11.07.07
Posted in RMH eSchool, eStudents, Inspiration at 11:19 am by Ambreen
Project IT Girl (http://www.girlstart.org/itgirl) is a Girlstart
program that teaches 60 high school girls throughout Austin how they can
change the world by using Information Technology. This year, Project IT
Girls are learning basic programming concepts through weekly lessons on
the Python programming language. The girls are designing, programming,
and marketing their own educational games, and the top game designs will
be submitted to the One Laptop Per Child Program (http://laptop.org/
) for inclusion on their ultra-low-cost teaching
laptop for children in developing nations.
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05.30.07
Posted in Announcements at 4:36 pm by Ambreen
Announcing the second annual “K12 Online” conference for teachers, administrators and educators around the world interested in the use of Web 2.0 tools in classrooms and professional practice! This year’s conference is scheduled to be held over two weeks, October 15-19 and October 22-26 of 2007, and will include a preconference keynote during the week of October 8. This year’s conference theme is “Playing with Boundaries.” A call for proposals is below.
OVERVIEW:
There will be four “conference strands”– two each week. Two presentations will be published in each strand each day, Monday - Friday, so four new presentations will be available each day over the course of the two-weeks. Each presentation will be given in any of a variety of downloadable, web based formats and released via the conference blog (www.k12onlineconference.org) and archived for posterity.
FOUR STRANDS:
Week 1
Strand A: Classroom 2.0
Leveraging the power of free online tools in an open, collaborative and transparent atmosphere characterises teaching and learning in the 21st century. Teachers and students are contributing to the growing global knowledge commons by publishing their work online. By sharing all stages of their learning students are beginning to appreciate the value of life long learning that inheres in work that is in “perpetual beta.” This strand will explore how teachers and students are playing with the boundaries between instructors, learners and classrooms. Presentations will also explore the practical pedagogical uses of online social tools (Web 2.0) giving concrete examples of how teachers are using the tools in their classes.
Strand B: New Tools
Focusing on free tools, what are the “nuts and bolts” of using specific new social media and collaborative tools for learning? This strand includes two parts. Basic training is “how to” information on tool use in an educational setting, especially for newcomers. Advanced training is for teachers interested in new tools for learning, looking for advanced technology training, seeking ideas for mashing tools together, and interested in web 2.0 assessment tools. As educators and students of all ages push the boundaries of learning, what are the specific steps for using new tools most effectively? Where “Classroom 2.0″ presentations will focus on instructional uses and examples of web 2.0 tool use, “New Tools” presentations should focus on “nuts and bolts” instructions for using tools. Five “basic” and five “advanced” presentations will be included in this strand
Week 2
Strand A: Professional Learning Networks
Research says that professional development is most effective when it aims to create professional learning communities — places where teachers learn and work together. Using Web 2.0 tools educators can network with others around the globe extending traditional boundaries of ongoing, learner centered professional development and support. Presentations in this strand will include tips, ideas and resources on how to orchestrate your own professional development online; concrete examples of how the tools that support Professional Learning Environments (PLEs) are being used; how to create a supportive, reflective virtual learning community around school-based goals, and trends toward teacher directed personal learning environments.
Strand B: Obstacles to Opportunities
Boundaries formalized by education in the “industrial age” shouldn’t hinder educators as they seek to reform and transform their classroom practice. Playing with boundaries in the areas of copyright, digital discipline and ethics (e.g. cyberbullying), collaborating globally (e.g. cultural differences, synchronous communication), resistance to change (e.g. administration, teachers, students), school culture (e.g. high stakes testing), time (e.g. in curriculum, teacher day), lack of access to tools/computers, filtering, parental/district concerns for online safety, control (e.g. teacher control of student behavior/learning), solutions for IT collaboration and more — unearthing opportunities from the obstacles rooted in those boundaries — is the focus of presentations in this strand.
CALL FOR PROPOSALS:
This call encourages all, experienced and novice, to submit proposals to present at this conference via this link. Take this opportunity to share your successes, strategies, and tips in “playing with boundaries” in one of the four strands as described above.
Deadline for proposal submissions is June 18, 2007. You will be contacted no later than June 30, 2007 regarding your status.
Presentations may be delivered in any web-based medium that is downloadable (including but not limited to podcasts, screencasts, slide shows) and is due one week prior to the date it is published.
Please note that all presentations will be licensed Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported.
As you draft your proposal, you may wish to consider the presentation topics listed below which were suggested in the comments on the K-12 Online Conference Blog:
- special needs education
- Creative Commons
- Second Life
- podcasting
- iPods
- video games in education
- specific ideas, tips, mini lessons centered on pedagogical use of web 2.0 tools
- overcoming institutional inertia and resistance
- aligning Web 2.0 and other projects to national standards
- getting your message across
- how web 2.0 can assist those with disabilities
- ePortfolios
- classroom 2.0 activities at the elementary level
- creating video for TeacherTube and YouTube
- google docs
- teacher/peer collaboration
KEYNOTES:
The first presentation in each strand will kick off with a keynote by a well known educator who is distinguished and knowledgeable in the context of their strand. Keynoters will be announced shortly.
CONVENERS:
This year’s conveners are:
Darren Kuropatwa is currently Department Head of Mathematics at Daniel Collegiate Institute in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. He is known internationally for his ability to weave the use of online social tools meaningfully and concretely into his pedagogical practice and for “child safe” blogging practices. He has more than 20 years experience in both formal and informal education and 13 years experience in team building and leadership training. Darren has been facilitating workshops for educators in groups of 4 to 300 for the last 10 years. Darren’s professional blog is called A Difference (http://adifference.blogspot.com). He will convene Classroom 2.0.
Sheryl Nusbaum-Beach, a 20-year educator, has been a classroom teacher, charter school principal, district administrator, and digital learning consultant. She currently serves as an adjunct faculty member teaching graduate and undergraduate preservice teachers at The College of William and Mary (Virginia, USA), where she is also completing her doctorate in educational planning, policy and leadership. In addition, Sheryl is co-leading a statewide 21st Century Skills initiative in the state of Alabama, funded by a major grant from the Microsoft Partners in Learning program. Sheryl blogs at (http://21stcenturylearning.typepad.com/blog/). She will convene Preconference Discussions and Personal Learning Networks.
Wesley Fryer is an educator, author, digital storyteller and change agent. With respect to school change, he describes himself as a “catalyst for creative educational engagement.” His blog, “Moving at the Speed of Creativity” was selected as the 2006 “Best Learning Theory Blog” by eSchoolnews and Discovery Education. He is the Director of Education Advocacy (PK-20) for AT&T in the state of Oklahoma. Wes blogs at (www.speedofcreativity.org). Wes will convene New Tools.
Lani Ritter Hall currently contracts as an instructional designer for online professional development for Ohio teachers and online student courses with eTech Ohio. She is a National Board Certified Teacher who served in many capacities during her 35 years as a classroom and resource teacher in Ohio and Canada. Lani blogs at (http://possibilitiesabound.blogspot.com). She will convene Obstacles to Opportunities.
QUESTIONS?
If you have any questions about any part of this, email one of us:
- Darren Kuropatwa: dkuropatwa {at} gmail {dot} com
- Sheryl Nusbaum-Beach: snbeach {at} cox {dot} net
- Lani Ritter Hall: lanihall {at} alltel {dot} net
- Wesley Fryer: wesfryer {at} pobox {dot} com
Please duplicate this post and distribute it far and wide across the blogosphere. Feel free to republish it on your own blog (actually, we’d really like people to do that ;-)) or link back to this post (published simultaneously on all our blogs).
Conference Tag: K12online07
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05.22.07
Posted in eParent at 5:52 pm by Ambreen
At School.FamilyEducation.com, you’ll find information for parents on the educational issues affecting your child in every grade level — from preschool through high school. Find homework help, skill-building tips in every school subject, educational printables and worksheets, plus advice on report cards and talking with the teacher.
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05.15.07
Posted in Working Moms at 9:11 am by Ambreen
When did you start Your job after having a baby?
How does your job effect your Baby?
Do You Consider Baby Day Care Center a good option for working mothers?
Are You using any Day Care Center facility? If yes…pls mention.
Share your experience Today!
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Posted in Working Moms at 9:07 am by Ambreen
Day Care Facility at Agha Khan University Hospital
This centre is a unique facility which provides childcare service for the faculty and staff of AKU. Children between the ages of three months to three years are eligible. The centre is equipped with play and educational material that contributes towards the physical and mental development of the children. Regular visits by paediatricians and nurses, child psychologists, nutritionsts and other childcare experts are also arranged.
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Posted in Working Moms at 9:04 am by Ambreen
Day Care Centers in Karachi
The City Kindergarten
Age Limit: 6months - 2years.
P.E.C.H.S Campus
Bungalow # 4/16, Block 3,
Bahadur Yar Jung,
Cooperative Housing Society
Bahaduradad. Karachi.
csnsro44@csn.edu.pk
Tel: 4938690
Defence Campus
TC-2/A, Street 34,
Khayaban-e-Rahat,
Phase V Extension,
Defence Housing Authority,
Karachi.
csnsro43@csn.edu.pk
Tel No: 5344352
Montessori & Day Care Center
Street No-29,
4-C Mezanine Tauheed Commercial
Phase V DHA, Clifton, Karachi
Phone: 5378305-6
Day Care Centers in Islam-a-bad
High Reach
HNo 6, Street 48, F-7/4
Phone: 051-2201275
Cell No: 03009746959
TLC Tender Loving Care
House #6, Street #45 F-8/1
Islamabad.
Phone no: 051-2254300
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Posted in Working Moms at 9:02 am by Ambreen
When you consider a Day Care Center, you should check it out carefully. Ask questions from staff and members. Talk to parents of other children at day care center. Following list give you some hints to get started:
1. Know about the child to staff ratio. The fewer children each staff member is responsible for, the better.
2. Know about the center’s policies on discipline and other important issues.
3. Know about Staff Training - Are they trained in child development.
4. Ask how the center care for sick children. Is there a nurse or doctor to help with medical care.
5. Check building and Playground Safety.
6. What activities they have planned for children?
7. Following signs would tell you there are some problems:
- Staff unable to address your concerns.
- Child not happy with day care facility
- Staff changes often
- No written Policy of Day Care Center
- Other parents tell you about problems or concerns with the day care
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Posted in eParent, Working Moms at 8:59 am by Ambreen
BRANDISHING the organizational skills of a drill sergeant, many working moms do more before 9:00 a.m. than most people do all day. They rise before dawn, grab a 30-minute workout, dress in under an hour, and then wake, dress, and feed the family before going to work. Once they leave work, their evening routines prove to be just as rigorous as they juggle the triple roles of wife, mother and homemaker. So how do these working moms manage to keep it all together? A national sampling of successful career moms and parenting experts indicates that there are 10 tips to surviving and thriving as a working mom–and the golden rule is to always strive to keep your work life, home life and private life separate-but-equal.
* Put yourself first. Many times, working moms–scrambling to be everything to everyone else–neglect to take care of their own needs. And if a woman doesn’t take some private time for herself, the work/home/family triple-whammy will consume her, explains Clark Atlanta University sociology professor Alicia Simon. “You cannot be something to someone else if you are not whole, and peaceful within yourself,” she says. “Taking care of you first will allow you to take care of your family, and all of the other necessities in life. You have to prioritize your life so that you won’t get left out.” Chicago registered nurse Karen Harris says she works long, unpredictable hours and that her three children keep her busy once she leaves the job. But Harris says she’s made it a healthy habit to squeeze in relaxation time. “It’s very important to steal some time away for yourself,” Harris says. “Sometimes I don’t go anywhere. I just ask my husband to watch the children and I enjoy a candlelit bath with soft music playing in my ear. I am able to relax, and it helps me out a lot.”
* Drop the guilt. It is only natural that a mother feels a sense of guilt about leaving her child to go off to work, says Ohio psychologist Linda James Myers. “There is a biological propensity toward guilt because we know we need to be with our child. There is a psychological propensity toward guilt because we want to be with our child, and there is the social propensity toward guilt because we feel it’s the mother’s responsibility to care for the child,” Dr. Myers explains. “The key is to be able to accept that many of us do not have the luxury to stay at home and raise our children. We have to come to grips with the fact that we are doing the very best that we can, and that’s all that is required of the human soul.”
* Get a support system. For the record, supermoms are everyday women who have cultivated and utilized their support systems–trusted individuals in their social and family circles who are able to help out in times of need. Denise McKinney, director/corporate development for the Sara Lee Corporation, recently added her Colombian live-in nanny to her circle of supporters. McKinney, a mother of two, says her job requires her to travel occasionally and that she would not have been able to keep her family and herself in order without nanny Margarita Castro’s help. “I get up around 5:30 a.m., and I’m home around 6:30 p.m. My husband works late hours as well,” McKinney says. “Margarita has become a part of the family and she’s very important to us. Her being there allows both of us a life outside of home and the ability to bring income into the home.”
* Organize and prioritize. A disorganized mom will crash and burn quicker than a 2-year-old can yell “no.” Without scheduling and prior preparation for herself, her family and her workday, a career mother will find herself in a swarm of constant chaos, says Bristol-Myers Squibb Vice President and Senior Counsel Zenola Harper. “In order to accomplish everything we need to accomplish we have to clearly set forth what it is we intend to do,” says the New York mother of two. “If you are not organized, many things will fall through the cracks and you’re likely to be frustrated.” A critical part of organizing is prioritizing; inevitably, there will be occasions where your career and your family will face-off. When settling the family-vs.-career conflict, Dr. Myers suggests that mothers make their decisions wisely, and take the time to weigh and review all of their options. “The best thing to do is make sure you are in a position to make a decision as clearly as possible,” Dr. Myers advises. “It is oftentimes helpful to weigh the benefits and consequences of each decision. For example, if you are forced to miss an event in your child’s life due to work, ask yourself how important the event is. If it’s a soccer game, there are probably going to be a lot more of those, so going to work makes sense. However, if it’s a graduation or a national championship, you will need to sacrifice work.”
* Empower yourself. Working moms should familiarize themselves with the Family and Medical Leave Act, and with their company’s policies about work-related issues such as maternity leave, says Simon. “Many mothers don’t take the time to find out what their rights are in the workplace,” she says. “You must know what your employer can and cannot do in terms of being able to have access to your children. You have to inform yourself on what your rights are so you can better balance these things.” But more importantly, mothers should work in an environment where they feel comfortable requesting a flexible work schedule in order to deal with family emergencies, adds Mary Knight-Cherry, most recently Eastern North America Group Vice President of Human Resources for Coca-Cola Enterprises in Atlanta. “I think it’s critical that regardless of the legal ramifications, the company is going to be friendly to people with different work-life situations,” says Knight-Cherry, a mother of two. “So whether you know all the regulations or not, you should feel comfortable approaching your human resources representative to say, `This is what’s going on in my life right now–can you help me?’”
* Communicate With Your Kids. Shielding children from the realities of bills and the other necessities of running the household is a common tactic that many parents use. But Simon says mothers should communicate honestly with their children about finances and the necessities of holding down a job. “Oftentimes parents would like to keep a certain image for their children–that they’re living in this utopia where everything is always okay,” she says. “They don’t discuss finances with them, or any other issues that they may view as `adult business.’ But if mothers decided to share these things with their children, the children would have a more realistic idea about the real world and the way things work. Tell the kids that you have to work in order to afford certain luxuries, and they have to `work’ too–they have to go to school.”
* Delegate responsibility. It’s normal for mothers to assume that their loved ones aren’t able to carry out the necessary chores in her absence, but in order to keep their sanity, mothers should give direct orders and trust others to carry them out, says Harris. “My husband, my baby-sitter and my parents all support me,” she says. “My mother can take the kids for their doctor’s visits; my baby-sitter looks after them when I’m running late; and my husband cooks, cleans, and cares for the children when I have to work weekends.” Knight-Cherry says her husband actually prefers to help out with dinner and the household chores. “I’m not in one of those relationships where just because I’m the female I have to make the beds and cook,” she says. “My husband does all of those things, and it’s very normal for the girls to have their dad cook or braid their hair in the morning.”
* Leave work at work. Switching gears at the end of the workday may be a difficult task, but it is absolutely necessary in order to attend to your family’s needs, says Harper. “When you’re at work, you should focus on work-related issues, but when you’re at home, you should leave work aside and focus on the joys of being a part of your family,” she advises. “Once I open the door [at home], those work-related issues are left at work. Those smiles that greet me at the door are what I’m focused on.”
* Don’t forget your man. It’s easy as pie to ignore yourself between the daily stresses of work and home, and it’s even easier to inadvertently ignore your mate in the process. Maintaining a good relationship with your mate is a must, says Knight-Cherry. “It’s critical to keep a healthy, nurturing relationship with your man because you can’t be concerned about whether he’s upset while you’re trying to take care of everything else–you just can’t function that way,” she says. “You have to call him when he least expects it and tell him that you love him. When you’re out of town, pick up a silly greeting card and mail it to him from the airport. Just let him know how much you appreciate him in your life.” Harper agrees. “It’s important that as you try to organize your kid’s’ life and your work life that you organize time for you as a couple, in order for the family to continue to run well. And in order for you to be happy.”
* Count your blessings. Keep a healthy perspective when things really get rough. “Count your blessings,” advises McKinney. “Look at your children and say, `Aren’t they wonderful?’ Just try to remember how it all began, versus getting wrapped up in the stress and tension of the moment, which can occur while you’re trying to balance everything.” And don’t spend an iota of time on regret, adds Dr. Myers. “Human capacity has its limits–we have to fall back on doing the best we can,” she says. “Don’t spend any time on regrets. Cut out that time spent on wishing and regretting and use that energy in proactive, forward movement. And then you can look back and say, `God, what a blessing my life is.’
Reference: Ebony (www.ebony.com), Sept, 2002
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Posted in eStudents, Inspiration at 8:55 am by Ambreen
When Anne Swift, a college student in Canada, hit upon an idea for a
flexible computer keyboard, she became frustrated at the lack of
information to guide young inventors. So she started up an
organization to help people like herself. Young Inventors International is a not-for-profit organization educating innovators under the age of 35, helping them build successful enterprises and bring new products to market.
Visit http://www.younginventorsinternational.com/ for details.
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05.09.07
Posted in eTeachers at 10:47 am by Ambreen
Interested in following services,….. Don’t forget to visit
New Century Education
- Psychological treatments provided to students and theit mothers to ensure proper mental health of the future generation.
- Articles and books creating awareness about human development in general and education in particular.
- Certified (short) and diploma (long) teachers training programs offered to help teachers as well as mothers master the latest teaching techniques.
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