Could This Be The Future?

Resumes are full of words. Black ink on crisp white paper. Sterile. Unimaginative. Boring. Dull.

I do not envy recruiters, interviewers, and human resources professionals tediously paging through and reviewing stacks of resumes they receive for each job they are responsible for filling. Black ink. White paper. Lots and lots of black ink on white paper. It must be similar to reading a really boring book. A literary purgatory...

How many decision makers read everything on every resume they receive? Those that do, bless your heart. I admire you. I don't want your job. I don't have the patience...

What if there was a way out? An escape from the mundane? A break in the pattern of doom? The light at the end of the tunnel?

Could this be it?

Here's how I see it:

• It contains all the pertinent information.

• It's a 1-pager.

• It's brief and to the point. No fluff.

• It's visually appealing.

• It can be reviewed in a minute or two.

• It contains pictures.

• It's visual and vision trumps all other senses.

• It includes a QR Code that can be scanned if more information is desired.

• It can be printed in color or grayscale, shared digitally, or displayed online.

• It stands out. It says: I dare to be different. I'm creative. I'm worth a closer look.

I have wanted to create what I call the 21st Century Resume (CV, calling card whatever) for myself for a while. Now I did. I want to make a few more. One will include a head to toes pic in a suit. I might wear a cape in another describing my superpowers.

I promise you this though. I love my job, but if I ever decide to seek new employment, the above is the resume my prospective employer receives.

I figure the one that calls me for the interview sees the world with a fresh set of eyes. And that's precisely the point. That's where I want to be.

And I want to encourage you to dare to be different. To disrupt the status quo. To diverge from the mundane.

Empower your students to dare to be different. Fill them with the confidence and skills to create. Show them the way and they will innovate.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on my 21st Century Resume idea. Does it have legs? Or is it just another crazy idea conjured up by my twisted mind? Leave me a comment and we'll learn together. And, if you like crazy cool ideas Sign Up for My Newsletter and I'll keep you entertained forever (or at least until they pull the plug :).

You have the power to change the world. Use it often.

Evoke Emotions To Help Students Learn

By Oskar Cymerman | @focus2achieve | BAM! Radio Network & Teaching Channel Blogger

As the students were working on their bell ringer today (recalling radioactive decay equations), I stood in the middle of class and read the following to them:

“He was the only person making his way into the city; he met hundreds and hundreds who were fleeing, and every one of them seemed to be hurt in some way. The eyebrows of some were burned off and skin hung from their faces and hands. Others, because of pain, held their arms up as if carrying something in both hands. Some were vomiting as they walked. Many were naked or in shreds of clothing. On some undressed bodies, the burns had made patterns—of undershirt straps and suspenders and, on the skin of some women (since white repelled the heat from the bomb and dark clothes absorbed it and conducted it to the skin), the shapes of flowers they had had on their kimonos. Many, although injured themselves, supported relatives who were worse off. Almost all had their heads bowed, looked straight ahead, were silent, and showed no expression whatsoever.”

— "Hiroshima" by John Hersey

Then, I showed them haunting imprints of people killed by the blast...

This was my prelude to starting the discussion on nuclear fission and fusion in chemistry today. And, while the images students undoubtedly saw in their minds upon hearing the above story were gruesome, my purpose was clear. I wanted to evoke strong emotions.

I am reading "Brain Rules" by John Medina, which I enjoy and highly recommend, as the guy is an incredible writer, in addition to being a college professor and a brain guru. I recently finished a chapter titled "Attention" in which Dr. Medina explains how to grab and hold students' focus throughout the lesson.

One of the strategies he uses in his college lectures is employing "hooks." A hook is an emotionally competent stimulus (ECS) or an event that triggers strong emotions. All learning has emotions associated with it, but the stronger they are the better encoded the information becomes. During an emotionally charged event, out brain releases dopamine, which helps information processing and improves memory formation.

Thus, the "Hiroshima" story I read was a hook. But it wasn't just emotionally charged. It was also relevant, which is another key ingredient to a successful hook. If the hook information is unrelated to the topic you're getting ready to discuss, it will not be effective.

Then I got to talking about the pros and cons of nuclear reactions (Hiroshima was hit with a fission bomb named "Little Boy") and gave examples of fission and fusion reactions. That took about 10 minutes followed by students completing and identifying nuclear equations in small groups.

I felt that all students understood the material. I'll have to come back to it and have them practice more, but I feel they are well on their way to mastery of nuclear equations.

Remember the magic number 10. It is the number of minutes you can hold an audience's attention before it spikes way down. So...

1. Grab your audience with a hook to evoke emotions.

2. Teach 1 big concept for 9 minutes. Explain the big idea. elaborate. Give examples.

3a. Have students apply the concept and teach each other.

3b. Have a new hook ready if you want to keep going for another 10 minutes. The hook gives your audience a much needed brain break and can be used to introduce the next big idea.

4. Repeat, and keep it to 3 (maybe 4) big concepts tops. Less is more.

Hey. Thanks for reading! What do you think about using emotions in the classroom? Leave a comment or Sign Up for my Newsletter and we'll learn together.

You Have The Power To Change The World. Use It Often.

Sources:

Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School by John Medina

Hiroshima By John Hersey

This Year We Build Drones

How's that for REAL WORLD LEARNING? Take that Industrial Age!

Today, my high school Principles of Engineering class spent a few minutes outside to watch Parker (the student wearing a cape and vision goggles) flying the drone he built from scratch at 70 mph.

Seventy miles per flipping hour?!?! Yep. IT WAS AWESOME.

The kids were oohing and aahing all the way through and as Parker had a spare set of goggles they got to see what the drone equipped with an HD cam sees. Here's the vid I shot with my smartphone - ignore the bit about my book "Crush School" and just enjoy.

I was awestruck and a little jelly :) - I want one. Santa?

And then I thought... Let's build them! That's all it took - a few minutes of inspiration and a rash decision to dive into the unknown, so here it goes:

THIS YEAR WE WILL BUILD DRONES.

Boom! No way out now. I don't want any outs. We're doing this.

I don't know the first thing about building drones. We're doing it anyway.

I don't know where we'll get the green for it. I don't even know (yet) how much it'll all cost. We're doing it anyway.

I have no clue how difficult it is. We're doing it anyway.

I have no idea what I'm getting myself into here. We're doing it anyway.

But we have imagination. We're using it. Fear is an illusion. We're shoving it aside. We have a purpose. We're finding it.

And I know this.

“If you really want to do something, you’ll find a way. If you don’t, you’ll find an excuse. ”

— Jim Rohn

NO MORE EXCUSES.

I will find a way. No, that's wrong. We will find a way. My students and I will find a way. I don't know where it'll all take us, but the future is here and we are boldly signing up. Living it. Making our mark.

I will share every step of our journey here so sign up to follow.

Stay tuned.

With excitement and encouragement,

Oskar

You Have The Power To Change The World. Use It Often.