Archive for the ‘Guest Posts’ Category

7 Things to Consider Before Teaching an Online Course by Ben Russell

Monday, March 28th, 2016

Introduction

  • Online learning, also referred to as web-based learning, allows people to take credit-bearing course via the Internet on computers or even mobile devices. Increasingly, online courses are more available and popular, forcing many universities to invest in systems to offer them.
  • One reason for this trend is the growing number of education seekers and their ever-increasing need to acquire additional or fresh academic qualifications. In the present business and professional world, it is necessary to keep on adding value to one’s existing qualifications to get a better job or to become more indispensable. Technology is bringing changes and innovations so fast that it has become essential for every professional to continue learning new techniques and update existing knowledge.
  • Due to time constraints, many people do not find it convenient to attend face-to-face classes to fulfill these requirements so they look for non-traditional techniques that can offer options to learn online without having to quit their present job. Online learning is the best tool to help meet the demands of continuous learning.
  • Online training can be of two types: synchronous and asynchronous. Synchronous learning has the advantage of real time or live access to the instructor with immediate and direct feedback. Asynchronous learning results in delayed feedback but is economical. The choice of learning depends upon the urgency and financial background of the learner.

1. Proper Understanding of the Topic

  • Higher educational establishments should employ appropriate resources and well-trained, experienced and erudite professionals for teaching their courses. Students should receive value for the time and money they spend in order to improve themselves or the institution will eventually lose. Remember that a good teacher can help develop good scholars and together they contribute in building credibility for the organization.

2. Point-to-Point Interaction and Support

  • It is a natural tendency of human beings to lose interest if there is no continuous motivation and monitoring. This is especially true in case of education. Therefore, a higher educational establishment, which provides online learning must provide enhanced interaction, which can be delivered through live streaming sessions, forums, live chats, and virtual classrooms with lecturers to keep the learners interest alive and burning.

3. Extra Tools and Resources

  • Students should also have access to many options. For example, there should be a full package of written material. The package may include lecture notes, revision kits and access to online libraries. Also, a person should be able to use self-assessment tools for monitoring progress.

4. Benefits of the Course

  • Benefits of courses should be considered from the learners’ point of view. Courses should be oriented in such way that they fulfill desired goals of the learners, like getting jobs, promotions, and career advancement.

5. New Technology and Accessibility Features

  • With modern technology evolving continuously, online education should be more accessible. Also, the comprehension of the educational material should be continuously improved.

6. Availability with Accessible Document Formats

  • Education material should be available in structured formats like Word, Excel or Notepad, for example. Avoid tools which use fancy formats and expensive require applications as they place onerous financial demands on the students.

7. Provide simple and consistent navigation

  • Students are more favorable to websites or applications that have a simple and comfortable navigation menus that helps them easily access information. It is vital that you have a user interface that is intuitive so that students can focus on the course content rather than learning the system.

Ben Russel

  • Ben teaches students how to write a contrast essay as well as other types of essays contributing to various educational platforms including SolidEssay.com. (Disclaimer: DrDougGreen.Com does not support the purchase of completed papers for the purpose of satisfying course requirements.)
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Six Creative Homeschool Lessons For Your Pre-Teen by Craig Middleton

Thursday, February 25th, 2021

MiddletonNew
Six Creative Homeschool Lessons For Your Pre-Teen by Craig Middleton may even work for your teenagers. Keeping kids engaged and ready to learn at home can be a challenge. You’ll need to make sure that you keep your child’s attention by mixing it up and involving some creative lessons. Here are six lessons to try in your homeschool curriculum to keep your kids excited while they learn.

1. Build A Solar Oven

  • Learning about energy and about how the sun can power things like solar panels gives your child an inside look at renewable energy sources. You can make a solar oven easily out of a leftover pizza box and a few other supplies you probably have on hand. While you’re building you can discuss with your children why certain materials are used. You’ll use some aluminum foil to reflect the sun’s rays toward the inside of your oven and how black construction paper on the bottom can hold in heat to begin warming your food. After your project is completed, you can use it to make a fun afternoon snack like s’mores.

2. Design A Building

  • If you want to teach a little bit about construction and engineering, have your kids design their own buildings. There are a variety of ways to do this sort of project. You could build with blocks or Legos, draw out a design, or even utilize a design program on your computer. Or you can make a day of it by combining all these elements from design to construction. Your student will learn about the process of design as well as about problem-solving while they try to bring their design to life.

3. Invent A Game

  • Get those creative juices flowing by leading your kids in inventing their own game. If you want to keep it quick and simple, help them come up with a new card game with their own rules. If you want to get fancier, take an old board game you don’t use anymore and completely reinvent it. Your students can cover the existing board with construction paper to design the playing board. Use some cardstock to create cards with instructions. Find some fun knick-knacks around the house to use as playing pieces.

4. Do Some Time-Lapse Photography

  • Time-lapse photography projects can be simple and short, or you can make it into an entire unit. Using an old webcam you can set up what you want to record and set the camera to take photos at pre-determined intervals. You could do something short-term such as recording leaves blowing on the trees in your yard for a few hours or longer-term like recording a daily photo of a plant sprouting. Once you have your photos you can help your kids put them together into a time-lapse video. This may even spark other photography-related projects like animation or a scrapbook.

5. Go On A Field Trip

  • A field trip is a great way to sneak in a lot of learning while you’re having fun. Research some possible locations in your area and reach out to them to see if they offer any special informational tours you can sign up for. If you don’t have time for an extended outing, you can make even a trip to the grocery store into a lesson. Teach your kids about math, budgeting, nutrition, and meal-planning while you shop for what you need.

6. Bake A Cake

  • Baking can teach your kids about math, measuring and chemical reactions while also teaching them valuable life skills. They’ll learn about following directions in a recipe to get the desired outcome. Once their sweet treat is baked and cooled they can get creative decorating it. Then at the end of the lesson, they can enjoy the fruits of their hard work by taste-testing their cake. Getting your kids active and involved is simple if you get a little innovative. Letting them get involved and engage in these hands-on projects will not only let them learn but also keep them entertained.

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 Best Study Tips to Retain Information by Donald Giddings

Friday, October 2nd, 2020

Retain Knowledge 1
Best Study Tips to Retain Information by Donald Giddings deals with the fact that studying is an essential part of learning. No matter how young or old you are, you can benefit from studying when learning something new. Fortunately, the best study tips to retain information can help you succeed at whatever you do and he covers them here.

Introduction

  • For some people, retaining information is harder than it is for others. No matter how much you study, you may struggle to retain the information you are intaking. With the right study methods, you can increase the information you retain and improve test scores.

Best Study Tips to Retain Information

  • When it comes to studying, not everyone is the same. Certain study methods work better for some people than they do for others. However, researchers have found some of the study methods to retain information.

Hand Write Your Notes

  • Though in this day and age many people prefer to use laptops to take notes, writing done your notes with paper and a pencil can help you better retain the information. Writing notes by hand allows you to retain more information and get a better comprehension of what you are learning. By writing your notes down, you retain information for longer, allowing for better recall when taking a test.

Learn In Multiple Ways

  • When you have the chance, learn in as many ways as possible. This can include taking notes, listening to recordings, using visuals, and reading out loud. According to the author, neurologist and teacher Judy Willis, by learning in more than one way, you are further sealing that information into your mind. (Willis, J. Brain-based teaching strategies for improving students’ memory, learning, and test-taking success. Review of Research. Childhood Education, 83(5), 31-316, 2008).
  • “The more regions of the brain that store data about a subject, the more interconnection there is. This redundancy means students will have more opportunities to pull up all of those related bits of data from their multiple storage areas in response to a single cue. This cross-referencing of data means we have learned, rather than just memorized,” says Willis.
  • Learning in multiple ways can also keep you more interested in the subject, as reading notes over and over again can become boring. By expanding your ways of studying, you can improve the information you retain. When possible, seek out demonstrations and use visual aids.

Teach

Teach Someone The Information You Learned

  • One of the best ways to retain the information you just learned is to teach it to others. When you translate what you’ve learned into your own words, you are further solidifying the information you learned into your brain.
  • There are many ways you can teach someone the information you’ve learned. Create a podcast, write a blog post, create a presentation, or participate in a discussion. Studies have found that by teaching what you have learned, you can retain up to 90% of that information. (D’Souza, S. (2020, May 28). How To Retain 90% Of Everything You Learn)

Practice Recall and Test Yourself

  • An important part of retaining what you study is by getting information from short term to long term memory. Changing short-term memories to long-term memories takes time. By distributing your studying over time, you can change the information you’ve learned into long term memories and improve recall when practiced.
  • Recalling what you’ve learned can be a more effective form of studying than just sitting there reading your notes. By testing yourself on what you’ve learned, you are able to dig information out of your long term memories. If you are wanting to engage in critical thinking and problem solving, you can draw on the information you have in your long term memories and from around your environment.
  • You can also practice recalling your memory by using flashcards and online quizzes to test yourself. When putting aside notes and textbooks, using recall to study can be a powerful way to improve memory. Purdue psychology professor Jeffrey Karpicke was part of a study that proved recalling things from memory was an integral part of studying. (Karpicke, J. D. (2017). Retrieval-based learning: A decade of progress. In J. T. Wixted (Ed.), Cognitive psychology of memory, Vol. 2 of Learning and memory: A comprehensive reference (J. H. Byrne, Series Ed.) (pp. 487-514). Oxford: Academic Press.)
  • “Learning is about retrieving. So it is important to make retrieval practice an integral part of the learning process,” says Karpicke.

Create a Stress-Free Study Environment

  • To improve your studying, make sure you have a comfortable environment that is free of any stress. Get rid of any distractions such as your phone or TV and find a quiet area away from people.
  • Essential oils can also be used to create a relaxing environment that can boost your studying. By using aromatherapy, you can boost your cognitive abilities which can lead to better concentration.

Improve Your Study Habits

  • By following these study methods, you can improve the way you take in information. They are designed to help you efficiently and effectively maintain the information you need to know. Good studying often goes beyond just reading your notes over and over again.
Donald Giddings

Green Living Zone

  • Donald Giddings is founder and editor in chief at Green Living Zone. A lifelong sustainability enthusiast, Donald is always looking for the best way to live in harmony with nature. When he is not trying out new eco-friendly recipes, he writes engaging content about green, sustainable ways to maintain your home, body, and soul, readily sharing his abundant experience with other green living aficionados.

Sources

Taylor and Francis Online

Practicing Memory Recall Boosts Science Learning

How To Retain 90% Of Everything You Learn


Scientific American – Short Term to Long Term Memory
Medicine.llu.edu Brain-Based Retention Techniques

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When it comes to teenage safety, which is more important? Privacy or Safety? by Hillary Smith

Thursday, January 7th, 2016

Privacy vs Safety pic

When it comes to teenage safety, which is more important? Privacy or Safety? by Hillary Smith offers sound advice for parents who have children approaching the age where they will have their own smartphone. This article also contains several excellent links to sites that reinforce and add depth to this fine effort. Thanks Hillary.

Introduction

  • There’s a lot to love about teens, but there are also some problems that we face as parents, and a few of these problems are worse than those where two cherished values come into conflict. There are, however, conversations that we need to have with our teens in light of the impact of modern technology. In this post I’ll take a look at where the values of privacy and safety stand and what we should do to deal with problems and how you might avoid them.

Teens Want Privacy Too.

  • As children grow older, they naturally start trying to acquire more privacy in their lives. They stop telling us everything they’re doing, develop more of a sense of modesty, and sometimes even go behind our backs to make the nicest things. It’s not just children, though. One look at the outcry over government surveillance programs makes it clear that our whole society cares about privacy. You can’t blame teens for wanting something when we tell them it’s good to have it, right?

Safety and the Teenage Brain

  • That’s when the other shoe hits. We love teens, but biology has long since proven that teen brains are still under construction. This means that they literally do not have the mental capacity to truly understand their actions or the consequences that could arise from the things they do.
  • This is especially true for impulse-driven behaviors that offer immediate rewards, which is exactly what the Internet and Social Media cater to. Posting a picture from a party may be fun now, but what if a potential employer looks at that picture five years from now and denies them a job as a result?
  • Most teens aren’t thinking about that sort of thing, and it could cost them. The key issue with online safety is that many of the threats aren’t immediate. Damage can often take place months or years afterwards. As parents, we want to keep our kids as safe as possible, but we also want to give them privacy and independence. How are these values supposed to be reconciled?

Watching Teens Over Time

  • The best answer may be a little of both. It goes like this. When your child first gains access to technology or new technology, such as adding a their own smartphone to their technological tools, watch them closely and carefully. We’re not trying to invade their privacy here, we’re just trying to make sure they understand what they’re doing and that they can be trusted to use the device without supervision. Over the next few years after they get their first smartphone, they can slowly gain more privileges and privacy. Smartphones can be addictive, so it’s best to start small and limit them to only an hour or two of access each day, gradually increasing the limit as they demonstrate their responsibility and maturity.
  • “Wait a sec,” you might be saying, “Doesn’t not having the phone on them defeat the purpose of having it in the first place?” That’s a fair question, and the answer is no. First of all, teens no longer regard phones as phones. They’re personal entertainment devices with portable connections to the internet, and the ability to make phone calls is just a secondary function. Secondly, most teens have no need for access to the device all day, every day. You can give it to them when you’re heading out for the day, but they don’t need it at all times. If someone really needs to call them, they can use the house phone or your phone if you don’t have a land line.
  • On top of that, if they need the smartphone during or after school, make sure they’re not using it during class without the teacher’s permission as they’re a known distraction from learning. You may also want to use monitoring software to be sure they’re not sending messages when they should be listening to the teacher. They should know about the monitoring, too. Children who know they’re being watched are far less likely to misbehave.
  • In short, stick with the old adage of ‘Safety First’ and give your teens the right to privacy when you know they can stay safe on their own.

Hillary Smith

  • Hillary was born and raised in Austin, TX. She is a free-lance journalist whose love of gadgets, technology and business has no bounds. After becoming a parent she now enjoys writing about family and parenting related topics. You can reach her by email at hilary.loren.smith@gmail.com.
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13 Online Resources and Collaboration Tools To Engage Classrooms by Julie Petersen

Sunday, April 3rd, 2016

Introduction

  • Collaborative learning involves people actively working together to solve a problem. It’s an exercise in teamwork and communication, and it’s imperative for educators to integrate collaborative edtech tools that are now available into their curriculums. Students need to learn interactively and to enthusiastically engage in their own educations. It’s a teacher’s duty to instill this in their students, and there are a large variety of easily accessible options that support the fundamental activities of collaborative learning. The search to find the right tool can be long and taxing. Don’t waste time and energy sorting through ineffective tools. Review the following tools now to begin enhancing your classroom experience.
  • Finding the best tool for your classroom isn’t an exact science. However, there is always a resource available that can offer a more collaborative and interactive experience for students. Teachers should always be open to new ideas and encourage students to do the same. Educators must be able to connect with classrooms on a real and effective level. In a constantly connected world, they need to take advantage of the tech resources available. There are plenty of engaging educational communities waiting to be explored, you just have to know where to look.

1. Google Drive

  • Google Drive is an excellent and free tool for a teacher that offers useful function like constructing tests, storing documents and sharing materials with classrooms. It’s also an efficient storage service that integrates with a variety of extensions (such as Google Calendar and Google Classroom).

2. Ask Peterson

  • The author of this blog provides viewers with educational articles, study guides, essay samples and other helpful tools. Educators can use the material in the classroom and look to the blog for general student life tips that will help them better relate to their students.

3. bubble.us

  • This brainstorming platform is intelligent and used by reputable sources such as Stanford University. The creatively applicable tool allows teachers to openly practice divergent thinking, mind mapping and flow chart creation with their students.

4. Edmodo

  • Edmodo is a secure and simple way for teachers to connect with their students. It helps teachers create a more collaborative and interactive blended learning experience and to discover and share valuable resources from around the globe.

5. Ninja Essays

  • This professional writing service is composed of highly qualified tutors and writers. If you’re struggling to grab the interest of your students, have them check out the blog full of inspiration. Or include the free writing guide or writing contests in your lesson plans.

6. TitanPad

  • TitanPad lets multiple users work on a document simultaneously. Teachers can create (free) public pads and highlight each user to identify who is working on what. They should encourage students to use the platform when working on group assignments or study sessions.

7. thinkbinder

  • ThinkBinder lets students participate in live study sessions with their classmates (via text and video), directly share information and keep group schedules organized. It’s an effective and efficient edtech tool that will actively engage students during group learning processes.

8. Twilda

  • This self-dubbed “web-based meeting playground” is a useful source for teachers that acts as a mediator for co-browsing. Students and classrooms can actively search the web and research ideas together in real time. It’s also free of cost, and no sign-up required.

9. Bounce App

  • The Bounce app is a fun way for students and teachers to share ideas and information. Examine any web page with the simple screen shot and note taking abilities, and easily share information with students or vice versa. The app also works with Notable to allow workgroup collaboration on any assignment.

10. Wiggo

  • This free group platform provides meet-ups, list making, messaging capabilities, calendar customization and sharing. It’s one of the most comprehensive collaboration tools a teacher can utilize. Manage an entire classroom experience through one source and give students an insightful option for communication.

11. Vyew

  • Vyew is a digital whiteboard that educators can use to create using images or documents, and to make notes anywhere they like. The boards may be immediately shared and viewed by an entire class. Vyew nurtures better data visualizations and a more interactive learning experience.

12. Yammer

  • Yammer is like the Facebook for project management and teams. It’s a private social platform that brings together specific groups of people working on an assignment together. Teachers can use Yammer to offer students a single destination for all files, documents and any news.

13. Entri

  • This web-based tool allows educators to create and share assignments or notes, or for students to create drafts before submittal. This offers a safe space for editing and feedback and is an effective way for teachers to communicate with their students in an unintimidating environment.

Julie Petersen

  • Julie is a language tutor, a freelance writer and a content marketing specialist. She is running her own writing services reviews blog at the moment. Check one of her latest blog posts about Bid4Papers. You can also contact Julie on Linkedin.
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3 Ways Schools Can Use SMS to Reach Students During the Holidays by Ken Rhie

Tuesday, December 12th, 2017

SMS

3 Ways Schools Can Use SMS to Reach Students During the Holidays by Ken Rhie explains how the power of sending group text messages can allow any school to run more efficiently. He also tells why such a powerful resource is especially important during the holiday season. If you don’t already have this capability, Ken has a product for you.

Introduction

  • Many schools have already discovered that mass texting software can be beneficial for improving communication with parents, staff members, and students. Although this is true during every part of the school year, it is especially important during the holidays. During this time, your institution needs to make sure everyone involved in school activities are kept up-to-date on events, schedule changes, and other important announcements. Here are three ways your school can use SMS during the holiday season.

1. For holiday school events

  • Most schools schedule special events during the holidays, such as holiday parties, programs or even fundraisers. Using SMS messaging, you can make sure everyone in your school knows when these events will take place. For example, if the classrooms in your school are having Christmas parties on a specific day, you can mass message parents of students to let them know when the party will take place. You can also use texting to explain any rules or other important information related to the event. Should the event be canceled or postponed, you can use SMS messaging to inform everyone involved of the change.
  • For people involved in the planning of a special event, you can use SMS messaging to facilitate communication within the group and keep everyone up-to-date on event planning progress.

2. To discuss the holiday schedule

  • In most cases, your school’s schedule will change during the holidays. You may have certain days when school won’t be in session, and/or you may be releasing students early on specific days so they can enjoy more time with their families. Schools using mass texting for communication can send messages to parents, students and staff informing them of these schedule changes. Be sure to send a reminder before the change occurs to make sure everyone is on the same page. Encourage all parents, students and staff members to opt into this notification system so they won’t ever be in the dark about scheduling issues.
  • In addition, during the holiday season, inclement weather may force your school to delay sessions or close for the day. Using SMS messaging, you can inform staff and students of any cancellations or delays as soon as the decision is made.

3. To send reminders

  • During the holidays, your students or staff may have specific deadlines they need to meet. For example, teachers may need to turn in grades before leaving for the holiday break. Likewise, students may need to complete all of the paperwork associated with a holiday fundraiser, or they may need to remember to attend an important meeting related to a holiday event. Whenever any group of people in your school needs to be reminded of a deadline, meeting or other task, you can use SMS messaging to make sure they don’t forget. With the right text messaging software, you can create customized lists of SMS recipients so your messages are sent only to those people who need to see them, allowing you to use SMS messaging to communicate with virtually any group of people affiliated with the school.
  • These are just a few of the ways you can put SMS messaging to good use during the holiday season. SMS technology is a powerful tool for your school throughout the rest of the year as well. It provides many benefits, including instantaneous communication, affordability, convenience and much more. When you utilize this tool properly, you can enhance the efficiency of your school’s operations and improve communication with parents, staff and students.

Ken Rhie

  • Ken is the CEO of Trumpia.Com which earned a reputation as the most complete SMS solution including user-friendly user interface and API for mobile engagement, Smart Targeting, advanced automation, enterprise, and cross-channel features for both mass texting and landline texting use cases. Mr. Rhie holds an MBA degree from Harvard Business School. He has over 30 years of experience in the software, internet, and mobile communications industries.
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5 Ways to Improve the Quality of Your Healthcare Facility by Jenna Smith

Friday, April 6th, 2018

5 Ways to Improve the Quality of Your Healthcare Facility by Jenna Smith spells out what state of the art healthcare facilities do to assure that they remain at the leading edge in terms of total quality in the profession. You should consider checking to see if your healthcare provider follows these five criteria.

Benchmarking Hospitals

Introduction

  • Most healthcare facilities across the globe are beginning to put quality improvement at the top of their priorities list. And while communication breakdowns and certain medical errors are a source of frustration, efforts around patient care, clinical outcomes, care redesign, and cost-cutting can be evaluated to guide further improvement in quality standards. Below is a list of measures that any healthcare facility can take to raise their standard of patient care.

1. Benchmarking

  • Leaders of facilities can use healthcare benchmarking to evaluate their work against local hospitals, national bodies, and industry leaders. Example benchmarks include hospital rating, care provided by the emergency department, number of heart attack patients, and outpatients with potential heart attack symptoms who received attention within 24 hours of being admitted. The results from benchmarks will offer high-level insight on where a particular facility stands compared to its competitors and what it can do to improve the quality of its service.

2. Collaborating with Patient Advocates

  • Patient advocates often reside in outpatient-centered facilities. Their job is to ensure that appropriate care is being given to the patient, so they spend a lot of time with the sufferer listening to their concerns and ensuring they feel safe and comfortable. Collaborating with patient advocates is a great way to gather insight into sentiments and opinions of patients a healthcare provider may not be privy to. Applying the feedback into clinical procedures may also improve the quality of patient care as a whole.

3. Considering Human Factor Principles

  • Human factor refers to the information about human limitations, human strengths, and other traits that are related to the design of healthcare tools, systems, tasks, environments, machines, and jobs. When designing healthcare systems, inputting human factor has a plethora of benefits, including standardization of procedures, better communication between healthcare providers, reduced risk of IT-based errors, and improved care processes. Some human factor principles also include leveraging checklists and protocols, as well as avoiding dependence on memory.

4. Rewarding Top Performers

  • In addition to inputting human factor principles, rewards can be a great way to motivate top performers. When hardworking personnel receive empathy and recognition, he/she is compelled to perform even better. Also, others can be forced to work harder to achieve their recognition. Driving individual performance can help increase the quality of service throughout the organization. Therefore, if someone is consistently gaining accolades from regular patients, providing emotional support and ensuring people are sufficiently educated before they leave the facility, reward them in every possible way to set an example.

5. Adopting Characteristics of Industry Leaders

  • Healthcare business owners can make a list of industry leaders within their locality and analyze the healthcare procedures being carried out within the leading organizations. Then, they can simulate processes within their facilities to detect harm events and provide their team with a strong foundation for learning. Training sessions can also be arranged for employees to educate them about industry-leading procedures. With simulation exercises and training, the quality of clinical outcomes is likely to improve.
  • Enhancing the quality of care will ultimately boil down to research and innovation. However, healthcare companies can always review industry data to see which organizations lead in a particular domain which they’re looking to improve. Analysis of competitors can then be combined with the measures mentioned above for the greater good of patients.

Jenna Smith

  • Jenna is a freelance blogger & has been blogging since college where she studied marketing. She fell in love with traveling early in life and to this day makes it a priority to visit new destinations every year. Jenna has merged her love of keying stories into copywriting work as well as plenty of reading and writing for fun! You can reach her at jennaleesmith1@gmail.com.
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All Children, Including Those with Learning Disabilities, Benefit from the Arts by Lillian Brooks

Friday, October 26th, 2018

Three Ballerins
Photo Credit Pixbay.Com.
All Children, Including Those with Learning Disabilities, Benefit from the Arts by Lillian Brooks explains how all children can benefit from increased exposure to the arts. This article also contains a number of links to first-rate resources to help parents and educators bring more of the arts to homes and classrooms.

Introduction

  • Kids with learning disabilities often struggle with reading, writing, and math — their frustrations lead to feelings of inadequacy and defeat. Educators continually develop new methods and technologies to help their students master literacy and math skills, but the arts also play a very important role in helping kids learn and grow.
  • Drawing, painting, music, dance, crafts, and textile arts require complex thinking and problem-solving. Artistic activities build confidence and self-expression. Tools such as a paintbrush, sewing machine, guitar, or yarn allow kids to express themselves while providing innumerable chances to learn, practice, and master new skills.

Learning Styles

  • You know your child’s strengths, interests, and learning styles. And let’s face it: learning isn’t a one-size-fits-all proposition, so it’s important to know what works. Visual learners use charts, graphs, pictures to visualize relationships between ideas and concepts. These learners do well with the visual arts. However, it’s all about sound with auditory learners; they pick up knowledge by listening rather than learning through reading or visual displays. These kids love creating and listening to music.
  • Young authors and readers, meanwhile, love to interact with texts, employing writing and reading to work things out. Knowledge springs to life through words, rather than images or sound. Kids who learn by doing are all about hands-on, experiential learning. These perpetual motion kids thrive in drama, dance, and crafts.

Invite Your Child to Explore the Arts

  • While your student’s school probably uses a combination of technology, occupational therapy, classroom modifications, lesson adaptations and differentiation, multi-sensory teaching methods, and more to help students with learning disabilities to succeed, you can also foster a love of learning at home while also building up your child’s self-confidence.

Learn Through Art

  • Bring the arts into your home. Create a hobby room or space in a spare room. Visit art museums, go to the theater, or sign him up for music or dance lessons.
  • Drawing and painting teach about shapes, contracts, boundaries, spatial relationships, size, and other mathematical concepts. Break processes into small steps. Use YouTube to find drawing or painting tutorials for you and your children to try together. If your child also has ADD/ADHD, mix up the drawing or painting with time to get up and work the wiggles out.
  • Crafting allows kids to explore concepts, explore their ideas in two and three-dimensional ways, troubleshoot, and problem-solve. Create a hobby room or space stocked with supplies such as clay, chalk, paper, scissors, glue, and other items, then let your child channel her inner Picasso. If you like to sew, help your child create his own project, like a patchwork pillow for his bed or a simple new dress for her doll. Experts say that while kids can learn to sew any time, age 6 and 9 is the “sweet spot.” If you need help getting started, there are online guides to help you out.

Museums and More

  • Take your child to an art museum. Many museums also include galleries that invite children to interact with the art. Talk about the art, bring along sketchbooks and pencils, and try to recreate or draw inspiration from your favorite pictures.
  • Music teaches kids about rhythm, sound, pitch—great for improving phoneme recognition for reading or using repetitive, rhythmic and mnemonic songs to memorize academic facts more easily. Studies show that music helps with language skills, improves literacy, and even boosts a person’s IQ! Take your little person to hear an orchestra—many communities feature musical programming specifically targeted for kids and families.
  • Dancing develops motor control, counting, and directionality, which experts say, help kids better grasp reading and writing concepts. Experts say that less-verbal children can more easily express their opinions, emotions, and feelings through dance.

Get Them to the Stage and On Stage

  • Play-acting and theater allow kids to put themselves in someone else’s shoes, give them ownership of what they’re learning, and a way to express that knowledge. Take your children to the theater. Experts agree that theater “stimulates creative imagination. It doesn’t have to be Broadway; many local colleges have excellent (and less expensive) theater programs.
  • Use the arts to nurture your child’s strengths, grow curiosity, and cultivate a lifelong learner. The arts include a diverse world of learning styles and creative expression and often create a more level playing field for kids who learn equally well — just differently.

Lillian Brooks

  • Lillian is the founder of learningdissabilities.info. For years, Lillian worked as a special education teacher with a focus on teaching children with learning disabilities. She created learningdissabilities.info to offer information and understanding to parents of children with learning disabilities, as well as adults who are in need of continued support in order to succeed. She is located in Baltimore, Maryland.
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All Tech Minded Deans Should Read These 7 Books by Mary Walton

Friday, October 28th, 2016

All Tech Minded Deans Should Read These 7 Books – Being a Dean is no easy feat. There’s a lot of pressure put on you from all sides to make a difference in your role. It’s up to you how you go about defining yourself and that role at your school. If you want some help and guidance, these seven books reviewed by Mary Walton are a great place to start.
– Being a Dean is no easy feat. There’s a lot of pressure put on you from all sides to make a difference in your role. It’s up to you how you go about defining yourself and that role at your school. If you want some help and guidance, these seven books reviewed by Mary Walton from Santa Monica, CA are a great place to start. Follow her on Twitter at @marywalton27.

1. Positive Academic Leadership: How To Stop Putting Out Fires And Start Making A Difference, by Jeffrey L. Buller

  • As a Dean, you probably find that you’re often racing around trying to fix problems. Once you’ve put one fire out, there’s another one you have to contend with. It’s an exhausting process, but you don’t have to work like this. This book shows you how to look at your work in a different way, and become a coach and counselor for your staff. This way there will be far less crises to deal with on a day to day basis.

2. The College Administrator’s Survival Guide, by C. K. Gunsalus

  • If you become the head of a department, you’ve probably found that you’re deep in a situation that you’re really not trained for. You’re a professor, and you’re not equipped to deal with the thousands of problems that happen every day. This book uses real life examples to help you get to grips with this new role. “If I hadn’t read this book, I would have felt utterly lost. Thankfully, I now have the knowledge to approach any issue and solve it easily,” says Frank Muller, head of department at Assignment Help Service.

3. The Changing Nature Of The Academic Deanship: ASHE-ERIC Higher Education Research Report, by Mimi Wolverton et. al.

  • Becoming a Dean is a cause for celebration, but it comes with its own set of challenges. With resources ever strained and new problems being created by an ever evolving student body, how do you cope? This book offers six distinct strategies to get you through.

4. Seasons Of A Dean’s Life: Understanding The Role And Building Leadership Capacity, by Walt Gmelch, Dee Hopkins and Sandra Damico

  • This book draws on real life experiences of over 50 current Deans, to truly understand what the role entails and what is needed of any Dean. Linda Sanders, a Dean herself, says “I was impressed that they drew from the experiences of so many people in the same position as me. I felt the advice given was really genuine.”

5. Change Leadership In Higher Education: A Practical Guide To Academic Transformation, by Jeffrey L. Buller

  • A Dean often has to lead their school through changes, and that process can go one of two ways. If you want to enact positive changes that your staff can get behind, this is the book for you. “I felt that this book really understands the practicalities of being a Dean,” says Nina Davies, former dean.

6. Building The Academic Leadership: Strategies For Success, by Gary S. Krahenbuhl

  • No Dean can be fully prepared for their first day in their new role, but some prepping is highly useful. This book will lead you through what you need to know for your new job, and how to handle any challenges that are thrown at you.

7. The Essential Department Chair: A Comprehensive Desk Reference, by Jeffrey L. Buller

  • This book is the essential ‘how to’ guide for any department chair. “It’s helped me so much again and again,” says department head Roger Leaves from UK Admissions Service, “It has practical examples of almost any situation you’ll come across.” It’s a guide that you can dip into whenever the need arises, and you’re sure to use it again and again.
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Basic Tips on Writing a Successful Book Review from AdvancedWriters.Com

Monday, November 23rd, 2015

Basic Tips on Writing a Successful Book Review from AdvancedWriters.Com offers great advice for professionals and students who need to do book reviews. This is a more complex process than the book summaries I do here. Their blog offers learning opportunities you can follow for free to improve your writing. If your organization is in a pinch for good copy, this looks like a good place to go. This post is a sample of their work.

Introduction

  • Writing a book review is not as simple as just summarizing the book’s content. It offers you an opportunity to give a critical and honest discussion of the book. As a book reviewer, you should be combining analytical, accurate reading with a strong personal response. A good book reviewer thoroughly describes what is on the page, analyzes on the book’s purpose, and how it tried to achieve it, while also expressing arguments and reactions from a unique and honest perspective.

Re-Read The Book

  • Re-read the book multiple times as repeated reading of the story leads the reader to view different and hidden aspects of the story. It allows one to see the characters and the setting of the story in a different and unique way. You can write down various notes or record your impressions and thoughts of the book’s chapters. The ideas must not necessarily be in order, as they are just there as reminders in case you forget anything.

Check Field of Study

  • You must consider how well the book justifies its own field of study or genre. If it is necessary, you may read and familiarize yourself with the subject. You can buy similar books, who concern the same genre or topic, and based on those, you can consider writing a final review comparing how the book stayed original to the genre, whether it did anything unique, or if it stayed true to the subject.

Pay Attention to Theme

  • The theme is usually the overall message or lesson that the readers perceive between the lines or in the conclusion. The theme can be a fundamental or universal idea, explored in the story of the book. Authors may also present several themes in their writing, especially if it is a fictional work. Some points to consider here are that you must always pay attention to all the quotes, references, or preface in the book’s introduction. This will highlight the book’s major themes, and the overall viewpoint of the author. Moreover, after you have read the book several times, you can sum up the book in a single word or short phrase. Afterwards, you can expand the meaning of the word further with a message or a lesson.

Research on Author’s Writing Style

  • You must observe the author’s writing style, and see if the style suits the book’s audience. It is an important thing to note that one’s author style heavily influences the subject and the expressions, which are conveyed to the audience. It helps bring out the subject better and provides justice to the genre. Depending on the writing style, the author can present the viewpoint a lot better and to their desired audience. If you wish to research more about writing styles, you can follow this blog.
  • Analyzing the book carefully heavily influences your book review. By observing and following the above-mentioned things, one will be able to write a great book review, and point out all the major points, aspects, and characters. You will be understanding the concept of the book better and be able to express it better. You can check AdvancedWriters and its essay writing help for better understanding the concept of writing book reviews.
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