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ESL forum >
Message board > Do more downloads really mean something is better?
Do more downloads really mean something is better?
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blunderbuster
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Do more downloads really mean something is better?
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No, I believe not, not always.
When downloading, most people here follow the few that make a preselection shortly after midnight, it is like buying strawberries for a cake, as soon as you start piling up the packs on your arm, people start flocking around you because they assume that you are buying something extraordinary, getting a great deal that they haven �t heard of.
People don �t take or have the time to read descriptions, other than that I have no explanation why this ws can not compete with some others.
This is mere advertising, please forgive me, I couldn �t help, it all happened out of jealousy and I think I should be rewarded for my hard work and dedication. :oP
Nite.
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7 Dec 2010
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aliciapc
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It �s happened to me, more than once, that ws which took me hours to prepare, only had 20, 30 downloads and some which were done in half an hour but where I added nice pics, had more than 100 ... I believe you �re right, maybe they get carried away by what the majority downloads! Anyway, we already know how it works, so we should prepare what works for our classes and our sts and then, if it suits someone else ... good for them!
And your reward, Regina ... well, let it come from your own students and their learning process ! |
7 Dec 2010
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MJ_Misa
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Yep, this is funny, isn �t it (or rather sad, I know).
Yesterday I had (IMHO) a very good grammar ws among new contributions. It also happened that is was the first one in the row and I got a 102 downloads. It had two pages, the first one text only, pictures on the second. I belive if I put the pics on the first side, I could get more downloads. But I created it that way for my sts and had no reason to change it for ESL. It took me about 5 hours to create.
I also have wss with lots of pictures and almost no text - colourful, lovely at the first sight and it took me only about an hour to make. Yet they got over 200 downloads.
Yet I consider my grammar wss more useful (at least for me).
I don �t really care about points any more, but people like nice, colourful wss and I think not many of them is really interested in the usability until they have it in their comp. Or am I mistaken? 
Take care everybody, Michaela
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7 Dec 2010
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nombasa
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A day or two ago there was a discussion about ways in which to grade a worksheet. I think that you are right, that the number of people who download a sheet is not an accurate reflection of that sheet. I also think that having 0 downloads is also not always an acurate reflection either. I suppose a lot depends on what people want at any given time.
I think a star rating system might work where you were asked to grade a sheet once you had downloaded it - maybe a five star system or something and then the marks averaged out.
That way regardless of the number of downloads, you would get a more accurate reflection on the worksheets quality.
I uploaded, sometime back, a set of reading books, with vocabulary work and reading extension work in them. The idea was that the children would illustrate them so that the book was more personal to them. The ones with no clip art on the front received 0 downloads, yet the ones where I had put a picture on were downloaded.
I constantly have this tension between wanting to produce what will be used (the points don �t matter to me) and what I think is educationaly sound. Of course these two aren �t automaticaly exclusive of each other and there are many worksheets which are attractive and educationaly sound. But my point is that we are swayed by visuals and often that means when we are in a hurry that we don �t look past the surface impressions to see what gems are there.
I also paint, and to illustrate my point using that analogy, I remember having to submit 20 painting for an exhibition. I was a couple short of that number and so I cut, into three peices, a large painting which had been done on a board using a palet knife. It had been done quicly without much thought or skill but they were the first paintings to sell. I often felt that tension between painting what would sell and what I felt was actually worth painting and showd my skills.
Sometimes I got the ballance right - othertimes I felt like I had sold my soul!!!
I think with any art - be it painting or writing worksheets there is a balance to be had and a motive to be aware of.
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7 Dec 2010
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moravc
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Blunderbuster �s Clock printable was PROBABLY overlooked because it looked like copied pictures from net...
Only a few people would have ever thought the pictionary had been drawn by Regina from a scratch...
IF the members SEE that the workhsheet is unique, they tend to download it... But still... a rare topic / game / style of worksheet may be overlooked because there are 400-500 new worksheets every day...
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7 Dec 2010
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douglas
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You know, if a new person had started this thread they probably would have got flamed badly for advertising their own worksheet.
Yes, I understand there is a discussable topic imbedded in the message, but if it was somebody unknown or disliked by another, I think this thread would have gone a whole different direction.
Just a thought...
Whether anyone wants to admit it or not, a larger number is a little boost for the ego.
It feels good to think that people all over the world are using something you created. With all the worksheets we have each day, catchy colors and images tend to catch the eye when people are scanning and advertising has made this into a science--it �s basic human nature I think (possibly programmed into us by advertising).
Douglas |
7 Dec 2010
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pilarmham
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I think that very often the problem is a lack of time: I wish the day had 1,000 hours, but it doesn �t. As an ecstatic newbie I used to take a careful look at every single worhsheet and say hi every single time. Now (I must admit) I can �t download every day, only one out of every two times can I say hi, and most of the times I do it quickly and have to resort to choosing the most popular sheets a few days after they came out. I still try to find the time to go through all the contributions carefully, but it �s just not possible. Under these circumstances (and considering that eye-catching worksheets are soooooo easy and appealing), how could we sometimes not miss the best contributions? |
7 Dec 2010
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GIOVANNI
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I find the same thing. Sometimes a worksheet that has lots of substance but little clip art does not get as many points. I have often found worksheets that are really good but have not been downloaded because they are not as pleasing to the eye.
We have discussed this many times and it seems that eye catching worksheets always get more downloads. I say to each his own, but it �s a pity that a lot of good worksheets are being overlooked because they don �t stand out.
Douglas is right, if a newbie would have advertised they would have been blasted.
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8 Dec 2010
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pilarmham
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I think that it is basic human nature that we tolerate certain things from certain people which we would never allow to others: is it called charisma, irrationality, foolishness, passion... who knows? |
8 Dec 2010
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PhilipR
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Welcome to the visual world. Educators and students alike now seem to expect visually stunning wss, powerpoints and smartboard gimmicks. It �s not going to change folks, on the contrary. Images, video, camchat etc. will become more dominating over time. |
8 Dec 2010
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pilarmham
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You are absolutely right, Phillip. In my school there are new digital boards, so expensive and so alluring. Everyone seems to love them, both students and teachers. Who can say "no" to what is more attractive and comfortable? |
8 Dec 2010
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