Are more adults going back to school?

Why Business Managers Should Go Back to School

At times, business managers may feel their career has come to a stall and they think about pursuing a degree to augment their academic portfolio. A survey conducted by the Bellevue University inferred that the demand of the economic setup is causing professionals to reevaluate their careers. On many levels, such initiatives are a worthwhile investment in terms of valuable networking and updated information. However, there are certain important considerations to be kept in mind.
Among the statistics that were obtained, as much as 47% said that the fluctuations in economy caused the pursuit of additional degrees. On the other hand, 26% said that their motives were driven on the account that their select career had far too low progressive opportunity.
The point of opting for a degree should be dependent on the end goals. The relevance of degree to the professional standpoint is paramount. The scope and the duration of the additional degree are dependent on what the individual can achieve.
For that matter, a number of organizations look towards managers who can multitask or are well versed with the attributes of project management. So if a manager already has an MBA degree, he/she can augment it with a project managed certificate like a CSU Certificate in Project Management from Cardinal Stritch and other course programs that come in handy when project managers are replaced by the traditional hierarchical structure. Such an approach is successful on the account that it’s highly directed.
In the current status quo, pursuing a simple course is a much more viable strategy than pursuing a full fledged degree. The reasons for this being the cost benefit analysis which is in favor of courses.
Another important parameter to consider is what the benefits of reverting back to academics are. The main benefit is updating on the latest concepts and how they can translate into becoming a better professional. In management, a number of new concepts have come in place which renders the previous ones obsolete.
Previously, business strategies focused on solutions in which each process was designated separately. Now the idea is to manage each aspect together using algorithmic approach. This is such a vital tool to add to a manager’s portfolio that a promotion at work is going to look brighter than ever.
The concept of socializing has also become more important. Gone are the days of isolated success, and now is the time of composite progress. Reverting back to academics will allow managers to socialize with the modern student sphere. This is going to help their creative process by adding more ideas.
Pursing education with their work will also give managers a good opportunity in terms of getting a target market as well. The growth of virtual classes has made it possible to manage study and work together.
A fundamental difference of the current educational paradigm from the previous one is the pursuit of indigenous research projects. This has a massive impact on the knowledge base.
The level of specialized education has increased during the last few years. It’s possible to get into those courses that are ideally suited to one’s of career. The important parameters to evaluate are the relevance and the cost factor. After all, no one wants going back to school and ending up in debt.
The recession may have constrained a lot of people’s choice in terms of a career, but there are ample opportunities for those who want to improve.

Technology in the classroom

Technological Literacy in the Classroom

Posted on May 29, 2013  by Laura Pizzirusso in Classroom Ideas, Literacy, Technology.
Tags: Literacy, Technology
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Just try to stop technology in the classroom, and you might have better luck trying to stop a freight train. Harry Keller, Editor of Science Education and Literacy for ETC Journal (educational technology & change), writes in Technological Literacy: The Key to Education Reform that by combining technology with literacy can we reform education. Much more than simply “one of the latest buzz phrases in education,” technological literacy is not isolated technologies such as interactive white boards and iPads that surface in classrooms followed up by literacy lessons. The concept is about knowing how to effectively use technology, hands-on, in the classroom.
But knowing how to use technology is the first step, and knowing how to effectively use it is the second step. I know an “old-school” elementary-level teacher who is not technologically savvy. For the most part, she doesn’t respond to parent emails with emails. She asks students and support staff how to use the classroom ipads. This doesn’t make her a bad teacher, she is simply “technologically illiterate” in a district that is becoming heavily technologically literate. But what Keller would say in this case is “the solution [to our current education crisis] is at hand, but without technological literacy in our schools right down to the classroom teacher, it won’t be implemented, and we’ll continue down the slope to increasing failure.” That kind of  implication makes me want to meet with her to gently show how these things work.
Just having technology available in a school system is not the answer – Keller argues that we now need “the ability to understand and evaluate technology” – both from a teacher perspective and district perspective. He writes that “anyone in the implementation chain must also be able to understand the implications of the decision to use a particular technology.”
Yet even our young students are technologically savvy, often referred to a “digital natives” – and we know that we can reach students this way. With the increase in online literacy programs like Big Universe and the multitude of learning apps for typical and special needs students, we need to use technology effectively, otherwise it becomes simply a replacement for a chalkboard.
Tonya Wright in Technology and Literacy in the Early Childhood Classroom, writes that “the early childhood community has been slower to catch when it comes to technology. A recent survey of early childhood professionals by Child Care Information Exchange revealed that among child care centers, most that use technology only do so for administrative purposes such as accounting or record-keeping; and classroom use is often limited to educational software.” Yet “technology can positively impact classroom practices” – from “lesson plan ideas, recipes, and classroom themes,” even by preschool students.
She suggests using digital images (in a slide show), e-pal sites, create student electronic portfolios, and Word-processing and desktop publishing software. Her suggestions are great as the real-life applications to these includes technological literacy, a basic skill set for many of today’s jobs, and includes capabilities such as creating slide show presentations, interacting with others through digital means, and before even getting the job, creating a visual portfolio on a leave-behind CD after an interview.
This doesn’t mean the old school teacher I referred to has to throw out the chalk with the chalkboard. Clearly our district is pushing a current technology, and I’d like to see them be held accountable for teaching her how to use it. She’d be surprised how quickly it would become just another tool to effectively teach. Is your district pushing

Be Calm in all Things

' My father used to say to me, ' Whenever you get into a jam,whenever you get into a crisis or an emegency...become the calmest person in the room and you will be able to figure your way out of it."

Rudolph Giuliani

Being poor is a state of mind

 I've never been poor,only broke. Being poor is a frame of mind. Being broke is a temporary condition. Decide which one you are.

Mike Todd

The dash

Too often we get caught up in the frenzy of life,and forget how short life is. Live for today,and take a while to breathe, and enjoy the beauty around us. Love others,and accept people for who they are. Click on the link below, and remind yourselves just how short this journey on earth is.






http://www.lifesecretsonline.com/blog/2012/08/20/thedash-2/

2013 Goals

 What are your resolutions for this year? Quite frankly I tend to not set resolutions,but rather  tend to make short and long term goals. What is it that you have been meaning to do,but just has not gotten around to it. Now is the time to take action. Don't put off tomorrow what can be done today. Start with small steps breaking down what is it that you need. Wishing and hoping won't get you what you want.

Take charge of your own life. Don't wait on someone to make you happy or to give you what you want. This year I decided that I am taking matters into my own hands where my job is concerned. Complaining about it will not help so I have started putting plans in place to get me to where I want to go. Write down what is it that you want. Make a note to know the differences between what you want and need. Then go after what is it that you need to change. It will not happen in a day but one step at a time will get you closer to where you want to go or what you need to change.

 There is no need to set resolutions each year, instead set goals for your life, and continue to assess your goals. When you have achieved one goal mark it off and move on to the next one. Continue to reinvent yourself each year. We are living in a global digital world. Things are changing much more rapidly than what our parents knew of it in years gone. Challenge yourself to stay in touch and in tune with what is going on. Never rely on anyone or any job to complete you. The time is right now. Do not let 2013 pass and you have not  started on your own goals.

Create your own destiny, make your own happiness. Determine the life you want and get going on getting it. Live the life you love, and love the life you live.

Life is VERY short so enjoy it while you are healthy!

Who set the example for our students

And we wonder why students think that they can cut and paste an essay?

Toronto school board director’s plagiarism was breach of trust: Editorial

Published on Thursday January 10, 2013

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RENE JOHNSTON/TORONTO STAR The Toronto District School Board's trustees Thursday asked Chris Spence to resign his job as director of education.

Chris Spence clearly had to go as director of education for the Toronto District School Board. One incident of plagiarism is bad enough, but as soon as more emerged he had no choice but to tender his resignation to the board’s trustees. Public trust demanded no less.
Being caught out for plagiarism in this way would be bad enough for a student or rank-and-file teacher. The TDSB has policies that set out serious sanctions for plagiarism, including possible suspension from school. For the board’s leader and self-described role model, it’s fatal. Credibility, it has been said, is hard to earn and all too easily squandered. Spence squandered his credibility with the board and the public and broke a fundamental bond of trust.
Spence went a long way in his apology on Wednesday for failing to give credit for several passages in an opinion article for last Sunday’s Star. What he conspicuously omitted, however, was that he had done it before – in at least two previous articles. For the leader of a public institution dedicated to serving education and young people, there’s no recovering from that type of deception.
For Spence himself, it’s a tragedy. The TDSB looked long and hard for a new education director back in 2009 and finally came up with a man who seemed to bring the ideal blend of experience and education, and as a bonus came from right here. He cut his teeth as a teacher in the Jane-Finch area and headed Hamilton’s board before returning to Toronto full of ideas and ambition.
He championed reforms like mentoring programs for boys left behind in the school system, and an Africentric program to give black students a better chance at succeeding in school. But he rubbed many people the wrong way, as Rick Salutin writes on the opposite page, with such showy gestures as a controversial revival-style pep rally for teachers. In the end, though, he turned out to be his own worst enemy.