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Texas education board adopts new science curriculum

State education leaders forged a compromise Friday on the teaching of evolution in Texas, adopting a new science curriculum that no longer requires educators to teach the weaknesses of all scientific theories. The State Board of Education voted 13-2 to put in place a plan that would instead require teachers to encourage students to scrutinize 'all sides' of scientific theories, a move criticized by evolution proponents. Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills, which will be in place for the next decade, governs what teachers are required to cover in the classroom, the topics students are tested on and the material published in textbooks. Pro-evolutionists, who wanted the State Board of Education to drop the 20-year-old requirement that both “strengths and weaknesses” of scientific theories be taught, said the new plan uses confusing language that allows creationist arguments to slip into Texas classrooms.

'Through a series of contradictory and convoluted amendments, the board crafted a road map that creationists will use to pressure publishers into putting phony arguments attacking established science into textbooks,' said Kathy Miller, president of the watchdog group Texas Freedom Network. But board member Barbara Cargill, R-The Woodlands, said the new standards were 'more clear in the language and using words that aren't seen as code words' that helped convince the board to 'agree that this is how we'll teach all sides of scientific explanation, using scientific evidence.' Supporters of the changes also applauded the efforts to encourage critical thinking in science classrooms. The state of Texas, one of the largest textbook purchasers in the nation, has significant influence over the content of books marketed across the country. Publishers compete to have their books approved by the state board, which has authority to review all books and recommend approval to local school districts. With new biology textbooks up for adoption in 2011, the new curriculum determines what will be required of publishers who want to be approved to sell books in Texas. Federal courts have ruled against teaching creationism and the similar theory of intelligent design in public schools.

Legislative hearing over Higher Education

State lawmakers Friday insisted on a list of specific cuts which could be made to the state's higher education system. But Chancellor Jim Rogers says providing such a list publicly could have a devastating impact on colleges and universities throughout the state. Higher education leaders presented this 60 page document to state lawmakers. It details, in varying degrees of specifics, the impact on each individual campus of rolling back education spending to 2006 levels. But state lawmakers say they need more specifics on what departments or programs would be cut. The computer lab at the College of Southern Nevada is open seven days a week to accommodate students who may have children or jobs and attend class outside of regular hours. If funding was cut to 2006 levels, about a 19% cut, the days and hours of operation will certainly be cut.

'These students really have to have these services available at all kinds of different hours. We would not have the resources to keep them open all the time as we have, so we would be facing reductions there,' said K.C. Brekken with CSN. The college has already frozen 154 positions and it will close four regional learning centers including those in Boulder City, Lincoln County and in Downtown Las Vegas. At UNLV, the cuts could result in the loss of 210 faculty positions. Chancellor Rogers told lawmakers he is concerned about laying out specific department-by-department cuts, 'We will work with you in every way that we can. We are not trying to hide information from you and you know that. But we are very sensitive to having a run on the house in effect, because if you start talking about a department, then you start talking about the students and pretty soon the whole damn thing just falls apart.' In the hearing Friday, Rogers used a history department as an example. Rogers argued you can't just cut an entire department without impacting other departments. Lawmakers, though, says those are exactly the kind of specifics they need. Assembly Speaker Barbara Buckley told Chancellor Rogers all other state departments are presenting unpleasant and unpopular lists of cuts, and that is what lawmakers need to make their decisions. Rogers agreed to work with legislative staff, but he says he will not present the list of cuts in writing.

Dell to reach students with new netbook

Dell believes every child should have the opportunity and tools to learn the skills necessary to succeed in the digital world. The company recently set a new standard in education technology with the launch of a netbook influenced by the needs of students, the Latitude 2100. The Latitude 2100 is also ideal for any business or public institution that needs affordable, durable Internet-ready device for e-mail and collaboration. Inspired by close cooperation with hundreds of students, teachers, parents and administrators, Dell designers created a purpose-built education netbook that focuses on what's most important

‘Plagiarism’ online threatening quality of British degrees

The practice of online sites selling essays and completed assignments to students has reached a 200-million-pound business in UK which is threatening quality of British education.

The issue has reached such proportions that the House of Commons education select committee has decided to hold a special session later this year to investigate it. A 'plagiarism summit' in October has been scheduled by Vice-chancellors of British universities. New online sites are appearing almost every week and many sites report incomes in millions as students prefer to buy their assignments. According to an investigation made by Robert Clarke and Thomas Lancaster of the University of Central England, Internet cheating and selling tailored essays has assumed the dimensions of international trade, the trend has been termed by them as 'contract cheating'. Such sites claim that their work is mainly intended as a 'guide' to students, but they actuallt encourage plagiarism.

SAP India ties up with IIMB for e-Governance tools

SAP India and the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore have entered into an MoU to work together in areas of public sector and e-Governance in India. < ?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

 

Under this MoU, SAP would support IIMB's Centre for Enterprise Resource Planning, whilst IIMB's faculty would collaborate with SAP in the creation, sharing and dissemination of knowledge on e-Governance. After signing the MoU the Professor and Dean of IIMB, Mr Shyamal Roy, said SAP would supply study and teaching materials to CERP, which provided a stepping stone for e-Governance. IIMB was actively working towards creating a platform for cost effective implementation of e-Governance, which could usher in competitiveness and good governance. The SAP CEO and Chairman of Executive Board, Mr Henning Kagermann, said the world IT business was estimated at $1,000 billion, of which the share of the governments was 25 per cent but still remained largely untapped. The MoU was not a business proposition, but a tie-up to solve the constraints being faced by the Governments and PSUs which would lead to better service to citizens, he said. The President and CEO of SAP India, Mr Alan Sedghi, said the major focus of the tie-up was to create flexible platform to disseminate knowledge in education system. Many governments in Asia, including Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia and some North Asian countries, had successfully adopted the SAP e-Governance platforms.

IIT Kharagpur to launch Bio-energy centre

Indian Institute of Technology-Kharagpur launched India's first bio-energy centre on Tuesday for undertaking research, teaching and technological implementation of conventional and non-conventional energy. It was mentioned that the P.K. Sinha Centre for Bio-Energy aimed to create an industry consortium to engage in industrial research. It is with support of IIT alumnus Prabhakant Sinha, who pledged INR 10 crore for the centre, that the centre has come into existence.

Sinha, Founder and Co-Chairman of ZS Associates, told that once the industry consortium came into being, the captains of the industry will pay regular fees and share knowledge through regular seminars and conferences. The centre is to support in reduction of the carbon footprint and enhancing the income of villagers and rural communities. The centre has already collaborated with University of California, Berkeley, for research partnership.

Four EDUSAT-based education channels for schools in Kerala

The Education Department of Kerala (India) has launched four separate EDUSAT-based education channels for primary, secondary, high school and higher secondary classes in order to broaden the reach of IT (Information Technology) education in the State. < ?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

 

Education Minister M. A. Baby, while delivering the presidential address at the launch of the second educational channel under VICTERS (Virtual Classroom Technology on EDUSAT for Rural Schools) programme run by the IT@School project and the first anniversary celebrations of the VICTERS programme, requested the assistance of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) in setting up two more EDUSAT-based channels in Kerala. The Education Department has been able to reach IT-enabled education to 54,000 teachers and 25 lakh students through the EDUSAT project. The department will focus on setting up district-level resource centres to aid the spread of IT-enabled education in the State. The EDUSAT-based educational channels will also be used to expose the children of Kerala to educational and cultural values. In his inaugural address, Chief Minister V. S. Achuthanandan said the possibilities of IT as a learning tool should be fully used in schools. Under the VICTERS programme, students will soon be able to watch educational content from their homes. Along with reaching the EDUSAT programme to all schools, the Government would also seek to bring the Internet to all schools by linking them to the State Wide Area Network, which would soon be set up in Kerala, he said.

Global Scholar-EducationWorld announce the Winners of Young Achievers Awards 2009

GlobalScholar (USA), one of the world's largest online learning portals and EducationWorld, an education news and analysis magazine, announced winners of the Young Achievers Awards 2009. The awards aim was to acknowledge and inspire young achievers (between 12- 25 years of age) across India, in four fields of endeavour – Science, Maths and Technology, Arts and Music, Social Work and Sports. The winners were announced at the unique celebratory convocation held in Mumbai. Each winner received cash prize and exciting gifts, along with their trophies at the Young Achievers Awards 2009 ceremony in Mumbai. Winners included Chelsey D'Souza for Arts and Music; Rekha for Sports; Anirudh Anand Bapat for Science; and Jaimeet Gandhok for Social Work.

The Guest of Honor Dr. Indu Shahani, Hon. Sheriff of Mumbai said, 'Awards always help students to improve their efficiency and performance beyond the classroom. I am really pleased and proud to be associated with these young achievers, who will serve as inspiration to all children and youth countrywide. ' The scrutiny of applications/nominations was carried out by a panel of six esteemed judges comprising of Hari Verma, VP, Operations, GlobalScholar; Neena Paul, Assistant VP, IL&FS ETS; Dilip Thakore, Editor, EducationWorld, Bangalore; Dr. D.P.N. Prasad, Chairman, Leprosy Mission Trust India and Dr. Vijayam Ravi, Chairman & MD, Academy of Global Education Services private ltd. and Satya Divi, Managing Director, Education First. The panel of judges stated that it was hard to shortlist the winners as there is immense talent amongst today's youth with great ideas and passion to excel.

New Zealand: Emerging as favorite destination of Indian students

New Zealand appears to have become the favorite destination for those looking for higher studies as the flow of Indian students to the country has increased manifolds in the last four years. 'In 2005, the strength of Indian students studying in New Zealand was 2000 which has increased to 6000 in 2009,' told New Zealand Trade Commissioner Cliff Fuller. He said besides offering wide choice of courses to foreign students, New Zealand grants one year job search visa and two years work permit to students. In addition to it, eligible students can also apply to work up to 20 hours in a week, he informed.

To woo more students from India, New Zealand is organising an education fair here in which 25 educational institutions are participating. He informed, 'Our key objective for holding this fair is to offer an opportunity to interested students to interact directly with representatives of institutions and understand prospects and feasibility of joining them.'

Ministry of Education in Azerbaijan and Microsoft signs a Memorandum of Understanding for co-operation in education

Azerbaijani Ministry of Education and Microsoft world corporation signed the memorandum of understanding in Baku on program “Cooperation in Education”. Minister of Education Misir Mardanov said that the memorandum covers 2010-2013. Over this period work will be done in the sphere of application of ICT in education. Presently, more than 500 schools of the country are connected to the Internet and we plan to finish this work next year,” minister said.


The memorandum was signed by M. Mardanov, leader of program “Cooperation in education” in Central and Western Europe of Microsoft company Theodore Milev and Director of Baku Microsoft office Teymur Akhundov. The memorandum seeks cooperation in three directions: “Innovative teachers”, “Innovative students” and “Innovative schools”.


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