Category: For Schools

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You come into the class when the bell rings, teaches what is there in the books and leave when the period ends!

This is the case of most classrooms around the globe. In the beginning of the academic year, it may appear to be fine but further into the year, the routine starts getting monotonous for both teachers and the students. The students will stop paying attention to your class and they will not show any interest in your lectures. That’s the biggest failure you can encounter in your job as a teacher.

“A favourite teacher becomes a permanent inspiration and admiration in a students’ heart for a life time”-Ty Howard

Yes! To be loved and remembered by your students forever is quite an achievement. For that, you have to make your classes much more interesting and win over every student of yours. You have to come up with activities that can spice-up your class and also make students aware of the academic progress they have made so far. Add an extra dose of fun and let your students interact with you regarding any subject other than you reading out things for the class.

Not getting any ideas?

Here are 10 great ideas that you can use to turn your dull and boring class to a place brimming with activities:

1. Resolution blog

You can set start   this activity at the beginning of an academic year. Like a new year’s resolution, you can ask the students to set a goal for the academic year that they can fulfil by the end of the year. Let the students begin the activity by creating a blog to track their progress. They can create a video or text post to explain about the resolution and its importance. Help the students to create a plan to achieve the goal they have set and post it in their blog. Have them post updates on a daily or weekly basis and help them to analyse their progress towards achieving the goal so far and to identify the challenges that lay ahead. Also, allow them to post comments on classmates’ blogs and provide necessary advice.

2. Student-led conferences

Usually, when parent-teacher conference occurs, students stay as silent spectators. They just watch parents and teachers discussing about the students’ academic progress so far. But, this time, let the students have the upper hand in parent-teacher conferences. Let them organize their work till date and share it with their families. This provides confidence to students to take care of their learning and also to identify their growth and challenges.

3. Student tech leaders

Technology has found its way to classrooms long back.  Most schools use apps such as smart apps for preschoolers and gadgets that aid in teaching. But you may need little assistance while introducing new technology to classrooms. The student tech leaders can help you out. Just like an employee is hired in a company, you can ask students to apply for the “tech-leader” post by writing an essay on leadership and love for digital learning. From the selected students, you can hire 4-6 people to be the tech leaders. You can utilize lunch breaks to discuss about the new apps and devices that are to be introduced in the class in the following week. On the day you introduce the new technology in class, the tech leaders will serve as helpers for you and assist you at times of need.

4. Social media day

This is a great way to engage students and teach them to be more social and outspoken. You can use social media platform to discuss about a particular theme or idea and even engage the whole school in it.

5. Backchanneling

If you are hesitant about letting your students enter twitter, you may try Backchanneling. Backchannel is the practice in which you use networked computers and have real-time chatting sessions online where you discuss various topics and give live remarks.

6. Narrate a story with a map

You usually use Google maps to explore a location. But, have you thought of other possibilities in utilizing Google maps? What about telling a story? You can ask your students to choose different locations from Google maps and develop a story. They can post the updates of story development in their blog.

7. Book trailers

With technology dominating over books, children don’t seem to be fascinated by story books like we were. This activity is an excellent opportunity to encourage reading among students. You can ask your students to read a book of their choice and then create a book trailer using different applications available.

8. QR codes

QR codes motivate group learning. Instead of carrying around study materials and things of the sort or calling out each person to demonstrate their part in an activity, you can create a video demonstrating a particular lesson or describing the activity and the role of each student in the activity. Then, you can simply print the QR code with the name of the lesson or activity and place it in the allotted space from where students can scan it to find out about the losson or their tadk in the activity.

9. Challenge Based Learning

Traditional learning meant simply learning out of the textbooks. That could help in earning grades but the knowledge cannot be put to use outside the school campus. With the future following the principle of “survival of the fittest,” those students who still follow the traditional learning techniques may find it hard to survive the competition. Therefore, it’s time to replace traditional learning with challenge based learning which allows students to face a challenge and to discover or explore a subject in depth.

10. Virtual Field Trip

You may not have many places to visit with your students in your city and you may be tired of visiting the same museum or zoo over and over again. Why not try a virtual field trip using Google’s connected classrooms? Students can take a trip on their own or you can arrange a virtual field trip by joining with an organization.

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What will future classrooms look like?

Before your brain starts visualizing sci-fi movies where robots give lessons to students, hold on! Such a scenario might become reality someday, but not in near future.

The first step to future classrooms has already been set in the form of smart classes. Classrooms of the future are going to witness more of technology as part of imparting education and the lessons will be in the form of software and apps (like the smart apps for preschoolers). This combination of in-person teaching with technology is termed as “blended learning.”

Blended learning focuses mainly on 4 principles:

Vision of the school

Text book based learning is not enough to survive the competition these days. Students and teachers are expected to display strong leadership skills. Also, students are expected to be more creative. Education these days aims at giving students a chance to have control over their learning. Blended learning, in such a way, opens new doors to innovative learning for students.

Different approach

The learning caliber of every student is different, so is the approach towards every subject. Once what the school and the students want to achieve is clear, blended learning provides lots of opportunities to experiment with things such as teaching methods, lessons and so on. Blended learning also helps in taking suitable approach according to the subject. There are various software available that breaks down the toughest lessons to the simplest form possible so that the students understand what is being taught.

Do not let software define learning goals

Software is a tool that aids students in having a better understanding of the subject. They help students to have a wider insight on lessons but that does not mean that it defines what the students have to learn.

Include teachers in decision-making processes

No matter however advanced technology is introduced to classrooms, teachers will always remaining the souls of classrooms.  Teachers can identify the learning challenges children face and help them improve. Blended learning ensures the participation of teachers in helping students learn. In a classroom that follows blended learning, teachers provide constant support to students and helping students get acquainted to new tools, improving their level of understanding.

Now, why should future classrooms adopt blended learning?

Blended learning provides the following benefits that help in moulding students in facing the world without a second thought:

  1. Improved communication skills

Most of the students find it quite difficult to interact with teachers. The problem can be solved at least to some extent with blended learning. Blended learning, which includes online and traditional learning, demands different aspects of communication skills at various levels. This can help the students prepare for the future as well. It provides them confidence to face any interviews in future.

  1. Improved fluency with digital gadgets

Bookish knowledge alone cannot fetch a job these days. In the future, the criteria for choosing the right candidate will get lot tougher. Hence, it’s important for the students to have knowledge about various gadgets. Schools are the best places where acquaintance with technology is the best possible and blended learning will surely facilitate that.

  1. Connect globally

Blended learning will expand the world of knowledge for students beyond the four walls of a classroom. With the help of technology, students can connect at local, regional and international levels. This can be very useful for students in future.

  1. Develop a sense of professionalism

The main criterion that every job demands at present is professionalism and blended learning can definitely instill that in students. With blended learning, students improve their skills in terms of decision making, discipline and the sort which may come handy while they are hunting for a job.

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Childhood is supposed to be stress-free. But unfortunately they are not so in the present world. School goers experience a significant amount of stress due to their busy schedule, school activities, exams,  results etc. Parent being busier than children, it is very hard to find time for managing stress in their children. So the best alternative is to prepare them to reduce  stress themselves. We can also help them to an extent. Here are some tips to manage stress.

  1. Power naps: Taking a nap in the afternoon will help a lot to reduce stress. So advice them to practice it. It should be around half an hour. A prolonged sleep will spoil the purpose. A short nap will increase concentration and memory.
  2. Visualization: Helping children to visualise planned activities will help reduce stress and makes it easier to complete each activity. Visualization helps to calm down and detach from what is stressing.
  3. Exercise: Exercise regularly. That will make their mind and body strong and stable. A healthy body will surely have a healthy mind. There are simple, easy to practice exercises such as breathing exercises which can strengthen children’s mind and help reduce stress.
  4. Music: Listening to calm music will reduce stress and stimulates our mind. It gives us pleasure and motivates us sometimes. Playing calm music in background while engaged in activities will have a soothing effect on children’s mind.
  5. Stay organized: being systematic and staying organized are the two best steps to reduce stress. Once on the right track, we don’t have to worry about preparation. Staying organized means having an order in everything; in the activities and in keeping  belongings or study materials.
  6. Eat right: Eating on time is very important to have a healthy mind and body. Eating the right thing at the right time will help us a lot. Eating a lot of junk food and oily food will inversely affect our concentration and make us feel dizzy. Drinking a lot of water and having a planned diet will reduce our stress and make us energetic.
  7. Positive thinking:   The habit of positive thinking and optimism should be cultivated from childhood to  reduce stress and increase peace of mind. It will keep us happy and refresh our mind. It will result in good performances and high grades.
  8. Student friendly classrooms: The classroom or school atmosphere shouldn’t be stressful to children. It must be a favourite hangout for children. To make the classroom friendly, teachers and school authorities should work hard. For early years education, adopting EYFS curriculum is a good option. EYFS supports child-centered education and it isn’t stressful to children. Employing EYFS managing software can help teachers and parents to make the classroom a student friendly one.
  9. Learn through fun:  Traditional classroom system insists more tension on children. Its mode of evaluation, exams and gradation can be stressful to children. This teaching method was a successful method. But in keeping with the changing times, a less stressful method needs to be adopted. Let them learn things through fun and games. Adopting EYFS or School Apps is a better method for this.  Children will love to use Smart Apps. It will make learning interesting and reduce the stress that cause by intensive learning.
  10. Effective parent- teacher communication: Parent- teacher communication is necessary to reduce unwanted stress from the minds of children. If a teacher knows the family background of a child, it will be a blessing for the child. Both the parents and the teachers can share their views about the child’s development. It will give a better idea to both parties about the best way to nurture their child.  Parent Portals are technological advancements  that enhance parent-teacher communication.

 

To make childhood more colorful and stress-free, parents and teachers should be an active part of children’s life. Avoid unhealthy comparisons and declaration of grades in public. Family should be supportive, which in itself would make students more relaxed. Only a stress-free mind can become creative. So for the development of a creative new generation, let’s help our children to wipe out all their worries and tension.

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Almost all pre-schools in UK have adopted the EYFS curriculum. And the progress that has been observed in children in their early years who belong to those nurseries or schools that follow EYFS is praise worthy.

In September 2014, the Department of Education had released the latest version of the EYFS. Main changes have been brought to the Safeguarding and Welfare Requirements, where requirements of several policies have been removed. However, the learning and development aspects have not undergone any large changes.

Here are the latest changes that have been made:

General

Throughout the new version of EYFS, there are several references to childminder agencies. It says that the child minders registered with the agency are supposed to provide staff information to the agency and also, the agency is responsible to check whether the child minders are appropriate for the job

Learning and development requirements

  1. Wraparound and holiday providers should be guided using learning and development requirements and look forward to carry out learning in settings in which children can spend more time has been removed from EYFS
  2. However, the Characteristics of Effective Learning continue to exist
  3. A sentence about providers looking after the training and development needs of every staff on a continuous manner has been moved to the Safeguarding and Welfare Requirements section
  4. The Early Learning Goals remain unchanged

Assessment

  1. Progress Check at Two which states that ‘Practitioners must discuss with parents and/or careers how the summary of development can be used to support learning at home’ has been removed.
  2. Reference to information sharing with a teacher (in case a child moves to school-based facilities at the age of three years) has been changed to the staff of any facility the child may transfer to.
  3. The necessity to do Progress Check up to date to add into the Healthy Child Health and Development Review has been made less strict
  4. The EYFS Profile has still been made compulsory

Safeguarding and Welfare Requirements

  1. The responsibilities of providers listed under the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 has been elaborated ad to say that  the providers to make referral to the Disclosure and Barring Service where a staff member is dismissed because they caused harm to a child or put a child in risk of harm
  2. The ‘Disqualification’ section has been further improved to give a clear idea of the aspects of disqualification or living with a disqualified person

Staff qualifications, training, support and skills

  1. References to giving local authority training  and in first aid to child minders have been removed
  2. Staff having an Early Years Educator qualification should have English and Math GCSEs at grade C or above in order to count in ratios
  3. References to ensure staff appraisals and supporting staff to enhance qualification levels have been removed

Staff: Child Ratios

  1. Staff working apprentices can now be counted in ratios from age of 16 years
  2. When graduates are working at a ratio of 1:13, the reference to ‘full and relevant level 6 qualification’ has changed to a ‘suitable’ one
  3. A new footnote says that the teacher(or equivalent) is expected to work with the children for most of the time when 1:13 staff: child ratio is applied

Before/after school care and holiday provision

A new paragraph in this section refers that the regulations for the providers in terms of ratios, qualification and learning development has been made less strict. Where is said before that ‘sufficient staff as for a class of 30 children’ has been changed to ‘for providers to determines how many staff are needed… and to determine what qualifications, if any, the manager and/or staff should have.’

Managing Behaviour

The need to have a behaviour management policy and a named practitioner responsible has been removed and it at present, it says’, providers are responsible for managing children’s behaviour in an appropriate way’

Safety and suitability of premises, environment and equipment

  1. The paragraph that says about premises having to be fit for purpose has been cut down, with requirements for a health and safety policy removed
  2. The need for a no smoking policy has been removed
  3. Reference of Equality Act 2010 has been removed while the requirement to ensure  that ‘facilities, equipment and access to the premises are suitable for children with disabilities’ have been removed
  4. Reference to providing facilities for children  who want to relax, play quietly or sleep with the right kind of furniture has been removed
  5. The need for a risk assessment policy where all important steps to ensure that the staff and the children they take care of are not exposed to any kind of risks has been taken off
  6. The need of getting written permission from parents to take the children on outings have been removed

Special educational needs

  1. This section has been changed from ‘equal opportunities.’ The requirement of a policy to provide equal opportunities to all students and explains how  inappropriate attitudes and practices will be prevented while encouraging the children to give value and respect to others, has been removed.
  2. Also, maintained nursery schools should have a SENCO while others are supposed to ‘identify a SENCO.’
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Education and technology go hand in hand nowadays. There are a lot of software to help out teachers, parents and students. These software make studies easy and interesting while ensuring parental involvement as well as safety. Edsys has introduced Parent Portal, Smart apps for preschoolers, Smartcards for schools, school bus tracking system, RFID Student Tracking system etc. All these makes education lively.

Why has technology become the soul of education? There are many reasons for it. The wonderful achievements of technology reduce human effort and saves time and money.. here are 8 reasons why technology in education is the new trend.

  1. Every place becomes a classroom: With the help of new technologies you don’t have to sit in a classroom to learn. There are online classes where students from around the world participate, sitting at their homes. Study materials are available  online. All  you need is a smart device and an internet connection.
  2. Easy to carry:  Huge text books and heavy logs make education heavy task. Technology makes education portable. Everything can be saved in a tab or PC. Bulk text books, records, registers and assignments can be made portable in a chip.
  3. Saves time and energy: Technology helps teachers in many ways. Teachers can manage evaluations easily. All information can be stored systematically which makes searching easy. Properly entered data about any student can be retrieved when necessary. Teachers can play video in the class rather than explaining things orally. It will be more effective too.
  4. Share knowledge: Sharing knowledge will increase knowledge. With the help technology any knowledge can be shared with anyone in the world. News, articles, blogs, quizzes, puzzles everything can be shared with internet connection. Publishing blogs or magazines becomes possible.
  5. Helps to make parent- teacher communication effective:  Edsys has introduced Parent Portal and EYFS managing software which makes parent- teacher communication more effective. The EYFS managing software helps teachers in observing the child’s development and to  stay updated. It also helps teachers  in making postcards that can be shared with parents. Parent Portal provides communication centre where teachers and parents can interact. .
  6. Safety of the child in and out of the school: With the help of RFID Student Tracking system teachers and parents can understand the whereabouts of the students. Their attendance in class and school bus can be marked with the help of Smart Cards. School buses with GPS tracking System can be traced as well as monitored by the authorities any time.
  7. It makes education stress-free and relaxed: Technology reduce the burden of learning for the students and teaching for teachers. It makes education more interesting. Smart classrooms will enhance creativity.
  8. Technology reduces the cost of materials: We don’t have to pay huge amount for books and classes. With one laptop or tab we can store all the necessary data of each class. Students can depend on their e-device and can save money without buying books, assignment papers and study tools. They can do all their assignments in the e-device and send them to the teachers’. The teacher can evaluate them in her smart device!

Technology has become a part of our life. It has changed education in a way that was unimaginable a couple of decades ago. We can only wonder how it will be in future. But one thing is for sure. Technology in education is here to stay. It’s not just a simple trend.

What do you think? Share your thoughts with us in the comment section.

Posted on by Edsys

The use of smart cards began in the 1980s and since then the technology evolved at an exponential pace. Replacing the plastic cards with magnetic strips has provided the latest smart cards with durability of more than 10 years and increased security.
A smart card is nothing but a pocket sized plastic card with an embedded chip that is capable of processing data. Hence it is also called a mini-processor. Initially the contact smart cards were developed, which then gave way for contactless smart cards and now the industry is fast moving to hybrid cards. Smart cards are being commonly used for identification and authentication purposes (Example: Debit cards, credit cards).

Present day smart cards

  •  Earlier, computer data used to be stored in hard disks with the risk of device damage and data theft. With the use of a smart card, all these problems are taken care of, as accessing the smart cards without proper authentication is difficult.
  • At present, smart cards have a contact pad, which when comes in contact with a card reader, initiates data reading and recording. As soon as the contact pad comes in touch with the reader, an electrical connection is established.
  • Smart cards have stirred up massive changes in numerous fields. The most noted are in the school system. It has helped in ushering fluidity and transparency to transactions. Students have been saved from the burden of carrying cash in hand as smart cards are viable alternatives for them. Paying school fees, for canteen food, library books and so on has been made simple with the intervention of smart cards.
  • Smart cards are also widely used in the field of health care and banking. The records of patient or clients can be made and stored for future reference. Patient history or the transactions made by the customers in a bank can also be recorded, thereby avoiding the need for a hard copy.

Future of Smart Cards

  • Contactless smart cards use RFID to communicate with the reader. When in the proximity of the reader, the smart card-reader interface begins which allows data transfer.
  • As said before contactless smart cards are in production and have been accepted globally. But what the future holds is a hybrid smart card, one that combines contact and contactless technology of both the previous smart cards. These cards can serve multiple functions.
  • Biometric smart card shows a promising future as the security is enhanced to a great extent. Though the full potential of this technology has not been understood, research has shown that biometric smart cards are the way to go.
  • As a patient’s medical history can be recorded in a smart card, effort have been made to develop smart cards that stores entire hospital records in just one smart card.
  •  Smart cards of the future are also capable of providing secure logging into the organizational network and secure B2B commerce.
  • It can also be used for storing digital certificates, credentials and passwords and can even support encryption of sensitive data.
  • The most promising uses of smart cards in future seem to be in using it for developing traveller’s ID. This can hold information regarding the person who holds the card, his travel history and all other relevant data. This can be helpful in reducing hours of security check. Business travellers will be most benefitted as they are the ones who travel frequently.

It is clear that the use of smart cards could help in simplifying labour oriented works and helps in massive storage of data. It even doubles the safety when compared to the presently popular swipe cards. Moreover the integration of smart cards, biometrics and the development of hybrids can change the way we look at future of education, medical, banking, travel and many other fields.

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‘Bullying’ is not a strange word now. Everywhere, children are facing bullying. Majority of the students in the world are facing bullying from school, from home or through online.

Definition

Bullying is unwanted, aggressive behavior that involves a real or perceived power imbalance. The behavior is repeated or has a potential to be repeated, over time. Bullying includes actions such as threatening, spreading rumors, attacking someone physically or verbally and excluding someone from a group with purpose.

Bullying in schools

It’s a type of bullying that takes place in an educational institution and it can be physical, sexual, verbal or emotional nature.

Main characteristics of bullying at school

  1. It is deliberate and with an intention to harm; not accidental.
  2. It may cause psychological, social or physical trauma in varying degrees to the victims.
  3. It has a potential to happen again and again; it is persistent.
  4. It is motivated by the perceived benefits of their aggressive behavior.

 

Types of bullying that happens to students

Physical bullying: Any unwanted physical contact between the bully and the victim. It can be identified easily.
Examples: punching , pushing, kicking, tickling , inappropriate touching, fighting or using any object as weapon.

Emotional bullying: It won’t harm the body but the mind. It causes damage to the psyche or happy mood.
Examples:

  1. Spreading rumors
  2. Keeping someone out of the group
  3. Avoiding or ignoring someone purposefully
  4. Harassment
  5. Making fun of others

Verbal bullying: It includes any statements or accusations that cause distress to someone.

  • Using foul language at someone
  • Using derogatory remarks or terms about a person
  • Making negative comment on the person’s appearance
  • Mocking, teasing, belittling etc.

Cyber bullying: It is the most threatening type of bullying and difficult to find out.
“ Cyber bullying is bullying that takes place using electronic technology. Electronic technology includes devices and equipments such as cell phone, computers and tablets as well as communication tools including social media, text messages, chats and websites.”

How is Cyber bullying different?

  • It can happen at any time and anywhere.
  • Messages or images can be sent anonymously
  • It threatens the victim about publishing pictures or messages to a wide audience. It is very difficult to find out the source unless we inform the authority.
  • Once the bully deletes the message, it is difficult to catch them.

Sexual bullying: it is also a very dangerous type of bullying that happens to school going children. Sexual bullying is “any behavior, whether physical or non physical that is based on a person’s sexuality or gender.”
It is commonly directed at girls but boys are also not spared from this nowadays. It is very difficult to detect this kind of bullying because of ignorance and fear about the threats from the bullies.

Power imbalance : a main cause of bullying at schools

Power imbalance is always there behind every bullying. The bully might have supremacy over the victim with size, gender, age or colour. Children find motivation to bully others in their weakness like not fitting in, physical weakness, short temper, who their friends are, overweight, facial appearance, the clothes they wear,academic status etc.
Students who bully others usually have an unpleasant atmosphere at home. The suffocation that they feel at home and the attempts to make them over disciplined will make them more violent. A bully is often someone who was bullied in the past or has witnessed bullying.

Role of children in bullying

Children have different roles in bullying:

  • Children who bully others
  • Children who are bullied
  • Children who witness bullying
  • Children who assist or support bullying
  • Outsiders who just watch bullying
  • Children who defend

How to identify the victims if they are unspoken?
There will be drastic change in the behavior of the child if he/she is bullied. Some of the following symptoms can be noticed:
• Injuries
• Anxiety
• Change in eating habits
• Declining grades
• Self injury
• Sitting alone
• Insomnia

How to deal with it?

• Talk about bullying. The parents and teachers must be very friendly to them. Their talks should enable them to identify the situations of such harassments
• Talk to them about ‘what is bullying?’ and ‘how to escape from it?’ Make them understand it is not acceptable. Make sure that they know how to get help
• Always listen to them, know their friends, activities and interests
• Promote them to follow what their mind says
• Be a role model for your kids
• If any of the signs are visible in your kids, inform teachers about it using Parent portal. The teachers also can do the same so that they can give more attention

Prevention at Schools

• Find out bullying in schools and take necessary disciplinary actions against it.
• Create rules to report bullying.
• Choose a good School app with which the parents and teachers can trace the bullies
• Build a safe environment.
• Arrange supervising cameras if necessary
• Find out those who are bullied and bring back as normal students by counseling etc.
It is best if we can find out bullying at the earlier stage and find a solution to it. If we can create a safe surrounding where bullying won’t occur, it is far recommended than finding a remedy.

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There is an English proverb that says, “The soul is healed by being with children”. What if the very lives of these children are in jeopardy? It is a fact that ragging has been in the society for some time now and its intensity worsens every year. Though numerous anti-ragging squads and bodies exist, we haven’t been able to eliminate these practices completely.

It is hard to believe that bullying has tormented Indian school students for some time now, and it is just recently that we have started taking it seriously. What is the difference between bullying and ragging? None, they are practically the same. While there are strict laws and punishments against ragging, bullying has none whatsoever. And it is this very fact that makes bullying far more dangerous than ragging.

Other than the lack of laws against it, the fact that a very young age group, mostly in between 12 – 16 years is affected makes it more hazardous. It is said to be the very age which nourishes mental capability and invokes behavioral build up in children. Bullying is said to cause psychological traumas, from which children find it difficult to recover. In some cases, they even find themselves mentally scared for life.

5 Steps to Curb Bullying

1. Know your children

Parents need to maintain an open and deep relationship with their children so that they will be the first to know if something goes wrong. In most cases of bullying, the victims are traumatized for months before the parents or teachers come to know about what was happening. The lack of confidence that they will be helped is what holds them back. Children should feel free to talk to their parents at any time.

2. Know your students

School is said to be the second home for a student. If so, then teachers occupy the roles of responsible parents. This means he/she has not just the role of a teacher, but also a parent. So, just like parents they must also possess a sincere relation with their students. The student should feel safe and confident in talking with the teachers on his/her issues. The large number of students in a single classroom, probably beyond what the teacher can keep track of and the lack of good teaching staff, has only made it difficult to build teacher-student relations.

3. Friends can also help

In situations where a student finds it difficult to disclose the issue to a parent or teacher, he/she could get the help of a dear friend. The friend could in turn address the issue to a teacher or someone in charge. For this to happen, children should first be made aware of the seriousness of such situations.

4. Actions need to be taken

Laws against bullying will take time to come to full effect. Within that time, schools can play it’s part to help the cause. Schools across the world have adopted several methods to cope with the issue of bullying. Once bullying was at its worst in the USA. Ensuring participation of students in open discussions and conducting seminars on possible bullying problems and how to tackle them has brought down bullying to a large extent. So the question is, if they can do it, why can’t we?

5. Social awareness

Bullying and ragging are social issues. So, the society itself needs to come together for the purpose of fighting against it. Rather than thinking of it as another person’s issue, think of it as an entire society’s responsibility. Educate and prepare your children to hold on their own under risky situations.

Policies Taken

Recently, former HRD Minister MM Pallam Raju had formed a committee of academic and mental health experts to review the scale of ragging in schools and recommend preventive measures.

The committee headed by CBSE chairman Vineet Joshi is learnt to have submitted its report to the HRD Ministry. It has described bullying in Indian schools as a serious problem and recommended regulations to bar the menace in schools on the lines of UGC’s regulations to curb the menace of ragging in Higher Educational Institutions notified on June 17, 2009. The committee commissioned a survey of schools and found the extent of bullying to be “serious”.

Bullying is an issue that comes into existence at the school level and needs to be dealt with in schools itself. Otherwise it may result in a socially handicapped and mentally injured generation.

Posted on by Edsys

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, has launched a seven year UAE National Agenda leading to the UAE Vision 2021. It was developed by over 300 officials from 90 federal and local government entities. It includes a set of national indicators in the sectors of education, healthcare, economy, police and security, housing, infrastructure and government services.

A report that appeared in Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) website, which was titled “Inspection Handbook 2014-15,” recommends that schools must focus on fulfilling the agenda put forward by His Highness Sheikh Mohammad, regarding the UAE’s ranking in international assessments.

The two main objectives of the Agenda:

  • UAE should reach in the list of top 15 countries in TIMSS (Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study)
  • The UAE will be among the 20 highest performing countries in PISA (Program for International Student Assessment).

For helping the schools to obtain these objectives, Dubai School Inspection Bureau (DSIB) of KHDA has provided workshops to assist schools to raise their standards.

What Schools Must Do to Meet This Goal?

Schools must raise students’ performance, says KHDA. If they plan on meeting UAE’s national agenda, private schools in Dubai must raise pupils’ performance level in mathematics and science.

Director-General of KHDA, Dr Abdullah Al Karam said, “We have been witnessing linear progress, what we need to meet this target is an exponential growth. It is no longer about making parents or students happy, it is about making parents or students happy, it is about putting Dubai on top.”

How It Can Be Done?

Student performance can be increased by giving more attention to individual students and by making learning interesting by using modern techniques. Teachers should focus to utilize the school hour maximum in a pleasing way. The students must be given the chance to do things as their own.

Mathematical and scientific learning skills can be increased by constant practice and application. The increase in student performance in mathematics and science means their ability to apply their knowledge in real life situations. So the teaching must be focused on practical applications.

The curriculum has to be modified according to the needs. It must provide time for using mathematical concepts, facts, procedures and reasoning, and to interpret and evaluate mathematical outcomes.

While learning science, students should be able to describe, explain and predict phenomena based on scientific knowledge, interpret and communicate evidence and conclusions.

To improve student performance, we can get help from modern technology.

School Apps

Opting for a good school mobile app is the best way to improve student performance. Today, children are masters in using Smart phones and tablets. If we choose a perfect school mobile/tablet app for them, it will really benefit a lot for improvement. So, choose an app that is relevant, affordable, easy to use and motivating. It must provide entertainment along with learning. It should help them to think creative.

Early education is really important in this point of view of development. Edsys has introduced EYFS Managing software, which helps early education providers to pave way for student development. With the help of EYFS Managing software, the teacher can understand the mental development of the child and they can also help the parents to know about their child’s growth. Smart apps for preschoolers can also be used.

Posted on by Edsys

Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) sets standards for the learning, development and care of children from birth to five years. Since it is not so common outside UK, the world is still dubious about it. Even in UK, studies and researches are going on about the standards and settings of EYFS. Since education in the early years is very important in a child’s life, there will be so many questions that have to be answered.

It was in 2008 that EYFS came into effect as a statutory body and in 2010, a group of scholars from the Institute of Education, University of London had conducted a research on ‘Practitioners’ Experience of the Early Years Foundation Stage’. It was a study by gathering views from the practitioners working in all sectors of children’s EYFS. The findings of the research were able to give answers to so many major questions. Here are five common questions that are frequently asked.

How does EYFS influence the daily life of children?

EYFS has a play-based and child-led guidance method. Since children have the upper hand, EYFS has great influence on their lives. It influences many aspects of daily practice. Teachers and parents observe the children and provide them opportunities to perform. Teachers capture each and every development of the children as photographs or other data and share them with the parents. It enables the parents to identify the inborn talents of their kids and they can nourish the skills with proper guidance.

How does EYFS support improvement in care and education offered by practitioners?

According to the EYFS standards, every stage of development of a child has to be noted. It is the child’s development that matters, so the providers have to be very careful and alert. The care and education the providers provide will make the children smart. There will be parental involvement at each stage of a child’s development and that makes the providers more responsible.

What are the obstacles that providers face?

The main obstacle that the providers face is that the people refuse to accept the child-led and play-based format of EYFS. Many people believe that this format is not effective as the previous system. Some believe that with the EYFS standards, no learning takes place.

The other obstacles include need for more trained providers for managing a single classroom since each and every action of all the children should be observed. Also, data collection and sharing of data take lots of time with just one provider in a classroom.

What are the benefits for children?

Children learn a lot before the age of five. If they are given more freedom and proper guidance at that age, it will surely give wonderful results. EYFS gives them timely appreciation and encouragement. It reveals their tastes and skills to parents that help the parents to focus on it in the future studies.

How simple is it to use?

Edsys has introduced EYFS Management Software to help EYFS providers and parents.

  • While practicing EYFS, majority of the time is spent on collecting and compiling data and sharing it with the parents. This can be done easily using EYFS Management Software, which also helps in  saving time. Postcards can be created using the photographs and then, sent to the parents.
  • Data can be easily shared with this software.
  • It can be easily used with Smartphones
  • Separate profiles for each child can be made available. Evaluation and grading thus become easier.
  • Making of annual reports in PDF format are done easily.
  • The pictures taken during the sessions can be posted with comments and grades can also be added to them.