Photo by Tyler Lastovich

Have you ever gotten so engrossed in a project or activity that it was hard to tear yourself away or you became oblivious to outside distractions? Perhaps you have entered “flow!” Richard Byrne tackled this fascinating subject related to character building in digital citizenship. This day and age provides endless distractions usually related to technology, and it has become necessary to learn to limit those distractions for the purpose of focusing and achieving substantive goals. He links a TED-Ed video that gives some practical tips for getting yourself into a state of flow. Breaking down large tasks into manageable chunks, setting up your environment to minimize distractions, and adding a fun challenge to a mundane task are a few of the tips he lays out. Actually, I enjoy this topic because it is something I am very purposeful to work on in my own life. I grew up without a television and other distractions. My parents were quiet introverts and taught me the value of working hard at home, and doing quiet, restorative activities. Although I am a natural extrovert and enjoyed finally going out and doing all the things when I struck out on my own, I do carry some of those skills I learned at home. I try to find pockets of time during the day to achieve a sense of flow whether in my quiet times, running, or working on the housework, and I would agree it makes me happier with a sense of internal peace. Click here to see the TED Ed video Byrne refers to.

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On another topic entirely, Jacqui Murray introduced the fun idea of creating Tesselations in Excel. I had no idea of the meaning of that word before reading this post. I discovered that Tesselations are the repetitive pattern of geometric shapes that interlock and cover a surface completely. For instance, you can take a triangle and put them side by side and filling the whole page with them as they interlock. For fancy Tesselations, you can use formulas and formatting options to make a visually appealing pattern. To make it beautiful, fill color can be added to create designs. All of this can be done in Excel and may be a fun way to introduce patterns and geometry to students. Tesselations occur naturally in our environment. Think of a beehive with the honeycombs, or the repetitive ripples in the desert sand, or a game board such as checkers. Allow students to see how geometry has meaning in our real lives. Let students be creative and try different shapes to make their tessellation. The grid of the Excel spreadsheet ensures students can get a good fit for their shapes.

Enjoy the mind-numbing task of putting endless shapes together and who knows, just maybe you and your students will enter a state of “flow!”

References

Byrne, R. (2023, July 30). How to get in the flow. Retrieved from Free Technology for Teachers: https://www.freetech4teachers.com/2023_07_30_archive.html

Murray, J. (2023, July 28). Tesselations in Excel. Retrieved from Ask a Tech Teacher: https://www.freetech4teachers.com/2023_07_30_archive.html