In today's world of teaching, accountability and evaluations are everything.
The more you know how well you are performing, the easier it will be for you to increase that success you need. But there are other problems that get in the way such as:
* responding to discipline problems
* dealing with ongoing administrative tasks and...
* writing good lessons
Each of these areas are very important to building a thriving career, but when you aren't sure the best way to cope with these problems, you can turn these problems into even bigger ones.
Check For Potential Discipline Problems
One way to check for potential discipline problems is to evaluate how well you engage your students at the very beginning of the lesson. The beginning of the lesson is designed to set the tone of the lesson and engage and motivate students.
You can do a quick check to see if your lesson beginning is effective.
Your lesson plan should include something new and interesting. For example, if you just started a lesson on endangered animals, then think of all the interesting ways that you can engage your students. For example, if your plan is to teach reading comprehension skills and you have a group of struggling students, think of what pre-skills these students might need. Remember, your struggling students will need information presented to them in fun and interesting ways.
Create Fun and Motivating Lesson that Will Make a Lasting Impression Forever
If you are constantly on the hunt for starter activities, games and other ways to add interaction and pizzazz to your lessons, this is going to save you a bunch of time and will give you some amazing ideas for making lessons more fun. One of my favorite activities is Box Bingo which you will find on page 3 but there are lots and lots of others including magic tricks, reviews, energizers and cooperative learning activities.
You can grab the free report now by visiting the following link here.
Get Coaching Support and Help
The New Teacher Resource Coaching Center provides you with all the coaching resources, tip sheets, charts, resources, to avoid isolation and to survive and thrive in the classroom. All these classroom tested resources have been created by a teacher trainer and diversity coach who has 16+ years in the classroom. You'll get more help to help get your teaching career moving in the way you want.
Get started building your teaching career. Visit http://newteacherresourcecenter.com/join-the-coaching-center/ now, sign up and receive immediate access to a wealth of teaching building resources, support and tools. For a limited time only, you'll receive the first month of your coaching membership FREE and then just pay $4.97 for each additional month.
Monday, March 28, 2011
Friday, March 4, 2011
Microsoft Word Training - Get More Productive at Work
If you are looking for solid Microsoft Word training, then this article will help you find the course that is right for you. This article covers some of the basic functionality of Word, as well as more advanced functions that will save you huge amounts of time and make you more productive at work or school. When you have finished reading this article you will be better prepared to choose the Microsoft Word training method that suits your particular need.
Basic Microsoft Word Concepts
A good training course will start out with the basics of the Word interface and cover some of the most important features. You will first learn how to create a new document, either using a blank page, or selecting a common template. Templates are included in Word to help you with a variety of commonly used documents, such as fax cover sheets, internal business memos, sales and thank you letters, and resumes. Other basic skills that should be covered would include changing font sizes, assigning styles to your documents, and working with formatting options such as the page margins.
Intermediate and Advanced Microsoft Word Features
As your Microsoft Word training course progresses, you will be taught more advanced features and functions, such as using creating custom headers, footers, and citations for your document. One really cool feature included in Microsoft Word is the ability to instantly generate a bibliography for your document using one of several standard citation styles. You put in the basic information for your sources, and Word automatically puts your citations in the correct format.
Some other advanced topics that should be covered are the mail merge function, and the ability to integrate Excel and Powerpoint documents into your Word file. Mail merge is very handy when you manage communications with a large list of customers or other important contacts. It allows you to create a single letter, and then merge that letter with a database to create hundreds or even thousands of individual copies of that letter, each tailored for the an individual on your mailing list. Sending out mass mailings like this used to take countless hours of labor in typing each letter individually.
Available Types of Microsoft Word Training
Training for Word can be as simple as picking up a book from Amazon or Borders, which many people do very well with by teaching themselves. However, if you are more of a hands-on learner, and need a more visual learning format, you should consider either a classroom based training course or a course on CD. These two options will cost a bit more than a book, but the quality of the education will be better and will likely stick in your brain more easily.
Basic Microsoft Word Concepts
A good training course will start out with the basics of the Word interface and cover some of the most important features. You will first learn how to create a new document, either using a blank page, or selecting a common template. Templates are included in Word to help you with a variety of commonly used documents, such as fax cover sheets, internal business memos, sales and thank you letters, and resumes. Other basic skills that should be covered would include changing font sizes, assigning styles to your documents, and working with formatting options such as the page margins.
Intermediate and Advanced Microsoft Word Features
As your Microsoft Word training course progresses, you will be taught more advanced features and functions, such as using creating custom headers, footers, and citations for your document. One really cool feature included in Microsoft Word is the ability to instantly generate a bibliography for your document using one of several standard citation styles. You put in the basic information for your sources, and Word automatically puts your citations in the correct format.
Some other advanced topics that should be covered are the mail merge function, and the ability to integrate Excel and Powerpoint documents into your Word file. Mail merge is very handy when you manage communications with a large list of customers or other important contacts. It allows you to create a single letter, and then merge that letter with a database to create hundreds or even thousands of individual copies of that letter, each tailored for the an individual on your mailing list. Sending out mass mailings like this used to take countless hours of labor in typing each letter individually.
Available Types of Microsoft Word Training
Training for Word can be as simple as picking up a book from Amazon or Borders, which many people do very well with by teaching themselves. However, if you are more of a hands-on learner, and need a more visual learning format, you should consider either a classroom based training course or a course on CD. These two options will cost a bit more than a book, but the quality of the education will be better and will likely stick in your brain more easily.
Thomas Richardson runs a website dedicated to information on the best computer training classes available on the web. For more information, and to find a course that will help advance your skills, please visit our page on microsoft word training.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
What a Good Teacher Needs to Know: How to Write 3 Key Parts to a Great Lesson Plan
Creating a lesson plan that properly associates the comprehension level of the kids with your teaching material provides your students with a lesson both challenging and interesting.
With any lesson plan there are 3 key parts to complete:
"The Pre" (or beginning) of the lesson plan, the teacher should aim to teach something new or tie in new material with previously taught material. This "pre" part of the lesson should provide motivation and can be in the form of a quote, a statistic or question. The function of the "pre" provides a connection to the main part of the lesson. The length of this part should be about 10 minutes.
"The Content" of the lesson reflects the goal you expect the students to accomplish. The goal can be a new skill or a review of a previously taught skill. During this time students will incorporate and interpret the material of the lesson. The length of this part should be about 30-40 minutes.
"The Review" of the lesson is just what the name suggests-a summary of the lesson. During the review, the teacher wants to use transitional phrases to help the parts of the lesson flow from another, such as "Okay, you did that very well. Now let's see how these attitudes are reflected in the news report that we are going to read." Here, the teacher gives positive feedback and then shares the main task of the lesson to come, which is reading for specific information. The length of this part should be about 10-15 minutes.
When it comes to writing a great lesson plan think about the students and be sure the lesson is both challenging and interesting. Like a good story, your lesson plan should have a beginning ("the pre"), middle ("the content") and end ("the review").
With any lesson plan there are 3 key parts to complete:
"The Pre" (or beginning) of the lesson plan, the teacher should aim to teach something new or tie in new material with previously taught material. This "pre" part of the lesson should provide motivation and can be in the form of a quote, a statistic or question. The function of the "pre" provides a connection to the main part of the lesson. The length of this part should be about 10 minutes.
"The Content" of the lesson reflects the goal you expect the students to accomplish. The goal can be a new skill or a review of a previously taught skill. During this time students will incorporate and interpret the material of the lesson. The length of this part should be about 30-40 minutes.
"The Review" of the lesson is just what the name suggests-a summary of the lesson. During the review, the teacher wants to use transitional phrases to help the parts of the lesson flow from another, such as "Okay, you did that very well. Now let's see how these attitudes are reflected in the news report that we are going to read." Here, the teacher gives positive feedback and then shares the main task of the lesson to come, which is reading for specific information. The length of this part should be about 10-15 minutes.
When it comes to writing a great lesson plan think about the students and be sure the lesson is both challenging and interesting. Like a good story, your lesson plan should have a beginning ("the pre"), middle ("the content") and end ("the review").
For information about Dorit Sasson's coaching program "How to Become an Effective Lesson Planner," visit http://www.doritsasson.com/?p=514. While you're at the Teachers' Diversity Coach, sign-up for the mailing list to receive a free e-book with important information you need to know as a new teacher. You'll also receive a free weekly newsletter from the Teachers' Diversity Coach, from Dorit Sasson, the Teachers' Diversity Coach.
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Word Reflects the Latest Sign of the Times
As we step ever nearer to the paperless office, it makes sense to reduce any unnecessary waste of paper and make use of the latest Office Word 2007 tools which help transfer paper systems from desk to digital documents on the desktop.
Obviously there are still occasions when it is essential that we keep track of the life cycle of a document. It might be vital to have a signed record of who has created the original, who has amended the text and who has approved the final version. But how can this happen if we want to avoid printing out numerous copies which may be distributed and then have to be retrieved from the four corners of the earth in order that each signed copy is archived for future generations? The answer could be Digital Signatures.
The ability to capture Digital Signatures by using the Signature Line command in Office 2007 documents makes it possible for organisations to adopt paperless signing processes in situations where keeping track of signing is vital. Digital Signatures can provide a record of exactly what was signed and allow the signature to be verified in the future.
When using Word 2007 and Excel 2007 it is possible to insert a Signature Line into a document. Simply set the cursor at the point in your document you would like to add the signature. Then, on the Insert tab, in the Text group, point to the arrow next to Signature Line and click Microsoft Office Signature Line.
In the Signature Setup dialog box you can type information about the person who will be signing on the Signature Line. This information is displayed directly beneath the Signature Line in the document.
When an electronic copy of the document is sent to the intended signer, this person sees the Signature Line and a notification that their signature is required. The signer can click the Signature Line to digitally sign the document by either typing a signature, selecting a digital image of their signature, or writing a signature. When the signer adds a visible representation of his or her signature to the document, a Digital Signature is added simultaneously to authenticate the identity of the signer. After a document is digitally signed, it will become read-only to prevent modifications to its content.
You can also add information in the Instructions to signer box. The instructions will then be displayed in the Signature dialog box. There is also the option to allow the signer to add comments along with their signature and the flexibility to the show the date when the signature is added. It's easy to add additional Signature Lines, too.
When you sign the Signature Line in a Word 2007 document, you add both a visible representation of your signature and a Digital Signature. If you do not need to insert visible Signature Lines into a document, but you still want to provide assurance as to the authenticity, integrity and origin of a document, you can add an invisible Digital Signature to the document.
It's easy to remove a Digital Signature from a Microsoft Office document that has been digitally signed by clicking on Prepare in the Office Button and selecting View Signatures then Remove Signatures.
Obviously when you receive a document that has been signed by someone you know you are more likely to trust the contents than from someone you don't know.
The Office 2007 Word Digital Signatures feature provides a way to ensure that the contents of your documents have not been changed by any unauthorised author. If the document has been altered, Word 2007 warns you that the signature ID is invalid.
The Digital Signature function also allows office users to create their own Signature Certificate or to acquire a Certificate form a trusted third party.
If you plan to exchange digitally signed documents with other people, and you want the recipients of your documents to be able to verify the authenticity of your Digital Signature, it is a good idea to obtain a Digital Certificate from a reputable third-party Certificate authority. A Digital Certificate is necessary for a Digital Signature because it provides the public key that can be used to validate the private key that is associated with a Digital Signature. Digital Certificates make it possible for Digital Signatures to be used as a way to authenticate digital information.
If you select the option Get a digital ID from a Microsoft partner in the Get a Digital ID dialog box, you are redirected to the Microsoft Office Marketplace, where you can purchase a Digital Certificate from one of the third-party Certificate Authorities (CAs) with an Office Marketplace listing.
So, if you want to reduce your carbon footprint, take a step closer to the digital age and find out more about using Digital Signatures in Word 2007.
Obviously there are still occasions when it is essential that we keep track of the life cycle of a document. It might be vital to have a signed record of who has created the original, who has amended the text and who has approved the final version. But how can this happen if we want to avoid printing out numerous copies which may be distributed and then have to be retrieved from the four corners of the earth in order that each signed copy is archived for future generations? The answer could be Digital Signatures.
The ability to capture Digital Signatures by using the Signature Line command in Office 2007 documents makes it possible for organisations to adopt paperless signing processes in situations where keeping track of signing is vital. Digital Signatures can provide a record of exactly what was signed and allow the signature to be verified in the future.
When using Word 2007 and Excel 2007 it is possible to insert a Signature Line into a document. Simply set the cursor at the point in your document you would like to add the signature. Then, on the Insert tab, in the Text group, point to the arrow next to Signature Line and click Microsoft Office Signature Line.
In the Signature Setup dialog box you can type information about the person who will be signing on the Signature Line. This information is displayed directly beneath the Signature Line in the document.
When an electronic copy of the document is sent to the intended signer, this person sees the Signature Line and a notification that their signature is required. The signer can click the Signature Line to digitally sign the document by either typing a signature, selecting a digital image of their signature, or writing a signature. When the signer adds a visible representation of his or her signature to the document, a Digital Signature is added simultaneously to authenticate the identity of the signer. After a document is digitally signed, it will become read-only to prevent modifications to its content.
You can also add information in the Instructions to signer box. The instructions will then be displayed in the Signature dialog box. There is also the option to allow the signer to add comments along with their signature and the flexibility to the show the date when the signature is added. It's easy to add additional Signature Lines, too.
When you sign the Signature Line in a Word 2007 document, you add both a visible representation of your signature and a Digital Signature. If you do not need to insert visible Signature Lines into a document, but you still want to provide assurance as to the authenticity, integrity and origin of a document, you can add an invisible Digital Signature to the document.
It's easy to remove a Digital Signature from a Microsoft Office document that has been digitally signed by clicking on Prepare in the Office Button and selecting View Signatures then Remove Signatures.
Obviously when you receive a document that has been signed by someone you know you are more likely to trust the contents than from someone you don't know.
The Office 2007 Word Digital Signatures feature provides a way to ensure that the contents of your documents have not been changed by any unauthorised author. If the document has been altered, Word 2007 warns you that the signature ID is invalid.
The Digital Signature function also allows office users to create their own Signature Certificate or to acquire a Certificate form a trusted third party.
If you plan to exchange digitally signed documents with other people, and you want the recipients of your documents to be able to verify the authenticity of your Digital Signature, it is a good idea to obtain a Digital Certificate from a reputable third-party Certificate authority. A Digital Certificate is necessary for a Digital Signature because it provides the public key that can be used to validate the private key that is associated with a Digital Signature. Digital Certificates make it possible for Digital Signatures to be used as a way to authenticate digital information.
If you select the option Get a digital ID from a Microsoft partner in the Get a Digital ID dialog box, you are redirected to the Microsoft Office Marketplace, where you can purchase a Digital Certificate from one of the third-party Certificate Authorities (CAs) with an Office Marketplace listing.
So, if you want to reduce your carbon footprint, take a step closer to the digital age and find out more about using Digital Signatures in Word 2007.
Friday, October 22, 2010
Microsoft Word Tips - Training
If you have ever used a computer, chances are you have also used Microsoft Word to create documents for work, school or life. Word makes it easy for anyone to quickly create, edit and share professional looking documents. Here are a few tips to help you get exactly what you need or want using Microsoft Word.
Working on Two Separate Document Sections
Have you ever needed to edit a large document, and needed to work simultaneously with sections on different pages? You can do this by splitting the document window:
o From the Window menu, choose Split
o A horizontal line will appear in the middle of the screen. With your mouse, click and drag the line up or down, then click away from the line to set the split. You can switch between the two panes by clicking on the document text in the top or bottom pane. MS Word will remember both cursor positions as you work between the two sections. You can remove the split by going back to the Window menu, and selecting Remove Split
Preventing Page Breaks in Paragraphs
Your document may include a paragraph split onto separate pages. This may not be ideal for you. By default, Word splits large paragraphs onto separate pages. To change this, do the following
o Select a paragraph or group of paragraphs, and right-click
o Select Paragraph from the menu
o When the dialog box appears, select Line and Page Breaks
o Check Keep lines together
o Press OK to close the dialog box
Disable Reading Layout
When you open MS Word documents from e-mail attachments or from other sources, Word displays them in the "Reading Layout". While intended to make the documents easier to read and scan, it can reformat tables of contents, lists, tables, and long paragraphs.
If you would rather not use this feature, and open documents in the default (Print Layout) view instead, try this:
o Click the Tools menu and select Options
o When the dialog box appears, click General
o Uncheck "Allow starting in Reading Layout"
o Click OK to close the dialog box
An Easier Way to Create Tables
If you are like most Word users, when you need to insert a table, you create the table first, then tab through and insert the data. There's a much more efficient way to create tables. First, enter your table data in your document, separated by commas (comma-delimited format). For example, let's say you want a table that shows the number of new employees hired in three departments during the first quarter. Your data would look like this:
,Jan,Feb,March
Sales,2,11,9
Marketing,3,9,14
Accounting,2,9,4
Now, highlight the text and choose "Table then Insert Table" A 4x4 table is automatically created for you. If you want to change the formatting, go to Table, then Table Autoformat to apply a table template; or you can go through the Table menu and manually edit the table's display properties.
Full-Screen Mode
When you edit a document in Microsoft Word, your workspace is shared with toolbars, a menu bar, a status bar, and your system toolbar/taskbar. If you'd like to hide everything but your document, click View and select Full Screen. To return to normal view, press the ESC key, or select Close Full Screen from the Full Screen toolbar that appears. You can also move your mouse pointer to the top of the screen to access the menu items.
Working on Two Separate Document Sections
Have you ever needed to edit a large document, and needed to work simultaneously with sections on different pages? You can do this by splitting the document window:
o From the Window menu, choose Split
o A horizontal line will appear in the middle of the screen. With your mouse, click and drag the line up or down, then click away from the line to set the split. You can switch between the two panes by clicking on the document text in the top or bottom pane. MS Word will remember both cursor positions as you work between the two sections. You can remove the split by going back to the Window menu, and selecting Remove Split
Preventing Page Breaks in Paragraphs
Your document may include a paragraph split onto separate pages. This may not be ideal for you. By default, Word splits large paragraphs onto separate pages. To change this, do the following
o Select a paragraph or group of paragraphs, and right-click
o Select Paragraph from the menu
o When the dialog box appears, select Line and Page Breaks
o Check Keep lines together
o Press OK to close the dialog box
Disable Reading Layout
When you open MS Word documents from e-mail attachments or from other sources, Word displays them in the "Reading Layout". While intended to make the documents easier to read and scan, it can reformat tables of contents, lists, tables, and long paragraphs.
If you would rather not use this feature, and open documents in the default (Print Layout) view instead, try this:
o Click the Tools menu and select Options
o When the dialog box appears, click General
o Uncheck "Allow starting in Reading Layout"
o Click OK to close the dialog box
An Easier Way to Create Tables
If you are like most Word users, when you need to insert a table, you create the table first, then tab through and insert the data. There's a much more efficient way to create tables. First, enter your table data in your document, separated by commas (comma-delimited format). For example, let's say you want a table that shows the number of new employees hired in three departments during the first quarter. Your data would look like this:
,Jan,Feb,March
Sales,2,11,9
Marketing,3,9,14
Accounting,2,9,4
Now, highlight the text and choose "Table then Insert Table" A 4x4 table is automatically created for you. If you want to change the formatting, go to Table, then Table Autoformat to apply a table template; or you can go through the Table menu and manually edit the table's display properties.
Full-Screen Mode
When you edit a document in Microsoft Word, your workspace is shared with toolbars, a menu bar, a status bar, and your system toolbar/taskbar. If you'd like to hide everything but your document, click View and select Full Screen. To return to normal view, press the ESC key, or select Close Full Screen from the Full Screen toolbar that appears. You can also move your mouse pointer to the top of the screen to access the menu items.
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