Be careful stepping onto the machine. The pedals may start to move as you do and it can be easy to lose your balance. Grab the handlebars as you step on to help you stay balanced. Taking a few steps forward on the machine should power up the display. If not, look for a start button. Your arms should be swinging with the handles. When your left foot goes down, straightening your leg, the right handle should be pulled toward your body. Same for when your right leg goes down. Keep the knees slightly bent when straightening the leg on each stroke. Notice that it is similar to riding a bike without ever sitting down, but with less of an up and down range of motion. Faster is not always better on the elliptical machine. Turning up the resistance will make it so that you have to push harder on the pedals which will give your muscles a better work out. The pedals on an elliptical machine can also go backwards. Going backwards not only ads variety to your workout, but it also works muscles that going forward tends not to. Moving backwards on the machine works your hamstrings and glutes. Pedaling backwards can be hard on your knees. Be careful if you have a knee injury. Some machines have movable swing arms and others have fixed. The movable swing arms will give you a more full body workout, but will take some of the emphasis off of your legs and butt. You can choose not to use the swing arms for a more intense lower body workout. This will involve more balance and awareness of your posture. Do five minute intervals increasing the resistance and incline each time. Start with a base pace that feels comfortable but challenging. Do this for two minutes keeping the incline the same. Then increase your speed for two more minutes. Let yourself recover at a slower pace for one minute. Then increase the incline or resistance and repeat the pattern. Depending on your fitness goals you may want to tweak this workout routine.

Summary: Step onto the machine facing the monitor. Begin pedaling to turn it on. Start pedaling at an even pace. Do not lock your knees. Turn up the resistance. Change up your direction on the pedals. Use the swing arms. Increase the incline and resistance as you go.

Invest in relationships with your teachers so they feel supported and encouraged. Teachers are more likely to examine their own methods and self-reflect on their teaching when they feel led by a supportive guide rather than a critic. For example, you could ask your teachers to one-on-one meetings to talk about their hopes and anxieties for the coming year. Check in with your teachers throughout the year to ask if there are any areas of difficulty they want help with. Offering to brainstorm a tough problem together can help the teacher feel encouraged. Push your teachers to examine their methods by giving them specific feedback about what you've noticed when they teach. Then, ask them how they might do things differently. For example, you might say, "I noticed that when you turned your back to the blackboard, many of your students stopped taking notes. What strategies can you use to keep your students focused while you draw the necessary diagrams?" Encourage departmental meetings where teachers reflect on student progress and lead one another. This will help your teachers see you as a source of encouragement rather someone trying to assert authority over their teaching routines. Select an educator each month who you've noticed really excels in a particular area. Hold an assembly for your teachers where that teacher can share their best tips and strategies for cultivating that skill. Skills that could be the focus of these presentations include: student engagement, time management, lesson planning, incorporating technology, facilitating effective discussions, and more. Offer the educator a chance to make observations about their own growth and areas for improvement. Frequently these remarks will align with your thoughts. Letting your teacher voice their assessment first allows you to agree, and then strategize about how you can make progress in areas of weakness together. You might say, "I wanted to check in and see how things are going. I was hopeful we could talk about some of the great progress you've made this semester as well as areas you can improve. What have your impressions been?" Teachers are often overrun with work and short on time, so keep meetings and training sessions as efficient as possible. Be sure to begin and end on time. Over time, this can build trust between you and the teachers. You should also be sensitive to days and weeks when teachers are more stressed than usual, such as testing weeks. Try to avoid scheduling meetings and trainings during these weeks.

Summary: Build rapport between yourself and the teachers. Pair detailed feedback with reflective questions. Hand over responsibility to teachers rather than micromanaging them. Ask each educator to give a presentation on something they do well. Ask the teacher for an assessment of their own progress. Show teachers that you value their time by being efficient.

Winning radio contests is mostly a game of luck, but there are things you can do that will help increase your odds of winning. One thing to try is Skype, which is a voice over internet protocol service that allows you to use your computer to call regular phone numbers. Skype only charges for calls that actually go through, so if you get a busy signal, the call is free. Skype dials faster than a cell phone, so you increase your chance of getting through before someone who is calling from their cell phone. If the contest requires you to correctly answer a question, or is looking for some other specific thing from the listeners, sometimes the disc jockey will casually mention it on the air before they announce for callers to call in. You have to pay close attention to everything that is happening on the radio show a good hour before the contest begins. Many people get frustrated and don't feel like their call is going to connect after a couple minutes, but it still might. Radio stations occasionally pickup a dead line from someone getting frustrated and hanging up just a few seconds too early. When a radio station has a contest where you need to be caller number nine, and the station answers your call only to tell you that you're not the right caller, don't hang up. Stay on the phone and wait for a minute because sometimes when the station switches to another caller they do not completely hang up on you. By staying on the line, you give yourself the chance of the station coming back to you again and you could be the winner. Not all phone lines travel at the same speed. Depending on where you are will influence how fast your call will go through to where you are trying to call. The general speed of phone lines from fastest to slowest is office phone, home phone, Skype, cell phones, and then cable digital phones being the slowest to dial out. Radio hosts prefer excited callers because they are trying to entertain their listeners which is why they have contests to begin with. They want someone interesting who is willing to show their personality on the air. Sometimes, it doesn't really matter what number caller you were, as long as you sound excited or have a story. Tell a personal story about why you are trying to win. Try to be funny and make them laugh. The more entertaining you are, the better your chances are of winning the contest. They don't want calm, boring people on air, so if given the opportunity, be outgoing. Usually, radio shows announce contests during the morning and afternoon drive-time hours which means a lot of people try to participate from work. Be sure that if your call does go through, you are in a space that allows you to enthusiastically have a conversation with the radio station. If you call in from your car, make sure you use a hands-free device. Also, be aware that you may lose a call and become disconnected more easily dialing from your car.
Summary: Learn the tricks. Listen to hints dropped by the disc jockeys. Let the phone ring until you hear a winner announced. Stay on the line even after you have been told you didn't win. Be aware of how fast your phone lines travel. Sound happy and show some enthusiasm. Be very careful about where you're calling from.