Barry Westling

Tamara, I think the best video insertions are very brief snippets, rather than longer pieces, as students will tend to quickly zone out if they have to sit, passively watching something. A few slides, followed by a 1-2 minute snippet, then discussion, then back to slides provides variety and makes for a more interesting lesson segment. Barry Westling

Amy, It's said "education is something no one can ever take away from you". Therefore, what we give to our students can help them both in school, at work, and in their personal lives, possibly even a better future. Barry Westling

Tawnya, Well, it's never too late to bring to fruition a good idea, especially one that will yield better results. Barry Westling

Aprilan, "Failure to prepare is preparing to fail", as the saying goes, summarizes the worst outcome from not taking our job duties seriously. An organized plan will yield best results. Barry Westling

Amy, Right! Guest speakers can effectively break the routine and often add a dimension or different kind of information that brings a little different perspective to the topic at hand. Barry Westling

Amy, What a great "in-house" resource for instructors to consider using as a surrogate for having outsiders come in, or the challenges of traveling to another location. Barry Westling

Tamara, Anyone who has ever lost a computer file due to failure to save it will recognize the benefit of having back-up plans for their lessons. Having several hours of instruction ruined because of computer glitches, burned-out LCD projector bulb, classroom occupied by others, misplaced curriculum binder, or a missing folder normally stored on the computer is really preventable by some proactive planning in advance. In these instances, these back-up plans are worth their weight in gold! Barry Westling

Lito, Nice sentiments. It's true that nearly everything associated with pleasure, reward, achievement, or personal satisfaction will likely be remembered. Boy, integrating activities that students receive as pleasurable or significant to them in every class session ought to be our goal. I liken this a little bit to the "what's in it for me" idea, in that if we can get students to see benefit or value to them personally by our instructional methods, they would surely retain important pearls of information we want them to possess. Barry Westling

Lydia, Boy that's true. Based on past days when I was less organized compared to days when I have gone to great effort to get everything ready, it makes so much difference in my ability to organize the day, my thoughts, being flexible, and better engaging students based on my knowledge where I'm at in my planning. Barry Westling

Kendall, I agree. It should expected an instructor would properly ready themselves for a class (every class) without having to be prompted to do so. Students expect us to be prepared, even if they are not. It may be true that some students may pick up the habit of preparedness. But even if they don't, our responsibility is to be ready and organized for class, arriving early, gathering resources, and available for the students as they arrive. Barry Westling