Educational institutes are offering technological tools to their students to help them learn better. Students today are also opting for institutes that offer them the IT advantage. Young students are aware of the benefits that technology based learning has to offer and they go by it to decide the kind of institutes they want to study at. Shama Nisha Singh, a college student, shares, “Technology plays a big role in increasing our information base on various subjects and that shows in the marks one scores.” She adds that through technological tools “one can know what a student is learning in a subject in USA or Australia so that we can compare our syllabi and enhance our knowledge base”. Shama is right as internet has made knowledge seamless and accessible and in this age of communication revolution no one can afford to remain ignorant.

The transition from rote learning to tech-based education is clearly evident. Swanky laptops, CDs, and elearning are now part of everyday education. A leading academician explains, “Technology has brought about a huge transformation in the education system and rote learning is likely to diminish in the coming years”. A couple of years back, online education was Greek and Latin to most people; today technology has finally arrived with a bang, and everyone has welcomed it.

The majority of people in India comprise what is called the GenNext and it is imperative to provide them the right kind of education. While e-learning ensures that data quality remains the top-most priority, it also facilitates the development of content.

Though setting up a technology-driven system is not an easy task, it has its own benefits. India has made giant strides in improving her education system, but a lot still needs to be done in terms of modernisation. The introduction of IT will not only aid the students but also the faculty, and as a result the overall efficiency of the system is bound to improve.

With the introduction of technology, the younger lot will certainly take more interest in the curriculum. It is the best way to unleash their creativity. Thanks to the Internet, everything is available at the click of a finger (or a mouse). And, the students are making the best use of this technology. Today, it is required to replace notebooks and textbooks by ‘laptops and presentations’. Read more……

What we don’t know is how quickly the transition to a mostly digital textbook education system might happen, how it could affect the way students learn and which companies will be leading the charge.

Two weeks ago, Apple declared its intention to be at the head of the class, with the unveiling of the iBooks 2 for iPad app and the iBooks textbooks that are the first to exploit the app.

I dove into some of these textbooks on the original iPad and the iPad 2. Initial works in algebra, biology and chemistry come from major educational publishers McGraw-Hill and Pearson.

Apple has designs on the rest of the K-12 market but hasn’t said much about the prospects for iBooks on college campuses, though you can bet it will become an area of emphasis. Given the cost of college textbooks — well into three digits, in many cases — it’s hard to imagine Apple matching $14.99 pricing for them.

Apple has competition, too. Already, a couple of start-ups, Kno and Inkling, produce slick digital textbooks for the iPad. I’d expect Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble to respond in some way.

Apple has certainly provided authors and publishers with tools that can provide compelling high-tech textbooks. But it’s up to those authors and publishers to deliver the goods. Read more ……

What defines a cloud for eLearning?

Clouds are defined by the technology they provide: computation, software, data access, and storage services.  A cloud can be defined as a place for users to create or store files, but has alternative meanings that, for example, explain how using a cloud can optimize processing power on the user end through its network.   Services now deliver software such as Microsoft Office from the cloud.  This means a computer user is renting the use of the software- usually via a monthly payment automatically deducted from a credit card.

Enterprises have been using hosted applications for learning software for over a decade. Software as a service (SaaS) is one type of computing that is almost always in the cloud and delivers a single application through the browser to thousands of customers using a multitenant architecture.  The biggest change in attitude towards the cloud has come over time as Chief Technology Officers realize they do not have to maintain software and services within their own buildings and can maintain the same control via renting the software and server capacity.   Or, the CTO realizes their kingdoms are at capacity and welcome departments outsourcing to the cloud.  Think– enterprise sales tracking installed on each salesperson’s desktop containing a copy of ACT or a ten dollar a month bill for each salesperson’s online log-in to SalesForce.com.

So it goes for distance education using the Internet.  Advanced Learning Management Systems now also come with services attached.  Often administrative support and consulting services are included on the use of the software, allowing the customer to build corporate eLearning viability and online education business offerings. Read more ……

According to Eco-Business, a system called “magnetic resonance coupling” could work to inductively charge cars without any wires and could even work while cars are moving.

The idea is that sets of copper coils would be tuned to resonate at the same frequency; one of these would be in the car, the other in the road.

Eco-Business reports that the copper coils can transfer energy to each other from distances up to six feet away. This technology has already been used in the past to turn on a light bulb by researchers from MIT.

This technology would completely cure the biggest issue with electric cars: the lack of range.

However, the big problem is that the entire road network would need to be revamped to incorporate the technology. Right now, there is not widespread adoption of the electric car by the general public, making this an infrastructure expense for a non-existent market.

And if the roads are updated, there is no guarantee that the cars will start selling in droves.

Another factor is that this has not yet been tested in a real world situation, just in computer models. It is unknown if the magnetic resonance would create interference with the other computers or systems in the cars.

Still, if this idea works in the real world, it could be a huge step towards making the electric car a viable proposition outside of urban centers. Read more ……

Libava has been in the franchise business for more than 20 years. First starting as a franchise owner, he has devoted the latter part of his career advising perspective and current owners as well as writing extensively on subject of franchise ownership.

According to Libava, if you’re only focused on making money, franchise ownership may not be best business model for you. He says that most of his clients come to him not because they want to get rich, but because owning their own business provides financial freedom that doesn’t come from working for another company.

“If you’re like most people I’ve worked with, you’ll be really focused on the ‘how much can I make’ question during your franchise research. That’s completely normal. I’ve met with folks that have been downsized way too many times and want to have more control in their professional lives. Owning your own business allows that.”

As a franchise owner just starting out, it may be a year or more before you’re in a position to bring home a paycheck. You’ll have short term debt obligations, employees to pay, supplies to purchase, and a growing business with a smaller clientele than you would like. As your business grows this will change and according to Libava, if you’re willing to become a multi-unit owner, making a six figure salary is well within reach.

Be Realistic

The most successful franchise owners are those who are realistic about the amount of work it will take to be successful. Six or seven day work weeks, a bigger capital investment than you might think, and a lot of frustrations along the way are part of the growing process for any business but as the cliché goes, if it were easy, everybody would do it.

Get Help

Libava advises all perspective franchise owners to not seriously pursue franchise ownership without help. There are a lot of franchises and like any business, some are great ideas while others may leave you broke.

Bottom Line

If you’re looking for a small business that will generate profit rapidly, you probably won’t find it in a franchise but if you find the business model that fits your interests and has a proven record of success, making money and enjoying your work are well within your reach. Source: Active Filings

Read More News @ KRISARU.com

The first day of the 2012 Chinese New Year is on January 23, 2012 in China’s time zone. This day is a new moon day, and is the first day of the first Chinese lunar month in the Chinese Lunar Calendar system. The exact new moon time is at 15:40 on 23-Jan-12 in China’s time zone.

The Year 2012 is the 4709th Chinese year. The Chinese believe that the first king of China was the Yellow King (he was not the first emperor of China). The Yellow King became king in 2697 B.C., therefore China will enter the 4709th year on January 23, 2012. Also, the Chinese Year uses the cycle of 60 Stem-Branch counting systems and the Black Water Dragon is the 28th Stem-Branch in the cycle. Since (60 *78) + 29 = 4709, therefore 2012 is the Water Dragon year, which is the 4709th Chinese Year.

Some web sites say the year 2012 is the 4710th Chinese year. If you cannot find the explanation as to why, here is a possible answer for you. The Yellow King’s inauguration was held in the spring of 2697 B.C. But the day that was used as the first day of the year was the winter solstice, which was around December 23rd, 2698 B.C. Today’s January 1st meant nothing to the Yellow King. If we count that extra eight days in 2698 B.C., then year 2012 is the 4710th Chinese year.

2012 is the year of Dragon. Some people say 2012 is a Black Dragon or Water Dragon year. This is because the Stem-Branch Calendar is connected to the Five Element theory. Chinese calendars used the Stem-Branch system to count the days, months and years. There are 10 Stems and 12 Branches in this system. Stems are named by the Yin-Yang and Five Elements (Metal, Water, Wood, Fire and Earth). Read more……

In Japan, many were reflecting on the giant tsunami and earthquake that left an entire coastline destroyed, nearly 20,000 people dead or missing and the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant in meltdown.

People visited shrines and temples, offering their prayers for the new year. Giant hanging temple bells were to ring 108 times to purify the world of evil and bring good luck.

More than 400,000 people were expected to watch a four-minute display set to light up Victoria Harbour in HONG KONG.

And fireworks also illuminated the sky over KUALA LUMPUR as Malaysia welcomed 2012. Read more….

The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE®)is the premier membership association for educators and education leaders engaged in improving learning and teaching by advancing the effective use of technology in PK-12 and teacher education.

ISTE represents more than 100,000 education leaders and emerging leaders throughout the world and informs its members regarding educational issues of national and global scope.

ISTE members include individuals, affiliate organizations, and corporations:

• 20,000+ individual members
• 80 affiliate organizations
• 89 individual member countries
• 6 affiliate regions worldwide
• 65 corporations worldwide

ISTE membership is a powerful and meaningful way for educators to connect with peers, to gather in a variety of forums to share the challenges and excitement of teaching, and to be part of a community that leads the transformation of education.

Christmas 2011

Category: Entertainment
Uploaded by: jmcclary33
Hosted: youtube

So.cl (pronounced “social”) is an experimental research project, developed by Microsoft’s FUSE Labs, focused on exploring the possibilities of social search for the purpose of learning.

• So.cl combines social networking and search, to help people find and share interesting web pages in the way students do when they work together.
• So.cl helps you create rich posts, by assembling montages of visual web content.
• To encourage interaction and collaboration, So.cl provides rich media sharing, and real time sharing of videos via “video parties.”

We expect students to continue using products such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other existing social networks, as well as Bing, Google and other search tools. We hope to encourage students to reimagine how our everyday communication and learning tools can be improved, by researching, learning and sharing in their everyday lives.

Who can join?

We are formally partnering with selected schools (including University of Washington, Syracuse University, and New York University).

However, anyone can participate in the FUSE Labs research community as several of our experiments are available for use on the web. For those who wish to be more involved with FUSE, please e-mail Socl@microsoft.com.

In So.cl, how do I share a search?

By default, searches in So.cl are shared publicly. As students work together, they often search for the same items, and discover new shared interests by sharing links. We see this trend today on many social networks, such as Twitter, where shared links spread virally and amplify popular content. So.cl experiments with this concept by automatically sharing links as you search. The So.cl search experience is powered by Bing, and we use the public Bing API’s to display search result data.

How does So.cl work?

The So.cl search experience is powered by Bing; we use the public Bing APIs to display search result data. As students work together, they often look for the same content, and discover new shared interests by sharing results. These results can be web pages, images, or videos found through Bing. We see this trend today on many social networks, such as Twitter, where shared links spread virally and amplify popular content. So.cl experiments with this concept by letting you easily share links as you search.

In So.cl, how do I create a rich post?

So.cl makes it easy to create a beautiful post you’re proud to share. Just find interesting images and links on the web, and So.cl helps you assemble them automatically into a compelling visual montage. To explore this concept further, try our related project Montage.

In So.cl, what is a video party?

Students spend time sharing videos. So.cl extends this concept by making it easy to share video parties, with So.cl friends who are online. Video parties let you search, and quickly assemble a list of movies to view together with friends. You can view any existing party collection created by any other So.cl user, or create your own, and easily chat with other So.cl users.

Is So.cl data public?

Yes. Unless you mark it as “private”, your search results, and any other data you post to So.cl may be viewed by all other So.cl users. In addition, we will make data that was publicly posted on So.cl broadly available for use by other entities and individuals.

For more information please read our Privacy Statement at http://www.so.cl/app/privacy.

Does my So.cl data appear on Facebook?

So.cl uses Facebook authentication, which means you use your Facebook account to log in, and your name and profile picture from Facebook appear in So.cl.

By default we do not post any content from So.cl into your Facebook stream. If you choose, you can post content to Facebook using the share to Facebook feature in So.cl.

Read more ……