Author Archives: schatzi

Why Foreign Languages Are Best Learned In Their Native Country

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Learning a foreign language has many advantages. As far as the business community is concerned, it helps to expand business activity in a foreign country. For people seeking employment abroad, it helps gain jobs. But, the question is where to learn a foreign language? Should you learn it in your home country or in the country where it is spoken as the official language?

Some people call this a vexed question, but in reality the question is not vexed because the answer is simple. You should always learn a language in its native country. Of course, there are several institutions or even universities that can teach you a foreign language in your home country, but the native country always remains the preference. There are several reasons for this and it can be summarized as follows.

The Standard:

Most languages of the world have many dialects spoken in different geographical regions. There are dialects for official use and for everyday use. The standard dialect is always spoken in the native country. The other varieties are diluted versions and often show the influence of other languages. Learning a language in the native country will help you learn the authentic variety.

Learn the Culture:

Language learning is closely tied to culture. Experts are of the opinion that if you understand the culture of any country, it helps you understand the hidden meaning of some of the expressions used in the written or spoken language. By going to the native country, you get closer to the local people and that is a wonderful opportunity to understand their culture. If you are a businessman, it also helps you to promote your business interest in that country.

Repetitive lessons:

Language is a performative. A lot of things that you don’t learn in class you learn by your interactions with others. When you stay in a country where the language you are learning is the official language, you will interact with your classmates and friends. It is needless to say you will have a wonderful opportunity to discuss your lessons with your friends. Not only this, you will get an opportunity to interact with other native speakers such as when you eat at a restaurant or when you go shopping. This way your learning of the language, is not restricted to the class hours. Thus, you can master the communicative aspects of the language and not just grammatical.

Learn the proper accent:

In any language accent plays a crucial role. When you interact with other students, you will certainly learn the proper accent and if you go wrong, your friends will take pains to correct you. Therefore, you will master the spoken language. It is needless to say that once you master the skill of spoken language, you will also be able to communicate effectively in the written form.

As a result of all this, you will take less time to learn the language and you show greater chances of achieving the required proficiency both in written and spoken language. Naturally, this will affect your communication skills.

Doctorate of Education Distance Learning Online – Getting the Doctorate of Education You Need Online

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You’ve been considering a Doctorate of education (EdD) for quite some time but taking time out of your life to pursue your goals is simply not an option. Well today’s distance learning allows you the opportunity to gain that degree online with the most flexible schedule possible. And the education is top-rate.

When you pursue your Doctor of Education online you will learn how to became a leaders who can strategically manage and lead complex educational organizations.

You will be an educational professional who can demonstrate analytical, critical, and innovative thinking to improve the performance of practically any educational institutions. And distance learning is a proven method to educate working adults by developing the knowledge and skills that will enable them to achieve their professional goals, improve the productivity of their organizations, and provide leadership to better serve their communities.

The Online Advantage

Imagine being able to pursue a Doctorate at your own pace, and without leaving your home–through an online school! The fact is that there are many variety of schools distance learning schools to give you the education you want. Each offers a quality selection of Doctoral Level Education Degrees, with specializations like:

  • Adult Education Leadership
  • Community College Leadership
  • Early Childhood Education
  • Educational Technology
  • Higher Education
  • K-12 Educational Leadership
  • Special Education
  • Curriculum and Instruction
  • Educational Technology
  • Higher Education Administration
  • Administrator Leadership for Teaching and Learning
  • Adult Learning
  • Educational Leadership
  • Self-Designed

The fact is that a Doctorate in Education is the pinnacle of online Education Degrees. And many of today’s top universities are stepping up to provide an education that produces leaders to address the nation’s most pressing educational challenges. Each of the specializations is designed to match your professional interests and meet the needs of your organization.

Training Management System – Every Organization Needs One

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Organizations spend significant amount of money on training and development of their employees. Training is done in different areas, for different employees, in different ways at different times. In order to appreciate the benefits of the effort and investment in training, it is imperative that the training is managed in a systematic manner and not treated as a sporadic set of activities or events.

A good training management system can address the different factors needed to make training effective.

Development is continuous process

Development of employees is not just a one time event. It is a continuous process with many activities carried over a period of time. This in turn means that proper tracking of the same should be done. Organization would need to know the development activities that an employee participated in. This is one key element of a good training management system. It helps track the various activities that an employee goes through during a period of time. At the end of say a year, we are able to look at the various trainings that an employee has gone through, judge whether they have indeed made an impact on the employee’s performance at work.

Training involves varied events

Training methodologies have evolved over the years due to improvement in the knowledge in the behavioral sciences including adult learning and proliferation of internet technologies. Training is no more just a classroom activity. There are many methodologies which are adopted for imparting knowledge and skills including instructor classroom training, instructor led training over the web, self paced individual learning, and so on. Organizations would very much want to track all such learning activities to make a proper analysis of which of them is working best. A training management system enables organizations to track several training activities which may be happening across the organization.

Operational and strategic inputs

A good training management system can make the operational part of the training and development function very effective. It also provides strategic inputs for decision making on human capital enhancement for the organization. Administrative activities can be automated, collaboration can be enabled, data generation can be democratized, project or event management can become more systematic and inclusive – all of these making the execution of training management easier, efficient and productive. From a strategic perspective, a training management system will be able to provide vital information on cost break down from different view points (such as department, location, business unit and so on), feedback on the effectiveness of the training programs, quality of the training vendors, participation levels and so on.

Any organization which is serious about developing the knowledge and skills of its employees and invests in training their employees to enhance the human capital of the organization should be seriously considering deploying a good training management system for their organization.

Write What You Know: Personal Writing Is Effective Writing

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One of the hardest things about writing is figuring out what to actually write about. In my experience this is true regardless of the type of writing you’re doing. Whether you’re planning an essay, a blog entry or an article for publication, figuring out exactly what to write about can be a very difficult hurdle to overcome. However, there is a relatively simple and effective way to get past this particular form of writer’s block: Write what you know.

Writing what you know means writing what you already have knowledge of or experience in. For example, suppose you already know a lot about film. You could write something that takes advantage of that knowledge, like an article on modern directing techniques or the rise of independent film in the United States. There may be a particular genre of movies or television that you love. If you’re a Star Trek fan, write your essay about that. You might be a fan of professional basketball. You could write an article chronicling the ups and downs of your favorite team throughout history, or an essay spotlighting the efforts of a specific player. No matter how exciting or dull you consider your own life to be, there is really no end to the things you could write about.

Consider your learning, experience and interests. When I was in college I took one of those exams where students are required to write a short essay within a specific time frame. I think we had about thirty minutes to complete it, and the topic could be any subject we wished. I spent a few moments panicking, realized I was wasting precious time and put my pencil to paper. “I’m going to write about books,” I thought. What exactly I was going to say about them I had no idea, but I started writing anyway. I ended up writing quite passionately about my lifelong experience with books and reading and had enough time to conclude the essay, go back and proofread before turning it in. I must have looked pretty funny all hunched over and scribbling away, but I had a subject come to mind that I knew and was passionate about and that made all the difference (the pressure of the deadline probably also made quite a bit of difference, but that’s another subject).

I ended up getting an A on that paper. The professor even wrote a comment at the end saying my enthusiasm for books had swept her up while she was reading, and that’s another important point: If possible, write not only about what you know but also about what you love. The more you love something, the greater your interest in and passion for a topic, the more captivating your writing will become. People won’t be able to help themselves. They’ll feel your excitement and it will make your writing seem all the more interesting.

Writing about what you know and love is a lot easier than choosing a topic that sounds dull or is something you know nothing about. You have to make the extra effort not only to research and learn, but also to find (or feign) some enthusiasm for the subject. If you choose something you already know well, you’re ready to write! You can go back and edit later, but it will be that much easier to get something down to work with in the first place.

The Results of Home Schooling vs Public Schools

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One of the very first questions that most parents ask about home schooling is whether it actually works. They are only too well aware of the fact that the public schools have problems, but really wonder whether they can do any better. One natural response for some parents is to try a little harder to see if they can afford private schooling but, even if this were possible, are the private schools faring any better than the public schools?

The simple fact of the matter is that there are many, quality studies which show that, on average, home schooling produces superior students. To an extent of course this is understandable as parents clearly have an effect on education no matter which route they take. A parent who is genuinely interested in the education of his or her children will help to motivate them, producing better results.

But there is certainly more to it that this and there are many cases, in a great enough variety of situations, to take even this into account and still come to the conclusion that home schooling produces better results.

Even the Unites States Department of Education agrees. In one study which they sponsored themselves home schooled students produced exceptionally high test scores. The median scores in every grade were far higher than those of public schools and even higher than those of private school students. The average home schooled student in grades one through four was a grade level above that of public school peers and, by the time home schooled students reached the equivalent of the 8th grade, they were as much as four years ahead of students attending public school.

As if this were not enough, costs were also lower. On average, government schools spent $6,500 per student each year and private schools spent $3,500. By contrast, parents undertaking home schooling spent about $550 per student each year. This figure for home schooling does not of course take into account the time spent by parents on home schooling for which a public school teacher would be paid.

The public school system as we know it today evolved during the second half of the 19th century as one state after another made school attendance compulsory. Perhaps the most interesting question however, and one which rarely seems to be asked, is why, if public schooling offered such superior value, it was necessary for the states to make it compulsory and to force parents to put their children into the public school system.

It could be, and sometimes is, argue that this was due to the ignorance of rural parents who did not see the value of education. However, it is interesting to note that adult illiteracy rates in 1840 Massachusetts were a low 2% and that, by 1995, this figure had risen to 19%, in spite of apparently enormous advances in the intervening years. In 1840 libraries were rare and today they are everywhere as books are both relatively inexpensive and easy to trade.

Today over a million children are home schooled in the United States and thousands of home schooled students have attended colleges and universities, including many of the most prestigious and difficult to get into.

Whatever your own thoughts about home schooling vs public schooling there is no doubt that the results clearly show the advantage of home schooling.

Complete EMT Courses and Become a Competent Emergency Care Provider

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EMTs and Paramedics are entry-level health care providers. Their quick reaction, immediate care, and transportation of victims to hospitals or emergency medical settings have resulted in saving thousands of lives throughout the world every year. On receiving the emergency calls, they immediately rush to the fatal accident or emergency scenes. There, they assess the prevailing situation and provide emergency medical care to individuals with traumatic injuries or illness. Their next foremost duty is to transfer these patients to the nearest hospital or emergency facilities by the land medical flights or ground ambulances.

EMT Training Programs

In order to become an EMT, the applicants will have to complete state and local regulations approved training programs in their respective state. EMT Training is normally post-secondary level non-degree award emergency medical program. The applicants must possess minimum high school diploma or GED. The prerequisites also include cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) certification. The programs are offered in community colleges, technical institutes, universities, and educational institutes specializing in emergency medical trainings. There are four different levels of EMT training programs including EMT Basic Level, EMT Intermediate Level, EMT Advance Level, and Paramedics. The training programs include coursework, classroom instructions, clinical training, lab training, internship, and field training.

EMT Course Work

EMT courses are developed as per state and local prehospital care and hospital-based emergency care requirements. The common EMT courses and topics include scope of practice of an EMT, skills on initial emergency patient evaluation, medical and legal issues, emergency medical care, bleeding management, safe lifting of critically ill or traumatic injured patients. The course work also includes oxygenation, ventilation, shock management, diabetes, gynecology, cardiology, respiratory, poison or trauma emergencies. The students are also advised to complete college-level English course, Anatomy and Physiology course, and Medical Terminology course. They are also acquainted with various basic emergency equipments such as oxygen delivery systems, backboards, stretchers, Ambulances, and transportation of patients to emergency facilities.

EMT clinical training also requires spending some times with patients in emergency facilities and ambulances. Advance EMT and Paramedic require completion of advance course works, consisting of different level EMT courses, as well as trainings on intravenous fluids, medications, knowledge and use of complex airway devices, and wound stitching.

The complete course work must meet the approved standard and curriculum set by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA). The completion of the course work and clinical training allow candidates to appear for different levels of EMT certification test, offered by the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians (NREMT). The successful candidates are awarded EMT Certificates according to their level of training.

Preparing For the LEED V3 Green Associate Exam Helpful Hints

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You have taken notes, read your texts, spoken with people, and studied the information you have gathered for that big day. The big day is exam day for the LEED GA Green Associate v3 exam. When you wake up the morning of your exam, the first thing you need to do before taking the exam is to eat a good and nutritious breakfast. This will allow you to get something in your stomach and you can watch something on TV to get your mind off of the exam or you can do a bit more studying. Once finished at home, you then get in your car and begin driving to the testing center, just be sure you have double-checked where your exam is going to take place so that you are not late or miss the exam. After parking your vehicle, you find the testing room and alert the representative that you are there for the leed AP exam. The representative will then take you to a locker so that you can store all of your personal items. Once you have locked up your belongings you will be taken to an area where there is a computer, paper for scratch paper, and pencil. Normally these testing centers use cubicles for people to take their exams. If you do not want any outside distractions while taking your leed certification exam, you will also receive headphones.

Once you reach the cubicle and are seated you will be shown an introductory tutorial on marking the exam, which is supposed to take 10 minutes, but in all reality, only takes roughly 2 minutes. Once you finish the first part of the introductory tutorial then you have the options of skipping over the remaining tutorials. If you pay attention to the tutorial, you have a better chance of making a higher grade, because those who do not pay attention end up marking their answers incorrectly. After you are done with the tutorial part, you will have exactly 7-8 minutes to do what is called a brain dump. This allows you to write down anything on the scratch paper that you can remember for your test. You may wish to write your mnemonic device of WIMSEE or the other one ASHRAE. Don’t use this as a cheat sheet, but rather use it to help give you hints as to what information means. Most people that have done this have done very well on the exam.

If you are unsure of what a brain dump is for, you may wish to practice a few days in advance to take the test and see how much information you can put on the paper. This type of paper is to be used to reminder. Some representatives will not allow you to write on the paper before the test, but if that is not a problem, that’s a good help during your exam. You need to get yourself mentally prepared for the leeds certification exam. When you become leed certified you will be glad that you took the extra time to study and listen to the hints and tips along the way.

Career Transition Tips for Singles – Four Perks to Being Single and on a Career Search

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If you’re unhappy in your job and also single, you may not think this is the best time to begin a career search or career transition. Maybe you’ve told yourself, “This isn’t a good time because it’s just me. There’s no one to lean on and offer support, financially or otherwise.”

I want you to know that this is not true. In many ways, there is no better time to work on your career than when you’re single.

I’m a certified career coach and I work with people like you who are in career transition and in need of guidance and support. There’s a special place in my heart for single career seekers. It wasn’t so long ago that I was single myself and experiencing the same exact fears and feelings as you are.

Even though it may not always seem this way, there is an enormous amount of help and support out there for singles wanting to make a career change. It’s a great time to learn, grow, and explore your many talents and personality traits. Here are 4 reasons why it rocks to be single and on the prowl for a fab new career!

1. You have more time to focus solely on your career search.

Being in a relationship requires time and commitment. You want to spend quality time with your partner. When you’re single, you have more time and energy to focus on your career search. And let’s be honest, more freedom to make any choice you want to in terms of the location or type of job you choose.

Partnered career seekers have more to consider when making a career change. So see your single status as a blessing because it is in many ways. You’re free, you’re available, and you’ve got all the time you need to discover the job of your dreams.

2. Career transition can teach you how to better manage your finances.

Sometimes when we make a change in our careers, our pocketbooks can feel the pinch. Maybe you’ve quit your “real job” in favor of a part-time position that can tide you over while you go back to school. Maybe you had to step down to an entry level position once you switched to a new industry where you had less experience.

The good news is, the money crunch is only temporary while you’re in career transition. You can work through it, and still manage to splurge on something you’d really enjoy every now and then. What’s more, being in career transition really teaches people how to be smart about money. It can help you identify and clarify your priorities in order to manage your money wisely.

3. You’ll learn a lot about yourself.

Career transition is one of those experiences where you can’t help but learn a lot about yourself. By engaging in a transition you are committing to stepping out of your comfort zone to make a change. You will learn what’s important to you, what obstacles hold you back and the enormous strength you have to go through this major change. Everybody proceeds on the path to self awareness at their own pace. If you feel like people are putting pressure on you to make a decision or get everything right, remember this. It’s your life. Only you will know when the right time is to start that new job, move to a new location or whatever you want to do.

4. Career networking is a great way to get out there and meet new people.

Networking in order to land that new job is about putting your most professional foot forward. But you never know, you may also meet some new friends in the process and expand your social circle. I’m not suggesting career networking is a way to meet a prospective partner, far from it. But networking is a great way to put yourself out there and overcome any fears you may have about meeting new people.

The great thing about career transition is that during the exploratory phase, you’ll become acquainted with parts of your personality that you may never even have known existed before. It’s a sure fire way to get closer to finding out what really will make you happy in life.

Write What You Know: Personal Writing Is Effective Writing

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One of the hardest things about writing is figuring out what to actually write about. In my experience this is true regardless of the type of writing you’re doing. Whether you’re planning an essay, a blog entry or an article for publication, figuring out exactly what to write about can be a very difficult hurdle to overcome. However, there is a relatively simple and effective way to get past this particular form of writer’s block: Write what you know.

Writing what you know means writing what you already have knowledge of or experience in. For example, suppose you already know a lot about film. You could write something that takes advantage of that knowledge, like an article on modern directing techniques or the rise of independent film in the United States. There may be a particular genre of movies or television that you love. If you’re a Star Trek fan, write your essay about that. You might be a fan of professional basketball. You could write an article chronicling the ups and downs of your favorite team throughout history, or an essay spotlighting the efforts of a specific player. No matter how exciting or dull you consider your own life to be, there is really no end to the things you could write about.

Consider your learning, experience and interests. When I was in college I took one of those exams where students are required to write a short essay within a specific time frame. I think we had about thirty minutes to complete it, and the topic could be any subject we wished. I spent a few moments panicking, realized I was wasting precious time and put my pencil to paper. “I’m going to write about books,” I thought. What exactly I was going to say about them I had no idea, but I started writing anyway. I ended up writing quite passionately about my lifelong experience with books and reading and had enough time to conclude the essay, go back and proofread before turning it in. I must have looked pretty funny all hunched over and scribbling away, but I had a subject come to mind that I knew and was passionate about and that made all the difference (the pressure of the deadline probably also made quite a bit of difference, but that’s another subject).

I ended up getting an A on that paper. The professor even wrote a comment at the end saying my enthusiasm for books had swept her up while she was reading, and that’s another important point: If possible, write not only about what you know but also about what you love. The more you love something, the greater your interest in and passion for a topic, the more captivating your writing will become. People won’t be able to help themselves. They’ll feel your excitement and it will make your writing seem all the more interesting.

Writing about what you know and love is a lot easier than choosing a topic that sounds dull or is something you know nothing about. You have to make the extra effort not only to research and learn, but also to find (or feign) some enthusiasm for the subject. If you choose something you already know well, you’re ready to write! You can go back and edit later, but it will be that much easier to get something down to work with in the first place.

Colleges in London: Your Only Choice

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If you are looking to study in London, you may be feeling slightly bewildered by the number of Higher Education Institutes promoting their services to you. Research shows that in 2008/9 426,175 students were registered in colleges in London. London is home to 60 publicly funded universities and colleges which are assessed by the UK Quality Assurance Agenc. In addition to these publicly funded Educational organisations, exist a multitude of specialist Independent colleges offering courses ranging from Diplomas in Fashion Drawing to Masters of Business and Administration.

Locating the Best Colleges in London

As a prospective International student it is possible that you have found your chosen college in London using the internet. Please beware of bogus colleges and do the maximum amount of research possible before parting with any cash!

Be certain that the qualifications delivered by the college are valid. Many bogus colleges in London draw in students from overseas by alleging to have the same qualification awarding powers as UK universities.

UK Recognised Higher Education Awarding Bodies

The UK Higher education system maintains its acclaimed global reputation by adhering to strict regulations. In order for an HEI to be recognised as a university with awarding powers it is required to undergo review by ACDAP, a division of the UK QAA.

The HEI can only issue certified qualifications independently and be listed as a Recognized Body by the DBIS after it has been approved by ACDAP.

Beware of Sham Colleges in London

As a rule Independent colleges do not have the authority to issue their own UK degrees, unlike universities, and are not obligated by law to be monitored by an external quality agency. If you are a prospective International student about to apply to any of the private colleges in London, please make the following checks before signing anything.

Cautionary Indicators

* Do not approach any private college without accreditation from an independent external quality agency such as the British Accreditation Council (BAC).

* Check that the college is listed on the register of Listed Bodies by the DBIS, and linked with a Recognized Body, or official university.

* Ensure that the college is partnered with an internationally recognized awarding body by checking on UK NARIC.

* Ensure the college provides accredited qualifications from approved awarding organisations such as Edexcel by checking the Register on the OFQUAL website.

* Do not choose a college which is not authorized by the UK Border Agency to enrol international students.

* Visa letters (CAS letters) can only be issued by registered colleges with a valid Tier 4 licence from the UK BA.

With so much scope for opportunity and self-development, your time spent studying in London could be life-changing, so to ensure you take the best choice from your short-listed colleges in London make sure you ask the right questions and do your research.