Rabu, 31 Juli 2013

LEARN TO WRITE ARTICLES AT HOME

If you want to learn to write articles from the comfort of your home, it will not be hard when you take advantage of online resources. You will find many places that are interested in content and it is not hard to use these services to become published. Here are some tips for article writing that you may find helpful.
Take your time and do not get in a hurry. Also, do not expect perfection. Once you proofread something twice, you should have grammatical errors and spelling taken care of. Do not spend a lot of time trying to create the perfect article. When you take too much time you may become tired of writing and you may simply give up.
There is an old saying that a fireman puts out fires. A policeman enforces the law, and a writer writeas. If you want to be a writer you have to sit down and write something each day. It is similar to exercising. You need to exercise your "writing" muscles" so they will become stronger and function better.
Sometimes you feel that your writing skill is not good. But before you start writing, you should understand what kind of article you are planning to write whether it is a journalism article, or a professional article, or a review article, or maybe an article for a blog.
There are lots of types of articles, and each type has their own required writing style, just like different cultures have different customs. That's why, you can not write the blog articles the same way as you expect to write an article for a journal and vice versa..
Whenever you know what type of article you are going to write, keep looking for related articles. It is good to develop your style of writing.
Apply to a few online article writing services. You may not make much money, but you will gain some valuable experience. Make sure to take a few days studying their rules so you can deliver the kind of content that the service is looking for.
To gain writing experience, start a daily blog. You will not have to invest any money. Treat it like a daily column and begin writing about things that interest you.
If you seriously wish to learn to write articles, sit down and begin writing. Start simple with online article publishing services and use them as a teaching aid. Writing every day is very important and if you start a daily blog you will gain new insight into the world of writing. Also, do not over think your articles, as this can cause writer's block.

Article Education Importance of Education in Life


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The following article will describe education about the importance of education who has proven to be a prerequisite for the harmonious functioning of any society.


A teacher at the school says that thinking is education. Think, opened the door to our minds and make us accept the idea of ​​expanding our horizons and learn new things.

But why is it important to learn new things? Why is it important to broaden our horizons? What is the importance of education? The answer to this question lies within us all. We consider education as a desirable commodity. If we see the great man speak, will be felt in the way they talk and think that they put forward. This is a natural reaction to bestow a feeling of awe and respect to them. Therefore, it is very easy to conclude that education leads to success. But that's not all. The importance of education in today's society runs deeper than just success in worldly terms.

Education article about the importance of education

Education releases us from the bondage of our minds and force us to think and question a thing. It makes us aware of our rights in society. Thus giving us the strength to be enslaved, either by thought or action.

Open mind
Education makes us insightful. In fact, there is no better time than to understand this concept. Globalization has turned the world into one big city, there are no restrictions to acquire knowledge. This makes it possible for us to learn about a different culture or events that occur at the end of the world though. All this is possible because of education. Education has broadened our minds, so we are not limited to our country and the particular zone again. We're not stuck in a small world, we have come out of the shell, begin to explore and learn new things about the world. Learn about new things and different cultures not only add to our vocabulary, but also to instill in our human nature. For example if we see that people in some other parts of the world have been trying something new, then we might as well start doing the same thing. Perhaps we have been forced to avoid them before, but education can change our thought process for the better. Because it helps to make us more tolerant and accepting.

Selasa, 30 Juli 2013

Can California high schools ride the wave of online education?

The latest craze making its way through the California public university system is the growing use of online education.
Recently, Gov. Brown budgeted millions of dollars to the California State University system to advance online instruction in lower-level classes. The rationale from the governor has been to increase course offerings to students who need remedial and general education classes to expedite the completion of their bachelor's degree.

Online may be a great option for universities, but transforming California's high schools that service millions every year may present even bigger challenges.

Three challenges need to be addressed if online instruction is to become a sustainable model in California high schools:

Lack of student resources;
Declining school budgets; and
An emerging teacher shortage with the requisite skills.
Students in California public high schools come from a range of income levels and family situations.

According to a recent report by the Public Policy Institute of California Poverty (PICP), poverty has spiked to 16 percent among all California households, and among Latino and African-American populations, a high percentage of whom attend public schools across California, poverty rates are higher (22.8 percent and 22.1 percent, respectively).

The realities of high poverty rates, particularly within large urban districts, may lead to a lack of resources in many households to purchase the basic technology to take advantage of online courses from home.

While many public school families may be struggling from the aftermath of the greatest economic collapse since the Great Depression, public school districts have had to make tough choices to maintain core programs in the midst of declining enrollment and shrinking budgets.

The Los Angeles Times reported in an April 29 article ("Gov. Brown as Robin Hood"), that many districts across the state have cut their budgets as much as 20 percent at the height of the recession. Despite an increase in tax receipts of $4.5 billion that Gov. Brown promises to give to struggling districts, this will not come close to shoring up budget shortfalls that have pained districts since 2008.

As school districts are still reeling from budget cuts and having to rely on the good graces of political leaders and altruistic voters to receive extra funding, it is unlikely that many school districts will have the funds to purchase the technology that can carry out online instruction in any sustainable way.

As school districts juggle tough budgeting choices - laying off teaching staff, creating crushing working conditions for remaining teachers with increased class sizes - a state report has rung the alarm that California is facing an emerging teacher shortage.

Newly minted, tech-savvy college graduates with the needed skills to bring an aging teacher corps into the 21st century are avoiding the teaching profession all together. The state report points out that the number of teachers earning a credential this year dropped by 12 percent, which is the eighth straight annual decline. The report also cites that increased government oversight and standardized testing are overwhelming young teachers, prompting nearly 30 percent of teachers to quit in the first seven years.

The wave of the future is online instruction, but California public high schools have mounting challenges to ride it out.

Without bold leadership from Sacramento and organized efforts from voters, California public high schools will remain out of sync with the state's college system that continues to add more classes online every year.

The Doctrine of Common Core: Raising public education standards do little in our modern economy

Thomas Jefferson once said, "If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be." For a large part of the 20th century, public education has been wedded to economic opportunity and the ideals of a participatory Democracy.  

Common Core, to a large extent, is premised on linking education  to democracy and based on assumptions of a 20th century school to work model. But that is not the world we live in today.

Digital tools have fundamentally transformed the workplace, connecting the most obscure regions into global circulation where capital, labor, information and commodities move more freely across national boundaries. The new economic realities have established a new historical context for industry, work and education challenging the fundamental premise of a national education strategy behind common core.

The data supports the basic premise of common core that our education system is not preparing the American workforce to compete for jobs in a modern, globalized economy. A report recently published by Harvard University's Program on Education Policy and Governance found, "6 percent of U.S. students were found to be performing at the advanced level in Mathematics, a percentage lower than those attained by 30 other countries. Nor is the problem limited to top-performing students. Only 32 percent of 8th graders in the United States are proficient in mathematics, placing the United States 32nd when ranked among the participating international jurisdictions."  

Even more troubling, globalized industry is finding it difficult to find newly minted US High School and college graduates with the request skills they need. The Broad Foundation published excerpts from business studies on their website that echoes, even more so, the thinking behind the common core concluding, " despite sustained unemployment, employers are finding it difficult to hire Americans with the skills their jobs require," And, "many expect this problem to intensify all the while more than 75 percent of employers report that new employees with four-year college degrees lacked "excellent" basic knowledge and applied skills."

To close the impending skills gap, nearly 46 states, at last count, have adopted the doctrine of common core in a move to address this challenge, but a compendium of mounting evidence is pointing to a disturbing trend in the labor market.  Two recent contributions have shined a bright light on the changes taking place in the labor market. Martin Ford, a software engineer and author of the book titled: The Lights at the End of the Tunnel, has written that technology is being adopted by industry so quickly that it is destroying jobs faster than industry can create jobs. This claim is supported by MIT professors Erik Brynjolfsson's and coauthor Andrew McAfee   authors of Rage Against the Machine that support Ford's thesis and are quoted in an article that appeared in the MIT Technology Review that, "Productivity is at record levels, innovation has never been faster, and yet at the same time, we have a falling median income and we have fewer jobs. People are falling behind because technology is advancing so fast and our skills and organizations aren't keeping up."  

If you dismiss the thesis that technology is rapidly replacing human labor, there is growing evidence that education is not as big a factor in providing a pathway out of poverty as once believed. The assumptions that underlie common core advance the idea that education a supply of educated workers will lead to greater opportunity across incomes and social strata yet, the most current data contradicts this thinking.

It turns out that the lack of fiscal resources, may play a bigger role in preventing student economic opportunities irrespective of the educational opportunities afforded to a student.  The Hamilton project of the Brookings Institute conducted a study on social mobility and incomes. It concluded that , "While social mobility and economic opportunity are important aspects of the American ethos, the data suggest they are more myth than reality. In fact, a child's family income plays a dominant role in determining his or her future income, and those who start out poor are likely to remain poor."

If we take into account the 2010 census data, that reported the ranks of the poor are swelling, placing 1 out of 6 Americans in poverty, the implications are far-reaching and pose improbable economic hurdles by raising education standards.

Ironically, despite a more impoverished America, job skill preparation and education is becoming more accessible.  The badge system is slowly gaining favor with national leaders to replace the diploma conferring system. Former President Bill Clinton is promoting a new open badge system that verifies skills for industry outside of the traditional public education system. Through online credentialing, students can take tests from home and earn badges that can prove to employers that workers have learned skills picked up outside the traditional education system.  Major universities such as DePaul have already signed on to accept badges for college credit.

Common core is premised on the idea that the diploma will remain as the central evaluation tool for industries to verify that graduates entering the job market are qualified for hire.  But at the end of the day, industries do not want diplomas; they want skills that can meet their demands to remain competitive in an increasingly globalized and technology based economy.  Despite disappointing data of completion rates of online courses, students continue to flock to online learning in droves. The online magazine Campus Technology published that students taking online courses have increased by 96 percent over the last 5 years.

Common core has been marketed to the American public by linking the expansion of economic opportunity to democratic rights through public education therefore, public education should raise its standards and all will be good in the world for future generations. Certainly, we should ask our kids to know more, do more and learn more, but the forces behind common core are not taking into account how significant income is as a factor in rising up the economic ladder, job-eating technology is rapidly entering the modern workplace or how disruptive technology is rendering traditional diploma conferring institutions superfluous.  Simply put, the argument that common core will increase economic opportunity and therefore, expand Democracy is contradicted by the new realities of the modern economy.

Senin, 29 Juli 2013

Globalisation And Primary Education Development In Tanzania: Prospects And Challenges

1. Overview of the Country and Primary Education System:
Tanzania covers 945,000 square kilometres, including approximately 60,000 square kilometres of inland water. The school system is a 2-7-4-2-3+ consisting of pre-primary, primary school, ordinary level secondary education, Advanced level secondary, Technical and Higher Education. Primary School Education is compulsory whereby parents are supposed to take their children to school for enrollment. In the education sector, this goal was translated into the 1974 Universal Primary Education Movement, whose goal was to make primary education universally available, compulsory, and provided free of cost to users to ensure it reached the poorest. By the beginning of the 1980s, each village in Tanzania had a primary school and gross primary school enrollment reached nearly 100 percent, although the quality of education provided was not very high. From 1996 the education sector proceeded through the launch and operation of Primary Education Development Plan - PEDP in 2001 to date.

2. Globalization in Education
In education discipline globalization can mean the same as the above meanings as is concern, but most specifically all the key words directed in education matters. Although literatures for education leadership in Tanzania are inadequate, Komba in EdQual (2006) pointed out that research in various aspects of leadership and management of education, such as the structures and delivery stems of education; financing and alternative sources of support to education; preparation, nurturing and professional development of education leaders; the role of female educational leaders in improvement of educational quality; as will as the link between education and poverty eradication, are deemed necessary in approaching issues of educational quality in any sense and at any level. 6. Globalization of Education and Multiple Theories
The thought of writing this paper was influenced by the multiple theories propounded by Yin Cheng, (2002). He proposed a typology of multiple theories that can be used to conceptualize and practice fostering local knowledge in globalization particularly through globalized education. These theories of fostering local knowledge is proposed to address this key concern, namely as the theory of tree, theory of crystal, theory of birdcage, theory of DNA, theory of fungus, and theory of amoeba. The theory of tree assumes that the process of fostering local knowledge should have its roots in local values and traditions but absorb external useful and relevant resources from the global knowledge system to grow the whole local knowledge system inwards and outwards. According to this theory, the design of curriculum and instruction is to identify the core local needs and values as the fundamental seeds to accumulate those relevant global knowledge and resources for education. The expected educational outcome is to develop a local person who remains a local person with some global knowledge and can act locally and think locally with increasing global techniques. With local seeds to crystallize the global knowledge, there will be no conflict between local needs and the external knowledge to be absorbed and accumulated in the development of local community and individuals.The expected educational outcome is to develop a local person with bounded global outlook, who can act locally with filtered global knowledge. The theory can help to ensure local relevance in globalized education and avoid any loss of local identity and concerns during globalization or international exposure.This theory emphasizes on identifying and transplanting the better key elements from the global knowledge to replace the existing weaker local components in the local developments. In globalizing education, the curriculum design should be very selective to both local and global knowledge with aims to choose the best elements from them. The theory of fungus reflects the mode of fostering local knowledge in globalization. In globalizing education, the design of education activities should aim at digesting the complex global knowledge into appropriate forms that can feed the needs of individuals and their growth. The roots for growth and development are based on the global knowledge instead of local culture or value.This theory considers that fostering local knowledge is only a process to fully use and accumulate global knowledge in the local context. 7.1. The Presidential Commission on Education
In 1981, a Presidential Commission on education was appointed to review the existing system of education and propose necessary changes to be realized by the country towards the year 2000. A vacuum was created while fragmented donor driven projects dominated primary education support. In 1990, the government constituted a National Task Force on education to review the existing education system and recommend a suitable education system for the 21st century.

3. Access to Primary Education
The absolute numbers of new entrants to grade one of primary school cycles have grown steadily since 1970s. This level reflects the shortcomings in primary education provision. 7.3.2. Participation in Primary Education
The regression in the gross and net primary school enrolment ratios; the exceptionally low intake at secondary and vocational levels; and, the general low internal efficiency of the education sector have combined to create a UPE crisis in Tanzania's education system (Education Status Report, 2001). In order to revitalize the whole education system the government established the Education Sector Development Programme (ESDP) in this period. Within the ESDP, there two education development plans already in implementation, namely: (a) The Primary Education Development Plan (PEDP); and (b) The Secondary Education Development Plan (SEDP).

The Local Government Reform Programme (LGRP) provided the institutional framework.

4. Education and School Leadership in Tanzania and the Impacts
Education and leadership in primary education sector in Tanzania has passed through various periods as explained in the stages above. In that case school leadership in Tanzania has changed.

5. Prospects and Challenges of School Leadership

The Education and Training sector has not been spared for these challenges. 11. Conclusion
There are five types of local knowledge and wisdom to be pursued in globalized education, including the economic and technical knowledge, human and social knowledge, political knowledge, cultural knowledge, and educational knowledge for the developments of individuals, school institutions, communities, and the society.

About Education

Education in its general sense is a form of learning in which the knowledge, skills, andhabits of a group of people are transferred from one generation to the next through teaching, training, or research. Education frequently takes place under the guidance of others, but may also be autodidactic. Any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts may be considered educational

Etymology
Etymologically, the word "education" is derived from the Latin ēducātiō ("A breeding, a bringing up, a rearing") from ēdūcō ("I educate, I train") which is related to the homonym ēdūcō ("I lead forth, I take out; I raise up, I erect") from ē- ("from, out of") and dūcō ("I lead, I conduct").

The role of government
A right to education has been created and recognized by some jurisdictions: Since 1952, Article 2 of the first Protocol to the European Convention on Human Rights obliges all signatory parties to guarantee the right to education. It does not however guarantee any particular level of education of any particular quality At the global level, the United Nations' International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights of 1966 guarantees this right under Article 13.[4]

Type of education

School children line, in Kerala, India
There are three forms of learning defined by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD): formal education, informal education and non-formal education.

Formal education
Systems of schooling involve institutionalized teaching and learning in relation to a curriculum, which itself is established according to a predetermined purpose of the schools in the system. Schools systems are sometimes also based on religions, giving them different curricula.

Curriculum

Main articles: Curriculum, Curriculum theory, and List of academic disciplines
School children in Durban, South Africa.
In formal education, a curriculum is the set of courses and their content offered at a schoolor university. As an idea, curriculum stems from the Latin word for race course, referring to the course of deeds and experiences through which children grow to become mature adults. A curriculum is prescriptive, and is based on a more general syllabus which merely specifies what topics must be understood and to what level to achieve a particular grade or standard.
An academic discipline is a branch of knowledge which is formally taught, either at the university–or via some other such method. Each discipline usually has several sub-disciplines or branches, and distinguishing lines are often both arbitrary and ambiguous. Examples of broad areas of academic disciplines include the natural sciences,mathematics, computer science, social sciences, humanities and applied sciences.[5]
Educational institutions may incorporate fine arts as part of K-12 grade curricula or within majors at colleges and universities as electives. The various types of fine arts are music, dance, and theater.[6]

Preschools
Main article: Preschool education
The term preschool refers to a school for children who are not old enough to attend kindergarten. It is a nursery school.
Preschool education is important because it can give a child the edge in a competitive world and education climate.[citation needed] While children who do not receive the fundamentals during their preschool years will be taught the alphabet, counting, shapes and colors and designs when they begin their formal education they will be behind the children who already possess that knowledge. The true purpose behind kindergarten is "to provide a child-centered, preschool curriculum for three to seven year old children that aimed at unfolding the child's physical, intellectual, and moral nature with balanced emphasis on each of them."[7]

Primary schools
Primary school in open air. Teacher (priest) with class from the outskirts ofBucharest, around 1842.
Primary (or elementary) education consists of the first 5–7 years of formal, structured education. In general, primary education consists of six or eight years of schooling starting at the age of five or six, although this varies between, and sometimes within, countries. Globally, around 89% of primary-age children are enrolled in primary education, and this proportion is rising.[8] Under the Education For All programs driven by UNESCO, most countries have committed to achieving universal enrollment in primary education by 2015, and in many countries, it is compulsory for children to receive primary education. The division between primary and secondary education is somewhat arbitrary, but it generally occurs at about eleven or twelve years of age. Some education systems have separatemiddle schools, with the transition to the final stage of secondary education taking place at around the age of fourteen. Schools that provide primary education, are mostly referred to asprimary schools. Primary schools in these countries are often subdivided into infant schools and junior school.
In India, compulsory education spans over twelve years, out of which children receive elementary education for 8 years. Elementary schooling consists of five years of primary schooling and 3 years of upper primary schooling. Various states in the republic of India provide 12 years of compulsory school education based on national curriculum framework designed by the National Council of Educational Research and Training.

Secondary schools
Students in a classroom at Samdach Euv High School, Cambodia
In most contemporary educational systems of the world, secondary education comprises the formal education that occurs during adolescence. It is characterized by transition from the typically compulsory, comprehensive primary education for minors, to the optional, selectivetertiary, "post-secondary", or "higher" education (e.g. university, vocational school) foradults. Depending on the system, schools for this period, or a part of it, may be called secondary or high schools, gymnasiums, lyceums, middle schools, colleges, or vocational schools. The exact meaning of any of these terms varies from one system to another. The exact boundary between primary and secondary education also varies from country to country and even within them, but is generally around the seventh to the tenth year of schooling. Secondary education occurs mainly during the teenage years. In the United States, Canada and Australia primary and secondary education together are sometimes referred to as K-12 education, and in New Zealand Year 1–13 is used. The purpose of secondary education can be to give common knowledge, to prepare for higher education or to train directly in a profession.
The emergence of secondary education in the United States did not happen until 1910, caused by the rise in big businesses and technological advances in factories (for instance, the emergence of electrification), that required skilled workers. In order to meet this new job demand, high schools were created, with a curriculum focused on practical job skills that would better prepare students for white collar or skilled blue collar work. This proved to be beneficial for both employers and employees, for the improvement in human capital caused employees to become more efficient, which lowered costs for the employer, and skilled employees received a higher wage than employees with just primary educational attainment.
In Europe, grammar schools or academies date from as early as the 16th century, in the form of public schools, fee-paying schools, or charitable educational foundations, which themselves have an even longer history.
A violin student receivingmusic education at the Royal Academy of Music, London, 1944.

Special
Main article: Special education
In the past, those who were disabled were often not eligible for public education. Children with disabilities were often educated by physicians or special tutors. These early physicians (people likeItard, Seguin, Howe, Gallaudet) set the foundation for special education today. They focused on individualized instruction and functional skills. Special education was only provided to people with severe disabilities in its early years, but more recently it has been opened to anyone who has experienced difficulty learning.[9]

Minggu, 28 Juli 2013

Top 5 Education Trends in 2013


top, 5, education, trends, in, 2013, So the world didn’t end, and now we’re all excited to pop open the champagne, eat way too much food, and ring in the New Year!

Despite the number 13’s unlucky reputation, we’re all super excited for 2013. Not only internally, where we here at Noodle are working hard to improve our product and give our users a top-of-the-line educational experience, but big changes are also happening externally in the education field.

So we’ve put together a list of the Top five trends in education that we’re most excited to see in 2013.

Happy New Year!

1. Social media will play an even bigger role


Social media has made its way into most sectors, from advertising to sports to the entertainment industry. So naturally, it was bound to become popular in the education field sooner or later. From student-created YouTube videos to SMS marketing to professors creating classroom focused blogs and Facebook pages, both teachers and students will continue to benefit from social media inside the classroom. Although social media has become increasingly popular in the past year or two, in 2013 we’re expecting it to make an even bigger splash in the classroom. 

2. More universities will offer online learning

From free podcasts and online learning tutorials, the internet has made it possible for people to push their educational boundaries and access some of the best resources from the comfort of their own home. Now in addition to paid online classes and degree programs, some universities are even offering free non-credit online courses. Top schools like University of California – Berkeley, Johns Hopkins University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Stanford University are currently offering free courses, and we only expect to see this trend grow in the coming year. Noodle has also jumped on the online learning bandwagon, with a collection of over 450,000 free online learning materials, available to our users anytime, anywhere. 

3. The MOOC trend will carry on

What’s a MOOC you might ask? No it's not a character from Dr. Seuss. It actually stands for “Massive Open Online Course” and has been all the rage in the ed tech sector since the term was coined in 2008. MOOCs are revolutionizing the way students learn, and this trend is making its impact across the globe. These courses are typically free, and only require a computer and, of course, the internet. For the new year, there is even talk that MOOCs will become a mechanism for students to receive official college credit. Currently the MOOC methods reach nearly 200 countries in 44 different languages, and have 4,500 testing centers around the world. 

4. A better job market for college graduates

The recession might not be completely over, but upcoming college graduates can (hopefully) look forward to a less stressful job hunt than their predecessors. According to a survey conducted by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), employers said they expect to hire 9.5% more graduates from the class of 2012 than they did from the previous graduating class. And students getting their degree in one of the STEM fields (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics), will be especially valuable to employers hiring in the new year. So to the class of 2013, take this as a sign to brush up on your interview skills, update your LinkedIn profile and score your dream job in 2013! 

5. Game-based learning will gain popularity

Who doesn’t love a good game? Game-based learning (GBL) is becoming increasingly popular inside classroom walls, as teachers become more and more familiar with the process and its many benefits. GBL can be anything from learning simulations, to serious games, to using video games in the classroom. It’s understandable that parents might be skeptical (“Video games at school? Seriously?”) But GBL is designed to balance gameplay with subject matter, and help students retain and apply what they’ve learned in the real world. Although it’s still in the early phases, in 2013 we’re sure to see games being used more frequently in the learning process.