Common interview questions -- and how to answer them effectively

<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><b><i><span style="color: red; font-family: Verdana; font-size: medium;"></span></i></b></span><br /><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr><td colspan="2" style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal arial, helvetica;"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" id="tblContent"><tbody><tr id="trContent"><td align="center" class="cb_style tcContent" id="tcContent" style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: center;"><div class="cbArticleWrapper" style="background-color: white; text-align: left; width: 750px;"><div class="cbArticleContentWrapper" style="margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 15px; margin-right: 15px; margin-top: 15px; width: 750px;"><div class="cbArticleRight" style="width: 560px;"><div class="RXart" style="padding-right: 20px;"><div class="ArticleHeadline" style="margin-top: -30px;"><div class="cbmsnArticleImage" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" src="http://emj.cbdr.com/artieimages/0s/ar5l53269b3z1khpzh0s.gif?time=6/7/2011%2011:29:31%20am" /></div><b><span id="cbArticle_lblByLine">Robert Half International</span></b> </div><br /><div class="ArticleContent"><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Every hiring manager has a different set of go-to interview questions. In a recent survey by our company, we asked more than 650 managers in the United States and Canada to name the single question they ask that provides the most insight about a job applicant. Responses ranged from classic queries ("Where do you see yourself in five years?") to less-traditional ones ("How would you describe yourself in five words?").</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">While there's not always one right way to answer an interview question, some approaches are better than others. Here are some questions from the survey that you may face in your next interview, along with tips on how -- and how not -- to answer them:</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b>"Can you tell me a little about yourself?"</b></div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b>Do:</b> Prepare for this popular question -- which is often the first one asked -- by developing an incisive summary of your career. Your sound bite should be succinct but include enough detail about your pertinent skills, work experience, accomplishments and goals that the hiring manager can quickly see what you bring to the table.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b>Don't: </b>Give your life story, discuss leisure pursuits or describe aspects of your professional background that aren't relative to the position you're interviewing for.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b>"Why do you want to join our company?"</b></div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b>Do:</b> Walk into the interview with beyond-the-basics knowledge of the firm. Read the company's website, marketing materials and relevant news stories to gain a good grasp of its mission, history, reputation and corporate culture. The more information you collect, the more specific you can be about why you're an excellent fit.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b>Don't:</b> Answer in the context of your financial needs. Saying "I hear you provide good pay and benefits" or "Frankly, I need a job" won't score you any points.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b>"What's your biggest weakness?"</b><br /><b>Do:</b> View this as an opportunity to demonstrate your self-awareness, sincerity and problem-solving prowess. Mention an area where you could improve and spotlight the steps you've taken to do so.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Here's an example: "In the past, I sometimes overextended myself. Reading time-management books has helped me, though. Now, I make prioritized to-do lists, I've learned it's OK to delegate and I volunteer for extra projects only when I'm caught up on core responsibilities."</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b>Don't: </b>Offer a transparently fake flaw ("I care too much about my work!") or pretend to be perfect ("Weaknesses? None come to mind."). And, of course, don't be your own worst critic by citing countless shortcomings.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b>"Where do you see yourself in five years?"</b></div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b>Do:</b> Position yourself as an ambitious but flexible realist. One way to do this is to speak of your desire to continually take on broader responsibilities and grow professionally no matter what role you're in. You also might emphasize your commitment to lifelong learning by mentioning your interest in attaining advanced industry certifications.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b>Don't:</b> Focus on an overly lofty objective. For instance, boldly proclaiming you intend to be the firm's next CFO when you're an entry-level accounting candidate certainly shows drive, but it's not a practical five-year objective. In addition, steer clear of fanciful daydreaming ("I'll be counting my lottery winnings on a Hawaiian beach").</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b>"Why are you looking to leave your current employer?"</b></div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b>Do: </b>The interviewer is trying to figure out if you truly want the position, or if you're looking for any way out of a bad job. As such, reiterate what you like about the role you're seeking rather than gripe about the one you hope to vacate. Make it clear you're chasing a great opportunity, not running away from an unpleasant situation.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b>Don't:</b> Speak ill of your current employer. Regardless of how unhappy you are with your job or company, never act bitter or resentful in an interview. Hiring managers seek candidates who are loyal, positive-minded and team-oriented. They aren't inclined to hire people they perceive to be potential headaches.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Finally, despite your best efforts, you can't anticipate every question you'll be asked.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">"How would you define your personality in one word?" or "How will you behave if you get blamed for something you didn't do?" were just two of the unique questions that popped up in our survey of hiring managers.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">If an interviewer throws you a curveball, maintain eye contact, take a deep breath and pause to consider your response. Many of your competitors will fluster easily. Set yourself apart by keeping your cool in the hot seat.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><i>Robert Half International is the world's first and largest specialized staffing firm with a global network of more than 350 offices worldwide. For more information about our professional services, please visit <a href="http://www.roberthalf.com/" style="color: #3300cc; font-family: Arial; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">www.roberthalf.com</a>. For additional career advice, follow us on Twitter at<a href="http://www.twitter.com/roberthalf" style="color: #3300cc; font-family: Arial; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">www.twitter.com/roberthalf</a>.</i></div></div></div></div></div></div></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table>

Common interview questions -- and how to answer them effectively

Robert Half International   Every hiring manager has a different set of go-to interview questions. In a recent survey by our company, we ask...

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Sick...Again

It seemed like I spent the better part of October not feeling well in some shape or form.  I'm ready to start the month of November off on a better foot!<br /><br />I had a great weekend visiting my niece and nephew in the Motherland.  We did pumpkin carving and spent plenty of time coloring and playing with Play-Doh.  Joel found a "Barbie Princess" app on the iPad that had Grace enamored for hours.  She is 3 years old and had NO problem learning how to navigate the iPad - amazing!<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY8ht28X1AqMHw29aEpo5CNK6ZlfRKhCYqA9XHfkUu1dGzUzlo_6VAxCXduyO2pj3uQlgjItg_ptY_ztqzOBfPY_-zNUrVra1yRuDzXfiEGIOrhhK5DRl0rlNq8xK7XvFWE2FFuyI_G18/s1600/Blogger+PlayDoh.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY8ht28X1AqMHw29aEpo5CNK6ZlfRKhCYqA9XHfkUu1dGzUzlo_6VAxCXduyO2pj3uQlgjItg_ptY_ztqzOBfPY_-zNUrVra1yRuDzXfiEGIOrhhK5DRl0rlNq8xK7XvFWE2FFuyI_G18/s400/Blogger+PlayDoh.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">a recreation of Dinosaur Train (if you have little ones, you probably know<br />what this means)</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF9HK6NQxq0Rm6WbaIpaVn-UyGKrBXq7l7ziAh3PNKV5yF_J3bL2T8CvlTlVvX-cyLgJGrh-oj7LTY6f4ldDdzsVw5L6pfNeh4R5eoP0ao0wwiQW68CcgeaA8JMWCzu7IYC4QBg1CY0v4/s1600/Blogger+Barbie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF9HK6NQxq0Rm6WbaIpaVn-UyGKrBXq7l7ziAh3PNKV5yF_J3bL2T8CvlTlVvX-cyLgJGrh-oj7LTY6f4ldDdzsVw5L6pfNeh4R5eoP0ao0wwiQW68CcgeaA8JMWCzu7IYC4QBg1CY0v4/s400/Blogger+Barbie.jpg" width="340" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the "Barbie" game</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHZwDY1ISMRuahBTPbN2zpgu_mahhC1Id8mAbjShZHjU-NgCCkiSVMq7ovgzNhyQ8T46VJJGhayW6GCKAIXkxbsj6aB_u1j1XrH46s82zLSda0khCBGX68aAWubfTITRhX-CoQpLVLVnU/s1600/Blogger+Pumpkin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="130" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHZwDY1ISMRuahBTPbN2zpgu_mahhC1Id8mAbjShZHjU-NgCCkiSVMq7ovgzNhyQ8T46VJJGhayW6GCKAIXkxbsj6aB_u1j1XrH46s82zLSda0khCBGX68aAWubfTITRhX-CoQpLVLVnU/s400/Blogger+Pumpkin.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rexon's, Grace's, Tiffany's, Vern's</td></tr></tbody></table>One of my challenges with heading to my sister's for the weekend was how I was going to stay "on plan".  It was definitely a lot easier this time, mainly in due part to Joel's support.  Neither of us wanted to go off plan.  I counted and tracked diligently all weekend.  Even though we did get pizza on Friday night, I tracked it and felt a lot better about eating it.  Typically I wouldn't track it at all out of frustration of not knowing exactly how many Points+ the pizza was (seems counter-productive, this I now know).  I estimated as best I could, accepted the estimate and moved on.  Saturday night my sister and bro-in-law went out to dinner, so Joel made us a WW friendly meal of mac/cheese with broccoli (a recipe from e-Tools).  It wasn't bad for 7 Points+. <br /> <br />On Sunday, we stayed long enough to get the majority of the pumpkin carving done before we headed out on our long trek back to Virginia.  We were both ready for the drive to be over, but we had to drop my car off at the dealership - the heater was not working, which made for a challenging weekend spent up north where it actually snowed in October!<br /><br />Monday morning, as I was waking up to prepare for the work day, I started to not feel well.  It started off with....plenty of bathroom visits, shall I say, but ended with throwing up.  Of course, I felt better afterward like you always do, but not 10 minutes later the stomach sickness came back full force and I was sick alllll day long.  I have never been sick like this in my adult life (except from hangovers).  It was awful.  I spent the greater part of Monday in bed with severe stomach pain, which eventually developed into a splitting headache.  All of this was so bad I couldn't get relaxed enough to even fall asleep.  By Tuesday, I was feeling much better, but still a little queasy and today (Wednesday) I feel better yet, but am still struggling with an appetite.  Quick! I need to note somewhere that I actually said I have no appetite!  Believe it or not, I can count on 1 hand the things I've eaten since Monday.    <br /><br />Either way, I'm back to feeling moderately better, though I plan to visit the Urgent Care center tonight after work because I've been experiencing heart palpitations since the sickness ensued.  I usually only get these when I consume caffeine or lots of chocolate, but it's been kind of crazy since Monday, so I want to go get checked out.  I'll let you know how it all pans out!<br /><br />Happy Wednesday!<br /><br />

Miscellaneous Weight Watchers Sick...Again

It seemed like I spent the better part of October not feeling well in some shape or form.  I'm ready to start the month of November off ...

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Insanity: is it contagious?

A lot has happened since my last post.<br /><br />After a disastrous lunch with my craziest niece last Saturday, where I attempted to make peace with her, I flew home on Sunday. There is no reasoning with a crazy person. Lesson learned.<br /><br />I was an emotional basket case when I got home. For the first time in my life I felt like I was losing my mind. After weeks of barely sleeping, even though I was taking Ambien nightly, I felt crazy. Add to that an incredible amount of stress because of my sister's situation and my totally insane and evil niece, I couldn't stop crying. My husband couldn't comfort me, nothing made me feel better. Even sitting in the back yard here at home, with the sun on my face and the fall leaves falling around me with my kitty chasing after them, all I could do was cry. I cried for almost twelve hours straight.<br /><br />I realize I had just gone through five weeks of high stress and little sleep, but I also believe the Ambien was messing with my head. I decided to forgo the Ambien that night. It was a very rough night, with a three-hour period from midnight to 3 a.m. where I couldn't sleep and couldn't stop crying. I was also having the worst migraine headache of my life. I'd been having severe headaches for three weeks, but this one was off the charts in the pain level.<br /><br />When I closed my eyes all I could see were bright shooting lights. I'd been having the lights problem for weeks, but this time it was intense. I couldn't picture anything in my head, just the lights. When I finally fell back to sleep around 3 a.m. I had a dream, the first dream I could recall in the past three weeks.<br /><br />I was climbing up a stairwell, dressed in workout clothes. It was similar to the Big Climb I did last March. In front of me was one of my nieces (the depressed one) and behind me was her husband but he only had one leg. The other leg was a stump sticking through his cut off pants leg. This is the niece and her husband that I spent two weeks with while we were caring for my sister at her house. We were together almost every minute during that time.<br /><br />As we were climbing, each step became more difficult. I turned to my niece's husband and told him to go in front of me. He went up in front of my niece. Suddenly, I turned around and started running down the stairs as fast as I could go. I could see myself running, my ponytail swinging. I was laughing and so happy. I was going as fast as I could go. Then I reached the bottom and had to turn around and start back up the stairs. Each step was difficult. Then I woke up.<br /><br />This dream made me realize I'm not crazy, and I'm going to be okay. It was a very rough five weeks, and there are more things that need to be taken care of, but I'm not losing my mind. I feel more at peace and sane than I have in weeks.<br /><br /><b>Sister update</b><br />On 9/21 we moved my sister to an assisted living home that specializes in hospice care. It's a nice place and one I found by calling all twelve of the assisted living homes in Fairbanks. Only two had a bed and could care for someone like my sister. This home has an R.N. and several L.P.N.s and a staff of 16 for 14 residents. They seemed better equipped to deal with my sister's needs.<br /><br />The move was horrific. Considering how we'd had a phone conversation two weeks before her stroke about how awful it would be to have stroke and how we'd rather die, we also talked about how awful it would be to move into an assisted living home.<br /><br />I've never seen my sister cry as hard as when they placed her in the bed in the home. She barely shed a tear when her husband past away two years ago (after 51 years of marriage). She just doesn't cry. But that day, she couldn't stop. <br /><br />On the day of the move my sister hadn't eaten more than a couple bites of food in 33 days and barely drank any water.<br /><br />Then a weird thing happened. At the home she starting eating and drinking a lot of water. She doesn't eat a lot, maybe five bites of apple pancake for breakfast or a little 4-ounce container of yogurt for lunch and some jello for dinner. But she's eating!<br /><br />She's also talking non-stop (stroke talk I call it), and sometimes I pick up a word here and there. She also spells words, but jumbles her letters. Except for two days she kept spelling E-???-E, over and over. It sounded like "e-l-e" but she kept shaking her head no. Then one time she said E-???-E-R. Exercise?! Do you want to exercise?!!! A big nod yes. I asked if she wanted to move her paralyzed side. The occupational therapist had showed me some exercises to do with her to keep the muscles moving and I had pleaded with my sister for five weeks to let me do them for her, and always got an emphatic NO. Now she wanted to do exercises. So we did. I asked her if it hurt and she said "a little". I asked if we could keep doing them and she nodded yes. <br /><br />I talked to her about getting a speech therapist and a physical therapist and she agreed. She wants to get better. I called her doctor and she's arranged for both the ST and the PT to come to the home. Woohoo!<br /><br />Something transpired in the past two days that is requiring me to return to Fairbanks tonight. I can't go into details, but I'll write more about it later. Don't worry, I'm going to be okay. Whatever happened to me on Sunday has passed. I'm completely off Ambien and have been sleeping. I feel more calm and at peace than I have in months.<br /><br /><b>About my weight loss</b><br />I didn't forget this is really a weight loss blog. I weighed yesterday, after getting my cast removed and I'm 173.4. I was 180.8 when I went to Fairbanks almost five weeks ago on September 22. My plan was to eat carefully but not starve myself. I went out to eat often the last week while at the hotel, but I chose my meals carefully and almost always only ate half of what I was served, leaving the other half on my plate.<br /><br />For the five weeks I was gone, I had to stay in a hotel for two weeks. The hotel gym was pretty decent, and I worked out there as much as I could.<br /><br />In case you're wondering, I can't stay with crazy niece because, well, she's crazy (mean crazy). I can't stay with depressed niece because even though she's nice, she doesn't clean her house. So not only is she incredibly depressing to be around (she cries all the freaking time), my allergies go nuts at her house. We went there one night for dinner, and I thought I was going to stop breathing because of all the dust and dog hair. My brother, who I adore, lives out of town and is married to an alcoholic (she went on a big drinking binge while I was there). Ha! And you thought your family was nuts!<br /><br /><b>My broken wrist update</b><br />Well, it's indeed a miracle. My majorly fractured, almost broken in two pieces, scaphoid bone in my wrist has healed and grown back together after three months in a cast. My orthopaedic doctor (Dr. Callahan) and the number one orthopaedic hand/wrist surgeon in Washington (Dr. Buckmiller) looked at my x-rays on Monday. They couldn't believe it, but the bone has grown back together. This almost never happens since this bone has difficulty healing because of a lack of blood supply. They had even told me to expect to have surgery even after three months in a cast. Now no surgery is needed (thank you Jesus...and I really mean that!). I told my husband it was all that wiping my sister's butt after we had to give her an enema at the house (that was three days I'll never forget!). <br /><br />They made me a custom molded type splint/cast thing that fastens with Velcro. It has a cotton liner (like a stocking thing), and I have two of them. They're washable!<br /><br />I can take it off to shower or wash my hands. I can take it off to watch TV. I have physical therapy and lots of exercises to do here at home with my wrist. Since it was in a cast for so long, some of the mobility is gone and I'm working on getting it back. I'm still not allowed to lift weights to do bicep curls, but I can use that arm for any machines where the hand isn't doing the work (like lat raises and some other machines). My left wrist (the one that was casted) is 1/2" smaller than my right wrist and my left forearm is a a whole inch smaller than my right forearm, and same for my left bicep, it's one inch smaller too. Definitely some muscle loss and a lot of flabbiness in my upper arm. Probably a little of my weight loss, maybe a pound or so, is from this muscle loss. Oh well, I can get it back, it'll just take some time.<br /><br />I go back to work on November 16, and I'm really looking forward to it. I have this thing to take care of in Fairbanks this week and I'll get to visit my sister, but life isn't bad right now. In fact, being home for a few days has made me realize just how precious life is and how much I appreciate what I have here. My job, my husband, my kitty, and most of all, my sanity.<br /><br /><b>Thank you</b><br />Lastly, but most importantly (for the few that have read through this incredibly long post), thank you for all your kind comments and emails. I haven't responded to any of you or comment on your blogs because until this week, I only had one hand to type with and it was pretty difficult to even get a post typed up. Soon I will be back to reading blogs and back to my real life. Thanks again for all your support. You really have no idea how much it meant to me during a very difficult and dark time in my life.

Insanity: is it contagious?

A lot has happened since my last post. After a disastrous lunch with my craziest niece last Saturday, where I attempted to make peace with h...

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Inspiration Visitors to our blog!

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Peer Coaching in Bloemfontein - transformational!

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Submitted by Fiona Beal</i><br />On Friday 21^st October and Saturday 22^nd October I was very privileged to be able to attend the last two sessions of Sarietjie Musgrave’s Peer Coaching workshop at the University of the Free State in Bloemfontein, South Africa. This was a large group of at least fifty teachers. Sarietjie was aided by Mrs Bouwie van der Walt. I was also able to visit Eunice High School in Bloemfontein for the day on Thursday 20th October to observe the benefits of the peer coaching programme on the school as a whole.  </span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXra8H3Jb10vR3CCBz-600ee67Iz7F0iw6WYyWCgjhbXSUDjBMhGcEzeiwFyYdsrfbtuMHfyS9_rbPJjWsXfcny-Itr_G6A5KiAnpI80r99hqhj1LZs5-83khuEGjdCbUWfsvPEK-F-xc/s1600/DSCF8118.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXra8H3Jb10vR3CCBz-600ee67Iz7F0iw6WYyWCgjhbXSUDjBMhGcEzeiwFyYdsrfbtuMHfyS9_rbPJjWsXfcny-Itr_G6A5KiAnpI80r99hqhj1LZs5-83khuEGjdCbUWfsvPEK-F-xc/s320/DSCF8118.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>What is Peer Coaching?</b></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="color: #4d4d4d; font-family: inherit;">Peer Coaching is a programme that was developed by Puget Sound Center for teaching learning and technology in the USA. Microsoft sponsors the Peer Coaching programme and its expansion into over 40 countries worldwide. Peer Coaching is incorporated into the Partners in Learning Programme.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4d4d4d;">In South Africa SchoolNet SA provides Master training for potential trainers and implements the Peer Coaching programme nationally. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4d4d4d; line-height: 18px;">Basically the programme is implanted over three years and each year two or three teachers from a school attend the course in 8 full day sessions over eight to nine months. Coaches learn good educational practice and how technology can complement learning. These new- found skills are then taken back to school to share with their colleagues. </span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 17px;">  </span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Who should attend?</span></b><br /><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></b><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #4d4d4d; font-family: inherit;">There is a set of criteria that should be used to identify peer coaches within a school. However schools use different ways of deciding who should attend the eight peer coaching sessions in a year. Eunice High School allows the teachers to volunteer for the course. Listen to what Mr Cassar says about his observations of Peer Coaching. He mentions how he allows them to volunteer for the programme. </span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" class="b-hbp-video b-uploaded" frameborder="0" height="266" id="BLOGGER-video-fbc5c389b1233d7b-16607" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" src="https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dy73w8QIJYzbksg1XGL261wECTU3ejfenvn5h31RSZJY2piopMJQJjizqnuiTq79n_4ROBj-SIJu3IlSR1GKU2fQBtBXqYu9-TqweqkqxUIieWNc-G5NtEA3FANQjOmf9mZPC3d" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" width="320"></iframe></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">What do the school principals think about the programme?</span></b><br /><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></b><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">The four principals I interviewed had nothing but positive comments to say about the programme. Three of them had accompanied their staff on the first occasion, which is required by the course, and then returned every time. Generally the principals I interviewed noticed that the staff that volunteered or were chosen for this course became more willing to share with others and as a result they themselves developed professionally. The peer coach teachers start to take the lead in the school’s initiatives and go beyond the four walls of their classrooms. It is a combination of what they learned at peer coaching plus their own willingness to share that causes them to stand out. The principals also noticed a growth in confidence in the teachers concerned.  The programme seemed to bring a new vibrance into the schools. Teachers at the schools no longer saw ICT as an enemy. They saw that ICT helps the teacher to teach more effectively.</span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf9sFskbzUVbL8LYKqJnDBenoJhY7LniSEjawj41LA96saj6NCURBNGEPvSR5Zkt2xKfA-yC75oHKfzbFAZFTbSNXj4opvnKuR42FMaJuG6g25bJ2G4fvpDX0GJQ4dcTeIrh-zqzE9X58/s1600/DSCF8096.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf9sFskbzUVbL8LYKqJnDBenoJhY7LniSEjawj41LA96saj6NCURBNGEPvSR5Zkt2xKfA-yC75oHKfzbFAZFTbSNXj4opvnKuR42FMaJuG6g25bJ2G4fvpDX0GJQ4dcTeIrh-zqzE9X58/s320/DSCF8096.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><div class="MsoNormal"></div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Did the teachers feel they had benefitted?</span></b><br /><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><div class="MsoNoSpacing"></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">I interviewed quite a few of the teachers and was quite taken with their positive view of the peer coaching programme:<br /><br />* This course helped them with their lesson planning and lesson design.<span class="apple-converted-space"><br /></span>*Teachers generally found the course very enriching. Lesson planning improved as well as the structure of the lesson and integrating it with technology. They discovered where to find more resources to draw from. <span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><br />*It helped them to stimulate higher order thinking by implementing problem-solving techniques and collaborative practices that motivated the learners.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh6RYo8zgb2q2J2S1_e8BgCtJhJCoJ4sG-2kliWLzlWCVvsgV9WPQE4IMfWthoe9shne04ZpqNIUhFmxcugFlHhpn9CI5OrTec6qCb-J9LP4G2QyRXTC34xrtFHGQGYxKili6bBfoz2k4/s1600/DSC02053.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh6RYo8zgb2q2J2S1_e8BgCtJhJCoJ4sG-2kliWLzlWCVvsgV9WPQE4IMfWthoe9shne04ZpqNIUhFmxcugFlHhpn9CI5OrTec6qCb-J9LP4G2QyRXTC34xrtFHGQGYxKili6bBfoz2k4/s320/DSC02053.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />*After being introduced to ways of gathering and finding information they learned to help others back at school. Before they came to peer coaching they tended to be selfish and do everything for themselves. They have since learned to share more with other teachers and make lessons more interesting for the learners at school.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><br />*The programme helped some of the teachers develop in confidence. They generally were excited to be able to take the things they had learned back to their schools.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><br />*Some noticed a growth in their own motivation. They found they had a lot to share with their colleagues at school. Some actually wanted to attend the peer coaching course because they had noticed the growth in other colleagues who had attended in previous years.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">*The way they asked questions in class back at school had changed, and the quality of the questions they asked in class had also changed. Even the learners asked better questions as a result. </span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">*The course seemed to open up a whole new world not only to the teachers but also to the learners. </span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYDo-XdzwTSG1slgQr7PN717_kuaMDQwlHee7Ky9M9AY9sEXrV5V_KkLoVsxqswbWs7GgkHCPUYicU3jKlKJ1yB0-90XyL4DhS8yoDjUNNbXN0vTEBUsWFeUG8MZcwCBTO2I3VXbKTsnw/s1600/dvd.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYDo-XdzwTSG1slgQr7PN717_kuaMDQwlHee7Ky9M9AY9sEXrV5V_KkLoVsxqswbWs7GgkHCPUYicU3jKlKJ1yB0-90XyL4DhS8yoDjUNNbXN0vTEBUsWFeUG8MZcwCBTO2I3VXbKTsnw/s320/dvd.JPG" width="240" /></span></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />*Collaboration was new to some of the teachers but the course took them out of their little islands and helped them to discuss more with one another. They learned to tap into what is available out there and share it informally without treading on any toes at school. They found they had lots to share with others and in fact looked out for things to share with others.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">*One of the teachers mentioned how peer coaching seems to surpass other forms of professional development as provided by the Department of Education. He described it as “magnificent in comparison”. It is user friendly and applicable, and can be implemented immediately. Peer coaching, he added, is a great confidence booster for a teacher.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">*Another of the teachers whose class I had been able to visit at Eunice spoke glowingly of the whole experience and how it had caused her to go on and experience more courses that SchoolNet had on offer. The brilliant work I observed in her classroom paid tribute to the obvious benefits of the programme. The highlight of her experience was to visit Lesotho with a group of peer coaches and share with the teachers there. </span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht85HO7AjOxQbYgdYkm0U_3O_3-MnfayppoUkCRz_9bwU39FqqU19rJE5_JHFRAuyu7BGIvltxha1DbluBZlYX8CHy1bEKVhNj7rVkcvfR4PRweyoTZ30mN-QQMq7TXkkQLLTYyvkYJoY/s1600/DSCF8034-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht85HO7AjOxQbYgdYkm0U_3O_3-MnfayppoUkCRz_9bwU39FqqU19rJE5_JHFRAuyu7BGIvltxha1DbluBZlYX8CHy1bEKVhNj7rVkcvfR4PRweyoTZ30mN-QQMq7TXkkQLLTYyvkYJoY/s320/DSCF8034-2.jpg" width="240" /></span></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><div class="MsoNoSpacing"></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">One of the principals summarized his observations of peer coaching over a span of time. He said that he noticed that in the long term the teachers concerned move further and further out of the confines of their classrooms and not only share with a wide group of people but also bring back so much <u><b>to</b></u> the school. The impact on the school and learners is enormous.</span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">A video of the experience</span></b><br /><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></b></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Here is a video summarising my peer coaching experience in Bloemfontein. </span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/uK0bnr4mYbM" width="420"></iframe></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">To end off Session 7 Sarietjie showed the teachers four different Microsoft tools – AutoCollage, Songsmith, Photostory 3 and Windows Live Moviemaker. They were asked to document their peer coaching journey in groups during Session 8 using one of these tools. Here are some of the final results.</span></div></div></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Photostories created by some of the groups</span></b><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">1) <b>Siphi, Lebohogang, Mpai and Lilian</b></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" class="b-hbp-video b-uploaded" frameborder="0" height="266" id="BLOGGER-video-fadc7b7bf1e366d0-5042" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" src="https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzmxPEzYO8B4LScWMQ_tmJN1oIhqDLyb4_46BF8dDdyl1KbVG7r-8BYq-6PDg5evF9qe-n97KiSC6UkYaFMRRSsGynZwmTOA7qj4_n_lWpZz-wG_ekG4pmpkXSaAO9INIlSMWE" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" width="320"></iframe></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">2) <b>Prisca, Roman and Smith</b></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" class="b-hbp-video b-uploaded" frameborder="0" height="266" id="BLOGGER-video-1236cbc4f14fef44-4302" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" src="https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwJzuu7M-A-YDWRxSmMSwZSuBzGNFn_wJ5eRoOqI_jH_NJzyXYS-ZGS5j7Q7Nw0nn0bLa4oI2HddJOuVGkFVsFGy6tME6c6h0TFzuXPxI4oYzsaj3hnm5TqUqCr44q0rx0sEao" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" width="320"></iframe></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">3) <b>Maritha, Nauda, Mavis and Ingrid</b></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" class="b-hbp-video b-uploaded" frameborder="0" height="266" id="BLOGGER-video-885a66df6436768a-104" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" src="https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyWJV-3uDTJwvonnUpK6fZ1rdHH5BqylzcuKErrT563R5pj-dAlIwOOdtWeX4XnUD1zTb3PimjyERS3W1KTW1TtKfnBLOYnWoctAiTKoS4sVn9a5tlaUacT4EAEa7D250P6EA" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" width="320"></iframe></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">4) <b>Keneilwe, Danisele, Mphomotseng and Motlodi</b></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" class="b-hbp-video b-uploaded" frameborder="0" height="266" id="BLOGGER-video-037b5d0ec0f03a27-6683" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" src="https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzAbRjmRCYQhoEInPCK6B1fZN2f5SknY67-1fWRh_iwCpIk2alEY0A13iWIu3OWbfKGXJnDEhBY1BmyH2Mxag5JOWRXl9UpCkf-BtKAI7LVRJSXdqJS-f2hnJv79QVwLPByjOs" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" width="320"></iframe></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">5) <b>Jacki, John and Isaac</b></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" class="b-hbp-video b-uploaded" frameborder="0" height="266" id="BLOGGER-video-d4f7682a012a1e97-1689" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" src="https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dygnKISaeVlD0fvmc56We_qZ1R1l7XrzypjONLKI1rZrRAgMnBtIsGazFjXTt6KYPvggnZdsGPtk8plHeCE5Q7TMXWkDkLxddAkI_agHCDPHPsjm3iQtWEksRk3r90zRWhOrU8" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" width="320"></iframe></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">6)  <b>Anthony, Thandi, Jonathon and Matladi</b></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" class="b-hbp-video b-uploaded" frameborder="0" height="266" id="BLOGGER-video-6456379ad16e2f27-7227" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" src="https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwiMtlCN4QKjhBo7ctKzPsMvcAqTtTb9ikoGlZ2VK1g8227Umkxad6C999xAafQFT5ttc2oNH_nx_pHU8RB_adYKNdM94qCRiiBcP9lODSprCv6KdFerUiaWxNOU_knRXnxzso" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" width="320"></iframe></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">As an onlooker I left these sessions wishing I had experienced the privilege of attending a full course as a teacher when still in the classroom. This programme really seems to be one of the answers to the South African education dilemma!</span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRte_zGD1d1SjF6c30xnSbP4Xr5uNB0R7pFCi4uoujLuQdgBXx7rqxY7dY16rGZ4IOvxt2IgvmZ1vCERB4_zDKM_AtFaLmPwpm6RgHM65DbkW7NHuCKre3mkvu-i1HpG8HFOYr7OJ9qm8/s1600/Peer+coaching+-+Bloem-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRte_zGD1d1SjF6c30xnSbP4Xr5uNB0R7pFCi4uoujLuQdgBXx7rqxY7dY16rGZ4IOvxt2IgvmZ1vCERB4_zDKM_AtFaLmPwpm6RgHM65DbkW7NHuCKre3mkvu-i1HpG8HFOYr7OJ9qm8/s320/Peer+coaching+-+Bloem-2.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">SchoolNet wishes to thank Sareitjie Musgrave and the other peer coaching trainers around South Africa for the sterling job they are doing in training educators in this programme. </span></div></div></div>

case study Microsoft Training Peer Coaching in Bloemfontein - transformational!

Submitted by Fiona Beal On Friday 21 st October and Saturday 22 nd October I was very privileged to be able to attend the last two session...

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5 ways to derail your interview

<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><b><i><span style="color: red; font-family: Verdana; font-size: medium;"></span></i></b></span><br /><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr><td colspan="2" style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal arial, helvetica;"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" id="tblContent"><tbody><tr id="trContent"><td align="center" class="cb_style tcContent" id="tcContent" style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: center;"><div class="cbArticleWrapper" style="background-color: white; text-align: left; width: 750px;"><div class="cbArticleContentWrapper" style="margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 15px; margin-right: 15px; margin-top: 15px; width: 750px;"><div class="cbArticleRight" style="width: 560px;"><div class="RXart" style="padding-right: 20px;"><div class="ArticleHeadline" style="margin-top: -30px;"><div class="cbmsnArticleImage" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" src="http://emj.cbdr.com/artieimages/48/ar5m0t6666x7vyhhbs48.gif?time=5/2/2011%203:31:43%20pm" /></div><div class="hdr_org_bld" style="color: #ff6600; font: normal normal bold 18px/normal arial, helvetica;"><h1 id="articleHeadline" style="color: #ff7700; font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><br /></h1></div><b><span id="cbArticle_lblByLine">Rachel Farrell, Special to CareerBuilder</span></b> </div><br /><div class="ArticleContent"><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">An interview is one of the hardest things to obtain as a job seeker -- and unfortunately, it's also one of the easiest ways you can lose the job opportunity.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Interview mishaps happen to everyone, but the key to avoiding them is to relax and be yourself, says Laura Rose, a life and business coach and owner of Rose Coaching.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">"The interview is as much about getting to know the company and work environment as it is about them interviewing you. This strategy relaxes the entire interview," she says. "You can essentially direct the interview to the areas you are most comfortable talking about. Listening to the interviewer answer the questions, you can clue in on his terminology, terms and what he feels is important. Then you can highlight those same terms and skill set in your comments back to him."</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Being well-prepared for the meeting can also help you impress a potential employer.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">"It's difficult to overstress how important it is to do some research on a company you're interviewing with. Have a list of good questions to ask the person interviewing you. You want to seem like you are asking questions that require thought rather than questions seeking information that may be available on the website," says Debra Yergen, <a href="http://www.careerbuilder.com/jobs/keyword/author/" style="color: #3300cc; font-family: Arial; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">author</a> of "Creating Job Security Resource Guide."</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">"Start with questions about the importance the organization places on industry hot buttons and what the hiring manager sees as differences between their company and their competitors. Another great question might be something like, 'Are there any employee groups here that work together to plan team-building activities or extracurricular events that bring co-workers together either to boost morale or support the community?' These kinds of questions send a potential employer a message that you're looking for more than a job," she says.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">While asking the right kinds of question is vital, you must also be prepared to answer the tough questions, says Henry Motyka, business solutions <a href="http://www.careerbuilder.com/jobs/keyword/manager/" style="color: #3300cc; font-family: Arial; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">manager</a> at Norwood Consulting.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">"Of particular importance are behavioral interview questions like, 'Tell me about a situation when ... ' It is best to define those situations beforehand and memorize them," he says.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Doing your research, asking the right questions and answering tough questions are ways to avoid making an interview mistake. But, unfortunately, there are many ways to derail an interview. Here are five gaffes to steer clear of in your interview:</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b>1. Inappropriate attire</b></div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">"If you are not professionally attired, you won't get the job, even if you are the most qualified," says image consultant Sandy Dumont. "Always dress better than required for an interview. Never dress down, because it is insulting to the other person. It says, 'I don't have to impress you; I dress for my own comfort.' When you dress to impress, they get it, and you will stand out from all the other candidates."</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b>2. Trying to lead the interview</b></div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">"Many of my clients have children. [They have a] tendency to talk over their interviewers. That's how they manage to be heard at home and that's what they often do in their interviews," says Rory Cohen, a <a href="http://www.careerbuilder.com/jobs/keyword/career+counselor/" style="color: #3300cc; font-family: Arial; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">career counselor</a>. "When you don't listen, you don't get invited back for a second interview. Interviewers, in general, want and expect to be in the driver's seat."</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b>3. Showing up too late or too early</b></div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">"If you're more than 15 minutes early to your interview, go to the restroom and freshen up, then casually walk in about 15 minutes before your scheduled appointment," says Marie Applegate Prasad, founder of WiSo Résumés.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b>4. Bringing your own food or drink</b></div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">"Do not bring any food or drinks into the office of the interviewer. Many find eating or drinking a big distraction and some people are sensitive to smells," Prasad says. "It's best to just wait until after the interview is over."</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b>5. Forgetting important information</b></div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">"On a sheet of paper write down the following information: company, address, phone number, hiring manager, person who scheduled the interview, position you are interviewing for and job duties," Prasad says. "Study this and bring with you the day of your interview."</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><i>Rachel Farrell researches and writes about job search strategy, career management, hiring trends and workplace issues for CareerBuilder.com. Follow @CareerBuilder on Twitter.</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div></div></div></div></div></div></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table>

5 ways to derail your interview

Rachel Farrell, Special to CareerBuilder   An interview is one of the hardest things to obtain as a job seeker -- and unfortunately, it'...

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Three SchoolNet trainers featured in Intel’s ‘10 million teachers – Opening Doors of Opportunity’ site

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">  <br />Intel@ Teach recently celebrated training 10 million teachers! (SchoolNet offers their marvelous courses free of charge to educators in South Africa). Intel called this celebration ‘10 million teachers – Opening Doors of Opportunity’ and they asked teachers around the world to submit their teacher stories   Three of our South African teachers (all ‘Schoolnetters’) have their stories featured on their site - <a href="http://10millionteachers.intel.com/" title="http://10millionteachers.intel.com/">http://10millionteachers.intel.com/</a><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><strong>1. Brenda Hallowes</strong></span> <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiRuSEMC5Y6zVXN1qN3HxjsoagCE1nlLaFE4OY5Th5pRE_Zj_JTRrg9ZX4nU07FLSQ6FdP1XeLHAsq9U24932V-BVFm8A7ZT-KfXdCpHsCeoVBhtYcZgsaIvGgUuikfTtYVQDwOsUHh6M/s1600-h/image%25255B2%25255D.png"><img alt="image" border="0" height="244" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnftJat3Aa5wzTsl-76NOp-rRp4J0D0O8AKHspWSst_TjmZStXYUikCYmmT7TqvtJ6gczuKBl5DywkN7wLRkKbp-WBbef7eBxKY4nQ6jTzHxd1gaXf2c77tftqnLopG1w2GJ77CXuD5-0/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="202" /></a><br /><br /><u></u><u>School Name</u>: Cotswold Preparatory School<br /><br /><u>Subjects</u>: I Am Presently The Computer Teacher At My School <br /><br />“I completed the Intel Teach to the Future course in September 2003. At the time I was the media teacher at a school in Durban and I was so excited about implementing project-based learning and ICT integration. Unfortunately, a few months later my husband and I re-located to a rural area of Kwa Zulu Natal. I taught in the village school, which didn’t have computers, but I used my personal laptop in my classroom to introduce my Grade 6 class to using technology when we did a project on water. This was a great success and the children couldn’t wait to do more. The project work was also a new approach for the other teachers on the staff and I shared some ideas with them – especially in the area of questioning. Read more…<a href="http://10millionteachers.intel.com/teachers/47/brenda-hallowes">http://10millionteachers.intel.com/teachers/47/brenda-hallowes</a> "<br /><br /><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><strong>2. Dezlin Jacobs</strong></span><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5n22pbKHM2V8EDEm0awD_snT-GFhxEq_Ellep9ngbb4OTb-2MCxBzzpdDdrNPv0wBtAfzmpmM5K1Ae6fIcF_IqEE24dfsy811oIYY64dLGTNGuNKgMoA8TXcqa7Z1vx1heeq1u6tMOkY/s1600-h/image%25255B5%25255D.png"><img alt="image" border="0" height="185" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv4PZbqZ-vEk1FDMyHWysw6SYZdUSMsYYaDwAPwv7QrJOg-lme7fW9Weu8DE0wuTRtYbjgbmozMEXZEZYWkwp7oAG_sdtGQOVYzfgWG0TajZoIpe8-ngVsV7BDK82yp3dRSCiBhONmuaE/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="244" /></a><br /><br /><u>School Name</u>: SchoolNet SA <br /><br /><u>Subjects</u>: Intel Project Co-ordinator <br /><br />"I was first introduced to the Intel Teach Program as a student in 2006. I was completing my Post Graduate certificate in Education at the University of Pretoria and the Intel Teach to the Future Course was part of our training. It was my first taste of integrating technology into the classroom and was a springboard for my future. SchoolNet SA invited me to improve my original portfolio—which received a Silver grading—to a Gold and then to go on to become a trainer for Intel Teach to the Future (now titled the Intel Teach Essentials Course)." <br /><br /><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><strong>3. Peter Moeng</strong></span> <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDdSvlAPK69wHYvUQhnuGLMLOC54k02eevO5RCCBKWkK8XoM43CyFMypjd6AZLKjgW0h8WwP1vu1GcZHEgJC7JqmXokMLZF0_lFk2jL6nGKdKputn5NLp5qUn_g-_XuoVuflIdzLQzNWk/s1600-h/image%25255B8%25255D.png"><img alt="image" border="0" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0i6Uoa-WOesVNfCg9B9b0fLeuV9UyX3_whZBqQxpk24AoQ7wqa9WM-irHDE_5nL1XDDC-NO_bbaH7m4fi_-fCp9xJrVNNV92P-vsM-iB_c6s9X3JhRkP6KDzh5sAqy_GQhNjA9tsWjVw/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="244" /></a> <br /><br /><u>School Name</u>: Boikagong Secondary School <br /><br /><u>Subjects</u>: Basic Computer Literacy, End User Computing, CAT<br /><br />"The Intel Teach program has been embraced warmly by teachers and learners alike. There is remarkable interest in using ICT, and learning has been stimulated by the research projects that learners do. There is also remarkable discovery of new skills and new approaches to learning. New basic skills have been taught using computers and there is also development of new practices on how best to integrate teaching and learning. It has created good opportunities to explore and make use of other applications. However, some teachers do not have much interest in working with computers, Internet connectivity is still a need in this area, and a lack of good computers is still a large problem -- particularly with such rapid changes of technology and software."   <br /><br />SchoolNet would like to congratulate these three educators and all the other SchoolNet trainers around South Africa for their dedication and enthusiasm in training our teachers in how to integrate technology with good pedagogy.  </div>

profiles Three SchoolNet trainers featured in Intel’s ‘10 million teachers – Opening Doors of Opportunity’ site

  Intel@ Teach recently celebrated training 10 million teachers! (SchoolNet offers their marvelous courses free of charge to educators in So...

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The 2011 online K-12 conference takes place this month

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><em>Submitted by Fiona Beal<br /></em>I have just been reading about the 2011 K-12 online conference (presumably from the USA) that will be taking place starting 28 November. I have never participated in an online conference before but would like to do so this time to see what it is like, and of course, depending on whether there are topics that  will be of interest.  </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">Here is a quote from their website: </span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">“The 2011 K-12 Online Conference theme is “Purposeful Play,” and this year our conference will be entirely asynchronous. This means we will not have any “live events,” but all presentations will be posted online for participants to view and comment on days and at times of their choosing. As in the past, all conference presentations will be available for online viewing as well as offline/mobile viewing via </span><a href="http://k12onlineconference.org/?p=646"><span style="font-family: inherit;">our iTunesU channel</span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">Our 2011 conference will start on Monday, November 21, 2011 with an inspiring pre-conference keynote by </span><a href="http://twitter.com/AngelaMaiers"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Angela Maiers</span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">. Angela blogs at </span><a href="http://www.angelamaiers.com/"><span style="font-family: inherit;">www.angelamaiers.com</span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">. </span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">Following Angela’s pre-conference keynote the week of November 21st, four different educators will share keynotes in the strands of our conference. Our 2011 keynote speakers are: </span><br /><ul><li><a href="http://twitter.com/crafty184"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Chris Craft</span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">, in Sandbox Play. Chris blogs on “</span><a href="http://www.crucialthought.com/"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Crucial Thought</span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">.” <br /></span></li><li><a href="http://twitter.com/gcouros"><span style="font-family: inherit;">George Couros</span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">, in Team Captains. George blogs on “</span><a href="http://georgecouros.ca/blog/"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Principal of Change</span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">.” <br /></span></li><li><a href="http://twitter.com/musictechie"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Carol Broos</span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">, in Level Up. Carol blogs on “</span><a href="http://www.beatechie.com/"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Be a Techie</span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">.” <br /></span></li><li><a href="http://twitter.com/jimgroom"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Jim Groom</span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> and </span><a href="https://twitter.com/twoodwar"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Tom Woodward</span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">, in Story Time. Jim blogs on “</span><a href="http://bavatuesdays.com/"><span style="font-family: inherit;">bavatuesdays</span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">.” Tom blogs on “</span><a href="http://bionicteaching.com/"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Bionic Teaching</span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">.”</span></li></ul><span style="font-family: inherit;">This year there will be 41 presenters and quite a number of different strands to the conference. Find out more at their website:</span><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOLO3b2s_QzxgNM8ulTAqOwGgtQkAzvP2c6zVIP3XAlOXb4jvt5MC6JxBJf2OOvUWAbfD4ULkY8cD4sMVtCnPlP3uohBltAuB8xZ3-IU8aq7PWqx0Kmt1iCyEtB_zv4c3F622yRv4FQDg/s1600-h/image%25255B3%25255D.png"><img alt="image" border="0" height="448" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMbCmnAjADSOliDKnKc8JzZq2wSE_IVRlHQIktkwIY_qhP1i74KWkNkls80QFIWha9_GTip_Dwttj44b_cCR27i6N_8HjCEa8Wdlh8Y9QNx5WIMuiOn2qmbpNYyrDKUFkND0xOmhUBrgQ/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="350" /></a></div>

conferences The 2011 online K-12 conference takes place this month

Submitted by Fiona Beal I have just been reading about the 2011 K-12 online conference (presumably from the USA) that will be taking place s...

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International Peace Day video - classes around the world working together

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><em>Submitted by Fiona Beal</em><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 12pt; mso-outline-level: 2;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 12pt; mso-outline-level: 2;">On Tuesday 16 August I wrote a blog post about a Grade 4 class in the USA wanting to create a peace video for International Peace Day on 21st September (<a href="http://e-blogschool.blogspot.com/2011/08/would-you-like-to-get-involved-in.html">http://e-blogschool.blogspot.com/2011/08/would-you-like-to-get-involved-in.html</a>). This was the message they put out:</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 12pt; mso-outline-level: 2;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: #4d4d4d; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">"Dear Classrooms Around the Globe,</span></span></span><span style="color: #4d4d4d; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><br /><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"> <br /><span class="apple-style-span">This year my fourth grade classroom at Lafayette Regional School in Franconia, NH would like to have a big celebration for International Peace Day on Sept 21, 2011. In honor of this day, I would like my fourth graders to create a multi - cultural vision of peace movie. We would like to collect movies from classrooms around the globe of their MESSAGE OF PEACE. The movies might include poetry, song, dance, or etc. The overall theme of the movie is "A Message of Peace" that answer what peace means to them. The requirement for the video:</span><br /><span class="apple-style-span"><u>Length</u> "21 seconds or less"</span><br /><span class="apple-style-span"><u>Title</u>: "A Message of Peace"</span><br /><span class="apple-style-span"><u>Upload</u>: email your interest to me and I will follow up with instructions for uploading (We will be using Dropbox)</span><br /><span class="apple-style-span"><u>Due Date</u>: Sept 16, 2011</span><br /><span class="apple-style-span"><u>Language</u>: In your own language</span><br /><span class="apple-style-span"><u>Goal</u>: 21 classroom representing all six continents</span><br /><br /></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">My students will mash all the videos together to create a international message of peace that will premier on Sept 21, 2011."</span> <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;">Garrett Ferguson is a teacher that I have worked with before on projects - he always does great things with his class.  They had a great response from classes around the world. Two classes from local Fish Hoek schools responded to the blog postand subitted videos - The Rock Academy and Fish Hoek Primary. The Grade 4 Lafayette class created a final verson incorporating everyone's video which I have embedded below. It is so exciting when classes link with other classes around the world. The spin-off of this is that the Rock Academy and Grade 4 Lafyette are going to have a Skype session together soon!</span><br /><br />Well done to everyone involved in the video.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" class="b-hbp-video b-uploaded" frameborder="0" height="266" id="BLOGGER-video-c5a3955dd46b162b-2759" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" src="https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyFG8_piCCPAci1cZ8l9Oe_mXdq2oKTdbFR03Ac1yjlR5dDSd3hoY7avkMhPdnmQzktJ4MQxTtw2zEddyheXZ8C99zkR4xkb-HZ-91XG-lLGRXjZqxr6H4OOa6jWZFblP96Ld4" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" width="320"></iframe></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div>

Collaboration videos International Peace Day video - classes around the world working together

Submitted by Fiona Beal On Tuesday 16 August I wrote a blog post about a Grade 4 class in the USA wanting to create a peace video for Intern...

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3rd Weigh In Results

Just a quick note to give results on Joel and I's weigh in on Friday:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.loosemyobesity.com/index_files/page13-1008-full.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://www.loosemyobesity.com/index_files/page13-1008-full.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"> <b>Joel (6'): 228.6</b><br /><b> Hilary (5'8"): 251.8</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: left;">This means that I have now officially lost 12 pounds and Joel has lost<b> </b>4 pounds.  Since Joel has decided to join me, we have both achieved steady losses :).  I'm so happy for us! </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend and Happy Halloween!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqEctyBhGPNF-LF0cAVe0QnG034IRxujpWlcTTP1eP0WWY-5v-doxcDJDnKIEQEh8luduCeAEWm3Wdya9LueBW67McMemYuKPypOzJaxiAsxtyjaHKQQnAVAtF2wm8dNEaoNL_wcM0_RlH/s1600/happy+halloween+1.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqEctyBhGPNF-LF0cAVe0QnG034IRxujpWlcTTP1eP0WWY-5v-doxcDJDnKIEQEh8luduCeAEWm3Wdya9LueBW67McMemYuKPypOzJaxiAsxtyjaHKQQnAVAtF2wm8dNEaoNL_wcM0_RlH/s320/happy+halloween+1.gif" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>

HJ Competition 3rd Weigh In Results

Just a quick note to give results on Joel and I's weigh in on Friday: Joel (6'): 228.6 Hilary (5'8"): 251.8   This means ...

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Incorporate Screencasting into your lesson plans

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><strong>Introduction – Jing and Screenr</strong></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: black; language: en-za; mso-ascii-font-family: "Arial Rounded MT Bold"; mso-bidi-font-family: +mn-cs; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-color-index: 1; mso-fareast-font-family: +mn-ea; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: black; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: text1; mso-style-textfill-type: solid;">A few months ago I decided to use screencasting more in lessons. The first programme I tried was Jing. I actually liked it so much that I took out the pro membership which was very cheap but gave more benefits. Then I discovered Screenr which seems to have all the benefits of Jing pro as well, although it is free.  </span> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: black; language: en-za; mso-ascii-font-family: calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: +mn-cs; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-color-index: 1; mso-fareast-font-family: +mn-ea; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: black; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: text1; mso-style-textfill-type: solid;"><span style="font-size: small;">I wanted my class to do two things:<br /></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black; language: en-za; mso-ascii-font-family: calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: +mn-cs; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-color-index: 1; mso-fareast-font-family: +mn-ea; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: black; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: text1; mso-style-textfill-type: solid;">*Learn how to create a V</span><span style="color: black; language: en-za; mso-ascii-font-family: calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: +mn-cs; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-color-index: 1; mso-fareast-font-family: +mn-ea; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: black; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: text1; mso-style-textfill-type: solid;">oki</span></span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; language: en-za; mso-ascii-font-family: calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: +mn-cs; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-color-index: 1; mso-fareast-font-family: +mn-ea; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: black; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: text1; mso-style-textfill-type: solid;"> (a little avatar that can speak) .<br /></span><span style="color: black; font-family: calibri; language: en-za; mso-ascii-font-family: calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: +mn-cs; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-color-index: 1; mso-fareast-font-family: +mn-ea; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: black; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: text1; mso-style-textfill-type: solid;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">*Get their Vokis to complain about an issue in society as a writing and speaking task.</span> </span><span style="color: black; font-family: calibri; language: en-za; mso-ascii-font-family: calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: +mn-cs; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-color-index: 1; mso-fareast-font-family: +mn-ea; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: black; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: text1; mso-style-textfill-type: solid;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><strong></strong></span></span></span></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span style="color: black; font-family: calibri; language: en-za; mso-ascii-font-family: calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: +mn-cs; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-color-index: 1; mso-fareast-font-family: +mn-ea; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: black; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: text1; mso-style-textfill-type: solid;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><strong>How to make a Voki</strong></span> </span><br /><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span style="color: black; font-family: calibri; language: en-za; mso-ascii-font-family: calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: +mn-cs; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-color-index: 1; mso-fareast-font-family: +mn-ea; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: black; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: text1; mso-style-textfill-type: solid;"></span><span style="color: black; font-family: calibri; language: en-za; mso-ascii-font-family: calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: +mn-cs; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-color-index: 1; mso-fareast-font-family: +mn-ea; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: black; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: text1; mso-style-textfill-type: solid;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For this part of the lesson I explained how to make the Voki using </span><a href="http://www.voki.com/"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">http://www.voki.com/</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">. The students really enjoyed this lesson. I also made a screencast using Jing on 'How to make a Voki so that the less confident students could practise and finish at home.</span> </span></div><span style="color: black; font-family: calibri; language: en-za; mso-ascii-font-family: calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: +mn-cs; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-color-index: 1; mso-fareast-font-family: +mn-ea; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: black; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: text1; mso-style-textfill-type: solid;"></span><span style="color: black; font-family: calibri; language: en-za; mso-ascii-font-family: calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: +mn-cs; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-color-index: 1; mso-fareast-font-family: +mn-ea; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: black; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: text1; mso-style-textfill-type: solid;"></span> <br /><div align="left"><object data="http://content.screencast.com/users/fionabeal/folders/Jing/media/089a8054-5950-4c25-b88b-d716f696360c/jingh264player.swf" height="267" id="scPlayer" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="420"> <param name="movie" value="http://content.screencast.com/users/fionabeal/folders/Jing/media/089a8054-5950-4c25-b88b-d716f696360c/jingh264player.swf"><param name="quality" value="high"><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF"><param name="flashVars" value="thumb=http://content.screencast.com/users/fionabeal/folders/Jing/media/089a8054-5950-4c25-b88b-d716f696360c/FirstFrame.jpg&containerwidth=1024&containerheight=768&content=http://content.screencast.com/users/fionabeal/folders/Jing/media/089a8054-5950-4c25-b88b-d716f696360c/How%20to%20make%20a%20voki.mp4&blurover=false"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="scale" value="showall"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><param name="base" value="http://content.screencast.com/users/fionabeal/folders/Jing/media/089a8054-5950-4c25-b88b-d716f696360c/"><iframe type="text/html" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="overflow:hidden;" src="http://www.screencast.com/users/fionabeal/folders/Jing/media/089a8054-5950-4c25-b88b-d716f696360c/embed" height="420" width="267"></iframe> </object></div><br /><span style="color: black; font-family: calibri; language: en-za; mso-ascii-font-family: calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: +mn-cs; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-color-index: 1; mso-fareast-font-family: +mn-ea; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: black; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: text1; mso-style-textfill-type: solid;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><strong><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">How to use Jing</span> </strong></span></span><br /><span style="color: black; font-family: calibri; language: en-za; mso-ascii-font-family: calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: +mn-cs; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-color-index: 1; mso-fareast-font-family: +mn-ea; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: black; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: text1; mso-style-textfill-type: solid;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><strong><br /></strong><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I discovered an amazing site for learning how to use Jing.  Here is an image of it plus the hyperlink.</span> </span></span></span><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZKNPyZgF7GCAAR0ea-UqJQnnV4yt_1O1svyOcqMMlHqIubsZCZh3tmGEffKEFEfr9rANJeFGvzeWQ7R18hKwka7uI7zFGVvc0uyGEoMLBA3PUhqDYZcXKWltsP-gTcJ3wnNopELF08WM/s1600-h/image%25255B3%25255D.png"><img alt="image" border="0" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigjgmQTibXBEZCxP7SdI62C1sl3K-jSf8VRKJDH6s6CwEA9JR02uzDw9ci2hrvew4ngcqgMH26OVfo9gXqLi7tTpucNonGY4s-BMvivbzu1cvbOMfo1FGIQompKk4tmiV0H_0omPK8VVo/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="433" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.teachertrainingvideos.com/jingInReality/index.html">http://www.teachertrainingvideos.com/jingInReality/index.html</a><br /><span style="color: black; font-family: calibri; language: en-za; mso-ascii-font-family: calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: +mn-cs; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-color-index: 1; mso-fareast-font-family: +mn-ea; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: black; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: text1; mso-style-textfill-type: solid;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong> <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Give a talk on an issue</span></strong></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">*I wanted the class to use their Vokis to express an opinion about an issue.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">*I captured an example for them to use using Screenr.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>The Tas</strong></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>k</strong></span></span><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Today you will make a Voki expressing some strong opinions. Use </span><a href="http://www.voki.com/"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">http://www.voki.com/</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> to do this. <br /><br />1. Think of something that really irritates you, that you think something should be done about. <br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2. Here are some sentence starters you could use: <br /><br />*What really gets on my nerves is … the reason for this is <br />*What drives me up the wall is … because <br />*What I can’t stand is … . I think <br />*What really annoys me is … You see </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3. I got this idea and took a Voki screencast  from Ian James's fantastic blog that I follow (</span><a href="http://tefltecher.wordpress.com/2011/03/15/voki-grumps/"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">http://tefltecher.wordpress.com/2011/03/15/voki-grumps/</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">) </span><br /><br />  <object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=9,0,115,0" height="396" width="420"><param name="movie" value="http://cdn.screenr.com/public/1.7/flash/screenr.swf" /><param name="flashvars" value="i=353353&h=t&svr=http://www.screenr.com/&vEmbed=<iframe src="http://www.screenr.com/embed/M94s" width="650" height="396" frameborder="0"></iframe>" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="wmode" value="opaque" /><param name="AllowScriptAccess" value="always" /><embed wmode="opaque" AllowScriptAccess="always" src="http://cdn.screenr.com/public/1.7/flash/screenr.swf" flashvars="i=353353&h=t&svr=http://www.screenr.com/&vEmbed=<iframe src="http://www.screenr.com/embed/M94s" width="650" height="396" frameborder="0"></iframe>" allowFullScreen="true" width="420" height="396" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed></object><br /><br /><strong><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">A blogpost about using Screenr</span></strong><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have written a blog post about how to use Screenr:</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><a href="http://e-blogschool.blogspot.com/2011/10/screencasting-with-screenr-is-so-easy.html"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">http://e-blogschool.blogspot.com/2011/10/screencasting-with-screenr-is-so-easy.html</span></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1OxgfRS0HlFsDbZiRFr6ZzALMVMRIwWoaVxIgwQx3J8Lm7vkF2cQSHHDAQAgKHmmALp9Y7zYZH8itzmDUpYWW5YRWHUlzCIMVq1Ev-XfYcbquE9HOXuKNLua88DElynEs7ctYJ9XRlZ8/s1600-h/image%25255B7%25255D.png"><img alt="image" border="0" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKWvSNCu0YEYcyxvqOJxruJQDrHd97f1AB4sHM7zVY65EUnKEA4AOT0TD10EM4nQ56AY9_LHTf46OSRDZN9fWOxXSuDUjvXF5giwWUQwjAC3PmD14NSfvvfiTxFYLx_1W2m3QUZZ2zals/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="443" /></a><br /><br /><strong><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Provide access to your Screencasts to the students</span></strong><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What I did is I created a blog especially for Screencasting so that the students could just go to the link and open up the screencasts.  </span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">However both Jing and Screenr store your screencasts so you can keep them there with links. Alternatively you can download them to your computer as MP4 files.</span> </span><br /><br /><object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=9,0,115,0" height="396" width="420"><param name="movie" value="http://cdn.screenr.com/public/1.7/flash/screenr.swf" /><param name="flashvars" value="i=353401&h=t&svr=http://www.screenr.com/&vEmbed=<iframe src="http://www.screenr.com/embed/sV4s" width="650" height="396" frameborder="0"></iframe>" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="wmode" value="opaque" /><param name="AllowScriptAccess" value="always" /><embed wmode="opaque" AllowScriptAccess="always" src="http://cdn.screenr.com/public/1.7/flash/screenr.swf" flashvars="i=353401&h=t&svr=http://www.screenr.com/&vEmbed=<iframe src="http://www.screenr.com/embed/sV4s" width="650" height="396" frameborder="0"></iframe>" allowFullScreen="true" width="420" height="396" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed></object><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Recently I provided this lesson on a PowerPoint at a TeachMeet but the screencasts wouldn’t open for some reason.  I hope that doesn’t happen here!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><strong>Further ideas</strong></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I think that in the iintegration of your curriculum with technology this would be a great way to help the students that might falter a bit and want to practise at home. If you have a large class the students could go over the instructions using your short screencasts (screencasts should always be short and to the point - no longer than three minutes, for example.)</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Why not give screencasting a try?</span></div>

Jing Microsoft tools Screencasting Screenr Voki Web tools Incorporate Screencasting into your lesson plans

Introduction – Jing and Screenr A few months ago I decided to use screencasting more in lessons. The first programme I tried was Jing. I act...

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