What are the comments of teachers about the Concept Keys Project?

Dr. Graham Bodie, Professor, Louisiana State University
 "The beauty of Concept Keys is that it provides a template for successful delivery of complex material that can be easily understood and implemented. The first semester I used this strategy to teach the connection between theory and practice, it was like someone had removed the glasses of confusion from their eyes! My students now actually understand that the theories we teach can make a difference in their lives and relationships."

Margaret E. Fitch-Hauser, Professor
 " I have used "Project a Positive Attitude" as a supplement in a senior level Nonverbal Communication class. My students have written 5 short reports on how Concept Keys apply to their lives and to nonverbal communication. The depth of analysis and realization of the importance of these "common sense" tips has been astoundingly positive. Based on their performance on these papers, I have gained more respect for my students and their commitment to learning and being successful. This "old dog" has learned a very valuable lesson from this new and innovative way to make information real to students ... give students something meaningful to work with and they will embrace and internalize the concepts. In turn, they will work harder on the not so obvious areas of the course as well.

Using Concept Keys has been a wonderful experience and I look forward to incorporating other sets of Keys into future classes."

Don Love, Professor
"I was amazed at the students' reaction to Concept Keys program. They embraced both the technology and the simplicity of the messages.

I found that my students were very open to reading the Concept Keys, even those students who seldom, if ever, read the textbook."

Will Powers, Professor
"The Concept Keys program was my idea and I felt that I needed to test it in the classroom myself before offering it to teachers. I was amazed at the student affect and enthusiasm for the concept and the contests. Students memorized the Keys and appreciated the brevity of the information!"

Dennis Gibson, Principal
"I just don't know of a better way to get quality information to everyone."

What are the comments of students about the Concept Keys Project?

John Mosel, Student
"I think the concept keys can help because they explain each idea in 4 to 5 different ways. The email format is great because you can type your response fast and easy. I think that the concept keys and the responses really help you think about what is supposed to be done in a speech."

Sara Bluemel, Student
"Concept keys would be useful because it is a reinforcement of ideas and is brief enough to keep one’s attention. The email format works well because it’s still a novel idea to many. We’ve been using email for years, but many do not take courses this way, so it’s a little different, and easy for most people."

Alex Allen, Student
"Receiving the concept keys over the internet was very effective. The concepts given gave me many hints on how to make my speaking techniques much better. I improved in many areas that I would not have known about if it had not been for the ideas. Receiving them in e-mail form was fun and I looked forward to checking my mail each day."

Curran Skinner, Student
"I really liked the contests we did every week to help us learn the Concept Keys. I think they (Keys) are important facts about communication that we need to remember, and the contests were a fun way to do so."

Lis Gaines, Student
"The concept keys were a device that helps not only a student ( in speechs) but also a student’s life in general. I felt that the concept keys were very informative; they brought up ideas of how you can correct your clarity in communication and who could possibly help you. Communicating clearly is something I have learned from these key points. They had a good layout of how you correct yourself as well. It not only helps me, but it also helps those around me."

Natalie Bacon, Student
"Concept keys, helps the student in two very important ways. The first is through the message. Giving concept keys allows the student to learn and be interested in another way than is not usual. It is not an overbearing professor yacking off all this information so that he can get his paycheck at the end of the week. It allows students to take the initiative to decide and then act on whether they want to learn more from the class or not. The second important way to improvement is the actual process. Over the internet is a very creative way to send school work . I believe it could also include a good way of adding a new adventure into the school process. In other words, this may give changes to the unchangeable cycle the school still consists of."