Marketing for Educators

Okay, I just HAVE TO write up a post about a really cool online course I just took called "Marketing for Educators."  If you’re looking to take your side business to the next level, I highly recommend taking this course.  Even if you aren’t an educator, this e-course will give you the confidence to apply your current skills and experience into growing your business.

Most marketing information and courses are aimed at people who have a different skill set and more time on their hands.  Everything in this e-course can be done after in the evenings or on the weekends, which is exactly when you will be working to grow your business any way!

Over five lessons you will learn the basics of marketing your product or service including homework assignments to move you along in the process.  The part I love is that you can do these assignments 

Once you’ve completed the course, you will have:

·       a professional business card

·       a prepared an “elevator pitch”

·       created a list of potential customers

·       written a marketing email

The retail price of the course is $25, but using my code SCOOTER, you’ll receive $5 off the cost of the course. The best part is you can access the course at anytime and use the lessons for any business from photography (like me!) to an Etsy shop and everything in between.

Seriously, this course was SO HELPFUL to me for my photography business.  I also have an Etsy shop for some digital prints I do, and I'm planning on applying this e-course for that as well.

Anywho, I don't do "sponsored" posts...um, ever! --but I thought this one was worthy enough of a blog post by me :)  And, I guess it's not even really sponsored--I'm not reaping any monetary benefits or anything from it (just giving YOU a discount if you use it!), I'm just endorsing it I guess I should say.  It really is a very handy course that I think would be super beneficial for anyone wanting to market their small/side business!

If you take the course (don't forget to use the code SCOOTER for $5 off!!) please let me know what you think of it!  I'm anxious to hear! :)

iPhoneography

This semester I teach a computer graphics course...which is really fun, because it's oodles of Photoshop (or Pixlr, which is essentially an equally as awesome ONLINE Photoshop program that is FREE!!) fun and all of the computer-techie stuff I enjoy doing in my regular life.  (Side note: it's so incredibly awesome that I get to teach classes that I am not only interested in, but actually do in my personal time so it's fun to teach and show students how to use these programs to better and enhance the things they're doing in school (or outside of school too!))

Anyways, so this year I decided to launch an 'iPhoneography' course for my students -- basically, I walk through some ins and outs of taking good pictures (and editing them!) with their iPhones (or smart phones, it's basically the same stuff regardless of what device you have).

I had posted that I was doing this on a few of my social media channels, and I got several friends asking me about the course I wrote and if they could have a copy of it...so I decided to whip it up as a blog post here so I could 1. quick reference it if need be 2. pass it along to my friends who were asking about it 3. maybe it'll be useful to other tech teachers out there to use in their own classrooms!

The presentation I made (click here for the direct link to it) is pretty self-explanatory I think...I tried to make it as easy to self-navigate as possible, so that my students had a very information-packed guide to reference if they needed to go back to anything we went over.

My students will be starting this project soon and I cannot WAIT to see what they come up with (hint: the project asks them to put to the test everything we went over in the iPhoneography guide...so they'll have to play with unique perspectives, use sun flares, etc...).

I'd love some feedback on my iPhoneography guide too if you want to give it!  Is there anything I left out?!  Or anything I got wrong?!  Or something that you'd like to see me talk more about?!  I'm open!  Let me know and I'll add it--cause that's the beauty of Google Slides, I can add it and it auto-updates on your end with the presentation link so no need to re-post or re-send out the presentation...pretty cool, eh?!! If you're not using Google Drive, you really REALLY should be...but that's a post for another day! :)

"That Class is Easy."

First off, let me apologize for the huge lack of posts recently...teaching is busy, life is busier, and I've seemingly neglected my teaching blog here.  BUT!  I hope to make amends this year and have more than the pathetic 6 posts I had for all of 2015.  Stay tuned.

Anyways, I felt compelled to write this post today for so many reasons, but the main one finally pushing me to do it happened yesterday.  You see, it's course selection week here at the high school I teach at, and all of the freshman, sophomores, and juniors are carefully plotting out the classes they will take in 2016-2017.  In talking with another teacher yesterday, she was telling me about a conversation she was having with one of her students about what courses to take next year.  The student told her she was going to sign up for Computer Apps (one of the classes I teach) because, "That class is easy."  Immediately my defenses went up and I felt the need to justify and defend my course to my fellow teacher.  How dare they say my class is easy!  It most certainly is not...wait, is it really actually easy?!

That conversation stuck with me, because obviously students at my school think my class is easy.  And you know what?!  It is.  It truly is an "easy" class, but I loathe, no I HATE that it is referred to as that.  Why?!  Because even though the content we are covering may be being labeled "easy" by it's takers, it most is more than just an easy class: it's a practical one.  It's one that the content learned in here can be transferred and applied into every.single.one. of their other courses, and even into their lives outside of school.  It prepares them for the tasks they'll have to complete in their future schoolings and even college!  So yes, it may be easy, but it most certainly is not JUST that.  It is applicable.  It is practical.  It teaches skills that will be used in countless other areas of their education and lives.

Generally my students do very well in my classes, and I always get the comments that, "If everyone has an A, then you must not be challenging them enough" --translation: your class is too easy.  Again, this irks me the wrong way.  And I actually secretly wish my classes were pass/fail because of this.  Anyways, again, when people make these comments, I immediately go defensive teacher and feel the need to justify to them that that is NOT the case at all, that they are learning practical application skills.  You blow your tire and get a mechanic to fix it.  They fix it = you're good to go.  They don't fix it (or don't fix it right) = they failed and you're still stuck...until they make it right.  Thus is the jam for my class: students do the work = they pass.  Students don't do the work (or do it incorrectly) = they don't pass...until they make it right.  My classes are "tech" classes after all.

The next time someone tells me my classes are easy or that I'm not challenging my students enough, I'm pointing them to this blog post.  I teach 3 different classes: video production, computer graphics, and computer applications, and what I've said here applies to all of them.  Yes, they may be labeled "easy", but the are so much more than that.  They are...

THIS.

& THIS.

& THIS.

& THIS.

& THIS.

& THIS.

& THIS.

& THIS.

& THIS.

& THIS.

& THIS.

& THIS.

...and so much more.  We learn the ins and outs of all things Google.  We learn how to build a website from scratch, learn how to create an interactive timeline and story map, and learn how to use social media to organize and prep for projects.  We do lessons on how to take good pictures with your cell phone called iPhoneography, we learn what mobile journalism is and how it applies to the daily lives of high schoolers, we learn how to shoot, record, edit, and finalize movies in a complex editor, and we learn how to manipulate images and create new ones using Photoshop.  Every.single.one. of these skills and content we do in my class are used elsewhere in our school--and then even outside of it.  They are applying and transferring the knowledge they learn and acquire in my class to others.  Call my class fun, exciting, enjoyable, creative, hands-on, time-consuming, challenging, frustrating, engaging--but don't call it easy.  It's so much more than that.

Why I Love My Job

It's no secret that I love technology.  I love it a whole whole lot.  I am so fortunate and blessed to be in a job that revolves around solely that: technology!  I get to spend my time helping others with tech problems, teaching them new things they can do with a program or on their phones/computers, and, probably my favorite part, still teaching students in the tech realm.  If I can't stay home with my babies, this is what I want to be doing.

One of the classes I teach is video production.  This is such a fun class -- the students learn a ton about mobile journalism, videoing and interviewing techniques, editing, content gathering, and so much more.  One of the biggest things I've taught them is NO VERTICAL VIDEOS...

(I hope you learned something watching that too!) -- I am guilty of recording video holding my phone upright cause, let's be honest, it's just easier to record one handed that way.  HOWEVER, most of the time you really are cutting off a ton of "stuff" that you could be capturing if you just flipped your phone over and recorded horizontally!  Crazy, isn't it?!!  Try it next time you're recording a movie...

Anyways, so!  I love my job.  Earlier today was one of the big reasons why.  Last week, I took a group of my students down to KSDK news channel 5.  Well, this week they were in for a treat: my buddy Kay Quinn from KSDK was coming to UA to see our video production and broadcast setup!  How cool, right?!!  My students were sooooo jazzed that she was coming and that they'd get to show off some of their own broadcasting skills to her.

Kay arrived this morning and I gave her a tour around our campus and introduced her to a few people, and then she met with the day's broadcast team.  I don't teach broadcast (although I'd love to if I was ever given the chance!), but I was able to be the broadcast director for today since a few of my students who are in my video production class are also on the broadcast team and were up to do shows this week.

The students wanted Kay to be a co-anchor for the day's broadcast, and she happily obliged!  How cool is that, right?!!

They did a run-through of the show and then went live.  It.was.awesome.  I was beaming with pride for them because they did such an amazing job on the teleprompter, control board, directing, and anchoring.  It went flawlessly!

The feedback the girls got about their broadcast was just terrific -- even now, well after the school day is over, I'm just giddy with excitement for them that they got to have this awesome learning experience!  I hope it's something they truly never forgot.

So, this is just one of the reasons why I flippin' love my job.  Getting to help orchestrate experiences like this for my students just makes everything I do worth it.  I am fortunate to be in a teaching position that is very 'real life' applicable and I love love LOVE being able to show, give, and teach my students things that they can not only learn from, but apply to their real lives as well.

Top 5 Tech Projects to Try With Your Students This Year

I recently published a post for Sopris Learning's EdView360 blog all about my top 5 favorite tech projects...and challenging teachers to try them in their classrooms this year.

You can click the link below and read my post...and then maybe try some of those projects in your own classrooms this school year as well!!  Feel free to shoot me an email if you have any questions!

Top 5 Tech Projects to Try With Your Students This Year

Beach Motel Project

For this project students were tasked with recreating a single print image, based upon the specific requirements and a set of inspiration pictures (you can find the entire project description and links here).

Sort of like the EdCamp Express Logo Project, this project was also one that had a purpose: I have a relative who was looking to get a print done of the above content, and I told her this would be the perfect project for my computer graphics students, because it would really challenge them to be creative, use a bunch of different elements in Photoshop or Pixlr, and create the desired image print while pulling together all of their skills and computer graphics knowledge.

Students were left in the dark (at first) as to what their print was going to be used for, other than that it was for "someone" and needed to include all of the above requirements. 

I really love how each of these prints turned out, and especially how vastly different (yet similar!) they all area.  They definitely combined all of the elements required, but had their own personal touch put in by the student who designed them, which is very much what graphic design is all about.  Enjoy looking over these prints...I sure did, and wish I could be in some of them right now!

EdCamp Express Logo Project

Our latest project in my computer graphics class has been one of my favorites: students were tasked with the challenge (given to them from Chris McGee, the STL EdCamp guru/leader) to turn this EdCampSTL logo into something that looks like it's thrown together/held together with tape and cardboard, for the upcoming May "EdCamp Express" unconference that will be taking place soon.

Students were also challenged to use Adobe Photoshop CS6 to create this project, instead of Pixlr, which is what they'd been using up until this point.  As much as some of them resisted using Photoshop because "it's just too much," all of them embraced it for this project and their logo designs turned out awesome.  I was super impressed with every single one!

I then sent over a folder to Chris of all of the designs, and the EdCamp team voted on their favorite.  Here's the one that won, and will now be on the top of the flyer for the EdCamp Express event coming up in May!  (Spoiler: this student is ecstatic that her logo is being published for a big conference event! --as she should be!  This is pretty awesome for a high schooler to have happen to them!)

And here's the flyer that will be distributed to advertise EdCamp Express:

Although only one student's logo "won", they all were awesome and very creative (and uniquely different!) in my book.  Here's the rest of the logo designs from this project/contest.  Side note: I really love doing these type of practical, "real-life" projects in my classroom.  I find them so much more engaging and interesting to the students because they're work is being showcased (and in this case, voted upon!) in the outside world.

Pixlr Project

This semester, instead of teaching video production, I am teaching computer graphics.  I do miss my video production class and projects a lot, but I am LOVING the projects and products that my computer graphics students are producing!

They recently just completed a project using Pixlr editor--which is an online FREE editing software, very similar to photoshop (I LOVE IT).  They can create their work online, save it to their online gallery, and pick up where they left back off the next day.  Did I mention it's free?!!  I love it.

Anyways, so after learning how to use the Pixlr program, my students completed this project -- they had to create 5 different edits using Pixlr.  They had several days in class to work on this--after getting the hang of using the program, and I am blown away with what they created!  Seriously, how awesome are some of these?!

Before I show off some of their work, here are the 5 edit categories they had to make:

Mini Project 1: Movie Poster

• You will take a movie of your choice and re-create the poster in your own style.  You can incorporate elements from the original poster in your new one, or start fresh and use completely new ideas to craft your poster.
• You need to make sure you select a movie that you’ve seen, so if you drastically  change the poster from the original it still fits in with the “theme” of the movie.  Make sure your poster includes the necessary information as well (title, director, main characters, rating, etc…).

Mini Project 2: EdCampSTL Poster

• Using information from this site, you will create a poster promoting EdCampSTL.  You need to come up with a unique poster to promote this event, while making sure you give the appropriate information (date, time, location, etc…) from the website.  You may incorporate any logos you see from the website, but you do not have to.
• You want your poster to be creative, unique, and something that catches the viewer’s attention while also giving them the necessary details for the event.

Mini Project 3: Photobomb

• You will take a popular image or picture and “photobomb” yourself into it.  This means you’ll need to take/get a photo of yourself that would “fit” in the image that you are placing yourself in to be photobombed.  
• You need to make sure that you do indeed look like you are “photobombing” the picture; meaning that you could have actually been there in real life in the photograph (so you may need to do some color enhancements and editing as well)

Mini Project 4: Landscape Edit

• Grab a landscape pic (mountains, beach, valley, prairie, etc…) off of Google Images and drastically change the picture: change the colors, sharpen/blur the image, add a sunset, etc… -- but your project must look vastly different than its original.
• Make sure your editing doesn’t completely distort your landscape; add editing effects that are unique and enhance your new image and landscape look!

Mini Project 5: YOUR CHOICE

• This project is your choice: create/edit/modify/enhance/WHATEVER! in Pixlr--you have complete freedom here to create something of your choosing.
• BE PREPARED to explain your creation/edit to the class and why you chose to do something like that.
• IDEAS: create a flyer for an upcoming sports event/school function, edit a picture, combine multiple pictures into one