Week5-ExpertsSpeak

I love the World Wide Web. I have so many resources available for lesson planning! If I have run out of creative ideas, I usually do a topical search at my favorite education sites. One of my favorites is the state education site where I can usually find a boatload of ideas. I use their suggestions and then adapt them to the abilities and learning styles of my current students. One key note: I do keep track of the URL for the original lesson plan and note it somewhere. I usually have to go back to this site for more information. More importantly, I have always been told to recognize the intellectual rights of the owners of these original plans. When it was time to train our employees on a new computer application for e-commerce, I knew we would have to develop our own materials. Although the software vendor provided basic training on the generic application, our software had been customized to such an extent that the vendor training served only to provide an overview for our employees. Our training department developed a detailed instruction manual that included information on the software and how to use it for specific job tasks. We were able to incorporate our policies and procedures and standards into this manual, so it truly gave the workers the information they needed to be successful with the new software. I was a little overwhelmed at the thought of developing a new course on Ethical Decision Making, but then I discovered that some commercially available materials had excellent information. Kidder’s book How Good People Make Tough Choices 1 and Covey’s renowned work The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People2 contained most of the information I wanted to convey. Using these as materials for the course decreased the materials I needed to develop and simplified the overall course development process. Did I mention the importance of citing references? It’s up to me to role-model that habit for my students! Also, if I want to use any copyrighted material, I always call for permission and have rarely had anyone refuse. I’m working on a book myself, and I know how strongly I’ll feel about someone’s “borrowing” my words after it’s published! 1. Kidder, Rushworth M.(1995). // How Good People Make Tough Choices //, New York: Morrow. 2. Covey, Stephen R. (1989). // The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People //, New York: Simon & Schuster.
 * Experts Speak – Week 5 **
 * Fifth-grade Teacher Soraya **
 * Corporate Training Manager Cathy **
 * College Professor Jim  **