K-12
KlickerZ®
Training Masters' KlickerZ software and hand-held remote units are effective learning tools for elementary, middle, and high school students. Any instructional presentation can be enhanced with KlickerZ by creating an energized, active learning environment. This is a dynamic teaching/learning tool! Adding multiple choice and true/false questions to PowerPoint® programs makes the presentation much more engaging, since students are directly participating. The students can instantly see how well they are doing both individually and as a class.
KlickerZ consists of three parts. The Quiz Program is used to create interactive quizzes for presentation to groups. The teacher can develop banks of multiple choice and/or true-false questions and store them on a hard drive or removable media. Quizzes are created by selecting questions from the files. Different versions of a quiz can easily be created for different classes. As the quiz is presented, individual or group responses and scores can be displayed. Totals are stored and final scores can be saved. Using an interactive quiz as a review before a test is a fantastic way to exploit this feature of KlickerZ, since teachers can quickly determine how many students respond correctly to each question. Prompt correction or reinforcement from the teacher can significantly support the learning process.
The First Response Game Program operates very much like the quiz program. However, when the first (remote) response to a question is received, the rest of the participants are locked out. If that first response is correct, the person is given one point and the teacher starts the process again by moving on to the next question. If the first response is incorrect, that student is locked out and the others are given a hance to respond. The procedure continues until a correct response is obtained. Scores are constantly updated and are visible at all times on the screen. The game feature of KlickerZ can be used to reinforce learning while having fun. Students love to make up the questions, too!
The PowerPoint® Add-in Program is easy to use and can make presentations come alive! You can put interactive questions on any slide. Students respond using their remote control units. The teacher can reveal individual or group responses. Insert a totals button on any slide, and use it to display total scores anytime during the program. Scores can be displayed on a bar graph, if desired. Question and totals buttons can be added to slides in programs that already exist or can be added as new programs are created.
KlickerZ can help you develop a fantastic bank of shareware! Teachers can post their KlickerZ programs at our forum, enabling any teacher in the district to have access to them. A secure area of the forum can be created for districts that want to share presentations only among their own staff members, or they can post and share with the world! Imagine what an incredible resource library teachers can have at their fingertips! Contact Training Masters to set up your district's secure area on our forum.
KlickerZ is not limited to use with students. School district personnel responsible for staff development and other meetings can enhance participation and interest by developing presentations that incorporate the use of KlickerZ.
Wherever PowerPoint presentations are used, KlickerZ can make them more dynamic. When audience participation is desired, KlickerZ can make a program more effective. Use KlickerZ in the classroom with students, in a training session with district personnel, at a meeting where feedback is desired, or at a back-to-school night with parents.
Training Masters supports and participates in high school contests for students who create "klickerized" PowerPoint® presentations as part of the course requirements. Contact us for guidelines and prize information.
Training Masters can customize any presentation. Our professional development team can produce a high quality presentation with graphics, animation, and narration. The team can also take any PowerPoint presentation and "klickerize" it by inserting interactive questions.
Pursuing Instructional Excellence (PIE)
Training Masters' "Pursuing Instructional Excellence" (PIE) program is an expanding library of animated and narrated programs designed to assist teachers as they improve their teaching skills. Each CD covers one main topic such as "The Effective Lesson" and "Questioning in the Classroom." Each program includes a comprehensive resource file that provides a variety of support materials such as case studies and a session highlights outline. A 20-question "test" accompanies each program and provides a review of the concepts and practices presented.
PIE programs can be used in a group setting (presenter mode) or by individuals (self-paced mode). In the presenter mode, the participants use hand-held remote control units to respond to questions found throughout the program. After all participants have answered, the presenter can display the response statistics as well as the best choice. This often provides an opportunity for group discussion and/or debate.
PIE is most effective when delivered to a group by an in-house facilitator. The "KlickerZ" remote response system and group interaction create engaging, energetic sessions that promote enhancement of teaching skills.
In the self-paced mode, individuals work independently or in pairs to view the same content. They interact with the program using the computer keyboard rather than a remote control unit. In addition, in this mode if a question in the 20-question test is not answered correctly, the individual can quickly review that section of the program from which the question was taken. Then, with the click of a button, s/he can return to the test. The self-paced mode provides a make-up opportunity for those who may have missed a group presentation.
Module Descriptions:
"Questioning" can be one of the most effective teaching tools. However, many instructors are not familiar with best practices and research associated with good questioning. As a consequence, the art of effective questioning is an appropriate topic for in-service sessions. This PIE module begins by comparing and contrasting major types of questions and their most appropriate uses. Some relevant statistics and research findings are presented, followed by a discussion of four good questioning practices. The module concludes by offering a few tips for teachers to consider.
"An Instructor's Guide to Soft Skills" is designed to familiarize instructors and teachers with the concepts of soft skills and emotional intelligence so that they can use this information to improve their professional performance. Included is a comparison of hard and soft skills and of people skills and workplace behaviors. Ten "most important" soft skills are discussed in detail. Emotional intelligence (EQ) is defined, and the relationship between soft skill and EQ is explained. The program concludes with tips that can help individuals improve their soft skills and EQ.
Campus and Community Series
The Campus and Community Series is an expanding library of programs on compact disks that focus on various topics of interest to youth and adults, Examples include bullying, Internet safety, and the appropriate use of credit cards. Most programs include either a handout or a relevant "take away" that makes the message more memorable.
The length of the programs range from 20 to 30 minutes and include interactive questions. Audience members respond using Training Masters' remote audience response units. Responding to multiple choice, true/false, or other types of questions, students are actively engaged while learning, sharing opinions or preferences, or making decisions.
Module Descriptions:
"The Plastic Piranha" is a great program for explaining the inherent dangers of misusing a credit card. Two characters engage in a dialogue about problems that can arise when you carry a high balance. They discuss how interest accrues and the nature and importance of FICO scores. Finally, a number of tips are offered to help audience members use their credit cards wisely. Entertaining illustrations and sound effects support the message.
"Your Personality and Your Career Choice" provides people with information that might be useful in assisting them with career selection. Your personality consists of those traits, attitudes, and habits that determine how you adapt to the situations in your life. A personality assessment involves responding to a series of comments that reveal personality traits. The results can help you to direct your personal growth and development, since there is a relationship between your personality and your career satisfaction. In this program, participants respond to 20 items taken from a well-known personality assessment using remote control units. They learn how personality "types" are determined and how they can be helpful when considering a career choice.
"Internet Safety" offers advice and information to help young people avoid a variety of potential risks when using the Internet. The characters are a boy and his younger sister. He warns his sister not to trust people she "meets" on the Internet but does not know. She learns that giving out personal information can be very risky, and the problem of "cyberbullying" is explained. Ways to recognize secure sites are explained, and some precautions concerning the posting of pictures and videos are discussed.
"Taming the Bull" introduces Alicia and Cliff who are two high school students discussing the problem of bullying in their school. Alicia understands the problem very well and shares her insights with Cliff who changes his attitude about how to deal with bullies. Their discussion centers around Jason, the school bully. The program mentions three main types of bullying including verbal, physical and psychological. Alicia explains that bullying always involves hurting someone, it happens repeatedly, and there are always unequal levels of power. A major emphasis is placed on what by-standers can do to discourage bullying. A distinction is made between active and passive bullying, and Cliff considers the potentially serious outcomes of bullying. The bottom line is, "If you're not part of the solution, then you're part of the problem."
Additional programs currently in development in the Campus and Community Series include "Successful Workplace Skills," "The Dollars and Sense of Becoming a Millionaire," and several educational games.