How Can Technology Help in the Classroom?

How Can Technology Help in the Classroom?

Teachers who strive to improve their classroom setting often wonder about the addition of technology and how it might help their students. While the debate about whether technology helps or harms students continues, parents and teachers must understand the potential benefits of using technology in the classroom.

Improving Technical Skills:

In this modern world that constantly produces new and improved technological advances, the skills that come with technology are vital to future success. Children need to learn skills like typing, research and communication via technological devices early. By learning the basic skills in school while they are young, students are able to improve their ability to keep up in this ever-changing world.

Increasing Motivation:

New technological devices are ideal when it comes to motivating students. Books, paper and pen are often boring and make it challenging to motivate the students. Bringing in a new gadget that has e-books or interesting learning tools helps draw in students and motivate them to try completing tasks because they are able to also try out the new device. By motivating the students to learn the technology, teachers are also helping them learn vital skills like reading, arithmetic and sciences.

Helping Special Needs:

Technology used in the classroom can also help students who have special needs keep up with their peers. For example, a student who has problems hearing can use a tablet with a record to written feature that allows him or her to record the lecture as the teacher speaks and then see the written form of the lecture. This helps him or her keep up with the activities in class. Technology is useful in a wide range of applications that helps students who have special needs of any type. Depending on the particular disability, students can apply advances in different measures.

Working Together:

Students who are striving to learn the use of a new technological device often end up working together and improving their communication skills through tutoring, discussion and simple inquisitiveness. As students discuss and try new ideas while learning the new technology or software, they are improving their ability to work out problems without the help of adults and become better at communicating. This ability to work together to solve problems carries forward into adulthood, when students will need the skills to succeed in future careers.

Technology is a useful tool that teachers can add to the classroom setting. It has a wide range of potential benefits that can improve student learning, motivate and help for better life skills. As teachers incorporate more devices and technological items to the classroom, the students will benefit from the improvements to the learning environment and ultimately will see improved success that increases self-confidence.

Lexi Davis is a writer who enjoys writing on a number of different verticals. For more on technology in the classroom, Edu Vel offers readers information on higher education technology clickers in the classroom.

Read More

Tips Online Students Need to Succeed

Tips Online Students Need to Succeed

Pursuing a distance education, though convenient, will come with a few challenges. Before commencing any course, students should always ensure that they dive in with a disciplined mindset, otherwise it will be a waste of time and energy.

According to a study posted by the National Center for Education Statistics, only 54% of students who enrolled in college in the year 1997, graduated six years later. That's a staggering figure of non-graduates. New students will want to avoid being a part of this statistic. So, to avoid being on cruise control throughout a two-four year quest for higher education, we've listed a few tips below to help students succeed with online college degrees:

•     Practice Good Time Management - If there were thirty hours in one day, it still wouldn't be enough without a plan. To get the most productive 24 hour day, check off the time you currently work, then schedule designated times to focus solely on studies. Students that are working may prefer free times during the weekend to unload chunks of study, or others may prefer spacing it out over the week to finish course materials and assignments. One of the greatest benefits of an online college education is flexibility, so what really matters is a routine that students can fall into for completing weekly goals.
•     Do Not Procrastinate - Many of us, even non-students, fall for the ever-present trap of delay. It's up to online students to make study time a priority. Time scheduled should not be prolonged by a favorite show or game. Just get on with your studies, one page or one sentence at a time - pacing yourself as you go along.
•     Get Into Balance - Humans strive with balance. While work and school together will take up most of your time, you should also squeeze in time for relaxation too. A little me-time, even if it's a mere half an hour per day can let students recharge, which in turn increases focus.
•     Designate a Place to Study - Eliminate distractions like the television, radio and video games. When it's to study, try to do so in a designated space in your home, like at a work desk - just as how you would in a college campus. Creating a study environment will help increase the amount of work you accomplish.
•     Communication is Key - Even though you may not see your Professor face-to-face, it's important to get in touch with them if you aren't clear about an assignment. Many online colleges will have instant messaging or video conferencing systems implemented so that you are able to speak with other students and staff members. If not, a simple email message will suffice to clear up any issues.

These tips can also be applied to all areas of your life. Discipline, time management and organization are key skills that every adult should learn for their personal, professional and financial lives.

Read More

E-Learning Solutions for Organizational Training

E-Learning Solutions for Organizational Training

In today's highly-competitive business environment, no company wants to be left behind in the race to reach the top. Starting from a well-planned business model to a strong work flow process, an organization has to continuously maintain a high-level of commitment towards its business goals. One would agree that an organization's success largely depends on its workforce and a well-informed and technically sound workforce can be an asset to any organization. Therefore, one witnesses organizations willing to nurture its workforce through regular and advanced trainings, to enhance skills and expertise.

Organizations schedule regular employee trainings, on a weekly or on a monthly basis, depending on the requirement. Earlier, organizational trainings followed the classroom-based teaching method. Though successful, such trainings meant consumption of a large amount of printed material, thus increasing training costs. Another drawback of the classroom-based teaching was that the trainers had to evaluate trainees' assignments manually, which consumed a lot of time of the trainers. With the advent of e learning, the scenario is changing dramatically.

E-learning has several benefits, such as it being less expensive, flexible, self-paced, easily manageable, and consistent. There many companies in the market that provide e learning solutions to corporates. These companies also extend their support for implementing the learning management system (LMS) in the organization. Besides that they help organizations in, assessing the skill-gap analysis of their employees and selecting the apt training modules for their employees. With the help of these e-learning companies, organizations are able to manage all the training needs of their employees without having to increase their budget, meant for trainings. By implementing the learning management system, organizations are able to groom their employees in a better way.

Since every industry functions differently and their training needs vary, the LMS content can be customized, as per the needs of an industry. All that an organization needs to do, is to communicate the e-learning solution provider, with the requirements of the required training modules. These e learning solution providers, with help of their expert content developers, subject matter experts, and instructional designers, develop high-quality content.

Organizations that do not wish to take the burden of maintaining the LMS, have the option of outsourcing to an off-shoring company. By outsourcing, the organizations can reduce their associated training costs by 20-40 percent. However, it is recommended that organizations do a background check on the off-shoring company, prior to outsourcing any work to them. The past clientele, quality of the content, and turn-around-time could be a good indicator for considering any off-shoring company.

Read More

Necessity of Online Education for Older Women

Necessity of Online Education for Older Women

The system of linking students, teachers and learning resources when they are not in the same location is called "distance learning". Earlier, distance learning made effective use of communication technologies like the postal service, and then television programs. However, a huge shift occurred after the advent of the Internet and "online education" was born. This transformed not only the methods of education but also the development and propagation of knowledge and communications between students and teachers. But how did all this effect older women? Technology granted new opportunities for many older women to achieve educational goals and they successfully managed to balance home and education.

Universities now form partnerships with businesses and even each other to compete better, in a greatly expanded worldwide market for students. The growth of online education can be attributed primarily to these reasons -

• You get to choose the class hours according to your discretion.

• Instead of a typical classroom environment, you get to learn in the comfort of your home.

• Since the actual sessions are never crowded, more attention is focused on you.

• Zero conveyance cost. Also you get to choose a class which fits your personal style and budget.

• Since there is to-and-fro involved, you save a lot of time.

According to a survey, more than 2 million students enrolled in online education courses in 2002 alone. If a recent U.S. government document is to be believed, the average age of online students is 34 years old and they are mostly female.

So why do older women pursue continuing education? According to a survey, the main impetuses of women for returning to education are -

• Expansion of their current career

• Enhancement of current salary

• Changing or beginning careers

• Returning to staff position

• Pursuing personal advantages

Among the women surveyed, 20% belonged to the age group of 41 - 50.

The top online colleges offering scholarships in America are -

(i) Liberty University

(ii) Post University

(iii) Kaplan University

(iv) DeVry University

(v) American Inter Continental University

(vi) Grand Canyon University.

The number of older women currently working to complete courses and degrees online represents a social wonder. Awareness of women's problems and measures to help overcome the tribulations are required to raise the success of both older women and online programs.

Although women are the main users, they are grossly underrepresented in high-tech sectors and among university administrators who are currently influential to online learning. Many adult women returning to college classes have to tackle significant hurdles not usually experienced by men. Many women balance career, community and household tasks against their curricular work. They often have serious economic liabilities too. Customarily, they have grappled with these difficulties while also facing inflexible class schedules and educational policies, incompetent childcare, lack of appropriate lodging, and lack of dependable transportation. Online education seeks to solve all this and more.

Read More

How to Study and Developing Study Skills

How to Study and Developing Study Skills

Study skills refer to the ability to read, memorize and retain class portions, text book content and other study materials. Developing study skills depend on individual's capability, grasping power, interests, environment and self discipline. Here are some methods to develop study skills and hone them better with few useful techniques.

1. Visualization

This method refers to seeing imagery through the mind on what has been taught, including block diagrams, pictures, matching real world objects with the concepts read. It also develops your creativity, imagination and cognitive skills.

2. Group Study

Joining a study group on few topics lets members to share and collaborate among others. The study materials can be divided for individual preparations, which then can be delivered as a short session or flash cards to other members in the study group. This is one of the most common study methods.

3. Writing what you read

Writing whatever you have just read immediately helps to retain the fresh knowledge and also boost your confidence in the exam. Apart from that, you can train yourself to be patient to really absorb the knowledge through hard work and also improve written communication skills.

4. Learning by doing

This is one best form of developing a study skill - doing things practically based on what one read in the text book although it may not be possible to experiment or implement everything practically. One has to develop the habit of experiencing them practically if there any opportunity exists. For example, college lab exercises, applying them on real world situations.

5. Flash cards

This is the most common method of keeping tab of topics read. It is done through a small post card where key words are noted down for quick reference. Majority of the students keep them handy instead of keeping complete notes or text books. This helps in developing hints to the topics and improvising the whole content from the keywords.

6. Mind maps

It is the best technique to relate topics and associate links among them. Mind map is a powerful tool which follows a tree or hierarchical structure to a particular topic. It is also a great brainstorming method to generate more ideas for essay writing, comprehension, and critical thinking. It sharpens the thought process by looking at various perspectives to the subject.

7. Group discussion and quizzes

Revise the topics through a group discussion with friends to further improve your memory. It is better to allot 30 minutes of time for discussion and clarifications. To make it more interesting, conduct small quizzes through rapid fire rounds, puzzles and other form of investigative learning. This also builds communication and social skills.

8. Relaxation methods

It is vital to keep a healthy mind and body. Taking breaks and rests for 10-15 minutes between studies keeps the mind relaxed. It is recommended to have a minimum of seven hours sound sleep. It rejuvenates both body and mind. The mental pressure can be released by playing sports, doing work outs and spending quality time with family and friends. Practicing meditation, deep breathing exercises and yoga are great methods to improving concentration and focus.

In summary, study skills are both innate and acquired by nature. They may vary across individuals but several common and working practices can be derived and applied by all students to hone and improvise their existing skills.

Read More

The Banner Blindness Cure: How Fewer Ads Can Equal More Revenue – Infolinks CEO on Ad Exchanger

“Data Driven Thinking” is written by members of the media community and contains fresh ideas on the digital revolution in media.

Today’s column is written by Dave Zinman, CEO of Infolinks.

The economics of online advertising are at best confusing and at worst completely backwards. We’ve got a zillion systems to target ads and auction them to the highest bidder. Yet more often than not, the advertiser willing to pay $10 CPM gets the same amount of real estate as an advertiser willing to pay $1 CPM!

Why do we create the ad space on the page regardless of how much it is worth to an advertiser and how relevant the ad is to the consumer? There have got to be smarter ways to operate.

From studies performed when I was at Yahoo, we learned that users have a finite and limited budget for viewing advertising, regardless of how many ads are placed on a page. If a site with 200 million page views and 20 million visitors a month has a leaderboard, a skyscraper, an LREC, and an AdSense footer on every page, that’s four ads per page. This equals 800 million ads per month, or 40 ads per month per user for that site alone. If 90% of the revenue comes from the best 25% of the ads being served, why not serve only 10 ads per month to users? While you’re at it, why not increase the effectiveness of those 10 and simultaneously improve the consumer experience on your site by eliminating the ads that aren’t generating compelling revenues and high relevance?

It’s no wonder, looking at these stats, that banner blindness is such a glaring issue. Talk about losing sight of the forest for the trees: We’re so busy looking after our bottom line, we’re not paying attention to the user experience. We hit our visitors over the heads with ads like sledgehammers, then wonder why our ads aren’t “performing.” It’s absurd. Clearly, we’re doing it wrong.

If advertisers and publishers want to see profits, we all need to put the user first. The ads we create have to consider what users want to see, as well as when and where they want to see it. Ads must be relevant enough to address user intent the moment they are viewed – that is, they have to fulfill the user’s current need or desire. But it’s difficult (if not impossible) to do this 10 times on a single page. At this point, it’s also unreasonable to expect results from a banner running in standard IAB placements. We’ve effectively killed the banner ad over the last decade – consumers don’t even notice them anymore. We have to rethink the ads themselves, as well as how they’re served, and develop new and engaging units that will appeal to banner-blind audiences.

While we’re at it, we also need to rethink the way we sell advertising. Publishers struggling to make their numbers will sell every pixel on the page to earn revenue, but ultimately, this benefits no one. The end result is that one advertiser pays top dollar to have its top ad go largely unnoticed, and the publisher accepts far less payment for a significant amount of “remnant” inventory, filling the unsold slots with lower-quality ads that (at best) annoy users and pull focus from the premium advertiser. So I ask again: Wouldn’t a publisher be far better off serving fewer ads, and taking top dollar for one or two premium placements? With highly relevant ads that aren’t forced to compete against several other ads on the page, odds of interaction and possible conversion are tremendously improved. And when ads perform better, publishers, advertisers and consumers win.

A final thought: What if those few, relevant ads came in more engaging formats? We can certainly begin to combat banner blindness, driving more success for advertisers and publishers alike, by simply decreasing clutter and increasing relevance. But what if we also introduced a third lever: Placement innovation? If we can consider the consumer and how exactly they want to receive our messages, rather than how we make our ads “STAND OUT” and BE SEEN – then, maybe we can get creative and smart enough to end banner blindness once and for all.

Read More

Benefits of Virtual Schooling

Benefits of Virtual Schooling

Many people are aware of virtual schooling as an educational alternative. However, they might wonder just what makes it worthy of consideration. As with other forms of education, cyber schooling offers unique benefits. Here are just a few of them to consider:

Individualized Education

Having educational options means families can make the best choices for their children. Each child has unique educational strengths, weakness, needs and preferences, and virtual schooling allows families and educators to address these differences. In many cases, virtual schools allow families and educators to evaluate a student and provide a customized education geared towards helping the student learn and develop. With education individualized to meet his or her needs, a student may be more willing to learn and more likely to excel.

Learning Pace

A student's learning pace can prove a concern in any type of learning environment. In traditional classrooms, it is often important for students to adopt a pace that suits the classroom, so that no one lags behind others and no one gets too far ahead. Adopting an average pace is often important, in such cases, to keeping the flow of learning consistent and preventing students from becoming bored and frustrated. In a cyber school, however, this is typically less of a concern or a non-issue altogether. Because virtual education programs can be adapted to meet student needs, they often allow students to work towards mastery at the pace that is comfortable for them.

Flexibility

Many students and their families appreciate the flexibility that cyber schooling can provide. Rather than requiring students to keep to traditional school schedules, many virtual schools allow students to create the learning schedules that best suit their lifestyles. Here, the point is not to learn at a particular hour but simply to learn. Scheduling flexibility can prove helpful for students who have other interests to pursue on a regular basis. For instance, it may help students who are heavily involved in art, music, dance, and athletic activities. It might also prove beneficial for students who volunteer, work, or participate in internships. Sometimes family dynamics or travel schedules also make flexible scheduling a plus.

Guidance and Support

Often, families consider virtual schooling because of the support and guidance they can expect versus traditional homeschooling. For example, with cyber schooling, parents can benefit from the guidance of instructors and the support of counselors and mentors. Many schools also offer technical support, academic advising and tutoring help for students on an as-needed basis

Read More

Eight Tips On How To Do Good In School

Below the average, average people and super genius mega minds...nah, it's not about that, well yeah, a part of success is about that but, one still has a long way to go before having the time of his life. And everything starts at home...after that it's school so let's get down to business. Here are eight tips on how to do good in school.

1. Jot 'Em Down

This step is somewhat a must. However, if you consider yourself a super computer robot, you can skip number one and get down to number two...you're still reading so you don't think that you're a mega mind. That's good because it's never great to be too confident with yourself.

Number one is writing them all down. It never hurts to write all of the things you need to do. Write them in a small notebook, a tickler or something, or jot them down in a piece of paper and post it on your refrigerator door or on your own bulletin if you have one. And don't forget to write when you need to do or accomplish these things or in other words, your deadlines.

2. Prioritize

Imagine that you're a juggler. Now, you're juggling balls. These balls are made of various materials. Rubber, plastic, glass, and crystals. The balls that you're juggling got too many and you can't handle them all. Some balls MUST fall or the whole act will be a disaster. And that's when the word "prioritize" comes in. You have to let the rubber balls fall. Why? Because if you don't do this, say you refuse to let a ball or two fall, they'll all slip out of your hands. If you let the wrong ball fall, well, you're a wreck. That's why you have to set your priorities. Which in your to-do list is the most important and which things can be left out or can be given little attention.

3. Get To Work

Don't just get stuck with listing and prioritizing. Do them of course. Sometimes people tend to get discouraged when they look at the things they need to do and find that they're just so many! Well, nothing's gonna happen if you just sit around, stare at the things you got to do and think how much energy you need to exert to finish all those. Get on your feet. You'll be done without even knowing it.

4. Study Habits

I'm pretty sure this is not new to you. Nevertheless, it's still very important, maybe the most important, so you can't just set this aside. Study your lessons everyday for at least 30 minutes to 1 hour. This prevents cramming during exam weeks which you know isn't very helpful. And don't make your hectic schedule an excuse for not studying. Remember, if there's a will, there's a way.

5. Be A "Neat Freak"

I know this is hard but...you have to be organized. This may be the hardest part of being a student and at the same time of being a kid or a teenager. Because they're very restless and energetic and tend to just pile things up. But if you already did number one and number two, you're already started in being an organized person!

Give everything a proper place. Put your books and notebooks in one corner or a suitable place. Compile your test papers, certificates and other paper works from school. Place them in a folder, clear book, an envelope or a file case. You'll never know when you'll need them. Other materials which are reusable like envelopes, folders, colored papers and a lot more, keep them all together, may be in a case or a shoebox, it's up to you. Colors, pencils, paper clips and other materials of the same kind, separate them also, it's still up to you as long as it's organized. Educational materials, if you have, it's good to compile them too. Maybe you're asking, why do I need to do all these?

When your things and surroundings are organized, you tend to think clear. That's why organized people have organized minds. Lastly, the night before going to school, put everything you'll be needing for school inside your bag. Get your uniform or whatever it is that you're wearing for school ready. And don't forget to set your alarm clock.

6. Go For The Extra Mile

You don't just do things for compliance. You don't want to waste your efforts. Since you started to do things, give them your best shot. Do your best and that will be enough to go for the extra mile. You'll never know when an opportunity comes so always give it your all.

7. Be Humble

Now that you're a step ahead of your peers, don't be over confident, like the one stated at the first number. Don't be conceited because you didn't accomplish everything on your own. The higher you get, the harder you'll fall so always keep your feet on the ground. And being humble also gains you great friends.

8. Just Keep Going

You did it for the first time, you got to do it for the second, third, fourth, and so on...time. Be consistent for this will be the foundation of your success. Don't stop until you reach your goal. And when you reach your goal, reward yourself then look again for another goal. And when failure finds its way through your efforts, keep moving forward. Don't be afraid to make mistakes

Read More