New Mexico State University-Carlsbad offers new courses

Higher Education

By

-

January 19, 2009

Three new associate degree programs from New Mexico State University-Carlsbad will make pursuing higher education in science, technology, engineering and math much easier and the public is invited to see how. NMSU-C will host a community launch to announce three two-year programs in pre-engineering, engineering techonology, and information communication technology on Thursday at the Pecos River Village Conference Center Carousel House, 711 Muscatel Drive.

The degrees are designed for an easier transition into New Mexico four-year universities and into local employment, said Rhonda Austin, director of the Title V program at NMSU-C. 'With these degrees, people will be able to seamlessly move to a four year degree school so they can finish their bachelors,' Austin said. The launch will allow local employers and community partners the opportunity to discuss the degrees and how they will impact area education and job growth as well as educational progress for area students, Austin said. Parents and students will be able to ask questions about the degrees and what benefits they see. The new degree programs are made available by a two-year US$1.6 million grant awarded in October 2008 to help develop STEM programs. The community will also have the opportunity to preview Project Lead the Way, a program designed to allow high school students to dual-enroll in college pre-engineering courses.

New book ‘Higher Education launched

News

By

digitalLEARNING Network

-

January 19, 2009

You pass high school with difficulty, emerge with hopes of getting into a dream college and land that big job right after. But, you soon realise that becoming a graduate is not enough and a new journey lies ahead – higher education. With this in mind The Times of India has come out with an exclusive publication, Higher Education: A Guide to Opportunities in India and Abroad, which was formally launched on Friday at the Oxford Bookstore, Delhi.

Amit Mitra, secretary general of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), was the special guest at the book launch. Other guests, from both industry and academia, also graced the occasion. Commenting on the state of higher education in India, Mitra said, 'The need of the hour is a revolution in terms of the number of universities, the structure of evaluating, teaching and research and the induction of critical thinking skills.' The book contains exclusive write-ups by leaders in both academia and industry on emerging trends in different disciplines. Also, an exhaustive range of programmes both in India and abroad, first-hand student experiences, live projects from research scholars, funding options, and much more, to help aspirants make an informed decision.

Research holds importance in science

News

By

digitalLEARNING Network

-

January 19, 2009

Research in science education is important, as it leads to 'progress' in science education, which further leads to 'progress in science.' According to R S Sindhu, researcher and professor (chemistry), Department of Education in Science and Mathematics (DESM), NCERT, 'The objective of research in science is essentially to achieve progress in economic growth, social development and environmental protection.' Listing some of the thrust areas of research in science education today, he says, 'Curriculum development, studying misconceptions in science – by both students and teachers, studying pedagogy for teaching science for 21st Century learners, studying evaluation and assessment techniques and developing a scientific temper in students are a few key areas. Besides, action research is very important and we also need to assess the effect of some classroom practices in schools.'

Sindhu also emphasises the need to study the extent as to which the curriculum is in tune with national and international demands and if it fulfills the objectives. Also, he adds that while a lot of research is already being done in the subject, some areas are yet to be addressed. He says, 'The aim is to move away from rote and gain an understanding of concepts so that students remember them for life and can apply it to real-life situations, thus the practical component of teaching should be emphasised. The need is to study the effectiveness of low-cost and innovative experiments, different techniques of assessment of practical work and the scope of field trips and projects so that students feel involved and develop an interest in the subject.'

Bala Vidya Mandir tie-up for 5-day residential school

K-12

By

digitalLEARNING Network

-

January 17, 2009

Chennai-based integrated infrastructure company, and one of Chennai's leading schools, Bala Vidya Mandir (BVM), have forged a tie up for establishing a 5-day residential school. It will introduce a new school concept whereby students would get to spend their weekdays at the school premises and go home during weekends. 'It will be a modern day gurukulam,' BVM secretary A S Ramana Prasad said on Friday adding the school would cater to the needs of nuclear families where both parents are working. The children will be able to spend their week ends with parents. Marg Group CMD GRK Reddy said, 'We are happy to partner with Bala Vidya Mandir, known for its balanced approach to education and growth.' It will be part of the company's aim to provide the best social infrastructure like school and colleges.

The new school called BVM Global will come up on over 7.3 acres on Marg's Swarnabhoomi project in Kancheepuram district (around 80 km from Chennai), and would have a built up area of 1.7 lakh sq ft. BVM Principal, S S Nathan said, 'We have chalked out big plans to fully engage the students with all activities.' The co-ed school would follow the CBSE board and have facilities like wifi campus, an auditorium, an audio-visual room, hostels, athletic track and sports fields. The monthy school fee will be INR 4000 per student plus INR 6000 for hostel facility. It will eventually also act as a day school for residents of Swarnabhoomi complex. BVM Global would come up in three phases. The first phase will be ready by June 2009 with 360 students in classes four to seven. The admission process will start from next week.

HRD films on literacy under scanner

News

By

digitalLEARNING Network

-

January 16, 2009

The Directorate of Adult Education had empanelled 71 filmmakers from a list of over 350 for making movies for adult literacy programme but had not included eminent film-makers like Himanshu Malhotra, Kishore Dang, Nadira Babbar, MA Zauki, Suhail Illyasi and Mikey Kapoor. Proposals of some of them were rejected on the ground of disk error, a reply to an RTI application by filmmaker Pradip Sinha had revealed. 'If the ministry would have informed us the ground for rejection we would had provided a new disk,' Sinha told HT when contacted. A deeper look at RTI reply revealed that of the 16 firms, which were given work worth INR 5.6 crore between 2006 and 2008, at least half, were not empanelment this time. 'This is a clear indication that the quality of the work last time was not upto the mark,' said a senior filmmaker, who was not willing to be quoted fearing blacklisting by the government.

But, two of the rejected firms got into the selection list under a different name of the firm. 'The application was in name of an immediate family member,' said a filmmaker, requesting anonymity. Moreover, the filmmakers in the representation to the HRD minister Singh said the entire selection process was not transparent with less than five minutes given to consider each proposal, which was not adequate to judge a visual proposal. When contacted Director, of the directorate, RK Bhat said the issue was being sorted out. 'HRD minister has asked us to review the entire process,' he said, while terming the allegation as malafide by those who were not empanelled. What remains an area of concern was that during the period when the ministry spends INR 5.6 crore on making short movies, India's adult literacy rate improved by just by one percent.

Use of English in Chinese Classrooms

K-12

By

digitalLEARNING Network

-

January 16, 2009

Secretary for Education Michael Suen Ming-yeung defended the new policy, saying it would allow Chinese- medium schools to teach up to 25% of classes in English. Submitted to legislators on January 8, the reforms would also allow Form 1 students in schools where more than 85% are in the top 40 % of their age group to select their language of instruction. Suen said he thought the direction of the proposal is acceptable, because responses from the education sector are 'very encouraging.'

He said that since some students would inevitably show resistance to learning English, the 25% approach would form a balanced system and enable the proper bridging necessary for secondary students to make the switch to English at the college level. But Democrat Party lawmaker Cheung Man-kwong said a direct approach to teaching English is required at both the primary and secondary levels. 'This is not fine-tuning it's wrong- tuning as Chinese-medium teachers will be forced to teach in English. Can they switch to teaching in English overnight? Do we want to sacrifice learning?' he asked. Cheung added that many teachers have voiced fears about the changes, and asked Suen to reassure them. The education chief said teachers should be reassured by the fact that the policies do not place a direct demand on what they have to do. 'The choice now is with the schools. If teachers need training time then fine we will put it into place,' he said.

BJP opposes fee hike in schools

Policy Matters

By

digitalLEARNING Network

-

January 16, 2009

Delhi BJP president O. P. Kohli has demanded that the Delhi Government should not allow schools to increase their fees as it would result in people pulling their wards out of schools and particularly harm the education of girls. Prof. Kohli said on Thursday that on the pretext of implementing the Sixth Pay Commission report, private schools in Delhi were trying to increase the fees by 60 to 100%. 'If the Government allows schools to increase the fees then it should bear the entire expense,' he said.

Stating that when the Congress Government was providing subsidy of crores of rupees to private power companies, he wondered why similar subsidy could not be given to private schools as that would raise the standard of education in Delhi. He said such a move would ensure that guardians do not take their children out from schools due to financial constraints and the teachers to would be able to get better salaries. Prof. Kohli said private schools could be permitted by the Government to increase fee from INR 100 to INR 500 according to slabs. But, he said, the school managements are not agreeing to this and want an increase of up to INR 1,500 per month.

The best tech that teaches

News

By

digitalLEARNING Network

-

January 16, 2009

Exhibitors showcased a wide range of goods, from table top computers to mini video cameras and notebooks. At the opening address, Schools Minister Jim Knight reiterated plans to give children from low income families a free computer and broadband access. More than 30,000 visitors are expected to attend the four day event, which ends on 17 January. Becta, the government's agency for technology and learning, say that the show gives those who work in education a taste of what the classroom of the future will be like. Becta launched its schools technology charter at the show, setting out its vision for effective use of technology in education, and asking schools to make a public commitment to adopt what Becta calls 'Next Generation Learning.'

Schools would eventually be awarded their ICT Excellence Award which recognises schools for their achievements in reaching a standard of maturity in their use of technology. Despite a huge array of products and services on offer at the show, a few really stood out. Here is a BBC News snap shot of some of the more interesting ones.

Student helplines start ringing

Higher Education

By

digitalLEARNING Network

-

January 16, 2009

Anxious students are calling in to get help on how to plan their study better, manage time and overcome bad performance in the pre-Boards. 'We usually launch out pre-Board helpline in February but we have already begun getting calls from worried students' said Abdul Mabood, director of Snehi, an NGO that works for children and adolescents. Both Snehi and the CBSE start pre-Board helplines from February 1 every year.

'Many students who have not fared well in pre-Boards have been calling up. They have just 45 days left for the exams and are in panic,' said Mabood. Counsellors advice students to face the situation upfront. 'The first thing to do is acknowledge that you cannot wish the Boards away. Then students need to find out how they stand,' said Vithika Rahul, CBSE counsellor. The best thing to do is take mock tests. 'Students should sit for the mock tests for various reasons. They can practice taking the paper in three hours and time their answers. Moreover, they will get a feedback about where they are weak,' said Rahul. Students have also expressed unhappiness about exam dates. 'They have given us five days for English but three days for the rest of the subjects. I wish they had given us five days for Maths,' said Tanvi Girotra, a Class XII student of DPS, R.K. Puram. 'I guess it is more difficult for Humanities students because they have Maths and Psychology back-to-back,' she added.

One pupil, one laptop initiative

News

By

digitalLEARNING Network

-

January 16, 2009

Warrington is a hub for some of the most technologically advanced primary schools in Britain. Five primaries in the most deprived areas of the city have formed an alliance to kit out every child in their top classes with the most up-to-date laptop computers. And this week, for the second year running, the heads of the five Innov8ed Warrington schools and some of their pupils will be at the BETT technology in education show alongside PC World Education, which helped to launch the project. Two of the schools

LATEST NEWS

Top Trending News

Top Trending Categories