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Courses >
Courses for Teaching Professionals > Creating K-12 Learning Materials
Syllabus:
A new section of each course starts monthly. If enrolling in
a series of two or more courses, please be sure to space the start date
for each course at least two months apart.
All courses run for six weeks, with a two-week grace period at the
end. Two lessons are released each week for the six-week duration of
the course. You do not have to be present when lessons are released.
You will have access to all lessons until the course ends. However, the
interactive discussion area that accompanies each lesson will
automatically close two weeks after the lesson is released. As such, we
strongly recommend that you complete each lesson within two weeks of
its release.
The final exam will be released on the same day as the last lesson.
Once the final exam has been released, you will have two weeks to
complete all of your course work, including the final exam.
| Week One |
| Wednesday - Lesson 01 |
In our first
lesson, we'll talk about the types of instructional aids you might
consider developing. But more than that, I'll show you specific
examples of actual aids I've developed and marketed in each category:
printed book(lets), manipulatives, student activity kits, and more.
Then, I'll introduce you to the power of the print-on-demand
technology, a technology that allows you to produce book(lets) of the
same quality and appearance as the books you find in book stores—and in
only classroom quantities! It's a "wow" moment that will get you
excited about the possibilities awaiting you.
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| Friday - Lesson 02 |
Is there a secret
that will virtually guarantee your success in developing a winning
instructional aid—one that increases student performance, the learning
underlying that performance, and the probability it can be marketed
successfully? You bet there is—it's called reverse engineering and it's
the most exciting, most powerful concept in this course. In this
lesson, we'll incorporate a fusion of reverse engineering with a
10-part developmental platform to help you align your product design
with student performance standards.
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| Week Two |
| Wednesday - Lesson 03 |
I hear you
saying, "But Mike, can I really compete with the major educational
publishers?" My answer will surprise you: the question isn't whether
you can compete with them, but whether they can compete with you!
You'll find that they can't. The future of educational publishing lies
not with the major publishers, but with individual teachers—teachers
just like you! I'll show you step by step how to market the
instructional aid you develop through huge educational product
distributors. I'll do something for you that your district can't: I'll
show you how to profit financially from your great ideas!
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| Friday - Lesson 04 |
In
this lesson, we'll take an in-depth look at the heart of designing
printed instructional aids. From page layout, to nonvolatile student
response materials, to my 20-part checklist for organizing the
development of your product—we'll get you on the fast track to success
in a hurry.
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| Week Three |
| Wednesday - Lesson 05 |
Today we'll
explore student activity kits. I'll give you a developmental platform
to organize your progress, and then we'll move on to covering safety
issues, locating the components you need, and developing a bill of
materials. Then we'll look at specific examples of student activity
kits that I've developed and how you can build off of my ideas.
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| Friday - Lesson 06 |
The fun is just
beginning! Manipulatives, models, and games—these are the topics today.
There are benefits of turning your idea for a printed instructional aid
into one of these products, too. These types of instructional aids can
boost your profits if you plan on marketing your product, and they'll
give students a hands-on aspect to their learning. Let's not
forget—these products are just plain fun for kids to use!
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| Week Four |
| Wednesday - Lesson 07 |
Break out the
director's chair—today we'll talk about developing video instructional
products. "But Mike, I just want to develop a simple instructional
booklet." Good for you, and that's exactly how I felt with my first few
products. But in today's lesson, you'll learn exactly how I created
over a dozen network-quality video learning products without spending a
dime to do it. You'll learn how to develop quality video instructional
aids using state of the art technologies, and do it for pennies. We'll
discuss the development of a video aid I developed which turned into a
product that now sells for over $1,000 in dozens of catalogs of the
largest educational product developers around the world!
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| Friday - Lesson 08 |
In
this lesson, I'll fully explain the education market and how to get
your product into that market. How can you sell you product yourself?
How can you get huge educational distributors to carry your product in
their catalogs? When is the best time to promote your product? Who do
you need to contact with your product? I'll answer all these questions
and more today.
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| Week Five |
| Wednesday - Lesson 09 |
Today we'll talk
about the secret tools of the trade that self-published authors know
about that help assure their success. I'll give you contacts for
marketing your product, as well as tips for software to make your job
easier.
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| Friday - Lesson 10 |
In this lesson,
we'll address the question of standards, student performance, and the
instructional aids you develop. We'll look at not only increasing
specific student performances, but also at improving the actual
learning underlying that performance.
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| Week Six |
| Wednesday - Lesson 11 |
To
boldly go where no one has gone before. Sounds like the opening line
from a Star Trek movie, but this is exactly what this lesson is about.
I not only want you to develop a winning product, I want you to promote
that fact to your community. I want them to realize that you have done
something special. So today, we'll look at how you can use the
media—print, radio, and television—to promote what you've done to your
community and beyond. I'll show you exactly how I've used these
techniques to book author interviews for many of my own books on over
100 radio stations and television programs, like ABC's World News. I'll
give you contacts, techniques, and tips on how you can do the same. I
want to make you famous!
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| Friday - Lesson 12 |
In our last
lesson, you'll find out how to incorporate what you've learned to help
others in your own building. We'll discuss an infrastructure you can
develop that will involve your peers in developing instructional aids,
too! You'll become the focal point for reality-based change within your
district!
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This
course includes a knowledgeable and caring instructor who will guide
you through your lessons, facilitate discussions, and answer your
questions. The instructor for this course will be Michael McMillan.
 After
graduating from Western Michigan University with degrees in chemistry
and mathematics, Mike McMillan was employed as an inner-city public
school teacher for more than fourteen years. While teaching, he
developed a number of supplemental instructional materials that found
their way into the catalogs of many educational product distributors.
Since 1989, Mike has worked full time developing a wide variety of
student activity kits, instructional videos, supplemental work books,
lab manuals, and study guides for the K-12 education market. Mike has
been interviewed on some of the nation's largest radio stations and
television programs, including ABC World News. In addition to his
online courses, Mike does over 80 live seminars related to
self-publishing each year.
Requirements:
Internet access, e-mail, the Microsoft Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox Web browser, and the Adobe Flash and PDF plug-ins
(two free and simple downloads you obtain at
http://www.adobe.com/downloads by clicking Get Adobe Flash Player and
Get Adobe Reader).
Student Reviews:
- "A great 'how to course.' Gave me the information I needed to get
several simmering ideas off the ground. I would recommend this course
to anyone interested in getting their work published. Cudos!"
- "Awesome course! I feel as though the information presented in this
course was what I've been searching for in books, websites and
seminars, but have not found so clearly expressed and concise."
- "I have to say that this is one of the best classes I have ever
taken! It really has got the wheels turning in my head. I'm so excited
about getting started on my book and activity kit ideas! Thank you so
much for all that you have taught me! "
- "Much of the publishing and marketing information was new. Mike was
very thorough and definitely set the wheels turning about this process
leading to profitable results as well as meeting student needs. I am
determined by Mike's positive outlook and success to follow through on
several ideas I've set aside for far too long. This is my second online
course completed with your program and I have thoroughly enjoyed this
experience."
- "This class provided the detail needed to understand the material,
and to encourage my individual growth as a teacher. I look forward to
implementing the ideas that I have generated while taking the class,
and would highly recommend it to anyone considering creating their own
educational materials. The instructor was thoughtful, creative and
responsive to all questions and truly supportive of the developmental
process. I also feel the course material will provide me with excellent
reference material in the future."
- "This course was very interesting and fun. I learned new
information in Education Administration, standards and policies, and it
complemented my knowledge in educational aids design. It helped me to
find new ways to make my big ideas a reality and to use them to improve
students’ learning process. I'm grateful for having the opportunity to
study this course on-line, at my pace and with enough time to complete
it."
- "This was an excellent course about creating supplemental
educational materials. I enjoyed looking at the various options that
one could consider. The instructor was very motivating and made me feel
that I could really reach the goal of creating my own products."
- "What a fantastic class!!! Very informative, detailed, practical,
fun!!! Exactly what I needed to start publishing. Thank you, Prof. Mike
McMillan!"
To purchase this course, click the Enroll Now button below:
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Do
you have an idea for an instructional aid? The instructor--a former
K-12 teacher who is also the author and developer of over 50 products
for the educational market, will help you develop instructional aids
that align with standards important to your district.