|
Find Massage Schools and Massage Therapy Schools, as well as Colleges, Universities, Vocational Schools and Natural Healing Schools at SchoolsGalore.com, your educational resource to locate schools.
The degree to which people can recall their normal run of the mill dreams varies greatly amongst different people.
Some people will recall most of their dreams throughout the night whilst others will claim never to dream because they never recall any.
The problem here is that to successfully master the art of lucid dreaming, it is essential to have a good ability to recall what you dreamt about the night before.
The most obvious reason for this is that there is little point in lucid dreaming if the whole experience is forgotten when you awake!
How To Improve Your Dream Recall
Good dream recall is essential to success. Fact. There are several techniques available to improve dream recall. One of the simplest ways to recall your dreams is to start writing them down when you wake up.
As you wake, just lie still for a moment and then try and remember as much information about your dream as you can.
When you have it in your head, turn the light on and jot down your dream. Try and make notes of any significant features that may re-occur in your dreams.
These are known as ‘dream signs’ and become VERY important as you acquire more advanced skills. When you have noted down several dreams, try to look for something that is common amongst those dreams. These are your dream signs.
The advantage of spotting your dream signs is that you will be subconciously keeping an eye out for them when you dream. This will greatly increase your chances of having a lucid dream.
This brings me onto my next point.
Keep A Dream Journal
When you start writing down dreams, it helps to keep a dream journal. Don’t just jot dreams down on a scrap of paper. This won’t help. Keep a structured journal that you can refer to.
When you have jotted down a few dreams, try reading through them just before you goto sleep the following night. This will keep you thinking about dreaming whilst you doze off. (important!)
I suggest you keep a folder in which you can collect all of your dreams. Either that or keep a special notepad that you can jot in specifically for your dreams. You will then have all of your previous dreams in one place. Reading through this before bedtime will really help you become lucid in the dreams that follow.
Remembering your dreams is a great way to understand your dreaming mind and improve your chances of lucid dreaming.
|
Andrew Strachan has been lucid dreaming for over 20 years. Anybody can learn how to lucid dream. Find out more about dream recall and learn the techniques he uses so that you can learn to lucid dream yourself.
http://www.lucidfun.com
February 6, 2008
In many developing nations around the world, small-scale farmers often rely upon poultry farming solely for their livelihood. Unfortunately, for many of these farmers, this livelihood has been affected by the Newcastle Disease Virus (NDV), a contagious and fatal viral disease that infects a wide range of both domestic and wild birds, including chickens. NDV also has a devastating effect on commercial poultry production. Since vaccines for poultry are too costly for these farmers who eke out very meager livings, a cost effective solution needed to be developed. Fortunately, researchers in Mexico have done just that.
Researchers in Mexico have been able to genetically modify maize crops to create an edible vaccine for poultry against the Newcastle Disease Virus. The researchers, including Octavio Guerrero-Andrade of the Center for Research and Advanced Studies (CINVESTAV) in Guanajuato, inserted a gene from the Newcastle Disease Virus into the maize crops? DNA. Chickens that ate the genetically modified (GM) maize produced antibodies against the virus. The maize also provided a level of protection against infection comparable to that of commercial vaccines.
The researchers? findings were published online in Transgenic Research earlier this month. They hope these genetically modified maize crops can help small-scale poultry farmers protect their flocks from NDV.
?The disease is important and a big killer,? said Frands Dolberg of the Network for Smallholder Poultry Development, which works with partners in developing countries to promote poultry farming as a way of improving livelihoods.
According to the findings, vaccines against the disease that can be given to poultry through food already exist, but are not usually available in the small quantities that are often required by single families or villages.
?There is a big problem in delivering the vaccine to the many millions of poor poultry keepers around the world, and the genetically modified (GM) maize could be a possibility,? said Frands Dolberg.
Farmers in developing nations struggle every day to make a living against unfavorable conditions. They also struggle to access new technologies that can help better their lives, including getting vital vaccines that can save their poultry farms. With this genetically modified maize that the researchers in Mexico have developed, these needed vaccines will be easily accessible, less costly, and won?t require refrigeration like traditional vaccines do. It will ultimately help save and secure the farmers? futures.
|
Alisa Baumer is a life sciences grant researcher and has first-hand knowledge of the latest trends in genetically modified food. To read more about Alisa go to http://www.gmofoodforthought.com.
February 2, 2008
It’s not news to anyone that college costs are skyrocketing. The average cost of one year at a private college or university has risen to a shocking $31,465. It’s no wonder that parents and students look at that number and wonder whether a college degree is in their reach at all. However, many families overlook the tremendous costs savings that could be achieved by attending a community college for two years. Tuition at community college is typically half that of a public institution and just one-tenth that of a private institution.
For many years, community colleges fought the image that they were the last resort for students who couldn’t get in anywhere else and that their programs were not as challenging or comprehensive and those at larger colleges universities. Today, however, community colleges are thriving centers that not only provide state-of-the-art career education, but also provide a high-quality educational foundation for students who wish to transfer to a college or university after two years.
Because most colleges and universities, regardless of size, require students to take core courses in their first two years before choosing a major, taking these courses at the community college level will save money. Additionally, core courses at the university level are often held in large lecture halls with hundreds of students. At community colleges, class sizes rarely exceed 30 students. So, paradoxically, community college students receive more individualized attention yet pay much less for that privilege.
Instructors at the community college level are required to hold a Master’s degree in their instructional area. Some have pointed to this as evidence that community colleges cannot provide the same quality of instruction as colleges and universities that employ professors with Doctoral degrees. However, very few of those professors actually teach the core courses that students take during their first two years of college. Additionally, community college instructors often have real-world employment experience that gives them a more practical perspective than university professors, who are immersed in the world of academia.
Transferring to a larger institution at the end of two years at community college is often easier than being admitted as a Freshman. Also, many states guarantee admission to their state colleges and universities to community college graduates who maintain a certain grade point average. Even prestigious Ivy League colleges like Harvard, Yale and Brown have accepted transfer students from community colleges.
|
Kadence Buchanan writes articles on many topics including
Education, Science, and
Employment.
January 30, 2008
Remembering foreign vocabulary
We have all been through them, those dreaded vocab tests. When I was in school we had to do both Spanish and French up until our third year. Two languages provided me with a lot of vocabulary.
I used to hate doing those vocab tests. I had a book with the foreign words down one half of the page and a line down the middle of the whole page.
I would then keep repeating the foreign words over and over until they finally stuck in my head. I would then try and recall them again by looking at the English words at random.
This method got me through the tests, but I never did as well as I did the night before when I was testing myself.
How is it that I forgot 30-40% of the vocab I had just learnt less than 24 hours previous?
Well the method I am about to show you is a method I learnt from Dominic O’Brien, a Grand Master of Memory and 8 times winner of the World Memory Championships.
I stumbled across this book nine years ago. It was the best ten pounds I have ever spent. The book is called ‘How to Develop a Perfect Memory’. Unfortunately the book is now out of print and getting a second hand copy proves to be quite difficult as the book really is so invaluable! But I hope to show you how to remember foreign vocab with the minimum of effort and maximum results!!!
As I have stated before, the key to great memory recall is Imagination and Association. So, as you can guess, this is what you will have to use to remember your vocab. It really is a simple but very powerful tool.
Prerequisites
Really familiarise yourself with your home town. Look at your library, local park, fire station, hospital, bookshop, caf?, supermarket etc everywhere where you would find common day items. This will provide you with the basis of recalling your new foreign vocabulary. I find that using the same town for more than one language will cause you problems, so keep your eyes open when you visit other places. When on holidays, take pictures to help you remember locations, try to get into the habit of creating journeys in your head wherever you go. The more locations, the more you will be able to remember.
VERBS
Verbs are action words like running, walking, jumping etc so I tend to use a local, familiar park as my location for verbs. Wherever you decide, try and keep them all together. That way, when you want to know the French for Fall, you will know that Fall is a verb and will be located in your chosen action place, e.g. a park.
So, lets begin. I am going to use Spanish as my example. I am familiar with it and have much vocab located around my local town.
To remember your foreign word requires two pieces of information from you.
1. The foreign word is what you are going to get your object from. You do this not by what the word means, but by what is sounds like and reminds you of.
So for example, the Spanish for ‘Pencil’ is ‘Stilo’
What does ‘Stilo’ remind me of? What comes to mind when I think of the word ‘Stilo’? Well, firstly it sounds like steel. So maybe an image of a steel rod comes to mind for the word ‘Stilo’. Now comes the second part.
2. What does the foreign word mean? ‘Stilo’ means ‘Pencil’ in English. Where would I find a pencil? In the stationary shop in my local town, that’s where!
So, linking the two words goes something like this:
When I hear the word ‘Stilo’ it will trigger me to think if ‘Steel’. I will immediately think of a steel rod sticking out of the pencil holders in my local stationary shop. I recall picking one up and feeling how heavy it is, and cold too. I remember thinking ‘Does it have an eraser on the top of it?’ This aids in concreting the scene in my memory.
This example is the basis of how to remember foreign vocab using your town as your association.
What about verbs then?
As I mentioned above, I am going to use my local park to demonstrate how to remember action words.
Take the Spanish word ‘trabajando’ which means ‘working’.
‘trabajando’ seems a really daunting word to remember. this word comes from ‘Trabajar’ which means ‘to work’.
‘Trabajando’ sounds to me like ‘Trap a hen, Doh!’
I would imagine a mouse trap in my park with a hen pecking at the ground around it, with someone setting the trap saying ‘Doh’ as they want to catch mice, not hens!!
The English word for ‘Trabajando’ is ‘Working’. This makes me think of builders digging a hole in the ground. So to go over the scene when I would hear ‘Trabajando’ I would think if the mouse trap in the park with a hen pecking beside it and someone saying ‘Doh!’ in Homer Simpson’s voice. Then People ‘Working’ by digging a hole in the ground.
‘Working’ to you may mean an engine turning over. Whatever comes to mind first will be the first thing that will come to mind the next time you hear the foreign word!
|
Kevin O’Connor author of www.memorymentor.com brings you memory improvement resources for learning foreign languages, memorizing numbers, names, dates and lots lots more.
Check out www.memorymentor.com/french_er.htm to learn French Present tense ER verbs.
The following comprise some of the most frequently asked questions I receive on teaching English in Colombia. While not a complete listing, the responses do provide some brief insight into EFL possibilities here. I have lived and taught in Colombia since 1995 and am currently teaching at a large university in Cali.
Q: Do you have a list of EFL schools in Colombia or know where I may find one?
A: You will find some helpful information for teaching English in Colombia in an online article published by Transitions Abroad magazine at: http://www.transitionsabroad.com/publications/magazine/0205/teachcolumbia.shtml
Q: I am particularly interested in spending time in Cartagena. I wonder if
you might be able to advise me or point me in the right direction.
A: In Cartagena you can contact any schools there directly when you arrive since it’s a relatively small city based solely on some tourism. Unemployment is very high there unfortunately. You should contact regular primary and secondary schools as well.
Q: I’m beginning to get the impression that perhaps Cartagena may not hold many opportunities. Does your comment about unemployment being high there imply that there’s not much call for English teachers (to adults) in the town? I’m not being very successful searching for adult educational establishments in Cartagena.
A: With nearly 80 per cent unemployment, Cartagena might not be right for you. Beggars, thieves, con artists and a massive army of poor constantly surround you. You certainly can’t go to the beach that the city is famous for because there they know you’re a ‘tourist’ with disposable dollars and you’ll be absolutely miserable after the first 500 or so beggars have beseiged you in less than a couple of hours. Not much of a vacation spot now, I’m afraid. Sorry.
Q: I understand you have written a series of articles about teaching English in Colombia, could you point me in the right direction?
A: Your best opportunities will be in Bogota, the capitol, with more than 75 schools, universities and institutes from which to choose. Cali has about forty such options. If you’d like to be on the coast, you might try Barranquilla. The language institute at the university there is hiring EFL teachers on a continual basis and is online. It’s the Universidad del Norte site in English is at:
http://www.uninorte.edu.co/english/int_relations.html
Q: What is the best time of year to go to look for work in Colombia?
A: As far as looking for work is concerned; July to August you should be pounding the pavement. The next best time frame is in early to mid January. Another critical period for job-hunting is May to June. Most importantly, choose where you want to live and work, or make a pilot trip to uncover essential facts, leads and information on a couple of cities.
Q: How much money do you think I should have before I travel to Colombia?
A: Try to have enough money to tide you over at least three months of savings to give you some breathing room, but even one month of savings might be enough if you find something fairly quickly. Just look at the exchange rate of U.S. dollars to Colombian pesos. Factor in the cost of living per month and you?ll likely find an approximate amount of savings that are necessary. You can compile a more accurate figure by checking out www.tefl.com for their Bogota city cost guide.
Q: Is there anything else you might suggest to me as a newly certified EFL / ESL teacher?
A: After a bit of tenure in Colombia you’ll have other options, especially if your Spanish is passable. Also consider Spain, Mexico (my favorite), Ecuador, Chile and other Spanish-speaking countries. If you’re not set on one of those, Turkey, Indonesia and China, along with other Asian countries pay very well and offer good opportunity for newbie native English speaking EFL teachers.
Q: Are your other articles available to read online?
A: Let me know what you have in mind and I might be able to offer some more specific suggestions. But for even more information on ELT, you might want to visit my English language teaching and learning blog online at: http://bettereflteacher.blogspot.com/
Also, my articles online at EzineArticles.com are cataloged at:
http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Larry_M._Lynch
These should keep you interested, busy and informed for a while. Let me know if I can be of any further assistance.
Good luck.
|
Prof. Larry M. Lynch is an ELT Teacher Trainer, English language learning expert author and university professor in Cali, Colombia. He has published more than 350 articles and academic papers and presented at numerous EFL teacher training and TEFL conferences throughout North America, South America and Europe. For comments, questions, requests, to receive more information or to be added to his free TESOL articles and teaching materials mailing list, e-mail: lynchlarrym@gmail.com
January 29, 2008
Earning an MBA degree online is becoming easier and easier. Many colleges are offering partial and full on-line programs for people to earn their graduate school degrees. In the past people who wanted to earn an MBA had to stop working or switch to part-time employment in order to attend campus classes. But today earning an MBA has become much more convenient.
On and Off Campus
Campus programs have started expanding and offering degrees online. Schools that used to just offer on-campus programs are seeing the need for an expanded degree program. With on-line courses the colleges can deliver low cost, high quality education, to a wider student base.
School courses that are delivered in an on-line setting are just as educational as the on-campus classes. Many courses offer tele-class lessons or other virtual classroom venues. These school courses are usually packed to capacity because they have become so popular.
Each course is going to offer a unique way of learning for the students that take the class. Some courses will be easier to work through an on-line program than other courses will. Also, some students learn differently and will not be able to learn through an on-line course. Each student needs to evaluate their ability to stick with an on-line degree program before paying tuition fees.
New Types of Colleges
There are also colleges that mainly cater to the on-line student. This type of school may offer some community courses but most of their students take courses on-line. These types of schools offer undergraduate, graduate, and doctorate degree programs to their students.
Some programs can be completed entirely online, while other programs may require some occasional on-campus class work. Some popular degrees that are offered include bachelors of Education, psychology, business, education, and MBA graduate degrees.
Ten years ago the only way to earn an MBA was to try to squeeze classes in during the day or work all day and take night classes. But even then there were not very many programs that were able to accommodate working adults.
How They Compare
On-line college programs can be offered inexpensively compared to regular college tuition because the teacher can administer the course right from their desk. Even though the tuition is less expensive than a four-year university some low-income families may still not be able to afford to attend college…even if it is an online program.
To help make these types of programs an inexpensive alternative, most on-line universities offer the same federal student loans that other universities offer. These federal subsidized and unsubsidized loans and grants make an affordable online college degree a possibility for almost any family.
Online programs are definitely worth looking into if you are considering going back to school to get your degree. They are convenient and offer you the ability to earn your MBA while staying at your current job. Most programs are offered on a continuous basis which makes them even more convenient to enroll in.
|
An affordable online college degree is not a myth! For help finding an inexpensive, convenient and quality higher education option that is right for you please visit us at: http://www.affordableonlinecollegedegree.com/
January 27, 2008
Evidence is plentiful throughout the years that when parents and families actively support and encourage their children, the children are far more likely to succeed educationally. When you as a parent or family member are actively involved in a child?s learning process, you give them a significant advantage.
Even more specifically, the foundation from which to build the foundation for this success is reading. How well your child learns to - and enjoys reading, is absolutely directly related to not only how well your child will do in school, but how successful they will be throughout their lifetime. When a child develops good reading skills they have developed a foundation on which all other learning is built upon.
From the day a child is born they begin to learn. From the moment you begin to talk or sing to your new baby they begin to hear and to respond to sounds. The more your talk and sing to your child, the more you strengthen and advance their understanding of language. You are laying the first blocks for your child to becoming a reader.
As a parent you yourself don?t have to be the world?s best reader in order to help your child become a successful reader. It is your time, your interest, your enthusiasm, and your dedication to your child?s success that is important. Remember, it is reading that is the essential element that all other learning is dependent upon.
Every child learns to read at different paces. It is a step by step process with each step mastered leading to the next.
Early on babies and toddlers learn primarily by experiencing the sights and sounds that become a part of their world. Babies are natural born curiosity seekers and learners. They are in a constant explore and discover mode. As a parent you should take great advantage of this natural desire.
As a part of this early discovery and leaning stage babies quickly learn to imitate those events that they both see and hear. So, right from the beginning, parents should be reading, singing, gesturing, smiling and making funny faces with their children. Believe it or not, these are the very first activities that begin to establish a child?s path toward understanding the language and ultimately begin reading.
So you see, even though your baby hasn?t officially began learning to read in a structured manner, becoming an eventual good reader starts from the first day your child begins to hear what is to become their primary language. The first steps of translating sounds into words, words to sentences, and sentences to meanings is, in a sense, the foundation for the foundation of reading.
|
Mary Joyce is a former educator, successful homeschool parent, and has written many articles on
Homeschool Curriculum for the Homeschool-Curriculum-4u website. Please visit (http://www.homeschool-curriculum-4u.com) for more of Mary’s articles, resources on homeschool, ideas, and curriculum information.
January 26, 2008
Good communication skills are important to the success of a school site-based management council. Decision making is another key component. In order for a school site council to move forward, decisions must be made. This can only be done through communication.
Site-based management team members need to understand their role. Team members are representatives for their particular group. As a representative, team members must keep their constituents (stakeholders) informed throughout the meeting process. Communication is an essential ingredient to success. There are five popular methods of communicating that can be used in site-based management team meetings. These methods will be discussed further.
The first method is sending newsletters to teachers and parents informing them about the site-based management activities. Those stakeholders, outside the site-based management committee, need to know what is taking place during the meetings. Newsletters are an easy way to keep others informed. Many times meeting agendas and/or minutes can be adapted into a simple newsletter format for those who did not attend the meeting to read.
A more straightforward, second method of communication is posting minutes and reports. These postings can be displayed on bulletin boards in various areas around the school. The documents keep others informed and at the same time validate the work being done.
A third method of communicating takes time to implement, however it can give the committee additional information. At the end of each site based management meeting, several minutes are given to review what was accomplished. Members hold a short discussion and select topics that they want to present back to their representative groups. At the same time, team members share feedback given by constituents from the previous meeting. This is great technique to make sure there is ?buy in? from all stakeholders throughout the process.
Discussing site based management topics at regularly scheduled meetings is the fourth method of communicating. This can be done as an added agenda item at faculty meetings. It can be the best place to present topics and get feedback at the same time. However, this form of communication is primarily presented to staff only. It is important that additional methods are used to inform the other stakeholders, who might not attend faculty meetings.
The last method is surveys. Parents, teachers, and community members are polled by completing a survey. This survey provides a sample of their thoughts and opinions. It is a simple way keep a pulse of how a variety of groups feel about a topic.
All five of these methods are valid means of communicating with individuals, who aren?t actively participating in the site-based management meetings. When time and hard work have been expended by a team, yet things still fall apart. It is very disappointing. Site-based management teams need to communicate along the way, not wait until it is time to gain consensus. Without informing stakeholders throughout the process, it can and usually does back fire. Communication is crucial.
|
Amy Chapman writes for http://www.college-search.us, a tool designed to help students find the right college or school. She also writes for http://www.weblearner.com and http://www.distancelearner.com, sites designed to help students select and succeed in a distance learning environment.
January 25, 2008
The outlook of the community colleges in the future centers on three important areas. These areas include: new trends, school scholarship, and the role of the community college plays in society. How community colleges react to these three subjects, could determine the affect and use of the institution.
Trends in community colleges can be difficult to project. However, some trends are easy to spot. One such trend is the number of community colleges. This number will most likely remain the constant. On the other hand, the number of students attending is uncertain. The hope is that with a professional faculty able to train and adjust quickly to variety of influences in the workplace, community colleges will become more desirable. This will help schools maintain or increase their enrollment. Teaching in a community college is very labor intensive. With the type of student entering campuses becoming more academically diverse, instruction will continue to be time consuming.
It is also believed that the functions of the community college will remain the same. Campuses will continue to a focus on community education, collegiate study, and vocational education. It is believed that the areas, such as instruction and college governance will remain unchanged. The only projected change in college organization would be an increase in the collection of data. It will become increasingly important for community colleges to be able to report quantitatively the growth of students in order to validate their funding.
Scholarship is the second subject that will affect the future of community colleges. As was stated earlier, validating student and school growth will be crucial. In the past, little was spent on research for community colleges. With a large percentage of the nation?s students attending community colleges, there should be monies directed toward research. Community colleges would benefit from data gathered to develop new programs, better methods of instruction, and the ability to make projections to become better prepared for changes in demographics and/or economy.
Another important factor to scholarship is student assessment. With the diverse knowledge levels entering community campuses, it is becoming increasingly necessary to assess. Today, many students are tested upon entry. This assessment information, then directs students into the proper classes for success. In addition, this testing provides a baseline for the community college. Once a baseline is established, colleges can see how effective their courses are in moving students through skill acquisition. This is a key point in helping community colleges meet their goal of educating all students.
The third area affecting the future of community colleges is its role in society. At one time, there was a belief that the type of school one attends determines ones future career success. This belief has proven false. Today, students often move between universities and community colleges. Individuals seek out what works for them to attain the best training/instruction needed to acquire the career that they desire. It is not the charge of community colleges to ensure equal distribution of ethnic groups through professions. After all things are said, the inevitable directive of the community college remains in three areas. It provides connections to jobs through training and credentials, short term life-long learning opportunities, and a transitional learning point between the universities.
It is difficult to plan for the future. However, community colleges need to look forward and begin planning. This will provide institutions with the knowledge that is needed to move ahead.
| | | | | | | | |