4 Ways to Explore Geology With Your Kids

Geology is a favorite subject of my kids. They love learning about different types of rocks, and have some pretty good collections for their ages. One of the really great parts, however, is how easy it is to introduce kids to geology.

1. Notice the Geology Around You

The very first thing you can do with your kids doesn't take any money. Just notice the geology of the area around you. You can point out layers of rock in canyons or mountains. You can pick up rocks that you find and learn about what kind of rocks are in your area. There are a number of websites out there which can help you identify rocks and minerals. We've found some nice plagioclase feldspar in our area, for example.

You can also make a point of looking at the geology of any places you visit. If you're going on a family trip, make sure you point out how the land changes as you go. The changes don't have to be dramatic, although it's certainly fun to be able to point out the cone of a volcano or a truly impressive rock formation.

4 Strategies For Generating Engaging Mobile Learning Content

1. Break it down

Apply the adage: less is more - this is definitely true for mobile learning.

When writing content, think about the way your posts will likely be applied: if it's on a tablet, you will find unique behaviours from smartphone usage. The main factor to not forget is to minimise your content down into conveniently digestible chunks. People making use of smartphones and tablets maybe approaching your site content in small chunks, or they might sit down for a couple of hours every time.

Your content should be suitable to work for either of these modes. Consequently lessons should be simple, and prepared into discrete units making sure that learners will make progress in small steps, as opposed to the extensive in-depth chapters you would expect in a textbook.

2. Clear titles

While you split a subject up, give your users a roadmap: make them aware of the reason for each lesson, how it builds from the previous lesson, and the way it may benefit them. So if it's academic material, emphasize which element of the syllabus you're addressing, and what analysis requirements they'll be fulfilling. And in case it's a skill you're teaching, offer a practical demonstration of what your users should be able to gain at each phase.

Trigonometry Help for High School Students

What Is Trigonometry?

Trigonometry is the branch of math that deals with triangles, their angles, sides, and properties. A thorough knowledge of trigonometry is needed in fields as diverse as architecture, engineering, oceanography, statistics, and land surveying. It is a bit different from the other branches of math and if it is understood well, students will enjoy learning and solving trigonometry.

How to Prepare for Trigonometry

Learning trigonometry will be much easier if you prepare ahead of the school year or before you start learning it. The preparation does not have to be an intensive or time consuming affair. Focus on getting a feel for the subject, especially if you're not too fond of math to begin with. Doing this will help you follow the classroom lectures well and in greater detail. Getting a head start on any subject will help you stay interested in learning it.

Easy Ways to Study

The best way to learn trigonometry is to work on it everyday. Spending a little time reviewing class notes and solving a couple of problems will pay off in a few months, when tests and exams are near. Students often have the impression that studying trigonometry is tedious and boring but that's usually because they've waited till before the exams to start studying. Going through it daily will simplify the subject and make it easier to study.

Free Appropriate Education - Really?

Our nation prides itself on providing a free and appropriate education for every child in the United States. The funny part is, the education is not free... technically our tax dollars are going to provide quality educational programs for our children. But, did you know that the United States was evaluated under the "Global Challenge 2012" on its education systems and ended up with a grade of 76.5? With all the school systems in the United States, Maryland was number 1, but the score was only 87.8... and Massachusetts coming in second with an 84.2 this really is not saying too much about the education system of the United States. Well, let's take an in depth look on what kind of education our tax dollars actually help to fund.

According to the dictionary, education is the act or process of imparting or acquiring general knowledge, developing the powers of reasoning and judgment, and generally of preparing oneself or others intellectually for mature life. Now, in regards to this definition are our schools preparing our children for real LIFE in what we know as a traditional classroom setting? Now, don't get me wrong, I highly agree that the basics of reading, writing and arithmetic are vital parts of education because without them our children cannot convey and communicate their knowledge and ideas. But, society has taken away another vital part of education, and that is the part of experiencing culture and diversity through knowledge of the arts and music, developing social skills through play out at recess and taking out Physical Education (P.E.) therefore, creating obese children. So, is this an appropriate education? Does this type of education benefit all children?

3 Tips for an Enriched Learning Experience Via Online Courses

Most of us are familiar with the traditional concept of campus based study and classroom learning. However, are we really aware of online learning and the benefits of pursuing a degree through this new medium at all? In recent times, hectic lifestyles and fast growing technology is making online education the most sought after advancement in the virtual world. An increasing number of students are enrolling in online university degree programs. Such courses are not only cost effective but also allow learners to finish the course at their own pace and convenience. One question however remains; is online learning as enriching as traditional learning? It is; to ensure maximum absorption via such courses students need to adopt certain strategies. Here I have outlined a few steps that will help you to make your online learning experience more elevating.

Understanding the Difference

First you need to understand how the online courses work. Most students make the mistake of presuming online classes to be less rigorous and demanding compared to traditional courses. However, in reality, the case is not so. Online courses demand similar attention as that of traditional courses. A minimum of 6-8 hours weekly study is necessary if you are opting pursue your degree online. Although such programs are designed in accordance with your lifestyle but you must not forget that to ensure a fulfilling learning experience you have to be sufficiently disciplined and dedicated.

Online Teaching Positions Create a Positive Academic Career Trajectory

The academic employment turmoil on today's college and university campuses can be identified as a direct result of severely declining public education budgets that are needed to pay full time salaries for post-secondary instructors. Teachers still working on the traditional college and university campuses have a right to feel apathetic about their career trajectories. After all, there is real pain associated with declining faculty salaries and the benefits associated with them. While there is little hope of budgetary funds for public education increasing in the near term, there is an alternative available for clear-sighted academics with computers skills. To put a sharp point on this set of circumstances the act of searching for online teaching positions can cure academic apathy. This release from the despair of constantly worrying about the next round of teacher layoffs results as a growing awareness of the sheer number of online bachelor degree programs and online master degree programs being developed constantly by post-secondary academic institutions. The popularity of online college degree programs is high among academic administrators that are sincerely worried about successfully meeting the educational needs of the swelling student populations at community colleges, universities and for-profit colleges.

The reason the administrators and department heads of traditional college and universities are so eager to offer online college courses to students instead of physical classrooms is because their jobs and their state incomes depend on continuing to operate the academic institutions with fewer dollars each year from the state. The cost of providing online degree programs that can be enrolled in by students quite familiar with digital media is much lower than maintaining and building college and university classrooms and the absence of students on traditional campuses means lower cost to maintain the campus grounds. All of this means that the chances to become an online professor and actually make a real living from teaching online are better than ever before in academic history.

Three Disadvantages of Traditional Classroom Learning

In a traditional classroom setting, students are made to sit passively while the teacher delivers a lecture. There are reasons as to why many teachers seem dissatisfied with this practice. For now, I shall limit myself to only three:

a. Students' focus is set in the wrong direction; in taking notes rather than understanding and absorbing new concepts.

Result:

• students' inability to grasp key ideas and concepts,

• Failed lesson objective.

b. Too much focus on presentation, little time left for practice: Since a teacher has to deliver a fixed number     of concepts within a limited time, most classroom activities are sufficed to the presentation stage only. Practice is left for the student to do as homework.

Result:

• This strategy does not allow for students to experiment with new concepts. Their learning is put to a halt at a certain stage; they end up cramming concepts, and are unable to produce anything fruitful, except generic answers to exam questions.

• Furthermore, many students might get stuck while doing problem sets at home. This too thwarts their performance. If they are unable to master one concept, and have been unable to practice it effectively, we cannot possibly expect them to grasp a newer concept based on the previous one,

GRE Test Format Changes in 2012

The new format is barely 7 months old and hence it is not very well known. The changes in terms of questions per sections have been changed to 20 questions each per 2 verbal and 2 quant sections. It is more dynamic in terms of attempting questions as students may skip questions and the feature of flagging skipped questions allows them to comeback once they are done with the rest of the paper. The question's level of difficultly does not increase as students keep giving correct answers is a major change that has been made from the previous format. There may be an experimental section which means it will go ungraded but it will be unwise for students to guess which one it is. The verbal section will contain 4-5 sentence equivalence questions, 6 sentence completions and for credit all the blanks in a certain line have to be correct. There may be multi-correct answers in sentence equivalence whereas text completion will have one correct answer. In the reading paper 2-3 questions may have 3 answer choices. The quant section may have questions for which all answers have to be selected. In the essay section, the time allotted to Issue task has been reduced to 30 minutes as opposed to 45 minutes in the old format whereas the Argument task is still worth 30 minutes.

Find The Career Of A Lifetime By Attending The Right School

One of the most demanding jobs in the country at the present time is that of a surgical technologist. With the shortage of these technologists, this is the time for anyone looking for an exciting and rewarding career to choose this field. Fortunately, there are excellent schools available both on and offline.

People in these positions are part of an important team that works with surgeons, registered nurses, and other personnel in the operating room area. They help place needed supplies such as equipment, supplies, and instruments, as well as prepare the room for surgery and assist in operations.

Educational degrees may be obtained at a number of colleges, specialized schools, and even online. The program is designed to provide individuals with the knowledge and skills required to work in an operating room situation. Applications for these schools are available online at the different school websites.

Applying for entrance to the program requires a completed application form and proof of a GED, high school, or greater education level. The applicant must also pass an in-person interview. When hired for a position their employer will require a background check. The average tuition is $12,465 and financial aid is available at most schools.

Beginning the Journey of Homeschooling High School!

Homeschooling high school--are you nervous or excited? Or a little bit of both?! High school is a rewarding time to be homeschooling, as your children mature and grow and engage you in more complicated conversations. Along with the fun, though, are some important things you should be thinking about as you enter these high school years, and now is the time to start work!

Your child's freshman year is the time to begin learning about high school testing. One of the reasons it is so important to start thinking about this during freshman year is that some tests are best administered to a child immediately after they finish a class. For instance, if they're taking chemistry and you decide you want them to take an AP test in chemistry, they should take the test when they've learned the content.

School Facilities Determines Students Academic Performance

The development of any society is dependent on the general level of education attained by its population most especially the youths. It therefore means that the educational system must be flexible, functional and optional enough to have something to offer to all members of the society including the youths, adults, privileged and the less privileged. The desire to meet the educational needs in particular those members of the under privileged is now a major challenge to the educators over the past years.

Education brings about a change in the manner of conduct of an individual which makes him to present himself as a responsible, sagacious and dependable member of his society. Education is regarded as an activity which gees on in the society with its aims depending on the nature of the society in which it takes place. It is a process through which an individual is trained to become useful to himself and the society at large with the acquisition of the cultural values and norms of the society. It occurs at all stages of life and can occur anywhere, but for the purpose of this study, the focus shall be on the type of education acquired in the school academic environment otherwise known as formal education. A school is a place like home where learning activities takes place and it comprises of individual from different cultural background which live and interact together as a cohesive community with a major common objectives and purpose for learning. It is a place where a learner acquires specialized knowledge and skills needed for their survival and to promote their innate capabilities for learning.