Education in Developing Countries

UNICEF goes to great efforts to make sure children in places such as Myanmar and China are educated. This makes a difference for emergency situations.

Education is so powerful, it is like a magic wand or like the hand of God. Many children can lead healthier lives because of the education given to authorities to deal with emergency situations and at the end of the day – this saves lives.

In school supported initiatives that UNICEF funds, children are given the basics on how to handle emergency situations and how to seek for help, as well as when to call for it.

This creates a situation where children have the opportunity to take control of their own destiny. As well as potentially save the lives of their parents and their siblings and other family.

Some of things that are taught are good sanitation practices for children. This helps them to avoid any diseases that can be spread through viruses. Children learn how to wash their hands as well as medical doctors do to guard against getting ill from all the germs that tend to exist in schools.

Due to this, one example of the effects of how this education is working effectively is that that whopping cough is down 44 percent. Diseases associated with diarrhea kill about 1.5 million children a year in China and Myanmar. Now, because of UNICEF, there are sanitation facilities provided right on the school grounds to help children live and fewer to die.

Source: http://fieldnotes.unicefusa.org/2008/06/education_is_a_magic_wand.html

Education Coverage Award

For awards in 2007, the Seattle P-I received 34 of them from the regional Society of Professional Journalists.

Staffers at the newspaper received 14 first place awards. The grand prize for education coverage went to Jessica Blanchard and Casey McNerthney. Their story was about the under-reporting of crime in Seattle schools called “School crimes under wraps.”

The Seattle Times received 53 awards.

Source: http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/365369_spj31.html

Education Blogs and Discussion Forums

Education blogs are showing up everywhere and one has to be careful where they are getting their information from.

There are some education blogs that are not extremely informative and include information from people who do not have any knowledge on the topic. Make sure that if you are consulting with an education blog, it comes from a reliable source.

Many times the best way to do this is to go with suggestions from people that you know. Along with education blogs, there are those education discussion forums that are reputable and those that are not. The Chronicle of Higher Education is one discussion forum that carries a lot of weight in the education sphere and is extremely informative.

What are some of the advantages of being part of an education blog or discussion forum? It gives you the opportunity to dialogue with people who are like-minded. You can meet many people and if you are in a situation of looking for work in academia, this could be a wonderful avenue to increase your social networks.

Another advantage to being part of education blogs and discussion forums is that you receive the opportunity to find out what are some of the “hot” topics people in the field are discussing. This will also help you during interviews if you are in the midst of the academic job hunt.

Even for people who already have work in academia, education blogs and discussion forums can be useful. They can help to keep you up to date on some of things that are being discussed in the field. This could even help to provide lecture material or to promote discussions in your classroom or in your board meetings.

For whatever reason you are using education blogs or discussion forums, if you choose them wisely, you cannot go wrong.


Source: http://www.matthewktabor.com/2008/06/13/the-terrible-horrible-no-good-very-bad-education-blogosphere/

Drug Education

Students may soon be tested for brain improving drugs in schools and universities, experts say. Students to boost alertness were using drugs for diseases such as Alzheimer’s, says the Academy of Medical Sciences.

Students may be required to do urine tests before exams, such as what athletes need to do.

Sourced from: http://mail.google.com/mail/#inbox/11a11345f35aaaac

Digital Divide in Education

About 75 per cent of Canadians over the age of 16 were surfing on the Internet last year. This is according to a new Statistics Canada report. Factors such as age, income, education and where you live still contribute to a “digital divide” in Canada.

About 19.2 million Canadians aged 16 and older went online for personal reasons in 2007 the Canadian Internet Use Survey states. This is an increase of 5 percent from 2005 when the last survey was done.

Many of the Internet users searched the web from home, about 94 per cent. At work, 41 per cent said they used it, at school 21 per cent said they used it and about 15 per cent in libraries.

Still, in small towns or in rural areas, the Internet is not being used as much. About 65 per cent of those living in small towns and rural areas are using the web, compared to 76 per cent in urban places.

As well, education levels play a big role in how people are using the Internet. Those Canadians with at least some post-secondary education surfed the net at a rate of 84 per cent. Compare this to about 58 per cent of those who are less educated the report said.


Source: http://post-secondary.blogspot.com/2008/06/statistics-canada-report-reveals.html

Corporation Gives Computers to School

A leading global talent development corporation will be providing computers and computer aided education to more than 2,005 schools in Andra Pradesh in India. The value of this funding is Rs 1728 million.

The corporation, NIIT, will help over 4.2 million children in 2,005 schools in the state of Andhra Pradesh during a five year period. This announcement comes after Maharashtra and Bihar State governments requested that NIIT provide computers and computer aided education to their 900 schools in the next five years.

NIIT is a leader in providing computer education to the state of Andhra Pradesh since 2002. The project will strengthen NIIT's role in School Learning Solutions space. It plays a major role in providing the essentials for computer based education projects in India.

The program consists of setting up hardware, software, connecting accessories for computer systems, computer education and certified instructors for classes of six in government high schools.

The training is designed to help students in the higher studies, as well as to improve their chances in the job market. The computer training will affect academic subjects such as math, science, English and social studies. Special tools to stimulate critical thinking and analytical thinking skills will lead to improved learning by the students.

Source: http://www.ndtvprofit.com/2008/06/14150833/NIIT-to-implement-computer-edu.html

Adult Education Award

Kim Heang Kinsey is the winner of the 22nd annual Literary Achievement Award in Wells-Ogunquit Community School District. She won for an essay called “Charity in Cambodia.”
Kinsey who is born and raised in Cambodia spent her early years in a refugee camp during the brutal Khmer Rouge regime. She returned to live with her family in Cambodia. Her parents enrolled her in school and she has become a life-long learner.

She is currently taking adult education courses. During high school she did some English language instruction.

She is currently living in America with her American husband. She passed the Cambodian national test to become a teacher in 2006.