Sunday, 28 November 2010
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Tips for getting your students serious about reading and writing.
A huge percentage of students are not excited about reading or writing anymore. There has been some recent activity in the field of reading with the onset of stories like Harry Potter and Twilight. Authors are becoming more involved in writing novels, whether they are historical or fictional for the preteen and teen students. With the advent of the two mentioned novels the students have become more attuned to reading and some have even thought they may be able to write such novels.
Most students do not like writing because they do not like to study grammar or literature in school. Literature and english grammar along with math are the least favored subjects in school.. Fundamentally, if the school system presents some of this material in a more modern way, we may be able to see some interest in students in this generatin.. Perhaps as we become more technologically advanced in what and how subjects are taught, there will be a revived interest in writing.
First the student has to become interested and excited about reading. There is a device that may help and that is text to speech service. The student does not have to sit there and read, he or she can use the text to speech software to hear the story actually being read to them. This approach makes it less boring for the students to begin with.. Eventually the student will see that the written word is not so bad after all.
By providing ecouragement by parents and teachers, students can be write about something that he or she is excited about. it could be anything ranging from an activity, a memoir or an accomplishment. If the student has an active imagination or any creative ability then he or she should be encouraged to write about it. If a student knows that others are interested in, writing a blog entry on a daily basis can actually help increase their excitement..
Students today are texting to their friends all of the time so, they do like to write. Texting messages is a form of telling a story, and if the student understands this then the excitement about telling stories will be born. As long as students are encouraged and are made to believe they have the capability, they will definitely take steps towards it.. But there has to be encouragement without criticism from the parent and the teachers to create the incentive to write.
Related Resources:
Techniques of Speed Reading
Techniques for making your classroom a paperless one
How to keep up with too much Information
Techniques of Speed Reading
Saturday, 20 November 2010
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How can technology make students more active
Childhood obesity is a rising problem particularly in the United States and there are a large number of initiatives devising technological devices with the intent of stopping obesity.. Of the several devices in the market, one of them that has become popular is a wireless sensor worn by a studnet. This sensor will determine the students anxiety levels, physical movement, and where the student is in time and space, body fat and a number of other things. If the sensor detects that a student may be stationary for an extended period of time, it notifies the student so that the student can plan their day accordingly.. The study is going to be able to see what impact it will have on promoting activity in students. Research indicates that this type of sensor will assist in restriction obesity in students as the outcomes are almost immediate..
Using this sensor technology is one way to prevent obesity and encourage activity among students.. Research shows more and more younger people are now less active than ever before.. However, if you are familiar with the WII games you can see how the student can exercise with a WII game and have fun doing it. There are a series of WII games to choose from and the student can choose to get a WII game that he or she would enjoy playing with. The WII games offer everything from bowling to hiking and it can all be done from the comfort of your own home.
EA Sports is another series like the WII except rather than games you will be able to exercise while using your body in accordance with the instructions. For instance, you can do lateral raises using your own gym equipment or you can have your own EA Sports personal trainer to teach you to box. Here the student can work out and have fun at the same time. Students always have an excuse to not going to the gym because of not enough time. An online text to speech service may help students to exercise while they listen to their favorite blogs, news or learning material.
Another way to curb obesity in students is to develop a realistic exercise regimen. Whether that exercise regimen is one of walking, jogging or requires the use of equipment it should be one that the student can enjoy doing. Once the routine is established, it must be followed faithfully. In addition, the exercise regimen should be accompanied by a nutritionally well balanced diet.
There are many exercise regimens that can be found online from Yoga to simple floor exercises. The trainers that have created the exercises and made the videos are experts in their fields. The videos are simple and have a beginner in mind. They are very easy to follow and provide good results.. MapMyRun is an internet site that allows you to log workouts and create jogging routes. CaloriesPerHour is an internet site that calculates the caloric requirements for an individual.
Although technology has been blamed for making this generation obese, you can find devices and services that can actually prevent obesity.
Additional Resources:
How to make your classroom paperless
Techniques for making your classroom a paperless one
Getting started with Speed Reading
How to keep up with too much Information
Saturday, 13 November 2010
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Techniques for making your classroom a paperless one
There has been more realization with this generation and several nations have taken major initiatives for a eco friendly earth such as recycling and saving energy.. Using less paper is one great way to assist the environment.. There is no better way to save trees than going paperless.
The paperless classroom can start through the use of technology and several latest gadgets. Devices such as the Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) or an Apple IPad/IPod can go a long way in reducing the amount of paper used in a classroom.By using laptops, students not only have convenient access to information, it reduces the need to print out class material.
Use of mobile devices or laptops especially helps ESL/EFL students as they help tailor the pace at which the student is learning the English language.. With the PDA system each student can type their work on the tiny keyboard and submit their homework to the teacher through various ports. This method allows the teacher to have a back up of each student's homework so that the work is not lost. Aside from saving trees, using technology in a classroom saves cost incurred in printing and paper and at the same time makes it easier for a teacher as the data is organized and easily available..
Daily paper waste is saved when the students can take their notes on the PDAs. When the students learn to use their PDAs there are no more multiple copies or backups to contend with.
Although providing devices and technology has a higher upfront cost, it pays for itself pretty quickly helping schools save money in the long run.. Students can read the classic text needed in their literature classes on the PDA. Because there is virtually no paper used in the new classroom the school can save money on the purchase of paper for their student population. Other than the use of devices, there are lots of online services and softwares that are available for teachers and students alike. One of them is a text to speech service that can assist students with their reading.. The text to speech service allows the text to be read to the student rather then to have the student read the text. Some of these text to speech services go one step further and makes it very convenient to students by providing options to adjust the speed of the voice. ESL/EFL students can also benefit from the text to speech services by understanding how the natives pronounce certain sentences..
In conclusion, the one thing that is really significant for a paperless classroom is every student gaining access to a computer or a portable device.
Additional Resources:
Dealing with Information overload
Speed Reading - An Introduction
How to keep up with too much Information
Tips to use your commute time more efficiently
Tuesday, 09 November 2010
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How to become a techie teacher
The teaching profession has come a long way from the one-room school, as teaching today's student moves away from the traditional classroom and traditional teaching tactics. Education in general and teaching in particular has now started accepting numerous technologies. Using technologies in teaching doesn't necessarily mean that the teacher needs to be a techie.
Teachers should always be aware of their expertise and channel that expertise to what the students would think the "cool stuff." Talking to the student is no longer the way to go; as you learn something from the students as well if you talk to them. Discuss your techie tools with other teachers.
- As a teacher, you need to figure out how to supplement learning material with technology. Here are some tips:
- Use Google or SketchUp for searches and social networks such as Twitter for connection and communication.
- We all know how boring text books can be, so why not use videos such as "Global Views?"·
- Take advantage of free stuff that is offered to techie teachers.·
- Let your students know that they too have something to offer and let them tell their stories.
There are a large number of technical devices that help educators to bring the latest technology to the classroom. Using a service such as text to speech can enable students multitask and listen to text while they are commuting or doing other activities.. Text to speech software will read the printed page to the student. This is exceptionally good to the student that may be unable to read because of poor eyesight, doing something simultaneously with the written word (instructions and creativity together), and many other reasons. Online text to speech can also be helpful to the student that needs to have the information on hand.
The techie friendly classroom is considered nowadays to be a great way to learn and teach.. Several web services such as search engines, blogs, Web 2.0 sites and various softwares are now making teaching more exciting than ever before.. For that reason the teacher does not have to be a technology expert; as long as the teacher knows how to turn on and turn off the computer and navigate the web he or she can be a techie teacher. Today's students are well versed in the modern technology with their computers, cell phones, MP3 players, Ipods and more. However, they do have to learn to put these things into use in a learning mode.
Additional Resources:
Using Text to Speech technology for EFL/ESL Students
Tips for dealing with Information Overload
How can Text to Speech help students learn English
Are you a EFL/ESL Student? Learn how Text to Speech can help you.
Wednesday, 03 November 2010
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Tips on using Text to Speech for ESL/EFL Students
When you are learning a new language such as English, the process may not be an effortless one.. Nevertheless since the development of the text to speech software the process of learning has become easier for the teacher as well as the student.
Text to speech programs are programs that synthetically send the text of a story, book, magazine, newspaper, etc. orally to the computer. EFL/ESL students can hear the audio helping them in pronounciation and comprehension..
The text to speech programs are utilized not just for those students that have an interest in learning English grammar and language; they are also used for students that are visually impaired. The visually challenged students no longer have to wait for somebody to read to them. They can now study and learn at their own pace at whatever time they choose. There are some text to speech programs that do not apply to the visually impaired student because they have some text that must be read on the computer.
Text to Speech technologies has it's own merits and demerits, but the merits clearly outweighs the merits.. A few of the advantages are:
· There is text on almost any area that the user can listen to;
· The students can adjust the speed of the program to suit their needs;
· A student can download the mp3 to their favorite mp3 player and listen to it on the go.
A student can regulate the pace determined by their learning speed..
· The EFL and ESL student may also make up small dialogues and regulate the run time to assist them learn dialogue.
One of the constraints while using text to speech programs is they necessitate a fast computer. Although today's computers are equipped with new and faster technology not all EFL and ESL student may have the means with which to have access to a newer and faster computer. Also, the files generated by the desktop programs are locally stored and not available from other computers. An online text to speech service can help the students overcome these limitations.
Here are some tips that EFL/ESL students can use which may help them in their English language learning process.;
· Prepare a listing of words that are most often mispronounced and practice saying them correctly;
· Write your own short sentences and then listen to them and make the proper corrections in your speech;
· Together with another EFL or ESL student prepare short dialogues and listen to them. Again make all proper corrections until you both pronounce the words correctly; and
· Make it a daily habit to read newspapers and magazines with the help of the text to speech program.
This is only a short list of tips to help the EFL and ESL student to learn to use the English language. Students can create their own tips as they learn.
Additional Resources:
Spending too much time on the road? Tips for making your commute time more enjoyable
Speed Reading - An Introduction
Dealing with Information overload
Tips to use your commute time more efficiently
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