From the Desk of Mr. Walters

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10 Computer Class Tools you should be using right now!

Engaging Middle School students is hard, even in the computer lab. In one of my recent posts, I mourned the loss of several great initiative...

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So, when I was in 10th grade, we had this teacher, Mr. Smith, who would stand in the hall every morning when we were visiting our lockers and yell, “Old home week is now over!” As clueless teenagers, we had no idea what this meant. My being me, I thought, when I get old, I’m going to yell stuff like this at kids and make them think, “what is he talking about?”. Here we are, 26 years later, and I regularly yell, “Old home week is now over!” as my students visit their lockers in the morning. This last week I saw this banner at Laska’s Pizza in  Punxsutawney. I dedicate this to you, Bill Smith, wherever you are. 

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Danielson is a Hard Core Gamer: Part 1 - Gamification & Classroom Environment

Okay, so I don't know Charlotte Danielson , and I cannot seriously make conjecture on her leisure activities, particularly in the realm o...

#teaching #gamification

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#LearningWithoutLimits #SGAMS

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Serendipitous, Miraculous, & Timely

WARNING: Not about education - a personal post because Tumblr

I have spent the last two years living in a monumental storm of unpleasant circumstances that have ebbed and flowed, but remained pretty much challenging in general. The last few months, however, have been pretty spectacular, and God is continually reminding me that He has this.

Yesterday was a difficult day. You don’t need to know the circumstances. It was unpleasant, challenging, and dark. 

Yesterday evening, I went to Bible study. I was discussing, with my friend Gordon, how my day had gone but said that I need to remember that “God has this” because He has shown up in really crazy, spectacular, and generally surreal ways in my life over the last 2 years. My friends Ed and Sid walked in and handed me a French Press. Why? ...because French Press... why not? 

This morning I walked into school, carrying my new French Press and found this on my sink:

So, God is Good... and very good at using completely random circumstances to remind me that “He has this.”

I left the custodian a Thank You card and a pile of candy for being awesome because who else would voluntarily clean my nasty coffee pot? 

In awe...

[mrwaltersdesk]

Designing in 3d

I gave students a mission, to design something that is:

Unique /

Useful or Interesting /

Designed by you, the student (not downloaded from the internet).

These students stepped up with some pretty cool ideas.

Cassidy, designer of “The Chuckster”, a universal base / charger stand for smartphones.

Chloe is designing an Headphone hanger for her Beats.

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The Surprising Truth About Learning in Schools | Will Richardson | TEDxWestVancouverED

We know how to help kids develop into powerful learners. Now, we just need to make that happen in schools. "A parent of two teen-agers, Will Richardson has s...

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Students designing awesomeness

From 3d parts and models to Graphic and Fashion design, my students are bringing the awesome. 

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Game Development Workshop

Eighth graders are taking Game design to the next level this month with a variety of Game Development tools. 

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Congratulations to Andy who received his Outstanding Educator award!  

[mrwaltersdesk]

Okay, so I had given up on Tynker, but check this out. They now have a level editor that looks pretty sweet. You unlock more sprites as you level up, just like GSM. This seems to be a bit less of a freemium / pay 2 play model than the rest of the junk. Use Code.or to teach blocks based programming for free, GSM to teach game design, and this level editor as a sandbox. It seems more intuitive than Stencyl.

Stoked to have my students (and my son) try this!

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(via https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kznek1uNVsg) Seriously, how many 30-somethings are considering a PS4 because FF7? 

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MMTW for our Game Design Bell ringer today. 

SGAMS peeps, this makes a great Class Meeting warm up! 

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McClane and Reck Cosplaying it up for the sake of a seventh grade photoshop lesson. 

These guys are not just great writing teachers. They’re also good sports. May the force be with you.