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Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Tried It Tuesday {Scanning Documents}

Happy Tuesday!!  It's time to see what teachers have been trying lately.
There's always something to try, isn't there?  

My Tried It:
Scanning Documents and Merging PDFs
Our district uses the Charlotte Danielson model for its teacher evaluation system and there are so many components to remember.  We are required to have artifacts or evidence for each of the components of Domains 1 and 4 (Domains 2 and 3 are observed during the teacher observations).  I made organizers for my binder and then listed them as a product on TpT last fall.  Now, for the past couple weeks, I have been working on updating the Editable Danielson Teacher Evaluation Organizers in my TpT store.
While this product was meant to originally just include cover pages and dividers for the domains and components, I added four generic examples of evidence/artifacts for some components over time.

Then, many teachers started asking if there could be more examples of evidence or artifacts that I used in my teacher binder included in the product.  Much of the evidence was unique to my classroom and included photocopies of student work or various documents that I didn't have as digital files.  I decided to get to work scanning the documents since it would be helpful to have them to refer to later for my own APPR binder anyway.  I thought that it would also be useful for teachers to see as many examples as possible of domain evidence when putting their binder together even if they had to edit the evidence examples to fit their needs.

So, as I scanned the documents and incorporated them into one PowerPoint file with other digital documents that I could make editable, I learned a few things along the way!  I put together this tutorial for anyone else that has scanned PDFs that they would like to merge into one document.  This tutorial is for a Mac.













So, now my Danielson Teacher Evidence Binder pack went from 30+ pages to 130+ pages!  I was pretty proud that I figured all this out and found the time to update everything.  The evidence examples for Domains 1 and 4 include over 50 pages.  This is the Table of Contents:

I also added some different choice of styles for cover pages and dividers.  

Is your district using the Danielson model for teacher evaluations?  I always love to give away new products (or, in this case, an updated product) to some people who would like to play "Pin It to Win It!"  If you pin an image for the Danielson product and leave the URL of your pin in the comments section, I will choose at least one winner using random number generator on Thursday to receive this product free!  Don't forget to leave your email to be contacted if you are a "no reply blogger".  Can't wait to see if you win?  This product is 20% off from now until midnight EST Thursday night!  Thanks, friends!! :)

16 comments:

  1. I have never heard of the Danielson model...but that is probably because I teach at a private school. Thanks for the tutorial. I learned something new this morning!

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  2. Oh my gosh, I will try this out! Thank you for sharing!

    cheriemae@gmail.com

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  3. You are pretty much awesome. Did you know that? Well, you are :)

    Tina
    Crofts' Classroom

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  4. We use the Danielson Model, too. Our principal didn't look at evidence last year accept for our learning goals. I had gathered a lot. This year the new principal is looking for a binder. Hope I win your set!
    marciahoj@gmail.com
    Learning in Bliss

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  5. WOW!! You are a technology genius, Holly! I'm dizzy just reading your directions. :)

    Your product looks AMAZING!!
    http://www.pinterest.com/pin/19210735883927980/

    Jennifer
    Mrs. Laffin's Laughings

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  6. Thank you so much for posting this. My district uses the Danielsen model and it can be pretty overwhelming to complete. I'm going to check out your product on TpT for sure! I've pinned this for my future reference and will tell my faculty members, too! My pin is #467881848758428749

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  7. What a great tool! We use the Danielson model too! It looks fantastic and so user friendly!
    Thanks for the chance to win!
    http://www.pinterest.com/pin/147070744054531574/
    Joanne
    Head Over Heels For Teaching

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  8. Excited to finally be able to link up with you again. Thanks for the great tutorial.:)

    Kristin
    iTeach 1:1

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  9. I know you already know this, but my heart does a little pitter patter every time you make posts like this. You are the QUEEN of tutorials and I bow down to you!!! I pinned, I pinned...pick me, pick me! We are using Danielson...again. We don't have to do binders...yet, but I do one for myself because I'm scared they are going to spring it on us at some point.
    http://www.pinterest.com/pin/215398794651235156/
    Alison
    Rockin' and Lovin' Learnin'

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  10. I forgot to add in my URL for my Pin! http://www.pinterest.com/pin/56013589089157739/

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  11. Those binders look like a huge amount of work to compile and organize. I am sure that your samples and product will be a huge help to other teachers using this system. Makes me happy we are only formally evaluated every 4 years :) Thanks for the tips on scanning!

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  12. We're just starting the Danielson model this year, so this will be super helpful. Here's my pin: http://www.pinterest.com/pin/108227197268638800/

    erocks720@aol.com

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  13. Hi.
    I'm new to your linkup. Thanks so much for hosting.
    Have a great week.

    School Is a Happy Place

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  14. Hi Holly,

    I apologize in advance for my link not showing the Tried It Tuesday logo... I can't for the life of me remember how to do that... too many times in between links... If you could send me the URL for your link up, I will save it for next time... or if there is something I am not doing correctly, let me know!

    Your Teacher Evidence Binder is a bit overwhelming... full of so many great examples, but oh my, you have been at Common Core longer than us!! We are starting implementation this year... slowly but surely.

    Thank you for your pictures.. I am very visual and those truly brought your process to life!

    Susan
    LopezLandLearners

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  15. Wow - your administration will have to be impressed with how much evidence you have put together! Awesome!

    Jane
    Learning in the Little Apple

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  16. Well, regardless of the model used for teaching evaluation, being a teacher is hard. Not only do teachers have to teach dozens of students everyday, they also have to deal with massive amount of paperwork, so any kind of help to alleviate the stress is welcome. That being said, I think this is a really helpful post. I also like the designs of the covers and dividers. Great job!

    Ruby Badcoe

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