tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-55151559883181566212024-03-05T02:25:15.328-08:00TeachademicsThe teaching blog of Clickademics.com where I share some of best teaching techniques and shortcuts from my fourteen years in the classroom.Bradley Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04556577811649874411noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5515155988318156621.post-27520521261419568892017-09-20T18:47:00.000-07:002017-11-10T17:49:30.321-08:00Making My English Class into a Tae Kwon Do StudioI have never been truly happy with my writing instruction in my middle school English class, and this year I am doing something about it.<br />
<br />
In the past, I assigned a couple essays each quarter, and my strong writers did fine, turning in well-written essays on the due date. My struggling writers, however, had a much more difficult time. Every step took longer, and they were lucky to finish their first draft on the due date. They would turn in an almost-finished essay, be content with a mediocre grade, and ignore my comments, ready to repeat the process a couple weeks later on the next essay.<br />
<br />
The worst part of this pattern is that my struggling <br />
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writers never learned edit their work. <a href="http://blog.clickademics.com/2014/01/henry-kissinger-on-writing-rewriting.html" target="_blank">Henry Kissinger once said</a> that, “Good writing is good rewriting,” and Ernest Hemingway wrote, “There is no writing, just rewriting.” Proofreading, correcting, and publishing essays is more important for struggling writers than it is for strong writers since strong writers naturally communicate in grammatically correct, nice sounding sentences.<br />
<br />
So this year, I will assess student writing less like a school project and more like a tae kwon do studio. I'm no expert - I only studied tae kwon do for three years before I had children - but I like the systems of belts that represent achievement. Martial artists must test In order to progress to the next belt, show that they have mastered the skills of the previous belt before graduating to the next belt.<br />
<br />
This year, my students must master the first steps in writing before progressing to the next. For instance, a “yellow belt” student will write a complete first draft before moving on to “green belt.” The student must have a complete introductory paragraph, perfect thesis statement, and well-developed body paragraphs in the first draft before I will approve her to start editing as a green belt. Most importantly, she must complete all of the steps of editing - especially incorporating my comments - before starting the outline of the second essay, which is the difference between the green belt and the orange belt.<br />
<br />
It was hard for me when I realized that at the end of the quarter, some students would only complete one and a half essays while others would complete
three. But outside of school, everyone's expected to learn at a different pace, and we don't move on until we have finished the earlier steps. One of my struggling writers might complete fewer essays, but he will have fully edited and perfected the once he did write, which is a more valuable learning experience than almost finishing three essays. In the end, that student might get the same mediocre grade for writing, but at least he has learned skills that will help him do better next time.<br />
<br />
This idea did not come from watching a martial arts movie or learning tae kwon do. It came to me while at a faculty meeting before the first day of school. Our administrator asked us to discuss what we would change about school. While some at my table wished for a later start time or more STEM (or even better coffee in the teachers’ lounge), I wished that I could scrap the whole system where students move to the next grade at the beginning of the new school year. I wish that students moved to the next classroom when they had mastered the skills, no matter how long it took. I may not be able to totally rework the traditional school system, but I can rework the writing instruction in my class.<br />
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Bradley Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04556577811649874411noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5515155988318156621.post-25192274228638720572013-12-21T14:24:00.004-08:002013-12-21T15:35:18.546-08:00Don't Hate the Five Paragraph EssayOver the years, I have heard a number of educators, usually upper-level high school teachers, complaining about the traditional five paragraph essay. It usually goes something like, "If I have to read another one of those boring five paragraph essays, I think I'll..." followed by some unmentionable act. There logic is flawed, though. They believe that if the student did not write a five paragraph essay, she would write a more well-developed, original piece that is enjoyable to read because each piece of the argument is logical and fully explained. They are wrong. If the student did not follow the steps of the five paragraph essay, she would probably write a seven line blurb made up of a series of random thoughts sprinkled one after another, each in 140 characters or fewer.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu2HLEX-glPw1lZ1oDPNl7d9DXJT9LFiCJotiQQpH7y0fm-xEAhVdLAMo2PY3iwqWMKYNjf-Z-JkdBBUe2UDJt6asZqJmKeUiIhfk4AcIut83__HaY_ePV1lESkhbXLCn1TeCD3ZVCwqQ/s1600/trianglechart.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu2HLEX-glPw1lZ1oDPNl7d9DXJT9LFiCJotiQQpH7y0fm-xEAhVdLAMo2PY3iwqWMKYNjf-Z-JkdBBUe2UDJt6asZqJmKeUiIhfk4AcIut83__HaY_ePV1lESkhbXLCn1TeCD3ZVCwqQ/s320/trianglechart.jpg" width="320" /></a>To the small group of readers unfamiliar with the five paragraph essay, it is a structure, almost a <br />
formula, that students use to write expository essays. It begins with an introductory paragraph, followed by three body paragraphs, and ends in a concluding paragraph. Each body paragraph begins with a topic sentence and is supported with 4-6 sentences of facts and explanation. Standard school essay.<br />
<br />
The five paragraph essay is what I used when teaching writing in my middle school English classes and is also what students use when they write using my website, <a href="http://www.clickademics.com/" target="_blank">Clickademics Essay Engine</a>, which helps struggling writers through the writing process. I like it because it is a good starting point. It forces students to lay out the argument of the paper in a logical way that is easy for readers to follow. Were it not for this structure, most young writers would simply write sentences as they popped in their head. If a high school teacher told his students to avoid writing five paragraph essays, he would not receive a variety of well-written prose, he would receive a couple good essays and a whole lot of jumbled, hard-to-read text that would be far more difficult to read than a homogeneous stack of five paragraph essays.<br />
<br />
Like all rules, the structure of the five paragraph essay was made to be broken. Once students have mastered the basic form, they can expand where needed. If three supporting details are not enough, there is room for more. If six sentences are not enough to fully explain an idea, the writer can expand on the thought, even adding another paragraph. But doesn't that mean it would be a six paragraph essay?<br />
<br />
Now the grumpy teachers do have a point - high school students should not be writing the same five paragraph essays that they wrote in middle school. Older writers should be breaking out of the formula and making the structure fit the essays topic. But the answer is not to trash the five paragraph essay structure, it is to explicitly teach how good writers break out, how to write more without rambling, how to elegantly transition between ideas, how to write a thesis that does not clumsily list the topics of the three paragraphs.<br />
<br />
The five paragraph essay is actually misnamed because it does not necessarily have to have five paragraphs. It is simply organized writing. There are, however, some elements that non-negotiable. Every expository essay - or speech for that matter - should have:<br />
<ul>
<li>A catchy introduction</li>
<li>A thesis that clearly states the point of the piece</li>
<li>Facts and evidence that supports the point</li>
<li>Ideas laid out in a logical order</li>
<li>A conclusion that gives a sense of completion</li>
</ul>
These elements apply to all nonfiction writing, from a business email to a doctoral thesis. The lack of logic and organization is what makes college professors and employers so frustrated. If more young students mastered the five paragraph essay, they would be more prepared for writing as an adult.<br />
<br />
So don't hate the five paragraph essay. Just know that it is a stepping stone to mature writing. Most students just need a nudge before they can leave the safety of the structure and find their own style.Bradley Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04556577811649874411noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5515155988318156621.post-22924919913099415082013-07-24T12:03:00.001-07:002013-07-24T12:38:55.173-07:00The Good Enough Guide to Making Educational Videos<div style="text-align: left;">
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<!--StartFragment--><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">
For my <a href="http://www.clickademics.com/" target="_blank">Clickademics</a> site, I make educational videos the hard way, often taking several days to film the lesson, create graphics, and edit it all together. That is fine for my website, but it is completely impossible for a classroom teacher trying to juggle all of the regular teaching duties. Below are my quick and dirty tips for making educational videos that are fast enough to fit in your schedule but quality enough that you won't be embarrassed to show your students. It took about half and hour to film and an hour to edit.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="normal">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div class="normal">
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">
Materials</span></h3>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="normal">
</div>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Video Camera - any camera will do</span></li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Microphone - hopefully you have a camera with an audio jack. A cheap label mic does wonders</span></li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Mac (sorry PC users, the teachers I help all use Macs and so do I)</span></li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">iMovie Editing Software and PowerPoint or Keynote presentation software</span></li>
</ul>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><o:p></o:p><br /></span></div>
<div class="normal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="normal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="normal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="normal">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div class="normal">
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">
Steps</span></h3>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="normal" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -17.95pt;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1.<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span><!--[endif]--><b>Film your lesson</b>,
preferably using an external microphone. Teach in short segments with long
pauses in between. Don’t be afraid to take many takes until you get each
segment just right. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="normal" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -17.95pt;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">2.<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span><!--[endif]--><b>Upload your
footage</b> to your computer. If you plan to film several lessons, consider storing
the video on an external hard drive.</span></div>
</div>
<div class="normal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -17.95pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<ol>
<li style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In iMovie, click on the “File” pull down menu and
choose “Import from Camera”</span></li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Always choose the “Full” file size, but you do not need
to choose “Stabilization” because it takes too long.</span></li>
</ol>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="normal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -17.95pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="normal" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -17.95pt;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">3.<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span><!--[endif]-->iMovie’s screen is separated into “Events” and
“Projects.” The Event is the raw footage that you downloaded. The Project is
your finished product. You may need to hit the “Project Library” arrow to see
all of your projects. Now hit the “+” sign to <b>add a new project</b>. Give your project a name and leave it as 16:9
widescreen and 30 fps.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="normal" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -17.95pt;">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtGWJPvRNfy3gdTM8PRMAGJD2H-98FsU5DVyGsXoC0qJr5Ms6N7c-2ZBHGSQEFsIjrtDPIaiwU8WNTyVCPXNS7H8ZLdYn9RmblOb5D5ZuqhivQKhoGVFCQGge-NwEsZbguyKPMEVyFz40/s1600/new+project.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtGWJPvRNfy3gdTM8PRMAGJD2H-98FsU5DVyGsXoC0qJr5Ms6N7c-2ZBHGSQEFsIjrtDPIaiwU8WNTyVCPXNS7H8ZLdYn9RmblOb5D5ZuqhivQKhoGVFCQGge-NwEsZbguyKPMEVyFz40/s320/new+project.png" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Adding a New Project</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">4.<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span><!--[endif]-->In the “Event Library” watch your footage. When there
is a segment you want to use, click on it to <b>surround it with a yellow box</b>. You can drag the beginning and the
end of the box to fit keep the good parts.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="normal" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -17.95pt;">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgODe2GkemsoIG_rJVKhyHt_Lzy0Tm8UDyGBKZ0SeaaVHlLXRlWc9O1TPAWrKJjESJ-BXW9sDxMmsf5mE612HdmPmPEWkPK2cACod43wAkDLzslmXTtyazG6OHVshAqFXzOWdS4jFAtVT4/s1600/highlight.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgODe2GkemsoIG_rJVKhyHt_Lzy0Tm8UDyGBKZ0SeaaVHlLXRlWc9O1TPAWrKJjESJ-BXW9sDxMmsf5mE612HdmPmPEWkPK2cACod43wAkDLzslmXTtyazG6OHVshAqFXzOWdS4jFAtVT4/s320/highlight.png" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Capture Clip in Yellow Box</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">5.<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span><!--[endif]--><b>Drag</b> the
yellow box up to the “Project” window.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="normal" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -17.95pt;">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBKb9d7wbOq_94W4sBiVYeiCAyBtsa-mS0FZsTbWj6t9WqsQXi2rdzUksTsoJydPo3FgDwjN1joBCDog9JxiMkvHpqg0lgRXsvTbSyMmERe9LtlkoneDbVWl8PUAle-71D7jaM_uly5I0/s1600/drag.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBKb9d7wbOq_94W4sBiVYeiCAyBtsa-mS0FZsTbWj6t9WqsQXi2rdzUksTsoJydPo3FgDwjN1joBCDog9JxiMkvHpqg0lgRXsvTbSyMmERe9LtlkoneDbVWl8PUAle-71D7jaM_uly5I0/s320/drag.png" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Drag Footage into Project</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">6.<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Keep doing steps 4 and 5 for all of your segments until
you have a complete lesson. Remember to keep your lessons short. When it doubt,
make several 2-4 minute lessons instead of a 12-14 minute lessons.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="normal" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -17.95pt;">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmZdmofaUgDYB-TCQyc0CjKUURfT0Ujce7WZX7xQTzpwSeJHkAY7BS9FbEHRFkjr59gRghYl0U4OjN1peUbcZrOdwcTpna30q3MMEvF8ofSLEScD9wMOZyg3afXOJHL1XIqRG6cWvtQ78/s1600/first+draft.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmZdmofaUgDYB-TCQyc0CjKUURfT0Ujce7WZX7xQTzpwSeJHkAY7BS9FbEHRFkjr59gRghYl0U4OjN1peUbcZrOdwcTpna30q3MMEvF8ofSLEScD9wMOZyg3afXOJHL1XIqRG6cWvtQ78/s320/first+draft.png" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This is Your First Draft</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">7.<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Now, create your <b>graphics</b>.
Using PowerPoint or Apple’s Keynote, make slides that correspond to the
important points in your lesson.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="normal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -17.95pt;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<ol>
<li style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Write out your most important points</span></li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Show examples</span></li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Make diagrams</span></li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Add photographs (be sure to search for Creative Commons
images that are not copyrighted. You may use copyrighted images in your own
classroom but not if the video is available to all students.)</span></li>
</ol>
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="normal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -17.95pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="normal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -17.95pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="normal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -17.95pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="normal" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -17.95pt;">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5E_A7Wlz5vdiiEotHvzCosf2n84XQpTHAcYzj5qi8T9ri0LoQYJlz_z4O4Z3MZBbKhnV3oMUhtxrMl48xG_ahwg1g0kqWslI7woujmdhZgLl37k9osLcS9TmlJ_3um1J2fjt5-TFGgAs/s1600/Making+Slides.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5E_A7Wlz5vdiiEotHvzCosf2n84XQpTHAcYzj5qi8T9ri0LoQYJlz_z4O4Z3MZBbKhnV3oMUhtxrMl48xG_ahwg1g0kqWslI7woujmdhZgLl37k9osLcS9TmlJ_3um1J2fjt5-TFGgAs/s320/Making+Slides.png" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Make Slides</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">8.<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span><!--[endif]--><b>Save your
slideshow</b> in a way that can be embedded in your video<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="normal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -17.95pt;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<ol>
<li style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The fast, easy way: save each slide as it’s own image.</span></li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In Powerpoint, click on the “File” pull down menu and
choose “Save As.” Under the “Format” or “File Type” choose “JPG.”</span></li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 7pt;"> </span>In Keynote, click on the “Share” pulldown menu and
choose “Images.”</span></li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Add these photos to your iPhoto library</span></li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The slower, fancier way: export your slideshow as a
movie that you can edit in to your video lesson</span></li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Between each slide you will need to add a “Transition.”
Set the transition to happen 20 seconds later so that the slide will stay on
the screen long enough.</span></li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">You will have to use this method if you have animation
in your slideshow.</span></li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">You will find the place to export as a movie in the
“Save As” “Format” in PowerPoint or “Share” in Keynote.</span></li>
</ol>
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="normal" style="margin-left: 1.5in; mso-list: l0 level3 lfo1; text-indent: -17.95pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="normal" style="margin-left: 1.5in; mso-list: l0 level3 lfo1; text-indent: -17.95pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="normal" style="margin-left: 1.5in; mso-list: l0 level3 lfo1; text-indent: -17.95pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="normal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -17.95pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="normal" style="margin-left: 1.5in; mso-list: l0 level3 lfo1; text-indent: -17.95pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="normal" style="margin-left: 1.5in; mso-list: l0 level3 lfo1; text-indent: -17.95pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="normal" style="margin-left: 1.5in; mso-list: l0 level3 lfo1; text-indent: -17.95pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="normal" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -17.95pt;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">9.<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span><!--[endif]--><b>Import your
slides</b> into your video project. In iMovie, do the following:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="normal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -17.95pt;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<ol>
<li style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 7pt;"> </span>For still images, click on the “photo browser” icon
that is shaped like a camera. Find your images so you can use them later.</span></li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">For slides saved as a movie, click on “File” and
“Import” and choose “Movies”</span></li>
</ol>
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="normal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -17.95pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="normal" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -17.95pt;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">10.<span style="font-size: 7pt;"> </span><!--[endif]-->You
will now need to be sure that “Picture-in-Picture” is turned on.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="normal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -17.95pt;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<ol>
<li style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Click on the “iMove” pull down menu and click on
“Preferences.”</span></li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Under “General” be sure that “<b>Show Advanced Tools</b>” is checked.</span></li>
</ol>
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="normal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -17.95pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="normal" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -17.95pt;">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaRjhyjtSBvo72vo0_iXghiMAm-6Sv1CHzY7JQkrScILRvFmvNFjr3corCu7PnrctbrhFGfGM6hWclPoR0XEbFgqIB1s-SMBoUJgbbUgiVMrKnpuXzjb1iFV-DPahVxe-s6lzvNGtJx10/s1600/inspector.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaRjhyjtSBvo72vo0_iXghiMAm-6Sv1CHzY7JQkrScILRvFmvNFjr3corCu7PnrctbrhFGfGM6hWclPoR0XEbFgqIB1s-SMBoUJgbbUgiVMrKnpuXzjb1iFV-DPahVxe-s6lzvNGtJx10/s320/inspector.png" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Inspector for PIP Transitions</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">11.<span style="font-size: 7pt;"> </span><!--[endif]-->Now
<b>drag your graphics </b>to the place
where you want them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="normal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -17.95pt;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<ol>
<li style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">If you drag the graphic in between clips, it will take the
whole screen. This is good if you have a slide that you will use as a title for
your video.</span></li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">If you drag the graphic on top of another clip, the
graphic will appear in a small box next to the teacher.</span></li>
</ol>
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="normal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -17.95pt;">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKD1xzyjK6mLoPVcRktcnKqUDF_uL5acFlQyAAI_3B2fxO4fuQBXvoIlkuu8FpbJtCpBTe-YuHPgB6XEz6H1KJL5kYy5KGDgagSKSLY-9nQy7Erp5A41R11oepXiqnDjnGxzCCBOJXK5k/s1600/crop.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKD1xzyjK6mLoPVcRktcnKqUDF_uL5acFlQyAAI_3B2fxO4fuQBXvoIlkuu8FpbJtCpBTe-YuHPgB6XEz6H1KJL5kYy5KGDgagSKSLY-9nQy7Erp5A41R11oepXiqnDjnGxzCCBOJXK5k/s320/crop.png" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Crop Graphics</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidybFWD4_CtYGzSQrhf30AtlkPGaQvubETgK-FzuetCcVZ1BToc0NTirJk7D4OUI3jGHqKq0P4f-cgphgkVsegCjucdNqQ17r6u7EjgP-FjLaMk5PPDQgRXBvYpUMfGeuBPNkeQGRTSfk/s1600/stretch+pip.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidybFWD4_CtYGzSQrhf30AtlkPGaQvubETgK-FzuetCcVZ1BToc0NTirJk7D4OUI3jGHqKq0P4f-cgphgkVsegCjucdNqQ17r6u7EjgP-FjLaMk5PPDQgRXBvYpUMfGeuBPNkeQGRTSfk/s320/stretch+pip.png" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Adjust PIP Graphic</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="normal" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -17.95pt;">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguFBlun5XN1A8gpbnk_YpycyY1BasKZKkdl99ppyMrGlhlE98_PZeFkGTGLsIDGnk79bR2MlIxkQwIPxzKldoUI1086WMlmqZvWrtgGotCz9Z0QoOmxkNRN2Cn1-hh03fBQaNGcfWIX-k/s1600/move+pip.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguFBlun5XN1A8gpbnk_YpycyY1BasKZKkdl99ppyMrGlhlE98_PZeFkGTGLsIDGnk79bR2MlIxkQwIPxzKldoUI1086WMlmqZvWrtgGotCz9Z0QoOmxkNRN2Cn1-hh03fBQaNGcfWIX-k/s320/move+pip.png" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Move PIP</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">12.<span style="font-size: 7pt;"> </span><!--[endif]-->You
can show a graphic while the audio of the lesson continues. This is good if you
are talking through an example, and you want the viewer to follow along.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="normal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -17.95pt;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<ol>
<li style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Click on the clip in the Project to select it. If the clip is longer than you want the graphic on the screen, you will need to right click and choose "Split Clip" to cut the clip where you want it to end,</span></li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Right click and choose “<b>Detach Audio</b>.”</span></li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Drag the graphic on top of the video of the teacher
talking.</span></li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Choose “Replace.”</span></li>
</ol>
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="normal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -17.95pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="normal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -17.95pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="normal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -17.95pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="normal" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -17.95pt;">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGvMO3SphAOveUNUsePguHFUzx-cfasDuLXLCOo8Z6JaD8l16gWlUdevRYJ3p0e-HcjYDznNPjfIG2vKeVRI5334a-lZrKw4Uu8CoQjj1FyVFswEmOXbWXkZLZxbeFsUShN3V8W8J48wo/s1600/split+clip.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGvMO3SphAOveUNUsePguHFUzx-cfasDuLXLCOo8Z6JaD8l16gWlUdevRYJ3p0e-HcjYDznNPjfIG2vKeVRI5334a-lZrKw4Uu8CoQjj1FyVFswEmOXbWXkZLZxbeFsUShN3V8W8J48wo/s320/split+clip.png" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Split your video Clip</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">13.<span style="font-size: 7pt;"> </span><!--[endif]-->Add
<b>text</b> to the screen. Click the icon
with a “T” on it; these are meant to be titles, but most are good for adding
text as well.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="normal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -17.95pt;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<ol>
<li style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">If you want to reinforce a point, but you don’t have a
slide, you can overlay text on the screen.</span></li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 7pt;"> </span>Just select the appearance of the text and drag it to
the clip where you want the text. You can stretch or shrink the time the text
is on the screen with the yellow box in the Project window.</span></li>
</ol>
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="normal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -17.95pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="normal" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -17.95pt;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">14.<span style="font-size: 7pt;"> </span><!--[endif]-->Once
all the content is in place, you can add <b>transitions</b>,
but do so sparingly. Click the icon with triangles. Use transitions to<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="normal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -17.95pt;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<ol>
<li style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">the viewer that you are moving to a new part of
the lesson. A “wipe” will alert the student that you are turning the page to a
new topic.</span></li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Use a “Fade to White” if you have two clips of the
teacher talking that don’t quite match</span></li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A “Dissolve” is good for most other transitions, but it
is ok to jump between two scenes with no transition.</span></li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Just be consistent. Create a visual vocabulary that has
meaning for your viewer.</span></li>
</ol>
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="normal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -17.95pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="normal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -17.95pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="normal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -17.95pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="normal" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -17.95pt;">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMpnVSVhassOBXLgSAYniG96XSwGmq16HVxfxEvYZfA2jjTbvJssh4EFxqOgIMo3ARTJ2FMLKABMlFwoKZ2DZ8SHm5gJEpC-ZoKlg39cTYMsLQV8VJLQDYqLr5ah_VEYuGAfTpR7L6k2U/s1600/transitions.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMpnVSVhassOBXLgSAYniG96XSwGmq16HVxfxEvYZfA2jjTbvJssh4EFxqOgIMo3ARTJ2FMLKABMlFwoKZ2DZ8SHm5gJEpC-ZoKlg39cTYMsLQV8VJLQDYqLr5ah_VEYuGAfTpR7L6k2U/s320/transitions.png" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Add Transitions</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">15.<span style="font-size: 7pt;"> </span><!--[endif]-->When
your video is complete, <b>export</b> it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="normal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -17.95pt;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="text-align: left;"></span><br />
</span><br />
<ul><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; text-align: left;">
</span></ul>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="text-align: left;"></span><br />
</span><br />
<ol><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; text-align: left;">
<li>Click on the “Share” pull down menu.</li>
<li>You will probably choose either “YouTube” or “Export
Movie.”</li>
<li>Choose “Export using Quicktime” if you want to save it
as a certain video format or shrink the file size to something easy to share or
email. If you want to shrink the movie, change “Default Settings” to
“LAN/Intranet.” Click on “Options” and “Size;” change “Compressor Native” to
“1280x720 HD” because your video is widescreen.</li>
</span></ol>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="text-align: left;">
</span>
</span><br />
<ul><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; text-align: left;">
</span></ul>
<ul><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; text-align: left;">
</span></ul>
<ul><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; text-align: left;">
</span></ul>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="text-align: left;">
</span>
</span><br />
<ol>
</ol>
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="normal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -17.95pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="normal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -17.95pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="normal">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">If you would like to see the finished product, I posted the video on <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fY4YKiqQxLw" target="_blank">YouTube/Clickademics</a></span></div>
</div>
<!--EndFragment-->Bradley Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04556577811649874411noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5515155988318156621.post-23196292847425949822013-07-08T18:50:00.004-07:002013-07-08T19:03:37.851-07:00Start From Scratch<br />
<div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">It's July. It's time to rethink you class. In fact, it's time to throw everything in the trash and start from scratch.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">One of the dangers of being an experienced teacher is falling into a rut. If you have taught the same course for a few years, you now have a good, solid unit for every month of the school year. You are past those rookie days where you figured out what you would do in each class the night before the class. Things are more comfortable and predictable. However, if you become stagnant, you run the risk of turning into that fossilized teacher, the one that says, "Pupils, this is the ditto worksheet for day 57."</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">The way to avoid becoming that fossilized teacher is to redesign your course. Keep it fresh and relevant, and the time to do that is in the middle of the summer after you have had a chance to recover from the previous year but before you have to return to campus for orientation. Here is what I would do every couple years to make sure my class was the best it could be for the students.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<ol><br />
<li style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Nuke your whole curriculum. Don't become emotionally attached to anything your have done in the past because if it doesn't help students learn, then it must go. It was a sad day when I realized that my free response journal assignment was taking a lot of class time but was not making my students better writers. I threw it out and used the time in class for a research paper writing unit - a unit so effective that students wrote me thank you notes after graduation telling me how it helped them in college.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
</span></li>
<li style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Get a huge piece of paper so you have lots of room to work. I would just use butcher paper on the floor, but you can put it on the wall if you are more of a spacial thinker. (Have you noticed how detective shows these days put all of their evidence on the wall? It is the new visual way to represent "thinking hard" and it is a lot more interested on the screen than a manilla folder.)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxPww-14TNKqoi0xETek3Q4YLtj_nDruFsW-9io-aDB170J3-Bn398fUaUs215ZjRFMCqmd_UXM_JMgGYWAkzk0A_ofQ5GKnJaGlWkfgYm3sFDShy4BOHonzTB3l92ZLMjvJgn83W3_LE/s1600/wall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxPww-14TNKqoi0xETek3Q4YLtj_nDruFsW-9io-aDB170J3-Bn398fUaUs215ZjRFMCqmd_UXM_JMgGYWAkzk0A_ofQ5GKnJaGlWkfgYm3sFDShy4BOHonzTB3l92ZLMjvJgn83W3_LE/s320/wall.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
</span></li>
<li style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Begin at the end. Ask yourself what your students need to master when they leave your class. This should only be 4-8 big skills like "Compare the journeys in adventure novels to student's own life," "Solve for two variables in an equation," or "Identify the major parts in plants and name their functions." Revisit the <a href="http://www.corestandards.org/" target="_blank">Content Standards</a> and make sure that your students are learning what they should. You might even ask the teachers in the grade above yours what they would like incoming students to do. Write these big skills across the top of your page like column headings with lots of space in between.</span></li>
<li style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">How can the student demonstrate that he or she has mastered that skill. Though a test or quiz may be part of the assessment, find a project or activity that will show the skill but is also engaging. Does the project deal with a real life problem? Is it a task that adult would do in the workplace? Is the project tied to the student's interests or hobbies? My students always worked much harder and wrestled with the subject matter much more when they were working on something that was meaningful, especially if they had to present in class. A Google search for the subject and "project" is always a great place to start. Write this final assessment project below the corresponding skill. Feel free to keep assessment </span></li>
<li style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">At the bottom of each skill column, write what you think students will be able to do - related to each skill - when they enter your class. This can be something like "Read a novel with basic comprehension," "Solve a simple equation," or even "No prior knowledge of botany." How will you find out if students are actually starting your class here? Will you give a pre-test, a questionnaire or survey, an interview? A quiz show game during the first week of class is a fun way to get to know your students and find their baseline.</span></li>
<li style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">You now have a series of columns with an exit skill at the top and an entrance skill at the bottom. Now list the facts and skills that the student must learn to master those exit skills. Spread these intermediate steps through the column in the order that the student should learn them.</span></li>
<li style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"> Next to each intermediate step, write when the student will complete it. Is it something, like my grammar lessons, that students will learn and practice once a week throughout the year? Does a column of skills correspond to a unit that your class will work on for a month or two? Be mindful of the academic calendar so that units wrap up before the end of a semester. Don't have a project due right after winter break. Save a fun, interesting unit for the time between spring break and the end of the year when students start to lose focus - this is the time of year when we read "Midsummer Night's Dream" aloud in class with props and costumes because the students loved it.</span></li>
<li style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">What is the best way for students to learn this information? I am a big proponent of Blended Learning, and I believe that this is the place to introduce it into your curriculum. You know know what your students need to learn, take a moment to think about how they will learn it. Face to face lectures are necessary at times, but most teachers use lectures for everything. Moving content delivery out of the classroom frees up time for discussion, collaboration, and one on one help. Here are some alternative methods for delivering content to students; which intermediate steps lend themselves to each?</span></li>
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<li style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Reading text in an article, website, textbook or teacher-created slideshow</span></li>
<li style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Audio lesson - much easier for the teacher to make and post online</span></li>
<li style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Screen cast - teacher's audio paired to a slideshow</span></li>
<li style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Online video - found on <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/clickademics" target="_blank">YouTube</a> or some other source</span></li>
<li style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Teacher-created video - these are time-consuming, but can be used for several years or shared with peers. Check in next week for my guide to producing educational videos.</span></li>
<li style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Educational website - online games or helpful websites like <a href="http://www.clickademics.com/" target="_blank">Clickademics Essay Engine</a> allow students to work at their own pace. The teacher may then use the time in class to help the students who need extra instruction.</span></li>
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<li style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Reintroduce and adapt old activities that fit your learning goals for your students. Now that you know what your students will be learning this year, you can look back at activities you have used in the past and see if they are still applicable. Maybe you held a mock trial in your class during a debate unit. If you have eliminated the debate unit, see if your students can hold a mock trial of a character in a novel or a person from history. The good news about flipping your class and moving content delivery online is that you have more time in class for hands on activities.</span></li>
<li style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Add in grades and assessments. Grades are not the most important thing in education, but you don’t want to find yourself unable to demonstrate your students’ progress. Scan over the year and make sure that there are enough grades to measure student performance. Ideally, you should have a similar number of weighted grades each quarter or trimester.</span></li>
<li style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Prepare to launch. Are there any activities that will require preparation or special equipment? Plan ahead so that you can secure resources at the beginning of the year. Hopefully, you will be filming a few of your lessons. Film a couple during the summer to give yourself a head start.</span></li>
<li style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Copy your plan in a way that is easy for you to use during the school year. If your school has a way that they like to record the curriculum, use that form. The administration at your school will be impressed.</span></li>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">This will take a few days of your summer, but you will enjoy the benefits for the whole school year. And so will your students.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">By the way, I found this book helpful during my master's program. It is what spurred me to do this the first time.<br />
<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/cm?lt1=_blank&bc1=000000&IS2=1&bg1=FFFFFF&fc1=000000&lc1=0000FF&t=clickademics-20&o=1&p=8&l=as4&m=amazon&f=ifr&ref=ss_til&asins=1416600353" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe>
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Bradley Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04556577811649874411noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5515155988318156621.post-59157394285365180412013-04-08T15:52:00.001-07:002013-04-08T16:16:42.677-07:00Blended Learning, Because Teachers Are Not a Content Delivery Device<br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">“You wasted $150,000 on an education you coulda got for $1.50 in late fees at the public library.” Do you remember this line from Good Will Hunting? The main character, Matt Damon, says it to impress his love interest, Minny Driver, but every viewer who has attended college knows it is a ridiculous thing to say because an education is so much more than just the material you learn from books. It is just as ridiculous as teachers who claim that they can’t put their lessons online because it will make them obsolete. Let me explain.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">I recently spoke with a friend who felt that the other teachers at his school resist ideas like blended learning because they are afraid that they will be working their way out of their own job. What they don’t see is that by sticking with 200 year old teaching techniques, they are lecturing and testing their way out of a job. Teachers that fail to take advantage of new, effective, inexpensive, easy-to-use technologies will go the way of Blockbuster video. This was the inspiration for founding <a href="http://www.clickademics.com/" target="_blank">Clickademics</a> and building <a href="http://www.clickademics.com/essay_engine/index.html" target="_blank">Essay Engine</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Think of it like this: my second favorite cocktail party conversation starter is, “Who was the teacher that made a difference in your life?” (My first favorite is, “If you could have a super power, would it be <a href="http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/178/superpowers" target="_blank">flight or invisibility</a>?”) It is a great question because everyone always has an interesting answer. Every person I ask had a teacher in their life that helped them grow. And when I ask how, they always have a story about how the teacher pushed them hard but made every class fun, held them to a high standard but cared about them deeply, or acted as a mentor during a trying time. Not one person has ever recounted a story of a teacher that gave really great grammar lectures or an educator that designed especially effective exams. And if you want to play devil’s advocate and refute my argument with a teacher who was a great story teller and gave the most riveting history lectures, I reply - how much better would it be if that teacher filmed her riveting lectures, got them perfect, and added photos and illustrations, posting the lessons online so that countless students could watch them? Because right now, that history teacher is retired, and all of her riveting lectures have evaporated into the ether.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">No, teachers matter because they invest in students, not because they repeat information. That is why every good teacher went into teaching in the first place. They want to prepare their students for life ahead, but they only get about 125 hours with those students if they are secondary teachers. Why would they want to spend half of that talking at the tops of the students’ heads who are furiously writing notes?</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Putting lectures online does not take the teaching out of teaching; it takes the boring content-delivery part out of teaching. In fact, in a perfect world, an old timey teacher should have told his students to go home and read the textbook chapter for homework, and that would be the content-delivery. Every piece of content that a student could ever need to know is in a textbook. That is why the Matt Damon character claimed you could get a full education for a $1.50 in public library late fees. The problem with that? Students don’t read the textbook, and if they do, they don’t remember them. A teacher filming her lessons and putting them online is the same as creating a fun, easy to consume textbook. It just happens to not be in book form. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">The real learning does not come from consuming tons of content - my apologies to every AP history teacher in the country. The content consumption is just the first step, the introduction. The real learning happens when students use the knowledge, manipulated it, apply it, compare it, question it, argue with it. There just is not enough time in a school week to let real learning happen if the teacher spends half the week lecturing. Let the students consume content on their own time. They need hours with a teacher and with peers to apply the knowledge, and that should happen during class time.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">This is the reason I love online learning but am vehemently against a full online education for students before graduate school. Adolescent and young adult students need interaction. Asking them to read a bunch of online content, write responses for everything, and mix in a Skype session or two is selling them short. A pure online education should be a last resort, perhaps for students with medical issues or extreme distance hurdles. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">When I was in the classroom, my students always worked their hardest on the real-life projects. Though I did all I could to make the projects fun, they were also challenging, as challenging as a big exam or an essay. When I held my mock trial or gave the students my grid of literature projects, they would pour themselves into it to make their projects excellent. And when we did our six week research paper, forget about it. Other teachers would complain that the students were neglecting the homework for the other classes because they were working so hard on their research papers. Those kids really learned, and it wasn’t because I was lecturing.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">I got some complements from students on my lectures, but it wasn’t because they learned so much. It was because I told corny jokes. However, you can tell just as many corny jokes when helping small groups with projects or leading class discussions. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Teachers, you do not need to give the same lecture on the Teapot Dome Scandal or Covalent Bonding five times a day every year. That is repetitive grunt work, only half a step above assembly line work. Give your lecture once, really well, on video. Embed your PowerPoint slides and interesting photos and diagrams, and put it online. Spend your class time interacting with students as they interact with the subject matter. Don’t lecture to kids about facts; talk with kids about ideas using the facts. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">What’s that you say? Won’t it be hard to put lessons online? Isn’t it difficult to develop meaningful activities and discussions to fill the class time that used to be taken by lectures? Doesn’t this mean making a whole new curriculum like a first year teacher? Yup. Those are all true. I realize that all good teachers are completely over-worked and don’t have any time for tasks on top of their current duties. Here are some things I would prescribe to ease the transition:</span></div>
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<li style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Take it one step at a time. You may not have time to change your whole curriculum, so change one unit at a time. Make a goal to convert one unit to a blended learning unit each quarter. </span></li>
<li style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Partner up. Find another teacher in your department or grade level and work together. Share your ideas and share the work load as you develop a blended learning unit that works for both of your classes. You will look ambitious for integrating across the curriculum.</span></li>
<li style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Good teaching is good stealing. Until your can develop everything on your own, use other teachers’ stuff. Use online lesson videos that were made by others. Find projects that have worked in other teachers’ classes. I would say this is temporary for the first three years. You know your students better than anyone else, so your own content and your own projects will always be best.</span></li>
<li style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Ask for help. There may be a technology coordinator, a curriculum director, or a resource person on campus who is in administration now but would love to work with you to make a blended learning unit. It is possible that they miss the classroom and would jump at the chance to try something new. More and more schools are hiring technology integration specialists who have great ideas and want to relieve some of the load. Perhaps there is a techie parent at the school with time and brain cells to spare. You will never know unless you ask around.</span></li>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">So use the internet for what it is best at: content delivery. And use class time for what it is best at: interactive projects and discussions. Blended learning does not make the teacher replaceable, it makes teachers indispensable. Because if students could get an education from the internet - or a $1.50 in late fees to the public library - I would be all out of good cocktail party conversation.</span></div>
Bradley Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04556577811649874411noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5515155988318156621.post-36329321209737585902013-01-28T21:27:00.001-08:002013-01-28T21:27:07.099-08:00Why Orange Tic Tacs Really Improve Grades<br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Previously, on the Clickademics blog, I wrote about my <a href="http://blog.clickademics.com/2013/01/orange-tic-tacs-key-to-better-exam.html">favorite tip for studying before exams</a>. It involves the student eating <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00812TOGA/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00812TOGA&linkCode=as2&tag=clickademics-20">Orange Tic Tacs</a> while studying and then again during the exam. That way the smell of the candy will remind the student of the time studying and increase recall.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"> I do believe that the sense of smell is linked with memory. After posting my original article, I even had another former student comment that one of his professors cited a study that proved a similar point. However, if Orange Tic Tacs do, in fact, increase student test grades, I think it has more to do with the fact that the student believes it will work.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">If I tell a student that strategically eating Orange Tic Tacs will lead to higher test grades, two other variable are at play.</span></div>
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<li><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">If the student has to eat Orange Tic Tacs while studying for the trick to work, then the student has to actually sit and study. The student will probably spend more time studying for the test than if she had not been told about the trick. She has a reason to sit in front of her notes and text book and focus.</span></li>
<li><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">The student knows that I, as her teacher, believe that she can do well on the test. I think that this is the most important factor. Every student needs to know he or she can succeed, and knowing that their parents and teachers believe in them helps considerably.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span></li>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Positive attitude matters. Ask any doctor or nurse; patients that believe they can get better do get better. The mind has tremendous effect on the body. I remember when I was coaching my son’s basketball team, one of his friends was nervous because he was going to be playing against us on Saturday. I told him that if he spent ten minutes Friday night picturing himself shooting baskets, he would score more baskets in the game. Sure enough, he played great, and he later told me that he scored more than he had in any other game. If his positive outlook can improve his free-throws, doesn’t it make even more sense that my student’s positive feelings about studying would improve her recall?</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">My point is that students are more likely to believe that they can succeed when their teachers believe they can succeed. So whether a student does well on a test because of a candy or because she believes she can, it is vital that teachers encourage their students. Don't want a room full of candy? Lucky pencils, encouraging notes, and pre-test pep-talks also work wonders. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Please check out our <a href="http://www.clickademics.com/">Essay Engine</a> program that helps students write and like us on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Clickademics">Facebook</a>.</span></div>
Bradley Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04556577811649874411noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5515155988318156621.post-73383298505959475712012-12-18T13:35:00.001-08:002012-12-18T13:35:25.260-08:00What Teachers Should Know About Parents
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Last week, I wrote <a href="http://blog.clickademics.com/2012/12/what-parents-should-know-about-teachers.html">What Parents Should Know About Teachers</a>
based on my experiences in the classroom. Here is the other perspective, What
Teachers Should Know About Parents, things that I have learned now that my kids
are in school.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
While teaching, I encountered three types of parents:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I’ll begin with the parents in the middle. Most of your
students’ parents are great. They love their kids, they are happy with the
school, and they want to support you as the teacher. You only need to know one
thing about these parents: if their kids are happy, they’re happy. If you set
their kids up for success, throw in some creative activities, and tell a joke
or two, all is good.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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There is a second group of parents, the ones with too little
time. These folks are maxed out with work, with family, and with other
commitments. Many of these parents belong to the first, happy group, but they
really hope that you, the teacher, take care of the school thing since they are
juggling so much. In general, you can help these parents by:<o:p></o:p></div>
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</div>
<ul>
<li>Keeping your emails short and easy to skim on their phone.
I’m an involved parent, and I read all of the teachers’ emails, but even I rarely
make it to the Moodle/Blackboard/Haiku page.</li>
<li>Making your homework and project instructions easy for the
student to understand. These parents are grateful when their kids can knock out
their homework without a lot of help.</li>
<li>Avoiding projects that require trips to the craft store. You
should definitely avoid the dreaded collaborative project where the kids have
to get together at someone’s house – it takes forever, and they never get
anything done there anyway.</li>
</ul>
<o:p></o:p><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The third group of parents has too much time on their hands.
These folks are very involved (some might say too involved) with their child’s
education. They want to know everything that is going on, and if you don’t let
them know ahead of time, they will email, call, and request meetings to find out.
And you know what? They have every right to know what is going on in their
child’s day. More on that later.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Here are my suggestions for keeping everyone happy.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ul>
<li>Send out a class newsletter periodically, either by email,
on paper, or both. Elementary students might need a weekly homework newsletter
every Monday while older students might only need one monthly covering the big
tests and projects. This will keep the busy parents happy.</li>
<li>Meanwhile, put everything on your class webpage or
Moodle/Blackboard/Haiku page and put links in the newsletter. Now, if a parent
wants to know the agenda for the day or the instructions for a project, it is
easy to find. This requires extra work at the beginning of the month, but it
will save you time answering questions later.</li>
<li>Make sure that the parent can check the student’s grades
online and that the grades are current.</li>
</ul>
<o:p></o:p><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Now there is something that took me several years to learn
while I was teaching; it is more important that I support a family’s parenting
than it is for them to support my teaching. By that I mean it is good for
parents to be intentional about the choices that they make for their children,
choices about media, about time spent online, about language. If parents have
chosen to raise their child without movies or television, it is not the place
of the teacher to undo that by showing a movie in class or making the child
write about a television show. If parents choose to shelter their children from
strong language, the teacher should not undo all of that work by assigning a
novel that contains those elements. For instance, Huckleberry Finn is one of
the greatest American novels, but some families may be uncomfortable with the
language. I believe it is best if the teacher lets the parents know early. If a
parent has an issue with the book, try to find a compromise – perhaps the
student can read a different book. When I taught Edgar Allan Poe in my English
class, a couple of parents over the years were uncomfortable with the violence.
I found that the same lesson could be taught with a different piece of
literature. Every American should read Huck Finn and Edgar Allan Poe at some
point, in my opinion, but it does not have to happen freshman year. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And returning to my point about the overly involved parents,
they should be allowed to be overly involved. I may not choose to parent that
way, but you never know if the child has a special need or may forget to do
homework unless that parent double and triple checks. Or maybe that parent just
wants to push the kid super hard to get into Stanford. I don’t think it is
going to make that kid into a happy adult, but it is not my choice as the
teacher.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
One last note, this time about surprises. All parents like
to be pleasantly surprised, so catch each student doing something great, and
let the parents know. Make a comment or send an email letting the parent know
how helpful the student was in science lab or how well she did on the test.
Most parents only get called when the child is in trouble or is hurt and will
love to hear that you noticed their child’s strength. Conversely, all parents
hate to be unpleasantly surprised. If a student has grades that are slipping or
has missed an assignment, let the parent know early and often. It does take
some time to analyze student data each week, but it is worth it for everyone.
Some of my worst times as a teacher were spent with angry parents whose kid was
doing poorly, but there was not enough time in the semester for the child to
raise the grade. This can go for behavior problems too. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Realize that even though you have taught hundreds of students
at this grade level, this is only the first or second time most of these
parents have raised a child this age, so be patient with them.</span><!--EndFragment--><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">And please check out our <a href="http://www.clickademics.com/">Clickademics Essay Engine</a> and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Clickademics">like us on Facebook</a>.</span>Bradley Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04556577811649874411noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5515155988318156621.post-61297895418379207952012-11-19T22:11:00.000-08:002012-11-20T15:57:49.108-08:00The Next Big Startup Incubators? Schools<br />
<div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">In the past, education has been one of the slowest moving industries around. If you go into a classroom today, not only will it look very similar to the classrooms you sat in as kids, but it looks pretty much the same as the classrooms your parents sat in. But things are changing. Teachers, administrators, and students are adopting new technologies that allow students to learn just as much outside of the classroom. Students are feeling the competitive pressure for college acceptances and scholarships, so parents are paying for tutors,</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">academic camps, and learning apps more than ever. This is why education is the a huge growth area for tech startups.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;">
<br />
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Too many of these startups, though, don't really understand education. Just because you were a student, and your learned stuff, doesn't mean you know how students learn stuff. Teachers do. And too many of these tech startups and their investors are on a short timeline, forcing them to develop quick-fix educational apps that don't make a meaningful difference for students. You know who has patience for a long-term project? Teachers do. You know who is sits on a wealth of untapped startup potential? Teachers do.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">A school is the perfect place to create education technology that will make a meaningful difference for students around the world and generate a tremendous revenue stream. I first had this thought I was developing <a href="http://www.clickademics.com/">Clickademics Essay Engine</a>, our web app that helps students write essays at home. I wished that I were still teaching in the classroom, where I would have access to resources, students, and other teachers. </span></div>
<div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Let me back up a moment. For those who don't know, a business incubator is a place that helps startups get off the ground. They provide cheap office space, legal advice, support services, IT, and even a small amount of capital (like an angel investor or venture capitalist). All of the things that medium-sized businesses have but startups do not. In exchange, the incubator often asks for a share of the company. Now, the staff at a school may not be able to give much business advice, but they have plenty that a startup needs to get going. Here are some advantages and disadvantages of a school partnering with a tech startup. The largest hurdle is that the people in that school need to stop thinking like a school and start thinking like a VC. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Here are the advantages:</span></div>
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<li style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Schools are packed with education experts that understand their target market better than anyone. The average teacher has had hundreds of students come through her classroom so she understand the way students learn as well as the way their parents think. Oh, and many of them have masters' degrees. Teachers are the best source of ideas for new products. They regularly meet before or after school and even spend whole days on professional development, all of which are the perfect environment for brainstorming sessions.</span></li>
<li style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Schools are packed with technology. Most schools have dozens of computers, have access to web servers, and staff their own IT departments. Much of the infrastructure is in place. There are no professional developers on campus, but most high schools have computer science classes with students who code and are looking for ways to earn a little spending money or add projects to their portfolios before applying to college. If a school were to develop an education tech product, it would need to hire professional developers, but students would be able to help supplement the work cheaply.</span></li>
<li style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Schools are packed with beta-testers. Once teachers dream up an idea and a demo is built, the product can be constantly tested with their own students. It is easy to get their subjective feedback when they complain during homeroom, and the objective results of the product can be tracked through the student's class grades and standardized tests. The means of data collection and feedback are already in place and paid for.</span></li>
<li style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Schools have access to capital. Sort of. Everyone says that schools have no money, but that means different things to different people. Does a school have money to hire five new teachers permanently? No, but many schools can hire a couple of developers for a short-term project. In addition, there are grants, both small and large, just for schools, often reserved for technology purposes. Many schools also have access to fund raising events, local businesses, and concerned parents who would be very interested in donating money for a project that could both improve learning for the current students and create a future revenue stream that will help students in the future. It's like building a football field that could be acquired by a competitor at a 10x ROI. </span></li>
<li style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Schools are good at spreading the word. Marketing a product developed in-part by a school would easy. It would get attention from the press, the parents would tell their friends, and the staff would be able to share the news at conferences, on blogs, and in teacher newsletters. Having a school behind the startup would give it instant credibility with other schools around the country.</span></li>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Here are the disadvantages:</span></div>
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<li style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">The school culture. School administrators are used to thinking within their budget constraints and are often skeptical of profit and risk. A project like this would require leadership that is forward thinking, entrepreneurial, and willing to work hard now for results several years down the road.</span></li>
<li style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Non-profit status. All of this may not be possible in the average public school, though a small public school district hoping to distinguish itself may be interested in trying it. A private school with committed parents and donors would be the best bet, though private schools tend to have much smaller enrollment and budgets than their public school equivalents. The relationship between the non-profit school and the entrepreneurial venture would have to be set up carefully to avoid legal issues later, but I have heard from lawyer friends that it is entirely possible.</span></li>
<li style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Work. Any teacher who is motivated enough to contribute to an education startup is already overworked. The very thing that makes these teachers qualified for a project like this is what has already lead them to volunteer to coach, attend conferences, write blogs, help students after school, and read education books in addition to lesson planning and grading. How can you enlist the busiest people to work more? Do the bulk of the work during summer vacation. Cancel summer school, send the students to the school across town, and convert the school computer lab to a tech startup. </span></li>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">So if your kid’s school has extra office space and a couple thousand dollars to spare, propose that they spin off an education technology company. It would be a lot better than <a href="http://blog.clickademics.com/2012/11/computers-should-be-like-art-supplies.html">spending that money on a bunch of iPads</a>.</span></div>
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Bradley Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04556577811649874411noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5515155988318156621.post-30004803234312559272012-10-17T09:36:00.000-07:002012-10-17T09:36:51.847-07:00We Already Have the Platform: It's the ClassroomIt is an exciting time in education technology. I see announcements for new ed-tech startups every week. Most of them have clever names, most of them have slick websites, and most of them are worthless.<div>
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And that is because most tech startups in education are platforms: they gather course material from others and deliver it to the individual or the classroom. Making platforms is easy because you write the code and wait for others to fill your library with content and wait for customers to flock to your site. The problem is that we don't need any of them because the classroom is the original platform and still the best.</div>
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Though some of these course delivery sites are great for adult learners who want to take a Stanford computer science course from home, we at <a href="http://www.clickademics.com/">Clickademics</a> care about students K-college. These kids don't want to watch a professor online to improve their mind, they just want to pass math class. The best person to recommend educational material is the teacher who knows the student's ability and the requirements of the class. The teacher can recommend online material faster and better than any algorithm.</div>
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The other problem with online platforms is that there just isn't enough quality content. If you ever browse the course offerings of these platforms, you see the same things:</div>
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<li>Slideshows made ten years ago, mostly with text. It's basically a textbook in Powerpoint.</li>
<li>Upper-division university courses where a professor parked a handycam in the back of the classroom. </li>
<li>How-to videos that help you learn to cook or care for your parrot.</li>
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You know what is sorely lacking? Lessons on grammar, biology, history, study skills - topics that real students have to know for school. They are lacking because they are boring and incredibly hard to make - for most people. We love our work at Clickademics because we enjoy creating these lessons. After years in the classroom, we know how much students need help with core concepts, so we are energized to make content that students need.</div>
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Our first offering, <a href="http://www.clickademics.com/writing/index.html">Essay Engine<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Gill Sans', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: -webkit-left;">™</span></a>, teaches students expository writing, something every student needs in almost every class. It was challenging to create since every video lesson is a mini-movie, but it solves a real world problem: how can a student get help on an essay at 9:30 the night before it's due? </div>
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So let teachers recommend online lessons. All this education startup energy should go into building great content. Of course, the people that are best at creating content that really helps students learn - teachers.</div>
Bradley Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04556577811649874411noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5515155988318156621.post-21457659776033035862010-08-19T12:12:00.000-07:002010-08-19T12:12:03.182-07:00First Day of School Vol. 3 - Waste Less Time in ClassSince I left the classroom, I have created <a href="http://www.clickademics.com/">Clickademics</a>, a website where we film great teachers giving their most helpful lessons. One of my early observations was that each lesson only takes 5-9 minutes. I have filmed many of the lessons that I have filmed myself were ones for which I had devoted a whole class period, but they still only took 5-9 minutes on film because I could carefully choose my words and include the best examples. So if the lesson only takes 10 minutes of a class, what happens during the other 30 minutes?<br />
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Too much of the class day is spent on tasks of little academic value. Quieting down the class, making announcements, collecting papers, quieting down the class, passing out papers, answering questions, and quieting down the class. Instead of making yourself do all of the work, show the students how to take care of it themselves by establishing a routine. If every student knows what to do when class starts, where to turn in papers, where to find answers, then they don't need to slow down class asking you, and you are no longer a bottle neck. But these routines have to start on day one.<br />
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I recommend that you imagine all of the tasks that happen regularly in a classroom. Then think of an efficient way to do each task and never deviate. Students should be using their problem solving on class projects, not finding the stapler. They should use their questions on clarifying the material in class, not asking when homework is due. Here are some suggestions:<br />
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<ol><li>Always have a seating chart. Always.</li>
<li>Start every class period with an activity. Post a math problem, short writing assignment, or open ended question on the board each day. When students come to class, have them all open a certain notebook and do the warm up exercise. It will get their brains ready to learn, keep them from being bored, and help start class on time. Periodically, check their notebooks and give credit for keeping up with the exercises.</li>
<li>Use mailboxes. As I wrote <a href="http://teachademics.blogspot.com/2010/02/my-simplest-and-best-teaching-idea-i.html">in an earlier post</a>, creating cereal box mailboxes was one of the best teaching ideas I ever had. If every student has a mailbox in the classroom, you can distribute instructions, hand out announcements, and return graded work without taking any class time. Make it the students' first stop as they arrive in class so that they can pick up everything they need before class starts.</li>
<li>Have a system for handing in work. Now, this is a little trickier because your system will depend on your students. If you teach high school, then an "In" box on your desk and a digital drop box on your class website should work fine. High school students should be responsible and self-motivated enough to take care of their own work since they will need to do this in college and the workplace. I, however, taught middle school, and I often had students that skipped work. I also had students who could swear they turned in the work but later found it stuffed in their backpacks. My system - students put the day's work on the corner of their desks as they worked on their warm-up exercises. I would walk through the room and pick up each student's work. If a student did not have the work, I would give him or her a <a href="http://teachademics.blogspot.com/2010/02/get-handle-on-late-work.html">late work receipt</a>, proof for me and a reminder for the student. I could take roll as I walked the class, too.</li>
<li>Post the week's work and all upcoming projects clearly. I posted this every Monday and required students to write it all down in a notebook. This can be done more electronically much faster and more efficiently, but students should still get used to using a calendar and To Do list since it will be a useful habit later in life.</li>
<li>Use webpages, email, and social media. Offload as much as possible to the web where students can get answers when they need them and parents can know what is happening in class. Since the mid '90s, I had a class website where I posted a homework calendar, instructions for projects, PowerPoint slideshows from my lectures, and helpful lessons. I encouraged students to email me: they could get immediate answers so that they could keep up with their work, I spent less time answering question in class, and quieter students could get equal time as the outgoing students. And since students often asked the same questions, I could copy and paste one answer and use it again. If I were in the class today, I would use a class Facebook page and Twitter to send out reminders, hints, and answers to common questions. A Google calendar that could sync with the students' own calendars could instantly replace the student's paper homework notebook.</li>
<li>Have an "Ask Two, Then Me" policy. I was surprised how many student questions were about topics we had already covered. If a student had a question, he or she should ask two neighbors before asking me. This answered most students' questions and did not require me to stop what I was doing.</li>
</ol><div><iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=clickademics-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=043930301X&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="align: left; height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe>If you want more hints, check out The New Teacher's Complete Sourcebook - highly rated my other users.</div>Bradley Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04556577811649874411noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5515155988318156621.post-68047713213614566342010-07-23T12:16:00.000-07:002010-08-19T11:20:06.826-07:00First Day of School Vol. 2 - The Name GameIt was the first day of a new semester, and I did not know where to go. I was taking education classes towards my credential, and I stopped at the reception desk to ask where the class met. There was a man in a sports coat standing nearby, and he said, "You must be Bradley. I'll walk with you to class."<br />
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At first, I was stunned. Then, when he introduced himself and told me that he was the professor of the class, I was amazed. When he later told the class how he already knew everyone's names, I was sold.<br />
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First, he explained how knowing students' names on the first day of class is incredibly useful. On one hand, it shows that you care about the students as individuals. They are important enough that you already know who they are. On the other hand, it puts them on notice that you are prepared, and you don't mess around. It sets a tone that time is important, and the first day should not be wasted with introductions.<br />
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Learning the students' names immediately shows the students that you are nurturing and no-nonsense at the same time.<br />
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My professor knew my name because he had memorized everyone's name before class started. He used a mnemonic device. He paired something he knew well, in this case his favorite golf course, with something he did not know, the students' names. It worked well since there were roughly 18 students in the class and 18 holes on the course. He recommend that we pair the known and unknown in a memorable, even silly way. For instance, hole #4 has many sand traps which reminds him of Sandra, or he always plays hole #12 badly which reminds him of the name Bradley. And how did he know my name at the reception desk having never met me? There were only two men in the course, and I did not look like I would be names "Carlos."<br />
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So what can you do, especially if you have a lot me students than 18? Make a seating chart for the first day. Don't put the students in alphabetical order, though. Every other teacher does that, and the kids at the end of the alphabet are tired of sitting together in the back. But do make a pattern that you makes sense to you, like shorter names on the left of the room, or names that rhyme nearby. Hint: don't put students with the same name next to each other because it will be hard to call on one and not the other. Study the list of names before the first day of class. It will impress the students when you ask them by name about their day, or you say, "It is time to start, but we seem to be missing Rachel. Has anyone seen her?"<br />
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Two more tips: get a copy of last year's yearbook and try to match faces to names. You can even xerox the pages, cut out the faces, and place them on your seating chart. Secondly, don't ask last year's teachers about your new students. If a student earned a bad reputation in the previous class, give him or her a chance to grow up over the summer and have a fresh start. Besides, you'll know who the trouble-makers are in the first two days.<br />
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<iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=clickademics-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=0684873931&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="align: left; height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe>Bradley Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04556577811649874411noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5515155988318156621.post-42420377672326608392010-07-20T12:11:00.000-07:002010-07-20T12:15:52.172-07:00First Day of School Vol. 1 - Self-AssessmentTeaching is an unforgiving profession; mistakes made at the beginning of the year can take months to undo. We need to be thoughtful and deliberate about the impression we give on the first day.<br />
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Even though we are in the middle of summer, it is not too early to prepare for school. In fact, if you have some new, exciting things to try, you are going to look forward to school starting again instead of dreading the end of vacation.<br />
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First, spend some time thinking about the impression you want to give on the first day. When you students go home, what will they say when their folks ask, "What is your teacher like?" There is not one right answer: you need to match your first impression to your strengths. If you are more professional and no-nonsense, it would not be helpful to seem nurturing and casual on day one. If you have a big heart unlimited patience for your students, don't let anyone tell you, "No smiling until winter break." You and your students will have a miserable Fall.<br />
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Before I share any of the lessons I learned from your 14 first days of school, ask yourself how you stand on these topics:<br />
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Discipline<br />
Love 'em up, their just kids.....................................................Tough, no-nonsense<br />
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Structure<br />
Students are responsible for themselves...................................Strict daily routine<br />
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Workload<br />
There's more to education.........................................................Time is short, we have a<br />
than getting through the textbook lot to learn to get to our goal<br />
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Focus<br />
Student-centered......................................................................Teacher-centered<br />
It will mean more if they discover it I know what lies ahead, and I want to prepare them<br />
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There are great teachers at both ends of the spectrum, and many of us try to live in the middle and get the best of each. Give yourself an honest assessment and build a classroom that plays to your strengths and lets the students develop their strengths as well.<br />
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<iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=clickademics-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=0976423316&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="align: left; height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe>By the way, if you have never seen Harry Wong, you are missing out. He is the master at creating a happy, healthy, productive classroom. We watched his video series at a staff in-service, and he really inspired every teacher in the room, especially me.Bradley Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04556577811649874411noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5515155988318156621.post-10407307570329467212010-04-24T23:03:00.000-07:002010-04-24T23:03:59.939-07:00Rethinking Final ExamsIt's Spring time, and while the students think that summer is almost here, you see final exams looming up ahead. Before you make a multiple choice test that covers every topic for the whole year, consider the purpose of a final.<br />
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A final exam should assess the student's mastery of the material and readiness to move on to the next class. A final should not be a painful rite of passage. A long test that asks the student to regurgitate information rewards students for cramming facts into their short term memory. Furthermore, some students just take tests well - they have that type of intelligence. Getting an A on a multiple choice does not necessarily mean that the student has fully comprehended the information from the class.<br />
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Start by writing down what a student should know at the end of your class. If a successful student were to leave your class, what skills would she master? What skills should she be familiar with? What facts should she know?<br />
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Now, think broadly about assessments. What would a student need to do to show that he really learned the important lessons from your course? Perhaps the student could make a movie, a timeline, a mural, a one act play. Consider asking the student to make a Facebook fan page for a person from history, a literary character, an important mathematician, or foreign country. Board games, trivia games, and Jeopardy are all fun ways for students to show off their knowledge. Paired with an essay or some other written portion, you should be able to judge if the student has comprehended the content at least as well as a traditional exam.<br />
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When you make a final assessment more authentic, the students will enjoy pouring more effort into it. If you give your students a choice, each one can select a project that fits with his or her learning style. Yes, these projects may take longer to grade, but when have you ever taken the easy way out?Bradley Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04556577811649874411noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5515155988318156621.post-58395005167621512582010-03-26T22:46:00.000-07:002010-03-26T22:46:31.324-07:00Quick Grading TipEvery time I collected a set of essays or projects, I always told myself that I would grade them quickly. Once I started, though, I found myself writing a comment here, making a correction there. My drive to help my students told me to give specific help to each student, but the clock told me that I did not have time to spend fifteen minutes on every student's paper and project.<br />
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Here is a way to give helpful advice quickly. Use the "Find" and "Replace" function on your computer.<br />
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Grading on the computer is terrific because your comments look more professional than writing in red pen. You have a permanent record of comments for later reference or parent conferences. In fact, if a parent emails you with a question about an assignment, you can simply copy and paste the grade and comments into the email.<br />
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I have noticed that when grading an assignment, most students seem to make the same mistakes. When writing comments by hand, I seem to write "Avoid Run-On Sentences" or "Remember to Add a Topic Sentence" several times. Instead of writing the same ten comments over and over, I just assign them a number.<br />
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Make a list of positive and negative comments that you think that you will write. You may need to skim a few papers first, and you can always add to the list as you grade. Assign each comment a number (a two digit number works best). As you grade the papers or projects, type the number of the comment that fits the paper - I usually like to give one positive comment and two things for the student to work on. When find an unusual project, you might need to type a comment by hand (be sure to only use words and not numbers; I will explain why later.)<br />
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At the end of grading, you will have each student's name, a grade, and a few numbers that represent comments on your list. Now is the fun part, highlight the comment numbers and hold down "CTRL" ("CMND" on a Mac) and "h". This is the "find and replace" function. In the field for "find," type the number of the first command, like "50." In the "replace" field, type our the comment, like "Great use of quotes from the text." Now every student who had a "50" next to his or her name has the comment typed out. Do that for all of the codes, and you have specific comments for each student. You can now print them out, cut them into strips, and staple them to the students' papers.<br />
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Here are some things to make it work smoothly:<br />
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<ul><li>Do your work in Excel and import your students' names from an electronic copy of your roster.</li>
<li>If you are using a rubric (and you should be), make a column for each graded item. (Introduction: 8, Organization:10, Spelling and Grammar: 18). As long as the number grade is in its own column, Excel can add up the total grade for you. Again, be sure that the number grades do not conflict with the comment numbers.</li>
<li>Use two digit numbers - if you use "2" for a comment, you might replace part of "12" by accident.</li>
<li>If you want to be really fancy, print them on labels and stick them to the paper or project.</li>
<li>Can families check grades on you school's website? See if there is a field where you can paste a copy of your grade comments.</li>
</ul>Bradley Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04556577811649874411noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5515155988318156621.post-30841864078044596342010-03-02T21:02:00.000-08:002010-03-02T21:13:07.638-08:00Not Sure if Students are Doing the Reading? Let Them Prove it.Since I taught literature, my students always had a novel that they should be reading at home, but I never knew for sure if they were keeping up with the reading. The common solution to this problem is the periodic reading comprehension test.<br />
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I gave many of these, but they took a lot of class time, they took even more time to grade, and they didn't always accomplish my goal. Some students did the reading but happened to skip over an important fact that was on the quiz. Other students, often the ones who struggled, spent twice as much time reading, but their poor test taking skills got in their way and earned them a grade that looked like they skipped the reading. Conversely, too many students did skip the reading but looked at plot summaries online or asked friends about the plot. These students often earned better grades than many of the students who completed the assignment.<br />
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One day, while I was trying to solve this problem, I realized that it's not my problem, it's the students'. The next day when I assigned the next week's reading, I asked the students if they liked reading comprehension quizzes. Of course, they did not. I then informed them that it would be up to them to prove to me that they read the assignment. I wanted to really push their problem solving skills, so I make half of the grade based on how effectively they proved that they read. The other half? how creative their solution was. One could also make it a contest to see which student or which class came up with the best solution.<br />
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I have never had students devote more effort to a reading assignment. Far more students completed the reading than usual. Unfortunately, some students lacked creativity, turning in notes from their mommies stating that they had done the reading. I also had a few that made a poster because at our school, they had done so many posters over the years that the word "project" = "poster." Conversely, I had very fun, unusual submissions. One student wrote his own quiz and then took it. A few students made home movies acting out the plot. One student did the same thing but with animated stick figures. One swore an oath on a Bible while another tape recorded herself reading the whole chapter aloud - I fast forwarded to the end. My favorite was a student who took a photograph every ten minutes of herself reading with a clock in the background; you could see the turned pages staking up as the clock hand moved.<br />
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Obviously, students in school need to write essays and take tests. But often, there is a fun and creative alternative to boring busy work. Instead of asking students to write the answer to a question, have them give the answer in anything except words. Or have them write a poem, act it out in class, or send it in a text message. Many students are so bored with the same old assignments that they really appreciate a teacher that does something unexpected.<br />
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And if you just have to give reading comprehension quizzes, roll a die or flip a coin right before the quiz to see which classes have to take it. The students think it is great because they don't have to take a quiz, but they still had to prepare for it, and you have half as many quizzes to grade.Bradley Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04556577811649874411noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5515155988318156621.post-89393391666117630752010-02-24T18:26:00.000-08:002010-02-24T18:26:00.537-08:00Get A Handle On Late WorkLate work. Ugh. Why do I have to spend extra time grading late work just because the student did not spend time doing the work when it was due?<br />
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Look at late work a different way. Homework due dates are a way for us to help our students learn responsibility when the stakes are low so that they are prepared for the real world when the stakes are high. If a student loses a letter grade in my class because of missed deadlines, hopefully that student will learn her lesson and not ruin her credit as an adult because of missed payments. Isn't that worth an hour or two each week?<br />
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For most homework assignments, I simply deducted 10% per day for two days. Whatever system you use, make sure that the penalties motivate the students without destroying their grades due to one bad night. Otherwise, here are some ways that I learned over the years to juggle late work.<br />
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<ul><li><b>Eliminate arguments - get a date stamp</b>. You do not want to debate with a student <iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=clickademics-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=B00134EMGA&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="align: left; height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe>about whether an assignment was late or not, especially at the end of the quarter when grades are due. I had a date stamp that I would use on any paper that was not submitted on the due date, and I would be sure to note if the student was absent or had another reason for turing in the assignment late.</li>
<li><b>Late work receipts - for student and teacher</b>. I taught middle school, so I wanted to provide a little extra support since my students were a little young for a sink-or-swim approach to late work. I printed out a form, three to a page. On the left of the form, there was a place for the student to write his or her name, the assignment, the due date, the excuse for being late, and day when he or she planned on turning it in. On the right side of the form was a tear off receipt where the student wrote the same information. When I walked around class collecting homework, I would give a form to each student who did not complete the assignment. The student could keep half as a reminder to finish the work. I could keep the other half in case I needed to remind the student to turn in the work the next day. When the assignment was turned in, I would staple my receipt to the work to remind the student that the work had been turned in late. </li>
<li><b>Just don't accept late work - the nice way</b>. One of the best moments in my teaching, which I will write about another time, was when I gave a series of interesting and effective projects. Over a number of weeks, the students had to turn in six out of seven projects, so everyone got a rest week. Responsible students could save the rest week until the end, many students would use the rest week in the middle when they were having a busy time, and other students used it up at the beginning. Either way, projects were due on time, or they became the rest week (absent students could email projects or send them with someone already coming to school). A second missing project would earn a zero. It made things a lot simpler. This plan works well for homework assignments too - anything where the students must turn in several items but can skip one without missing an important learning experience.</li>
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</div>Bradley Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04556577811649874411noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5515155988318156621.post-70158736698192596262010-02-23T21:20:00.000-08:002010-02-23T22:19:06.124-08:00My Simplest and Best Teaching Idea I Ever HadIn my first two years of teaching, I noticed that I was wasting a great deal of time every week passing out papers. Every teacher knows that idle students mean trouble, so I either had to give the students busy work while I passed out papers, or I had to do it fast, hoping that the students would not resort to spit balls.<br />
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My solution? At the beginning of my third year of teaching, I asked all of the students to bring cereal boxes. When I had enough, I made them into mailboxes. I cut off three of the top flaps, put them in stacks of similar size, and stapled them together. At the end, I had a bank of mailboxes 10 high and 15 wide on the back counter of my classroom.<br />
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After exporting the students' names from my grade book, I color coded them by class, alphabetized by their last name, and imported them into file folder labels. Each student had his or her own mailbox in my classroom.<br />
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If I had graded papers to return, they just went into the mailboxes. Happily, students' grades were more private so that a student with a very low or very high grade on a test did not feel self conscience. If I had an assignment or project instructions to distribute, they would go in the mailboxes, and I could be confident that each student had a copy. I made sure to have multiple hole punchers and recycling bins nearby so that students could put papers in the proper place.<br />
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The last unexpected benefit was that students who caused delays in class because of minor discipline issues or tardiness could make up for my wasted time by stuffing mailboxes after school.<iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=clickademics-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=B000F8VCT0&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="align: left; height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe><br />
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A few years later, my cereal box idea was so successful that the school bought me more permanent paper organizing boxes. They looked a little more professional, but they lacked that DIY charm of the cereal boxes.Bradley Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04556577811649874411noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5515155988318156621.post-84390225303543254602010-02-22T11:24:00.000-08:002010-02-22T11:24:10.977-08:00How Teachers Can Use Clickademics.comSisyphus was an ancient Greek king whose punishment from the gods was to roll a huge stone to the top of a hill everyday. At the end of each day, the stone rolled to the bottom of the hill, ready for the next day's rolling. If you think about it, teaching can be very <i>Sisyphusian</i>. If you have several sections of the same subject, you teach the same lesson several times a day, you review it later in the week, you review it again before the test, and you still have to start the process over again the next year. This doesn't even include the absent students.<br />
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I created my website <a href="http://www.clickademics.com/">Clickademics</a> to do some of the repetition automatically, freeing teachers up for more creative projects and more individualized help. I film teachers giving their best lessons and make them available to students online.<br />
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Here are some ways that Clickademics can help teachers be more effective:<br />
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<ul><li>If an upcoming exam covers material that is in a Clickademics lesson, the teacher can link to the video lessons as a study aid.</li>
<li>If a student is struggling with a basic concept, and the teacher cannot take class time to go over it again, the teacher can direct the student to the lesson so that he or she can review at home.</li>
<li>If students are absent, the teacher can have them review online at home instead of staying after school for a make-up lesson. This is especially helpful in schools where student athletes often miss the last class of the day to travel for a game since these athletes can rarely stay after class since it would conflict with sports practice.</li>
<li>All students have different learning styles, and some students benefit from hearing a lesson taught in multiple ways.</li>
</ul><div>More and more, teachers are encouraged to provide two challenging classroom experiences: more project based learning and differentiated learning. The problem for teachers is that hands-on, creative projects take a great deal of class time, and differentiated learning requires multiple lesson plans to help students with different learning styles and abilities. If the students could learn the basics using online-video, there could be more class time for these effective yet complicated lessons and projects.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Of course, all classroom concepts can be found in the textbook, but all experienced teachers know that the students who really need help with the material rarely go home and read everything they should. Online video is a much more effective teaching tool.</div><div><br />
</div><div>If you want to learn more about project based learning and differentiated instruction, check out these books:</div><div><iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=clickademics-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=0974034304&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="align: left; height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe><iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=clickademics-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=157542259X&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="align: left; height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe></div>Bradley Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04556577811649874411noreply@blogger.com0