Click for list

Thomas Wikman and I met over a love of dogs which soon grew into a mutual appreciation for all things cerebral. He writes about Leonbergers (if you've never seen one of these amazing dogs, click through to his blog and check them out) and wrote the definitive book on the subject about his own Leonberger, The Life and Times of Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle: Stories and Tips from Thirteen Years with a Leonberger.

Beyond dogs, Thomas writes erudite posts about science, fun facts, book reviews, and more. As an educator, his recent guest post on science books for the youngest of our children caught my attention as one the Ask a Tech Teacher community would enjoy. With Thomas' permission, I'll share his review of several science books intended for our youngest learners, presented in an age-appropriate fashion for those with curious minds even in preschool.

If this tweaks your interest, click through to Thomas' science blog, SuperFactful, for more fascinating quick overviews of the wonders of science:

Click for list

This month's question -- What are your thoughts on using AI, such as GPChat, Raptor, and others with your writing? Would you use it for research, storybible, or creating outlines\beats?

I use AI sparingly, mostly because it pops up in something else I'm doing. For example, I use AutoCrit to review my manuscripts as I finish up. AutoCrit will do an AI summary of the book, the chapter, give story ideas (plot threads that need work or can be carried over into sequels), marketing ideas, and more. I found them useful albeit vanilla. To activate them effectively requires a personal touch and voice only the author can add.

Click for more

I get a lot of questions from readers about what tech ed resources I use in my classroom so I’ll take a few days to review them with you. Some are edited and/or written by members of the Ask a Tech Teacher crew. Others, by tech teachers who work with the same publisher I do. All of them, I’ve found well-suited to the task of scaling and differentiating tech skills for age groups, scaffolding learning year-to-year, taking into account the perspectives and norms of all stakeholders, with appropriate metrics to know learning is organic and granular.

Today: Mentoring and Coaching

Click for more