Category Archives: Educational System

На саммите ООН Михаил Пелег подчеркнул роль образования в достижении Целей устойчивого развития до 2030 года

НЬЮ-ЙОРК, США, 21-Nov-2023 — /EPR EDUCATION NEWS/ — Как сообщается, предприниматель и филантроп Михаил Пелег недавно присоединился к делегации мировых бизнес-лидеров на саммите ООН по Целям Устойчивого Развития (ЦУР) 2023 года в Нью-Йорке. Международное мероприятие, которое проходило 18-19 сентября, предоставило платформу для обсуждения перспективных действий, направленных на ускорение движения к Повестке дня на 2030 год и Целям устойчивого развития.

Собрание было инициировано Президентом Генеральной Ассамблеи и отметило половину пути к достижению амбициозной Повестки дня на 2030 год. Саммит стал центральным событием для ряда других значимых мероприятий, включая Саммит по климату, диалоги высокого уровня по финансированию развития, встречи по вопросам здравоохранения и министерскую встречу в подготовке к Саммиту Будущего 2024 года.

В ходе саммита Михаил Пелег подчеркнул важность генерации идей и инициатив, которые помогут преодолеть препятствия на пути к достижению ЦУР. Он выразил признательность роли саммита в развитии глобального диалога и установлении связей между коммерцией, образованием и устойчивым развитием. Помогая развивать ключевые инициативы, саммит имеет потенциал положительно влиять на жизни миллионов людей по всему миру.

Акцент Михаила Пелега на образование как ключевой компонент в достижении Целей устойчивого развития был повторно подчеркнут на недавнем мероприятии ÐœÐµÐ¶Ð´ÑƒÐ½Ð°Ñ€Ð¾Ð´Ð½Ð¾Ð³Ð¾ дня грамотности в штаб-квартире ЮНЕСКО в Париже 8 сентября 2023 года.

Высоко оценивая важность образования, Михаил Пелег активно ищет партнерства с некоммерческими организациями, стремящимися предоставить доступ к образованию и бороться с неграмотностью в развивающихся странах Африки и Юго-Восточной Азии. По мнению Пелега, решение глобальных образовательных диспаритетов имеет ключевое значение для установления мира, искоренения бедности и продвижения устойчивого развития.

По мнению Михаила Пелега, саммит ЦУР является важной платформой, объединяющей людей в качестве глобального сообщества для решения ключевых вопросов и инвестирования в будущее нашей планеты. Только в результате совместного сотрудничества, мы можем достичь Целей устойчивого развития и создать более справедливое и стабильное будущее для всех.

SOURCE: EuropaWire

An innovative educational framework to help to effectively and permanently increase the creative competence of individuals and organizations

PRAGUE, 26-Aug-2022 — /EPR EDUCATION NEWS/ — In the 21st century, creativity is a key skill that people need in business, education and to develop companies. It helps to solve complex societal, social and environmental challenges – and to date, it has not been used enough. Therefore, an international team of experts from six European countries, led by the Czech team, has created a new, innovative method that changes existing procedures in problem-solving, education and teamwork. Called the Kinetic Method, it can be used by non-governmental organizations in youth work and adult education, or to explore solutions to social problems, such as racism or social exclusion. But it can also be used by companies for team building, or by universities.

The authors presented the results of their work in a new book: The Kinetic Method – A Playbook for Solving Problems. Developing this method took them 10 years of work, and the European Union Erasmus + programme financed the publication of their results.

The Kinetic Method can be used, for example, by the managers of social or educational organizations, social and youth workers, learning facilitators or coaches working in team building – anyone dealing with developing team performance, personal and professional development, and creativity for problem solving, innovation and resilience.

The Kinetic Method aims to become a well-used and sustainable tool. The authors state that this innovative framework will help to effectively and permanently increase the creative competence of individuals and organizations – and that this creativity can be learned. They view creativity as a learning outcome rather than a characteristic or personal trait.

“The Kinetic Method allows youth workers to support not only young people to develop their creativity so that they can more easily find a life path and a job. It boosts the development of creative skills and self-confidence, offers educators a way of reaching socially excluded young people, contributes to the preventing intolerance and fights against the radicalization current in Europe,” says co-author and senior trainer, consultant Zora Csalagovits from Hungary.

What makes the Kinetic Method and the book unique?
The Kinetic Method uses functional creativity to enable groups of people to work together while pursuing their goals and progress at work. It demonstrates how to increase the value of contributions in groups and boosts the ability to solve complex tasks. It consists of a set of practices related to skills, mindset and environment. It is not merely creativity itself, but creativity that is directed towards a common purpose or goal that is meaningful to society.

Whenever you are working on something that is important to you, you need to think creatively. “We have divided the approach to learning how to be creative into skills (the basic competencies that people use in creative tasks), mindsets (attitudes that are necessary for developing persistence and good habits in creative practice) and environment (the context of creativity), which can make or break our creative endeavours and our ability to collaborate creatively). In this way, we talk about embedding creativity in how we approach new things, how we think about ourselves and how we collaborate with others,” Karolina Iwa from Poland, social innovator, intercultural psychologist and co-author, describes the method.

The book The Kinetic Method – A Playbook for Solving Problems summarizes the history of this methodology, a collection of methods and activities, and provides a description of methods in each of the nine chapters, with easy-to-follow instructions. This variety also reflects the different life experiences of the co-authors. One of the most difficult tasks was learning to ask good questions, which surprised the authors during their research. Often individuals are so driven by the search for answers that they forget the whole journey of the question itself, they say.

“This methodology supports creative action by building basic competencies in how to think and approach a problem right from the start, how to develop the necessary internal characteristics for building these skills and co-create an environment in which all participating members of the community can be creative,” confirms Mariana Marques, director of YUPI and trainer from Portugal.

Why is the method called Kinetic?
Kinetic means ‘relating to or resulting from motion’. “The word kinetic, for us, was about transforming people’s potential into a real action. Taking the creativity that is inside each of us, and finding a way to activate it. We wanted to think of creativity as something you can learn and also learn to direct or control when you need to,” explains American social scientist working in the UK, consultant and co-author Tracie Farrell. The authors, she says, wanted to demystify the idea of creativity as something that you are either born with or not, a talent you have or don’t have, and show people how it is really a collection of skills, mindsets and environmental features that make up creative action. “In a world full of very complex problems, we need everyone to contribute useful and interesting ideas. We wanted to help people gain the confidence to be able to do that,” says Tracie Farrell.

To develop the Kinetic Method, the authors collaborated with 100 users, one of whom was lecturer and manager Aneta Bednářová, director of the non-profit organization Genesis from the Czech Republic. “I have been training people who work with children and youth and management in the non-profit and private sector all over the world for many years. Their projects have a social impact. But they are often a group of enthusiasts who have not, however, mastered management or leadership skills. The Kinetic Method is an interactive form of informal education, which can be applied when working with children, team building, strengthening working relationships and solving personal problems. It binds the team together and clearly defines roles – and as a result, the team works more efficiently,” concludes Aneta Bednářová, who coordinated the entire project.

The project partners:
Genesis Czech Republic, YUPI Portugal, TE-IS Hungary, Youth Garage e. V., Associazione Interculturale NUR and MODE, move & develop foundation

About the authors:

Karolina Iwa is a social innovator, large group facilitator, intercultural psychologist and Theory U practitioner who supports systems and individuals to transform society and to face complex challenges. She is a member of many global OD communities driving positive change in the world, and the co-founder of Leadership Festival, a collective effort committed to co-emerging new paradigm(s) of leadership. She is a member of the Advisory Board of the Global Learning & Exchange Network and a researcher and author in the field of functional creativity. In her free time, she is an avid mountaineer both in summer and winter, a sailor and an explorer of intergenerational narratives.

Tracie Farrell PhD is a research fellow at the Knowledge Media Institute of the Open University. Her areas of study include online social harm (such as hate speech and misinformation) and technology-enhanced learning. In 2022, she was awarded a UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship, for research on queering AI and its subfields in relation to social justice. In her free time, she plays boardgames and video games, and enjoys the seaside with her dog.

Zora Csalagovits is a senior trainer and consultant with a rich history of working in learning and development, especially in the field of international youth work. A Gestalt therapist, she is skilled in individual coaching and working with groups, non-formal educational methodology, diversity & inclusion management, and graphic recording. She is passionate about creativity and visualization as supporting tools in learning; when free, she enjoys fun (board)games and outdoor gatherings with friends and family.

SOURCE: EuropaWire

Eurekos er hurtigt ved at blive det foretrukne læringssystem for organisationer

KØBENHAVN, Danmark, 18-Mar-2021 — /EPR EDUCATION NEWS/ — Eurekos, en førende global udbyder af Learning Management Technology, har intensiveret sin position pÃ¥ den prestigefyldte Fosway 9-Grid™, en uafhængig vurdering af Learning Management-systemer.

Fosway, Europas #1 HR-brancheanalytiker, er en uafhængig, objektiv gruppe, der analyserer markedsvirkelighederne og yder indsigt i fremtiden for HR, talent og læring. Fosway anerkendte Eurekos-løsningen for sit stærke sæt af funktioner, brugervenlige grænseflade, integrerede værktøj til udarbejdelse af indhold, åben arkitektur og høj værdi.

”Eurekos bliver snart det foretrukne læringssystem for organisationer, der søger læringsindhold af høj værdi og en intuitiv, tilpasselig platform. Vi er meget beærede over at være pÃ¥ Fosway 9-Grid™ blandt de bedste læringssystemer og platforme i verden,” fortæller Anders Willumsen, administrerende direktør for Eurekos. “Det er ogsÃ¥ bemærkelsesværdigt, at Eurekos havde det højeste niveau for databeskyttelsesoverholdelse, ISO 27001 og 27701, i hele 9-Grid™ samt de laveste ejeromkostninger i vores 9-Grid™ -zone.”

”Eurekos hjælper virksomheder med at træne på en global målestok med fokus på det korporative og udvidede enterpriseområde. Vores SaaS-cloudbaserede platform er særligt udviklet til at udmærke sig ved global træning, herunder kunde, medarbejder, salg, overholdelse og kanalpartnertræning samt mere, ” fortsatte Willumsen. “Vores løsning understøtter den samlede kunderejse fra indholdsproduktion til distribution, tilmelding og statistik, og inkluderer værdifuld funktionalitet såsom e-handel for et helt nyt førsteklasses læringsperspektiv.”

Som tilgængelig på mere end 100 sprog har Eurekos bygget en innovativ platform til at reducere omkostningerne og tiden det kræver, at producere og vedligeholde en god læringsoplevelse. Eurekos LMS tilbyder gratis lokale integrationer med nøglesystemer, som virksomheder kan stole på til daglige aktiviteter, herunder MS Teams, O365, Salesforce, Google Workspace, OneLogin, Stripe og mange flere.

Fosway 9-Grid™ er en unik, 5-dimensionel markedsanalysemodel, der giver objektiv tredjepartsinformation om HR-, talent- og læringsplatforme, baseret pÃ¥ hver løsnings:

• Potentiale, omfang og raffinement.
• Ydeevne og kundesucces.
• Tilstedeværelse på markedet.
• Omkostninger inklusiv erhvervelse, implementering og drift.
• Fremtidig bane og dens indvirkning på markedstendenser.

David Wilson, administrerende direktør for Fosway Group siger: ‘Eurekos har yderligere forøget sit potentiale i 2021 Fosway 9-Grid™ for læringssystemer, hvilket viser dedikation til produktinnovation og fortsat vækst i Europa.’

Om Eurekos

Eurekos er hurtigt ved at blive det foretrukne læringssystem for organisationer, der søger en komplet opbygget, intuitiv og tilpasselig platform. Eurekos-platformen, der er blevet rost for dens stærke funktionssæt, den brugervenlige grænseflade, integrerede oprettelsesværktøjer til indhold, åbne arkitektur og høje værdi. Eurekos-platformen kan nemt integreres med de systemer, som virksomheder er afhængige af til daglige aktiviteter. Denne førsteklasses, udvidede virksomheds-LMS fås på mere end 100 sprog, så virksomheder globalt kan skabe og levere engagerende, interaktivt, mindeværdigt og kraftfuldt træningsindhold. For mere information, besøg
https://eurekos.com

SOURCE: EuropaWire

Eurekos entwickelt sich schnell zum Lernsystem der Wahl für Unternehmen

KOPENHAGEN, Dänemark, 18-Mar-2021 — /EPR EDUCATION NEWS/ — Eurekos, ein weltweit führender Anbieter von Lernmanagement-Technologie, hat seine Position im renommierten Fosway 9-Grid™, einer unabhängigen Bewertung von Lernmanagement-Systemen, weiter ausgebaut.

Fosway, Europas führender Analyst für die Personalbranche, ist eine unabhängige, objektive Gruppe, die die Gegebenheiten des Marktes analysiert und Einblicke in die Zukunft von HR, Nachwuchsgewinnung und Lernen gibt. Fosway würdigte die Lösung von Eurekos für ihren großen Funktionsumfang, die benutzerfreundliche Oberfläche, das integrierte Tool zur Erstellung von Inhalten, die offene Architektur und den hohen Nutzwert.

„Eurekos entwickelt sich schnell zum Lernsystem der Wahl für Unternehmen, die hochwertige Lerninhalte und eine intuitive, anpassbare Plattform suchen. Wir fühlen uns sehr geehrt, auf dem Fosway 9-Grid™ unter den besten Lernsystemen und -plattformen der Welt zu sein”, sagte Anders Willumsen, CEO von Eurekos. „Bemerkenswert ist auch, dass Eurekos im gesamten 9-Grid™ den höchsten Grad an Datenschutzkonformität, ISO 27001 und 27701, sowie die niedrigsten Betriebskosten in unserer 9-Grid™-Zone aufwies.”

„Eurekos unterstützt Unternehmen bei der Ausbildung auf globaler Ebene, wobei der Schwerpunkt auf Unternehmens- und erweiterten Unternehmensbereichen liegt. Unsere SaaS-Cloud-basierte Plattform wurde speziell für globale Trainings entwickelt, darunter Kunden-, Mitarbeiter-, Vertriebs-, Compliance- und Channel-Partner-Trainings und mehr”, so Willumsen weiter. Unsere Lösung unterstützt den gesamten Weg der Kunden, von der Produktion von Inhalten bis zur Verteilung, Aufnahme und Statistik und beinhaltet wertvolle Funktionen wie E-Commerce für eine völlig neue, hervorragende Perspektive auf das Lernen.”

Eurekos ist in mehr als 100 Sprachen verfügbar und hat eine innovative Plattform entwickelt, um die Kosten und den Zeitaufwand für die Erstellung und Pflege einer großartigen Lernerfahrung zu senken. Das Eurekos LMS bietet kostenlose native Integrationen für die wichtigsten Systeme, auf die sich Unternehmen im Tagesgeschäft verlassen, darunter MS Teams, O365, Salesforce, Google Workspace, OneLogin, Stripe und viele andere.

Das Fosway 9-Grid™ ist ein einzigartiges, 5-dimensionales Marktanalysemodell, das objektive Informationen von Drittanbietern über HR-, Talent- und Lernplattformen auf der Grundlage der einzelnen Lösungen liefert:

• Potential, Umfang und Ausgereiftheit
• Leistung und Kundenerfolge
• Präsenz auf dem Markt
• Kosten, einschließlich Anschaffung, Implementierung und Betrieb
• Zukünftige Entwicklung und Einfluss auf Markttrends

David Wilson, CEO der Fosway Group, sagte: „Eurekos hat sein Potential mit dem Fosway 9-Grid™ für Lernsysteme 2021 weiter ausgebaut, was sein Engagement für Produktinnovation und kontinuierliches Wachstum in Europa unterstreicht.”

From paper textbooks to electronic scripts of lessons: the rapid path of Russian education to high technologies

MOSCOW, Russia, 2019-May-24 — /EPR  EDUCATION NEWS/ —  Any changes take time, and education reform all the more. This is a long and painstaking process with a lot of pitfalls. We are telling how the Moscow Department of Education managed to transform the educational system beyond recognition in a few years, turning it into one of the exemplary world models.

Just a few years ago, the backpack of an ordinary Russian school student was not easy to pick up — textbooks and additional materials in all subjects, exercise books, writing materials, and sports uniforms and shoes. Parents of pupils even in elementary school were perplexed how their children carry it to school every day.

Today the backpack of the Moscow school student has become twice as light. The fact is that now it’s not necessary for children to carry all paper textbooks with them. It is enough to have a tablet with you: all the training materials necessary for the lessons are digitized, stored in the cloud storage of the Moscow Electronic School and are always ready for use. The same is true of additional literature, works of art, and even tests: instead of leaflets or notebooks “for controls,” there are interactive tests on a tablet or in a laptop. In the same tablet or even on the phone, students can always see the lesson schedule, find out about new grades, or even do their homework.

But the most important thing that greatly facilitates the work of teachers is ready-made electronic scripts for lessons in all subjects. Work on creating a database of such multimedia scenarios has been going on for several years, since the launch of the MES program – the Moscow Electronic School. To date, the arsenal of Moscow teachers has more than 33,000 approved scenarios developed by professionals. These scenarios are in the electronic library of educational materials, and every Moscow teacher has access to it. Any teacher registered in the system can use these materials absolutely free of charge – it makes preparing for a lesson easier and more convenient. In this library you can find hundreds more textbooks prepared by other teachers, tens of thousands of comprehensive educational applications and even prototype laboratories on a number of subjects. So far, there are no analogues to such a resource anywhere in the world.

The work of Moscow teachers has also become much easier. First, all school teachers are provided with laptops or desktops. Each class has an interactive whiteboard and there are printers – if one of the students doesn’t have a tablet or laptop with him, all materials necessary for the lesson can be printed at any time.

Options such as an electronic diary and an electronic journal allow teachers to design a curriculum using various curricula, as well as create a class schedule, create their own author assignments, or use ready-made tests from an electronic library.

In general, thanks to the emergence of the Moscow e-school, parents, students and teachers received a unique system for all participants of the educational process. It is now convenient for teachers to communicate directly with parents of students through an electronic diary, so even parent meetings are now much faster and more fruitful. Parents from any device can always familiarize themselves with the success of the children, check what is set and warn the teacher that the child will miss classes on a given day.

School classes are another theme we want to dwell on. We have already said that all classes are equipped with interactive whiteboards – touch screen panels, which the teacher can use as traditional school blackboards, or show students selected photo and video materials, and even remotely visit the city’s museums! But this is not limited to this. Now classes of Moscow schools are becoming high-tech centers, workshops and laboratories. The project of introducing specialized and preprofessional classes has been implemented in the capital of Russia since 2015. Now students in Moscow schools can study in medical, engineering, natural science classes, fully immersed in the atmosphere of the profession already in grades 8-9.

All that we have listed – only the most impressive facts. In fact, the process is much broader and more interesting. The global goal of this Russian educational reform is to create a modern digital educational environment capable of quickly adapting to the ever-changing realities of life, ready for the emergence of new professions and specialties. You can learn more about the Moscow education reform at Bett Educar in Brazil. Virtual excursions in Moscow specialized classes and master classes devoted to the Moscow Electronic School project are waiting for visitors.

International Moscow Forum “City of Education” is one of the most significant events in the world of metropolitan education. The main objective of the forum is the exchange of experience in the development of various stages of the educational process, as well as the opportunity to demonstrate the latest educational technologies, resources and equipment. With all the latest innovations and advanced educational technologies will be available at the next forum “City of Education”, which will be held in Moscow from August 29 to September 1, 2019.

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Preply: Identifiez le professeur de votre choix grâce à un site dédié

PARIS, May-16-2017 — /EuropaWire/ — Si auparavant, il fallait opter pour un service à domicile, ce n’est désormais plus le cas grâce à l’émergence du Web et de plateformes en ligne comme preply.com/fr/. Avec Internet, vous êtes en mesure de faire appel à des professeurs qui ne seront pas contraints de se déplacer. Il suffit de taper cherche prof pour obtenir une multitude de réponses.

Identifiez le professeur de votre choix grâce à un site dédié

Les cours à domicile existent depuis une multitude d’années, mais le concept a largement évolué ces dernières années. Les parents ou les étudiants qui avaient l’intention d’améliorer leurs connaissances devaient se focaliser sur des petites annonces ou des agences spécialisées. La recherche était à la fois laborieuse, complexe et le rendu n’était pas toujours celui escompté.

Lorsque le Web a commencé à prendre une telle ampleur, certains professeurs ont décidé de partager leurs connaissances en ligne avec deux formats très différents. Le premier est relativement simple puisqu’il consiste à prendre un rendez-vous avec un enseignant de qualité afin de suivre un cours via une messagerie comme Skype.

Avec une consultation via une Webcam, vous pouvez suivre un cours n’importe quand

Votre professeur est de l’autre côté de votre écran et il a les moyens de vous corriger grâce à sa caméra. C’est un concept très intéressant qui permet de supprimer les déplacements tout en optimisant le planning des élèves. Ces derniers ne sont pas contraints d’être à leur domicile pour améliorer leurs compétences. Pendant leur pause déjeuner, ils ont la possibilité de contacter un enseignant qui sera à disposition.

Dans un autre cas de figure, le Web a permis à tous ces professionnels dispatchés dans une multitude de domaines de partager des annonces beaucoup plus facilement. Ils se déplacent donc chez vous, mais ils ont gagné en visibilité. Il suffit généralement de s’inscrire sur une plateforme spécialisée afin de rechercher un tuteur.

Des enseignants qualifiés et propriétaires de vrais diplômes

Généralement, trois étapes sont nécessaires. La première concerne la sélection du tuteur. Une liste est à votre disposition, mais il est tout à fait envisageable de la trier grâce aux nombreux filtres. Par la suite, le professeur identifié reçoit une demande et s’il l’accepte vous serez en mesure de planifier une leçon.

Trouver un bon enseignant sur le Web, c’est donc très facile, il est judicieux de s’attarder sur plusieurs aspects à savoir un site internet sérieux qui a vérifié les compétences des tuteurs. Ces derniers doivent posséder les diplômes nécessaires ou un niveau d’études suffisant pour vous épauler dans cette aventure.

Attention à toutes ces offres gratuites!

Grâce à Internet, il est également possible d’avoir quelques avis ou témoignages laissés par les précédents clients. C’est un concept appréciable notamment pour vous faire une idée concernant les qualités de ce professionnel. Cela vous donne les moyens de cibler rapidement celui susceptible de combler vos attentes.

Sachez qu’il existe bien sûr des formules gratuites sur la toile, mais soyez très vigilant, car ces internautes qui proposent leurs services sur diverses plateformes de vidéo n’ont pas été testés en amont. Vous ne pouvez donc pas être certain que leurs compétences seront suffisantes pour répondre à vos questions et vous aider à progresser.

SOURCE: EuropaWire

Book Trust Welcomes Nationally Recognized Literacy Experts to Academic Advisory Board

Nell Duke, Linda Gambrell, and others join Academic Advisory Board

Denver, CO, Mar-21-2017 — /EPR EDUCATION NEWS/ — National literacy nonprofit Book Trust announces the establishment of an Academic Advisory Board, formed to ensure that ongoing enhancements and expansion of its national literacy program are informed by the latest research and best practices in literacy education. Members of the Book Trust Advisory Board include several nationally recognized leaders in the field.

“We are honored and delighted to welcome these esteemed literacy experts to our Academic Advisory Board,” said Book Trust CEO Amy Friedman. “Benefitting from the collective experience and wisdom of this panel is going to have an enormously positive effect on our ability to continually refine and improve our program. Our collaboration will ensure that Book Trust is an evidence-based model, designed to produce positive reading outcomes for kids.”

Book Trust Advisory Board members include Nell Duke, Professor in Literacy, Language and Culture and and in the Combined Program in Education and Psychology, the University of Michigan, KaiLonnie Dunsmore, Principal Research Scientist, NROC at the University of Chicago, Linda Gambrell, Distinguished Professor of Education, Clemson University, Ernest Morrell, Macy Professor of English Education and Director of the Institute for Urban and Minority Education, Teachers College, Columbia University, D. Ray Ruetzel, Dean College of Education, University of Wyoming, and facilitator Darren Cambridge, President of Cambridge Learning Group.

“Collectively, these experts bring innovative and research-based thinking to the core components of the Book Trust program: Choice, Celebration and Consistency,” adds Book Trust Board Chair Ron Lowy. “Our mutual goal is to create engaged independent readers, and this advisory team will bring considerable knowledge to bear on that mission.”

Members of the advisory group will convene twice a year and will also be available informally as needed to make recommendations to the Book Trust team. Each member will serve a one-year, renewable term.

“Book Trust’s program is innovative and robust, and as they continue to expand nationally, folding the latest research into their program strategy will help them continue to deliver impact and value to students. I am pleased to be invited to help in this role,” says Nell Duke, whose work focuses on early literacy development, particularly among children living in poverty.

About Book Trust
Book Trust is a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization whose mission is to empower children from low-income families to choose and own books, inspiring a passion for reading that leads to cultivating increased literacy skills and life-long learning. Book Trust currently serves 50,000 students in 19 U.S. states. Since 2001, Book Trust has facilitated over 6 million book choices, and placed them in the hands of students in need.

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CONTACT BOOK TRUST:
Amy Friedman, CEO
720.459.6491
afriedman@booktrust.org
www.booktrust.org

Sur Preply, 47 000 tuteurs offrent leurs services à plus de 110 000 élèves : 27 langues, 13 matières scolaires

PARIS, 09-Feb-2017 — /EPR EDUCATION NEWS/ — Preply, plateforme internationale de tutorat et d’études, annonce l’opportunité pour les étudiants et les enseignants français de développer leur carrière dans un monde en constante mutation. Le site aide les utilisateurs à trouver les meilleurs enseignants venus des quatre coins du monde – de Pékin à Paris en passant par Los Angeles – pour se perfectionner en langues étrangères, biologie, sciences humaines et autres sujets. C’est la variété de matières proposées (anglais, poésie et même comédie) qui rend Preply unique. Chaque cours s’articule autour d’étapes progressives visant à aider l’élève à atteindre son objectif principal.

Créé en avril 2013, Preply fonctionne aux États-Unis, en Pologne, en Ukraine, en Russie, au Brésil, et prépare son lancement en France. La société a été fondée par Semyon Dukach, un business angel à la tête de Techstars Boston, et a eu le privilège de figurer parmi les finalistes de Techstars Berlin 2015. En juin 2016, Preply a récolté 1,3 millions de dollars (940 000 euros) lors d’une levée de fonds initiale menée par des investisseurs européens, parmi lesquels Arthur Kosten (co-fondateur de Booking.com), Mariusz Gralewski (co-fondateur de DocPlanner), Hedgehog Fund et RTAventures VC. Cet investissement a permis de créer une plateforme de qualité, conviviale et facile d’utilisation.

Sur Preply, 47 000 tuteurs offrent leurs services à plus de 110 000 élèves : 27 langues, 13 matières scolaires, mais également des cours de théâtre, de musique, et d’arts plastiques. Les cours de français et d’anglais comptent parmi les plus populaires sur la plateforme. Le tarif des cours sur Preply varie entre 2 et 100 euros de l’heure. Chaque mois, grâce à Preply, les tuteurs inscrits sur la plateforme donnent environ 30 000 heures de cours.

Selon Kirill Bigai, co-fondateur et PDG, “Preply permet un apprentissage flexible organisé par les tuteurs pour répondre aux besoins individuels de chaque étudiant. Preply.com aide aussi les enseignants, qu’ils soient auto-entrepreneurs, employés à temps partiel ou à temps plein, à trouver de nouveaux étudiants et à créer des processus d’apprentissage continu. Les cours en ligne traditionnels ne sont pas adaptés aux besoins spécifiques de chaque élève et génèrent rarement les résultats escomptés. Cependant, faire appel à un tuteur ‘hors ligne’ s’avère souvent à la fois coûteux et chronophage. Preply.com est en phase avec la transformation du travail : nos tuteurs sont capables d’enseigner des compétences plus spécialisées et plus fragmentées. Nous croyons véritablement qu’une amélioration continue peut aider qui que ce soit à trouver son rôle dans l’économie moderne.”

SOURCE: EuropaWire

Learning management and collaboration platform for educators and trainers LiberCloud announces integration with Microsoft Office Online

SAN FRANCISCO, 12-Jul-2016 — /EPR EDUCATION NEWS/ — LiberCloud, the cloud-based learning management system for instructors, trainers and educators, announces integration with Microsoft Office Online to better enable Microsoft PowerPoint slideshows as a delivery method for blended learning materials and to give the ability to incorporate existing PowerPoint content in new ways. Microsoft Corp. is making this possible with their Cloud Storage Partner Program, which enables cloud solution partners, such as LiberCloud, to create seamless integration with Office Online.

What’s New

LiberCloud’s existing learning content management solutions combine the best of instructor-led engagement, blended learning, and interactivity between instructors and students. This new release makes its platform even more flexible via seamless integration with PowerPoint Online so that users can create and store PowerPoint content directly within their existing LiberCloud authoring tools.

“We are very excited about LiberCloud’s integration with PowerPoint Online”, said Felice Curcelli, LiberCloud’s Co-founder & CEO. “It makes perfect sense because of the amount of content that teachers and trainers have already developed using either PowerPoint or PowerPoint look-alikes. It’s another step in our mission to make trainers and teachers more effective and students more engaged.”

How It Works

A slideshow in LiberCloud is a collection of learning assets that an author can combine in a slideshow for use in coursework and training classes. It helps instructors go beyond traditional slide decks and get more creative by incorporating other assets such as canvas slides, interactive tutorials, videos, assessments and polls.

An author typically embeds the slideshow in a LiberPage which is the building block within the platform for lesson plans, coursework and assignments.

Benefits

‘Blended Learning’ techniques are the trend for educators whether in school systems or corporate training environments, and LiberCloud’s enhancements are built to meet this demand. LiberCloud Slideshows with PowerPoint is an example of blended learning enablement and gives teachers and instructors flexibility to:

1. Share and reuse individual slides with ease. For example, if instructors want to incorporate PowerPoint charts or diagrams they’ve created in various lesson plans, they can add those native PowerPoint slides to new learning or instructional content. LiberCloud makes it easy to find individual slides and reuse them without duplicating content.

2. Brainstorm ideas with canvas-based slides via LiberCanvas, an app that lets users write and draw on a shared canvas as well as record content that can then be shared as videos. For example, instructors can give an individual or group assignment with a slideshow containing read-only background information along with canvas slides that they can write on and collaborate in real-time.

3. Engage students by combining PowerPoint slide decks with polls and assessments, to deliver during a slideshow and capture the results in real-time.

4. Make communication and feedback more personal and more effective by creating audio-visual annotations on individual slides.

“The integration of LiberCloud with PowerPoint Online creates new opportunities for teaching and learning for our joint users”, said Rob Howard, Director of Ecosystem, Microsoft. “Teachers will be able to leverage the native real-time co-authoring capabilities of PowerPoint Online and LiberCloud’s canvas-based collaboration and polls to increase student engagement.”

Integration with PowerPoint Online is a continuation of LiberCloud’s mission to give educators control and flexibility to deliver instruction material and assessments in a coherent and cohesive fashion. Visit their website for more information or to download the white paper Using LiberCloud Slideshows with PowerPoint in Instruction Materials.

SOURCE: EuropaWire

The Exciting Launch of a New Online Teaching Platform Concept

The Freasyway concept is simple, yet complete. Countless High Schools, universities, superior technical schools or independent teachers can share paid or free lessons on the Freasyway platform. The content is made accessible to all students or interested individuals. By posting online paid lessons, leads to certain commission fees..

In addition, various complementary services are available as following: Small national and international announcements referring to the educational field and generally anything related to areas of interest for students and educators.

“Teach in real time” thanks to the advantages brought by the Freasyway virtual class, a complex system that allows teachers to connect with their students in real time. The virtual class module enables educational institutions, represented by a teacher or an administrator, to plan and set the details of the educational content, including title, the date and hour, duration, the language used for a specific class’ interface, and, when needed, to record the lessons. Due to the implementation of functionalities such as video-conferencing for maximum 10 persons, a whiteboard, screen sharing and content sharing, the educational institutions take advantage of advanced collaboration tools in real time; such tools enable them to teach courses online in real time..

Besides the possibility to exchange documents and videos, Freasyway also provides a virtual educational library called “Box reader” that grants users full access to various and numerous resources: manuals, homework sets, graduation tests, encyclopedias, dictionaries, etc..

We have already reached success with no less than 300 educational institutions, associations and independent teachers spread across 9 countries and 3 continents (France, Spain, Belgium, Switzerland, The United States, Canada, China, Germany, Russia) that currently use Freasyway. The system clearly responds to the needs of educational institutions by offering an alternative and complementary solution to the traditional system, as initially was intended and created by its conceptor.

Due to a collaboration with the MEET Organization, which promotes accessible education for every European, Freasyway was developed for offering a real and complete solution for current needs in terms of education at a national/international level. With the support of SPECo Vaud Region of Leman, Freasyway will equally benefit from the expertise generously provided by MJ Media and Thot Cursus, gained in their field of expertise.

Surpassing the physical boundaries of Europe and the United States, the goal ofFreasyway is also to develop educational systems in the disadvantaged countries, such as Africa or certain countries of South America or Asia, via new technologies. In order to achieve that, 40% from all profits generated by our system will be used for the creation of Learning Centers and a scholarship support fund.

Website access :

For students, professionals and communities: www.freasyway.com

Intranet educational institutions and independent teachers: http://edu.freasyway.com

For all national and international ambassadors :https://freasyway.com/public/pages/become-partner

For investor relations : https://freasyway.com/public/pages/investors

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“UNDROPPABLE” High School Tour MA, CT, NYC, PA, MI, IL, IA, KS, OH

‘Undroppable’ Announces High School Election Tour The ‘Undroppable’ producing team of Scooter Braun, Adam McKay, Jason Pollock, and Sharon Chang today announced their upcoming Undroppable Election Tour, beginning in Los Angeles on October 24 and going through Election Day.

Filmmaker Jason Pollock, the creator of ‘Undroppable,’ will be touring 14 high schools in 10 states for the final two weeks leading up to Election Day. His hour- long presentation to students in auditoriums and gymnasiums across the country is comprised of a speech, ‘Undroppable’ videos clips, as well as a panel discussion with local and state leaders.

“The main message of this tour is that education is important,” said Pollock. “Most high school students can’t vote this year, but they need to know what’s going on just as much as everyone else.”

The ‘Undroppable’ team will continue their social media campaign on Youtube, Twitter, Tumblr, and Facebook throughout the upcoming tour. The campaign has already been featured in Time Magazine and USA Today. ‘Undroppable’ has also received tweets from pop star Justin Bieber, as well as U.S. Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan.

“Our team is very proud of how quickly ‘Undroppable’ has grown. Regardless of who is in office, education is vitally important” said Scooter Braun, who represents pop stars including Justin Bieber, Carly Rae Jepsen, The Wanted, Cody Simpson, and Gangnam Style creator, Psy.

The ‘Undroppable’ Election Tour is a non-partisan event and will be filmed for an upcoming feature documentary that Pollock is currently directing and writing. The film is scheduled to be completed mid-2013.

“Education is such an important issue in this election cycle. This tour is a perfect way to keep this topic in the public eye as much as possible. Pollock’s energy and devotion to this project have been incredible,” said Adam McKay, writer and director of such hit films as Anchorman, Step Brothers, and The Other Guys.

‘Undroppable’ has also partnered with the Get Schooled Foundation in order to film in five high schools that are a part of the Get Schooled network. Get Schooled is affiliated with MTV-Viacom and the Gates Foundation. This month, Get Schooled launched their attendance challenge in 200+ schools nationwide.

UNDROPPABLE TOUR SCHEDULE

Oct 24th – La Causa Youthbuild Charter School, Los Angeles, CA
October 26th – New Bedford High School, New Bedford, MA
October 27th – Bridgeport High Schools, Bridgeport, CT
October 28th – NYC PRESS DAY
October 29th – Palumbo Academy, Philadelphia, PA
October 30th – Edsel Ford High School, Dearborn, MI
Dearborn Magnet High School
Truman High School, Taylor, MI
October 31st – Starr Commonwealth School, Albion, MI
Bloomingdale High School, Bloomingdale, MI
November 1st – Collins Academy. Chicago, IL
November 2nd – East High School, Des Moines, IA
November 3rd – Highland Park High School,Topeka, KS
November 5th – Dohn Community High School, Cincinnati, OH
November 6th – ELECTION DAY, Cincinnati, OH

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The Learning Genome Project unveils a new solution to personalized education through crowd sourcing

Educator Kelly Tenkely invites educators, parents and investors around the world to join in personalizing education.

Due to an increased disenfranchisement with the education system, Colorado educator, Kelly Tenkely, recognized the need for a product that would honor the uniqueness of children by personalizing learning. Kelly created the Learning Genome Project to fulfill this need.

“Every child deserves to be met right where they are in learning, rather than expected to fit a one-size-fits-all solution. In our society, we have managed to customize everything from ringtones to coffee, why should learning be different?” Said the Learning Genome Project creator, Kelly Tenkely.

The Learning Genome makes personalized learning available to children around the world by:
* Gathering information about an individual child including: their unique interests/passions, learning style preferences, multiple intelligence strengths, brain dominance, and maturation level.
* Crowdsourcing the tagging of both free, as well as premium, education resources and curriculum with hundreds of learning attributes (the ‘genes’ of learning).
* Matching resources and curriculum to students, recommending the materials that best meet their needs and creating a custom learning map for each child.
* Utilizing an open API so that schools, parents, and districts can build additional functionality to meet their specific needs.

This is the Learning Genome Project’s free “hub” that makes personalized learning available to every child.

Said Kelly, “Every child, regardless of their economic situation, deserves an education that is tailored to them. Society benefits when we help kids learn how to best utilize their unique gifts and passions.”

Premium features of the Learning Genome Project will include:
* A student information system
* An e-portfolio
* A teacher and student planner
* Blogging tools
* An e-learning center
* An individual learning map for each child

The premium features will work seamlessly with the Learning Genome hub giving students, teachers, and parents a complete solution to personalized learning.

The Learning Genome Project is seeking crowd-sourced funding through Indiegogo and will use the $85,000 raised to begin programming. The project has 45 days to raise the funds and can be found here: http://www.indiegogo.com/thelearninggenomeproject?c=home&a=1232629

In addition to her work on the Learning Genome Project, Kelly Tenkely is an educator, a prolific education blogger, and created a new educational model. This model is put into practice at Anastasis Academy, a school that Kelly co-founded that is just beginning its 2nd year in operation.

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Reward Offered To Crowd Funders Who Support The EFT Project In South Africa’s Township Schools!

The Aim: To calm the violence and increase student and teacher performance in the Township Schools of South Africa.


What we do: EFT practitioners will teach the teachers of Khayelitsha’s four high and thirty three primary schools how to use basic EFT.  Teachers in turn will teach the basics of EFT to learners.

Clinical Proof of the Efficacy of EFT:  Psychologists endorse EFT – Researchers at Harvard Medical School found that stimulating acupressure points through Tapping reduces blood flow to the amygdala, which leads to an increase in endorphins, an increase in soothing GABA waves and reduced cortisol levels. The result is an instant sensation of calmness, and a dramatic reduction in anxiety symptoms.

EFT has proven to:

  • Reduce the emotional footprint of current and past trauma
  • EFT is helping Rwanda’s genocide survivors
  • Reduce disruptive behaviour in class
  • Reduce learner anxiety – resulting in significant improvement in academic and sporting learner performance.
  • Significantly improve learner performance in the areas of reading and mathematica l dyslexa.

History of the ruin of Education in South Africa: Apartheid era vs ANC era

Hendrik Verwoerd – Architect of Apartheid and the infamous black and coloured schooling policy – keeping them in their place as ‘hewers of water….During the apartheid era of South Africa, only a fraction of educational funding was allocated to Black and Coloured schools. The Verwoerdian black educational policies dealt a devasting blow to our black and to a lesser extent our coloured children of South Africa. It has set literacy back by decades.

Jacob Zuma – ANC and South African National Government President. The ‘father’ of corruption and cronyism within government and educational supplier ranks. http://www.iol.co.za/logger/p.gif?a=1.1381952&d=/2.225/2.1360Newsflash-September 13 2012 at 09:00am : Nedbank boss lashes Zuma ‘masquerade’:…The businessman said SA craved global standards of knowledge, skills development and critical thoughts. He said it was impossible to match these global virtues, though, because our schools were in crisis. To a certain extent, educational levels had declined since the end of apartheid, Khoza said. “We face leadership that has raised mediocrity to a status of virtue,” he said.

Freedom Fighter and Martyr Steve Biko said that ‘black is beautiful’ - But there is nothing ‘beautiful’ about demoralised teachers, illiterate and struggling learners.   When hearts and minds are calmed we can hold hands and hold up our heads with dignity, and together work to safeguard the education of our children.

There is only now – not yesterday, not tomorrow, only NOW! Act now – before we lose another generation of youngsters! Please, help fund a few basic tools to realise peace in this country of mine.

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Himalayan Education Systems is in talks with top publishers in various countries to sell its first product

Himalayan Education Systems Pvt. Ltd. a pioneer company, whose aim is to revolutionize the current educational system, is on target to surpass the US dollar 100 billion revenue in the first year of operations, says CEO Prashant Kangutkar.

As per the business plan of Himalayan Education Systems it has already completed their first step. In less than one week their first product ‘Learning Alphabets’ has attracted interest from several top publishers and educational products distributors for its copyrights.

Himalayan Education Systems’ CEO Prashant Kangutkar says “The company is in negotiations to sell the copyrights with several market leading publishers and the top educational products distributors from various countries”.

‘Learning Alphabets’ in English Language is the first product, it has been developed using “Permanent Impact Method”. This method also developed by Himalayan Education Systems Pvt. Ltd. is based on scientific principles of psychology and the way our mind learns.

The “Permanent Impact Method” uses the four basic principles of learning and memorizing; Visualization, Association, Repetition and Effective Listening. Like all Himalayan Education Systems Pvt. Ltd.’s products ‘Learning Alphabets’ also has a global application.

Himalayan Education Systems Pvt. Ltd. is offering worldwide rights in 164 countries for this product at 100 billion US Dollars. Copyrights can also be purchased on a country-wise basis, where price negotiations can be considered.

Following their successful launch of ‘Learning Alphabets’ Himalayan Education Systems is also ready to launch its community welfare site: www.homesinmumbai.com.

‘Learning Rhymes’ is the second product Himalayan Education Systems is developing. It is generally seen that almost all the news in newspapers or news channels are reporting negative and destructive happenings. Even in the movies, films which are like Titanic and Jurassic Park, which picturise destructive scenes are the most popular. This may be because of the fact that the rhymes that we are learning generations on generations are destructive or creating negative emotions. E.g. Jack& Jill, London Bridge is falling down, Humpty Dumpty – destructive, Johnny, Johnny – learning to say lies. If we change the rhymes from negative emotions to positive emotions, there will be marked changes and transformations in our lives.

Himalayan Education Systems Pvt. Ltd. have developed optimistic rhymes, that take into account factors to create a positive impact in the minds of kids. This is done, without compromising on the ‘fun’ of learning. These rhymes will transform the attitude of mankind.

Last but not least, Himalayan Education Systems has prepared another product called“Success Formula” which has been developed by a Himalayan master. This product will help people in knowing how to achieve success or how to achieve goals. The product will also be marketed as all other Himalayan Education Systems products; the company will be selling the copyrights of the ‘Success Formula”. Contact Details: Himalayan Education Systems Pvt. Ltd., 119, Narayan Udyog Bhavan, Lalbaug Industrial Estate, Mumbai, 400012, India.

www.himalayansys.com
www.homesinmumbai.com

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Making Education History: Beyond the Status Quo

The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC — With more than 2 million K–12 students in the U.S. currently being educated at home, the popularity of homeschooling continues to rise. Since 1999, the number of homeschooled students has increased by a staggering 75%, mostly in response to increasing dissatisfaction and frustration with the public school system.

Statistics from the U.S. Department of Education recently documented less than a 1% increase in enrollment of K–12 public school students nationwide, but the homeschool population increased by a whopping 7%. Almost 4% (and growing) of our nation’s school-age children are being educated at home.

Research has proven that parents are more than capable of successfully educating their children at home. Surveys of homeschoolers’ academic successes consistently reveal that they score, on average, at the 65th to 89th percentile on standardized academic achievement tests, compared to a national school average at the 50th percentile. Interestingly, according to a recent, nationwide survey of homeschoolers commissioned by the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA), achievement gaps that are “well-documented in public school between boys and girls, parents with lower incomes, and parents with lower levels of education are not found among homeschoolers.”

Recent studies laud homeschoolers’ academic success, noting their significantly higher ACT-Composite scores as high schoolers and higher grade point averages as college students. Yet surprisingly, the average expenditure for the education of a homeschooled child, per year, is $500 to $600, compared to an average expenditure of $10,000 per child, per year, for public school students.

More than ever, homeschool grads are scoring points with college recruiters. Compared to the overall population of college students, homeschool grads achieve a higher retention rate and a higher graduation rate as they pursue education beyond the training provided by their parents. Dori Staehle, in her February 2012 article, notes that schools such as Harvard, Yale, MIT, Stanford, and Duke are actively recruiting homeschoolers—and offering them scholarships. She cites the characteristics of homeschoolers who have gotten their attention: “These students tend to be exceptionally bright, motivated, and mature. Far from being sheltered and shy (the typical stereotypes), homeschoolers’ applications reflect students who have traveled, taken risks, and studied some pretty intense topics.”

National Home Education Research Institute (NHERI) survey results confirm that homeschoolers are “engaged, at least as much as are others, in activities that predict leadership in adulthood” and are “satisfied that they were home educated.” Homeschool graduates are more civically engaged than the general public and demonstrate “healthy social, psychological, and emotional development, and success into adulthood.” Apparently homeschoolers are getting excellent grades on their report cards—both academically and socially!

Based on recent data, researchers such as Dr. Brian Ray (NHERI.org) “expect to observe a notable surge in the number of children being homeschooled in the next 5 to 10 years. The rise would be in terms of both absolute numbers and percentage of the K to 12 student population. This increase would be in part because . . . [1] a large number of those individuals who were being home educated in the 1990s may begin to homeschool their own school-age children and [2] the continued successes of home-educated students.”

Dr. Gary Knowles, a professor at the University of Michigan, conducted a survey of homeschool grads who are now successful adults. He found that “an amazing 96% said if they could do it all over again they would want to be homeschooled. Not a single one was unemployed or on welfare. That is pretty impressive.”

Homeschooling parents have chosen to educate their own kids at home for a myriad of reasons, and many say they are in it for the long haul. It’s a matter of conviction and dedication. And, judging from the current state of the public school system, the answer for thousands of parents in this country is clear and simple: homeschool them.

Are homeschoolers “making education history”? For sure. As did the homeschooling parents of individuals such as Abraham Lincoln, Booker T. Washington, Thomas Edison, Frank Lloyd Wright, and Andrew Wyeth, equipped with parental insight and motivation to see their children succeed academically and socially, today’s homeschooling parents are making education history.

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The Co-operative’s Lasting Legacy For Young People With A Learning Disability

Young people across the UK with a learning disability have been given over £7 million opportunities to help to realise their potential as The Co-operative unveiled the total amount raised for its charity of the year during 2011.

The grand total reached £7,022, 866 and, the money raised by The Co-operative’s staff, members and customers will allow Mencap and sister charity ENABLE Scotland to launch ‘Inspire Me’ – a new project to provide activities and training that will give thousands of young people with a learning disability the chance to learn new skills and gain access to employment and volunteering opportunities in their communities.

Austin Healey, the former England rugby union player – and a Mencap celebrity ambassador – was on hand as The Co-operative announced the fundraising figure and, actors Sarah Jayne Dunn and Darren Langford also attended the celebration. The figure is the most ever raised by The Co-operative during one of its charity of the year campaigns and, is the highest figure received by Mencap from such a partnership.

Peter Marks, Group Chief Executive of The Co-operative, said: “Eight out of ten children with a learning disability are bullied. Young people with a learning disability face prejudice every day and a lack of opportunities which can make life a desperate struggle.

“The Co-operative is a national brand, but our roots have always been in the community and, it is this shared commitment to community projects that sets us apart. This money will leave behind a lasting legacy for a generation of young people with a learning disability. I am thrilled to say that together, we have been able to take a massive stride towards creating a cultural shift in the way young people are viewed and treated in this country – a key objective of our commitment to “Inspiring Young People”.

Across the country, The Co-operative – which has a retail outlet in every postal region and operates businesses including food, financial services, pharmacy, legal services, funeralcare and farming – has seen its staff, members, customers and suppliers, who were central to the success of raising this amazing amount, put the fun into fundraising. A Santa Dash and abseil, cycle rides, marathons and even a charity single by an employee band featuring Group Chief Executive of The Co-operative, Peter Marks, on drums kept the money flowing in for this worthwhile cause during 2011.

Mark Goldring, Mencap’s Chief Executive, said: “We have been overwhelmed by the support shown by everyone in The Co-operative Group, their fundraising efforts and generosity have made the partnership a great success. I would like to thank the staff, members and customers for helping to raise such a fantastic sum of money which will give thousands of young people with a learning disability the chance to change their future.”

Peter Scott, ENABLE Scotland’s Chief Executive, continued: “We have been astonished at the commitment shown by The Co-operative Group, employees, members and customers. The creativity and generosity of staff has been quite remarkable, and the money raised will give thousands of young people who have a learning disability the opportunity to build a brighter future. ENABLE Scotland would like to thank each and every person who has contributed over the course of the partnership.”

“Inspire Me” will work with local communities to change negative attitudes towards young people with a learning disability. Support will also be available for parents, families and carers with information events on issues including supported living, benefits and leisure activities.

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Huge Demand Inspires Edulabs to Reschedule Critical Webinar Series on Tablet Buying for Education

Edulabs Learning Solutions Ltd., a leading Thai-based innovator of 21st Century electronic teaching systems (www.edulabsglobal.com), has received overwhelmingly positive daily responses and a higher-than-anticipated demand for its “must attend” Webinar series. The Webinar www.edulabsglobal.com/webinar) cover CRUCIAL considerations that buyers of tablets for educational institutions MUST understand before buying. The Webinars became immediately over-subscribed at launch, and so Edulabs Global has decided to re-launch the Webinar series with new times and dates in order to accommodate the increased interest and demand for registered seats.

Gregory Pommerenk, Executive Director and Co-Founder of Edulabs Learning Solutions, Ltd., explains, “There is no doubt that the world-wide demand and excitement for Tablet computers and Smartphones in education is growing stronger and stronger each and every day, and has fueled this increased interest in Edulabs’ Webinar series. With this also comes the need for knowledge and information that will assist the educational communities around the world to make sure that the money they are about to collectively spend is invested wisely, effectively and accurately.”

The digital learning revolution

Schools around the world are starting to proactively adopt mobile learning programs and initiatives, establish or upgrade their broadband infrastructures and also replace traditional textbooks with digital textbooks at an unprecedented rate. Top online learning institutions such as www.learning.com and www.epals.com have created eLearning material which has revolutionized the global education industry.

It is estimated by respected research organizations that in the K-12 (Primary and Secondary) educational sector alone, there will be a need for in excess of 200 million Tablet computers and over 400 million Smartphones within the next 3-5 years. This is not including the huge need and demand in developing countries and underdeveloped areas of countries such as China, India and Brazil, which affects hundreds of millions of school-aged children and teens.

Explosion in educational demand for eLearning solutions.

In today’s interconnected and inter-dependent globalized world, the global community at large has finally awoken to the fact that having billions of uneducated and unskilled people, especially youth, affects the entire world, and is subsequently striving more proactively than ever to improve the state of education amongst youths. Edulabs Global feels that all of these additional areas are poised to soon explode in terms of demand. The countries of Africa, China, India, Brazil and many ASEAN countries have combined populations in excess of 3 billion people, of which hundreds of millions of youth desperately need much improved and affordable educational solutions.

Subsequently, more digital educational content and applications are becoming available at affordable prices and more and more verifiable studies are proving the value of digital web-based education. This in turn prompts more countries, especially developing counties, to get wired with hi-speed infrastructures that are finally including even the most remote and previously unwired areas of these countries.

New times and dates for Edulabs Webinar Series

The new Webinar times and dates will be announced via our website and a formal press release during the week of February 20th, 2012. In addition to the impressive list of guest presenters and speakers that are already confirmed to attend, Edulabs is also in the process of adding several additional Tablet and Smartphone, Cyber-safety, Edu-tech and Digital Contents and Applications (including Digital Textbooks) companies that wish to participate in the Webinar series.

Please stay tuned to the Edulabs web site and news wires for upcoming announcements regarding the new times and dates of the Webinar series, and take part in these“cannot miss” exciting events!

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New Public Class Fosters Social-Emotional Skills in Children

Mariposa Child Success Programs, a nonprofit organization that promotes the healthy development of children, will be offering a class to the public on how to foster social-emotional competence in children. Promoting Social-Emotional Competence: Managing Behaviors and Improving Performance will begin on February 9, 2012 at the new Union Mill complex in Hampden and will continue for eight weeks.

The course will be taught by Dr. Anne Townsend and Dr. Harriette Wimms, Mariposa’s Chief Academic Officer and Lead instructor respectively. The course trains adults in Mariposa’s unique process for increasing social-emotional competence in children, including interpersonal and learning-related social skills, and reducing problem behaviors through a skills-based model for adult interactions.

This course offering is an extraordinary opportunity for an adult to learn how to develop and apply five key skills that can make a great impact on children’s lives. Participants will have access to numerous journal articles, books, instructor examples, role plays, Mariposa workbooks, skills application exercises, and more.

This presentation of the course – typically available only on an institutional basis – is open to the public will follow a weekly schedule, occurring every Thursday night from 5:30-7:30pm. For more information or to register for the class, please contact Emalee Rodriguez at erodriguez@mariposaeducation.org.

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Mimi Jett Joins Avant Assessment as VP Business Development for K-12 Education

Avant Assessment, pioneer in web-based proficiency assessment, announces the appointment of Mimi Jett as Vice President of Business Development for K-12 Education.

Avant Assessment is pleased to announce the addition of Mimi Jett as Vice President of Business Development for K-12 Education to its leadership team. Ms. Jett brings more than 25 years of educational technology and corporate leadership experience to Avant as it expands its efforts in the personalized learning arena with new, authentic-evidence, competency-based learning support systems.

As VP of Business Development, Ms. Jett will focus on building channel partners, strategic partnerships, and alliances that promote Avant’s products and services in the K-12 market. As a member of the Executive Team, she will collaborate with product, marketing, sales, and technology teams on strategy and operational implementation of initiatives to bring competency focused solutions to the education market.

Prior to joining Avant, Ms. Jett was the General Manager of netTrekker, a leading provider in the organization and delivery of digital K-12 educational content and tools, where she led the development of new products and services. Her record of success also includes strategic management positions with Renaissance Learning and IBM Research, where she was appointed to the elite Institute for Advanced Learning leadership council. As an entrepreneur, Mimi Jett was the founder and CEO of Electronic Technical Publishing, leading delivery of advanced technology solutions to higher education publishers in the fields of mathematics and engineering. Ms. Jett was an elected delegate to the White House Conference on Small Business and served as the Technology Advisory Committee Chair for the U.S. Small Business Administration.

Ms. Jett serves on the Software & Information Industry Association’s Education Division Board of Directors, is co-chair of the Global Strategies working group, and a member of the Open Educational Resources working group. In addition, she sits on several industry advisory boards and acts as a mentor for innovative entrepreneurs.

“Ms. Jett has an extraordinary talent of expanding the impact of a company’s work through development of key partnerships”, said Mike Patterson, CEO, “and we at Avant are excited to apply that talent to our efforts in bringing a more personalized learning environment to every student.”

Via EPR Network
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Avant Assessment leaders’ experience on national language standards and assessment committees will support U.S. interests at the international level

Avant Assessment CEO Mike Patterson has been appointed to lead U.S. delegates to the International Standards Organization TC232/WG2 (learning services for non-formal education and training technical committee workgroup focused on language learning services) meetings in Beijing, China this week.

Workgroup delegates to ISO TC232/WG2 represent over a dozen countries and have the task of ensuring that the views and positions of their country are known and understood by the committee. The goal of the international committee is to develop consensus and an international standard for providers of language learning services in the non-formal sector (outside the mainstream school and higher education curriculum).

Mike and Avant Vice President of Research and Assessment, Paul Tucker, have participated in three previous international meetings and have been delegates to the workgroup since its inception. Both bring critical experience to the U.S. delegation having served on the Interagency Language Roundtable (ILR) Testing Committee which is a network of Federal, academic, private business and NGO language specialists and managers who share a common goal of improving the nation’s capacity to learn, teach and effectively use foreign languages in the national interests.

Additionally, Paul Tucker served as the Lead Writer for the ASTM Standards of Practice for language education and now chairs the testing subcommittee (F43.04) which is looking at differentiating standards per testing purpose. Mike Patterson served as a committee member at the U.S. Department of Education National Educational Technology Planning Sessions in 2003 and 2004, and has been actively involved with SIIA, CoSN, SIF, Software Association of Oregon and other industry organizations where he has served as a presenter and panelist at national and regional conferences.

“It is an honor to represent the interests of our country in the field of language acquisition” says Mike Patterson, Avant’s CEO. “As a country, we are a leader in developing thorough and rigorous standards on language training. It is important to the future of global communication that international standards meet or exceed those same standards. I look forward to these experiences working with colleagues from around the world on common goals. They are as rewarding as they are educational and challenging.”

Via EPR Network
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