Author: Clif

Clif Mims is a Christian, husband, father, teacher, cancer warrior, and fan of the Mississippi State Bulldogs and Memphis Grizzlies.

Assessment That Fosters Students’ Growth

“Assessment that’s joyful and just is rooted in the belief that all students are capable of achieving and learning at high levels. These assessments celebrate, set goals, and design instruction for students as unique individuals who deserve to be seen and heard. As students feel empowered, they’re more motivated to achieve goals along a clear learning progression toward self-actualization and joy in a more just society, where each of us is fully valued and supported in our growth.”

Continue reading Sarah Yost’s full article on Edutopia: https://edut.to/3Ex3LYe

We Remember What We ‘Do’

Feel free to download a full-sized version of this poster for use in your school.

Related Resources

Maker Education: A Quick Introduction

Journey from a Makerspace to a Maker District

MakerED

Building the Future: Tinkering and Playful Learning

The Audacity of Making 

The Maker Movement in K-12 Education: A Guide to Emerging Research

Invent to LearnThe Maker Movement in K-12 Education: A Guide to Emerging Research

Invent to Learn

Improve How You Speak so That People Will Want to Listen

The human voice is one of the most powerful sounds in the world. It can start wars, and it can say, “I love you.” Yet, many people do not feel as though others listen to them. In his TEDtalk (video below), sound expert, Julian Treasure, shares tips and useful vocal exercises to help you speak in ways that will cause people to want to listen to you.

He highlights 7 habits that should be avoided in the ways we speak and in the things we discuss (See image above or download full-sized version.).

Treasure shares 4 cornerstones on which to stand, to make your speech powerful and to promote change in the world. They are based on the acronym HAIL.

HAIL – to greet or acclaim enthusiastically

Honest – be clear and straight
Authenticity – be your self
Integrity – be your word
Love – wish them well

Treasure concludes by sharing tips on how to speak with empathy, and he offers his vision for a sonorous world of listening and understanding.

Technology & the Future: Where Are We Headed?

“When you drive a car down the road, you need an engine to move it forward and you need brakes to steer. The vehicle of technology requires both the engine of optimism and the brakes of pessimism in order to steer [us into a better tomorrow].”

Kevin Kelly, How We Build the Future.
This work by Clif Mims is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License. Full details available at: https://clifmims.com/ccl/

I found Kevin Kelly’s ideas (video below) provocative and the visual presentation is creative. While important matters such as social, economic, and political issues aren’t addressed, I do think this adds intriguing flavor to the discussion of technology’s role in society and our future.

Enjoy the video.

Ideas for Making and Tinkering at Home

This week we’re investigating maker education, tinkering, and coding in our educational technology courses. Translating all the hands-on experiences from our face-to-face class meetings into the online learning environment has been a fun challenge. Thankfully, we actually began preparing this module for the online environment in Summer 2019, so it has been a work in progress. A special thanks to colleague and EdTech Team member, Melissa Marshall, for helping develop the module.

I thought I’d share some of the resources that I put together. Perhaps these will give families ideas to spice up their days of quarantine. Please share your ideas and recommended resources in the comments, so that our preservice and in-service teachers can learn from you, too.

Slideshow of Examples

Browse through this slideshow to view examples that might spark inspiration for your next maker or tinkering project.

Possible Materials

Feel free to bookmark, save, or print the following document.

Interview: Tim Scott on Latest Book “The Dragon King”

Talking Ed. with Tim Scott

Episode 011 (View entire series)

Tim Scott discusses the unique qualities of his latest book involving heroic yet relatable family characters in a fast-paced series.

Tim takes the leap as a full-time writer, connecting with others through story. He finds full-time writing a frightening, challenging, rewarding experience and shares the intriguing process of developing a plot twist.

Visit Tim Scott’s site:

https://www.timothywscott.com