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SCMO Suggestion – Courses
- This topic has 15 replies, 6 voices, and was last updated 10 years, 9 months ago by
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I’ve been thinking about things that would make my life easier using the SCM Organizer. And then thinking about how to explain what I want.
There are times that I am creating a course (or using a pre-made course like the Modules here) that use a few different resources. So the course might look like…
Great Canadian Lives – Chapter 1
Great Canadian Lives – Chapter 2
Canadian Minute – John Cabot
Great Canadian Lives – Chapter 3
Story of Canada – Chapter 22
etc…
Right now, I create the resoures for each of these books, and add in week numbers (from my schedule) to keep us mostly in order of what I want – and I have to schedule the resources for any day it might get used and close them. OR, I have to keep track on paper (or if using a module, in the module…)
Now, I have considered creating a resource for the course instead… So creating a Resource called something like “Early Canadian History” and putting the information in the divisions (including the book name) – and I have actually done this in another program. And then that works well…. EXCEPT….
I want the REPORTS to look like
Story of Canada – Chapters 1-10
Canadian Minutes – Minutes 1-5
Great Canadian Lives – Chapters 1-40
instead of
Early Canadian History – Chapters 1-55 [which means nothing to anyone else]
Ideally, I would like to have all the books in as their own resource – then create a “Course” where I can drag and drop the chapters from various resources in the order I want them to be done – and then be able to schedule the course on the various days of the week and it list the book/resource and the chapters – and basically look like it currently does…. and then the Reports list the resources used all together (possibly under the course name…) so something like (but better formatting)
HISTORY
– Early Canadian History
—-Story of Canada – Chapters 1-10
—-Canadian Minutes – Minutes 1-5
—-Great Canadian Lives – Chapters 1-40
– European Reformation History
—-Our Island Story – Chapters 61-70
etc
Clear as mud? Am I dreaming?
This is a wonderful idea. I can do this in another program I was trying. It works well, but the rest is over complicated. My current use is to put the module or course as a teacher resource and the other books, etc on their own and sched for Saturday. The teacher resource for the course keeps me on track, and I click worked on when we use certain resources. I’m doing this for Visits to Africa and Module 1 at the moment.
Yes, I have done various work arounds over the years…. but I really want my kids to just be able to use the organizer… I have them using something else (where I did make up the courses) and I use the organizer – but that is double my setup work…. and some things with the other system drive me crazy… (ie – the kids want to do more – I have to go in and MERGE the divisions… argh!)
Give me the ability to make my courses with combine resources, yet print seeing each resource seperate, keeping things nice and easy – and I’ll be the happiest camper in the world!
I started ds10 and dd13 checking the organizer on their computers for the first time on Monday. I’m only printing for dd6. It’s going well, but I’ve pulled their books (Cat of Bubastes, Golden Goblet, etc) out and simply entered them. So they aren’t intermixed with anything else now. I did the same with visits to Africa. Courses would be great. The workaround works, but it would be nice to simplify.
Thinking of loud… That you’ve likely done already.
Make a course – Teacher Resource Canadian history with each division being specific to a resource. Pop this up daily. This is your keep on track.
Enter resource separately on sat. Under student as history. When something is worked on/completed. Click there. This is your good record.
Or I could just get over the whole report thing – I don’t actually report to anyone, just print them and keep them in the portfolio just in case… I could just create a course description for each course and use that instead… lol
ie
Early Canadian History – Covering the History Period from 1492-1690
Resources used
Great Canadian Lives Chapter 1-10
Story of Canada (by….) Chapter 1-5
Canada Minutes – 5 minutes from the time period
And then chill out….. but there is always a “what if….”
I would make a resource with the breakdown of assignments called “Study Guide (or Syllabus) to (Course name)” and schedule it in the actual student’s subject category of the course, not as a teaching resource, along with all the actual books. This would then be available for the student. The student could then open and close the books on their daily assignment page as the guide dictates for the day.
Hm – that might work out ok – and I could stop making copies of resources to add my week numbers in…
Still not as cool as my Course idea, but a good work-aroundAlthough I really don’t want to have to train the kids on looking at a resource, and then closing the various resources not needed… I know my oldest could, and possibly my next – but right now what I’m using for them just brings up something like “Story of Canada Chapter 1” without having to do anything to know that there isn’t “Story of Canada” or “Canadian Minutes”….
I believe we have an idea on our wish list to allow creation of courses that contain multiple resources, but that’s a pretty big feature that would require a lot of work to plan and create in a way that would make sense. It’s probably something to consider farther down the road.
I’m thinking about some of the tools we already have.
- You have the ability to schedule only certain chapters (divisions) of a resource.
- You have the ability to schedule a full or partial resource more than once.
- You can schedule those full or parial resources as a use with or use after any other resource or partial resource and assign them to days of the week.
Does that solve much of it? What would still be missing beyond having a course title?
Since I don’t want to have to create lesson plan details again for certain courses, I prefer to make course syllabus resources that are reusable. If you were to make a course assignment resource and simultaneously use Doug’s idea to schedule only sections/chapters of books with the “use with” and “use after” options, your children would not have to open and close any books, you would be able to use the syllabus resource as a guide to keep the course on target, and you would have the course details to use for future children. Thanks for the tip, Doug.
I hope this doesn’t come across the wrong way; I really am not criticizing, but very curious. Why do the children have to have such specific instructions and the ability to check things off themselves? Are they schooling themselves? Is it not possible to just tell them what you want them to do for that day/assignment? Or is it because you’re busy helping other children than you can’t?
Honestly, I know those sound like critical questions. But I promise they’re not. I’m sincerely curious as to why you all are going to such great lengths to custom-design a course that the children (it appears) would work on totally independently. (And I’m wondering if maybe there’s something not doing that I should be!!)
Blessings,
Lindsey
Lindsey, I have a set goal that my kids will become independent learners not dependent upon me to tell them what comes next. I view myself more as a mentor once they are 6th grade or so. I’m here to help as needed, but they need to do the work. I see it no different than training them in chores. Also, with four kids, I am simply not available to answer questions on what comes next every time they are ready to move on. My kids are extremely productive with their own work, but get frustrated if they need to wait for me for too many things.
Janell, I think I will take your idea and run with it. I have been trying to figure how to make it reusable for future kids and I love this idea.
Ok, that makes sense! I like the idea of “mentoring” them. I hadn’t considered that perspective. With that in mind, I can see why you’re all trying to make the SCMO as user friendly and also as “kid proof” as possible. I am grateful you all are doing the legwork so that there will probably be something fabulous in place by the time I’m at that point! Thanks for explaining, Christie. I sure hope I didn’t come across as critical of what you all are trying to do. 😉
@Lindsey: My children are doing high school work. I look over their work and then they check off their own assignments.
Still not as cool as my Course idea, but a good work-around
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