Archive for May, 2010
Finding The Story In Adult Education
Sesame Street has become a cultural iconand a proven innovator in combining education and entertainment. Today the GED Academy combines education and entertainment for the adult learner addressing the needs of a growing number of adults without high school diplomas.
When Sesame Street first aired in 1969 it revolutionized preschool education with its controversial integration of entertainment and education. Hundreds of studies have been done on its effectiveness and the research shows its positive impacts http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICDocs/data/ericdocs2sql/content_storage_01/0000019b/80/14/1a/bf.pdf . Today the United States is facing a new challenge over 39 million adult Americans who don’t have a high school degree and an innovative new study program is applying entertainment to the adult education field.
Interest drives education. Learning takes place inside the student’s mind. To engage that process the student must become interested. In order to engage adult learners the GED Academy’s GED prep program introduces a virtual classroom where learners follow the stories of four GED students.
The virtual classroom covers GED skills but the virtual students also spend time talking about their lives getting into arguments interacting with each other and planning their futures. The stories of these characters are ones GED students can relate to. Maria is a single mother who is trying to support and raise her son. Curtis is an exconvict who is trying to turn his life around by getting his GED. Becca is a former truck driver who injured her back and can’t drive anymore. And Dwayne is the class clown a grownup boy with a Peter Pan complex who delivers pizza for a living.
Most GED preparation programs simply present the material in a straightforward way. But the students The GED Academy is trying to reach don’t learn well from reading textbooks or from a software program that’s just a textbook on the computer screen. Far from being a textbook on a screen GED Academy lessons are animated films like watching a movie. The main goal is to get students involved.
The storytelling works on several levels. First students become involved with the stories of the characters and amused by Dwayne’s antics. Second the virtual characters apply their learning to their own lives. Third learners get to watch the virtual students think through and argue about the lessonsexposing the learning process.
Learning begins by playing. Learning begins with engagement and entertainment. Somewhere between kindergarten and adulthood that gets lost. Through narrative storytelling The GED Academy is bringing the element of play back to adult education.
About the writer: Michael Ormsby is the president of The GED Academy and oversees software and curriculum for adult learners and people with educational challenges. For more information visit http://wwwPassGED.com. Michael can be contacted by email at: informationpassGED.com or by telephone at 8888802164.
Extreme Pilot Shortage-an Opportunity Unparalleled
For several decades Indian Civil Aviation has suffered from flawed regulatory and operational policies that were designed solely to keep competition away The Govt did adopt an ‘open sky’ policy in 1991 but this proved to be relatively ineffective because the civil aviation environment then was not conducive for sustaining a highquality competitive level. As a result many startup airlines exited the industry within a short time However farreaching reforms in the civil aviation sector aimed at making flying more affordable gathered momentum as 2004 came to a close As the new Govt completed a year in office a major change witnessed in this sector was the entry of LowCost Carriers LCC a feature unseen in the Indian aviation scene so far. As a result India’s civil aviation has witnessed an unprecedented boom. Finally in 2005 the aviation sector was freed of bureaucratic shackles and stifling Govt restrictions the industry is now poised to expand by leaps and bounds. The recent Govt announcements regarding the muchawaited fleet acquisition programme of Indian public sector airlines as well as for modernisation of the infrastructure at Indian airports have given the process a further fillip.
At present existing private domestic carriers as well as the new startups have a total of 337 aircraft on order mostly Boeing and Airbus variants and some ATR and Embraer aircraft. Of these as many as 156 were ordered at the Paris air show in June. IndiGo leads the list with a firm order for 100 A320s with deliveries slated for late 2006; between 15 and 19 aircraft in the first two years and thereafter an average of one aircraft every month. Air Deccan is close behind with orders for 68 additional aircraft comprising 32 ATR 72/42s and 32 A320s. Kingfisher Airlines became the first Indian carrier to sign a firm contract with Airbus for five each of its newest aircraft the A350800 and its largest the A380 for intercontinental services as well as for five A330200s for regional routes. Delivery of the A330s is due to begin in the third quarter of 2007 those of the doubledeck A380s in 2010 whilst the A350s will arrive in 2012.
A host of other new domestic carriers have also placed substantial orders with various manufacturers with most deliveries slated for late 2005 and spilling over into 2006. At present existing private domestic carriers as well as the new startups have a total of 337 aircraft on order mostly Boeing and Airbus variants and some ATR and Embraer aircraft. Not to be left behind the national carriers have also planned substantial acquisitions. Air India has finalised a revised fleet plan through which its fleet size would be enhanced from the present level of 34 aircraft to 74 aircraft by the year 201213. This entails purchase of 50 aircraft from Boeing 8 Boeing 777200LR 15 Boeing 777300ER and 27 Boeing 787s at a projected cost of Rs 30000 crore US 7 billion. Acquisition of 43 aircraft 19 Airbus A319 4 Airbus A320 and 20 Airbus A321 along with related spares spare engines equipment etc has since been approved for Indian Airlines at a total cost of Rs 9700 crore US2.2 billion.
It is anyone’s guess as to Human Resource requirements especially pilots airhostesses flight attendants and other cabin crew that are going to come up in the Aviation Sector. Demand is much above the number of people acquiring training for the same. Jet Airways along with Sahara India has about 47 percent share of the domestic aviation market followed by Indian Airlines 28 per cent Air Deccan 11 per cent Kingfisher 6 per cent and SpiceJet 5 per cent as on October2006. Jet Airways tops the list of domestic and national carrier operators with 8168 flights operating till June 2005. Indian Airlines ranks second with 7562 flights followed by Sahara 3225 flights Air Deccan 2889 flights Spice Jet 483 flights and Kingfisher Airlines 267 flights.
The sudden boom in Indian aviation has caught even the normally market savvy global aerospace manufacturers unawares. Recently both Boeing and Airbus said they had underestimated Indian growth. This means global players are also coming into the scene. It wasn’t surprising since statistics compiled by Airbus Industrie showed that Indian carriers accounted for 327 out of the 2140 firm orders for new aircraft that were placed with it and rival Boeing in 2005. This does not take into account the orders placed for smaller airplanes with other manufacturers like ATR and Dassault which too are flooded with offers from private Indian carriers.
About the writer: Author is a leading service industry expert prominently into human resource consulting and developing training strategies for leading international airlines providing flight attendant training and travel agent training
for job aspirants
Expand Your Opportunities At Work
When wealthy people talk about their secrets to success they always hint at one common principle: the importance of being proactive. In the words of Donald Trump: I am a selfmade man. And indeed The Donald has always been proud of the fact that he took charge of his life made risks and created opportunities for himself in his quest to build the Trump empire. If ever he had one recurring lesson to share in The Apprentice its that he went out of his way to make success and he didn’t wait for it to drop on his lap.
Granted there are people who gain wealth based on chance being born in a rich family or accidentally getting discovered by a Hollywood producer for instance. However these situations are more the exception than the rule. If we want financial or professional success most of us should be prepared to work hard for it and take advantage of every opportunity that comes our way. This is the reason why education is important. Through education we get to develop the necessary skills for launching a successful career in the future. So despite the staggering cost of higher education many students are still encouraged to go to college so they can create more opportunities for themselves in their careers.
But in an everchanging environment what weve learned in college may not be sufficient to ensure a competitive edge in the workplace. The knowledge and skills that were in demand when you were in the academe may suddenly be obsolete in the workplace leaving you with few opportunities to further your career growth.
In order to maintain your value in job market you must make sure that your knowledge and skills are in step with the times. Learning therefore is a continuous process if you want to have the best opportunities for climbing the corporate ladder.
One of the best means for you to keep your skills uptodate is by taking up online courses of your choice. There are many respected and established universities that have comprehensive online programs that match the quality of traditional oncampus learning. Universities like the University of Phoenix Kaplan University Strayer University and many others recognize the benefits of online learning for future professionals who want to further their knowledge and skills.
As we all know taking up courses consumes time and energy. People who work fulltime won’t always have the luxury of time to accomplish all their academic requirements. This is why online learning is a good method of getting around this dilemma. Online courses allow students to arrange their schedules so that their studies wont interfere with their work. Best of all they wont have to make drastic decisions like quitting their jobs just so they can refine their skills or pursue a second degree. In addition online learning gives you the freedom to learn other lines of expertise beyond the industry youre already in. The more you know the more opportunities you can create for yourself.
For those concerned with cost online courses are still covered by most financial aid programs that dont usually have age restrictions. If you’re looking for ways to get that competitive edge in the workplace why don’t you start taking online courses? Not only do you save time and money but you learn just as much as any student in a traditional campus setting.
About the writer: J Clark is a writer for http://www.fundmyeducation.com/. His task is to provide information tips and advice for students in search of scholarships.
