Author Archive
Saturday, April 30th, 2016
Staying relevant to the emerging trends of Information Technology: Is this the year to see drastic changes in IT Service Industry? by Vaishnavi Agrawal offers sound advice about how to stay up to date with information technology and offers a view regarding the changes coming this year. Vaishnavi sends this post from her home in Bangalore, India. Thanks for helping Dr.Doug go global.
Introduction
- Is there anything more interesting than turning your entire house into a smart home. Yes, this is possible and is happening using one of the newest technologies called IOT (internet of things). Technology is giving us the immense luxury and comfort we couldn’t find anywhere. Don’t risk missing out on such comfort. Make your life more interesting by staying tuned for IT updates every day. In this continuously changing era of technology, keeping you up to date is challenging and at the same time very important too. In this article, I write about tips you should follow to stay relevant to IT and some of the out of the ordinary IT news of this current year.
Stay Online and Make it Worthwhile
- Always try to take as much information as you can from the internet. The internet is a huge nest of information and you can find any category of information through it. Learn good searching tactics to get into the legitimate websites and get to know about the changes and developments not only in IT, but in various other industries too.
- Stay connected to job portals, online video classes on technology, meetings, chats, comments, and group discussions on the discussion forums. There is hardly any problem whose solution can’t be found on the internet. Bring into play the internet tools and stay relevant to the budding trends in the IT world.
- Blogs are the way creative people tell you about any news. A lot of people are interested in sharing their knowledge about any topic on the internet. Like any other blogs, there are a lot of websites that publish technology blogs such as upsidedown.com, and others. Read the technology blogs and stay alert to IT in a creative way.
Brush up Your Skills
- Along with the news, the most important thing to stay updated in IT is to keep your skills updated. If you work in IT, and you don’t keep your skills updated then your career will never grow. So try to keep in touch with the new technologies and the newer improvements in the technology you are specialized in. Stumble on new technologies on demand such as Big Data Hadoop, and others,. and get well qualified for them. Once you are trained, clear exams and get certifications from renowned companies, try clearing the exams with great scores, because, if you get good grades in your certifications, it will make a huge difference in your resume fulfilling high demands in the market. If you always brush up your skills and stay polished and no one can stop you from shining in the IT world.
Because Daily News Makes Sense
- Instead of finding new IT updates on the websites, put an email alert to those websites, so that you get notifications on your email id whenever a new topic or a new content on technology pops up. Sign up for google alert and activate the alerts mainly for news instead of the blogs. Because there will be a lot of blogs and to get notifications for each and every blog now and then will be somewhat irritating. Instead of signing up with your mobile number in the alerts, better sign up with your email id. With this, you will be able to read the news only when you want to read them. Keeping yourself alert with the various technological changes in the industry helps you stand out in the crowd in this challenging competition. Also be sure to unsubscribe from blogs that don’t prove to be helpful.
Socialize more
- Networking gives you notifications and so proper networking allows you to have newer links from IT industries. Get industry insider news and news of upcoming interesting IT projects through online networking. Maintain your updated Linkedin profile always and keep developing connections with the industry folks.
Attend Conferences
- Start attending IT conferences whenever you are free. Because it is news through which, you will be able to know the whereabouts of the IT industry, the decisions taken by the IT delegates and the stories of those IT employees. By attending conferences, you will be able to meet those IT delegates face to face. It will help you know more about the realities going on in the IT culture. Networking will go to the next level only when you meet up people in real-time.
- Staying notified to IT increases your intelligence on the same. If you go through the notifications of this year’s IT industry, you will be glad to find that technology is evolving and this year has brought various drastic changes in the IT industry. Here are a few of these changes: 1. Virtualization will be added to the software-defined data center used in big enterprises. This virtualization will broadly support the Internet of things, and cloud services. 2. We will have high GB wire speed switches in the market with about thirty-two ports in a one-unit chassis. Along with this, we will be seeing high capacity switches with about five hundred and twelve ports. 3. Colo is a center to allow space for businesses, and the cloud is the technology that connects all the systems with a single network. Many Colo providers have emerged in 2016. 4. In 2016, business intelligence and analytics used in IT will jump to a higher level based on hard facts. The Internet of things has turned to reality in 2016 where every little thing around you will get connected through the Internet. From your cup of coffee to vehicles and buildings, everything will be connected through the internet by embedding electronic devices into them. This allows for efficiency, comfort , and economic benefit.
- Staying updated in your field always provides longevity in your job by upgrading your skills, giving you a better experience. Good luck.
- Vaishnavi loves pursuing excellence through writing and has a passion for technology. She has successfully managed and run personal technology magazines and websites. She currently writes for Intellipaat.com, a global training company that provides e-learning and professional certification training. The courses offered by Intellipaat address the unique needs of working professionals. She is based out of Bangalore, India and has an experience of five years in the field of content writing and blogging. Her work has been published on various sites related to Hadoop, Big Data, Business Intelligence, Cloud Computing, IT, SAP, Project Management and more.
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Wednesday, April 27th, 2016
Using Differentiated Instruction for Elementary Students with ADHD by Joyce Wilson will help teachers do a better job with ADHD kids and everyone else. Here she offers some specifics about how to keep kids busy, engaged, and learning. Thanks Joyce.
Differentiated Instruction Defined
- Differentiated instruction not only benefits students with ADHD; it is actually quite beneficial for the learning of all students. That’s because digesting new material in multiple ways allows for a deeper understanding.
- Differentiated instruction calls for using different teaching methods to teach one topic. Changing activities allows for students to remain engaged and gives them the opportunity to process information in different ways. There are many forms of fun curricula out there offering ways for educators to teach old subjects in new, fun, and engaging ways. Here are a few great examples:
- Discovery Education’s Lesson Plan Library
- Make a Splash Swimming Curriculum
- Wow Zone’s Financial Literacy Lessons
The Importance of Learning Styles
- When you teach based on engaging lessons, such as those mentioned above, there is less likelihood that your students will become distracted due to boredom or lack of understanding. This highly benefits students with ADHD. A very simple way for teachers to apply differentiated instruction to their lessons is to remember the three learning styles: auditory, visual and kinesthetic. Using these three learning styles will organically lead to differentiated instruction. Let’s take a look at some examples of lessons that use differentiated instruction while incorporating the three learning styles
ELA: Parts of Speech Lesson (Nouns and Adjectives)
- 1. Auditory—Give an oral definition of a noun and adjective and provide examples. Speak clearly and give thorough definitions and examples. It is important to note that NO worksheets or other visuals should be used at this time, as visuals would distract from the auditory instruction.
- 2. Visual—Next, on the board or screen, display the definition of these two parts of speech, along with clearly written out examples of each. Allow time for students to study this visual first. Then, you can read it over to them and even ask questions about it.
- 3. Kinesthetic—Finally, provide students with a handout that includes 10 nouns and 10 adjectives. Have them cut out each word and place them on their desks. Give them instruction to place the nouns in one column on their desk and the adjectives in another. Allow students to stand at their desks, if they so choose. This is the action/movement portion of instruction and is a part teachers sometimes neglect. This activity also allows for evaluation and application of the lesson.
Social Studies: Branches of Government
- 1. Auditory—Give a clear definition of the three branches of government and their functions, by lecturing only. Briefly talk about some of the key people in each of these branches.
- 2. Visual—Display a flip-chart of the three branches, along with their definitions and functions. Allow students to study it quietly so that they have time to read the chart and process the information without distractions. Then, read it out loud and point to each part as you read.
- 3. Kinesthetic—Hand out a worksheet to students that lists the different functions and definitions of each branch. The functions and definitions should be brief in nature and ideally be kept to phrases or short sentences. Assign a color to each branch and have students color code functions/definitions accordingly. Again, allow students to stand at their desks if they choose.
Science: Planets
- 1. Auditory—Give an oral presentation about the basics of each planet, focusing on their names and order in relation to the sun.
- 2. Visual—Reveal a vivid picture (on the overhead or smart-board) of the planets that display their correct order. Allow students to study the picture of the planets, without asking any questions or making any statements. Then, briefly talk about the planets by pointing to them as you talk about them.
- 3. Kinesthetic—Provide students with circles for each planet. Have them label each planet and color them accordingly. Next, have long tables or put desks together so students can put their planets in the correct order that they orbit the sun. You can also make a scale model that can be as big as a hallway, you school’s property, or the neighborhood your students live in.
- In order for differentiated learning to be effective for students with ADHD, it is important to always give very clear directions. For instance, during the auditory part of the lessons, tell students to simply listen quietly because you are going to be explaining important information. It’s vital to have engaging graphics, pictures, and videos for visual learners, and every lesson should have a component that gets kids moving.
Joyce Wilson
- Joyce is a retired teacher with decades of experience. Today, she is a proud grandma and mentor to teachers in her local public school system. She and a fellow retired teacher created TeacherSpark.org to share creative ideas and practical resources for the classroom.
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Wednesday, April 20th, 2016
The Test: Why Our Schools Are Obsessed with Standardized Testing – But You Don’t Have to Be by Anya Kamenetz explains in some detail the ten things wrong with state tests along with some history and politics. She goes on to tell educators and parents what they should do to help kids survive the madness. Anyone who dislikes state test should get this book.
Introduction
- Anya starts with the premise that high-stakes tests are stunting children’s spirits, adding stress to family life, demoralizing teachers, undermining schools, paralyzing the education debate, and gutting our country’s future competitiveness. She also cites Campbell’s law which can be stated as “when a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure.” You give people a number and they will work towards it to the detriment of all other measures of success. They also harm the poor, minority, and English language learners they were designed to help as people with means look to purchase homes that are served by schools with high test scores. This book starts by defining the problem and ends with solutions as to what we need do of fix it.
1. Ten Arguments Against Testing
- 1. We are testing the wrong things. They mostly test the application of memorized routines to familiar problems in only two subjects. Novel situations that require thinking aren’t covered. There are lots of important things they don’t test.
- 2. Tests waste time and money. The tests along with test prep, practice tests, and field tests eat up tons of time. This doesn’t count testing imposed by school districts and tests given by teachers for grades and to direct instruction. Kids who struggle usually get more of this in addition to extra time to take the tests. The costs add up.
- 3. They are making kids hate school and turning parents into preppers. The process is boring and putting teachers’ and principals’ jobs on the line adds to needless stress. For some, the anxiety depresses performance. Rich parents pay for prep test classes and home quality time is sacrificed for parent-directed test prep.
- 4. They are making teachers hate teaching. Outside authorities have the final say on how teachers do their job. For many states, teacher evaluations and tenure depend on test scores. Research shows that ratings for individual teachers are highly unstable, varying from year to year and one test to another. Retirement and attrition rates have increased and job satisfaction has plummeted.
- 5. They penalize diversity. Poor and minority kids fail more and their schools are often punished or closed. Schools with higher rates of students with disabilities are in the same boat. To increase percent proficient scores, some teachers focus attention on students near the proficiency line. It’s clear that standardization is the enemy of diversity.
- 6. They cause teaching to the test. NCLB testing focuses on easily tested portions of reading and math skills. Therefore, teachers will arranges their teaching to place an undue focus on what can be tested. Studies indicate that as a result, teachers spend more time talking while students sit, listen, and don’t think much.
- 7. The High Stakes Temp Cheating. There is no doubt that a good deal of cheating has taken place since the tests were introduced, and schools more likely to cheat are schools with poor scores that tend to have poor and minority students. There are also reports of students cheating on SAT exams.
- 8. They Are Gamed By States Until They Become Meaningless. NCLB allowed every state to create its own assessment regime, cutoff scores, and progress measures. Since the states are the customers, testing companies give them what they want. Furthermore, it’s people working for the states that make the cutoff decisions. When political leaders set educational standards, they tend to act with political motivation. In short, there is no accountability.
- 9. They Are Full of Errors. There is no doubt that many state tests contain questions with ambiguous or wrong answers. This is probably due to the fact that people hired to write and grade tests are low paid ($15/hour) and not required to have relevant degrees or experience in education. They are also likely to be temporary workers. Even the SAT has made the essay portion optional as the scores didn’t predict grades or success in college.
- 10. The Next Generation of Tests Will Make Things Even Worse. With the introduction of the Common Core Standards comes tests with higher difficulty and fewer testing options. New tests will use computers for administration, which means the school’s computers will be tied up for long periods doing testing as opposed to supporting student projects. They will still test limited subjects in limited ways, be error prone, coachable, and likely to distort the curriculum.
Posted in Book Summaries, Education Books, Leadership Books | Comments Off on The Test: Why Our Schools Are Obsessed with Standardized Testing – But You Don’t Have to Be by Anya Kamenetz
Wednesday, April 13th, 2016
Many students work hard and strive to get good grades and high marks on important exams. But effective learning and getting good marks in the exams is not an overnight affair. One has to study hard and be organized from the beginning of the academic year. Here are twelve things all students should do.
Necessary Skills
- 1. Plan you’re Goal: In order to be successful in any endeavor, the most important initial thing is to start with a goal. Go through the syllabus and plan how many pages you will study each day, for example.
- 2. Proper time management: For effective learning, it is very important to manage your time efficiently. You can make your own study plan. You can also make a do-list of the assignments or chapters that you have to study in a day. Keep striking off the tasks that you complete. This will give you a sense of accomplishment.
- 3. Find a good place to study: Once you have set your goals and have your schedule ready with you, you should find out a place to study. Always avoid studying in the bed or couch. It makes you feel sleepy and sluggish. You should find a place that is away from the hustle bustle and without any distraction. It is not necessary to have your study place in your home. You can also go to a library or a coffee house that has a quiet ambiance.
- 4. Make notes: What you write and learn, you would never forget. Make your own notes chapter wise and highlight the key points. You should be a good listener and a deep reader to make effective notes. Use colorful markers, pens, and sticky notes to make them more attractive and fun to study. You can also make a synopsis or summary at the end of the notes that you can review while revising the lesson.
- 5. Take out time for self-study: After school hours, you might be going to extra classes for certain subjects, but surely take out time for self-study.
- 6. Say no to procrastination: Procrastination is one of the biggest enemies of students. Make sure you study all the chapters that you had planned for the day before calling it off for the day. Don’t unnecessarily pile the chapters till the last day.
- 7. Be regular to your classes: It is essential to attend the classes regularly. It helps in better understanding of the subject. The open discussion in the class enhances learning.
- 8. Identify your time of the day: Different students prefer to study at different times of the day. Some prefer to get up early with a fresh mind and then study while some prefer to sit for late night studies.
- 9. Understanding the content: Don’t just try to cram up the lesson, but also understand it. If you simply try to memorize it, you might not be able to retain it for a longer period of time than if you really understand it.
- 10. Read thoroughly: The more you read, the more you remember. Read through your lessons, textbooks, and notes repeatedly.
- 11. Take quizzes with your friends: After completing a chapter, you can sit in groups and play a study quiz to refresh what you studied.
- 12. Consistent Practice: For subjects like math, physics or computer programming one must practice on a daily basis.
Zera John
- Zera is a senior freelance academic writing supervisor for an online
college writing service community of freelance academic writers from all over the world. Zera has in-depth knowledge and experience in the academic writing industry.
Tags: Study Skills, Zera John
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Tuesday, April 5th, 2016
The genesis of Matt’s DITCH model of teaching starts in 2007 when he was lecturing and teaching from a textbook. He knew the kids were bored and so was he. He was stuck in the old paradigm of using the textbook as the curriculum along with worksheets and multiple choice tests. While I’m always leery of words as acronyms as their authors usually have to stretch things a bit to make them work, the DITCH acronym really works. It stands for Different, Innovative, Tech-Laden, Creative, and Hands-On. These are the hallmarks of Matt’s model that he rolls out in this book. In addition to ditching your textbook, this model also requires you to ditch your curriculum and, perhaps more importantly, ditch your mindset.
Before and After
- Imagine it’s 1904 and you want to have a conversation with the legendary John Dewey who lives in Chicago? Unless you lived nearby, this would be essentially impossible. Today, however, it is possible to have conversations or at least listen to famous educators from all over the world thanks to the Internet.
- If you started teaching when I did, you were probably were much less efficient that connected teachers today who have electronic filing cabinets and many other time saving applications. Today you can take your students on electronic field trips at little or no cost. Things you write don’t rely on good penmanship. Finding information seldom take more than a few seconds. In short, going digital makes your life and your students’ lives much easier.
Posted in Book Summaries, Education Books, Leadership Books | Comments Off on Ditch That Textbook by Matt Miller
