Friday, February 4, 2022

Logic games - Wordle and Mastermind

 Wordle and Mastermind Games


The Wordle game has gone viral, and can be “played”  on any device since it is a website and not an app.

https://www.powerlanguage.co.uk/wordle/


Here is an interesting post about using it in the classroom.


How to Teach With Wordle

https://www.techlearning.com/how-to/how-to-teach-with-wordle


It is a word game, but also requires some logical thinking. There is only one “game” per day. It was recently purchased by the New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/31/business/media/new-york-times-wordle.html  



Here is one of my games


There is no time limit. The online keyboard is used to enter each guess.


My first guess is usually ADIEU as it contains four vowels.

The two letters in gold indicate they are used in the mystery word, but not in those places.

The three letters in gray are not used in the mystery word.


In the second line, the three letters in green indicate they are used and in those places.

The H is used in the word, but it is not the first letter, The O is not used.


The third line is a guess using the fact that the last three letters are ARD, 

the H has to be used but can’t be in the 1st, third, fourth or fifth letters. 

The C was the first five letter word I could think of that ended in HARD


The S in the fourth line was another word I could think of that ended in HARD

I didn’t need the fifth and sixth guesses, but that is the limit.





Mastermind

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mastermind_(board_game)


Guess the color of hidden pegs. A deduction game where each player takes turns making a limited number of guesses, using logic to deduce what pegs the opponent has hidden.


The idea of the game is for one player (the code-breaker) to guess the secret code chosen by the other player (the code-maker). The code is a sequence of 4 colored pegs chosen from six colors available. The code-breaker makes a serie of pattern guesses - after each guess the code-maker gives feedback in the form of 2 numbers, the number of pegs that are of the right color and in the correct position, and the number of pegs that are of the correct color but not in the correct position - these numbers are usually represented by small black and white pegs.

    Wikipedia



One player secretly puts four colored pegs in the spaces behind a screen at once end of the game board. The other player, the code breaker, makes a series of guesses. After each guess, the code maker uses smaller pegs to tell the code breaker if their guessed pegs are the right color and in the right place, are the right color but the wrong place, or are the wrong color entirely. The code breaker makes another guess in the next row, building upon information from previous guesses, trying to match the pegs the code maker hid at the beginning of the game.

    https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/2392/mastermind


Play online

https://webgamesonline.com/mastermind/index.php


Tuesday, December 22, 2020

Resources for History Teachers - from my Diigo account

The Object of History | Behind the Scenes with the Curators of the National Museum of American History

http://objectofhistory.org

World History Matters » A Portal to World History Sites from the Center for History and New Media

https://worldhistorymatters.org

History Matters: The U.S. Survey Course on the Web

http://historymatters.gmu.edu

Designed for teachers and students at the high school and college levels, History Matters is a gateway site to Web-based materials about United States history. A search engine, as well as broad topical links, provide access to primary documents, images, a

Teaching History

https://teachinghistory.org

Home · September 11 Digital Archive

https://911digitalarchive.org

Papers of the War Department · Home · Papers of the War Department

https://wardepartmentpapers.org/s/home/page/home

History News Network

http://hnn.us

(91) US History - Crash Course YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL8dPuuaLjXtMwmepBjTSG593eG7ObzO7s

US National Archives Channel

http://www.youtube.com/USNationalArchives

(18) Historical Tweets (@historicaltweet) / Twitter

https://twitter.com/historicaltweet?lang=en

U.S. History: Resources for Students, Teachers and Researchers

http://www.findingdulcinea.com/guides/Education/US-History.html

The 13 Colonies: Map, Original States & Regions | HISTORY - HISTORY

https://www.history.com/topics/colonial-america/thirteen-colonies

C-SPAN American History TV | C-SPAN.org

https://www.c-span.org/video/?297383-1/span-american-history-tv

American Presidents | Series | C-SPAN.org

https://www.c-span.org/series/?presidents

American History TV | Series | C-SPAN.org

http://www.c-span.org/series/?ahtv

American History TV (AHTV), a “network in a network,” features programming geared toward history lovers with 48 hours every weekend of people and events that document the American story.

Who HQ

http://www.whowasbookseries.com

history/social studies | Cult of Pedagogy

https://www.cultofpedagogy.com/tag/history-social-studies/

Google News Archive Search

https://news.google.com/newspapers

Chronicling America « Library of Congress

https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov

Using the Case Study Method to Make History More Relevant an...

https://t.co/OP6aY5fymJ

Using the Case Study Method to Make History More Relevant and Engaging https://t.co/OP6aY5fymJ #history #ushist #APUSH #sschat #pedagogy #HistoryTeacher https://t.co/iwYUfLpJSp

Radiooooo.com - The Musical Time Machine

http://radiooooo.com

Archiving Early America

https://www.varsitytutors.com/earlyamerica

"Benjamin Franklin's Autobiography"

Historical Pics (@HistoricalPics) | Twitter

https://twitter.com/HistoricalPics?lang=en

What Did People Eat In The 1800s? – Ancestry Blog

https://blogs.ancestry.com/cm/what-was-life-like-200-years-ago/?pp=1&o_xid=78114&o_lid=78114&o_sch=External+Paid+Media

Freedom: A History of US. For Teachers | PBS

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/historyofus/teachers/

360° Video: Viking and Slav Reenactors Face Off in an Epic Battle

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/02/viking-warriors-battle-reenactment-360-vr/

Time Line Guide to the U.S. Presidents | Scholastic

https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/articles/teaching-content/timeline-guide-us-presidents/

Teaching History With Technology | Practical Ed Tech

http://practicaledtech.com/teaching-history-on-the-web/

15 Tools for Teaching History With Technology - Google Docs

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Ap2HXcyFbY5nrPaKddnLnb4jGWYpvfEpucC2e_qOvIk/edit

Learning Blog

http://learning.zahnerhistory.com

18 Free History Lessons with Primary Sources | Tech Learning

http://www.techlearning.com/blogentry/9866

Exhibitions · DPLA Omeka

http://dp.la/exhibitions

Twitter / HistoryInPics: 1938 Cost of Living ...

https://twitter.com/HistoryInPics/status/461840548220129282/photo/1

Teaching the Difficult History of Slavery Through Primary Documents | Teaching American History

http://teachingamericanhistory.org/masters/teaching-the-difficult-history-of-slavery-through-primary-documents/?source=s/

How to Keep History Lessons Meaningful During Role Play | MiddleWeb

http://www.middleweb.com/13778/keeping-history-lessons-meaningful-role-play/

Chronicling America « Library of Congress

http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov

Mapped historical photos from collections large and small | SepiaTown

http://www.sepiatown.com

History in 2 minutes

http://marcbrecy.perso.neuf.fr/history.html

Take a Virtual Tour of Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre | Open Culture

http://www.openculture.com/2013/11/take-a-virtual-tour-of-shakespeares-globe-theatre.html

Internet History Sourcebooks Project

http://www.fordham.edu/Halsall/index.asp

Colonial Williamsburg for Teachers : History.org : The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation's official History and Citizenship site

http://www.history.org/History/teaching/

Colonial Williamsburg Electronic Field Trips : The Colonial Williamsburg Official History & Citizenship Site

http://www.history.org/History/teaching/eft/

“Mission U.S.”: A revolutionary way to learn history | eSchool News

http://www.eschoolnews.com/2012/05/16/mission-u-s-a-revolutionary-way-to-learn-history/

Colonial Williamsburg introduces new electronic field trips | eSchool News

http://www.eschoolnews.com/2012/10/24/colonial-williamsburg-introduces-new-electronic-field-trips/

Free website brings U.S. Constitution to life | eSchool News

http://www.eschoolnews.com/2012/11/07/free-website-brings-u-s-constitution-to-life/

The Names Behind The States | Visual.ly

http://visual.ly/names-behind-states?buffer_share=0d56b&utm_source=buffer&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Buffer%253A%252Briptidef%252Bon%252Btwitter

Map with all Historic Places in the United States of America and Canada - HistoricPlaces.net | HistoricPlaces.net

http://www.historicplaces.net/map/

The Center for Teaching History with Technology

http://www.thwt.org/

American Rhetoric: The Power of Oratory in the United States

http://www.americanrhetoric.com

Historical Thinking Matters

http://historicalthinkingmatters.org/

Primary Source Nexus

http://primarysourcenexus.org

Today in History: Louisiana Purchase Treaty | Primary Source Nexus

http://primarysourcenexus.org/2011/10/today-in-history-1020/

Teaching History

http://teachinghistory.org

TimeMaps - World History Atlas

http://www.timemaps.com

DocsTeach

http://docsteach.org

World War II - Kids Social Studies Videos, Games and Lessons that Make Learning Fun and Easy

http://www.neok12.com/World-War-II.htm

Free Technology for Teachers: 3D American Civil War on Google Earth

http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2011/04/3d-american-civil-war-on-google-earth.html

Life Portrait of Ulysses S. Grant - C-SPAN Video Library

http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/150209-1

How do you engage students in your Social Studies Classroom? | Edutopia

http://www.edutopia.org/groups/social-studies/64919

History by Everett | Biology by Meade — Two learners excited to teach; two teachers excited to learn...

http://nbleadership.com

The Best Websites For Teaching & Learning About U.S. History

http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2008/06/08/the-best-websites-for-teaching-learning-about-us-history

Teaching Digital History: Enhancing Active Learning With Technology"

http://carlanderson.blogspot.com/2010/11/weekly-tech-tip-teaching-digital.html

Techno Constructivist: Weekly Tech Tip

Monday, December 10, 2018

Printing Your Own Sticky Notes


Sticky Notes and QR Codes
Craig Nansen
@cnansen on Twitter


You don’t need to purchase or copy templates to be able to print onto your own sticky notes!

You can quickly and easily make your own templates using Google Drawings.

Step one: open a new Google Drawings document.

Step two: insert a square shape - the size doesn’t matter.



Step three: select the box (or rectangle), under Format select “Format Options” and then click on the “Size and Position” and change the width and height to match the size of the sticky note you plan to use. I used 3” x 3” in this example.

Step four: Make sure you have a border on the box - we want the box to print so we can make a template to use later.



Step five: select the box and “Duplicate” it from the “Edit” menu, or type Command-D.

Step six: move the new box anywhere you want on the page.

Step seven: repeat the Duplicate and move steps as many times as you would like.

Note: - you don’t need to worry about where the boxes are or how they are lined up (unless you want to take the time to do so).

Step eight: Print the page you just made. This will be your template.

Step nine: Place a sticky note on each of the squares. (You don’t have to put them on all the squares if you only want to print one or two sticky notes.) Place the template back in the printer, making sure the “sticky” part of the sticky notes goes in first so they don’t get stuck in the printer!

Step ten: Going back to your Google Drawings, add whatever content you want to each of the boxes. I have used QR Codes in my example. When you print again these will print exactly where the boxes are on the template you are running through - except the sticky notes are there instead.

I got the idea for making my own “sticky notes” templates from Tony Vincent and Matt Miller. They both used Google Slides. I have always wondered why they prefer Google Slides over Google Drawings. The only reason I can think of is that you can have multiple slides in one “document” using Google Slides instead of individual drawings. Is there any other reason to use Slides over Drawings?

From Learning in Hand with Tony Vincent

Using Google Slides - From Ditch that textbook with Matt Miller


I used this as an example to show that you don’t have to worry about lining up the boxes in the template like you would if you were using Avery labels.


Monday, June 4, 2018

How to save your favorite tweets in Twitter

How do you handle saving and later finding Tweets that you want to follow up on?

What I do is to click on the "like" or "favorite" icon.

But, I have close to 4,000 likes on Twitter and it is almost impossible to find older likes using the regular Twitter site.

I have several different solutions to this problem.

Using TweetDeck I created a column for my likes. TweetDeck columns have the option to search just that column for any content I am looking for.



In the example below I am searching all 4,000 of my likes for anything that has the hashtag #GoogleClassroom





I can also search for all the Tweets I have liked from specific people. In this case I looked for all the Tweets from @jmattmiller that I have liked.



Another way I manage all the Tweets that I have liked is to use IFTTT (If This Then That) - http://ifttt.com

I have created several IFTTT Applets that do specific tasks whenever I "like" a Tweet.

These Applets will take the Tweet that I have liked and a) append the tweet to an Evernote note b) add the Tweet to a new line in a Google Sheet, c) append the tweet to a Google Doc in my Google Drive and d) add a new bookmark to my Diigo account


This way I can easily copy and past Tweets that I want to share with other. I often copy them into shared documents based on interest for math teachers, language arts teachers, GSFE users, STEM, etc.


If you haven't used IFTTT before, it is extremely easy to create your own Applets. Basically you just pick and chose what you want to have done.












Thursday, February 5, 2015

Tips on Following or Reviewing Twitter Chats

Last night's (Wednesday, February 4th, 2015) North Dakota Ed Chat (#ndedchat) topic was SAMR and technology integration. Each of the links below pulls out the tweets associated with each question.

Having these links ready before the start of a Twitter Chat could help in chats where the Twitter stream is flowing too fast to really follow.

Note: In a week these links will be pulling Tweets from the latest Twitter Chat, so these links will no longer be showing the Tweets from this week's chat at the top of the list.

Tweets about #ndedchat AND (Q1 OR A1)
Tweets about #ndedchat AND (Q3 OR A3)

This finds some of the information about SAMR that wasn't part of the questions and answers



These links were created using the Advanced Search option in http://twitter.com/
You can get there by going to https://twitter.com/search and clicking on "Advanced Search" or by going to https://twitter.com/search-advanced


You can also get there by doing a search in Twitter and then selecting Advanced Search from the left hand column.


However you get to Advanced Search, you can enter your search terms. 


Once you see how they are constructed, you can enter them directly into the search box if you prefer.

Ex: #ndedchat Q1 OR A1 lang:en

Once you have executed a search you have the option to save the search, or to get the embed code which can be added to a web site or blog (like I have done here after I modified the code)






Thursday, April 24, 2014

Tips to Manage Twitter Chats such as #edchat and #ndedchat

During an active Twitter Chat it is hard to follow all the Tweets and different conversations that develop. Sometimes you might even miss the question that others are starting to answer.

I use TweetDeck when I am participating in #edchat, #ndedchat or other active Twitter Chats. I set up multiple columns, each with a specific purpose.

The main column is searching for all Tweets that contain the hashtag for the Twitter Chat.

A second column is set to search for the same hashtag, but I use it to find secondary words. It might be "Q1" because I missed the first question by joining late, or it might have passed by without my seeing it. It might be "A1" to find all the (correctly tagged) answers to a specific question. It might be a term you want to search for to follow a side conversation, such as "common core" or "genius time."

A third column is set up with a list of people whose Tweets I want to pull out of the Twitter stream. In my example, two of the people in my list are the organizers of #ndedchat

There are times when I might have even more columns open, each devoted to a specific search term that I want to pull out of the stream.

I always have at least one column open and devoted to the specific hashtags I want to follow, such as #edchat, #commoncore, #mathchat, or #edtech.

You can double click on this image to see it in original size.



Thursday, July 11, 2013

Why I don't like the Olloclip Lenses for iPhones

Now that I have your attention, I really do like the Olloclip lenses. Just not for use in a school. https://www.olloclip.com/order/iphone4/

Bea Cantor's free book on using the Olloclip for macrophotraphy of insects got me intrigued. If you haven't seen her book, take some time to download it to iBooks on your iPad and read it.
Bea Cantor - Calling Nature (Free) - https://itun.es/i6x72cq

The problem with using the Olloclip lenses in school is that they can only be used with the iPhone. You have to order it specifically for the iPhone 4s or the iPhone 5. They are not interchangeable. I have the Olloclip for my iPhone 4s, but it won't work with my wife's iPhone 5. Also, few of our students, especially at the elementary level, have iPhones they can bring to school, and we are not going to purchase iPhones for use by students.

I have the Olloclip lenses for my iPhone 4s, but prefer to use the Photojojo lenses instead. These are the lenses that I would suggest schools consider purchasing.
http://photojojo.com/store/awesomeness/cell-phone-lenses/

Why?

There are several reasons.

The Photojojo lens kit is less expensive. The list price is $49 vs $69.99 for the Olloclip.

The Photojojo lens kit can be used on any iPhone, iPad, or Android device. They can also be used on the 4th Generation iPod Touch.

The Photojojo lens kit can be used on three different iOS devices at the same time, where the Olloclip can only be used on one device at a time.

Since we are most interested in the maco lens, we can purchase the Wide/macro lens for $20 instead of purchasing the entire lens kit. We just ordered 20 of the Wide/Macro lenses to be used with iPads, iPad Minis and 4th Generation iPod Touch devices.

The Photojojo lens kit includes a 2X Telephoto lens which is not available with the Olloclip. We ordered five of these lens kits to get the telephoto lens and five more macro lenses.

If you aren't aware of the Photojojo site, take a look. They are starting a Phoneography 101 course (Note: not an iPhoneography course) August 1st.
http://photojojo.com/university/

Photojojo University is a 4-week course that teaches you the principles of photography through the lens of your phone. Twice a week you’ll get an email with a simple and fun lesson that ends with a challenge to help you solidify your new skills.

Whatever you decide to do, take a look at Bea Cantor's book and see how you can use macro-photography in your classroom.