Tag Archives: tips for teaching computer skills

Excellent Benefits of Using Microsoft Publisher

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Because of the simplicity of Microsoft Publisher, along with the ease of integration with additional Microsoft programs, this is a course that will appeal to many people for both home and business use. Plus Publisher is a fantastic “starter” program for students interested in dipping their toes into the field of graphic design.

Source: Office.microsoft.com
Source: Office.microsoft.com

Home printers have become so sophisticated many people now enjoy creating their own greeting cards, family newsletters and postcards. While for small businesses who don’t necessarily need to hire a full-time PR firm, one of the major benefits of using Microsoft Publisher includes its wide variety of customizable templates.

With the MS Office Publisher Task feature, suggestions and tips are readily given to assist with the entire process. Customer lists can be developed, marketing campaigns accessed with a simple mouse click and technical tasks are easily explained.

Another one of the important benefits of using Microsoft Publisher can be measured in time saved. No longer do students get frustrated searching for photos and information. Frequently used content is stored in a searchable library for easy access. File sharing is quicker and faster since work can be transferred to PDF’s and XML’s without the need for an outside application. For the writers in your classes, Microsoft Publisher also offers options for readable PDF’s, making it a valuable tool for those interested in publishing e-books.

For additional information on how effective teaching Microsoft Publisher can be, please contact Labyrinth Learning for additional information.

 

Review Our Course Materials Online Before Purchase

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Source: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

When you are talking about teaching students, only the very best will do. In this modern era, any type of concrete learning is going to intimately be involved with computers and digital software.  For many students, having the ability to decipher many of these complex learning tools is a seemingly insurmountable hurdle. This is why many teachers have turned to the Labyrinth Learning online review. 

Not only is Labyrinth Learning online review a great tool for teachers to be sure they are finding the best possible materials to suit their course; these online review tools are also a great means to getting everyone more comfortable with the program itself.

Developed by an instructor from Berkeley, California, Labyrinth Learning streamlines the learning curve and helps understand and appreciate the material right away.

Labyrinth Learning isn’t just theoretical learning in a lab or classroom somewhere. The tools used by Labyrinth can be directly and immediately applied to real-life, real-world situations.  This approach has been called innovative, easily applied to real life, and practical by it’s users; qualities instructors and students of any age can appreciate.

Before taking on the Labyrinth Learning proposition, it’s important to be comfortable with the materials. The Labyrinth Learning online review allows prospective individuals to be committed to the material as soon as it heads their way.

For more information about our teaching resources to help you instruct students in the most effective way possible , contact us at Labyrinth Learning today.

Help Students Get Creative with Our Media Arts Teaching Resources

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Source: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Though the majority of your students have never known life without the internet, many don’t have photography, graphics, or web design skills. Labyrinth Learning offers several easily understood media arts teaching resources, including digital photography and web page design. Except for basic computer skills, no prior knowledge of either subject is required:

  • Welcome to Digital Photography, 2nd Edition: It can be a very daunting experience trying to determine which digital camera is best suited for a student’s particular need. The comprehensive book explains in detail what to look for when purchasing a digital camera. It teaches how to use many of the automatic features which come standard on the majority of today’s cameras. The second section of the book explains the hows and whys behind the customized manual settings including shutter speeds, self-timers, and file formats.
  • Web Page Design with XHTML/CSS: Coding is often a foreign language students are afraid to learn. This student friendly textbook has been designed with the author’s workflow learning approach coupled with Labyrinth Learning’s effective instructional technique. This ensures students learn both website coding along with the basic fundamentals on how websites work, file organization, and that ever important final step — how to make a functioning website live.

Do you want to provide your students with some of the best media arts teaching resources in the field? Please contact us at Labyrinth Learning for assistance.

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How You Can Engage Introverts and Extroverts in the Classroom

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No matter the class size, lesson plans should be designed for introverted and extroverted students.

One of the biggest issues in teaching is being able to engage a large number of students at the same time despite their differences. The teaching strategies that capture and retain the interest of extroverts won’t produce the same results in introverts — extroverts tend to be more eager to participate in the open.

Teaching extroverts and introverts at the same time is not an impossible task, though it does mean that teachers will have to be observant and take both groups into account when crafting their lesson plans.

Here are some suggestions for teaching extroverts and introverts in the same classroom:

  • Facilitating both extroverts and introverts begins with telling which people are which. Extroverts tend to be more social, meaning that they will make more of an effort to talk with more people. In contrast, introverts tend to be more reserved — they need time to process their thoughts before participating. Bear in mind that both extroverts and introverts fall on the same spectrum, meaning that teachers must be flexible in handling their students.
  • In class, let extroverts speak first so that the introverts will have time to mull over their thoughts. This ensures that both will be able to participate without being pulled out of their comfort zones.
  • Set up a means for the class to communicate outside of meetings. Extroverts can continue to socialize, while introverts can communicate at their leisure.

Are you looking for more tips on teach introverts and extroverts? Contact us at Labyrinth Learning about more resources for engaging students.

How Technology Is Changing the Higher Education Experience

How Technology Is Changing the Higher Education Experience

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How Technology Is Changing the Higher Education ExperienceThe introduction of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) within the last several years has already begun to revolutionize higher education. Yet, among many educators, there is an ongoing battle concerning the integration of  technology in higher education versus a traditional classroom setting.

Due to the popularity of MOOCs, symposiums are being held all across the nation to discuss the viability of online learning as it relates to accessibility. MOOCs are now affording groundbreaking opportunities to people from all demographics, who are simply looking for easier ways to access higher education.

Stanford University has been at the forefront of testing and experimenting with technology in higher education. Because digital educational delivery mechanisms include the capacity to track, store and measure the effectiveness of MOOCs, Stanford began offering certain online courses and then analyzed the data amassed.

The ability to determine what sections of a classroom lecture were being repeated by the majority of participants alerted educators to review that segment and to conclude what, if any, changes needed to be implemented. Online courses require exact precision from both student and educator, realizing attention to detail must be paid and that gray areas can not be tolerated.

Other challenges detailed by the Stanford study are the ability to keep students engaged through online interpersonal communication. This include research on how to make this teaching method viable for smaller colleges with limited technology budgets.

Labyrinth Learning is here to keep you in the know on all the latest higher education technology. Please contact us today for more information.

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The Benefits to Asynchronous Learning

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The traditional form of learning in a classroom setting has already been demonstrated as useful in an online format. While these interactive – or synchronous – forms have held sway in the educational community for the last several centuries, it is the new, asynchronous form that is leading the way in the online community of the 21st century.

laptop
Asynchronous learning is changing the way that modern students approach course material.

Here are just a few benefits to asynchronous learning:

It is Unbiased – Teachers are people and will exhibit their biases whether they realize it or not. Asynchronous seminars avoid this problem altogether as there is no “face-to-face” interaction between teacher and student. This means no cultural bias and no bias against those in other time zones.

They are Available 24/7 – The world no longer runs on a 9-to-5, Monday through Friday, schedule. People work all through the day and night and on weekends. Asynchronous learning allows them to schedule their classes at a time that is convenient and most learning-efficient for them.

They Do Not Rely on Expensive Technology – Many synchronous meetings utilize bandwidth-intensive graphics and videos. For those students without the necessary “high-end” equipment, these seminars may be all but useless. Asynchronous ones, on the other hand, allow a slow connection to buffer the signal and transmit the entire seminar.

For more information on the benefits of asynchronous learning and other, creative teaching techniques, please contact us at Labyrinth Learning, today.

Image Source: freedigitalphotos

Video Will Continue to Play a Bigger Role in the Classroom

Video Will Continue to Play a Bigger Role in the Classroom

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Video Will Continue to Play a Bigger Role in the ClassroomVideo learning in the classroom has come a long way from simply playing a movie to students. With multimedia opportunities constantly expanding, developing, and improving, instructors now are able to incorporate video technology into lectures in many new and interesting ways that better inspire learning.

These are some reasons why video use is increasing in the classroom:

  • People prefer video. In 2012, video accounted for 40 percent of all Internet traffic, but this number is expected to rise to 62 percent by 2016. Video allows students to collaborate in the learning process, it meets the needs of different learning styles, and it makes greatest use of school resources.
  • Video helps students learn a wider variety of skills. Rather just improving test scores, educators want students to learn problem solving, communication, and collaboration — all skills in which video learning can assist.
  • Students who learn with video perform better. Various studies have found that students with access to on-demand video have better grades and exam results. The vast majority of university students surveyed said videos helped them learn course material.
  • Video provides a bridge between school and the real world. Through video training, students learn skills useful for the workplace, including sociability, civic responsibility, and media literacy.

For more ideas about how to use video learning in the classroom at your community college, contact us at Labyrinth Learning for educational resources.

Image Source: Wikimedia Commons

Engaging Students to Enhance Learning

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Teaching is a complex process that entails much more than being an expert in a particular field. Teachers must engage students enough so the desired information can be transferred from the teacher to the student. This may require you to step back and evaluate your classrooms and teaching styles to determine whether or not you’re truly connecting with students.

Engaging Students to Enhance Learning
Engage your students with a few of these handy teaching techniques.

To engage a tough student or silent classroom, utilize multiple learning styles. Most instructors teach the way they were taught, which often results in the traditional lecture hall format: teacher speaks and students listen. Unfortunately, this style only reaches the auditory learners in the room. Remember that there are seven learning styles:

  • Visual (they need to see)
  • Auditory (they need to hear)
  • Kinesthetic (they need to move)
  • Verbal (they need to speak)
  • Logical (need linear approaches)
  • Interpersonal (learns better in groups)
  • Intrapersonal (learns better alone)

Make sure your teaching approach alternates between different modalities to give everyone a fair chance.

Liven up your lesson plan by utilizing technology. Your students have been raised in a technologically rich environment. It is what they know and it is also their source of connection and entertainment. Take advantage of technology in the classroom to engage students and increase the relevancy of your lessons.

Reinforce old lessons on a regular basis. Students need to practice over and over. Create a curriculum in which each lesson connects to and repeats the concepts from previous lessons. It’s even better if you can create continuity between disciplines.

Contact Labyrinth Learning to learn more about teaching materials and software designed to engage students using technology and relevant, real-world curricula.

Image Source: Shutter Stock

The Social Learning Trend is on the Rise

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The Social Learning Trend is on the Rise
Break students out of the traditional mold of interacting in class with social learning.

With even more people becoming connected to the Internet on a global scale, the increased availability of smartphones, and the growing popularity of social media, it is no wonder that social learning — the use of mobile devices and social media to assist in eLearning and enable peer review — is on the rise.

The following statistics explain how the trend is expanding on an international level:

  • Worldwide Internet users — In 2014, it is estimated that 2.8 billion people will be using the Internet worldwide. This is up from 2.1 billion in 2010 and just 1 billion in 2005.
  • Facebook — In 2013, there were 1.15 billion users on Facebook, which is a marked increase from 1.06 the year before. The number of users accessing Facebook on mobile devices has increased even more significantly: by 51 percent in a 12-month period, reaching a total of 819 million users.
  • Smartphones — The cost of smartphones is rapidly dropping, which has provided Internet users with a cheaper way to get online. In 2012, the average cost of a smartphone was $298, but by 2013, this number had fallen to $180.
  • Peer review — Of students surveyed, 92 percent said they benefit from reviewing the writing of others and 82 percent found peer review helped their own writing.

As an educator, you should already be taking advantage of all social learning has to offer. For more advice about how to incorporate technology into your classroom or training program, contact us at Labyrinth Learning.

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How Technology Can Help Students Learn

How Technology Can Help Students Learn

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How Technology Can Help Students Learn
Use these basic tips to meld technology into the classroom. Source: morgueFile

With the proliferation of social media sites and gaming apps, it’s easy to see why technology is oftentimes perceived to have a negative effect on our kids. But is it really that bad?

Technology isn’t entirely bad, especially when you consider the role of education technology (ed tech) plays in schools across the nation. When educators use technology in learning, these mentors are helping students use their mobile devices to their advantage instead of their detriment.

Here are a few effective ways to use technology inside the classroom:

  • Support open source technologies: You don’t have to spend a lot of money on ed tech. Open source applications are  free, and they’re also stable and versatile. You won’t have to worry about limiting yourself to one platform.
  • Support technology adoption: Transitioning to new technology can be challenging, especially if a solution has a learning curve. Make time for familiarizing yourself with a new technology so that you’ll be comfortable using it.
  • Support teacher empowerment: Ed tech empowers both the students and educators. You can help your students more if you use a solution that gives you the ability to do your job more efficiently and easily.

Need more tips like these? Visit us at Labyrinth Learning or send us a message!