🥥 March Featured Resources 🌴
👀 TinEye 👀
Making Spring Break plans? Would you pay good money to enjoy what's included in the photograph to the right? That beach getaway image is the cover photo on the Disney Cruise Line's page advertising a Rosarito Beach shore excursion. The problem? The photo is not from Rosarito Beach. You will not be sipping fresh coconut drinks in those wooden beach chairs. The photo is a stock photo from Shutterstock, a use license for which can be purchased for $79.99. How do I know? I conducted a reverse image search using TinEye. When you right-click on web images, there's an option to “Copy image address.” That image address can then be pasted into TinEye's reverse image tool (uploading photos is also an option). Teaching students how to conduct reverse image searches is just one step towards combatting the spread of fake news and misleading viral images. Tip: filter TinEye's search results to list the oldest known source of the image at the top. Try it out for yourself using the link below.
ISTE Technology Standards for Students 1.3.b.: Students evaluate the accuracy, perspective, credibility and relevance of information, media, data, or other resources.
Cyberbullying Awareness
The results of the 2020-2021 California Healthy Kids Survey indicated that 9% of Rialto elementary school students reported to have been cyberbullied in the past 30 days. 25% of 7th graders, 20% of 9th graders, and 22% of 11th graders in Rialto reported having been cyberbullied in the past twelve months. Awareness of the scope and consequences of the cyberbullying problem is the first step towards prevention. The slide deck to the left is an adaptation of the California Department of Education's Online Bullying Training Module. In addition to issue awareness, the Learning for Justice center states that the creation of inclusive learning environments plays a huge role in cyberbullying prevention.
Have students predict, question, and make connections between data presented in graphs. Slow Reveal Graphs uses Google Slides to reveal elements of each graph bit-by-bit. With a wide range of topics, these graphs are sure to get students thinking critically.
Have students present data as an animated GIF. Choose between rectangles, circles, and race-track data display options. Creators can also alternate between having data displayed in numerical or percentage format. Preview .GIFs before download.
Amazon Future Engineer / BootUp PD
The first and second rounds of Scratch Jr. and Scratch professional development took place on February 15th and March 1st inside the Myers Elementary Innovation Lab. During the three-hour trainings, K-2 teachers learned how to code a Dance Party and reverse engineered a Starry Night in Scratch Jr. Upper grade teachers learned how to code an Interactive Collage and how to Animate Names using Scratch. Teachers from Bemis, Garcia, Kelley, and Myers Elementary will participate in 2 more rounds of professional development in April and have model lessons presented to their classes. Throughout the trainings, BootUp has encouraged teachers and students to embrace a growth mindset. Scratch's platform focuses on content creation, rather than project replication.
ISTE Standards for Students 1.5.d.: Students understand how automation works and use algorithmic thinking to develop a sequence of steps to create and test automated solutions.