January 2017

Posted on January 30, 2017 by Edsys

As a teacher, your duty doesn’t end by imparting what is mentioned in the assigned books to your students. It is also your duty to mould them to be better citizens. If you had not given it much thought till now, why not take the first step today itself by going green?

Are you still confused about where to start? Then, try these smart eco friendly classroom tips:

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Reduce Paper Wastage

Paper is a necessity in any classroom. But, what usually happens is that students simply grab a sheet of paper, but use may be one page of it and then, grab another. Avoid such situations by advising the students to use both sides of the paper. Teach them about how papers come from trees and how trees play an important role in our survival on Earth. Opting for recycled paper is also a great idea that can make a huge difference.

Use eco-friendly school supplies

If you look online, you may find pens and pencils made from denim, recycled plastics, newspapers and other such materials you might have never thought of. Add them to your eco friendly classroom for your students to use. Also, make them understand why the pencils and pens they use are eco-friendly.

Maximise the use of Technology

The idea of smart classrooms has been spreading slowly. It’s time for you to opt the same. Use of technology in classrooms can help limit the use of papers and hence, help in saving trees. You can make your syllabi available online so that your students can easily download and use. Also allow students to submit assignments and attend exams online. While using technology, consider the following tips to a make your classroom more eco-friendly:

Instead of using screen savers, put classroom computers in sleep mode, when they are not in use. This can help you reduce energy use by 60 to 70 percent.
Plug all classroom electronics into a power strip and switch it off at the end of each day thereby reducing energy use up to 40 percent.

Get a Recycling Bin

Add a recycling bin to your classroom and encourage your students to use it to dispose recyclable waste such as paper and plastic in them. You can get them recycled and use it again in your classroom. What more do you need for an eco friendly classroom?

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Turn off the lights when not needed

Ask your students to switch off the lights if they are the last one to leave the class. Also use minimum number of lights or no lights at all if you have enough natural light coming into your class while opening the windows. This is a simple way to save energy.

Bring plants into the Classroom

They will help purify the air in the classroom. Also, this will help students to learn about taking care of living beings. Also, assign the responsibility to each student to water the plants every day.

Turn the lunch time green

Ask your students to use re-usable lunch boxes and water bottles to the class to turn it to an eco friendly classroom. Also, place a bin in your classroom for your students to dispose food waste. This food waste can then be turned into fertilizers for the plans placed in the classroom.

Have a lesson outside

This is not exactly an eco-friendly “classroom” tip. Take your students outside the classroom once in a while. Let them mingle with the nature while you teach them about weather, flora and fauna and local geography. Also, plan some eco activities for schools to make learning time fun for your students.

Did we miss any eco-friendly classroom tips? Teachers, feel free to add the steps you take to turn your classrooms eco-friendly in the comment section below. Also, do not forget to adopt the above mentioned tips for an eco-friendly classroom if you are not using them already.

Posted on January 17, 2017 by Edsys

THINK TIDY

Educating your children will help to maintain the cleanliness of your day-care. Teaching your children to follow healthy ways and healthy habits in life is really important. It is your job to teach your children about germs and how they are spread.

A good hygiene is the key to good health.

“OUR SAFETY DEPENDS ON CLEANLINESS.”

“ONE, WHO MAINTAINS CLEANLINESS, KEEPS AWAY DISEASES.”

If you want your children to develop proper hygiene, then teach them what to do and what not to do.

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Teach Right. Teach Slow.
Be Patient
Give Treats
Make Yourselves an Example to Follow
Encourage Participation
Monitor and Make Changes

Proper hygiene is not designed just to help your kids appear neat and clean before other people. It is primarily designed to keep the body free of disease-carrying germs or bacteria.

Teaching your children these habits will improve the cleanliness of your child care environment. Being aware is the first step to a happy and healthy child.

“PLEASE CLEAN UP AND KEEP CLEAN.”

Posted on January 16, 2017 by Edsys

In recent times, education sector is one of those areas which have seen a good growth rate. We are not so far from the high-tech era where the classrooms will be filled with wearable technology as well as gadgets of the modern era. There is no doubt that these smartwatch apps and wearables will go a long way in bringing a revolution in the education sector. They are indeed useful in helping students get education in the best way possible. Moreover, it is highly different from the traditional studying habit which was followed few years back.

Coming to the present time, let us get to know more about these wearables and apps.

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1. Google glass and Reality Headsets

It is not always we get to see students paying full attention to the complete lecture. Some or the other point they will get missed. This is where Google glass comes handy.

Students can thus, record lectures and can replay later on numerous times to learn. This can be a remarkable tool while preparing for exams.

2. Duolingo

If you are someone who is into learning various languages, then Duolingo is the best for you. This is one of the famous apps made to learn popular languages on the go.

The app is made up of simple tasks which make the whole learning process very simple. Other than this, there are various games which nurture your knowledge for the particular language. The app is free and is available on Google Play Store.

3. Instapaper

Apple Watch is recently in the news for its versatility and is touted as one of the best wearables. Adding to it, the Instapaper on Apple Watch has reduced the burden of carrying bulky books to school and back. Now, all you have to do is to access as many articles as you want to use the Instapaper and convert them to speech simply by connecting to an iPhone. Your smartwatch has all the controls which help in listening the articles. Thus, modern day classroom is incomplete without this wearable.

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4. Muse

You must have heard of headbands used to listen music or watch videos. Talking about Muse, it is also a kind of headband, but is focused on determining the interest of the students on a certain topic. They behave like heart rate monitors and come with seven EEG sensors.

Muse helps teachers to determine the most effective way of teaching students based on their response. Other than this, it can also be utilized to judge the learning process and evaluate its progress from time to time.

5. Narrative Clip

Another wearable thing which can be worn to save yourself from all the distraction in the class. It is nothing but a small 8 MP camera with a video recorder, which optionally has Wi-Fi as well as Bluetooth.

The best part about this Narrative Clip is that it is designed to capture images as well as videos throughout the day. This comes handy, especially when you go on field trips and class events. You can also record lessons or classroom activities to view them later.

6. Lumosity

Take hold of your smartwatch as you have a new app which will drastically improve your memory and sharpen your attention skills. Lumosity is a smartwatch app which helps you to learn a new language in a very simple way. There are various languages in the app. Every time you look at your smartwatch, a new word pops up for you to learn and widen your knowledge. It is one of the famous apps which challenges your brain and is used by millions of people around the world.

Thus, learning experience is touching new heights with smartwatch apps and wearables. Starting from kids to adults, it has a lot to offer you.

Posted on January 12, 2017 by Edsys

Education is changing and the classroom itself has changed a lot, for the good of course. Although we can gauge the future classroom ideas looking at the smart software being used, what actual shape the school of the future will take is still amorphous to us. Due to increasing use of technology and knowledge, the classroom is undergoing changes in the learning process. In such scenario, what does the future of learning hold? What will the future classrooms be like?

Free Classroom Activity Apps (Check it Now)

Let’s try to find it out.

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1. To start with, seating arrangement of the classroom

Chairs and desks aligned properly and facing the blackboard will be a thing of the past. There will be room for more flexibility so that students can discuss in the group as per the tasks assigned. This will also add up to the comfort of the student.

In some cases, there will be a workshop for each student. Likewise, traditional blackboards will be replaced by projectors which will be interactive.

2. Student will be given the freedom to decide on the learning style

Talking about the current scenario, students are given assignments and tasks based on the chapter taught and each one has to complete the same within the stipulated time. This somehow hampers student creativity and is more of a routine than a learning process.

Future of the classroom holds multiple learning styles for students. Students will be given the freedom to learn things in the way they want. This includes learning through video lectures, noting down points or any such alternative. This practice will help students learn faster.

3. Online learning options will gain impetus

In a fast paced life, following traditional learning methods will take students nowhere. Likewise, there will be no age barrier for learning courses of your interest. This also means you can subscribe to some of the best learning tutorials online and learn all that you wish to.

Student progress will be gauged by his or her actual knowledge. They can explore various learning options online to gain the best out of them. Online recognized certificates will add to the fun and thrill of learning.

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4. Technology will change the face of education system

Decades later, you won’t find books in student’s bag. Instead, you will surely find a laptop or a tablet. With technology advancement, noting down important stuff, watch an online tutorial and giving assessment tests will be just a click away. This will give way to a creative learning practice and help students take down digital notes within seconds.

There are chances, physical classrooms might actually come to an end. Students will be virtually attending classes sitting at their homes. Thus, in this way, student interaction won’t be confined to the class students. Instead, they will be able to reach out to students situated in different areas and countries.

5. Each class will have a website or an online group of its own

All the important messages and announcement will be broadcast in the groups which can be accessed online. This will reduce dependency. Moreover, if you happen to miss out any lecture in the classroom, you might be able to catch it later using the digital version of classes.

Social media will gain importance as it will bring all the students on the same platform where all the information will be shared and discussions will be conducted. Digital bulletin boards will not let you miss out all the important information.

Does this mean that the current learning methods are obsolete? Absolutely not. In the current phase of education, we can see how education has evolved during these past decades. This only means that future holds a more flexible and practical education system which will make the future students sharper and active.

Posted on January 5, 2017 by Edsys

“Children are the readers on the laps of their parents.”
Learning and development actually begin at home itself. Learning done at home will have a long lasting effect on the child during their progress to schools.

Parents can do the following activities with their children:

“Don’t ask your child to live in your world, visit their world instead.”

Sing and tell nursery rhymes

Tell them about numbers, colors, letters and words when we go out

Allow them an opportunity to cut out and stick pictures from magazines

When we go out to supermarkets, tell them about different packaging shapes

Show them how to plant seeds and water it

Cook or bake together

Explore the park and give them an opportunity to mingle with other children

Try to read and share stories from good books

If the parents work together with caretakers or professionals, one will get a better result in their child’s development.
“Enabling environments mobilise the ENERGY, ATTENTION, CURIOSITY and FOCUS of children.”

Posted on January 2, 2017 by Edsys

With the advent of 21st century, students have become smarter and learn at a face pace. During such times, it is always a delightful experience for the institution to upgrade from the old traditional model to a platform which is easy to manage as well as smart. Schools, these days, try to adopt a modern learning system with school management system software. This paves way for better administration and help teachers to interact with students and their parents on a regular basis.

Let’s get into some of the vital requirements of a school management system software.

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1. Track student performance and progress

One of the most important aspects of a software is to track student’s performance on a regular basis. As a result, the school management system software must be smart enough to let the teacher analyse performance of the student.

This will help them to track the loop holes and help students grow in the right direction. Moreover, teacher should be able to compare the performance of a student in particular and know about the overall performance of the class in general.

2. Keep a check on student attendance

School management software should come with a set of features which manages student attendance. This will help teachers make sure that the students are on time and do not engage in proxy marking. If the teacher finds absenteeism by the student, they can take required action and inform parents about the same.

3. Availability of the exam schedule at regular intervals

School Management system software should come up with a section where exams can be scheduled on a monthly basis or small assessment tests on a weekly basis. This will reduce a lot of pressure on the teachers.

The schedule should be made available to the students and their parents. In this way, they will be well-informed about the same which will help them prepare well for the upcoming test.

4. Help in two way interaction with students as well as their parents

Earlier parent-teacher meeting were held once or twice in a year to keep the parents updated about their child’s performance. But with growing complexity in the education system, parents are alert and trying to be in contact with the teacher all the time to know all about their child’s performance.

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Thus, management software should give way for effective interaction between the teaching staff and parents about students’ performance and behaviour.

5. New room facility feature to boost school’s recognition

Students who perform extraordinary in the academics or who are smart enough to make a mark in sports deserve recognition and accolades. This calls for a section in the school management system software which lists such names.

Other than this, its dynamics keeps students updated about cultural and sports news, various upcoming events and other such social events taking place in the school. This will foster the active participation of students and prepare well for the same.

Hence, there is no dearth of requirements when it comes to school management system software but few of the vital ones are listed above. When it comes to managing school, nothing does better than a management system software. Starting from taking care of the attendance to keeping up-to-date information of each student, it takes care of everything like a pro.