Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Twelve Ways For Cyber School Students To Refocus

Ever have one of those days where you have a bunch of stuff planned, but then you sit down to start doing them, and your brain seems to reject anything productive? That's me today. Mark your calendars because this is the worst brain fart I've had during Cyber School. Really though, I made it about a month without a really bad focusing problem so I'd call that a success!

It started yesterday when I decided to finally sit down, and work on the Sunday school lesson (I am teaching at my church this weekend). I got the fun stuff done, but anything remotely work related like reading a couple of chapters in the bible started to feel like a situation where you have to lick your elbow to save your life. I just couldn't do it and it frustrated me. So I stopped, went upstairs to read a bit, and went to bed.

That's my usual method for getting through stressful situations like mind block, just get away from it for a little while, then revisit it once your mind is clear. But what do you do when the stressful situations and mind block are because of school? You usually can't just get up and give it some time to process. No, you have to get it done in only a short amount of time or you are penalized with something like a tardy or a bad grade or other important stuff doesn't get done!

Today my 'To Do' list looked something like this

1. School= Finish an English report, three lessons of math and some sociology

2. Put up a blog post

3. Contact a bunch of churches around the area about the Christian club at school

4. Clean up a bit

5. Tennis practice, leave house at 2:30

After Tennis there were a couple other social events I had made a commitment to go to allowing me only the time between 8am and about 2pm to work. That gave me about six and a half hours to complete everything, keeping in mind that school work took me about two and a half hours today and contacting churches took out about another hour in my day. That leaves me with about three hours to clean and finish my blog post. Along with that I also need to feed myself and get ready for tennis. Also I am a girl so getting ready is a slightly lengthy process.

My day was booked! I couldn't take any time to slack off or take long breaks. So how did I get through? Well I did what any desperate to be done with work kid would do, I pushed on through completing some work only to the level of proficient rather than to an advanced level.

It wasn't very fun today. A lot of the tests and lessons I had to do today were extremely simple and easy, but more than once I'd find myself totally out of it just staring at the screen willing something, anything to put the correct answer there so that all I would have to do is click the 'Finish' button.

Somehow I got through, and then decided I could give myself a couple minute breaks to play a Wii game called 'Just Dance.' I don't mean to brag, but I got the high score in each dance.

The dance game helped a little, and is probably the reason I am able to write this post, I couldn't help but wonder what are some other little tricks and ideas to help us focus better. So I have compiled a list from three different articles:

1. Create a good learning environment with minimum distractions

2. Practice concentrating by doing things like listening to your breaths and heart beats

3. Use the number five. For example five more minutes or five more problems

4. Create a routine around your most productive and least productive times of the day

5. Set Goals/ Bribe yourself- If I finish these last 5 problems I can eat a piece of cake (I recommend not always using food)

6. Write out a 'To Do' list so you can work on things one at a time.

7. Make sure your body is healthy- enough sleep, good diet (less sugars), exercise, etc.

8. Set some time in the day to allow your mind to wander and think through things

9. Cup your hands around your eyes to give you tunnel vision so distractions are blocked.

10. Develop an interest in what you are doing

11. Limit the time where you have to focus a lot

12. Don't procrastinate because it distracts your mind from other activities

Saturday, February 25, 2012

How Teaching Math With Interactive Online Tools?

Teaching math can be a challenge, especially if you're trying to teach kids who are struggling. Today's math curriculum requires kids of all ages to learn and retain particular skills at each grade level, making it essential to ensure that they master each idea as it comes so that they don't get lost or confused when higher concepts are introduced.

Offer An Engaging Environment

Kids respond well to learning environments that are fun, interesting and engaging. When you give kids the opportunity to work in such an environment, teaching math can become much easier. One way to do this is to take advantage of the growing use of technology in education by introducing online math games to student curriculum. These games are accessible from any computer with an Internet connection and so can be used in the classroom or at home to supplement math education. Though using games to teach math skills isn't a substitute for the traditional educational environment, it can be helpful to kids who learn better with audio-visual tools than with standard print materials.

Encourage Mastery of Skills

Math is one concept that requires kids to master one skill before moving on to another. If you don't teach math skills such as number recognition, counting and basic addition and subtraction to kids at a young age, they won't be able to understand the concepts that they encounter as they move on to higher grades. By encouraging kids to pay attention to each concept as it comes and learn how to apply it to many different kinds of math problems, you give them the tools that they need to excel at math throughout their academic careers. Teaching math this way requires diligence and patience since each child will learn at a different pace. Online math games take this into account by giving kids the opportunity to move on when they're ready, rather than forcing them to continue before they've fully grasped the current lesson.

Include Positive Reinforcement

All learning processes come with both successes and failures. Kids need to learn how to accept when they have trouble with a concept and be willing to put in the effort necessary to understand it. Online math games and interactive learning aids give kids a chance to go back and work on anything they find hard by giving them an easier, more inviting way to address their struggles. By taking difficult concepts and presenting them with the aid of colorful settings and friendly characters, games help to ease kids' fear of failure and offer support as they work through things that might otherwise baffle them if presented in a textbook or on a worksheet.

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Five Reasons to Choose A Web Design Course Online

Web design continues to soar in global popularity. From commercial to personal sites, website design is widely utilized and always in demand. Due to the global financial crisis, however, several UK-based firms and designers have had to raise prices in order to make ends meet. As a result, many customers are now opting for courses online. This is a cost-effective way to learn HTML, while effectively creating captivating sites within a set time and budget. There are several benefits associated with taking courses online. These include unlimited access to design software, along with freedom of artistic expression and other related factors.

Comfort And Convenience

Unlike overcrowded classrooms, students can take courses online at their home or office. They can also work and learn at their own pace and convenience. Online courses are very intricate in nature. Since they cover a myriad of topics and subjects, one needs to pay close attention in order to secure a favourable outcome. For courses that offer certification or degrees, students may have to pass stringent requirements and tests. Still, taking these courses at home or the office allows students to set their own schedules and sessions. From digital illustration and web marketing to graphic design, students can also sign up for a range of courses that effectively meet their needs.

Expert Tuition

Industry experts usually teach web design courses online. Therefore, students have unlimited access to the best in web design applications and courses. Teachers also offer assessment tests to monitor skills and progress. Whether it's creating templates, adding colours, or integrating HTML codes, each step in the process is carefully crafted to secure timely results. As technology evolves, web design courses online feature all the latest design tools and programs. This allows students to maintain an edge in this competitive, challenging, and growing market.

Building A Marketable Portfolio

While some take courses online for personal enrichment, others simply want to enhance their skills and learn new techniques. In the UK, there are several web enthusiasts that want to build a career in this high-end industry. Therefore, taking web design courses online can help them build a strong and marketable portfolio. No matter which sector of the industry they choose, applying learned skills is always a productive and worthwhile endeavour. If you are serious about forging a career in web design and online marketing, taking web design courses online offers the perfect platform for true market success and longevity.

Distance Education

As a form of distance education, online courses are designed to meet all your educational and budgetary needs. With online courses, students never have to worry about commuting to physical venues. They can also set their own hours, especially if they have daytime jobs or other responsibilities. These courses not only teach web design, they also help students learn about Internet marketing and social media integration. These are important tools in increasing online visibility, while attracting potential customers to business-related sites and forums.

Saturday, February 11, 2012

Payments for Your Class Safely With PayPal

The concept of online payment has achieved a new dimension with the introduction of integrated payment gateway - PayPal. In recent years, PayPal has become the most easy-going payment method that supports flawless transactions. It is also considered to be the best medium by which the class organizers accept payments and fees from students. This article is going to show how you can accept payments securely and conveniently through PayPal.

One of the most important aspects of online payments is to ensure optimum security during the transaction process. PayPal is the most widely used and trusted payment system for your online class payments. It helps you make payments through debit or credit cards or bank account transfers through the PayPal website. The class registration software is directly integrated with PayPal payment system, which helps organizers and the attendees' process class payments by a single click of the mouse. This is likely to eliminate the complexities of manual payment processing as well as the problems associated with it. It also facilitates real-time authorization and processing of all those payments made through PayPal. Besides, being an online procedure, it also ensures secure transfer of funds.

Attendees using PayPal for making class payments can get real-time authorization once the transaction is processed. PayPal is known to be a low-cost medium for accepting credit card and bank account payments. You can easily integrate it with your website. The PayPal IPN provides an easy gateway for customers to pay using PayPal and also helps organizers have a merchant account in the PayPal site. It helps you process class payments through the Cloud-based payment platform with PayPal as one of its gateways.

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

How Online Math Help Aids Students of All Skill Levels?

Elementary level math involves mastering many skills and memorizing a great deal of information in a relatively short period of time. Math facts, the relationships between numbers, basic arithmetic and advanced calculations must all be learned before kids can move on to middle school. With all of these things to learn and retain, it's understandable if your child requires a little math help.

Aiding Struggling Students

Many kids lack proficiency in basic math concepts, making it difficult for them to develop a full understanding of new ideas. For these kids, online math games can be a great help. Both entertaining and academic, online games offer an adaptive learning environment that works with kids to help them reach their full potential. It can be much easier to get your struggling student to accept math help by giving them a game to play than by sitting them down with extra written homework. Through games, math becomes more interesting and learning can take place while engaging your child's natural inclination toward play.

Challenging Advanced Learners

Other students find math to be easy and may quickly become bored when they have to sit through a lesson that they already understand. If your child falls into this category, they may benefit from math help that challenges them with new ideas rather than reviewing established concepts. Online games can be used for this as well, since the learning environment is designed to adapt to your child's specific academic needs. Through the use of a rigorous curriculum in line with today's academic standards, online math games can introduce your advanced student to new ideas anytime he or she is ready. This provides kids with an edge in the classroom that can be valuable at any grade level.

The Benefits of Progress Monitoring

As a parent, it's important to stay involved in your child's academic career. Parental involvement helps to reinforce the learning that takes place in the classroom and encourages kids to put their all into their schoolwork. When online games are used as an interactive tool for math help, it's easy to keep track of your child's progress. These games engage your child at his or her current skill level so that new concepts can be introduced at just the right time. Getting involved in this process lets your child know that you care about how well he or she is doing, which in turn boost confidence and can help to improve academic performance.

Saturday, February 4, 2012

Homeschooling High School Is Importance of Junior Year

Junior year is one critical moment in time when you are homeschooling high school. In freshman and sophomore year you can kind of "fly by the seat of your pants", but in junior year there are certain tasks that you need to do. On the first day of senior year you really want your child to start to apply for colleges. This sounds easy enough and only applies to senior year except for one minor detail. If you don't know where you're going to apply on the first day of senior year, it's kind of hard to actually do the applying.

That is why much of junior year is spent figuring out what colleges your student is going to apply to. You do that by making sure that your child takes the PSAT, and the SAT or ACT. These tests will tell them the approximate test score that they have so that they will know which college they will fit with. You can also go to a college fair so you can get an overview of colleges you may want to attend.

Another important task of junior year is to identify a school that you want to visit and then actually visit the college. Otherwise, you may discover it is not anything like the name that they have on the side of their buildings or what you see in their marketing brochures. You have to make sure that the college is a good fit for your child.

When you are homeschooling high school, pay attention to the college search during junior year and then you can be really successful.