I had the opportunity to interview Debb McDonnell, a teacher at James M. Hill Memorial High School, where she has been teaching for 4 years now. She began teaching English and Math, and now, has moved around a bit and currently teaches Culinary Technology (grades 10-12) and has continued teaching Math at the grade 9 level.

Q: When starting out as a new teacher what type of teacher did you want to become?

A: “Ever since I can remember, I’ve always wanted to be a teacher. At a young age, I was given some tough circumstances and a couple of teachers in my elementary school (and in high school) took me under their wing and ever since, I vowed to try to give that feeling back through my own career. I wanted to make an impact on the lives of young adults by giving them reason to do their best and make them proud of what they accomplished. This goes for in and outside the classroom; I wanted to be able to give students a place to go and someone to go to when things seemed to be less than perfect.”

Q:  How have you evolved into that teacher?

A: “Although I’m only in the 4th year of my career, I have been able to succeed in becoming the teacher I wanted to be. Of course, there is always room for improvement and things change on a day to day basis in teaching, but I am consistently reaping the benefits; watching a student excel in something they had no confidence in before, sharing in the excitement with a student when something great happened to them, or witnessing a student change for the better and seeing them make the right decisions. And to top it all off, getting to see the smile on a students’ face when they have done something that they can take pride in, knowing that I introduced them with the skills and provided them with the materials, then let them take the reins. Watching it all happen is certainly worth it. I’ve also been able to see the same outcomes outside the classroom; I’ve been involved in coaching Basketball, Field Hockey, and have been a teacher mentor for the Drama Club. Within these extra-curricular activities I’ve been able to experience the same benefits, but in a different light. Seeing a student excel on the field or on stage is just another reason for them to be proud of themselves and what they have been able to accomplish.”

Q: If your students were to describe you as a teacher, what would they say?

A: “I think they would first describe me as that teacher who makes a fool of herself at any time possible and maybe a little crazy at times. Otherwise, they would probably tell you that I like to make things fun, but know when to take things serious too. They know that I will let them have their independence and give them a hand when needed, but only after they give it a try. And, hopefully, they feel that their teacher is understanding, caring and wants to see them succeed in all aspects of their high school career and future.”

Q:  How does the type of teacher you are in the classroom, compare to the person you are outside the classroom?

A: “I can definitely see a correlation between my life at work and outside of work; my friends on numerous occasions have caught me doing “teacher things” and are never shy to point it out. I also see the teacher in me come out when I’m with family; I have young nieces and nephews and when they are taking part in activities, I always get comments from my brother, sister and in-laws at how they would have never explained or showed something to their children the way I did it and that “it must be the teacher” in me. At work and outside of work, I treat people in the same way, I want to see the people around me happy and I want to see them succeed.”

Tell us what type of teacher you are at www.coursepark.com/smarteducation after registering for free. It’s a walk in the Park!

Mr. Matchett says “People come back for their GED for many reasons, however; two reasons show up the most. The first one being, for a job and a better financial future and secondly for their children. In today’s society it is very hard to get a job without at least a GED Certificate. Also these GED students want to be a good example for their children and show that if you put your mind to it, you can do anything. It is very inspirational to watch adults come and work hard in your class and to achieve their goals.”

Adam feels that technology definitely helps the class and most students take work home and research different areas of study on the Internet. It makes it easier to find methods or solutions to their problems when he is not present.Overall, Adam finds the General Education Diploma Course beneficial and effective. He would recommend anyone who did not graduate to apply for the program. He believes you are never too old to get an education.To give your feedback on this blog or others related to teaching, please visit www.coursepark.com/smarteducation and register for free.

How important is it to students to learn a second language?

Most students find it very important to learn a second language.  They realize how useful it is in their day to day interactions with people in the community when they are at work or taking part in extra-curricular activities (travelling for sports or other groups).  They also know how important it is for their future as it will give them access to a greater number of career opportunities and it allows them to develop a better understanding of their own and other cultures.

How different is it teaching French as second language versus a primary language?

While teaching French as a second language, the focus is always on meaningful, spontaneous, and interactive discourse to improve the students’ proficiency in their second language.  The emphasis is therefore on authentic communicative situations rather than on language forms, and the language is used by the students as a mean of expressing their own thoughts and opinions.

What types of technology do you use in the classroom and how do these products enhance their learning?

Since the best way to learn a second language is in authentic and interactive environment, computer technologies and the Internet are powerful tools in assisting in the language teaching process.  The Internet offers updated information, enriched with images and animations, that allow the students to observe, think, question, organize, and test their ideas. The Internet also offers a wide-range of programs that makes distance communication fast and affordable, making it easier to establish an intercultural exchange with a group of French speaking students from another part of the world.  This experience allows the students to increase their awareness and understanding of other cultures while increasing their language skills.  Computers also allow students to improve their writing efficiency in compositions by giving them access to online dictionaries or spell check programs.

How does learning a second language affect a student’s primary language; for the better or worse?

Learning a second language provides a great literacy experience for students and contributes to developing their oral, writing, and reading skills in their first language as well.  They learn how to use different strategies to improve their language abilities that are easily applicable to any language.  When students read in French, they develop strategies to better understand the content of the text and these techniques can be used in their first language as well.  As they expand their vocabulary in their second language, many of these new acquisitions can also be transferred to their mother tongue. Writing techniques are also very similar in both languages, therefore improving your skills in one language will have a direct effect on the other.

Do you teach French as a second language in your school? What has your experience been? What types of technology do you use in your classroom to enhance student’s performance? I’d love to hear your feedback.

1. Email can be one of the biggest business distractions you’ll face in a day. When you have friends and family members that send jokes or you’ve signed up to receive newsletters you may find yourself taking the time to read them.

The best thing to do is set a time twice a day to read your email. Schedule a specific amount of time and if you must, set a timer and force yourself to stop when the timer goes off. Reading personal emails needs to be done after your work day is complete.

2. Another distraction you may find in your day is social media sites. Chatting with your friends on Twitter or playing games on Facebook can eat away your time very easily and quickly.

The best thing to do is limit your time on these sites and only use them for business. After your work is done for the day you can use them for personal time like playing games and talking with your friends. There is nothing wrong with having fun on these social media sites, but you must save that for after work.

3. The Internet is another distraction that is a time eater. Searching for keywords or images can cause you to find other sites to search or read. It doesn’t take much to veer off what you’re supposed to be doing when you see something you like or are interested in reading. You might find a link, button, or ad that is of interest and before you know it you’ve been on that site for hours.

The best thing to do is stay off the Internet if it’s at all possible. Reward yourself at the end of the day with Internet time. When you give yourself time to play and have fun you’ll want to work more, but you must do this after your work is done.

When you let the distractions take over your business is not going to thrive and succeed. These three distractions are the ones that cause more people problems than anything, but these tips will help you overcome these distractions. Once you overcome them you’ll begin to see growth with your business.

It’s important to know what you can do and what you should steer clear of so you don’t cause embarrassment or worse yet, cause series problems with your business. You put a lot of time and money into your business and having it go by the way side with the blink of an eye would be terrible.

Twitter and Facebook are two of the marketing strategies every business owner should use. It doesn’t matter what type of business you run, these are important because they give you the ability to build trust with your market and they give you the ability to reach out to large numbers of people quickly and easily. It’s important to put your business out there with these tools on a daily basis so you have the ability to use these marketing strategies with power and control.

One marketing strategy that is growing, but doesn’t work for everyone is video marketing. Traditional video marketing includes a video camera and someone talking about something related to their business, but that’s not the only way to use it with success. One marketing strategy that’s growing in popularity is screenshot videos. This is where you use a tool like Screen-O-Cast to take a video of your screen and when you’re done you have a video file you can upload to YouTube or other video sites.

One of the best ways to use screenshot videos to your advantage is to show your viewers how to do something you offer as a service. For example, if you offer a social media posting service, you could create a screenshot video that goes step by step how to create an account at HootSuite and then how to schedule a post. At the end you can show your viewers you can do this for them if they don’t have the time, the ability or desire to do it on their own.

Once your screenshot videos are created and uploaded to a video site it’s a good idea to market them so others will see them. You should create a page on your website for your videos; post them to your fan page on Facebook and in your Twitter stream as well as in your newsletter and any other place you can find. The most important thing to remember is the more viewers you have the more traffic you’ll have to your site which will mean more money in your pocket.

If you’re unsure of how to do that, here are some things to consider:

Don’t take it too seriously. Sure, business is important. After all, it’s how you make your living and feed your family. But it’s still only business. It’s not life, contrary to what many people believe. Never fall into the trap of thinking that it’s ALL important. Life is still more than doing business. Keep your business in perspective and you, and your team, will enjoy it much more.

Smile. Sounds so simple, doesn’t it? But so few people actually smile. Try it and see if just the simple act of smiling more often doesn’t make you feel better and make life, in general, more fun. And that will certainly make business more fun, for you and for everyone around you.

Release the stress. Learn to release the stress when business gets to be too much. Take a cappuccino break. Go for a walk around the block, or the parking lot. Stop by the water cooler and chat. But let go of some of the overwhelming stress that comes with doing business. Not only will your business be more fun, but it will be healthier for you, too.

Focus on people and relationships. Build relationships with your team members, clients and colleagues. Doing so will make doing business feel more like informal get-togethers with friends than work. Take time to ask about life outside the office. Share events from your own life. Get to know the people you work with and work for. Remember that the people in your life will always be more important than the bottom line of your business.

Create fun. While office pranks and practical jokes would get tiring in a hurry, a sense of camaraderie and joy can make a workplace much more fun to be in. Look for ways to laugh at yourself. Find the humor in your mistakes. Share a good, clean joke when appropriate. Play a game of wastebasket basketball once in awhile.

Do what you can to let others know that while you can and are serious when needed, you also know how to relax and have fun. Give others the freedom to do the same and you’ll be surprised at how much more enjoyable the workplace can be.

“I am pleased to announce that we will be providing unprecedented access to professional development for individuals and organizations who work hard, with limited resources, to improve the lives of people in this Province,” said Rizkalla. “The Volunteer and Non-Profit Sector can now take advantage of the same opportunities for lifelong learning provided by CoursePark that are already being experienced by hundreds of small businesses throughout Newfoundland and Labrador.”

The courses will be available through CoursePark®, Bluedrop’s revolutionary cloud based learning management platform.  Newfoundland and Labrador was the first jurisdiction in the world to provide its small and medium sized businesses the CoursePark platform at no charge.  The $1.7M SmartForceNL initiative was funded by the Department of Advanced Education and Skills in March 2011 and delivered through NATI.  The courses for the Non-Profit Sector represents half the total courses that Bluedrop is donating to the province to expand the outreach to many new small employers.

Rizkalla also stated “Providing businesses and employees access to a social learning platform with online courses on topics including sales, computer skills, leadership, and customer service improves productivity.  SmartForceNL helped level the playing field for small employers who were ignored for years by traditional workplace training providers and corporate Learning Management Systems.  CoursePark is the democratization of learning for the workplace and Bluedrop is thrilled to recognize the Non-Profit Sector in our Province with this opportunity to engage in effective online learning.”

About Bluedrop

Bluedrop Performance Learning Inc. (TSX-V: BPL) is an innovator in effective workplace learning for individuals, corporations and the public sector. Through the development and implementation of pragmatic learning technologies and content, Bluedrop improves opportunities for individuals and the overall performance of corporations.  CoursePark® is Bluedrop’s cloud based learning management solution and contains over 5000 third party online courses.  The CoursePark platform launched in early 2011 and has almost 50,000 users in 100 countries.  Bluedrop has become a recognized leader in producing mission critical training solutions for Defence and Aerospace, and provides custom online courseware, virtual training devices and virtual reality simulation for international military and commercial aviation clients.   Founded in 1992, Bluedrop has over 100 employees and is based in St. John’s NL with Canadian offices in Halifax, Fredericton, Ottawa and Vancouver.   For further information, please visit www.bluedrop.com.

St. John’s, NL – Bluedrop Performance Learning (TSX-V: BPL) has successfully expanded into the healthcare training market with the official launch of its online nursing community, Nursing Powered by CoursePark (formerly NursesNetwork.com).  In only its second month of activity, more than 10,000 nursing members through associations and affiliations have adopted CoursePark to obtain their Continuing Education (CE).

Some of these nursing partners include the Air and Surface Transport Nurse Association, Rescue Nurse International and the Society for Vascular Nursing.  Bluedrop’s growth strategy for healthcare includes partnering with other professional associations, affiliate programs and institutions that have a membership who require access to learning.

Emad Rizkalla, President and CEO of Bluedrop, stated “Approximately five million nurses in North America require Continuing Education each year.  CoursePark has more than 140 CE approved courses. We are providing our members with this new cloud based learning program and are confident it is exactly what they need.”  Rizkalla also said “Ten thousand nurses have adopted CoursePark since December, supporting the CoursePark business model to provide compelling content to like-minded user communities.  I am happy to provide this incredibly important group of professionals the flexibility to enhance their workplace skills and knowledge.”

About Bluedrop

Bluedrop Performance Learning (TSX-V: BPL) is an innovator in effective workplace learning for individuals, corporations and the public sector. Through the development and implementation of pragmatic learning technologies and content, Bluedrop improves opportunities for individuals and the overall performance of corporations. CoursePark® is Bluedrop’s cloud based learning management solution and contains over 5000 third party online courses.  The CoursePark platform launched in early 2011 and has almost 50,000 users in 100 countries.  Bluedrop has become a recognized leader in producing mission critical training solutions for Defence and Aerospace, and provides custom online courseware, virtual training devices and virtual reality simulation for international military and commercial aviation clients.   Founded in 1992, Bluedrop has over 100 employees and is based in St. John’s NL with Canadian offices in Halifax, Fredericton, Ottawa and Vancouver

Bluedrop Performance Learning Awaits its First Day of Trading on the TSX Venture Exchange

St. John’s, NL – Bluedrop Performance Learning will start a new era of business when the TSX Venture Exchange opens on Friday. A recently completed business transaction with Serebra Learning Corporation will see Bluedrop, long recognized as a pioneer and thought leader in eLearning, become Canada’s largest full service eLearning company. It becomes one of the few technology companies from Atlantic Canada to cross over the Public trading threshold.

Emad Rizkalla, President and CEO, said the timing for the business was just right. “Bluedrop and Serebra shared a similar vision. We were both interested in changing the world and determined to make a positive impact by combining innovation with a passion for accessible learning that helps individuals and companies suceed.”

Bluedrop now has over 100 employees in five (5) different offices throughout Canada. This number is expected to increase dramatically over the next 18 months as new products are kicked off and opportunities are realized.

“The combonation of technology, people, and experience that we now have around the table means great things for Bluedrop. We will reduce our product roadmap for CoursePark® by one year and gain immediate access to markets in South America,” said Rizkalla.

The company will keep the name Bluedrop Performance Learning and trade on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol TSX-V: BPL.

Train Your Brain to Focus (Paul Hammerness,MD, and Margaret Moore, HBRBlog Network)

It’s kinda nice to see the spotlight shining on multi-tasking in a negative way. Maybe that’s a little mean but the BIG team has seen too many people drop too many balls because they believe it’s good leadership/management for them to do 27 things simultaneously.

10 “It’s Your Biz” Brainpower Tools (Dr. Ellen Weber, Brain Leaders and Learners)

Ellen serves up ten brain empowered insights for entrepreneurs based on It’s Your Biz by Susan Wilson Solovic. We particularly like the insight to have “confidence to dance alone at times and live new discoveries.”

Be Bitter or Better (Shawn Murphy, Switch and Shift)

It’s hard being a leader these days, for sure. One of our oft-used pieces of coaching advice – you can either be bitter or get better, the choice is up to you – gets backed up here with three specific easy-to-use tactics for leaders to consider.

Five Signs Your Organization May be Trapped in a Psychic Prison (Chris Young, The Rainmaker)

Think your organization might be trapped by its past and held captive by unconscious bias and habits? Chris offers a short, five item checklist to diagnosis if your organization is “trapped in a favored way of thinking which restricts creativity, prohibits change, and limits its ability to progress into the future.”

A Case For Being a ‘Nice’ Boss (Gwyn Teatro, You’re Not the Boss of Me)

In a business world that sometimes categorizes being nice as a four-letter word, we love how Gwyn challenges us to challenge our thinking about niceness. It’s something leaders should all aspire to.

The Leadership Love-in (John Bell, In the CEO Afterlife)

As a former CEO, John shares some insights into his love of leadership as well as a list of some of his favorite leadership blog sites.

Here’s to using your head to manage and your heart to lead!

Blog by Jane Perdue

Follow @thehrgoddess