Educational Conference in March, Be There...

Educational Research Center (ERC) will hold its annual conference on March 24 and 25, 2012, in Beirut, Lebanon, under the theme:

Education for Innovation

The conference will address the following issues:

1.     Innovations in human life, the workplace and society at large which education should work for.

2.     Research-based criteria and evidence required to ensure that education works for innovation.

3.     Student and teacher profiles, and lifelong learning environments, required for desired innovations to take place.

4.     Efficient systemic and pedagogical innovations, with evidence drawn especially from international comparative studies.

5.     Efficient models of innovation in:

a.   Language education.

b.   Social studies education.

c.   Science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education.

d.   e-learning and integration of digital means and resources.

6.     School-University-Industry partnerships, and parents and community engagement, for required innovations in education.

7.     Challenges faced by all stakeholders in working for education for innovation.

Plenary sessions will be held in the mornings of Saturday and Sunday, March 24 and 25, 2012, and concurrent sessions will follow in the afternoons. Keynote speakers include renowned international and Arab guests whose work about the theme of the conference is highly recognized worldwide.

Concurrent sessions will be held Saturday and Sunday afternoon. Experts in any of the issues listed above are invited to contribute 30-minute papers to the sessions, in English or Arabic. Contributors are kindly asked to submit the title and abstract of their paper, along with a short biography, by January 28, 2012, to:

conference@EducationalRC.org

The abstract should consist of a 250-word Microsoft Word text in English (Times New Roman, 12 pt), along with an Arabic translation (Simplified Arabic, 14 pt), if possible. Abstracts will be reviewed, and authors notified about the outcome by February 4, 2012. Preference will be given to papers that pertain to research conducted by the author(s), with clear implications to curriculum development, teacher education and classroom practice.

To register and access detailed information about sponsorship and conference arrangements, including paper submission, visas, airline and hotel rates, and other issues of interest, please visit:

www.EducationalRC.org/conference

How to Download YouTube Videos

If you want to download YouTube videos without having to pay a fee, install a toolbar, or run a dubious browser plug-in, check out our handy guide to using YouTube Downloader HD.

By Justin Phelps, PCWorld    Nov 28, 2011 11:43 pm

If you're like most PCWorld readers, you probably have a few classic YouTube videos you love to share with friends, family, and coworkers. That's all fine and good when you're connected to the Internet, but what if you want to save a few of your favorite videos to a USB stick or burn some memorable clips to disc as a gift? If you want to download YouTube videos without having to pay a fee, install a toolbar, or run a dubious browser plug-in, we suggest you use YouTube Downloader HD. A free downloadable program, YouTube Downloader HD keeps things simple: You provide the URL of the video, select the video quality and format, and click the Download button. YouTube Downloader HD has a limited selection of output formats and can’t download from video sites other than YouTube, but it still shines with its adware-free installation, ability to download multiple videos simultaneously, and automatic conversion feature.

Installing YouTube Downloader HD

1. Download YouTube Downloader HD, then install and launch the program.

2. Select the quality of the video using the Download dropdown menu. Many YouTube videos are offered in multiple quality levels—from 240p to Full HD 1080p. Higher-quality videos look better but take up more hard-drive space and take longer to download.

3. Check one of the optional boxes if you want to convert an FLV video to AVI or MP4. The FLV format is not as widely supported as AVI and MP4, so you may find your media player won’t recognize FLV videos.

4. Insert the URL of the YouTube video you want to download in the Video URL field. Follow the format of the example provided below the field.

5. Enter a Save to location.

6. Click the Download button. If you selected a video quality higher than is available, the program will prompt you to automatically try the next-best quality setting. This prompt will repeat until the highest available quality setting is found.

If you selected an FLV conversion option, conversion takes place automatically after the download is complete. YouTube Downloader HD will notify you when the video is saved and ready for viewing. Unfortunately YouTube Downloader HD does not support batch downloading at this time, but you can launch multiple instances of the program to download multiple YouTube videos simultaneously.

Disclaimer

Some YouTube videos have a download button or link, but the majority do not. The YouTube Terms of Service prohibit downloading video clips that lack an official download button or link. You should also be aware that the YouTube FAQ states that downloading a video without a download button or link violates the video owner’s copyright.

http://www.pcworld.com/

Important Learning and Teaching Issues

How will technology help her in ways that are more important than the teachers she has over time?

In Sunday’s New York Times, Matt Richtel wrote an article entitled, In Classrooms of the Future, Stagnant Scores.  He addressed important issues that educators are struggling with when it comes to assessing the value of technology in the classroom.

If you are interested go to: http://rryshke.wordpress.com/

Below are more important issues in teaching:

1. Establishing and supporting a culture of evidence
2. Demonstrating improvement of learning
3. Translating learning research into practice
4. Selecting appropriate models and strategies for e-learning
5. Providing tools to meet growing student expectations
6. Providing professional development and support to new audiences
7. Sharing content, applications, and application development
8. Protecting institutional data
9. Addressing emerging ethical challenges
10. Understanding the evolving role of academic technologists

If you want to learn more about these issues visit:

http://www.educause.edu/

Learning Disabilities in Children

TYPES OF LEARNING DISORDERS AND THEIR SIGNS

Does your child struggle with school, no matter how hard he or she tries? Does he or she dread reading out loud, writing an essay, or tackling a math problem? While every kid has trouble with homework from time to time, if a certain area of learning is consistently problematic, it might indicate a learning disorder.

If you think your child might have a learning disability, it’s important to face the problem early on. You can start by studying up on learning disabilities and pinpointing the specific learning challenges your child faces. With the right support and training, children with learning disabilities can tackle the obstacles they face in the classroom and thrive in all areas of life.

What are learning disabilities?

Learning disabilities, or learning disorders, are an umbrella term for a wide variety of learning problems. A learning disability is not a problem with intelligence or motivation. Kids with learning disabilities aren’t lazy or dumb. In fact, most are just as smart as everyone else. Their brains are simply wired differently. This difference affects how they receive and process information.
Simply put, children and adults with learning disabilities see, hear, and understand things differently. This can lead to trouble with learning new information and skills, and putting them to use. The most common types of learning disabilities involve problems with reading, writing, math, reasoning, listening, and speaking.

Children with learning disabilities can, and do, succeed

It can be tough to face the possibility that your child has a learning disorder. No parents want to see their children suffer. You may wonder what it could mean for your child’s future, or worry about how your kid will make it through school. Perhaps you’re concerned that by calling attention to your child's learning problems he or she might be labeled "slow" or assigned to a less challenging class.
But the important thing to remember is that most kids with learning disabilities are just as smart as everyone else. They just need to be taught in ways that are tailored to their unique learning styles. By learning more about learning disabilities in general, and your child’s learning difficulties in particular, you can help pave the way for success at school and beyond.

Signs and symptoms of learning disabilities and disorders

If you’re worried, don’t wait

Quotes About Teaching

Favorite Quotes on Teaching

1. "The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires."
   --William Arthur Ward

Born and raised in Louisiana, Ward entered the United States Army as a private in 1942 and rose to the rank of captain. Part of his four years of military service was spent in the Philippines.

A graduate of McMurry College, he received his master's degree at Oklahoma State University. He worked toward the doctorate at the University of Texas and at North Texas State University. In 1962 Oklahoma City University honored him with the Doctor of Laws degree in recognition of his professional achievement, literary contributions and service to others. Ward served as Assistant to the President of Texas Wesleyan College in Fort Worth beginning in 1955. In addition to his professional responsibilities, he was for two years the Director of Methodist Men for the Central Texas Conference, and for four years he taught the 140-member Sigler Bible Class at Polytechnic Methodist Church, where he also served as Sunday School Superintendent and Church Lay Leader. He was a professional member of Sigma Delta Chi, American College Public Relations Association, Religious Public Relations Council and Phi Delta Kappa. In Fort Worth he was on the Board of Directors of numerous organizations including Rotary, Red Cross and Boy Scouts of America. His biography appears in Who's Who in American Education, Who's Who in Public Relations, and Who's Who in the South and Southwest. He was a member of the International Platform Association. Also by William Arthur Ward: For This One Hour, Thoughts of a Christian Optimist, Prayer Is

2.       “I am a teacher! What I do and say are being absorbed by young minds who will echo these images across the ages. My lessons will be immortal, affecting people yet unborn, people I will never see or know. The future of the world is in my classroom today, a future with the potential for good or bad. The pliable minds of tomorrow's leaders will be molded either artistically or grotesquely by what I do.

Reading Lesson Plan

Teacher: Fatima                                                                    

Course Title: Reading

Session: 60 min

Class: 7^th grade

1)      Unit: 5 We Can Be Heroes

2)      General Instructional Objectives: The student will know how to make an inference from a set of information and to preview a reading text.

3)      Learning Outcomes:

 a) Student will be able to use the two reading strategies: previewing and making inferences from a reading text.

b) Student will be able to use 6 new words in their writing (beliefs, deeds, imprisoned, passive resistance, social justice, tolerance)

4)      Rationale: It is so important for the students to know the two reading strategies which are making inferences and previewing a reading text. Making assumptions based on set of information will help the student improve his critical thinking abilities and get out of the text important info. Regarding previewing the text, it is an essential tactic that students can use because it helps them understand the reading text and knows what the text is going to talk about just by previewing the title of the text, headings, photographs, or illustrations.

5)      Materials: Pictures, reading text

6)      Instructional Procedures:

Welcoming: I welcomed the student. I asked him about how well he is doing in the school and if he is interested and waiting for the new lesson to begin, he said that he is really getting excited about the lessons. I told him that the session is going to be a reading one so he was at first somehow expecting it is going to be a boring session because he will read and this is what he doesn’t like but I promised him that I will try my best not to make it boring.

a)      Focusing Event: I presented for the student pictures of different people (Haj Imaad Mogniyi, Ahmad Kaseer, Sayid Hassan, Che guevara, Imam Khomeini). First I asked him if he knows them all and he said yes. Then I asked him about the common thing between all these people. The student said that all of them made a change in their eras. I said “OK, since all of them made a change how can we describe them using a single adjective?” The student said that they all are heroes and brave people. I said “Excellent!” Thus after this illustration can you predict what will our lesson be? The student said that he thinks it is about heroes and brave people. 

Listening and Speaking Lesson PLan

Teacher: Fatima                                                

Course Title: Listening and Speaking

Session: 50 min

Class: 11^th grade

1)      Unit: Listening and Comprehending

2)       General Instructional Objectives: The student will be capable of listening to different types of genre and be able to comprehend them, explain them, apply some activities, and pay attention to the details while listening.

3)      Learning Outcomes:

 a) Student will be able explain in his own words what he had listened to and identify the topic.

d) Student will be able to differentiate between content and function words by stress pattern.

4)      Rationale: Students learning English as a second language need to be exposed to different types of genre through listening. They need to listen to different dialects in order not to have difficulty later on while interacting with people. Despite the fact that one listening session cannot improve the listening abilities of the learner but the accumulation of such sessions enhances the ability of the student to understand oral material through listening and be able to comprehend it.

5)      Materials: cassette recorder, purse, comprehension question sheet, computer, the quiz. 

6)      Instructional Procedures:

Welcoming: I welcome him first. "Hi, how are you? Is everything OK? How is your studying going?"

Of course the student replied that he is fine and things are getting tougher in school.

I asked the student if he takes a listening session in his school. He said that once a month the teacher let them listen to some thing and then they should answer a set of comprehension questions. They had never listened to something which is not graded and this surprised me because nothing is interesting in such listening session and usually students hate it as he said because as if it is a drop quiz session.

a)      Focusing Event:

The purse:  I put in front of the student a handmade purse. I asked him to look at it for one minute and then describe it in his own words. The student wrote: "This purse is too small, very nice, has one color which is beige, and it can be held by ladies only."

How to Write a Teaching Philosophy?

Honestly, I had written a teaching philosophy once so when I had been asked to write now a teaching philosophy I realized that many of my colleagues found difficulty writing one so I decided to make a search on google and help all the teachers in writing their teaching philosophies and excelling in their careers.

A philosophy of education statement is an integral component of your teaching portfolio. This statement helps to demonstrate how you have been purposeful about your teaching. It also enables you to communicate your goals as a teacher and illustrate how your teaching concepts can be transformed into real classroom activities. Most teaching job applicants are now being asked to articulate their education philosophy into a Philosophy of Education Statement.

Essential Components Of A Philosophy Of Education Statement

Your personal philosophy of education statement should include the following:

1.      Your perception of teaching: Here you describe what teaching means to you, your teaching processes, and how you can facilitate those processes as an educator. Issues such as motivating students, facilitating the learning process, how to challenge students academically, and how to support their learning abilities should be addressed.

2.      Your perception of learning: Here you try and describe what learning means to you and what exactly happens in a learning situation. You can either use metaphors to draw comparisons with known philosophies, or you can directly relate what you think happens during a learning session based on your personal experiences as an educator.

3.      Your teaching goals: In this section you describe your goals for your students and also list the various talents or skills that you expect your students to acquire through your teaching. In addition to the goals that you have set for your students, you should also provide the rationale behind these goals and how you will keep changing the goals to meet the growing learning needs of your students.