Call Us Today! 248.742.5124|info@APASSeducation.com
TwitterFacebookLinkedin
1 08, 2018

Summer Read: Staff Picks

By | 2018-07-29T19:46:41+00:00 August 1st, 2018|education|0 Comments

At A Pass Educational Group, we are committed to being stewards of literacy and believe in the power of a good book at any age. We see reading as a pathway to lifelong learning, an opportunity to engage with family, and inspiration for great conversations about our world. Regardless of the genre or whether it is fiction or nonfiction, reading is an A Pass family affair! We asked our executive leadership team what they are reading this summer, and here is what they shared: Andrew Pass -- Chief Executive Officer Many people talk about being “servant leaders,” but few have read the actual book of the same title. Andy Pass recently completed James C. Hunter’s fabulous book, The Servant. Since Andy’s time studying at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, he has been particularly enamored with the way this book teaches important business lessons with a story set in a monastery. There is a message in The Servant with which Andy most identifies and strives to achieve in his own life: The best leaders continuously work to understand [...]

Read More
25 07, 2018

Three Ways to Develop Self-Awareness

By | 2018-08-10T20:33:02+00:00 July 25th, 2018|education, educational activities|0 Comments

Summer is a time for fun activities, exploring new ideas, meeting new people, and enjoying time with friends and family. Summer is also a perfect time for children to hone their skills with Social and Emotional Learning (SEL). The activities below support development of Self-Awareness, Self-Management, and Social Awareness. School administrators and school districts can provide these activities to their teachers and parents to encourage Social Emotional Learning not only in summer but all year long. Self-Awareness helps children learn about their emotions, personal goals, and values. It also helps them understand that all of these are interconnected. Self-Management is about regulating your emotions and persevering through difficulties. Social Awareness is learning to understand, empathize, and feel compassion for others regardless of cultural, religious, or other differences. This summer, encourage children from elementary to high school to work within these skills by engaging in the following activities. Self-Awareness To explore self-awareness, provide the following context for learners to understand why naming their feelings is necessary in developing self-awareness. Sometimes understanding yourself can be challenging, but this [...]

Read More
4 07, 2018

7 Summer Educational Activities to Keep Students Learning

By | 2018-06-26T17:03:58+00:00 July 4th, 2018|education, educational activities, Educational Content, Uncategorized|0 Comments

Most parents know that their children suffer a learning deficit over the summer months, but we bet you’d be surprised to learn just how significant this loss can be. A recent five-year study considering students in grades two through nine found that students lost 25 to 30 percent of the learning they’d acquired over the school year. Educational activities are important in the summer months. Of course, the way to remedy this learning loss is to make sure your kids continue to learn over the summer. Here are seven ways to keep them learning this summer—even if they still insist you take them to the pool! For young students: Encourage young students to improve their STEM skills by asking them to make a windsock kite. Kids can experiment by adding decorations like streamers and beads, but what decorations will make the kite stop flying? Read books with your young children, and then connect reading to the activities described in the book. For example, you could read Laura Ingalls Wilder and take your kids on a trip [...]

Read More
27 06, 2018

eLearning Production That Generates Great Courses

By | 2018-06-28T20:35:11+00:00 June 27th, 2018|course design, education, Educational Content, eLearning, Instructional Design|0 Comments

Creating an eLearning course can be a fun and rewarding project. A well-built eLearning course can produce essential performance outcomes and learning objectives for the intended learner. There are important aspects associated with eLearning production that begin with idea generation and end with the course as a final product. One of the most important goals in developing an eLearning course is determining the course’s main purpose and overall focus. This can seem challenging at first, but a well thought out purpose and focus will set the foundation for the rest of the development process. The technology architecture is a process of eLearning production and helps ensure that the design is effective while providing a framework for development. The technology architecture process is the framework A Pass utilizes for successful eLearning course design, development, and implementation. A critical piece in early development is the proper selection of User Interface (UI) templates. The template of an eLearning course is the basis from which further development can occur; it ensures the course is relevant and easy to build upon. [...]

Read More
20 06, 2018

Subject Matter Expert: Use In-House or Outsource?

By | 2018-08-23T15:46:47+00:00 June 20th, 2018|Curriculum Planning, education, Educational Content, subject matter expert|0 Comments

When designing curriculum, a subject matter expert, or SME, is called upon for their expertise in the subject area. There are two routes to choose from when selecting SMEs: Using a SME that is already a part of your company Outsourcing a SME Each option has its own advantages and disadvantages. Being aware of the pros and cons of each will help you to better navigate while working with a subject matter expert. In-House Let’s begin with the good stuff. If you are working with a subject matter expert in-house, you may experience a faster response time. The in-house SME has likely worked on another project before and has developed a rapport with the team. Since they may already be familiar with the workflow, this may save time explaining to them how to document suggested changes and navigate the content of the course. It also may be easier to communicate with an in-house SME. There are some drawbacks to using in-house SMEs, however. For example, they may already be the dedicated SME on several other projects. [...]

Read More
13 06, 2018

Best Practices for Custom Art in Education Content Development

By | 2018-06-11T18:28:38+00:00 June 13th, 2018|Art, education, Educational Content, Instructional Design|0 Comments

Whether it is a flowchart that helps break down a difficult concept or icons to help cue the learner’s memory, the purpose of art in education content development is to help deliver an instructional message. Instead of creating custom art to decorate a page or sell a product, art should be created with the learner in mind. Mayer’s Multimedia Principle says that “People learn better from words and pictures than from words alone.” The images graphic designers create can play a big role in the learning process and help learners recall information. A collaborative study with Seoul National University and the University of California found that graphics generally help learners have a more positive experience, but the type of graphic makes a difference. There were two types of images that did not help the students recall information after the initial assessment: images that were considered simply “decorative,” such as an aesthetically pleasing icon that did not directly pertain to the lesson, and images that were “seductive,” such as an interesting picture that was not tied directly [...]

Read More
30 05, 2018

Supplemental Materials in Curriculum Development

By | 2018-05-30T14:49:57+00:00 May 30th, 2018|curriculum, Curriculum Planning, education, Educational Content, Instructional Design|0 Comments

How can we help teachers excite students? For that matter, how can we help teachers get excited? One way is through the use of supplemental materials that help students learn textbook information in different ways. If we rely on textbooks to help teachers teach, we limit their ability to teach the students. Textbooks give information, but they do not give students a means of moving that information off of the page and into real life. Materials and activities that ask the student to move beyond the textbook help them learn (Reddy, 2013). The added materials offer instructors useful resources and activities to help design lessons that will engage students. Activities used with textbooks help students practice what they are learning. While some supplemental materials help students work with the content, others offer instructors activities that can increase interest and learning. Some examples of helpful materials include worksheets, group discussion prompts, and hands-on activities. These materials help reach more students and are written with different learning styles in mind (Reddy, 2013). Supplemental materials such as lesson plans, [...]

Read More
23 05, 2018

Why Outsource Education Content Writing?

By | 2018-05-23T20:43:31+00:00 May 23rd, 2018|Course Writers, Curriculum Development, education, Educational Content, writing|0 Comments

The Worst Fake News Story in Education Ever: Those Who Can’t Do, Teach Any professional associated with education knows that teachers not only can do but must do much more than teach. Do some of these roles sound familiar? Conflict resolution specialist Data analyst Administrative professional Diplomat MC/Entertainer Communications manager And we haven’t even discussed content or curriculum development yet. In a 2014 study, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development found that teachers spend less than half of their time in school actually instructing students. Some of those non-teaching moments are unavoidable and necessary. But according to the same study, the second largest use of time by teachers is individual planning and preparation of lessons. What if we could reduce that time? What could teachers accomplish with those extra hours? Is it even possible to reduce prep time? It is--if educators take the leap and decide to outsource some content creation. We’re not talking about finding some faceless Internet vendor whose only experience with a classroom has been as a student. There are writers out [...]

Read More
Copyright 2009 - 2019 A Pass Educational Group, LLC | All Rights Reserved