Theresa Schmitt, M.Ed.

Mike, Glad to hear you are taking away some tools that may be incorporated into your curriculum. Wishing you continued success in the classroom. Theresa Schmitt

Lee, Video diaries are a fun tool, and now that all modern smartphones have built in cameras, it makes this an affordable exercise. If you or your co-workers decide to give this a try, please share your outcomes with the group. Wishing you continued success in the classroom. Theresa Schmitt

sheryl, It is such a fantastic tool, I cannot say enough about it. Aside from guest speakers, it can be used it to bring professionals into the classroom to review portfolio work, which is such a critical element for many degree programs. Live demonstrations is a another great use when it is impractical to go off-site. Wishing you continued success in the classroom. Theresa Schmitt

Chris , I agree- how boring it would be if we did not customize our curriculum. I find these resources most useful when looking for new media to show in class, group project ideas, and just generally keeping up to date on the latest technologies that apply to courses I teach. Wishing you continued success in the classroom. Theresa Schmitt

Janet, I agree completely that quizzes should be customized in order to support the learning objectives of the course. I do see value in reviewing the wealth of material out there for inspiration, then infusing what works for you and your students. Common rubrics should be considered when aligning the curriculum within the same institution in order to ensure each student is taught to the same level no matter the teacher; creating rubrics together is, in my opinion, time very well spent. Wishing you continued success in the classroom. Theresa Schmitt

Carol, Please follow the link before for a wonderful, easy to follow slideshow on how to set up a classroom page on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.171939742861067.56325.160213990700309 This link will take you to a guide that offers suggestions for usage and addresses common concerns: http://www.scribd.com/doc/55599781/Facebook-for-Educators-English Wishing you continued success in the classroom. Theresa Schmitt

Randy, You may want to visit the Associate of College and Resource Libraries website if you are looking for inspiration. This link below will take you a page within the site where you can review college level lesson plans, worksheets, and the like. http://www.ala.org/acrl/aboutacrl/directoryofleadership/sections/ebss/ebsswebsite/cimc/lessonplans/lessonplans Wishing you continued success in the classroom. Theresa Schmitt

Randy, The ebook you use in class sounds like a fantastic resources. My Foundations Lab is a great tool for students to practice concepts taught in class and perhaps spend some time reinforcing basic concepts taught in high school. Many students graduate from high school and enroll in college only to find out they do not place into college-credit English classes. My Foundations can definitely help students build skills that bridge the gap between sentence-level skills and vocabulary and writing complex essays. Wishing you continued success in the classroom. Theresa Schmitt

Chris, The time stamp is a valuable feature when meeting a deadline is question, good point. Do you use Turn it In when checking for plagiarism? The company recently released a free grading rubric that assesses and grades the quality of internet sources used by students. Here is a link if you are interested in checking it out: http://pages.turnitin.com/seer_rubric.html Theresa Schmitt

Chris, I am familiar with Vuforia, the graphic capabilities are amazing. We have definitely come a long way since Tetris. I would love to hear more about how you incorporate AR into your lectures. As a developer yourself, it sounds as if you are in a unique position to share some great examples of this emerging trend in education. Wishing you continued success in the classroom. Theresa Schmitt