Snow Day (s)
Friday was a snow day. We ended up with about 4 inches of snow.
Now, Monday is another snow day. The weekend was cold, but no additional snow. This will be our last traditional snow day. From here on out, we will be utilizing remote learning days.
Heatrak
I purchased some Heatrak mats for the stairs going out the back door (not cheap, but the stairs are seriously dangerous when iced). These have been a great investment. However, one of them has stopped working. (Good news, it is really obvious which one). A call to the company and a replacement is on the way.
NOLEJ
Because of the Snow Day, I finally got a chance to play around with NOLEJ a bit. NOLEJ authors materials (quizzes, flashcards,glossaries, etc) based on a resource. So, I took a YouTube video (Gettysburg: Animated Map) and let it create material. The material is created as H5P resources. I then put that into Moodle. You can check it out in the MasterMoodle course (no registration required, but you may have to click on the Login as Guest button). These are the raw files, no additional editing. Obviously, they can (and should be edited). The questions fall into basic knowledge category and some grammar needs to be corrected. This could be a way to quickly create some of the basics of a course though. The teacher would need to add higher level thinking material, questions, and learning opportunities.
Free to Use Browser Extension
I’m enjoying the Free to Use Browser Extension even more than I thought that I would. Basically, this extension displays a Public Domain image in your browser window whenever you open a new tab.
Extension sets the background of blank tabs to a photo from the Library of Congress collections that is free to use and reuse.
I just find these random pictures a source of great joy. I frequently pause for just a minute to wonder what is going on in the picture.
Books
I’ve finished “Poguemahone” by Patrick McCabe. I liked it a ton. This is really different than most of the books that I’ve been reading. It is written in free-verse focusing around the 1970’s and music. Kind of. Sort of. Largely the story of Una and her reflections.
I’m starting Frederick Backman’s Us Against You. This is a follow up to the wonderful “Beartown”. Fredrick Backman is one of my favorite authors. He has several books out. I recommend all of them that I’ve read so far.
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