CSforAll - Computer Science in K-12 Classrooms

I am a huge proponent of teaching kids about computer science and coding even if they don't really have an interest in learning about it. We live in a digital world and the more kids learn about how that digital aspect works the better. Plus, I feel that learning how to program a computer can teach you how to think because you have to be very specific and intentional about how you tell the computer what to do.

Today, Tuesday, April 26, 2016, The Computer Science Education Coalition, and one of its members, Code.org, are releasing an open letter to Congress calling on them to make an investment in K-12 computer science education. This is a big deal because we live in a digital world and we need our students prepared to take us to the next level.

There were a number of incredible statistics to come out of the Press Release, including:

Today, 11% of all job openings and 16% of all new wages in the U.S. are in computing fields. And aside from the jobs, Americans broadly realize that computer science is increasingly foundational to all 21st century careers.

and

“Ninety percent of parents want their children to have access to computer science education at school, and teachers agree,” the letter states. “Despite this groundswell, three-quarters of U.S. schools do not offer meaningful computer science courses. This bipartisan issue can be addressed without growing the Federal budget.”

I am a teacher who proudly teaches coding to my students every year to help them get familiar with the concepts of computer science and hopefully pique their interest in studying it a little further. I have signed the Change.org petition being sent to Congress and hope you will choose to do as well! Join with America’s leading CEOs, governors and educators as we all come together to make a difference for computer science in the K-12 classroom!

Nimble, The 1 Finger Wonder Tool - #100DayProject - Day 026

I have just come across a new product that looks great and may even keep packaging nightmares at a minimum. While floating around Facebook, I found out about Nimble, The 1 Finger Wonder Tool! Wath the video below and tell me this doesn't look like the most amazing product of the week, if not year.



Now that you are totally in love with this product, go to its Kickstarter page and back it. One thing to keep in mind, this is a UK product, so the price of one Nimble being 7 Pounds is actually closer to $10 here in the USA. And if you want more than one, there is an option to buy three Nimbles for about $27, so go crazy.

If you are new to Kickstarter, realize this, these products aren't always available because they need to meet their production goals first and then they only have a certain number of days to make the project work or else it doesn't happen. With that said, it looks like the Nimble will be okay because it's already hit its goal.

How does this apply to schools and education? Do you not get mail at school? Do you not open packages and other products? I think having a Nimble would be great to help me open mail, but also to cut out things in magazines (yes I still have paper magazine subscriptions, leave me alone!) or even cutting out laminated items. I know teachers LOVE laminating items so they'll last better, so why not order a Nimble and see if it doesn't make your life easier with these tasks.

So get out there and help support indy creators by backing and sharing their projects.

Katch & Copy Closing Shop - #100DayProject - Day 025

Image Source: Sad Clyde via @KatchHQ

I hate when a particular technology tool or service I have come to rely on and love decides it has to shut down. The only thing worse than losing one well-loved tool is losing multiple tools and that's exactly what's happening within the first few days in May!

The excellent Katch, which was designed to allow you to "catch" your Periscope and/or Meerkat live stream videos so they could be watched later than the 24-hour limit, will be closing shop on Wednesday, May 4th. Although I was still new to using Katch to save my Periscope videos, I was really looking forward to creating a nice backlog of some excellent experiences. I do have a couple of videos uploaded there so I'll have to do something about them soon!

If you go to the Katch.me homepage you are greeted with the announcement as well as a link to the Medium article they wrote explaining the reason for the shutdown. There is also a timeline of when you need to take care of your videos currently stored on their site. The team has created two options for you to either export your videos to YouTube or just download them to your hard drive. Either option just makes me more and more sad, especially with the start of the #PassTheScopeEDU event that I was part of last week and hope to continue with into the future. We'll have to find some other way to save our videos now.

So why are they shutting down? According to the Medium Post:

We always saw Katch as a Hulu for live streaming. But if we were going to get there, we would need more resources (money, people, servers, time) that would enable us to move quickly to adapt to the increasingly competitive landscape and to mature the features for a wider group of users. We simply haven’t been able to secure the capital to do that.

And if losing Katch wasn't enough, I will also be losing the excellent Copy sync tool on Sunday, May 1st! I've known about the ending of Copy for a while longer than that of Katch, but I think Copy closing is hitting me harder because I have been using it for longer. Copy was a great syncing tool similar to Dropbox except that it offered more initial space for free. For example, I had 25 GB for free simply because I followed their onboarding tips. Such a waste!

The tear-inducing pop-up Copy users have been seeing for weeks!

According to the Copy.com homepage, the reason for the shutdown has to do with the need to reallocate resources to other areas of the company.

Copy and CudaDrive have provided easy-to-use cloud file services and sharing functionality to millions of users the past 4+ years. However, as our business focus has shifted, we had to make the difficult decision to discontinue the Copy and CudaDrive services and allocate those resources elsewhere.

If you have been to any of my trainings, you will know that I have been a proponent of using Copy for a while and now I will have to look elsewhere for recommendations. While I do you Dropbox, Box, and Google Drive, I liked that I had another great service that offered a free-tier to recommend to educators. I guess it's back to the drawing board for what other tools can I use.

I guess the moral of the story here is that if you love a service or tool then you need to find a way to send them money to help support the developers or else this is a possible fate. That's why I try to pay for services I find absolutely imperative to my workflow. Would I have paid for both Katch and Copy if given the chance? Possibly, but I guess I'll never know now.

@Washk12 Turns 100 - #100DayProject - Day 024

Image Source: WCSD Schools

I work in a pretty cool school district with some talented people. One such person is my buddy Cody Plumhof who wears a lot of different hats in the school district, but his official title is Web, Media, & Design Developer. He designed the all the logos for the school district, the website, and a whole lot of other stuff, but my favorite thing he designed is the 100 Year commemorative logo. It's amazing!

Something else that Cody has done, that seems a little strange, especially given his title, he executive produced a documentary about the Washington County School District and its 100-year history. The documentary titled, "On Dreams of Dixie" tells the story of the formation of the school district 100 years ago and tells the story of some of its more famous pupils.

From the official "On Dreams of Dixie" website:

It was 1861 when tattered pioneers began arriving in southern Utah's red, barren desert. Amid sacrifice and loss, many had traveled across wide oceans and unforgiving plains for a place they could call their own. 

Committed to education, school classes were first held in the back of covered wagons and in the areas first church houses. In 1915, the state of Utah issued an order for the area's scattered schools to join together as one and Washington County School District was formed with 1,833 registered students.

Through heartfelt interviews and stories found in the archives of county history, 'On Dreams of Dixie' gives viewers a multi-dimensional experience and character-driven look at what it was like attending school in southern Utah's early settlement communities.

The school district recently uploaded the complete documentary to YouTube, but if you'd like to buy a copy, they are for sale at the Washington County School District offices. Please take a moment and watch the amazing documentary which is narrated by the talented Wilford Brimley, who is also a Utah local.

Kite Festival - #100DayProject - Day 023

Image Source: My amazing wife Lisa Larson

Today was a pretty good day. We spent time as a family at our local Kite Festival and had a blast! Every year my school district's foundation coordinates a huge festival that is centered on reading and helping to motivate students to read every day. The students are asked to read a certain amount of minutes each day depending on their grade level and if they succeed they are rewarded with their choice of either a kite, a book, or tickets to play in the inflatable activities. Since I have a daughter in 1st grade we have now attended this festival twice for her, but we've been many times for me as well.

The other fun part of the kite festival is that there is a stage where different performing groups can take part and share their talents. My daughter was in one such group and she performed in her first every dance recital. It is her first year taking dance lessons and she has loved it! Thanks to Grandma (my Mom) for helping to make sure she was able to be part of the dance company; one of the best Christmas gifts ever, the opportunity to take part in something and learn a new skill.

Image Source: My amazing wife Lisa Larson

I hope your day was a great one because mine was excellent!

Goodbye Gary - #100DayProject - Day 022

I was shocked my tux still fit. Wait, not every man has his own tuxedo?

Tonight was amazing! I was able to play at Dixie State University with the excellent Symphonic Band and Alumni tonight and loved every minute. We played some great music, but most of all, we played our hearts out because the talented Gary Caldwell is now officially done as director of bands at DSU. I wish you the best Gary and hope you take a little more time to fish and rest with your retirement from teaching. I am still very excited to see you conduct the Southwest Symphony and hope you continue in that role for some time still.

Playing tonight was also bittersweet. I played the massively fun Contrabass Clarinet, and in case you've forgotten, I wrote about the sheer size earlier this week. But playing tonight made me realize just how much I miss performing. Before this week, it had been close to 10 years since I played a symphonic instrument and I really miss that experience. Although buying a Bass or Contrabass Clarinet is out of the question, maybe I need to invest in a B-flat Clarinet to bring back a little bit of the lost love of playing.

#PassTheScopeEDU - #100DayProject - Day 021

I am so excited to take part in a new event calling #PassTheScopeEDU along with some amazing educators today. It will happen on Periscope and use multiple people's accounts to share some awesome educational ideas.

How does a #PassTheScope event work? It starts with one person starting a Periscope live stream where they share out some ideas or an event for a set amount of time. For our #PassTheScopeEDU event today, we're gonna keep each "scope" live stream to about 5 minutes or so. When the first person finishes their "scope" they will tell you who is next and what their Periscope user information is so you can go watch the next part. This continues until the last person finishes and the event ends. We didn't invent the idea of #PassTheScope, but we are very excited to do one today and share out some great educational ideas.

Who is involved today and when are the times? Often a #PassTheScope event happens all at once, back-to-back, but we are going to do it a little different and have people throughout the day so feel free to jump in whenever you have time. The schedule and lineup is below:

12:00pm EST / 9:00am PST:

Toutoule Ntoya
Twitter: @ToutouleNtoya
Periscope: @ToutouleNtoya 

12:30pm EST / 9:30am PST:

Knikole Taylor
Twitter: @Knikole
Periscope: @Knikole

4:10pm EST / 1:10pm PST:

Sarah Thomas
Twitter: @SarahdaTeechur
Periscope: @SarahdaTeechur

7:00pm EST / 4:00pm PST:

Derek Larson ( That's ME! )
Twitter: @lars3eb
Periscope: @lars3eb

7:30pm EST / 4:30pm PST:

Valerie Lewis
Twitter: @iamVLewis
Periscope: @iamVLewis

Come join us for #PassTheScopeEDU and don't forget to follow each of these amazing educators! And if you watch, feel free to give lots of hearts because we love you!