Ensure Quality Learning

The most important thing about being a student is that it is a time of life when one can devote oneself pretty much entirely to something that is really interested for oneself. To gain greater success in formal education, the acquisition of knowledge is emphasized. One of the keys to successful learning is using the "organizing and transforming information strategies". It includes rearrangement of materials, highlighting the important points, drawing pictures, diagrams and charts. Students need to prepare a list of errors they have made, record of their marks and all drafts of their assignments. To familiarize themselves with memorizing strategies, they need to make sample questions, using mental imagery and reciprocal teaching; when one student teaches another or a small group of students. Preparing a time management schedule and sequencing steps allow them to monitor their progression when concluding a problem or performing a given task. These strategies are helpful for them to focus more on their overall goals and objectives.

What To Expect From An Emergency Medical Technician Program

The field of emergency medicine is growing by leaps and bounds as we move into the new millennium. Many of the Baby Boomers will be retiring and leaving the workforce over the next 7 to 8 years. As they become older, many of them will develop health issues that will require emergency medical technicians to respond to their residence. Therefore, more and more ambulances and emergency personnel will be required to meet the demand.

Those individuals who choose to become an EMT will reap the benefits of job security with excellent opportunities for growth and promotion. There are many fire departments and ems divisions throughout the United States who are seeking qualified and certified emergency medical technicians. With the right education and training, you can set your career in motion in a positive manner.

What to Do With Your Mental Health Continuing Education Classes

Whether or not you are pursuing a career in mental health, as a person who has some education and a degree under their belt, the opportunities in this field are endless. With all of the recent changes to healthcare laws, and the recent downturn in the economy, more and more people are in need of assistance.

There are many reasons why someone may need to have their mental health questioned and assessed. And it is your role to remain unbiased no matter what you see and hear after dealing with these people everyday. It becomes hard after a while to remain open minded and not be affected by everything that is going on. That is part of the reason why taking continuing education classes can help. They have many new and different exercises and ways you can incorporate into your daily work duties to help you keep your edge and remain a professional mental health worker.

Homeschool Records - My Adventure in Creating Homeschool Records

One of the things that I found most concerning when I was getting ready to homeschool high school was how to do course descriptions. I am not an English major, I am a nurse. I know a lot about Math and Science and not so much about writing. I was talking to people and I got the impression that you have to have some sort of Masters degree in education in order to write a course description.

I had never seen a homeschool course description and I did not know what it looked like. I just knew I was supposed to do it but I did not know how. I handled that stress the way I usually do - I researched. Around the time my children were about 6th grade, I started doing research. Every time I went to a convention to buy curriculum for my children, I also bought a book for myself about how to homeschool high school.

Human Biology and Space Radiation Issues

Sometimes natural disasters remind us of just how fragile human beings really are, and then afterwards we realize how resilient humans can be, as we find inspiration to rebuild and not give up - it's just amazing to me really. Although they may not seem so at the time, natural disasters here on Earth are not the end of the world. If you have a few moments I would like to discuss this with you from a philosophical standpoint, and offer some guidance on what we can learn by studying and doing research on these things for the future.

You see, after the giant Japanese Earthquake, I'd written an interesting piece titled; "We should study the radiation effects of the Japanese Earthquake/Tsunami Fukishima Nuclear Power Plant Disaster and Apply What We Learn for Future Space Missions." Why you ask? Simple really, in space our astronauts and travelers will be subject to a massive amount of space radiation.

Evil Twins

As a private tutor, I tell my students to focus on the positive, while still working on the other stuff, and sometimes I have to remind myself to do the very same thing.

The past fall/early winter was a very busy season for me, with clients working on academics as well as applications to new schools or college, and all the standardized tests those entail. It was wonderful and gratifying and now all my lower and middle schoolers know where they are going next year and the high school seniors are finally finished with their college applications. Yay team!

The fact is, however, that part of my work also involves writing - and I did not do that. Yes, I was busy, but I still had the time. I started my next article after the holidays, but I didn't like it, so I erased the whole thing. I wrote something else, still didn't like it, so I stopped. I turned my attention to other things, updating my website, researching new material, watching too much TV....all the while knowing I needed to post something, keep in touch with my readers, get my name out there, etc. But as time passed it got harder and harder; there was so much more work to do, any momentum I had was gone and I thought "Who really cares what I have to contribute anyway?"

Does that sound at all familiar?

I sometimes suffer from PROCRASTINATION, and its partner in crime, PERFECTIONISM. The combination can be debilitating to students, and heartbreaking to parents. It leads to late homework, missed deadlines, anxiety attacks, bad grades, worse confrontations, and an overall sense of uselessness and despair. The only strategy I have seen work is one that involves going against the saying "focus on the big picture." In my case, I have always looked at the pixels instead: the next few steps, or in some cases, just one baby step, in order to work my way out of a "P&P" funk. It's what I help clients who are caught under the same double-edged sword do as well.

If you have an overwhelming amount of homework to do (whether or not you've been putting it off), then the mountain of books and papers facing you can look like Mt.Olympus. Instead of taking in the whole, take out one assignment. Is it due tomorrow? OK, that goes in one pile. Not until the following day? That's a different pile. Next week, but requires preparation? Again, another pile. Notice as you sort and separate you have created much more manageable groups of work to do, each with their own priority and timeline. Let's say you have a geometry test or a pop quiz coming up (that you shouldn't know about but do), and you are terrified because you haven't studied? Then by all means start studying! - but don't think of the entire cram session; focus on one subject at a time - special right triangles, or circles, etc. Find a study partner - someone who will study with you, not distract you - and you will be all the more productive.

For the SATs, ACTs, or any other standardized test, you will need to learn vocabulary, re-learn some math and practice, practice, practice. As I say to every single one of my students, vocab is the easiest thing to learn and the last thing anyone does. Why? Because there are so many darn words! It's overwhelming. So break them up. One word a day. Five. During a commercial break of you favorite TV show. Make it a competition between you and your friends. Whoever learns the most words every week gets an iTunes gift card. Whoever learns the least has to buy someones else a Starbucks card.

Please note: the last two paragraphs are about what you can do. The words "can't," "should," and "should have" have no place here. Ever.

About perfectionism: having to do it exactly right, or not at all. It is a hideous trap, and it is also a lie. Nothing we do will ever be perfect, and unfortunately for some of us, we end up feeling like nothing will even be good enough. Eventually we give up altogether. Personally I have come to the conclusion that "perfection" is actually the domain of the divine, so there is no need for me to set such an impossible standard for myself. I still strive for it, but I will never reach it - and that's okay. It doesn't mean I stop working.

Also, to say "it's not perfect so I won't try" is a complete cop out. It's an excuse because I am scared, or overwhelmed, or I just want to go to bed...to procrastinate some more. See how those two Ps work together? Evil twins, they are.

The fact is, the "P&P" trap doesn't make the work go away, it just makes us feel worse. "Do you know how much I have to do now?" is a common refrain. "Yes, the same amount you will have to do tomorrow, but there will be more of it." So take some baby steps, give yourself a break (but don't take a break!), and do your best. "Perfect" is useless. That pile of work still looks like Olympus, but none of us are gods, so we can just do the work, one...human...step...at...a...time.

Alexandra Zabriskie has worked as a private tutor on standardized tests and academics for over a decade. An Ivy League graduate and New York City native, she knows what it takes to succeed, covering everything a student needs from A to Z.

Factors to Consider When Buying A Telescope

When you first become interested in buying a telescope, it can be somewhat of a daunting task. What kind of telescope do you really need? There are so many different kinds to choose from and a very large price range too. What do you want your new telescope to do, and do you really need all of the bells and whistles available? You don't want to pay good money for a telescope that won't give you a satisfactory experience, but neither do you want to pay for features that are just not necessary for what you need.

Here are a number of tips to keep in mind when you are thinking of buying a telescope.

Type of Objective - There are basically 2 kinds of telescope objectives available for home use. These are:

Why Not 3D Print A Future City On Mars - Thoughts on How

Anyone into science topics has noted that the 3D printers are here now and all the applications will be coming forth in years to come. Some are already here, things like rapid prototyping. Interestingly enough, there is a really interesting project underway to put 3D printers in all the high schools in the country. As these students learn how to use this technology, they will obviously take all those applications into all the industries and future professions. This will be a great enabler of productivity across the entire spectrum of our economy - it's absolutely brilliant.

Okay so, you do know little bit about 3D printing and that is good, because I'd like to give you a way out concept, as in printing a human colony on Mars. Now then, I put a little bit of thought into this, not more than an hour, but I like to explain what I've come up with here. First, if we were to put a machine inside of a crater on Mars, then we could dig down around the edges in the soft sand. We could inject that sand with a water-like chemical which would harden it, and then begin the process of 3D printing in the center area of the crater.

How Do Psychics See Into The Future?

Each psychic is slightly different so it is impossible to answer the question of how does a psychic see the future. The question needs to be rephrased to in what ways are people with psychic abilities able to see into the future?

One way that a psychic sees into the future is in their dreams. They dream almost like it was a movie and they see things that are about to happen to people, and sometimes they even see things that are about to happen to the whole world. Their dreams are like the visions that the Native Americans had and they use these visions to help others see what is going to happen to them.

Observatory Domes for Sale - A Benefit for Astronomers

Astronomers have realized that all the time they spend in the arrangement and set up of their telescope and other instruments can be saved with the help of observatory domes. Without an observatory, the astronomers have to spend most of their time in arranging the instruments and material involved in taking photographs. There are two reasons for this. First is that all such equipments are highly technical as well as sensitive to use. With more technology they are more difficult to use. The larger the telescope is, the harder it is to manage the settings. Secondly, the constantly changing trend of weather makes it more difficult. Once the instruments are ready, the weather changes and all the efforts go futile. Ignoring the modern technology is almost impossible in every single field. Everyone has to work and adjust with the modern pieces of technology to live in the modern society and compete. Observatory domes makes it easy for the astronomers to manage and arrange their instruments. These domes take sixty percent less time in the arrangement and there is more probability that the results would be best. The astronomers would not need to carry their equipment and set it all over again when they need to use it. For private domes, there are two options. First one is a home dome and the second one is a pre dome type dome. Both are available in certain specifications which matches the demand of astronomers.

Does Typing 2 Million Words Make Someone Ambidextrous and Change Their Brain Format?

As a very prolific online article writer, I've probably pounded out 2-3 million words in the last 6-years, and I don't know for sure exactly how many, because I am not certain how many articles I've done now via speech recognitinn software - however what I do know is my abilities to do things with my other hand have improved drastically, including writing or even silly things such as crumpling up a piece of paper and shooting it across the room into the trash can with amazing accuracy.

Why is that? This is not something I've been able to readily do until recently. So, to my question which is also the title of this article, I dare to ask; "Does Typing 2 Million Words Make Someone Ambidextrous and Change Their Brain Format?" and to that question, I believe so. They say that kids to learn a new musical instrument when they are young do better at math. Why is that? Is it because of the dexterity and the use of their hands in learning and playing the musical instrument along with the sounds and melody from their sense of hearing?

Incorporating Technology With Response to Intervention

School teachers and administrators employ many different strategies in an effort to bring the best possible education to each student. The modern response to intervention (RTI) method is designed to monitor student progress and provide proper differentiated or individualized instruction as necessary for academic success. When it comes to potentially difficult subjects such as math, having technological tools including virtual manipulatives and online games can make it easier to implement this complex teaching model.

Intense Adaptive Instruction

One of the hallmarks of response to intervention is differentiated instruction. Depending on where and how much a student is struggling, it may be necessary to tailor his or her educational experience to better address difficulties. To that end, RTI employs three tiers, each designed to focus instruction based on student performance and progress. Sometimes labeled as Benchmark, Strategic, and Intensive, each tier involves progressively more concentrated instruction, ranging from the classroom level to one-on-one instruction conducted outside of a classroom setting. Online games and learning tools fit right in to this model with a targeted teaching approach based on each individual student's learning pace, level of comprehension and need for help. Using these tools can make it easier for teachers to address the individual needs of each student, as the programs are designed to automatically adapt to a child's personal skill level.

Multiple Intelligences - Educational Success

Howard Gardner's theory of Multiple Intelligences has been grasped by the education community as a wonderful and meaningful way to acknowledge, "We are not all the same, we do not all have the same kind of minds, and education works most effectively for most individuals if... human differences are taken seriously." (Gardner, 1995)

Today's education is riddled with funding issues, dropped music and art classes for economic purposes, and problems with lower test scores. Why aren't new teachers using Howard Gardner's "Multiple Intelligences" as a tool to reach as many students as possible?

The Multiple Intelligences are: Auditory, Kinesthetic, Visual/Spatial, Intraspective, Interspective, Logical/Mathematical and Linguistic. Gardner suggested three more intelligences-Naturalist- Natural Environment, Spiritual/Existential- Religion /Philosophical, Moral- Ethics, Humanity, Value of Life.

These last three "intelligences" are more difficult to assess, but have been recognized in people who have improved the quality of life for others.

Human differences, our uniqueness, offer valuable contributions to society. There is creativity in everyone. Studies have found that after the rigors of raising a family, or after retirement, latent talents have been discovered, and these talents were present throughout life, but not encouraged.

It is up to parents and teachers to provide intelligent environments. Many were educated with teachers and parents who did not encourage cultural diversity, and did not say they could draw a purple tree, or sing an off- beat song. They did not ignite their imaginations, and give them quiet time to process the world's wonder and its' opportunities. No, multiple intelligences was not stressed in the teacher education classes, or spoken in the Pediatrician's office. School systems, so caught up in fiduciary problems, don't even think about getting to the root of education, which is really teaching, tailored toward the child. The IEP's (Individual Educational Plan) rarely include assessing the "talents" of the child and then incorporating that learning style into his curriculum.

To teach using the Multiple Intelligences, students should be sitting at tables of six. If there are desks, they may be arranged in a group of six. The chairs or desks, should have space underneath for book storage. Each table or group is a team. The room is like a corporation "brainstorming" room. The teacher chooses the captain (facilitator), recorder, materials leader, for each group and the jobs will rotate around the group.

The responsibilities of the captain will be to keep the table's students on task, and will be in charge of reporting the results of the final project. Another student will record who is doing what task for the project. This helps the teacher grade an individual student on the project. Each table will become a "team," and create a team name. The teacher guides the class through the steps of the lesson, and the material's student at each table will be the only one getting up for the supplies needed for the lesson. Each student's talents will be used within the group.

Establishing stations- A student who is strong musically, and weak numerically, should be taught numerical and logical skills through music, and not by numbers alone. Math stations should provide headphones with songs including math formulas, etc. There should be an art station, writing, listening, organizing station (housing materials), and any other to encourage learning.

Finally, education using the multiple intelligences will be addressing apprenticeships, so a student will get a chance to explore a trade or profession that works within his or her intelligences. This is not to track a person into a trade, but the right apprenticeship will feel natural, and most likely bring the student into a field that will bring many years of joy since it was tailored toward his or her skills and abilities.

Education is in trouble, and there are many reasons, but using the Multiple Intelligences is one tool to bring us to the forefront of global learning.