Friday, May 25, 2012

Educational Software - Fun and Easy Way to Learning

Educational software is very common nowadays that it can be found in almost every school and every house with a computer. Why? You ask, because teachers and parent use educational software as another way of teaching children basic things in life. They learn English, Math, Science and other subjects through their computer. But they do they just read or listen to what they see on the computer screen? No, they have fun while learning their lesson, so this is like hitting two birds with one stone.
The mixture of fun and learning is a big plus when you want your children to be knowledgeable and it is the main idea for the development of the many types of educational software. It is software where children can appreciate the different subjects that are also taught in school. They see Math in a fun way when they solve a calculation and they either win a prize or something happens that is totally cool and they would want to see it again so they solve for another.
When they learn science they see the cooler side of it rather than the dull, there are games that help you learn the different combinations of color to make other colors or you learn the different part of a plan by going inside the plant itself. History was always a challenge to learn but with these educational games for the computer you can actually go back in time, what better way to learn history that going to the place itself.
The most popular educational games are those with famous cartoon characters and TV shows like Blues Clues, Dora the Explorer, Sesame Street, Arthur and man more. The children get exited when they see their favorite character on screen helping them so this will really pump them up and truly pay attention to the lessons. This makes it fun for children because it feeds their imagination. Who does not want to see a dinosaur or run around in a trunk of a tree at the size of an ant?
But this technology is not limited to children and even some adults use these programs to either learn the cultures of other places or to enhance ones self. The most common is when adults use it to learn other language, there programs that teach you how to speak proper English, Korean, Japanese or Filipino. Others use it to enhance their skills like when they play typing games, find the correct answer or question games. Today the most popular educational games are those about memorization and observation, parent want their children to have good memories and also develop a sharp eye and mind.
Now that these learning programs are now becoming rampant, is this good or bad? The good news is children are eager to learn because they have fun doing it and the bad news is they are starting to become dependent and find normal classes boring. This should not be the case and it is the teachers obligation to also make their classes fun, we should not allow machines to be the only things that can teach our kids. If educational software can do it, so can teachers.

Saturday, May 19, 2012

Money News Made Easy

If you want to keep up on the latest in the world of finance there are many more options than going out each day and vigorously scouting the information and news yourself.
The major search engines each offer their own finance pages, complete with business and personal finance news, advice and contacts. You can also set up RSS feeds that deliver keyword-specific finance news straight to your email address or feed reading device each day.
Lets take a look at what one of the major search engines offers on its finance home page. Whats great about these search engine options is that, because they also offer a free profile and email service, you can set up your own personalized finance page and customize it so that the information delivered to your system each day is exactly what you want to see most.
The four major tabs on the top of this finance home page are Investing, News and Opinion, Personal Finance and My Portfolios. The home page we first land one is the Weekend Edition of the sites finance section, and it includes articles about new markets for luxury homes, the best places to retire, special travel perks available to road warriors, major art auctions and galleries and the personal wealth they can bring, and a feature story about a prime and historic piece of Hollywood property that is up for sale.
Each day this finance page will also show you the latest stock prices and the trends of the major markets. Personal finance news includes columns by experts that address subjects such as the ten highest priced U.S. housing markets, the ten best stocks to buy, and tips on taxes, bill paying and retirement planning.
When you head to the investing tab from this finance home page you can delve more deeply into the various savings resources, such as stocks, bonds, utilities, commodities, real estate, and so forth, and the best ways to save for things like college education including the industries most likely to stand the financial test of time.
From the pull down menus of the News and Opinion finance tab you can explore in more depth issues and topics such as small business help, investment ideas, and providers such as angel firms and venture capitalists.
The personal finance tab is full of advice on career and workplace issues, banking and investing options, family and home life issues such as work/ life balance and trailing spouse problems, the various training and education resources and costs, buying and making money in real estate and so forth.
When you head from the finance home page to the last tab, my portfolio, you get the opportunity to make this handy search engine feature your very own. You can indicate which stocks youd like to be daily displayed from your finance home page, which finance blogs youd like to read each day or week, and which keyword searches youd like the finance algorithms of the search engine to seek out for you. You can search on your own, download the spreadsheet of today's stock info or link to your favorite financial news items.

Friday, May 11, 2012

Education and the Unemployment Rate

I read a couple of interesting statistics the other day in an article about the widening talent shortage among many American companies. The first was a citing about a study done by ManpowerGroup, a Milwaukee-based workforce consultant, showing that 52 % of employers can't recruit skilled workers for their open positions. The other stat, this time by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, showed that of the 9.2% of American currently unemployed, 78% have only a high school education or less.
These numbers are surprising and they tell me a couple of things worth noting regarding our stubbornly high unemployment rate. One is that the rate might not be so high if Americans would get educated and trained in areas of shortage and need. The other is that thinking you are going to get ahead in the 21st century with just a high school education is not preparation for the future.
The public and their proxy the media love to play the blame game for the high unemployment rate. It's the Democrats fault or the Republicans fault. It's greedy Wall Street or lazy Europeans and so on and so on. Instead of finding fault, perhaps we need to hold up a mirror and look into it. We could lower the unemployment rate and all of the misery associated with it significantly if we would further our education in strategic ways. Education is one of the best ways out of this mess.
I rarely hear or read the mainstream media report about this lurking education gap as being a contributor to the unemployment rate and I pay attention to a lot of news. Why do you think that is? Why is the national anchorperson hesitant to say that too many of the unemployed are lacking in the right kinds of education? Perhaps there is a concern that to say so might be perceived as elitist or that someone's feelings may be hurt. There is an elephant in the unemployment room that is being ignored and not fully discussed. And we as a country do ourselves no favors to avoid it.
We should address this issue head on. If we could be delivered news we could really use such as where the human resource shortages are and what is involved in preparing to fill them we could be much better informed. Let's hear more reports about the skills deficit for a change instead of this constant obsession about budget deficits. Let's agree that without a vigorous push for high quality education at all levels, then our chances of competing in the world marketplace are greatly diminished.
School districts and universities need to be more engaged in this conversation as well. Of course their mission is to provide a broad range of learning opportunities to the greatest number of people. But by not identifying and shifting resources to address critical shortage areas of the economy they are denying our workforce significant solutions needed now. Academic advisors and counselors need to work more aggressively aligning emerging talent with areas of employment need.
And let's try harder to see education as the benefit that it is. There is too much of an attitude that views education more as a cost than as an investment. Education can provide individuals with practical skills, a critical thinking ability, and confidence to succeed. It's among the best self-help techniques society can do for itself.
We can do more to reduce unemployment than to just wait for banks, corporations, or government to release more money. We can be smarter about creating a congruence between hiring gaps and workforce development.
William W. Ryan is a Concord, New Hampshire based career consultant specializing in customized career coaching, resume and cover letter writing, and personality assessments.

Friday, May 4, 2012

Why Online Education Is Not For Everybody

Online education has become very popular. You can study just about any subject online, without ever stepping foot into a classroom. Everywhere you look there are advertisements for online programs to get your Masters of Business Management or your law degree online. Before you enroll in an online degree program, you have to consider some things.
Depending on what you want to study, online education may not be right for you. Many of the online programs that are offered today are provided by for-profit schools. For-profit schools exist to make money for their owners, often their owners are stockholders who expect a dividend to be paid or the stock price to increase. The fact that an online program is provided by a for-profit school doesn't mean that the program doesn't deliver a good education, it is simply a factor to consider when researching different programs. The reason I mentioned for-profit schools is because I believe that certain subjects should never be taught entirely online, they just do not fit into the online format.
A perfect example of a subject that does not lend itself to the online format would be chemistry. Chemistry requires students to spend time in a laboratory. The laboratory has specialized equipment and is set up to allow students to conduct experiments, these lessons cannot be taught online with the same degree of competence. A student can watch videos of other people conducting experiments but it is not as effective as actually conducting the experiment.
Other subjects that are difficult to learn online are law, architecture, and medicine, to name a few. If you are unsure if the field you are considering is conducive to online education, check out U.S. News and World Report's College Rankings. If you cannot find an online program in the field that you are researching that is ranked by U.S. News, then that field is probably not appropriate for online education.
Another reason online education is not right for some people is the discipline required. The attractive flexibility of online education also means that a teacher will not tell you when you should start working on your final project or when to read the required reading. It can be tempting to procrastinate and fall behind in class. It is very difficult, if not impossible to catch up once you have fallen behind in an online class.
If you need the structure and guidance of in-class instruction to avoid procrastination, online education is not right for you. Your going to have to be realistic with yourself, only you know if you are the kind of person that can stay focused and disciplined for the couple of years it is going to take to complete the program.
If you are looking for an easy way to get a college degree or you are not willing to put in the effort that it will take to get a college degree from a well respected program, online education is not for you. Although you may find online college programs that require less work than in-class programs, you will not find a program that is as respected and academically rigorous that is easier just because it is online. Top online programs require just as much work as classroom programs.
Daniel Martin is a lawyer with a Masters Degree in Organizational Behavior and a Juris Doctorate.
I enjoy sharing the lessons I learned while going to college. Mi Tutulo, which means my degree in Spanish has information for students and parents about college.
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