Megan Alvord
@mrsalvord.bsky.social
NC high school physics teacher. Computational Physics. QuarkNet Coding Fellow. #modphys #iteachphysics she/her
Reposted by Megan Alvord
I know AI is everywhere in our lives, but this one really surprised me. I'm uploading my recommendation letters, and Naviance has offered to write my rec letters for me, using just 4 bits of information from me.
The absolute gall to call this "meaningful and personalized"
#EduSky #iTeachPhysics
The absolute gall to call this "meaningful and personalized"
#EduSky #iTeachPhysics
![Screenshot from Naviance: "Get started with your recommendation for [redacted]. To generate a meaningful and personalized recommendation letter, select the information you'd like to highlight. You can also set the tone, level of formality, and your relationship to the student. After you make your suggestions, generate the letter.
How formal should this letter be?
What tone would you like to set?
What's your relationship to the student?
Would you like to use bullet points?
Upload a template letter.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:l72uci4styb4jucsgcrrj5ap/bafkreig5j5dlr2cs6rzbe72tgn3n7mbvmqjd7p7m5xsc53xruhpnuwlb2i@jpeg)
October 31, 2025 at 12:08 AM
I know AI is everywhere in our lives, but this one really surprised me. I'm uploading my recommendation letters, and Naviance has offered to write my rec letters for me, using just 4 bits of information from me.
The absolute gall to call this "meaningful and personalized"
#EduSky #iTeachPhysics
The absolute gall to call this "meaningful and personalized"
#EduSky #iTeachPhysics
Reposted by Megan Alvord
Reposting with Alt-text:
October 27, 2025 at 4:24 AM
Reposting with Alt-text:
Reposted by Megan Alvord
Join us for an AAPT Virtual Coffee Hour on "Beware of Quantum Ducks, Quark Quark Quark: Resources for Teaching Modern Physics" with presenters Jan Mader & Shane Wood on October 14th at 6:30 pm EST. This event is open to the public. ow.ly/NtBq50WYavn #AAPTCoffeeHour #PhysicsEducation #ITeachPhysics
October 3, 2025 at 2:09 PM
Join us for an AAPT Virtual Coffee Hour on "Beware of Quantum Ducks, Quark Quark Quark: Resources for Teaching Modern Physics" with presenters Jan Mader & Shane Wood on October 14th at 6:30 pm EST. This event is open to the public. ow.ly/NtBq50WYavn #AAPTCoffeeHour #PhysicsEducation #ITeachPhysics
Reposted by Megan Alvord
We are thrilled to announce that our NEW Large Language Model will be released on 11.18.25.
October 1, 2025 at 2:38 PM
We are thrilled to announce that our NEW Large Language Model will be released on 11.18.25.
Guess what lab one of the physics classes at my school is starting today? Video analysis of a basketball throw with a focus on the quadratic equation.
Today's Google Doodle on the quadratic equation is cool and all, but it links to an AI description of quadratic equation. Where did you steal that content from, Google?
September 9, 2025 at 7:20 PM
Guess what lab one of the physics classes at my school is starting today? Video analysis of a basketball throw with a focus on the quadratic equation.
Day before Thanksgiving break. Wishing my students the best problem solving for success!
#iTeachPhysics
#iTeachPhysics
November 22, 2024 at 1:51 PM
Day before Thanksgiving break. Wishing my students the best problem solving for success!
#iTeachPhysics
#iTeachPhysics
This is what I ask the AI team at my school to repeatedly consider.
I can tell when AI spits out junk physics. My students haven't learned that skill yet because their baseline is still developing.
I can tell when AI spits out junk physics. My students haven't learned that skill yet because their baseline is still developing.
I love the problem solving part of physics. I love the problem solving part of teaching. AI has advantages, but there are LOTS of costs. KIDS still have GROWING minds that are DEVELOPING towards good problem solving and discernment. At the rate it’s growing, there’s no responsible classroom use w/Ss
Still cannot get past seeing the way AI is being marketed/recommended for the classroom as anything other than “empty calories” that will further erode the already-eroding sense of purpose of what we do in our classrooms.
We cannot give that away, right? but it feels like so many are willing to…
We cannot give that away, right? but it feels like so many are willing to…
November 19, 2024 at 12:59 PM
This is what I ask the AI team at my school to repeatedly consider.
I can tell when AI spits out junk physics. My students haven't learned that skill yet because their baseline is still developing.
I can tell when AI spits out junk physics. My students haven't learned that skill yet because their baseline is still developing.
Got a huge influx of followers overnight. Mostly #iTeachPhysics folks. Are we rebuilding???
This week I'm doing impulse-momentum relationships via force-time graphs and exploring 2D momentum.
This week I'm doing impulse-momentum relationships via force-time graphs and exploring 2D momentum.
November 10, 2024 at 2:54 PM
Got a huge influx of followers overnight. Mostly #iTeachPhysics folks. Are we rebuilding???
This week I'm doing impulse-momentum relationships via force-time graphs and exploring 2D momentum.
This week I'm doing impulse-momentum relationships via force-time graphs and exploring 2D momentum.
Reposted by Megan Alvord
A Particle Physics Course for High-School Students, from CERN
#ITeachPhysics #SciTeachUK #EduSky
ppc.web.cern.ch
#ITeachPhysics #SciTeachUK #EduSky
ppc.web.cern.ch
Intro | CERN Particle Physics Course
ppc.web.cern.ch
October 20, 2024 at 5:16 PM
A Particle Physics Course for High-School Students, from CERN
#ITeachPhysics #SciTeachUK #EduSky
ppc.web.cern.ch
#ITeachPhysics #SciTeachUK #EduSky
ppc.web.cern.ch
Reposted by Megan Alvord
Yup. Writing is thinking. So if you write a shitty first draft, you did some thinking and are on your way! If you got “AI” to write the draft, you haven’t thought AND now you’re trying to fix up what some non-thinking robot “thought.” You just put yourself 30 yards behind the starting line.
I remember people saying things like “you can’t fix an empty page” as an explanation for why writing a shitty first draft is better than no writing, but it’s not because it’s easier to edit than draft.
It’s because the act of drafting tells you about the shape of the story.
It’s because the act of drafting tells you about the shape of the story.
This is not just bots. We are seeing more and more submissions by writers with publication records who are almost certainly using AI to create initial drafts and then are trying and failing to edit things into shape.
October 13, 2024 at 2:04 PM
Yup. Writing is thinking. So if you write a shitty first draft, you did some thinking and are on your way! If you got “AI” to write the draft, you haven’t thought AND now you’re trying to fix up what some non-thinking robot “thought.” You just put yourself 30 yards behind the starting line.
Reposted by Megan Alvord
“They call them beasts of burden, we call them our beloved mules,” the company wrote on Facebook Monday. “They are capable and willing to work in many conditions most won't. They are not stubborn… they are wise, and require respect.”
RESPECT MULES!!!
RESPECT MULES!!!
Mules Navigating North Carolina's Impassable Roads To Bring Supplies To Communities Cut Off By Hurricane Helene
With hundreds of roads still impassable due to storm damage and flood debris, Mount Ulla-based Mountain Mule Packer Ranch is using their “beloved” pack mules to bring supplies to areas not accessible ...
www.southernliving.com
October 4, 2024 at 4:02 PM
“They call them beasts of burden, we call them our beloved mules,” the company wrote on Facebook Monday. “They are capable and willing to work in many conditions most won't. They are not stubborn… they are wise, and require respect.”
RESPECT MULES!!!
RESPECT MULES!!!
Boots on the ground. This guy shows Chimney Rock as it is now. His channel also has a video of the flooding pre #Helene
Please consider watching and support #wnc
youtu.be/MYdC-6nShdc?...
Please consider watching and support #wnc
youtu.be/MYdC-6nShdc?...
I walked to Chimney Rock for answers... Hurricane Helene Aftermath
YouTube video by Mark Huneycutt
youtu.be
October 5, 2024 at 2:16 PM
Boots on the ground. This guy shows Chimney Rock as it is now. His channel also has a video of the flooding pre #Helene
Please consider watching and support #wnc
youtu.be/MYdC-6nShdc?...
Please consider watching and support #wnc
youtu.be/MYdC-6nShdc?...
Reposted by Megan Alvord
I live in Appalachia. All around me is complete devastation. I was only out of power for six days but driving around and seeing what happened to my area completely boggles the mind. It was the scariest day of my life and many people didn't come out the other side.
October 3, 2024 at 9:21 PM
I live in Appalachia. All around me is complete devastation. I was only out of power for six days but driving around and seeing what happened to my area completely boggles the mind. It was the scariest day of my life and many people didn't come out the other side.
The DOT shut down I-40 WESTBOUND to limit people coming to the city where the National Guard has been mobilized.
Still haven't been able to make contact with my grandmother who's in a retirement center up there.
Western North Carolina and Eastern Tennessee are suffering.
Still haven't been able to make contact with my grandmother who's in a retirement center up there.
Western North Carolina and Eastern Tennessee are suffering.
I have to wonder if people read "North Carolina" and think "oh that's a coastal state" without realizing that the areas that got hit the worst are a few hundred miles inland.
September 30, 2024 at 10:54 AM
The DOT shut down I-40 WESTBOUND to limit people coming to the city where the National Guard has been mobilized.
Still haven't been able to make contact with my grandmother who's in a retirement center up there.
Western North Carolina and Eastern Tennessee are suffering.
Still haven't been able to make contact with my grandmother who's in a retirement center up there.
Western North Carolina and Eastern Tennessee are suffering.
Reposted by Megan Alvord
New year!
New to teaching physics? Not new but looking for a new way to do it?
GIFT - Good Ideas For Teaching physics (toys, tricks, labs etc.)
GLASS - Games (online) Labs And Simulations Spreadsheet (with 2nd sheet of video clips)
The complete set
bit.ly/3mErTj0
#chatphysics #iteachphysics
New to teaching physics? Not new but looking for a new way to do it?
GIFT - Good Ideas For Teaching physics (toys, tricks, labs etc.)
GLASS - Games (online) Labs And Simulations Spreadsheet (with 2nd sheet of video clips)
The complete set
bit.ly/3mErTj0
#chatphysics #iteachphysics
September 2, 2024 at 6:08 PM
New year!
New to teaching physics? Not new but looking for a new way to do it?
GIFT - Good Ideas For Teaching physics (toys, tricks, labs etc.)
GLASS - Games (online) Labs And Simulations Spreadsheet (with 2nd sheet of video clips)
The complete set
bit.ly/3mErTj0
#chatphysics #iteachphysics
New to teaching physics? Not new but looking for a new way to do it?
GIFT - Good Ideas For Teaching physics (toys, tricks, labs etc.)
GLASS - Games (online) Labs And Simulations Spreadsheet (with 2nd sheet of video clips)
The complete set
bit.ly/3mErTj0
#chatphysics #iteachphysics
#ITeachPhysics people who use Vernier products. Do the Go Direct sensors really not connect with LoggerPro?
My department would love to update some of our probeware with Bluetooth to get around the need for USB dongles for our Mac students, but we aren't looking to also change the software.
My department would love to update some of our probeware with Bluetooth to get around the need for USB dongles for our Mac students, but we aren't looking to also change the software.
August 23, 2024 at 11:44 PM
#ITeachPhysics people who use Vernier products. Do the Go Direct sensors really not connect with LoggerPro?
My department would love to update some of our probeware with Bluetooth to get around the need for USB dongles for our Mac students, but we aren't looking to also change the software.
My department would love to update some of our probeware with Bluetooth to get around the need for USB dongles for our Mac students, but we aren't looking to also change the software.
Reposted by Megan Alvord
Know a HS physics teacher who could use some recognition and maybe some $? Deadline is Aug 30 for the PhysTEC Teacher of the Year. #iteachphysics phystec.org/awards/teach...
PhysTEC Teacher of the Year
The PhysTEC Teacher of the Year program recognizes outstanding physics teachers that are members of PhysTEC.
phystec.org
August 10, 2024 at 11:45 AM
Know a HS physics teacher who could use some recognition and maybe some $? Deadline is Aug 30 for the PhysTEC Teacher of the Year. #iteachphysics phystec.org/awards/teach...
Toyed with the idea of returning to school for a PhD & talked to some current physics professors. Pretty much every reason I decided against pursuing a PhD after undergrad over 10 years ago is still around. Except for the physics GRE requirement. At this rate, I may be able to get it when I'm 65.
August 4, 2024 at 10:09 PM
Toyed with the idea of returning to school for a PhD & talked to some current physics professors. Pretty much every reason I decided against pursuing a PhD after undergrad over 10 years ago is still around. Except for the physics GRE requirement. At this rate, I may be able to get it when I'm 65.
Reposted by Megan Alvord
Interesting to see which factors influence someone to choose to study physics at university. Big shout out for informal science education (museums, camps etc.) and high school physics teachers (especially for women 👩🏻🔬). 🧪 🔭 ⚛️ 🎢 🍎 #scicomm #AcademicSky
Physics Bachelors: Influences and Backgrounds - AIP.ORG
What Experiences Influence Student’s Decisions to Major in Physics?
ww2.aip.org
July 29, 2024 at 8:17 PM
Interesting to see which factors influence someone to choose to study physics at university. Big shout out for informal science education (museums, camps etc.) and high school physics teachers (especially for women 👩🏻🔬). 🧪 🔭 ⚛️ 🎢 🍎 #scicomm #AcademicSky
Bye Fermilab! Hopefully I'll see you again soon!
July 26, 2024 at 9:15 PM
Bye Fermilab! Hopefully I'll see you again soon!
States mandating computer science grad requirements need to make sure they are ready to fund it. So many web based IDE's are now behind pay walls.
And not just paying for the CS teacher & students to have access, but all teachers & students. Otherwise crosscurricular integration will not exist.
And not just paying for the CS teacher & students to have access, but all teachers & students. Otherwise crosscurricular integration will not exist.
July 24, 2024 at 10:07 PM
States mandating computer science grad requirements need to make sure they are ready to fund it. So many web based IDE's are now behind pay walls.
And not just paying for the CS teacher & students to have access, but all teachers & students. Otherwise crosscurricular integration will not exist.
And not just paying for the CS teacher & students to have access, but all teachers & students. Otherwise crosscurricular integration will not exist.
If the men at the conference are complaining about how cold it is, just imagine what the women are feeling.
July 19, 2024 at 1:22 AM
If the men at the conference are complaining about how cold it is, just imagine what the women are feeling.
Long shot here but is anyone from #iTeachPhysics going to CSTA next week?
July 10, 2024 at 5:35 PM
Long shot here but is anyone from #iTeachPhysics going to CSTA next week?
Reposted by Megan Alvord
This, but also, not everyone can tolerate being bad at something for long enough to develop skill. Tolerance for failure is an underappreciated requirement for getting good at something.
I think, if you never sat down to learn the skills of a particular art, that art seems mysterious to you and it's easier to think that someone with those skills must just have "talent" cause you can't imagine yourself being able to do those things. Like, a long time ago on an online writing workshop
June 14, 2024 at 2:14 PM
This, but also, not everyone can tolerate being bad at something for long enough to develop skill. Tolerance for failure is an underappreciated requirement for getting good at something.
My school is making a big deal about it and we are only going to see 78%. Nothing will beat 100% from 2017! Wish I could have repeated it this year.
April 2, 2024 at 10:26 PM
My school is making a big deal about it and we are only going to see 78%. Nothing will beat 100% from 2017! Wish I could have repeated it this year.