By Blog Editor Susan Wells As the back to school season starts, what types of feelings are stirred up? For me, it was always a mixture of excitement and joy over new clothes and school supplies and a knot in my stomach knowing I was headed into a new class with a new teacher. There were so many unknowns and stresses placed in that first day of school. While some kids are ready and eager to return to school, many face a plethora of fears and aren’t ready to say goodbye to the freedom of summer. Our Steve Spangler Science First Days of School Kit not only contains activities to turn students into friends, but also engages the kids and gets them excited about learning. If you are a teacher, you know how difficult it is to enthrall a new classroom of students who have spent long lazy days dulling their minds in the sunshine. How do you grab their minds, shake some oohs, ahhs and laughter out of them, and become the coolest teacher in the school? The First Days of School kit is packed with several Steve Spangler experiments and science toys. If it makes it to the dinner table, you win! Windbag Wonders Team Building Activity Give each student a Windbag and ask them to blow it up as fast as they can. How many breaths will it take to inflate the 8-foot-long bag? The kids will blow and blow and blow and swear that it’s impossible. It may seem that way, until you share a little secret called Bernoulli’s Principle. Inflate the bag in front of them with one breath. Now divide the students into groups of three to five and have them inflate the Windbags. Ask the students to create a free standing structure. The highest structure wins the challenge. As a chorus of laughter and chatter erupts, the students will be so engaged, they will forget all about missing mom or dad. They may even meet a new friend or two.   Do You Trust Me?  Before the students arrive in the classroom, set up by adding 1/2 a teaspoon of Water Gel in a styrofoam cup. Fill a pitcher of water and set it aside. When the students come into the classroom, choose a volunteer. Have the volunteer hold the cup above eye level while you fill it. Don’t let them see inside. The Water Gel is a special powder that is similar to the polymer found in baby diapers. When you pour the water in the cup, the powder will absorb it. Talk about the idea of trust and say "If you give me your trust this year, I promise to teach you things that will change your life forever!" Now hold the cup over the student’s head and poke pencils through the cup. Have the student promise not to runaway, and warn, "you may get wet, but I really need my pencils back." Pull the pencils out of the cup. The water will appear to have vanished and the room will fill with shouts of "how did you DO that??" Before you give yourself away, have the students make guesses as to what happened to the water. Get them asking questions and making predictions. Now that’s the science of leadership! Rainbow Friendship Bead Bracelets Give each student five or so Color Changing UV Beads and a pipe cleaner. Ask them to string the white beads and make a bracelet with the pipe cleaner around their wrist. The beads will remain white until exposed to ultra-violet light, like sunlight. The secret is a pigment in the beads that responds to UV light waves. Remove them from sunlight, and they return to their white color. You may want to "forget" to tell them that the beads have this special power and instead send them home or out to recess with the bracelets to discover on their own. Fuel their curiosity by asking the students how and why they change color. Then use the beads for one or more of these great metaphors and life lessons - B.E.A.D.S = Becoming Enthusiastic and Dedicated Students The beads are a celebration of diversity - diversity is often hidden in the brightest source of light. The beads are a metaphor for a person’s true colors. True colors are a person’s inner strengths, willingness to help out, a giving heart, compassion for others or being truthful. A person’s true colors may not be visible at first, but character traits may come out in life situations. The First Days of School Kit comes complete with an Activity Guide packed with science experiments, connections to life lessons and scientific principles. The kit is aimed at making those first days of school energetic and unforgettable by using teamwork, sharing, goal setting, reasoning and creative thinking. 30 Windbags Approximately 250 Energy Beads (Assorted Colors) 100g jar of Water Gel™ 50g jar of Jelly Marbles 3 styrofoam cups 30 pipe cleaners First Days of School Activity Guide     The post Easing the Fears and Anxieties Through Team Building During the First Days of School appeared first on Steve Spangler.

Our focus at Steve Spangler Science is teaching hands-on science - don’t read just about it in a text book, touch it, see it and live it. That’s where discoveries are made and real learning begins. Some are challenging that focus on teaching science and pushing for more of a foundation in content before going into the lab.  Daniel Willingham (Why Don’t Students Like School?) believes elementary students in particular are novices and are therefore unable to think like a scientist. The only people able to think like scientists are the expert scientists themselves, believes Willingham. Willingham argues that the only way to become an expert is to have a strong foundation in the field coupled with years of practice and experience. He believes students should write poetry and perform science experiments, but they will not have meaningful and memorable lab experiences until they become a real scientist. Katherine Beals (Raising a Left-Brain Child in a Right-Brain World) explains that labs are essential for the advancement of science, but questions if they are needed to learn what has already been discovered. In other words, is it better for students to study, hypothesize and question about a specific lab topic and then instead of performing it themselves, read about the experts’ findings? She questions if there is a purpose in re-enacting experiments that have been done over and over. The results have already been discovered, so why have students go through the same motions? We now teach in a world with science videos, science apps and a plethora of scientific knowledge at our fingertips. There are even programs that will step students through complete labs without the students ever having to touch a pea seed, smell formaldahyde or measure a chemical. Virtual labs calculate the results based on past experiments and give students the data they need while saving money on materials and time spent in the lab. There are the students out there that will jump up and down about this type of learning. They will step through the exciting parts of the lab without actually having to do it. But what about those who love putting on the lab glasses and gloves and diving into smelly, messy science to watch their results come alive in front of them? Even if a result has been proven again and again, isn’t there something in letting novice students make their own discoveries? A picture of Elephant’s Toothpaste is cool, but observing it shoot into the air and then smelling the reaction is something you can’t get out of a book. Science is explosive, olfactory and incredibly visual. It’s also tedious, boring at times, full of research and writing and results don’t always come out as expected. Shouldn’t students of all ages get the opportunity to experience a slice of what the expert scientists live everyday? Just like reading the real Declaration of Independence with the actual signatures of our founding fathers while standing in the National Archives makes a deeper impression than looking at a copy in a book. What are your thoughts about hands-on vs. building a deeper foundation before reaching for that lab coat? What creates memorable experiences for students?     The post Is the Hands-on Approach Really the Best Way to Learn Science? appeared first on Steve Spangler.

Steve Spangler visited the set of The Doctors Science Lab this week to share lessons on the science behind some health discomforts…   With Steve as their lab instructor, The Doctors donned their lab coats and went to work. They used Red Cabbage Indicator, Milk of Magnesia, giant flasks and a few ‘glubs’ of vinegar to demonstrate how antacids work and the classic Elephant’s Toothpaste demonstration to show what happens with food poisoning in the stomach. The Science of How Antacids Work  Antacids have to be one of the most popular over-the-counter medications that help control indigestion and heartburn. The active ingredient in most antacids is magnesium-hydroxide. It works to buffer and turn the liquids in the stomach from an acid to a neutral. When an acidic food that can cause heartburn is eaten, the antacid goes to work to neutralize it. For the occasional episode, it’s okay to use antacids to calm heartburn and indigestion. It is not a good idea to take them every day or after every meal like it was once thought. Our stomachs are designed to be acidic to digest food and function properly. The Science of Food Poisoning You’ve eaten something that wasn’t quite right - it sat out too long or was contaminated in some way. Your stomach feels like it is going to explode in all directions and you begin praying to the porcelain gods. To demonstrate what is happening inside the digestive tract, Steve used graduated cylinders to act as the stomach. When the "bad food" was introduced to the stomach, it reacted naturally, by quickly expelling the bad stuff fast. Vomiting and diarrhea are the two ways in which your body gets rid of the bacteria or virus. As cool (and smelly and hot) as this experiment is, it is best to leave it to the professionals like chemistry teachers. For more information about the Monster Foam Elephant’s Toothpaste demonstration and a kid-friendly Elephant’s Toothpaste that everyone can do at home, click the experiment links. The post The Science Behind on The Doctors Science Lab appeared first on Steve Spangler.

In his 15th appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show today, Steve Spangler brought a few of his science tricks to the talk show. Steve made yet another colossal mess on Ellen’s set as he rigged 60 leaf blowers with 60 toilet paper rolls to launch at the same time. When Ellen pushed the button, the studio was instantly swallowed up by flying toilet paper as a demonstration of Bernoulli’s Principle. Ellen also demonstrated centripetal force by swinging a tub of water over her head. To watch The Ellen Show in its entirety, check your local listings. The post Steve Spangler Toilet Papers The Ellen DeGeneres’ Studio appeared first on Steve Spangler.

Bullying makes the news almost every week. It exists in schools, sports fields, playground and online. We’ve also recently learned bullying is also present in professional organizations like the NFL. Children who are bullied tend to withdraw and suffer emotional scars. In extreme cases, some become so desperate, they take their own lives. Steve sat down with professional speaker and certified professional coach Laurie Flasko to talk about bullying and what we can do as parents and teachers to put a stop to it. In her book, Bullying Is Not a Game, A Parents’ Survival Guide, Flasko shares advice and tips for parents on how to help their child get through bullying and survive. If you aren’t sure if your child is being bullied, watch for some telltale signs like a change in their personality. Are they suddenly secretive and withdrawn? Do they hide their email and online activity? Have their friends stopped coming over? Children who are being bullied may be afraid and don’t want to talk to their teachers or parents. You may need to reach out to your child and help them feel secure in talking to you. But don’t drill them. Then talk to the teacher and school about next steps. For teachers, Flasko says their relationship is very important. Know your students and watch them for sudden personality changes or behavior. A good student who stops turning in homework or falls behind quickly may be a sign. When you see something or after a student comes to you about a bullying event, address it quickly and keep the informer anonymous. Do not bring the two kids together unless the bully wants to apologize and the bullied child is okay with sitting down. For more tips, support and help, sign up for Flasko’s Bully Tip of the Week. Here are some additional resources for bullying help - National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 1-800-273-TALK (8255) National Suicide Prevention Lifeline Bullying Website StopBullying.gov  StompOutBullying.com BullyHelp.org The post Bullying Is Not a Game appeared first on Steve Spangler.

"Doing experiments with household items makes science accessible to the masses." - Don Herbert This picture was taken in 1998 when Don Herbert received an honorary doctorate from Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Connecticut. I was invited to speak at his ceremony as we celebrated a man and his passion for inspiring young minds to learn more about science. A reporter from the Smithsonian Magazine contacted me several months ago wanting to talk the influential role Mr. Wizard played in shaping and molding my career as a professional science communicator today. Don Herbert paved the way for many of us who find great joy in communicating the wonders of science to public audiences whether it’s at our local museum, a science festival or even a television talkshow. Here’s a classic clip from Don Herbert’s original Watch Mr. Wizard show, circa 1952. Here’s the strange thing… I never saw an original Mr. Wizard Show on television during the 1950s or 60s. I’m one of those kids who grew up in the 70s when science was something you studied in school. It wasn’t until 1990 (I was in my mid 20s) that I watched Mr. Wizard’s World on cable television and I truly understood the depth of his Mr. Wizard’s genius. While it was easy to be mesmerized by the kooky science demonstrations, I was drawn to watching and learning from the techniques Don Herbert used to engage his "helpers" and the viewers watching at home. His style was calm and laid back. The focus was on the curiosity at hand and not one-liners or goofy bits of business. Yet, his experiments and the experiences he created were so entertaining. Don Herbert understood the science of engagement. In 1991 I was approached by NBC television to host a science segment on a program called News for Kids. Remember, this was pre "Bill Nye the Science Guy" or "Beakman’s World." As I worked with the producers and writers to plan the look and feel of the segment, something inside told me to find Don Herbert and see if he might give me some advice. In this pre-internet age, the search tool of choice was the phone, and it took about two days to finally track him down. Don was so kind and generous with his time on the phone, and his advice truly surprised me. "Don’t let them put you in a lab coat if you don’t want to look like a doctor or research scientist… just be yourself," Mr. Wizard told me with real conviction in his voice. "Kids don’t want to see a character… they want to see someone who is genuinely excited about the science you’re presenting. If you’re excited, they will be excited… and that’s the greatest gift you can ever give someone." But the most important piece of advice Mr. Wizard ever gave me was this… "Don’t ever let the gee-whiz over-shadow the content you’re trying to teach." In other words, it’s so easy to get caught up in the erupting foam or exploding egg or bubbling concoction that you forget to actually teach some science. "Use the gee-whiz to grab their attention and then do something meaningful with it." I was excited to follow-up with Don and share some of the episodes from my science segment on News for Kids that were inspired by the man himself. A popular guest on the Johnny Carson Show and later on David Letterman, Don Herbert was truly an inspiration to an entire generation of science enthusiasts and career scientists. This video is from David Letterman’s first show on NBC in 1982 when Mr. Wizard was a guest. You’ll notice that Don isn’t wearing a goofy tie-dye lab coat pretending to be a zany character. Instead, he’s just a guy who is passionate about sharing the wonders of science. If I tried to recreate any of these experiment on television today, producers would be eager to make the demonstrations bigger with more wow-factor and pizzazz. Yet, there’s something really cool about just sharing the experiment. Take a look… A large collection of his documents and photos were recently donated to the Archives Center of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History by Herbert’s step-daughter and her husband, Kristen and Tom Nikosey. A small selection from the archive is on display through October 2, 2015, in the museum’s newly renovated west wing, but the bulk of the materials are available by appointment. Read the entire article from the Smithsonian Magazine entitled Meet Mr. Wizard, Television’s Original Science Guy. Read the article from Speaker Magazine from February 2012…   The post How Mr. Wizard Inspired Me - A Conversation with Smithsonian Magazine appeared first on Steve Spangler.

Mark Koebrich & Steve Spangler - 16 Years of Making Science Fun on Television Written by @SteveSpangler | February 29, 2016 I learned everything I know about television from Mark Koebrich Television can be a strange world, especially when you’re a science teacher who is hired to present a weekly science segment at Denver’s #1 television station. Did I mention that I had no formal television training? I’m not exactly sure why Mark Koebrich took me under his wing on my first day, but I’ll be forever grateful that he did. From day one, Mark taught me words to live by… make it big, do it right, give it class. As Mark wraps up his career in television, I wanted to take a quick look back on the many ways Mark taught me everything I know about being on television. Mark Koebrich was a television celebrity when I was a teenager growing up in Denver. 9NEWS KUSA was the #1 station (and still is) and Mark was the guy everyone loved. He knew the secret to engaging his viewers with great writing, impactful stories and a personality that jumped off the screen. He was passionate about reporting the news and loved doing it. He was and continues to be the same amazing person you see on and off camera. You can imagine my excitement and nervousness when he welcomed me on my first day and said, "Television is easy. Just have fun and the viewers will love what you’re doing. Remember… I’m here to help you find your groove… we’re a team." Looking back on the last 16 years, Mark was right… we were a team. By my own best estimate, Mark and I teamed up for nearly 800 television segments, and he was always game for any idea that I would pitch on Monday morning. "I think it’s best if you don’t tell me what’s going to happen. Let me be surprised and I think the viewers will love it." Mark was right… the viewers did love it. Monday afternoon became must-see-tv for people who couldn’t wait to watch Mark accept his next science challenge. I remember writing a segment about the science of inertia using eggs and empty toilet paper tubes. The challenge was to knock the tray out of the way in hopes that the eggs landed safely in the drinking glasses. Remember, this is live television and I was a little uncertain as to whether or not Mark would say yes to doing it. What if it didn’t work? Would he look bad if the eggs broke? Without hesitation, Mark whipped off his jacket and told me to get out of his way. He landed the eggs perfectly! It’s hard to believe that eggs and toilet paper tubes could seal the deal, but something happened that day that changed everything. We had chemistry on camera. After successfully knocking the eggs into the glasses, Mark made a funny gesture with his arms that eventually became his signature move. Everyone in the newsroom loved it. You would have thought that he had just won the lottery as he ran around the room accepting high fives from everyone. This guy loved doing science demonstrations and I had just made a new best friend. Maybe the best lessons I ever learned from Mark Koebrich happened during the moments you didn’t see on television. I watched and learned how Mark welcomed guests to the studio and helped ease their nerves before their big debut on television. He taught me how to write copy, pitch ideas to the producer, respond to viewer e-mail with class, take criticism, offer suggestions, make time for anyone who visited the station, laugh at myself, support co-workers, thank the people behind the camera who make you look good, how to properly wear a microphone and even how to put on make-up. Even in the most stressful of times, Mark made the job look easy and fun. I couldn’t be more thankful for these amazing gifts. Anyone who has watched our Spangler Science segments on 9NEWS over the years knows that my three boys grew up on television with Mark Koebrich. My oldest son, Jack, took a liking to "Mr. Koebrich" during his first appearance when he convinced the nice man to touch the ball filled with static electricity. When Mark reached out and got zapped with bolt of electricity, little Jack Spangler said, "See Mr. Koebrich, you have to be careful with science." Jack would run across the newsroom and jump in to Mark’s arms every time he was on the show. And Jack was quick to introduce his twin brothers to Mr. Koebrich as soon as they were old enough to sit on the counter. It’s a bitter sweet day for me and my family to see Mark ride off into the sunset after so many years together doing every imaginable science experiment on 9NEWS. These pictures are but a few of my favorite memories of a colleague and friend who helped me find the most entertaining ways to make science fun. The one thing that I won’t have to worry about is finding a retirement gift. After ruining countless shirts and ties and burning holes in three perfectly good suits, I know that he’ll put the Nordstrom gift card to good use. Or maybe I’ll throw caution to the wind and make him one of those flaming wallets. Good idea. Share this postShare on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on PinterestShare on LinkedinShare on TumblrShare on RedditShare by Mail The post Mark Koebrich Retires After 16 Years with Steve Spangler on Television appeared first on Steve Spangler.

Steve Spangler’s Egg Drop Contest Weather & Science Day - Coors Field - April 28, 2016 We’re excited to announce the Steve Spangler Science Egg Drop Contest on April 28th at Weather & Science Day. It’s the ultimate STEM challenge in front of 10,000 science enthusiasts at Weather & Science Day at Coors Field, hosted by the Colorado Rockies, 9NEWS, Colorado State University and Steve Spangler Science. [avia_codeblock_placeholder uid="0"] The three winning schools will be contacted on Monday, April 4, 2016. 9NEWS Science Guy Steve Spangler will also announce the three winning schools during the 4 O’Clock Show on April 4, 2016. Be sure to watch! The goal of the traditional egg drop contest is to combine your knowledge of science, technology, engineering and math with creative packaging design to keep a raw chicken egg from breaking as it plunges to the ground below. What makes this contest exciting is the location of the launch site - Coors Field in downtown Denver, Colorado, home of the Colorado Rockies. But how will Steve Spangler’s team hoist your egg-protecting contraption to the height of 60 feet and let it go, landing in the middle of Coors Field? Steve has enlisted the help of his good friends at Edge of Space Science to give the egg some lift. Watch the video above… Egg Drop Contest Guidelines You can’t have an egg drop contest without some rules. These rules are somewhat different from other contests you might have experienced at school due to the special location of the event. While the ultimate goal is the egg’s survival (no cracking), points will be awarded for creativity and innovation as well. The Steve Spangler Science team will select three schools to participate in the event based on the list of participants who have already purchased tickets to attend the event on April 28, 2016. Only those schools who have been selected and received written confirmation from the Spangler team will be allowed to participate in the Egg Drop Contest. Each of the three participating schools will receive an official box from Steve Spangler Science to house your design. The exact dimensions of the box are 11.25" x 8.75" x 8". You must use the supplied box (referred to as the "package"). No part of your egg protecting design can extend outside the supplied box. No parachutes are allowed. The egg will be a standard, large-size, raw chicken egg. The judges will be responsible for purchasing the eggs and will give each team an egg on the day of the event. The egg will be examined by the 9NEWS judges prior to being placed in the package. Please make sure that your design allows for the egg to be placed in the package right before the beginning of the competition. The egg cannot be modified in any way prior to being placed in the package. The box will be attached to a weather balloon by the experts at Edge of Space Science. The balloon will be hoisted to a height of 60 feet and popped. The box will land on the grass in center field. While the ultimate goal is to design special packaging to keep the egg from breaking, points will be awarded for creativity and innovation of the package design. If you have any questions, please contact Bryan Higgins at 303.798.2778 or e-mail bryan@stevespangler.com The post Science and Weather Day 2016 - Egg Drop Contest appeared first on Steve Spangler.

PRESS RELEASE  |  April 16, 2016  |  Media Contact -  Carly Reed - 303.720.1389 - carly@stevespangler.com Steve Spangler Takes His Exploding Hands-on Science Show to the USA Science and Engineering Festival in Washington, D.C. Flying Toilet Paper, Exploding Ping-Pong Balls and 2,500 Giant Balloons DENVER - Best-selling author, television host and Emmy award-winning science communicator Steve Spangler will take stage at the USA Science & Engineering Festival to share a few of his favorite science experiments from his popular YouTube channel called SICK Science and his regular appearances on the Ellen Show. Steve Spangler will take the stage at the US Science & Engineering Festival in Washington, DC on Saturday, April 16, 2016 during the morning general session. While no one knows exactly what Steve has up his sleeve, we do know that there’s a truck-load of ping pong balls and giant balloons awaiting his arrival. UPDATE: If you cannot attend the event in person, meet up with Steve live on the Science Channel Facebook page on Saturday, April 16 at 10:00 AM Eastern Standard Time. Making Science Fun at Home Spangler started his career as a science teacher in Colorado where he quickly saw the need for teaching parents how to make science fun at home. "It’s our job as science teachers to spark a child’s curiosity and challenge their inquisitive nature," said Spangler who taught in the public schools for thirteen years. "The role that parents play in nurturing that curiosity and sense of wonder is crucial to the success of the STEM movement all across the country." Outside of the classroom, Spangler found his niche as a science communicator on television in the 1990s and was quick to jump on the YouTube bandwagon during its initial launch in 2005. That’s why Spangler is probably best known internationally for teaching millions of people how to turn a bottle of soda and a roll of Mentos into an erupting geyser of fun. Connect with @SteveSpangler Online or Visit Booth #6536 Meet Steve after his stage show on Saturday at booth #6536. For more information about the festival, visit USAScienceFestival.org. To learn more about Steve Spangler and his new television show, visit SteveSpanglerScience.com or follow him at @stevespangler. UPDATE: If you cannot attend the event in person, meet up with Steve live on the Science Channel Facebook page on Saturday, April 16 at 10:00 AM Eastern Standard Time. The post USA Science and Engineering Festival - 2016 - Steve Spangler Shares His Passion for Making Science Fun appeared first on Steve Spangler.

PRESS RELEASE | Media Contact -  Carly Reed - 303.720.1389 - carly@stevespangler.com YouTube Star Steve Spangler to Host New Science Television Show Spangler Joins Line-up of SRP’s Syndicated Xploration Station on FOX PHILADELPHIA — Steve Rotfeld Productions (SRP) announced today that YouTube star and Ellen Show regular Steve Spangler will be joining its 3-hour E/I (Educational and Informational) syndication block Xploration Station as the host of the new series DIY Sci. The do-it-yourself, pop- science show is set to debut this fall across the country on Fox affiliates. The interactive series will follow Spangler as he uses "everyday" items to turn the world around him into a fun and unexpected laboratory. In each episode, he will demonstrate mind-blowing science experiments and explain how they connect to real-world innovations. "I’m so thrilled to be joining Xploration Station because my passion has always been to find the most creative ways to make science fun, and that’s exactly what this science block is all about," said Spangler, who is a two-time Emmy award recipient and holds a Guinness World Record for the largest physics lesson. "DIY Sci gives us the opportunity to use eye-catching STEM experiences to inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers." "Steve has the unique ability to make science fun, funny, and entertaining, while at the same time educating viewers. He is the ideal addition to Xploration Station," said Steve Rotfeld, SRP’s president. DIY Sci will premiere alongside new nature and technology series Xploration: Nature Knows Best, hosted by marine biologist Danni Washington. They join Xploration Awesome Planet, hosted by environmentalist Philippe Cousteau; Xploration Outer Space, hosted by aeronautics expert Emily Calandrelli; Xploration Earth 2050, hosted by futurist Chuck Pell; and Xploration FabLab, a series that shows how science and technology are making the world a better place. DIY Sci and Xploration: Nature Knows Best are the newest additions to the recently expanded and critically acclaimed block of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) shows airing mainly on FOX stations throughout the country. In addition to the FOX Station Group, Xploration Station airs on Tribune’s FOX affiliates, and Sinclair’s FOX affiliates. These groups, plus others, combine to deliver Xploration Station in over 85% of the country for 2016/17. DIY Sci and Xploration: Nature Knows Best will also be distributed on Hulu and Amazon Prime. Xploration Station premiered in 2014 as a two-hour block. Three of the four series have been nominated for Daytime Emmy Awards and all four shows were named in Common Sense Media’s (CSM) Best Science Shows for Kids. CSM is the country’s largest family advocacy and media ratings group. SRP has been producing and distributing cable and network TV shows programming for 25 years. In addition to Xploration Station, President Steve Rotfeld has produced shows including The Haney Project on Golf Channel, Wild Weddings for TLC, Wild About Animals, Awesome Adventures, The Lighter Side of Sports for ESPN, and Greatest Sports Legends for which he won an Emmy Award. The post Steve Spangler to Host New Series - DIY Sci appeared first on Steve Spangler.

It’s time to get serious about playing because when it comes to eLearning, gamification isn't just for fun. While it’s commonly assumed that gamifying your eLearning courses is merely a pleasant distraction or attention grabber, it is far more useful tool than people tend to give it credit for.  According to educational video game designer Marc Prensky "students now learn differently than students did even a generation ago" and "you can't hold people's attention the way you used to." And because of this attention problem, games are becoming more important than ever in making effective eLearning courses for the actual and coming generations. As gamification makes seemingly mundane tasks fun, using it appropriately can boost participation rates in eLearning courses, increase employee motivation and even improve retention. In this post we will take an in-depth look at why gamification can make your eLearning courses more engaging and effective. 

Darcy Nicolson is a learning and technology expert and a regular contributor to eWorks’ blog. Passionate about lifelong learning, Darcy focuses on improving the use of media and technology to enable better personal development and learning outcomes - regardless of the age of the learner. Today he talks about how to motivate adult learners. What … Continue reading Motivating adult learners: what is andragogy?

If you’re looking to scale up your online course business, but you find that you don’t have time to create more courses, try bringing on co-instructors! While you work on marketing the business, your co-instructors can create more courses and you can split revenue with them. Are you looking to share revenue on your Thinkific online courses? If you are, you can use our share revenue feature to assign a specific commission to co-owners or co-creators or co-instructors on your courses. So what we call these is product payees, so they are people who are part owners of a product with you and you’re going to pay them out based on some kind of revenue split that you’ve assigned to them and our share revenue feature makes that super easy to do. So you just pick the product, pick the person that you want to share the revenue with, or multiple people if you want and then you can assign a different commission each person. And we actually keep track of all of that information for you so you don’t have to worry about it, you can view reports on it, you can track your payables and you can record your payments when you make them. It all makes it very very easy if you’re looking to share revenue. And if you aren’t already doing this, it’s definitely something that you might want to check out. You can go and collaborate with other people to create a single course together, you can have someone else create a course for you and then you just handle the marketing and hosting it on your site, or you can even create it and have other people market it. And that’s another way you can go and share revenue. So sharing revenue, very easy to set up and do with our share revenue feature, hope you enjoy it. Check it out. The post Teach Online TV #27: Share Revenue With Partner Course Instructors appeared first on Thinkific.

People create online courses for a number of different reasons. Some people do it simply because they are passionate about a specific topic and want to share what they know with others. Some people do it to make some extra money online to supplement their current income.  And some people do it to build to teach and inspire thousands of people around the world, and build a highly lucrative online business in the process. Elizabeth Rider is one of those people. Best known for her fun and accessible approach to food and healthy living, Elizabeth Rider is a leading nutrition and whole living expert who teaches women around the world how to become healthier and more successful. And to say that she’s doing a great job would be, well… an understatement. Elizabeth’s blog, where she shares healthy recipes and straight-forward nutrition advice, draws over 2 million readers per year. The Psychology Of Eating named her website as a Top Health Coach Blog, and List Nutrition called her site a Top 20 Nutrition Blog. She is a Certified Holistic Health Coach (Integrative Nutrition), a TEDx speaker, and regular contributor to numerous publications including The Huffington Post, MindBodyGreen, and TheDailyLove. Elizabeth is also a very successful online instructor. Thousands of people have taken her online courses, including her signature programs Clean Up Your Diet™, Purpose To Profit™ and The Wellness Business Bootcamp™. And she doesn’t just teach people online. Elizabeth regularly speaks on stages around the world, and mentors scores of business owners each year to seek and live life on their own terms. Inspired by her success, we decided to speak with Elizabeth to learn more about her journey as an entrepreneur and online instructor. After all, anyone who builds seven-figure online business from scratch using an iPhone and a laptop is bound to have learned some valuable lessons along the way. So how did she manage to build such a successful business and design an amazing lifestyle in the process? It turns out that it all started with her blog… How @elizabethrider built a 7-figure health and wellness business online. #teachonlineClick To Tweet Turning her blog into a business Elizabeth has been a health coach for five years, but her passion for health and wellness began before that. That passion led her to start a blog seven years ago, which at first was just a way for her to share her insights, nutrition tips and healthy recipes with anyone who was interested in reading them. "I have been blogging for about seven years, so blogging is what really started my business", she told us. Orange Photograpie In the beginning, her goal wasn’t necessarily to build a business from her blog, but as her articles began to attract more and more readers, she started to look for ways to monetize that exposure. "I realized I needed to start selling something in order to stay in business", Elizabeth explains. "People think that bloggers get paid a bunch of money, but they don’t. There’s no magic blogging God paying us." With a background in health and nutrition, Elizabeth didn’t have any formal training in online business or marketing, so she started looking for resources to help her learn how to build her business. When she stumbled upon an online course by Marie Forleo, it was exactly what she needed at the time. "I didn’t know a lot about online marketing in the beginning", says Elizabeth. "I took a course from Marie Forleo called B-School. I’m actually one of her affiliates now, so I take people through her course every year because I learned so much from her." Around that time, Elizabeth was considering monetizing her blog by placing banner ads on it. This way, each time one of her readers clicked on an ad on her blog, she would earn some money. The problem with this strategy, as she learned from Marie Forleo, was that it takes a lot of traffic to generate significant ad revenue from a blog, and more importantly, whenever someone clicks on an ad, they leave your website. "I never really understood how people made money with ads because the pay per click is so low. You have to have a very high-traffic website", she explains. "What Marie taught me was that the reason ads are so detrimental to your business and your blog is because they take people off of your site and they forget about you. So not only do you not get paid very much for them, they take people off of your site." Instead of trying to monetize her blog with ads for other people’s products and services, Elizabeth decided to leverage her existing knowledge and experience by creating her own products and services. "It was when I took B-School that I was introduced to content marketing, and the whole idea that you can use your knowledge to create a product", says Elizabeth. "I had just taken my health coaching course right before that so it all kind of came together at the same time for me." From blogging to teaching online. An inspiring story of @elizabethrider #teachonlineClick To Tweet Offering 1-on-1 coaching services One of the first steps Elizabeth took towards monetizing her expertise was to offer 1-on-1 coaching services to her blog readers. Coaching others was definitely more profitable than placing ads on her blog would have been, but it didn’t take long for her to realize that by trading her time to coach people on an individual basis immediately placed a limit on her earning potential. "I was offering health coaching services, and I only did 1-on-1 coaching for about 6 months because I realized it was very time intensive and you don’t get paid a lot because you’re only helping one person at a time", she explains. But the time she spent coaching her clients 1-on-1 did prove to be beneficial because it basically provided her with an outline for creating her first online course. "I realized that I was saying the same thing to everybody I was coaching, and that’s what my online program turned out to be", says Elizabeth. "So it was good to do 1-on-1 coaching for a while but I really just left like a record on repeat because I was answering the same questions. So I just took everything that people were asking me in the 1-on-1 sessions and turned it into an online program." Once she had her first online course created, she stopped offering 1-on-1 coaching services in order to focus exclusively on creating and selling more online courses. "I don’t do any 1-on-1 coaching any more, just my online program", Elizabeth explains. "And I always tell people when they ask me about 1-on-1 coaching that it would be about 10-15 times more expensive to do the 1-on-1 coaching and you’ll learn more in my online program because every time somebody asked me something new, I added to the online program. I haven’t had anybody got through the online program and still have questions afterwards." The problem with coaching is you only help one person at a time. @elizabethrider #teachonlineClick To Tweet Creating and selling her online courses Before Elizabeth started using Thinkific to create and sell her online courses, she was using various WordPress plugins to add her course content to her website. After receiving the payment for her course from a student, she would email them the links to her video lessons. "I actually started selling courses about four years ago", she told us. "I tried some different WordPress plugins and then that got really complicated. I was using MailChimp email auto responders but it was a very manual and time-intensive process." One of the reasons Elizabeth made the switch to Thinkific was because so she no longer wanted to use her WordPress website to host her courses. "I liked that Thinkific was hosted outside of my WordPress site, because I already get so much traffic and adding to the traffic would bog down the site", she explains. "I love WordPress and it’s such a great platform for blogging, but when you try to add plugins it can get a little challenging." Another reason why Elizabeth chose to use Thinkific was because it was very user-friendly, both for her as a course creator and for her students. Spending less time dealing with the technical aspects of creating online courses gave her more time to focus on creating new content and marketing her business. "One of the challenges with content marketing is not only do you have to come up with the content, you have to find a way to deliver it that makes it easy for the user", says Elizabeth. "If the delivery is challenging for a user it doesn’t matter how good your content is. So I needed something that was user friendly for me as the creator but also for the student." If the delivery is challenging, it doesn’t matter how good your content is. @elizabethrider …Click To Tweet The video lessons in Elizabeth’s courses were created by recording her computer screen as she spoke into her microphone while presenting PowerPoint slides. "The videos in my courses are actually screen recordings", she says. "I would just create a PowerPoint with the information and then I use Snagit from TechSmith to do screen recordings." This method of course creation, according to Elizabeth, is easier than recording live video footage. "Creative people tend to create on the fly, so it gets really challenging as a creative person and somebody who is creating content when we have to stop and wait for someone to come over and video us. I would like to that kind of stuff in the future but right now it’s mostly screen recordings." A part of the decision to do screen recordings for her video lessons instead of live video footage stems from Elizabeth’s desire to provide her students with an effective learning experience. "Most people are watching me from their iPhones or on a tablet or a laptop or something. So doing the whole high definition and professional video shoot can be beneficial, but people want your information", she explains. "I think people learn really well with the PowerPoint slides and your voice because they’re reading and they’re hearing you at the same time." That being said, she doesn’t include all of her content in her PowerPoint slides. Instead, she includes bullet points and then expands upon those points vocally. She also includes images throughout her presentations to make them more engaging and visually attractive.  "I don’t put all of the words that I’m saying on the PowerPoint slides - just some high level bullet points and maybe some images or examples to show people things", she says. Marketing her online courses: Creating a great course is one thing, but marketing your course is another. And as all successful online instructors will agree, you need to have a marketing strategy in order to attract new students to your course. We asked Elizabeth to share some of her most effective marketing strategies with us. Here they are: 1. Blogging and social media Publishing articles on her blog and sharing them on social media has been Elizabeth’s primary strategy for building an audience since she first got started online. She also has a YouTube channel where she publishes free videos on a regular basis. Her YouTube videos have helped her build her personal brand and also send traffic to her website (she includes a link to her blog in her video descriptions). One of her videos - The Most Common Juicing Mistakes - for example, has received over 400,000 views since it was published 4 years ago. "I have been blogging for seven years already, so I have a pretty good social media following. I use social media a lot", she says. 2. Facebook advertising Elizabeth definitely shares a lot of free content on Facebook (for example, links to new blog posts and videos). But when she wants to promote a course, she will spend money on Facebook ads to do so. "I use the promoted posts in Facebook a lot if I’m selling something", says Elizabeth. "I don’t think it’s really worth promoting posts if I’m not selling something, but if it is leading people straight to a program I will pay to promote it." 3. Email marketing and Joint Ventures In addition to sending emails to her own list of subscribers (something all online course creators should be doing, by the way), Elizabeth often partners up with other people who have email lists. "I also do joint ventures with friends who have big email lists", she says. "We will do a trade and include each other in our email list." Top 3 strategies for marketing online courses. @elizabethrider #teachonlineClick To Tweet Tips for other online entrepreneurs and course creators: Elizabeth has definitely learned a ton of valuable lessons from her experience as an entrepreneur and online course creator. And since success leaves clues, we asked her to share some of her best tips for other online entrepreneurs and course creators. Here is what she shared with us: 1. Know who your target audience is Before you create your first (or your next) online course, make sure you understand the needs of your target audience. Take the time to ask them what they want to learn from you, then create your course based on their feedback. This will ensure that you create a course that you know people want, and not a course that you think they want. "Always make sure that you know who your audience is before you create a course. Know who it’s meant for, and then find a group of those people and survey them and poll them and ask them what they want to learn from you", Elizabeth explains. "I’ve seen people spend like 6 months creating a course and then have very little sales because they didn’t know what they were creating or who they were creating it for." Know your audience before you create a course. Ask them what they want to learn. @elizabethriderClick To Tweet 2. Build your email list Building an email list of people who are in your target market gives you the opportunity to sell your course before you create it. It sounds counterintuitive, but when you have an email list you can literally ask people what they want and then based on their feedback, create a course to sell to them."You want to sell a course before you create it", says Elizabeth. "Even if you’re not actually collecting the money, get an email list of people who are interested." When it comes to building your email list, the key is to consistently provide value to your subscribers for free. Send them information that helps them solve their problems or get the result they want. When you promote your course to them, they are more likely to purchase it if you’ve earned their trust by helping them for free. "Building an email list is a value exchange, so how can you provide value to people in exchange for joining your list?" says Elizabeth. Building an email list is a value exchange. How can you provide value to your list? @elizabethriderClick To Tweet 3. Build a business you’re passionate about Lastly, if you’re an online entrepreneur or an online course creator, make sure you are building a business that you are passionate about. If you don’t have a passion for teaching your topic and for helping your customers succeed, you should probably do something else. Get clear on why you are doing what you do, and use that as your motivation. A great book on this subject that Elizabeth recommends reading is Start with Why by Simon Sinek. "Motivation comes from doing something you love", says Elizabeth. "If you’re not motivated, you’re probably doing the wrong thing." Motivation comes from doing something you love. @elizabethriderClick To Tweet         The post Success Story: How Elizabeth Rider Built A 7-Figure Health & Wellness Business Online appeared first on Thinkific.

[Post by Arden Rose, Account Manager at GeoMetrix Data Systems Inc.] The authors of an article called "The death of "online" learning in higher ed" say yes. In the article, Craig Weidemann and Karen Pollack of University Business discuss how the term online learning only became known in the late 1990s, yet they predict the phrase could disappear from common vernacular by 2025. "How could such a good thing die so young? Two words: ubiquity and integration." To read their take on the changes in the industry and how those changes affect terminology visit: University Business

[Post by Arden Rose, Account Manager at GeoMetrix Data Systems Inc.] Being held May 22-25, 2016 at The Colorado Convention Center in Denver, the ATD 2016 International Conference & Exposition will provide you with the tools, strategies, and solutions you need to tackle tough challenges head on. At ATD2016 you’ll get insights into the latest innovations in talent development, as well as actionable tools and solutions on designing, delivering, implementing, and measuring the success of your programs. ATD 2016 will cover the entire industry, giving you an in-depth guide for the path to success and an outlook on what the future of talent development holds. By focusing on reaching your fullest potential, you will develop the talent around you to give your organization the ultimate competitive advantage—a workforce that is ready to take on the demands of today’s ever-changing business environment. Hosted by the Association for Talent Development, keynote speakers at this year’s conference include: Simon Sinek, Best Selling Author Brené Brown, Research Professor, University of Houston Graduate College of Social Work Jeremy Gutsche, CEO of Trendhunter.com, Award-Winning Innovator, and New York Times Bestselling Author of Better and Faster Online registration closes May 12. For more information visit: ATD Conference

Past events When we were making LearningSpaces we wanted it to be the easiest way to create a course or materialise an information bundle. Now LearningSpaces enables teams to share knowledge and allow team members to test each other. I think we succeeded in allowing the users to create Spaces, which have Chapters with knowledge, where anyone in a team can store it and the rest can learn from the expertise of their peers! There is more, we created Quizzes and Assignments to test the knowledge that's learned in the chapters. On LearningSpaces you can keep your knowledge organised with Paths! It will guide you throughout the learning process on the subject of your interest. Finished the Path? Congrats, after every finished Path you are gaining Achievements. Today and LearningSpaces In the past months we've been busy with improvements and a lot of bugfixing. But we also didn't forget to innovate and improve, to make your organisational learning process faster and easier! So here's our new feature: Ask and all will be answered Quick Questions and Answers! That's what we've done, and we're really exited about how it might transform LearningSpaces and your learning process. Personally, I really like this feature, because I always learn best when asking or searching for an answer on sites like Quora or StackOverflow. When I find these answers, they really stick since it's something that I had to put a bit extra effort in. Spaces are about sharing what you know, but learning often starts with what you don't know. That's where questions come in. I believe this will help trainers and knowledge creators to see what they miss in their Spaces. People will be able to ask and point out the questions or information that they can't find on Paths or Spaces. In general, this feature will enhance the interactivity within teams. Once questions get answered, the question 'owner' will get a notification so they can accept the answer as a solution to the question.

Woah! Recently I had an opportunity to be a part of an awesome event in my vibrant city Groningen. Some of you might already know, Groningen is one of the youngest cities in the Netherlands. What means, that everything here is uber fun, innovative and rapidly changing all the time. And my previous words can only partially describe how cool TedxGroningen event was. Thank you TedxGroningen team for your great contribution to the change and promotion of self-development in Groningen. Event madness The door of the event opened at 12.30, and from that moment on you could feel that everyone is eager to communicate, meet new people, network and share their ideas. No wonder why TedxGroningen crew offered NOM matching option (btw, props Ted team, these connections will last after the event). Session 1 First part of the event wasn't very informative, probably because it was meant to inspire us. Thanks to Broca Borthers for sharing their story on stuttering and connecting it to a general idea of self-expression without any boundaries. Sustainability advisor Dana Petrovic explained the importance of our house plants and evolutionary biologist Jordi van Gestel proved us that bacterias can form organisations and make gamble based decisions. Cool right? But the speech that moved me the most and matched with LearningSpaces ideas on learning was presented by improv jazz and all round musician Tollak Ollestad. Learning how to do things, while becoming what you know! Sounds rather complicated, but I think it means endless learning process, where learning something new doesn't have to be a struggle. Knowledge can be obtained through a prism of your choice and interest. Session 2 The second part was event better than the first! It was a cup of tea for those, who came to TedxGroningen to hear and learn something new! Smell historian Caro Verbeek walked us through the art of smell and it's impact on our identity and memory (maybe we would learn better if we'd combine all of the senses?). Afterwards, the Broken Brass Ensemble made dancing possible during midday (super fun workout, we do it at the office all the time, you should try it too). The event ended on a great note, literally! Arts and science enthusiast, composer and life-long learner, unconventional genius Milton Mermikides shared his story on combining hard science and arts in oder to create music! And that's what learning is about - combining different knowledge bundles, asking questions and getting the answers! We can't wait until the next event, TedxGroningen crew! Now - off to the Uprise Festival, see you there! P.S. want some useful procrastination? Enjoy:

In my post on complexity and learning, I said that work in networks requires different skills than in hierarchies. Coordination is making sure things get done effectively and efficiently. Most organizations do this well. Collaboration is working together for a common objective, usually directed through someone in authority. This is still the focus of most... Read more »

The season of the standardized test is upon us. Probably the most dreaded time of the year for teachers and students alike. Why? The end of the school year is in sight. Summer is just around the corner. The months of April and May should be a happy time! So, why do teachers hate standardized […] The post Standardized Test Reviews That Are FUN! appeared first on Teaching with Technology.

With the range of tasks that modern office professionals undertake at work ever increasing, it can be tough to know what to prioritise and easy to get bogged down with the amount of tasks you need to accomplish.  With Office 365, Microsoft have introduced a number of tools and functions to help you work and collaborate with colleagues more effectively, creating an infinitely more streamlined working environment. At Filtered we champion productivity, so we thought it best to share our top 10 features of Office 365 that will help you and your team work more efficiently and in increase your productivity as a result: