Teaching Classroom Application

Utilizing a
Digital Projector

The room is set up with a large screen in front of the students. A digital projector is positioned to display PAC textbook pages (display only or Talking Textbooks) on the screen. A desktop or laptop computer is loaded with a PAC course to be taught. The teacher scrolls through the lesson for the day and discusses text, vocabulary, maps, charts, life principle and activity questions.

Students respond to teacher's questions/comments and respond to printed sequential questions from an activity book as the lesson progresses. At the end of the lesson, the students exchange activity books or pass them to the teacher. The teacher displays the answers to activity questions on the screen.

Students grade the daily lessons and pass them to the teacher or back to owners (as directed by the teacher).

Prepared quizzes follow every fifth lesson. On quiz day, questions are displayed on the screen and students respond to questions on notebook paper or on PAC's prepared quizzes [The English course requires students to respond on printed activities and quizzes.]

The print text approach is the most practical, efficient, and economical for teachers. The teacher identifies which of the 150-180 PAC lessons are to be completed for course credit during the semester or year. Each day the teacher speaks on the topic (lesson) for the day (using the PAC print text as the source) while students follow in their own text, plus respond to printed activity questions. The teacher has the option of covering the entire lesson audibly or speaking on the topic for only a few minutes, then requiring students to complete the lesson and activity questions silently. At the end of class time, all texts and activity books are collected by the teacher, or students are allowed to take them to lockers (as instructed by the teacher). A prepared quiz accompanies (follows) every fifth lesson. Students respond to printed quiz questions on notebook paper or directly on the printed quiz (as instructed by the teacher). [Ask about availability of school print-on-demand options.]

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Topical Units

This method is for the creative teacher who likes to put together an eclectic collection of learning material to be presented through integrated topical studies. Delivery is via PAC computer displayed E-Book and/or print material (texts and companion activity books). The teacher selects the preferred topics (lessons) from PAC's extensive resources of more than a thousand topics/lessons (see index and/or table of contents in each PAC course). This flexible approach allows the teacher to pick and choose individual PAC lessons or units that are in harmony with the teacher's lesson plans for the course.

Each PAC unit of five lessons has a companion quiz in print or E-Book format. Lessons and quizzes may be completed via the computer display (coming soon) or print method.

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Homework/Library Application
(as a supplement to Classroom Application)

Students who do not complete daily PAC lessons in the classroom may take curriculum home or to the school library and complete lessons and hand in homework to the teacher the next day.

This system allows the school librarian (and/or computer room director or resource room teacher) to facilitate / support completion of homework or make-up work due to student absences associated with illness, UIL events or field trips.

The school purchases PAC courses in print (available now) and/or E-Book format (pending) and places the courses under supervision of the appropriate teacher or librarian who administers lessons/quizzes as authorized by applicable classroom teachers.

Resource Room and/or Library

The school purchases sets of PAC print courses or enters a contract to print on demand, and/or obtains a site license or individual E-Books for computer delivered courses. The teacher or librarian assigns PAC courses as applicable to transcript requirements. Students report to the resource room/library as scheduled and complete PAC lessons at desks or computer stations.

PAC courses are also available in Talking Textbook format for Pentium II PCs (Pentium III for RealSpeakTM) to accompany needs of students characterized by ESL, ADHD, dyslexia, low performance, boredom, or chronic illness. Students see and hear PAC course content in English at variable auditory reading speeds and font size, and can see/hear difficult words pronounced and defined in English, Spanish, French, German, Dutch or Italian.

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Disciplinary Alternative Education Program (DAEP)

The procedure for DAEP operates like the program designed for resource rooms or library (above).

PAC format accommodates the heavy burden placed on teachers who face challenges from "difficult" students whose actions earn placement in alternative disciplinary settings temporarily or for extended periods. Teachers can be confident that students re-assigned from regular classrooms to alternative placements can fulfill course requirements and simultaneously prepare for state academic assessments exams.

The DAEP teacher or supervisor always has access to more than 1000 PAC ready-to-work lessons in print or E-Book formats for students who "show up" without books or assignments.

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Home, Jail, Hospital, or Hotel

Students who experience temporary (or long-term) absences from classroom may continue studies to fulfill academic requirements for transcript credit. PAC courses are available in print, E-Books (pending), as well as PAC's popular and powerful Talking Textbooks. All courses are ready-to-use for students on individualized programs.

The teacher selects specific PAC course lessons to be completed during the absence (or to make up for absences/failures) and the student completes the lessons in absentia. Daily activities and unit quizzes are issued and graded by the teacher or designated proctor (nurse, counselor, guard, or parent). Remember: keys are available for questions of all daily activities, unit quizzes, chapter tests, and semester exams!

PAC's easy-to-use individualized courses are ideal for students who need to continue studies while incarcerated, in hospitals, in hotels for UIL trips or homebound (pregnancies, suspension). Students can return to the classroom without having missed vital academic assignments.

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Computer Lab

Schools purchase a license for as little as one computer or a site license for every computer in the district. PAC courses are loaded on the computer lab network server and are accessed by the lab supervisor as instructed by the school counselor and/or teachers-of-record.

Students report to the lab as scheduled (for one or more courses) at specified periods of the day. Computer stations are assigned and activated according to the site license arrangement with PAC (and Kurzweil Educational System, Inc., as applicable).

Students go to the assigned computers and simply access the PAC menu and navigate to the assigned course, chapter and lessons.

Students who prefer the Talking Textbook edition must sit at computers loaded with Kurzweil 3000 software. Daily activities, quizzes and chapter tests are completed on print editions under direct supervision by a staff member.

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Accelerated Pullout Room

Accelerated pull-out roomThis approach is ideal for accommodating students who want or need to accelerate course completion to make up previous failures, to compensate for ESL, ADHD, dyslexia or teacher-student conflict or to learn independently due to low or high IQ and motivation. This is recommended for ninth grade initiatives.

Courses may be completed in print or on PC (E-books [pending] or Talking Textbooks).

This approach also accommodates short- term academic topical research, disciplinary assignments, and/or preparation for state academic assessment exams.

Students may participate daily as prescribed by the counselor and/or teacher-of-record.

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