EDUCATORS CONFERENCE 2009!

July 28-29, 2009
TREEF Training Center
Tennessee Assn. of REALTORS
901 19th Avenue S., Nashville, TN

The theme of this Conference is “Creative Engagement” - how to involve students more creatively in the learning process! Sessions and workshops will cover a variety of topics for both classroom and distance learning instructors. The program includes an extended workshop in storytelling, as well as a hands-on workshop in coaching an E-Class (distance-learning) course …where coaching and education come together!

This Conference has become an annual event for instructors, and educators such as REALTOR association staff, who want to offer quality education to their members.  Formerly called the “Instructor Academy,” this Conference was renamed for 2009 to reflect the fact that instructors are not the only ones interested in better education!

The registration fee for this year’s Conference has been reduced to $95 and includes lunch on July 28th!  [Registration increases to $115 after July 23.] Dress is casual, and laptops (with wireless access) are strongly encouraged, for participants to take full advantage of sessions on the 28th and 29th! To register online, scroll down to “Events for Instructors & Educators” at: http://www.tarnet.com/main/education_information/

The Conference begins at 10AM on July 28 and ends at Noon on July 29.

SESSIONS INCLUDE:

“Resources for Courses!” - Elizabeth Hurd

Need an interesting photo or graphic for your PowerPoint presentation, but you don’t know where to find one? How about a short video to spark discussion in class? In this session, we’ll examine Creative Commons licensing and what it means. There are COUNTLESS resources on the Internet for you to use, and most of them are FREE! We’ll cover things like photos, graphics, and videos you can use - legitimately, without violating a copyright - AND we’ll look at the growing number of Web 2.0 tools and websites that you can use to build or enhance your courses of all types! Elizabeth Hurd has established herself as a prolific course developer in the real estate world, having developed both classroom and distance learning courses for many different state associations and real estate schools.

“The TED Commandments” - Pug Scoville

That’s not a typo. TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design. It started out in 1984 as a national conference bringing together people from those three worlds or work. Since then it has become an internationally renowned event. The annual conference now brings together the world’s most fascinating thinkers and doers, who are challenged to give the talk of their lives, about “ideas worth spreading”…in 18 minutes or less! Before a speaker arrives to give his/her talk, the speaker receives “The TED Commandments” - ten rules sent to every presenter, appropriately printed on parchment. We’ll cover all ten and how following them can improve your next class, whether live or online!

“A Storytelling Workshop for Instructors” - Steven James

Bestselling author Steven James is one of the nation’s most innovative storytellers. With a Master’s Degree in Storytelling, he has written more than twenty books - including several thrillers - and is a full-time speaker, having appeared more than 1,500 times throughout North America, Europe and Asia since 1996. Every instructor needs to teach and speak with greater impact. It’s a privilege to have Steven help us learn how to use the power of stories!

“Making the Transition from Instructor to Coach” - Pug Scoville

The E-Class format for distance learning is now several years old and has proven to be a valuable delivery system for coached and interactive instruction. Many GRI students in Tennessee now take at least one or two E-Class courses as they work toward their GRI designations. The success of the system, however, depends upon the skill - especially the coaching skill - of the Instructor-Coach who leads the class! In this hands-on session, we’ll cover:

• How to navigate and manage the Moodle platform used for E-Class instruction,
• Creative ways to enhance E-Class courses for better participation and interaction, and
• [MOST IMPORTANTLY] Constructive ways to give frequent, personalized feedback to E-Class students!

Join us on July 28-29!

It’s been a while since I’ve posted anything here — work and trips have dominated my schedule — but it’s time that I gave you an update.

First, the bad news…

Sometime in January, our TREEFCenter website was hacked, apparently maliciously. Although most of the blog posts were left intact, almost all of our links were broken and a few still don’t work. Also, all of our other pages (including some EXCELLENT resources for instructors and trainers) were wiped out altogether …although our web guru has managed to restore much of what was lost.

We are still in the process of rebuilding this website. It won’t take final shape overnight; we want to “take advantage” of this disruption to rethink what kinds of resources we can provide and how to put them online (and keep them updated) most effectively! We appreciate your patience and support.

Now, for the GOOD news…

1.  As you can tell from the masthead, we have expanded the focus of the TREEFCenter site. Henceforth, it will be designated the “TREEF Center for Learning & Leadership”.  Leadership development has always been an interest and passion of the Foundation, and TREEF has sponsored or facilitated every Leadership TAR program for the Tennessee Association of REALTORS since the inception of that program. Providing resources for leaders and good leadership is just as important for the future of our industry as providing good instruction and training!

2.  We plan to expand the ranks of Contributing Editors for this blog! If you have a genuine interest in leadership (esp. of the servant leadership variety) and/or a passionate interest in the art and science of good instruction and would like to share your occasional thoughts in written form with others in the industry, please contact me.  Use the Contact form on this website and email me with a sample of your writing and a brief description of your interests & things you would like to write about!

That’s it for now!  I hope everyone’s year has gotten off to a good start DESPITE the clouds over the economy!

– Pug Scoville

His blog entry includes links to other helpful websites and several good, common-sense tips…

Michael’s common-sense rules for making more effective PowerPoint presentations include:

1. Don’t give PowerPoint center stage.  PowerPoint is a tool to enhance a presentation; it should not be the presentation.  YOU, as the presenter, are the focus. A great PowerPoint cannot make up for a weak presentation.
2. Create a logical flow to your presentation.  Create an outline.  Let your audience know what you are going to say, say it, and then summarize what you just said.  Although this method seems redundant, it will reinforce your main points and help your audience say focused instead of becoming distracted.
3. Make your presentation readable. Your slides may look good on your computer, but imagine your slides being projected in a large conference room.  Ask yourself, “Will everyone, even in the back of the room, be able to read my slides?” A few things to keep in mind: avoid paragraphs or long blocks of text, use appropriate fonts, and avoid detailed reports (give a handout).
4. Remember, less is more. Sound effects, fancy slide transitions, fly-ins etc can be distracting.  Use a basic dissolve from one slide to another and have bullet points appear at once instead of one at a time. Decrease the amount of slides. Every point of your presentation does not need to be included on a slide.  Keep it simple and use slides for the major points.
5. Distribute a handout.  A handout lets people take notes, follow along and stay focused on you

To read his entire article, go HERE.

Like cooking, great learning tools can be developed from a few simple base ingredients.  Any number of exciting student activities start with a good base.  One of my favorites is the Scavenger Hunt.

A Scavenger Hunt can be structured to relate to a number of topics.  For a course on technology, it might be structured as a list of tasks the students must accomplish using tools available on various Web sites.  For ethics, this might involve the students finding the specific Articles and Standards of Practice at issue, given a certain scenario.  For contracts, students might have to find a specific clause or group of clauses dealing with a given topic - the possibilities are endless.

The best part is, you don’t have to be an expert to master the use of simple activity bases.  Tons of examples are provided courtesy of Sivasailam Thiagarajan, Ph.D. - luckily he is known simply as “Thiagi” (pronounced “Tee-ah-gee”) - on his Website.  You can find a list of sample activities and games HERE.  Good luck with your hunt!

Elizabeth Hurd is a freelance coursewriter and curriculum developer.  For information on your specific education and training needs, call 843-442-0441 or use the Contact Form to be contacted directly.

This got me thinking about how the vast majority of books I read as a child began with “Once upon a time” and ended with “…and they lived happily ever after.”  Now, I’m not sure how this started or why it is, but someone somewhere decided (once upon a time) that it was important to frame stories within this standard beginning and end.  And for my little girl, this establishes her story time comfort zone - the “once upon a time” lets her know it’s time to sit and listen, and the “happily ever after” is her cue it’s over.

So, what does this have to do with learning?  Well, as someone who often designs exercises and activities for the classroom, I think establishing a good beginning and end is just as important as what we put in the middle.  Think about it - if you just jump into a classroom exercise without explaining the purpose or the context, the students may lose the purpose entirely.  And a proper recap gives students a cue the exercise is over, a chance to reinforce the main learning points before moving on - or cheering loudly and demanding a repeat performance .

How does this work in practice?   With a few exceptions, any exercise or activity must be framed within the lesson.   Students should have a general idea of what skill they are supposed to be learning or what problem might be resolved by the learning.

When the exercise has been completed, the basic points - not the whole lesson - but one or two main points should be reinforced.  You might do this by asking the students “What was the point of this?” or “What did this illustrate?”  You don’t always have to preface your conclusion with “In conclusion, the main points are…”  Don’t be afraid to be creative.  Maybe the students can come up with the main points themselves, building on each other’s ideas until they correctly sum up the focus of the lesson.

Students are most comfortable when they know what to expect and, in turn, are more open to learning and retaining the information.  It would be a shame not to fully reap the benefits of a fun, well-designed exercise by failing to properly frame it within the learning experience.  So, when “once upon a time” you next find yourself launching into an activity or classroom exercise, make sure it has a solid beginning and end - and you’ll have your students learning happily ever after.

Elizabeth Hurd is a freelance coursewriter and curriculum developer.  For information on your specific education and training needs, please call 843-442-0441 or fill out a contact form to be contacted directly. 

Thankfully, in this situation, I hold the volume control!

Two weeks ago, I was instructing a class and a gentleman came up to me before we ever started and let me know that he and a friend of his, who was also in the class, had hearing problems. While they both had devices with a volume control, I had more control over their results than they did.

I was grateful that he let me know and I went out of my way to check with them a few times over the two days to see if they were able to hear me and their fellow students. I did not tell any of the other students that I was making this special effort and I doubt that the class had any reason to suspect that I was trying harder to be heard.  However, I was much more mindful of repeating a student’s question for all to hear.

For future efforts, I decided that it might be a good practice to always assume that there was someone in the audience who may have at least some degree of hearing loss. Most participants are not going to come up to you and let you know that they have a problem.  I am not going to start shouting but I do plan to be more deliberate in my vocal delvery.  If I am speaking at a slightly higher volume with a bit more attention to enunciation, might not everyone benefit? Even those who have excellent hearing may find it easier to stay tuned in and not mentally drift away. Additionally, volume is one way that we convey energy and enthusiasm for our topic, but it is only one way.

Vocal variety is something I will address more fully the next time that I write.

One popular type of “correspondence” course involves the mere purchase of a workbook, with a multiple-choice test at the end of it.  Fill out the test — and you may be able to do so WITHOUT reading the material, by simply looking up the answers in the book — and then send in your completed test for CE credit! Nothing could be simpler …or more worthless as an educational exercise. There is no ongoing guidance from a live instructor, no intermittent feedback, and no interaction designed to engage the student and aid both understanding and retention of the key learning points in the course.

Another questionable form of distance learning is the impersonal Internet-based online course — often resembling little more than a PowerPoint presentation on the Web. These courses have are often self-paced, with the ability to start, stop, and restart at any time. The student simply clicks through successive screens of information (mostly text), hopefully reading what’s on each one, and occasionally answers a multiple-choice question on the reading, which he or she must do correctly in order to progress through the course. Of course, if the student wants to short-circuit the process, he or she can simply guess at the answers to each question — without reading ANY of the material — and keep guessing until he or she does so correctly, until reaching the end and getting the desired CE credit! But DID this student end with any real learning?

The common element in most distance-learning options that seem to have the LEAST potential for real learning is that they are almost all instructor-LESS. While independent self-guided study is a worthy centuries-old practice that can be invaluable for the right individual, most Real Estate Commissions do not INTENTIONALLY give Continuing Education credit for the “short-circuiting” of independent study in either of the forms above.

The initial implementation of distance learning in the real estate industry has been dominated by instructor-LESS courses, in either online, disc-based, or correspondence (print) forms. Proprietary schools (including several national “edu-businesses”), as well as local, state, and national REALTOR organizations, and a growing number of designation vendors, have all seized upon instructor-less distance learning as a low overhead way to make a lot of money. Eliminate the instructor fees and expenses, find a low-cost delivery method, and just collect the income … attractive, huh?

And with skyrocketing fuel costs making travel to and from courses even MORE expensive, distance learning makes greater sense every day!

If we’re in the education business, however, shouldn’t our FIRST concern be whether or not actual education takes place? Shouldn’t we care if people learn something that can make a positive difference in their careers and services to the public?

For distance learning to grow up and develop into the asset it truly can be for the real estate industry, let’s not overlook the incredible value that a talented and dedicated instructor can bring to the learning process.

A well-guided, well-coached distance learning course — or a “blended” learning experience combining some classroom time with instructor-LED distance learning — can be even MORE effective than a classroom course alone! It’s our challenge to make such courses a reality and the “norm” in the industry.

How will we find — and develop — the distance learning instructors we’ll need? That’s a posting for another day…

Can you believe that this “oh no” situation happened to me three different times? Yes, three different times in three different cities for three different groups, the cable was missing from the supplied projector. When things go wrong, you need some reaction time.

“How early should I arrive before the scheduled start time?” While there may be some variables in the minutes and hours based on familiarity with the venue and the equipment, I like to have everything set at least an hour before the start time. If I am going to a new room in a new town, I like to see the set-up the day before when possible. That gives a cushion that I have used to rearrange the room, change my approach to the interactive parts of the program (due to room restrictions), make a run to Kinko’s or Circuit City and, of course, time to check the electronics.

Here is a room checklist that I use:

• Meet contact person, support personnel and A/V tech, if any.
• Connect computer to projector. Tape down any trip hazards.
• Test remote control for PowerPoint.
• Have Back-up USB drive and CD on standby.
• Test sound system and microphone.
• Assess lighting and room temp.
• Spare batteries for wireless devices: microphone, remote.
• Spare bulb and/or back-up projector.
• Check the room set-up and layout of tables and chairs. Even when the basic arrangement is correct, the spacing may need to be altered to accommodate lines of sight, placement of visual aids, etc.
• Organize your materials on the instructor’s table, podium.
• Flip Charts and Markers (fold bottom corner of every other page to make it easier to turn one sheet at a time)
• Ipod and Sound Dock
• Handouts
• Water, refreshments, snacks.
• Pads and Pencils on tables as needed.
• Nametags/tent cards/
• Registration table

If you would like to add to this list or share your ideas, please do so.

• “Collaboration Tools: Blogs and Wikis and Groups, Oh My!”
• “You Too Can YouTube!”
• “The Successful Synchronous Trainer”
• “Going Wiki Wild!”
• “The E-Class GRI Approach: How & Why It Works!”
• “Facilitating Asynchronous Instructor-Led E-Learning”
• “Tools & Tips: Instructing & Coaching a Successful E-Class Course”

The conference program starts at 8:30AM on July 24, and ends at 2:30PM on July 25. There will also be a “Bonus” workshop for State Association Education Staff on “Setting Up Your Own E-Class Delivery System”!

This year’s faculty for Instructor Academy 2008 includes national trainers and presenters: Jane Bozarth (noted author, trainer, and speaker on distance-learning facilitation), Michelle Moore (a popular national speaker and trainer for Remote-Learner.net), Amanda Burlison (a management consultant with Deloitte Consulting in Atlanta, formerly associated with TAR’s Education programs), and Pug Scoville, TAR’s own Director of Communications & Education for 23 years!!

If you teach and you’re interested in what’s coming down the pike in e-learning, don’t miss this opportunity! You’ll leave with new skills, new ideas, AND some new friends to help YOU become a better instructor!

For more information, or to register click HERE!

Ah, how times have changed! Technology has since become a runaway train - you can either hop on or be left in the dust.

No longer the novel idea it was in the ’80s, technology is now embedded as an integral part of almost every course offering, regardless of the subject matter. We teach students how to use the Internet and tailor their Web content to stay on top of current market trends and reach today’s consumers. What’s interesting is that we’re just now starting to apply the approaches we’ve been telling our students about to how our own courses are designed, taught and offered.

So, what do we do to keep up? From designing to teaching to marketing courses, we must use the tools available to take full advantage of what the Information Age offers.

• Design: For every subject, applicable tech content can and should be built into the course materials. Links and online resources should be included, as an appendix at the very least. Web-based tools such as wikis and discussion boards have provided new opportunities to create a record of the idea exchanges taking place in the classroom each day.

• Instruction: Nowadays, it’s more common than not to have an Internet connection available in the classroom. This provides an opportunity to move from telling to showing when we talk about marketing tools such as video tours, blogs and webcasts. Also, instructors can now easily demonstrate resources available to students.

• Course Marketing: The same way licensees use testimonials from past clients, the Internet provides a forum for students to create their own testimonials for the classes they’ve taken and what they’ve learned. Also, cross-marketing has never been easier since the introduction of instructor-moderated online courses.

I would argue that we - as course developers, instructors and providers - have a collective responsibility to “practice what we preach.” Failing to utilize the tools available means we’re missing out on opportunities we commonly encourage students to take advantage of. If we’re to provide truly “cutting edge” course content, it means making a commitment to becoming lifelong students of technology ourselves.

This website provides readers with the opportunity to discuss how the teaching and learning process is evolving in today’s tech-savvy culture. Let’s start a dialogue! How do you incorporate the use of the Internet and Web-based tools in the courses you currently teach? And, what would you like to see “built in” to the next course you teach? Comment below…ideas are welcome!

Elizabeth Hurd is a freelance coursewriter and curriculum developer. For information on your specific education and training needs, call 843-442-0441 or use the contact form to be contacted directly.