Month: March 2017

Posted on by Edsys

 

Nowadays students take control of their own learning process. Where once it was all school and homework, the online world has revolutionised the learning.

But most of us think that internet isn’t favorable for studying as we believes that it only contains social media and some videos. But no, we were wrong as there are several websites designed mainly to manage everyday life, learn new skills and is also helpful for students to study for their exams.

Recap:

      Online Tools That Make Your Studying Easier

By using these online tools, students can categorize, personalise, learn, improve and test themselves and its format can suit their learning style.

These can help students of all age group for all their upcoming exams. Most of the sites included in this lists have upgraded their packages but every site has free tools for all the students.

Just use them and see which is worthy for you as these educational tools can make your learning easy.

Online Tools That Make Your Studying Easier [Infographics]

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Schools and universities around the world are going green to reduce their carbon footprint and impart values of sustainable living to future citizens of the world. Green schools are schools that are eco-friendly, sensitive to the environment and have a sustainable ecosystem. Here are some great ideas for a green school:

Go Paperless

Did you know that the paper and pulp industry is the fifth largest consumer of energy? It is estimated that 18 million acres of forest is lost each year to deforestation in total. Though going paperless is possible in today’s tech savvy world, most of the schools still use paper for exams as well as administration work.  

Reducing paper usage will significantly reduce your carbon footprint. Many schools have already recommended their students to take notes on laptops and tablets. You may also want to check for government aides available for laptops and tablets for educational institutions in your region.

Read Also: Smart Eco Friendly Classroom Tips for Teachers

Water Harvesting

Water harvesting is one of the most engaging projects that can be done on campus. You can involve students in planning as well as execution of the plan. This will give them the know-how of water harvesting, in case they want to implement it in the future. 

Waste Recycling

This is again a hands-on project for students, where they can segregate waste and start a compost pit. They can also recycle paper and glass that were used for art and craft. You may also want to find a waste hauler who picks up waste if you cannot recycle at the premise.

Monthly Green Campaigns

Environmental campaigns can be done on a monthly basis to create enthusiasm around for going green. Ideas can be invited from students for each month and the theme can be followed for that month. 

For e.g.: The monthly theme could be reducing carbon emissions. Encourage all students to commute on foot or bicycle within and outside the campus. The student with the least use of automobiles can be awarded at the end of the month.

Another example could be minimizing electricity consumption. A monthly target for electricity unit consumption can be set and unit utilized can be shared every week to check progress. This is a good way to create excitement around going green amongst students.

Green Architecture

Green buildings minimize energy consumption and are environmentally responsible. You can check with your architect on what can be done to make your school campus more resource- efficient.  Structural glass roof installations are popular way to reduce electricity consumption. Does your campus have elevators? How can you stop or minimize their use? Insulation materials also provide a great way to save on indoor air conditioning of the premise. Use of renewable solar energy is a viable option depending on your region. 

You May Also Like: 6 Interesting Hands-on Nature Activities for Children

Plantation Drives

Tree and plant plantation drives within and around the campus can be done to improve the environment. Garden plantation competitions that run throughout the academic year are also a great idea. Each class can be given the responsibility to nurture the trees planted. 

Outdoor Classes

Outdoor classes are refreshing way to reconnect with nature if the climate in your region permits. This not only breaks the monotony of the classes but also consumes less energy.

Maximum student participation will ensure that students are sensitized to the pressing environmental issues that we are facing and are able to see the many options available to take action on it and act responsibly.

Posted on by Edsys

 

 “We need technology in every classroom and in every student and teacher’s hand, because it is the pen and paper of our time, and it is the lens through which we experience much of our world.” – David Warlick

LED TVs, smarter mobiles, tablets etc. are all now few among our everyday things, right? The latest in trend is the use of wearable technologies. Not only business, retail, entertainment or health, even schools and other educational institutions can take advantage of these wearables. Wearable Technology in education plays a key role in taking this community to the next level. According to a market report by Research Moz, global classroom wearables technology market is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 36.57% during the period 2016-2020. Key vendors operating in this market include Apple, Google, Microsoft, and Samsung.

Read Also: 

Ways To Use Wearable Technology In Education

While improved student engagement is a key factor that drives the market, lack of data privacy and security is expected to be the market challenge during the forecast period. These wearable technologies can-

  • Improve student engagement in education
  • Increase the level and quality of teacher-students communication 

Check out few wearable technologies and how they are helpful in the classroom.

Google Glass

This advanced technology is ideal to help students as well as teachers to make the learning process smoother and engaging.

Students can use the glass to –

  • take notes
  • bookmark important passages
  • view extra-classroom content provided by the lecturing professor
  • get a virtual reality experience of events on the athletic field, or in outer space

Foreign students can benefit from real-time language translation and prospective students can tour the campus via a live Hangout. With Google Glass, students with visual, auditory and physical disabilities can even get better accessibility to their learning materials.

Teachers can create schedules and share them with their students. The facial application feature of the Glass helps educators to identify any number of students they teach. They can also learn programs that meet the students’ requirements. The Glass features an Augmented Reality Feedback System that helps to identify students who are getting weak in their studies. By recognizing their strengths and weaknesses, teachers can teach them accordingly. To enhance teaching, mini-documentaries can also be created. Real-time referencing and ability to send messages including progress reports to parents also make this platform an advanced for the teaching community.

iPods

It has been proven that iPod technologies provide great opportunities for students with flexible learning. This effective learning tool allows students to think more creatively about their subject matter and encourage the development of collaborative learning. Hence, it gives a sense of self-empowerment and autonomy to the individual.

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Technology in Classrooms of the Future

 Smart Watches

Smart Watches and wearables have been an amazing inventions for the modern business person. With innovative education apps, smartwatches can help students to –

  • Learn foreign language
  • Play interesting games
  • Enhance their memory capacity

The app even allows tracking fitness at an early age. Students can keep track of their total steps, calorie burn and even their heart rate during a game.

GoPro

This high definition small personal camera serves as a great platform for students to research and explore. Easy to mount anywhere or worn, students can use this camera to take pictures during their class for presentations and projects. This device is an excellent choice for the classroom. However, it is recommended that your GoPro be up-to-date with the latest features and best performance. This camera even assists to capture a teacher’s point of view of events, such as a lesson or student behavior.

A 2016 report by Research and Markets predicts that the adoption of wearable technology in schools will grow by 46% per year over the next five years. Choose wearable technology in education to enhance learning outcomes in students in order to access education flexibly, calmly and seamlessly.

Posted on by Edsys

 

Technology aided teaching is a must in the new educational scenario. Interactive white boards have taken the place of traditional blackboards. Companies like SMART, Numonics, Promethean etc. have come up with different models of interactive whiteboards.

An Interactive Whiteboard (IWB) encompasses a large touch-sensitive screen that can be connected to a computer and a projector. The easy-to-use software enables teachers and students to operate IWBs with ease.

Why IWB?

Recent studies proved that visual cues can stay in our memory for a long period of time. Words give us only abstract ideas while visuals are concrete, which is easy to retain in the brain. The concept of IWB was emulated from this idea.

Here are a few advantages of Interactive Whiteboard

Read Also: 

Know How your Classroom will Look in the Future

1. Grabs the Attention of Students

Smart boards or IWBs can catch the attention of students easily because it shows a variety of videos on screen. IWBs are undoubtedly a relief from dry lectures. IWBs are helpful to generate curiosity of learning among students. Curiosity will definitely make learning an enjoyable and productive process.

2. Ensures Participation of Students

IWBs ensure participation of students through different kinds of education related-activities. Language teachers can use different online games to teach grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation.

3. Preserves Data

Graphs, concept maps, diagrams etc. drawn on the interactive whiteboard can be saved for future references. This is indeed an amazing feature of IWB. Anything that is written on an Interactive Whiteboard can be saved and edited later. You can even share those data with students who were absent in class.

4. Can Easily Change Data into Graphs and Diagrams

Improvised versions of interactive whiteboards can change statistical data into graphs and diagrams. It is very difficult to communicate complex ideas to students without any teaching aids. Interactive graphs on IWB can teach abstract concepts clearly.

Recommended Read: 

Why Technology Cannot Replace Teachers In Future Classrooms?

5. Frees Teachers from Chalk Dust

IWBs uses only marker pen or digital pen to write on the screen. This feature relieves teachers as well as students from chalk dust. Some people are allergic to chalk powder. For such persons, IWB is definitely a boon.

6. Internet Accessibility 

An IWB can be connected to the internet. Students can watch educational videos, audios and images from internet as per demand. Smart options allow teachers to pause or restart the video while watching. This is an added advantage of IWB over tape recorder and CD/DVD player.

7. Organized and Structured Class

IWB will certainly help you to organize your class effectively.  Dynamic visualization will help your students to be focused and more attentive throughout the lecture. IWB saves time and helps you to finish your topic on time.

Posted on by Edsys

Education isn’t all about mugging up what is given in the text books. It is also about learning to respect all living beings and to coexist with the nature. As a class teacher, you can initiate your students to celebrate the wonderful planet we live in, through an eco friendly classroom.

Wondering how to do that?

Here are few tips:

Must Read: 

Smart Eco Friendly Classroom Tips for Teachers

  • Open those windows

If the classes are during day time, you have ample light coming from outside. The first step towards an eco-friendly classroom is to let the fresh air and natural light pour in through the windows.  This will help to rejuvenate you and your students. Also, you can save electricity by not using the lights in your class room.

  • Switch off lights and electronics

In case lights are used in the classroom, assign the last student to exit to switch them off before leaving. During day time, put the class computers in sleep mode than using screen savers, when not in use. This can help to reduce 60-70% of energy use. Also, switch off and unplug any electronics used in the classroom at the end of the day to reduce energy use by 40%. You can assign students to ensure that all lights, fans and electronics have been turned off at the end of the day.

  • Encourage reusing and recycling

Once students are done using chart and construction papers for a project, collect and keep the leftover pieces that are worth reusing. The pieces that cannot be used again can be recycled. Also, encourage students to use reusable lunch boxes and water bottles.

  • Minimize paper wastage

Paper is an inevitable part of every classroom. But, it is a common scene in almost every classroom, where the students grab a sheet of paper and use just a part of it, before grabbing another. Encourage your students to use both sides of a sheet of paper. Enlighten them about how paper comes from trees, the role trees play in our lives and why it is important to protect trees. Also, collect used papers from students and recycle them to use in the classroom.

  • Use eco-friendly school supplies

Denmark based company called Sprout World produces pencils of different varieties that can be planted after they wear down to stub. The capsules in the pencils contain seeds that grow into plants. If you look online, you will find similar school supplies that are made of eco-friendly materials that you may have never thought of. Encourage your students to choose these over regular pens and pencils, and other school requirements that add to the nonbiodegradable waste.

  • Go digital

Many schools have already introduced the concept of smart classrooms. Encourage your students to use technology for learning purposes. Instead of printing the study material for each student, make it available online so that the students can download them. Also, allow students to submit assignments and projects digitally.

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Know How Digital Classrooms Can Make Education More Interesting

  • Place plants in the class room

What’s an eco-friendly classroom without plants? Plants help to purify air. Also, bringing plants to the class room help students learn to take care of living beings. Let the students take turns to water the plants.

  • Use separate waste bins

Place separate waste bins in your class room to collect food, paper and non-biodegradable wastes. The food waste collected can be used to prepare compost for plants in the school. The paper waste can be recycled and used again, thus minimizing wastage.

  • Get out of the classroom

Although, this isn’t actually an ‘eco-friendly classroom’ tip, this will benefit you for sure. Students will find it refreshing to get out of the classrooms once in a while. Find a nice place in the school campus, where you can assemble your students and teach. It doesn’t necessarily have to be the regular lessons. You can talk to them about the different eco-friendly measures you can adopt and how they can make a huge impact in the nature.

  • Assign environmental projects

Let the students choose a topic each that they can work on, research and hold a session. This gives the students a better understanding of how being eco-friendly benefits and its importance. This will encourage the students to act and also, make the people around them aware of the importance of protecting the environment.

  • Use leftover water for the plants

You obviously have to water the plants you have placed in your classroom regularly. For this, you can use the water left from an experiment or a workshop for the plants instead of going for fresh water from the pipe.

  • Conduct a room check at the end of the day

Ensure that the lights and fans in the classrooms are switched off at the end of the day. Also, ensure that there are no insulation leaks in the windows or water leakage in the faucets, in case you have one in your classroom. In case you find any kind of leakage, notify the school maintenance department as soon as possible.

Posted on by Edsys

“Children should be able to live a life free from bullying and harassment and it is time that we all took a stand against this.” – Katherine Jenkins

Student bullying is one of the most frequently reported discipline problems at schools as well as colleges.

Report from National Education Association says 21% of elementary schools, 43% of middle schools, and 22% of high schools reported problems with bullying in 2005-06.

Reading anti bullying books may not be able to guarantee zero bullying in schools but they can help reduce it.

Here is a list 8 anti-bullying books every child should read.

1. Chrysanthemum
2. The Juice Box Bully
3. Enemy Pie
4. The Invisible Boy
5. Bully
6. Wonder
7. Dear Bully
8. Tease

To stop bullying in kids, everyone needs to be onboard and involved. Working together with both parents and schools can help break the cycle of bullying.

8 Anti-Bullying Books Every Child Should Read [Infographics]