This 2014/2015 school year’s first term is about to expire. After approximately 8 lessons of coding (less than 8 hours of work), and one week for project development (homework time) the final results are really awesome, taking in count that:Students didn’t have any previous knowledge about coding.They didn’t know anything about game strategies.As a picture’s worth a thousand words, have a look at this video to see some examples:Here you have some of my first conclusions about this exciting project called Gamecodization (more at gamecodization.com):Different levels of students: superb (20%), average (70%), poor (10%). I divided coding exercises in stages, so all students could catch up eventually.I had to consider repeating 1 session for the lost ones.Student types:Engaged: they know what they’re doing. They use pseudocode wisely. They understand and solve. They want to learn deeper.Robotic: they translate pseudocode without much understanding. They don’t really know where to place code (inside loops, conditions…).Lazy: they need to have most of the pieces in place to start understanding things.Pseudocode:It’s key to help students in the beginning.It can be a problem when students just do things robotically, translating from pseudocode to code without further understanding.Debugging.Students don’t read compiler’s messages, they prefer to ask the teacher.There are plenty of problems with variable names due to case sensitiveness.I instructed my students to use PRINT sparingly to know variables’ states.Exercise phases: a single exercise can have many stages (increasing complexity). Start really simple and build on them more layers. Examples: Guess the number. Stages: Calculate a random number and print it properly (no decimals).Read a number from the console and print it.Now compare both numbers, for higher than and lower than.Loop everything until the win state is reached.Include other elements: messages, points, leaderboards, preferences.Avoid long, tedious exercises to avoid students getting stuck.Homework:Aside of coding games, basic exercises are of help to clarify some concepts:Basic operations: use of the console, file I/O.Arranging of elements.Dynamic data structures.Etc.I gathered my students in groups and gave them flipped resources so they could group in teams at home.Assessment:Projects in pairs (in three people groups one of the participants tends not to work as hard as the rest).Ask for pseudocode and code: the last one could not execute in the last time. And as a teacher you can always check the pseudocode to tutor them better.Some interesting and easy games to develop.Escape the maze.Arkanoid.Asteroids.Snake.Frogger.Space invaders.Other of their choice.Test exam:This will make them memorize better basic instructions (LET, PRINT…). Otherwise they’ll feel they don’t have to bear anything in mind, and they’ll waste lots of time checking compiler’s help all the time.Anyway, I made it easy, in the end you want to keep fun in your classes.Grade: you have three elements for grading.Theory: test.Practice: pseudocode and code (if code works well pseudocode shouldn’t grade anymore).Attitude, interest, behaviour.Game structure for arcades: for this first stage all the game developed have been based in the following algorithm.Initialization.Main loopMovement.LaserEnemies.Collisions.Items (keys…).Win-state check.End of gameLeaderboard.The main strategy for teaching coding through games has been:The idea is not to teach the coding language used (in this case Basic256), but to teach coding basis (sequences, conditions and loops) and strategies to build games.As lessons went ahead, I maintained a document (a sort of a cheat sheet), so they could know what instructions and concepts had been worked with, so they didn’t need to check the official documentation over and over.It’s key to start teaching very basic things through a simple game, in this case "Guess the number".Print on the text console.Read a number from the console.Calculate a random number.Compare both numbers.Repeat the operation until the number is guessed.With the previous game you’ve covered the three structures and some instructions, as PRINT, READ, RAND, LET; WHILE, IF THEN.The students shouldn’t be breaking their heads trying to figure out complex things. For example, I gave them enough information to calculate a random number, as INT(RAND*10). The same goes for spaceship movement, collisions, point scoring and so on. It’s like giving them basic pieces so they can combine them in different ways to create a wide range of outcomes.I passed rapidly to graphic based games. Visuals are key for students. For the second exercise we developed a rebounding point:Concepts of x,y positioning (plot).Variable for controlling the direction of the point (NE, NW, SE, SW).Out-of-bounds control, to make the point move properly.For the third exercise we started developing the Asteroids game (reduced version). In it I introduced the concepts of game structure (main loop), etc. Challenges took the form of:How to move several elements at the same time: they tried using FORs, popping up the concept of time slicing.How to set an element’s life-cycle in the main loop (as a laser), also popping the concept of flags.One of the topmost curious things was the fact that some students had the tendency to include code out of the main loop, revealing they hadn’t understood correctly previous concepts.Other aspects, as sprite collision, were easier to solve, as basic256 includes several ad-hoc functions. It is so easy to manage you don’t even need arrays to structure your sprites, as you can use expressions like SPRITEPLACE 1, SPRITEX(1)+5, SPRITEY(1) to move the sprite #1 to the right 5 positions.After finishing the basic version of asteroids we started including other elements: explosions, animations, points, leaderboards...As a final project my students had the opportunity to choose a game and develop it in groups (check the video).

These are my 5 favorite educational blogs. I’m not saying they’re the best or the biggest - but they are the ones I actually read & enjoy. Source: teach4theheart.com See on Scoop.it - InformationCommunication (ICT)

Learn how to create your own, highly engaging online icebreaker in under 10 minutes with this easy to follow step-by-step video. Create the online icebreaker to better prepare and motivate your trainees for your training. Find out how to include a YouTube video on your own Google Sites webpage, add a discussion forum and invite trainees to leave their comments. This works especially well as an icebreaker because trainees get to know each other a little bit through the discussion forum before the training actually starts. If you have to squint to make out the details, please use the Full Screen option in the video viewer. Also, make sure that you have selected 720p under the quality settings, because this is a HD video! Links mentioned in this video: groups.google.com sites.google.com www.youtube.com The post Super Engaging Online Icebreaker, Created in under 10 Minutes appeared first on TrainerTops Blog.

Did you know about the existence of WITHGOOGLE.COM? Wow, it’s like a box full of treasures. Check out some of the interesting things you can find hidden in this mysterious domain (and other classified folders):https://creatoracademy.withgoogle.com/page/educationhttps://webaccessibility.withgoogle.com/coursehttp://think.withgoogle.com/databoard/https://www.google.com/takeaction/http://www.google.com/ideas/projects/https://seefurther.withgoogle.com/https://streetart.withgoogle.com/es/#homehttps://mybeautifulearth.withgoogle.com/https://connectedclassrooms.withgoogle.com/https://smartypins.withgoogle.com/http://qcplayground.withgoogle.com/#/homehttps://cube.withgoogle.com/https://devart.withgoogle.com/And some more...https://www.buildwithchrome.com/http://www.cs-first.com/homehttp://www.cs4hs.com/resources/cscs.htmlhttps://www.solveforx.com/search/allhttps://www.google.com/culturalinstitute/homehttps://www.google.com/opengallery/?hl=enhttps://nightwalk.withgoogle.com/en/panoramahttps://www.google.com/culturalinstitute/browse/?projectId=world-wonders&hl=en

  Team 7-2 Teachers participated in a LipSync Competition prior to Christmas Break 2014. The music is a little difficult to hear, but if you listen closely you can hear the songs the teachers are lip-syncing too. The reason behind the post was during a recent #whatisschool twitter chat participates and discussed "relationships" between teachers and their students. I offered the point that teachers; must get out of their comfort zone and allow humor within their teaching and school. This is why I figured I would share our humor experience with our students here at PHMS!!    lipsync` from Mr. Kirsch on Vimeo.

Picture by tim, published under cc Online training is often presented as a way to save costs on training. But as we are about to reveal, the costs behind producing and offering online training are staggering. Compared to ‘traditional’ training, you won’t save a dime. Here, we’ll uncover how you can save on the costs of online training. Hint: trainers don’t have to start from scratch. We’ll even give you a link to a cost savings calculator, at the bottom of this article. Before we do that however, let’s get a grip on what online training is. What Is Online Training Anyway? Online training is training supported by online tools, or taking place through a website or a mobile application (you know, an app on your smartphone). Online training comes in two flavors: Synchronous online training: trainees and trainer are present at the same time, just not in the same place (think of a video conference or a webinar). Asynchronous online training: trainees and trainer only meet each other in an online discussion forum. In asynchronous online training the trainer has more of guiding role in what is essentially a ‘self paced’ training. Trainees can take the training on their own time, e.g. from home. Picture by Jannes Pockele, published under cc These flavors can also be mixed, of course. You could set a date for a video conference for instance, while adding the requirement that everybody complete an online test (quiz) first. Most online training platforms support setting such a requirement. The platform simply checks whether you’ve got your test completed before allowing you inside the video conference. By the way, an online training platform is usually called an LMS, which stands for learning management system. Cost of Synchronous Online Training Basically, the cost of synchronous online training is predictable and relatively cheap. You need video conferencing software, or webinar software, and that software is your main cost. A webinar is you talking live on video (presented through a website) while your trainees are listening and typing in comments or questions. To start with webinars or video conferencing, it’s probably cheaper to not own the actual software (and the required servers or internet computers) - unless you’re a really big company. Instead, look at services such as GoToWebinar and WebinarJam which start at $468 and $497 a year, respectively (GoToWebinar has restrictions on the number of attendees and presenters, but also offers a monthly subscription of $49). Picture by Natesh Ramasamy, published under cc. In addition to the software purchase, you need to factor in the costs of preparing the webinar just like any other ‘live’ (or face-to-face) training session. This does not deviate too much from your usual preparation time, for a training session. One estimate for an hour long Instructor-Led Training (ILT) comes down to 34 hours of preparation. Next, we present the cost components of an 8 hour synchronous online training session, e.g. a webinar, for 20 trainees and one trainer - as compared to ‘traditional’ training (which includes travel expenses, etc). As a side note: an 8 hour webinar would be way too long, but this makes it easier to compare the costs with a traditional training session, which usually lasts 4 - 8 hours. Cost Components: Synchronous Training & ‘Traditional’ A. Trainer Cost: Hourly Wage $50 B. Hours of Development & Preparation for One Hour of Training 34 C. Webinar Software Cost (simplified) $50 D. # Trainees 20 E. Trainees’ Hourly Wage $25 F. Lost Productivity / Trainee / Hour $50 G. Travel Expenses / Trainee (Rental Car & Airfare) $300 H. Overnight Stay / Trainee (Meals & Hotel) $150 I. Training Materials / Trainee (Handouts, Binders, etc) $20 J. Training Duration (Hours) 8 How does this all add up? Costs of 8 Hours Synchronous Online Training ‘Traditional’ Synchronous Trainer Cost: J x A $400 $400 Training Development Cost: J x B x A $13,600 $13,600 Cost of Lost Productivity: J x D x F $8000 $8000 Employees in Training: J x D x E $4000 $4000 Software N/A $50 Logistics: D x (G + H + I) = 20 x $470 $9400 N/A Total: $35,400 $26,050 Great, you can save more than $9000 ($35,400 - $26,050 = $9,350) on traveling expenses and such, with the aid of synchronous online training. This means synchronous online training represents an actual saving compared to a ‘traditional’ training session. Now let’s take a look at the other flavor of online training. Asynchronous Online Training Costs With asynchronous online training, such as a self paced online training module, the upfront costs are much higher, but the delivery costs should be lower. As a matter of fact, if trainees can be persuaded to take the training on their own time, the delivery costs are practically zero. (If you’re a trainer and you’re worried about this, see the blog post Cut Your Training Session by Half to find out how you can use online training to your advantage). Picture by Andrea Schaffer, published under cc. In addition, online training materials can double as documentation, reference guides and check lists. There are even more benefits to this kind of online training, but for the cost estimation we’ll try to keep it simple and ignore these. Cost Components: Asynchronous Training & ‘Traditional’ ‘Traditional’ Asynchronous A. Trainer Cost: Hourly Wage $50 $100 B. Hours of Development & Preparation for One Hour of Training 34 220 C. Software Cost / Trainee (simplified) N/A $5 D. # Trainees 20 20 E. Trainees’ Hourly Wage $25 $25 F. Lost Productivity / Trainee / Hour $50 $50 G. Travel Expenses / Trainee (Rental Car & Airfare) $300 N/A H. Overnight Stay / Trainee (Meals & Hotel) $150 N/A I. Training Materials / Trainee (handouts, binders, etc) $20 N/A J. Training Duration (Hours) 8 8 In this table, the difference between the hourly rate for ‘traditional’ trainers and ‘asynchronous online trainers’ (i.e. instructional designers) is striking. And again, the difference between the development time for 1 hour of traditional training versus 1 hour of asynchronous online training is very significant. Let’s run the numbers and what this means for the bottom line. Costs of 8 Hours Asynchronous Online Training ‘Traditional’ Asynchronous Trainer Cost: J x A $400 N/A Training Development Cost: J x B x A $13,600 $176,000 Cost of Lost Productivity: J x D x F $8000 $8000 Employees in Training: J x D x E $4000 $4000 Software: C x D N/A $100 Logistics: D x (G + H + I) = 20 x $470 $9400 N/A Total: $35,400 $188,100 Wait, isn’t online training supposed to save costs? Yes, and it does, provided that: trainees take the online training on their own time; you can spread out the development costs over a large number of trainees the online training is used over a longer period of time (reused) But what if you could drastically lower the costs of asynchronous online training? What if your online training would cost the same to develop as ‘traditional’ training? Let The Trainers Run The Show Picture by Jannes Pockele, published under cc. I believe that trainers are highly professional people, capable of developing their own online training. Let me rephrase that: I know this for a fact because I have seen them do it. So let the trainers take over the role of instructional designers, the folks who used to run the online training show. I also know you don’t need an entire production team to shoot videos and create interactive activities. Nowadays, you should be able to produce 1 hour of online training using the same resources as when developing 1 hour of  traditional training. Just buy a decent camera, microphone and an lms subscription (learning management system - your online training platform) and you’ve covered most of the upfront production and delivery costs. And finally, trainers also have the advantage that they don’t have to start from scratch, when developing online training. They already have their ‘traditional’ training materials. For instance, as a trainer, you can turn your powerpoints into videos with a voice-over. (You can do so much more with online training, but it’s a start). This is how it looks in numbers when trainers create their own online training: Cost Parity Between Asynchronous - & Traditional Training ‘Traditional’ Asynchronous A. Trainer Cost: Hourly Wage $50 $50 B. Hours of Development & Preparation for One Hour of Training 34 34 C. Software Cost / Trainee (simplified) N/A $5 D. # Trainees 20 20 E. Trainees’ Hourly Wage $25 $25 F. Lost Productivity / Trainee / Hour $50 $50 G. Travel Expenses / Trainee (Rental Car & Airfare) $300 N/A H. Overnight Stay / Trainee (Meals & Hotel) $150 N/A I. Training Materials / Trainee (handouts, binders, etc) $20 N/A J. Training Duration (Hours) 8 8 Alright, let’s see how this adds up. Trainers Run The Online Training Show ‘Traditional’ Asynchronous Trainer Cost: J x A $400 N/A Training Development Cost: J x B x A $13,600 $13,600 Cost of Lost Productivity: J x D x F $8000 $8000 Employees in Training: J x D x E $4000 $4000 Software: C x D N/A $100 Logistics: D x (G + H + I) = 20 x $470 $9400 N/A Total: $35,400 $25,700 Picture by Vinoth Chandar, published under cc. This saves you almost $10,000. If employees take the online training on their own time, savings get even more spectacular: more than $21,000 ($35,400 − $13,700 = $21,700). To summarize, online training can be a cost real saver if you keep development time to a minimum. Nowadays, you can do that by using high quality, yet affordable hardware (such as recent cameras and microphones) as well easy to use software, such as a learning management system (lms) which is specifically catered to trainers. Using these tools, you can take your existing training materials to create an engaging online training experience. Sources Estimating Costs and Time in Instructional Design Does e-learning save money? Online Training Cost Savings Calculator (Google spreadsheet, copy first before inputting your own data) Online Training Cost Savings Spreadsheet (MS Excel) The post Dirty Little Secret: Online Training Costs Way Too Much appeared first on TrainerTops Blog.

This article is about the application of constructivism in your e-learning teaching practice using Moodle. With the help of different strategies as how to organize information, the looks, teaching dynamics, gamification, PLEs, and time and desktop management, we’ll ensure: pedagogy, engagement, self regulation, metacognition and brain-based learning.Read it now in EdTechReview.

As a person who believes in the power of community, I have decided to include strategies, tips, and links for my fellow bloggers and freelancers. This page will change from time to time, and I sugg… Source: eccentriceclectic.wordpress.com See on Scoop.it - Educational News and Web Tools

Photo Credit: Christopher Michel, published under CC. Working for a large company or corporation as an employee has certain benefits. The pay is good and there’s usually room to change jobs - without having to update your resume or going for a job search. Much the same goes for selling your training services to large companies and corporations. Once you’re in, you get paid decently and there’s always more work. But how do you get in? How do you market your training business to large companies and corporations? Here are 5 tactics to get you started. Be Yourself, Don’t Pretend to Be Big Build Social Proof First Identify Decision Makers Don’t Do Freebies Accountability Is Extremely Important Be Yourself (Don’t Pretend to Be Big) If you’re a very small training company, you may be tempted to project a much bigger image, or simply to pretend you’re a big company. After all, this is very easy nowadays. Just create a very well designed, very professional looking website. Use a phone answering service. Say ‘we’ all the time instead of ‘I’. But don’t fool yourself, if you actually start working with a customer, they will find out your company’s size at some point. Besides, if they ask you directly "How many employees does your company have?" - and some customers will ask you exactly that - what are you going to do? Lie about it? Big corporations who are willing to cooperate with individual trainers or small training companies don’t care about a ‘big’ image. They’ve already weighed all the pros and cons. So, be upfront about it and put your picture on your website. Because by introducing a human element, you’re actually turning a self-perceived weakness into a strength. You’re not some large training company where the customer never knows who the trainer is going to be for the next training. Your customer will actually get to know you. They will even get to rely on you personally. Build Social Proof And Authority First Photo Credit: Drew Avery, published under CC. To gain the trust of bigger customers, who have the financial means to pick any trainer in the world, you need to build social proof first. It’s very unlikely that any unknown trainer marching into a big office building is going to gain a new customer right then and there. Of course, if you’re actually not unknown, e.g. you have previously worked for a big company as an employed trainer, that is great. Use that connection to get hired back as an independent trainer. That’s all the social proof you need if you start calling other big companies. Otherwise, start small. It’s generally easier to get to talk to the right people in smaller companies. Go there first, do a few successful training sessions, then ask for references. Collect customer stories, work on a few case studies. Once you’ve got your act completely together you then present yourself to bigger companies, showing them the value that you can add. Find an Intermediary Can’t get your foot in the door? Consider working for training and consulting companies as a private contractor. Obviously you have to pick a training company that sends you out to a large company or corporation. Try to find out how the training company is able to land deals with corporations. If the training company is a small one, you may be able to copy (i.e. learn from) their marketing and sales tactics. If they’re a pretty big company themselves, though, you won’t learn much that’s relevant to you as a small contractor. To be absolutely clear here: you’re doing this to gain experience in marketing and sales and to get your name out. But you cannot pick up customers from the intermediary training company. You’d have your name out for sure, but in a very, very bad way. Establish Authority To get your name out in a positive way, it helps tremendously to establish yourself as an authority in your field. You do this by speaking at conferences. Nowadays, you can also use social media like LinkedIn. If you know which LinkedIn groups your potential customers are visiting, get involved there. Contribute to discussions and then start interesting new discussions. One very effective way to launch yourself as an authority is by writing a book. If your book is even slightly successful, you’ll find that previously closed corporate doors will now open. In fact, you may hit a point where people won’t call you any more because they’re assuming you’re too busy. (How ironic is that?) Identify Decision Makers Photo Credit: Christopher Michel, published under CC. Based on your specialty, create a list of suitable corporate companies where you can add the most value. Visit their websites to see if they publish the names of decision makers. For training they might be hr managers. Maybe they are listed in the jobs section of the site, under ‘recruiting’ or ‘career’. If you’ve got a few names, it’s time to put on your private investigator hat. Try to find them online. See if they have published their email address anywhere. Maybe they’re visiting the same LinkedIn groups as you do. Once you’ve got their contact data, send them a message (either through email or through LinkedIn) and try to get on the phone with them. At this stage, you must have your customer stories and case studies at hand. Of course, both online and offline, the best introduction is one made by a mutual acquaintance. Ask you current customers if they know anybody else who would benefit from your training services. Don’t Do Freebies If you’re just starting out, especially if you’re younger, you’re guaranteed to encounter this situation. You call a decision maker in a corporation, let’s say a bank. And lo and behold, you’re actually invited for a meeting. You get there very well prepared and you have a nice conversation about the value you can add through your training. In other words: you both agree that your training solves a real problem. The hr manager smiles and nods. Then you bring up the topic of compensation. Now the manager says: "We can’t pay you. You should be glad that you get to work for us, so you can get a reference from us. Being able to mention our brand name is a great opportunity for your career and your business." Don’t fall for this. Nor for any other requests for freebies. If they think your training adds value, they’ll be willing to pay for it too. Otherwise, why would they waste their employees’ time with your training? Accountability Is Extremely Important Photo Credit: McKay Savage, published under CC. The people who are hiring you, presumably the ones you identified as decision makers, are taking a risk on you. Make sure that you don’t disappoint them. What’s more, provide them with evidence that you have added value for the company, that you have solved their problem. Ideally, you start with a pre-test to measure current skills and knowledge. During the training sessions, keep accurate attendance records. After the training, test the trainees’ skills and knowledge again. If you don’t see enough of an improvement, try to pinpoint the problem and discuss it openly. This is something you should do for all types of customers, but corporate managers will want to see detailed reports from you (even if they don’t always actually read them). So, make sure that you can provide those reports.     The post Going Corporate: How to Market Your Training Business to Large Companies & Corporations appeared first on TrainerTops Blog.

Managing Your Digital Footprint: Think Before You Post. Digital footprint refers to the compilation of content on the Internet that can be associated with you and, thus, potentially available to anyone performing a search on you. The list of possible content visible online is endless (e.g., your family videos on YouTube, your comments on a news article or blog, vacation photos on Flickr, your posts on Facebook and Twitter). Please watch the video below, "Understanding Your Digital Footprint" and then write a blog post based on the questions below. UnderstandingDigitalFootprint from Mr. Kirsch on Vimeo. Blog Prompt Questions: Why should you be concerned about the information available online about you? Can you do anything to manage your digital footprint? How does a person take control of their privacy? Why should people manage their interactions with others on Social Media? Do you think is "wise" to use caution on social media and networking websites? Why or Why Not?  Please make sure you post your written blog response by Friday, January 30, 2015 by 5pm. Your responses to this post should be a minimum of 5-6 sentences for each question.  For More Information: MaximumPC: How To Erase Your Digital Footprint: http://www.maximumpc.com/article/features/how_erase_your_digital_footprint Washington Post: Beware of Privacy Policies: Time to Clean Up Your Digital Footprint: http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/beware-of-privacy-policies-time-to-hide-your-digital-footprint/2012/01/31/gIQADI7PnQ_story.html