Nutty the A.D.D. Squirrel's "Scramblin' thru History"In 2000, while a student-teacher at Holt High School, Dr. Hartnell began writing his illustrious "packets" to use in addition to the standard course text. Originally called the "All You Need to Know" guides, these packets grew into Dr. Hartnell's "Pathways Through History", which were so popular and informative that they became the class textbook. In 2008, Dr. Hartnell overhauled all of his packets to make them even easier to understand ("Written for those with A.D.D. by someone with A.D.D.")... thus Nutty the A.D.D. Squirrel's "Scramblin' thru History" was born! In 2012, Dr. Hartnell launched Nutty's very own site so everyone can access his material on the go!
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Click Nutty's picture. That's an order!
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NOTE: Reading assignments will be posted to the Calendar page of each class!
Click the banner above. You know you wanna...
The History of Dr. Hartnell's Textbook
All You Need to Know... Guides (2000-2005)
It's hard for me to look back on my original guides and NOT vomit. I mean, at the time, I was excited about how they looked... but now, well, too plain. Too much white space. [Click picture for a larger version.]
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For those that know me, you know my OCD won't allow me to NOT line things up properly. This is somewhat apparent in these early packets - but certainly noticeable later on. Not enough is "happening" on this page in my mind. But, hey, "A" for effort. [Click picture for a larger version.]
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Pathways Through History (2005-2008)
I believe I "came into" my element as a researcher and writer when I began my "Pathways" series. Even the covers were more inviting, and I started pressing the limits on where the margins were... just how much could I cram onto a page?! [Click picture for a larger version.]
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The amount of time it took to research, write, and design every page in each of my "Pathways" chapters was staggering. Hours were spent finding the perfect picture for each section... then cropping them so they'd fit nicely with the text. And I would pine away over making sure everthing lined up. So, so, SO many long nights. [Click picture for a larger version.]
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Scramblin' Thru History (2008-2012)
The idea to use a crazy-eyed squirrel came after stumbling upon the clipart during a late-night image search for a "Pathways" chapter in 2008. I knew I had to have that image... so I plunked down the $18.97 to legally purchase and download the squirrel from Brad Fitzpatrick. I then affectionately named him "Nutty" (the cartoon squirrel... not Brad. He's still called Brad). From that point on, I really re-thought how I wanted to present my material. As someone who has A.D.D., it seemed only logical that since I knew the minds of my students, how they functioned, and how they read, I could write a series of handouts I knew they would enjoy (and be able to follow). [Click picture for a larger version.]
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To this day, I really enjoy my design layout for "Nutty". The flow of the information is excellent; it is easy to read, get distracted by something shiny, and pick up where you left off without missing a beat. The "Quick Facts" and "Did You Know?" sidebars added a new element to the presentation of the material. [Click picture for a larger version.]
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Nutty the A.D.D. Squirrel's Website (2012-Present)
I finally did it! After 12 years or writing and re-writing, I took my stuff on-line! Granted, the site isn't 100% finished as I will upload every chapter slowly but surely! Enjoy Nutty "on the go"! [Click the picture to go to Nutty's site!]
