Archive for the ‘Guest Posts’ Category

The Best Tips for Staying Focused While Studying From Home by Craig Middleton

Saturday, July 25th, 2020

The Best Tips for Staying Focused While Studying From Home by Craig Middleton
Staying focused isn’t always easy, but if you work from home or have to study regularly, it’s something that you need to be able to do. While staying focused on the task at hand may not necessarily be a simple task, that doesn’t mean that you just have to struggle. There can be many ways to boost your focus and get more accomplished today.

Boost Your Nutrition
One way to help boost your focus that is often overlooked is to eat a diet that improves your mental clarity. What many don’t realize is that while things like sugar and coffee can give them an uptick of energy for a little while, when your blood sugar crashes, your mind will be all over the place. A good way to avoid these kinds of crashes is to eat a balanced diet with plenty of fresh produce, as well as filling protein. If you struggle to make changes to your diet, trying supplements or things like a thrive patch can also be beneficial for improving your focus.

Cut Out Distractions
Distractions are often one of the biggest culprits when it comes to an inability to focus. Whether it’s a television, your telephone, or a talkative family member, any kind of noise or stimulus can take your mind away from the thing you need to focus on. While it may not always be possible to cut out distractions completely, making an effort to do your work somewhere quiet and free from outside interference can make a big difference on your ability to stay on task.

Give Yourself Breaks
When you’re studying or working on one thing for hours, it can quickly lead to burn out, which can in turn have a negative impact on your ability to focus well. Even though it’s important to not let yourself get distracted too much, taking regular breaks can help you stay refreshed and prevent you from putting too much strain on yourself. When taking breaks, it can be a good idea to give yourself a specific time limit, so there’s less temptation to drag your feet about getting back to your work or start doing something else altogether.

Get Physical
When sitting and studying for long periods of time, you can end up slouching, as well as feeling cramped and uncomfortable. Not only does this feel physically unpleasant, but it can end up having a detrimental effect on your mental clarity, too. Also, sitting still for extended periods can lead to having pent up energy. One way to reduce these things is to make sure that you get regular physical activity throughout the day. Whether you do a quick burst of cardio or some stretching, getting some movement into your day can be a great way to help yourself stay refreshed and focused.

Get the Sleep You Need
Most who have missed out on a night of sleep will know that it can wreak havoc on your brain’s ability to function properly. When you get inadequate sleep, your brain is often unable to rest properly, which can reduce its ability to function throughout the day. This can have a negative impact on everything from memory and learning retention, to focus. Even though it may not always be easy to get a full eight hours of sleep, making it a priority can really change your ability to focus throughout the day. Here are some tip from the people at Slumberyard.

Be Goal-Oriented
When you’re having trouble focusing, it can be helpful to remind yourself of your goals. Your goals can be a great motivator that can help you push through things, even when you don’t feel like doing them. By keeping your mind on the sense of accomplishment you will feel when you’re done, you can help drive yourself stick to your work.

A Last Word
In today’s world full of distractions, it isn’t always easy to stay focused. The good news is that there are many simple things you can do right now, like improving your nutrition and keeping your goals in mind that can help you improve your focus today.

Craig Middleton

Craig is a New York City-based retired business consultant, who is an expert in education and cultural trends. He has a Masters of Business Administration and a Masters in Education from St. Johns and loves sharing his knowledge on the side through his writing. If you have any questions or comments you can direct them to Craig at craigmiddleton18@gmail.com.

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The Down Side of Blog Scraping by Linda Bailey
Thursday, July 4th, 2013

The Down Side of Blog Scraping by Linda Bailey discusses how the countless blogs found on the Internet constantly scrape information from each other, and how they often fail to verify what they borrow. This guest post will help students, educators, and parents better understand what they are dealing with when they search for work or play. It offers a sound warning to beginning and experienced bloggers. There are also some tips for testing the quality of what you find when you search. Be sure to check out more of Linda’s work at Housekeeping.Org if you want a healthier home.

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The Importance of New Tech to Optimal Healthcare for Children by Rey Shimar
Friday, July 6th, 2018

The Importance of New Tech to Optimal Healthcare for Children by Rey Shimar focuses on how technology is impacting the quality of our health care. Parents should use this to look for opportunities to improve health care for their children and themselves.

Introduction

Technology has come a long way in making life easier. From our shopping habits to planning a holiday destination, there are countless applications and software that help parents and teachers handle even the most mundane of tasks. With that being said, it shouldn’t come as a surprise to find technologies that promote better health. And as the demands for optimal health increase each year, the tech industry is investing considerably on innovation. As parents or healthcare professionals, it is always important to know about these innovations and bring out their full effectiveness.

An Environment of Innovation

In 2018, for instance, it is expected that IT acquisitions in the healthcare industry will rise. This demonstrates the fact that both patients and medical institutions are becoming very much aware of the need for better healthcare technologies. The benefits include shorter waiting times, more accurate diagnostics, and more importantly, lower healthcare costs across.

According to GetReferralMD.com, many of these innovations seek to streamline complex patient-physician interactions. Workflow management has to be one of the most tedious tasks that private practitioners and other healthcare professionals have to handle. With data management systems, professionals can manage their time more effectively. This will essentially improve outcomes and reduce diagnostic costs.

Keeping All Informed

Likewise, these new healthcare innovations can also help in terms of keeping both patients and doctors informed throughout their interactions. There are mobile apps that are focused on keeping patients up-to-date with their appointments as well as helping them take medication on time. Indeed, these innovations are being adopted by independent practitioners and healthcare providers, owing to wide-ranging benefits these technologies entail. In terms of childcare, we can already sense the advantages these technologies have towards improving the mental and physical aspects of children.

Innovative Solutions for Better Childcare

Innovations in the IT and tech sectors can improve developmental research into healthcare for children. What’s more, we can also see the positive impact they bring to both specialty and primary care, as well as localized models such as community healthcare systems which are becoming even more prominent. Along these lines, it is important for stakeholders in early childhood development to become more aware of the newest technologies that will make the experience much more rewarding.

School administrators in particular, will have to find ways to insert technology education when it comes to training their teachers. This would involve knowing how to use apps that are specifically designed for children with disabilities or with special needs. Teachers can access educational apps that will help such students progress with the rest of the class. They can also make use of mobile guides for certain emergencies.

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The Importance of Recess and Play by Ken Myers
Wednesday, October 23rd, 2013

The Importance of Recess and Play by Ken Myers takes on schools that have cut back on recess thinking it will help their test scores. Based on what we know, this makes no sense and Ken does a great job spelling out the reasons why.

According to CBS News, a Long Island school is banning dangerous recess activities in favor of safer alternatives. No, the children aren’t playing with brass knuckles and mace. Instead, soccer balls, cartwheels and games of tag are no longer allowed unless supervised by a coach. You read that right. Children will be playing with Nerf balls for their own safety.

The decrease in funding and time allotment for gym and recess is a disturbing trend that is developing across the country. Play is a pivotal part of a child’s development. The human body was not meant for constant rest, especially in children. While classroom topics are important to a child’s breadth of knowledge, exercise is equally important for growing children. The benefits of recess and play go beyond basic physical benefits. Unstructured time allows children to develop social skills, retain new information and create healthy habits that last a lifetime

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The Internet: Sum of Human Knowledge, or Collection of Scams? by Christine Maddox
Wednesday, September 25th, 2013

The Internet: Sum of Human Knowledge, or Collection of Scams? by Christine Maddox

Thanks to Christine Maddox, we have a look at the dual nature of the Internet and what it can mean to learners of all ages. This would be a good piece to have students read and discuss in classes from middle school to colleges. Christine is a great example of how a graduate student can hustle and build her brand while working on a college degree.

The Internet can seem like a wondrous place full of knowledge regarding virtually any subject you can possibly think of, and perhaps a few things you can’t. Although this vast sum of knowledge can be greatly beneficial to anyone willing to learn, it comes at a price. This collection of humanity also includes every scam and piece of misinformation imaginably conceived. At times, it’s difficult to find the truth among the various “facts” that often contradict one another.

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The Obvious Match: Artificial Intelligence and Education by Lora Young
Tuesday, July 24th, 2018

The Obvious Match: Artificial Intelligence and Education by Lora Young deals with a topic that is likely to have a profound impact on education as we move forward. Educators and parents alike should be looking for AI applications that will promote learning for all children.

Introduction

With each year, technology seems to just keep getting better and better. As a species, we’ve always been able to survive and thrive in our environment because of our ability to innovate, create, and improve. There isn’t a single day in our lives that we aren’t using some form of technology for our benefit. There was a time when the Wright brothers were seen as crazy for thinking that it’s possible to create flying machines — today, millions of people travel by air on a daily basis.

Modern technology has seen an increased rate of development in the past ten years. Kickstarters are popping up all around like mushrooms in a rainforest, each with their own ideas on how to make our lives much more convenient. One of these technologies is Artificial Intelligence. But…

What Is Artificial Intelligence?

Artificial Intelligence? is a branch of Computer Science that aims to create machines that are able to process information and react to these pieces of information in a manner that humans would. Now you’re probably thinking: “Why would we want that?” The answer lies in one of the principles of psychology — learning. Learning is defined as the process by which experiences are able to permanently alter behavior. Now, if you really think about it, every living organism on Earth survives through the process of learning. Lions aren’t born as killing machines, nor are newborns able to speak coherently from the get-go.

This is where learning comes in. Through experiences, which also include a wide variety of interactions, organisms are able to store information that would, in turn, alter their behavior toward a certain scenario. We know that we shouldn’t touch hot stove tops because we remember that one time we did and we ended up with 3rd-degree burns.

Now, while a modern computer is great at performing complex calculations, it cannot alter its behavior. It is limited to user input. And while complex conditions can, in a way, simulate behavior or decision making, the computer itself cannot make sense of the experiences it encounters because these have to be manually inputted by someone else. Now, Artificial Intelligence seeks to give computers the capability to not only gather and process information but to assimilate and to act upon that information autonomously.

This opens up a wide variety of possibilities. Because AI enables machines to adapt to situations and grow smarter over time, these machines can only become better the more than they are put to use. It is, in a metaphorical sense, the maturation of machines. Machines will soon be able to account for their experiences and future decisions will be derived from that particular experience.

How Exactly Can AI Be Used in Education?

Because AI is able to adapt to its environment through the experiences it encounters and takes account of, AI will eventually become smart enough to determine the best course of action. Say, you’re in a Safety Training Scotland course. There are a wide variety of topics to discuss and each student has his or her own unique set of strengths and weaknesses, learning methods, language fluency levels, and cultural backgrounds. Artificial Intelligence, given enough experience, will be able to determine the best approach to each student to ensure that optimal learning is met.

Let’s say that your main language has always been Japanese. AI will easily be able to speak and translate concepts for you because it has been exposed to different cultures. Not only that, but AI will be able to tailor your course material to match your background and your learning preferences and capabilities. It will even create meaningful representations of concepts for you and will also be able to avoid topics that may offend you in any way.

AI can also be used in the assessment of each student’s performance, and by doing so it can alter the teaching material into something that helps students who are lagging behind catch up, and students who are performing, perform even better. There are a plethora of teaching methods that a single teacher can use, but a single teacher simply cannot teach each student according to each student’s preferred learning method. AI can do that for each student because it is capable of processing large amounts of information and determining actionable plans for each situation.

AI In Classroom Discussions

An even greater example of AI application in education that benefits students as much as teachers is when it is used in actual classroom discussions. Regardless of what your subject matter is, classroom discussions will always have a few questions thrown about. Now, every once in a while, a student asks a question that an instructor cannot answer, or explain in a manner that students are able to digest.

This is where AI comes in. Say, the exact scenario happened to a learning-disabled child. AI will be able to process, interpret, and present the information to the child in a manner that’s appropriate for his learning capacity, without hindering the pace of the discussion. And yes, there are always naysayers when it comes to innovation. Some people may even go as far as to say that if we decide to integrate artificial intelligence into our education systems, then what’s the point of having teachers around?

In Conclusion

There are even those who are extremely paranoid about technology (or they may simply have watched too many Terminator movies as a child). And while it’s uncertain when artificial intelligence will be integrated into the educational system, what’s certain is that history, especially when it concerns new technology, will always repeat itself.

And whenever we see someone trying to create something new, we should always remember: There was a time that people thought the Wright brothers were crazy for thinking that they could create flying machines. Today, it’s commonplace.

Lora Young

Lora was born in January 1992. Today, she is a digital marketer who has several years of experience in working with non-profit organizations. She has extensive knowledge in the fields of Education, Computer Science, and Psychology. When she isn’t helping build brands, she practices Muay Thai and runs marathons. Thanks, Lora

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The Obvious Match: Artificial Intelligence and Education by Lora Young
Tuesday, June 26th, 2018

The Obvious Match: Artificial Intelligence and Education by Lora Young posits the idea that it’s just a matter of time until artificial intelligence takes its place alongside teachers in the classroom. Her insightful post should be able to stimulate student thinking and be the basis for an engaging classroom conversation.

Introduction

With each year, technology seems to just keep getting better and better. As a species, we’ve always been able to survive and thrive in our environment because of our ability to innovate, create, and improve. There isn’t a single day in our lives that we aren’t using some form of technology for our benefit. There was a time when the Wright brothers were seen as crazy for thinking that it’s possible to create flying machines. Today, millions of people travel by air on a daily basis.

Modern technology has seen an increased rate of development in the past ten years. Kickstarters are popping up all around like mushrooms in a rainforest, each with their own ideas on how to make our lives much more convenient. One of these technologies is Artificial Intelligence. But…

What Is Artificial Intelligence?

Artificial Intelligence is a branch of Computer Science that aims to create machines that are able to process information and react to these pieces of information in a manner that humans would. Now you’re probably thinking: “Why would we want that?” The answer lies in one of the principles of psychology — learning.

Learning is defined as the process by which experiences are able to permanently alter behavior. Now, if you really think about it, every living organism on Earth survives through the process of learning. Lions aren’t born as killing machines, nor are newborns able to speak coherently from the get-go.

Enter Learning

This is where learning comes in. Through experiences, which also include a wide variety of interactions, organisms are able to store information that would, in turn, alter their behavior toward a certain scenario. We know that we shouldn’t touch hot stove tops because we remember that one time we did and we ended up getting burned. Now, while a modern computer is great at performing complex calculations, it cannot alter its behavior. It is limited to user input. And while complex conditions can, in a way, simulate behavior or decision making, the computer itself cannot make sense of the experiences it encounters because these have to be manually entered by someone else.

Now, Artificial Intelligence seeks to give computers the capability to not only gather and process information but to assimilate and to act upon that information autonomously. This opens up a wide variety of possibilities. Because AI enables machines to adapt to situations and grow smarter over time, these machines can only become better the more that they are put to use. It is, in a metaphorical sense, the maturation of machines. Machines will soon be able to account for their experiences and future decisions will be derived from that particular experience.

How Exactly Can AI Be Used in Education?

Now, because AI is able to adapt to its environment through the experiences it encounters and takes account of, AI will eventually become smart enough to determine the best course of action. Say, you’re in a Safety Training Scotland course. There are a wide variety of topics to discuss and each student has his or her own unique set of strengths and weaknesses, learning methods, language fluency levels, and cultural backgrounds. Artificial Intelligence, given enough experience, will be able to determine the best approach to each student to ensure that optimal learning is met.

Adapting to Each Learner

Let’s say that your main language has always been Japanese. AI will easily be able to speak and translate concepts for you because it has been exposed to different cultures. Not only that, but AI will be able to tailor your course material to match your background and your learning preferences and capabilities. It will even create meaningful representations of concepts for you and will also be able to avoid topics that may offend you in any way.

AI can also be used in the assessment of each student’s performance, and by doing so it can alter the teaching material into something that helps students who are lagging behind catch up, and students who are performing, perform even better. There are a plethora of teaching methods that a single teacher can use, but a single teacher simply cannot teach each student according to each student’s preferred learning method.

Final Thoughts

AI can do that for each student because it is capable of processing large amounts of information and determining actionable plans for each situation. An even greater example of AI application in education that benefits students as much as teachers is when it is used in actual classroom discussions. Regardless of what your subject matter is, classroom discussions will always have a few questions thrown about. Now, every once in a while, a student asks a question that an instructor cannot answer, or explain in a manner that students are able to digest.

This is where AI comes in. Say, the exact scenario happened to a learning-disabled child. AI will be able to process, interpret, and present the information to the child in a manner that’s appropriate for his learning capacity, without hindering the pace of the discussion. And yes, there are always naysayers when it comes to innovation. Some people may even go as far as to say that if we decide to integrate artificial intelligence into our education systems, then what’s the point of having teachers around? There are even those who are extremely paranoid about technology (or they may simply have watched too many Terminator movies as a child). And while it’s uncertain when artificial intelligence will be integrated into the educational system, what’s certain is that history, especially when it concerns new technology, will always repeat itself.

And whenever we see someone trying to create something new, we should always remember: There was a time that people thought the Wright brothers were crazy for thinking that they could create flying machines. Today, they are commonplace.

Lora Young

Lora was born in January 1992. Today, she is a digital marketer who has several years of experience in working with non-profit organizations. She has extensive knowledge in the fields of Education, Computer Science, and Psychology. When she isn’t helping build brands, she practices Muay Thai and runs marathons. If you are looking for someone that can write high quality copy you can contact her at . You can follow her on Twitter at @TheamazingLORA.

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The Real World Starts Early: Turn Your Education Into Experience by Craig Middleton
Friday, March 6th, 2020

The Real World Starts Early: Turn Your Education Into Experience by Craig Middleton shows how healthy competition and challenges push people to achieve more in school, life, and work. When you push yourself to best your prior achievements, your future continually develops, progresses, and never stalls. You will continue to gain new real-world experiences if you develop the habit of maximizing opportunities early in your education. This is a message we need to share with our children.

High school sets the stage.

Today’s high school students have moved past traditional models. Now they can have flexible schedules with online classes and save money on education through advanced placement (AP) courses, effectively starting their college career in high school. Some American teenagers can even experience internships and part-time jobs with experimental “night school” high schools cropping up.

These contemporary approaches give students a head start to the real world, where time management and financial accountability exist without school bells and teachers as motivators. More common options help teenagers leap into mature mindsets earlier.

College prep classes, or the most rigorous academic track their schools offer, indicate students won’t stop at a diploma but will pursue future plans. 

College entrance exam prep courses are an investment in more numerous college choices and should result in higher test scores many employers review for young hires. 

Extracurricular activities, including sports, train students in teamwork and group mindset that professional full-time work depends on. 

Volunteer work, like tutoring, pushes young people to apply their knowledge and strengths beyond themselves as they grow into their careers.

Work yourself into the real world

After education, part-time work should be the next early valuable introduction to reality. Summer and after school jobs can pay for educational expenses, give exposure to careers and build a starter resume. From the moment you sign your new hire agreement or fill out a W2 form online, you will feel steps closer to independence past student life.

Apply early. Research hiring processes and visit potential employers ahead of dates you can start. In spring, actively begin your search for summer work. 

Have references. Teachers, principals, and counselors can best connect your strengths for a job to your performance and commitment to education. They may also be the best resources to learn about internship programs and highly meaningful work. 

Keep perspective. Take advice from future and current employers seriously. The real world is full of rejection, so consider applications and interviews practice even if no job offers arrive. 

Finish gracefully. Education and first jobs are the foundations for recommendations you will need for more education and better jobs. Avoid missing hours, arrive on time and keep working until you give proper notice to leave for your next opportunity.

Further your education for a purpose.

You must have substance behind your diploma, certificate, and degree collection. Good grades are adequate goals to start high school, but in the real world, achievement must create tangible results. In fact, high grades can be false indicators of capabilities since more teachers inflate them out of pressure to validate stressed students.

Whether you are deciding on a college major or plotting a return back to school, retain personal mission and purpose in all you do. Aim for more than money as a driving force.

Mentor younger students and professionals in programs you completed successfully.  Volunteer somewhere related to your dream career or current field. 

Connect with fellow alumni for a strong future network.  Share your time when others need your advice or recommendations.

Plans to further your education and gain experience in the real world can start at any time, but the sooner the better. That way, you will be practiced in a seamless transition to more complicated stages and changes when they arrive.

Craig Middleton

Craig is a New York City-based retired business consultant, who is an expert in education and cultural trends. He has a Masters of Business Administration and a Masters in Education from St. Johns and loves sharing his knowledge on the side through his writing. If you have any questions or comments you can direct them to Craig at craigmiddleton18@gmail.com.

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The Wrong Direction That US Education is Taking by Pam Johnson
Thursday, August 15th, 2013

The Wrong Direction That US Education is Taking by Pam Johnson spells out some of the reasons why many Americans are less than satisfied with our schools. Parents and Educators alike should consider Pam’s thinking on this important subject and let the policy makers know their feelings.

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Things Your Childcare Provider Absolutely Needs to Know by Rachael Cherry
Friday, April 11th, 2014

      Things Your Childcare Provider Absolutely Needs to Know by Rachael Cherry can help both parents and child care providers increase the probability of a successful experience. This is written from the view point of the parent, but can also be great advice for people who provide child care who are often known as baby sitters.

Experience Helps

Experience can do a great deal to help a childcare provider prepare for the task ahead. Interacting with various children can provide an insight towards certain behaviors or assist in avoiding specific situations. Each child, however, is unique, and there could be things about him or her that the childcare provider should absolutely know. Even the child’s home environment can vary a great deal from one home to another. Parents should let the provider know what to expect as they give a complete tour of the home.

Disciplinary Actions

Not every household views disciplinary actions the same way. Although everyone involved would like the experience to go smooth, kids will be kids. The care provider needs to know what is considered an acceptable method of interaction. Is a time-out involved? Do certain toys or electronics get taken away? Most importantly, is the parent going to enforce the disciplinary action for severe situations after the care provider has left for the day? If you don’t collaborate with your childcare provider in this manner, the child could grow to disrespect any child care provider as an authoritative figure.

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Archive for the ‘Guest Posts’ Category

The Best Tips for Staying Focused While Studying From Home by Craig Middleton

Craig Middleton

The Down Side of Blog Scraping by Linda Bailey

The Importance of New Tech to Optimal Healthcare for Children by Rey Shimar

Introduction

An Environment of Innovation

Keeping All Informed

Innovative Solutions for Better Childcare

The Importance of Recess and Play by Ken Myers

The Internet: Sum of Human Knowledge, or Collection of Scams? by Christine Maddox

The Internet: Sum of Human Knowledge, or Collection of Scams? by Christine Maddox

The Obvious Match: Artificial Intelligence and Education by Lora Young

Introduction

What Is Artificial Intelligence?

How Exactly Can AI Be Used in Education?

AI In Classroom Discussions

In Conclusion

Lora Young

The Obvious Match: Artificial Intelligence and Education by Lora Young

Introduction

What Is Artificial Intelligence?

Enter Learning

How Exactly Can AI Be Used in Education?

Adapting to Each Learner

Final Thoughts

Lora Young

The Real World Starts Early: Turn Your Education Into Experience by Craig Middleton

High school sets the stage.

Work yourself into the real world

Further your education for a purpose.

Craig Middleton

The Wrong Direction That US Education is Taking by Pam Johnson

Things Your Childcare Provider Absolutely Needs to Know by Rachael Cherry

Experience Helps

Disciplinary Actions

Book Summaries