Sivivon - 21st Century Style!

WOW!  It's hard to believe that it has been over 4 months since I have written my last blog post!  The folks at CIJE have kept me very busy working with our network of schools across the US.  I have had the pleasure to travel to Oakland, Seattle, San Diego, New York, Irvine. Los Vegas and of course my home base here in Los Angeles.

While I love visiting and working with all of the schools in the CIJE network, I had the particular pleasure of touring the brand new Startup Incubator (Si) at the Adelson Education Campus in Los Vegas.

The Si is an amazing space that incorporates a digital media lab (for audio-visual projects), a "maker space" filled with 3D printers, laser cutters, lathes and other traditional manufacturing tools, as well as a huge creation space where students can work with 3D modeling software, robotics, engineering and so on. 

In a recent email, Dr. Yvonne Houy, the Incubator's Outreach Coordinator, and Dr. Camille McCue, the Director of Technology Innovations, outlined a really cool Si program that integrates Hanukkah, the Jewish festival of lights, and STEM education. After hearing about it, I thought that this would be a great to share this information with you all!

Geared for grades 5 through 12, the Adelson's Si Dreidel project teaches the student about the historical and religious significance of Hanukkah's favorite game and then delves into the physics of what makes a Dreidel, basically a spinning top, work.  From there, each participant will design their own Dreidel and 3D print it. The younger students can use easy-to-learn programs such as TinkerCAD to design their Dreidel and the older participants can use more sophisticated software such as Fusion360.

Drs. Houy and MCue have assembled a series of videos and a website about the Si  Dreidel program that takes you through, step by step, what is involved in making this a viable project for your school. The videos are short and concise, explaining the different steps of the project perfectly!

(Click this link for the web site)

As always, I am happy to help our CIJE schools with idea's like this, but I would highly recommend that you reach out directly to the two experts at the Si: Dr. Houy at Yvonne.Houy@adelsoncampus.org or Dr. McCue at Camille.McCue@adelsoncampus.org

Please feel free to comment on the blogsite!

Regards,

Yossie

Yossie Frankel

Tech Specialist - CIJE

Checkout my blog: www.technorebbe.com

Twitter @yossiefrankel

YouTube Channel: YossieFrankelChannel
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/yossiefrankel

Life: It's all a matter of perspective - A really fun video!

I love optical illusions.  They show us how our brains really work - and it is not necessarily the way we think they do!!

Remember my post on Cognitive Sciences and how our brain perceives reality?

How about my post on the DIY Dinosaur Illusion?

Well, my daughter (you know... the tour guide in Israel http://www.yeshisrael.com) knows that I go crazy over this sort of stuff and sent me a great video from Tech Insider on Professor Kokichi Sugihara and his amazing works of art and physics!  It is well worth the 1.47 minutes of you time to watch!

click this link to watch the video

Awesome, yes?!!! 

This next one will just blow your mind!

Click this link to watch the video

Want to know HOW it's done?  Well then, lets turn to Devon at the Make Anything// 3D Printing Channel on YouTube where he explains how this works AND he has made a 3D printable version that you can download and play with yourself!

Click this link to watch the video

Now, it that wasn't enough, Devon went on to make a... Well, I will let you watch it yourself!!

Click this link to watch the video

As always, I solicit your comments on the blog.

Yossie Frankel

Tech Specialist - CIJE

Checkout my blog: www.technorebbe.com

Twitter @yossiefrankel

YouTube Channel: YossieFrankelChannel
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/yossiefrankel

Go Go Gadget Augmented Reality!

I was sitting at the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf next to Olympia Medical Center last week, enjoying a nice decaf ice coffee, when a smartly dressed fellow in a business suit walked in.

Nothing unusual there - you see that all the time at these coffee shops.

Oh, did I mention that he had his eyes glued to his smart phone?

Nothing new there either - modern society and all that... always checking email and texting...  

What was strange to me was that he was scanning the coffee shop with his smart phone, like he was looking for something.  It reminded me of the cartoon character Inspector Gadget.

I asked the fellow what he was doing.  He looked a bit sheepish and said that he was looking for Pokemon.

WHAAAATTT?!!

It seems that for most of last week, I had been living under a rock and had no idea about the latest craze going on across the world.... Pokemon GO

https://youtu.be/2sj2iQyBTQs

Using any smart device with an active Internet connection, you can go hunt for those elusive little critters with the help of Augmented Reality(AR). People are just going crazy doing this!

This supports what I have been saying for the last two years (I will let you scan my blog archive for my previous posts on AR/VR) about how Augmented Reality (and Virtual Reality) is here to stay.  The question now becomes, how do we leverage this in our classroom to enhance the learning experience?

While I have given examples before (here and here) and with even newer technology, you can create Augmented Reality scavenger hunts that can include school landmarks.  Imagine, the graduating class creates digital historical content to leave as a legacy to incoming freshmen via totally engrossing AR. When those freshmen graduate, they do the same thing. This could become a link and generational connection that creates continuity to alumni!  (Are you listening Development Directors?? Imagine the possibilities!!)  

Think about creating a connection between your classroom and the community.  Create tours of local landmarks (Like Jeff's Gourmet in Pico-Rob, Los Angeles - Hey Jeff, do I get a free hamburger for mentioning you?? :-) that includes video interviews or detailed history... all available with AR.

"Great," you say, "But how can this be done?  It must be really difficult."

Well, no... it isn't!  Let me explain...

My wife recently forwarded a really cool post (israel21c.org) to me about the Jerusalem Tower of David Museum's first ever hack-a-thon.  At this event, the winning team came up with an innovative idea using Augmented/Virtual Reality and gaming to engage museum visitors. Basically, they created an AR/VR game using a great new app from Israel called Waking App. 

https://youtu.be/ZAZhFEQ-AN8

After reading the article, I just had to try this so, a one minute download later, I had the Entiti creator running and within 20 minutes, I had my very own first AR program running!  It was soooo easy to use and yet so powerful!

So, my readers, there is no longer any excuse!  The future is here, now!!  We CAN do this!!

As always, I solicit your feedback on the blogsite.

Yossie

Yossie Frankel

Tech Specialist - CIJE

Checkout my blog: www.technorebbe.com

Twitter @yossiefrankel

YouTube Channel: YossieFrankelChannel
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/yossiefrankel

This is the 'Droid you are looking for - Sphero in the classroom!

In Star Wars, the Force Awakens, the 'droid BB8 has turned out to be one of the most lovable new characters.  So well liked that there is even a BB8 remote control 'droid made by Sphero 

So, imagine my geeked-out excitement when I found out that Sphero also has a full-fledged, STEM integrated, entry level programming/coding, problem solving educational product called SPRK!  I watched the four minute promo video (below) and was blown away by the possibilities.  You know what... let's save 6 paragraphs and have you just watch the video yourself...

Click here to watch the video

So, if you are like me, the very first thing you want to do is see this product up close and personal and... thanks to the InTELA (www.intela.org) tech day being held here in Los Angeles on August 4th... you can!!

My co-coordinator for the event - Doug Hinko - actually uses this device at this his school!  He has a whole school pack and has volunteered to do an hour long, hands-on, workshop!!  All you need to do is register!  No charge for the day and lunch is supplied by the good folks from CIJE (yes, I convinced my boss to supply lunch! :-)

The event starts at 9am sharp (8am is registration) and here is a quick run down of some of the things that will happening during the day:

• Keynote (9am) "Using Blended Learning to Transform Schools" by Clifford Maxwell (a member of the Cristensen Institute who oversees the Blended Learning Universe website - the definitive source of Blended Learning Resources).
• Expert presentations on Apple's new iOS 9.3, Teaching with Apple, Coding with Apple and school integration of Apple products
• Meraki Wifi and its MDM
• Telecommuting for absent students with Kubi and Zoom
• Sphero in the classroom (with Doug!)
• The 6 lenses of questioning - a classroom methodology to improve critical thinking  and high order thinking skills (HOTS)- presented by internationally renowned speaker Batsheva Frankel.
• and many more!!!

We are sifting through more presentation submissions from InTELA members so we will be announcing the full session schedule shortly!  It is going to be an amazing, jammed-packed day that is perfect for Teachers, Administrators, Tech Coordinators, Ed-Tech specialists and, like me, educational techno geeks!!!

Click THIS LINK to register today as space is limited.

As always, I solicit your comments on the website.

Yossie

Yossie Frankel

Tech Specialist - CIJE

Checkout my blog: www.technorebbe.com

Twitter @yossiefrankel

YouTube Channel: YossieFrankelChannel
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/yossiefrankel

You say keep, I say throw, I say good-bye and you say hello! (...with apologies to the Beatles!)

I LOVE new tech!  The advanced features, the latest-and-greatest applications, the computing power, the speed, and so on.

Now, that doesn't mean that I think that we should get rid of our "old" tech.  Schools invest significant dollars in technology every single year and they want a return on that investment (ROI).

It used to be that a laptop would last for about five to six years and a tablet would have a life span of about three to four years - a fairly decent ROI.  Not anymore!!  If you get three years out of your laptop, you are doing amazingly well and two years is about it for a tablet!  The ROI numbers are significantly different these days then it was say, three years ago.

http://www.statista.com/statistics/267474/average-life-of-pc-and-tablets

Now, I hear you already... you are saying: "Yossele, I have an iPad and laptop that has been running for over 5 years!!" 

I believe you!! But, you are no longer able to load the latest software/app updates, or run the latest version of the Operating System (OS).  Considering the security vulnerability on the older OS's, that is a huge liability!!

Don't believe me?  Well, then, did you know that the newest copy of iOS for the iPad has been announced - just this week!  It won't run on an iPad version 2, 3 or iPad mini (original).  If you don't have the latest hardware (well, iPad 4 and higher anyway) then you are just out-of-luck!  And that's not all...

The most popular laptops being made are now thinner and lighter than ever before!  A good thing? Yes, but there is no way for a consumer to update components like the battery or RAM memory! When your well used battery won't hold a charge anymore, the only choice is to purchase a whole new laptop! (Yes, you can send it to a tech store to replace the battery, but sometimes the device is trashed during the service attempt.)

I must say that I feel like the harbinger of doom when I tell you that the Access Points (AP's) that run our schools' WiFi Internet will be changing - dramatically - in the next year.  The 802.11ac WAVE 2 is about to hit!!  That means that (sorry about going all techie on you here...) we will have AP's that can handle 5 gig of data!!  Most of our schools are only wired for 1gig!!!  This will require us to have to start replacing our infrastructure and that means big money!!  But, sorry folks, if you are looking for a five year plan, you are out-of-luck!  All of this now works in two to three year cycles.

Oi Vey - What do you do??!!

Well (Jean-Luc), to start, if you are CIJE school, there is no better time than right now to have your IT or EdTech person get in contact with me or my East Coast counterpart, Yitzchak, to schedule a meeting to look at what you are currently doing, discuss where you want to go and how can you get there.  We don't buy you the tech, but we can help you create a plan that will prepare you for the future. 

If you are not a CIJE School - then join us for our free on-line link-ups that we will be running throughout the next school year.  Stay tuned to the blog site and I will announce the events as I schedule them.  (You can catch previous sessions on my YouTube Channel.)

The next major event will be the InTELA (www.InTELA.org) Tech Day, being held in Los Angeles on Thursday August 4th at the Shalhevet High School.  It is free (CIJE is a co-sponsor for lunch!!) and we will be having presentations on the new Apple Classroom, iOS 10, Meraki's Mobile Device, Manager (MDM), Telepresence from Revolve Robotics, 3D printer demos, maker spaces, and much, much more.  Oh yes, we will also be having a vendor area!

The Silver lining to this cloud is...

... that by us being prepared, we can give our students the edge that they will need to succeed and thrive in the 21st Century.

As always, I solicit your comments on the blog site.

Yossie

Yossie Frankel

Tech Specialist - CIJE

Checkout my blog: www.technorebbe.com

Twitter @yossiefrankel

YouTube Channel: YossieFrankelChannel
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/yossiefrankel

And now, the end is near... and I did it with GradGopher! (Sorry Frankie)

One of my favorite hobbies is just sitting back and observing people - especially at the end of the school year. 

Have you ever noticed... students are running around in circles trying to get that last assignment in, teachers are panic mode trying to finish their grades... Ah, the smell of fear, panic, and - depending on who you are - anticipatory glee!!

During this time of controlled chaos and mayhem, one of the items that many overlook is the closing out of their school Google Apps For Education (GAFE) email, calendars and docs.  It might seem like a small thing, but in reality it can destroy a person's life... seriously!!  Imagine the student who has spent four years in high school, organizing their life, contacts, calendars and so on with the easy to use GAFE suite of tools.  They have graduated and It is now mid-summer and... suddenly... on the student's smartphone, the calendar disappears and all of their contacts are gone.  When they open their email - nothing there!!  Or, how about the teacher who used that same student to collaborate on a project of epic proportions that was going to be the cornerstone of a brand new curriculum for next year, and all of the shared Google Docs are gone!!  DISASTER!!!

So, my dear reader, I implore you to do a few minutes of planning - right now - to save you hours of hassle, not to mention a week's worth of pay on bottles of Tums antacids!!

Step one:  Remind all outgoing students and teachers that their GAFE accounts will be closed shortly after the school year!  Not just once or twice - but at least three times!

Step two:  Have students who have shared documents with you to change the ownership over to you!  (This is done by THE STUDENT right-clicking on the document, select share, advanced and then change "can edit" to "is owner.")

Step three: Use the new GRAD GOPHER.... www.gradgopher.com to move all of the student's or teacher's files to their personal Gmail account.  It costs $20.00 ($15 if you give GradGopher a shout out on Facebook) but it is worth every single penny!  This program will move ALL OF YOUR DATA from your school account to your personal account.  INCLUDING SHARED FILES!!!  

Here is a quick video from GradGopher:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0BjSC7uoV79akdZemJpM0xnNXM/view?usp=sharing

Yes, you can use takeout.google.com for free but, after archiving your data, it can take hours and hours to transfer everything to your personal Gmail account.  Even then, it does not transfer docs shared with you!  (Also, you may need the assistance of a CompSci major to reload the emails!!)

Well there you have it... Dode Yossie's (dode means uncle in Hebrew) advice for a smooth year end transition.  Now, let's sit back together and... pass me another donut to eat as I sip my coffee.

As always, I solicit your comments on the blogsite.

Yossie

Yossie Frankel

Tech Specialist - CIJE

Checkout my blog: www.technorebbe.com

Twitter @yossiefrankel

YouTube Channel: YossieFrankelChannel
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/yossiefrankel

Are you in your mind... or is your mind in you??

I just love the field of Cognitive Science!  It tackles questions like how do our perceptions influence who we are and, just to throw some Quantum Mechanics into things, how our perceptions actually shape the universe.  Real mind bending stuff!!

The disciplines involved in Cognitive Science:  source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognitive_science

Speaking of the mind, did you know that we all perceive reality in different ways?  

Yes, really!!  

Something that I call Blue in Color may actually look different to you!  Remember the picture of the dress that went viral on the Internet?

The argument was what color was it?  Was it white and gold or blue and black?  Well, it depends on how you PERCEIVE things! (Do you want to find out what the real colors were... check out this Wikipedia article.)

Understanding how our brains work, how we remember and how we perceive things is the cornerstone to creating a great educational experience.  I have been studying this stuff for decades now and it never ceases to fascinate me. So imagine my interest when my ten year old son Tuvia starts telling me about this great TV series from National Geographic that explains how the brain works and how we perceive reality. (Shout to to Tuvia's friend Ami who showed him the video!)

This program has it all... it gives you the science behind how the brain works AND it has you actively participate with on-screen challenges!  I highly recommend that every single educator watches this series (available on NetFlix and Nat Geo channel).  Actually, EVERYONE should watch it - students and parents included.  It really gives the viewer a deep understanding of how the brain works which, of course, can then lead to a deeper understanding of how to structure education.

As you binge watch, I would suggest a nice red wine and some cheese and crackers.  Oh, if you are doing that, please send some my way!!

As always, I solicit your comments on the blogsite.

Yossie

Yossie Frankel

Tech Specialist - CIJE

Checkout my blog: www.technorebbe.com

Twitter @yossiefrankel

YouTube Channel: YossieFrankelChannel
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/yossiefrankel