How to remove your name from marketing lists
By Christian Howd | July 29, 2008 | Be the first to comment
(No Ratings Yet)
Loading ...
Can’t wait to get another teacher supply catalog? Worried that the 25 catalogs you have stacked around your house and classroom won’t be enough for your shopping needs? If so, then ignore this post. But if you would like to cut down on unwanted mail, marketing calls, even emails, both at school and at home, then check out the read link below.
The Direct Marketing Association has up a helpful list of links on how to remove your name from various mailing, calling and email lists. It does seem a little like tobacco companies helping people to stop smoking, but if you are getting a lot of junk mail or other unsolicited communications, these suggestions might save a little time and a few trees.
Sphere: Related Content
Wake up easier during the week by not sleeping late on weekends
By Christian Howd | July 28, 2008 | 1 Comment
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...
If you’re a teacher that doesn’t have a summer job, you may have been taking advantage of the loose schedule to sleep a little later in the mornings. You might also do this on weekends during the school year. But Popular Science has up an article detailing how sleeping late on the weekend makes it harder to wake up during the weekday:
People who have trouble crawling out of bed probably have an inner clock set to late wake-up and sleep times, a condition known as phase delay. It is possible to adjust your phase-delayed body clock, Matheson says, but at a price: No sleeping in on the weekends. “When people sleep late on weekends, they revert to their natural phase-delayed rhythm,” she explains. This makes it harder to wake up early on weekdays.
The next time you’re feeling unrested during the school week, try maintaining the same wake-up time, even over the weekends. And while you still have a little time left before the school year starts, it might be a good idea to get that school wake-up time going pretty soon! Hit the read link for the full article.
Sphere: Related Content
Save money on online purchases with coupon codes
By Christian Howd | July 25, 2008 | 5 Comments
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...
We are starting to get to the time of the year in which teachers plunk down some major coin on school supplies and other stuff for starting the new school year. But even during the year, teachers have been known to spend quite a bit out of their own pockets.
One simple and fast way to try and save a little on your next purchase is to search the net for an online coupon code.
Sphere: Related Content
Telling the Difference Between a Cold or Allergy
By Christian Howd | July 15, 2008 | Be the first to comment
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...
Teachers are no strangers to picking up a few germs, sniffles and sneezes from the classroom. If you’ve ever wondered if your reaction is due to a cold virus you snagged from a student, or the dust accumulating under those bookcases in the corner of your room, LifeHacker tips us to a quick New York Times article on telling the difference:
Allergies virtually always cause itchiness, in the eyes, the nose, the throat, while a cold generally does not. Telltale signs of a cold are a fever, aches and colored mucus.
Click the read link for the full article.
[Via LifeHacker]
Sphere: Related Content
Shameless Self-Promotion: Mention in Recent Edutopia Article
By Christian Howd | July 13, 2008 | 3 Comments
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...
TeachClever was recently mentioned in an article from the June 2008 issue of Edutopia about DIY projects and tech tricks in the classroom:
TeachClever is not about tech hacks, per se; it’s a blog about making teachers more productive and efficient. But it includes a healthy selection of tech tips for the classroom that make it a great stop for a project pick-me-up.
Click the read link to view the entire article, which includes links to DIY sites such as Instructables, and a demo of a pretty cool “Minority Report” type grab-in-the-air interface using a Wiimote and some Radio Shack skillz.
Sphere: Related Content
Synchronize Just the Bookmarks You Want to with Sync Profiles
By Christian Howd | July 13, 2008 | 1 Comment
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...
Teachers end up collecting bookmarks on their internet browser, lots of bookmarks. And it’s quite frustrating when you know you have a site bookmarked, but it’s either at home, or at school, and you just happen to be exactly where the bookmark is not. It can also become an organizational nightmare when you start mixing bookmarks: school, finances, home, fun stuff, kids’ websites.
Here’s where Foxmarks comes in. It will not only allow you to synchronize bookmarks to all your computers, but will now let you synchronize just the bookmarks you want, to the computers you want.
Sphere: Related Content
Keep track of time with an online timer
By Christian Howd | October 4, 2007 | 5 Comments
(8 votes, average: 2.63 out of 5) Loading ...
Someone wise once said, “Time keeps on slipping, slipping, slipping, into the future.” I’m not quite sure where time goes, but I do know it keeps slipping somewhere, especially in a class of 30 kids. Asking questions, talking to students, preparing for the next part of the lesson…all these things can create distractions and send time slipping off somewhere.
One simple way to keep students, and teacher, on track is to use a timer. The problem with conventional timers is that, while they do keep track of time, they don’t easily allow a class to monitor the countdown as it progresses. Some companies have realized this and have created timers that can be displayed on overhead projectors. For a cool $35, you can snag one of these. Or, you can do the same thing for free.
Sphere: Related Content
5 Simple steps to a class mission statement you can actually remember
By Christian Howd | September 10, 2007 | 1 Comment
(3 votes, average: 3.67 out of 5) Loading ...
Thoughts of mission statements sometimes bring up visions of stuffy cubicles and past episodes of The Office. But mission statements are not just for companies or schools. Classrooms can benefit from them as well. Teachers can use a mission statement as a yearly focus for the class, a source of motivation, and an opportunity to track some data that will hopefully show student progress.
What is it?
In a nutshell, a mission statement tells who you are, what you are doing, and why.
How long should it be?
Mission statements have a tendency to either get wordy and confusing or general and meaningless. This has prompted some to debate the value of mission statements. Or make fun of them. But when done right, they are useful. And most gurus in this area seem to say that “done right” means people should be able to remember what the mission statement says:
The mission statement is one thing that should be known by every person in the organization. You should be able to go up to any individual in the organization and he or she should be able to recite the mission to you.
It should always be brief, so that it can be remembered.
How to make a mission statement in five simple steps
Sphere: Related Content
Websites a la educator
By Todd DuLude | July 26, 2007 | 2 Comments
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...
Teachers are often asked by school districts to maintain a presence on the web. Which poses the question: Who is their primary audience? Meet Ima Parent, mother of fourth-grade Jimmy and seventh-grade Suzie. School has started and the kids are coming home with tales of woe of how much work they’re going to have this year. Ima decides to check out their teachers through the school websites they maintain. Firing up the ol’ browser she navigates to her daughter’s science teacher where she finds the class description and expectations. Surprisingly, it says nothing of the three hours of nightly homework and weekly exams Suzie has been describing. She also finds information on a more personal level which further dispels the image of barbed tail and horns painted by Suzie. Ima feels confident that Suzie will survive this seventh grade ordeal. She’s not so sure about herself.
Remember who your primary audience is: Ima Parent. She’ll visit your site frequently and sing your praises when it meets her needs. Update often!
A month into school and Jimmy casually mentions to mom that his teacher just sprung a project on him that’s due this Friday. It’s Wednesday. Jimmy also does not know much about the project as he has misplaced the sheet outlining the particulars. Thanks Jimmy. Continue reading »
Sphere: Related Content
Use this quick memory hack to remember when you can’t write
By Christian Howd | July 16, 2007 | 5 Comments
(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5) Loading ...
Sometimes I need to remember something and I don’t have an opportunity to write it down. Maybe I just don’t have a pen and paper at the moment. Maybe I’m in the car and it just isn’t convenient to write a note. Or maybe I’m just being lazy at the moment. But when I need to remember something and I can’t immediately write a note to myself, I just use this quick trick to tide me over until I can capture the idea on paper:
Grab a random item and let that be your idea placeholder.
Here’s how it works:
Sphere: Related Content
