Student teacher surprises first graders with ‘Home Library Project’ | WABI

Alyssa Thurlow, Anchor/Reporter summarizes, Alissah Paquette chose the ‘Home Library Project’ as her action research assignment. 

More than 1,000 books are going to first graders at one school in Central Maine over the next two years.
Photo: Alissah Paquette

First graders at a school in Central Maine are growing their home libraries thanks to the thoughtfulness of one student-teacher.

“Over the past year, especially with COVID-19, we didn’t necessarily have as much access to books and stories and libraries,” said student-teacher and Thomas College Senior, Alissah Paquette.

The gift of literacy.

That’s what Paquette, gave her group of first graders.

The 21-year-old began student-teaching at Ralph Atwood Primary School in Oakland at the beginning of the year...

Research shows that access to books, especially in the home, increases literacy skills.

Alissah will graduate from Thomas College this weekend.

Read more... 

Source: WABI 

Music books to end lockdown: Sam Lee, Hawkwind, Dylan, Richard Thompson, and the Electric Muses | Reviews - The Arts Desk

From nightingale song to sonic attack via folk rock and the world's greatest songwriter, spring 2021's best music books. Review by Tim Cumming, The Arts Desk.

An artist roster disparate enough to grace the finest of festival bills'

It won’t be long now before concert halls and back rooms, arts centres and festival grounds fill with people again, and live music, undistanced, unmasked, and in your face, comes back to us. 

In expectation of this gradual reopening of the stage doors of perception, this round-up of recent, new and forthcoming music books surveys an artist roster disparate enough to grace the finest of festival bills.

Read more... 

Source: The Arts Desk

A Bookshop in Algiers — turning the pages of history | Books - Financial Times

Dalia Dawood, Financial Times suggest, Algerian-born Kaouther Adimi’s story of a literary hub’s early days and its later demise can feel a little disjointed.

Photo: The bookstore, Les Vraies Richesses, opened by Edmond Charlot © Youcef Krache/Getty Images

In Kaouther Adimi’s award-nominated third novel A Bookshop in Algiers — her first to be translated into English, by Chris Andrews — land and literature entwine. Algeria, shaped by its dark and tragic history, is also sculpted by stories, both in the memories of its people and the narratives created and sold at an unassuming bookshop and lending library, which is the novel’s main setting. 

In just 160 pages, the book charts the changing fortunes of the bookshop — a real-life institution named Les Vraies Richesses that was opened by French-Algerian publisher Edmond Charlot in the 1930s — with a blend of fact and fiction. It recounts the turbulent years of war and revolution between Charlot and the appearance of another man, a character named Ryad, who arrives from Paris in 2017 to empty the shop now that it has been sold to a developer...

Charlot names his shop after a novel by French author Jean Giono, “a book in which he urges us to return to the true riches, that is, the land, the sun, the streams, and finally literature too”. Though it is presented as a curt story, cut together hastily, A Bookshop in Algiers reminds us that in literature, as in life, we belong in a place only temporarily — and we shape it according to our memories.

Read more... 

Source: Financial Times

12 of the UK’s best independent bookshops, chosen by readers | Booksellers - The Guardian

From old tales to new thinking, gardening to science fiction, our tipsters find literary nourishment – and cake, too – at these indie booksellers by The Guardian.

Winning tip: Deep thoughts and homemade cake, Derbyshire

Feed the mind … Scarthin Books, Derbyshire

Scarthin Books in Cromford, Derbyshire, is a tall, thin bookcase of a building. Its many rooms, stacked one on top of the other, have new books, old books and every sort of reading matter in its nooks and higgledy-piggledy crannies. You can lose yourself for hours. Rest, revive and continue after a break in its cosy reading room. Try a homemade cake in the cafe upstairs (when Covid rules allow) or, for food for thought, attend a talk in its Café Philosophique. And whether you need it or not, take a peek in the authentic Victorian bathroom with literary memorabilia-lined walls.  

Read more... 

Source: The Guardian

Are you ready for machine learning math? | Math - Medium

I never cared much about machine learning, writes Santiago on Medium.

Take the first step and cross the bridge when appropriate.

If we were playing the blame game, I’d certainly point to the “math is not my thing” excuse. I had seen it with my own eyes, and it seemed daunting.

Back then, we had to write training loops from scratch, beg large universities for cluster time, and deal with parallel libraries and remote debugging.

That was a long time ago.

Fast forward a few years, and I came around and gave it a try. To my surprise, I was more than ready to get into it!

The field had changed. The math I needed was far from the scary wolf that everyone made me believe it was, and I’ve never had an issue with it...

A final word

Give machine learning a try.

Many people believe that you either understand how electrons move in a wire or have no business changing an outlet. And that’s fine. You don’t need them to believe otherwise.

Don’t worry about the things you think you’ll need. The time for more will come, and you can think about them at that point. Start with something simple, and find your way through more of it as you feel you need it.

You’ll be fine.

Read more...

Source: Medium

The role of e-learning in the future of education | Education - Independent Online

Even before the Covid-19 pandemic hit our shores, the e-learning sector was witnessing tremendous growth, according to Tamara Mafilika, Independent Online. 

Photo: Independent Online

The intervention of the pandemic has given a major boost to the sector.

You may ask yourself what is e-learning? In simple language, e-learning is defined as “learning that is enabled electronically”. Typically, e-learning is conducted on the Internet, where learners can access their learning materials online at any place and time. And the benefits of e-learning is that it saves time and money. E-learning is also cost-effective; schools can save a substantial amount on the travel and accommodation costs of both learners and instructors, as well as the venue and materials...

Whether we like or not, e-learning is here to stay. The pandemic has made it crystal clear that there is an urgent need to spread education across borders, companies, and all parts of society. If there is a possibility that e-learning can help us achieve our goals, we must give it a chance. 

Read more... 

Source: Independent Online

How the right data storage can allow universities to thrive in the online learning era | Comment - Education Technology

Neil Stobart, Vice-President, Global System Engineering, Cloudian  writes, In certain situations, the highly popular public cloud isn’t always the best answer for your institution’s data storage.

Photo: Education Technology

We’ve had more than a glimpse into the future of education during this past year. Many universities have now shifted to offering remote learning through the use of teleconferencing, collaboration tools and data sharing platforms.

On the one hand, this has allowed for the continuation of learning and improved teaching methods despite the ongoing disruption. On the other hand, it has also posed challenges for education providers due to the rapid increase in both the quantity and type of data being generated, along with the demand for remote access to files.

For example, lessons that are carried out on teleconferencing platforms must be recorded and securely stored...

For example, public clouds employ a tiered pricing strategy where cost increases can be high once usage reaches a certain point, and the movement of data can result in additional charges due to increased bandwidth demands. Public cloud egress fees in particular – i.e., moving data out of the cloud – can represent a significant and unpredictable cost. Therefore, universities may be caught off guard by large, unexpected bills.

“Public cloud egress fees in particular – i.e., moving data out of the cloud – can represent a significant and unpredictable cost. Therefore, universities may be caught off guard by large, unexpected bills”

Health sciences departments provide a perfect example. They are tasked with storing large quantities of unstructured data, such as genetic data, which must be readily accessible for analysis. As this data can be expensive to move out of the public cloud, the costs can quickly accumulate.

Read more... 

Source: Education Technology

Getting personal: how digital learning is changing the role of the teacher | ICT Matters - Ed Exec

Hugh Viney, headteacher at Minerva’s Virtual Academy, discusses the transformation of remote education which has occurred over the last year. 

Photo: Ed Exec

The impact of school closures over the last year or so have fast-tracked exposure, and wider acceptance of, digital learning ten-fold, not just for students but for schools and teachers too. As progressive learning continues to shift more towards online platforms, reliance on the use of technology – both inside and outside of the classroom – is becoming more widespread. Historically, teaching has always been about ‘presenteeism’ in the classroom, but advances in digital learning platforms mean a teacher no longer needs to be physically ‘present’ for the delivery of every aspect of a lesson, and the future role of teaching will need to adapt in line with this.  

The potential of online learning is vast. It is likely that future classroom-based teaching time will adopt a more blended approach to delivery – an element of face-to-face combined with digital learning – thereby freeing-up teaching time and resource to allow for more focused mentoring...

Evolving teaching skills

The pandemic forced schools, teachers, parents and pupils to become Google Classroom and Zoom literate overnight, but it is the extensions, the add-ons and the additional digital resources, available to deliver effective lessons, that teachers will need more training on. Traditional schools would never have used cloud software to run their learning operations had it not been for the pandemic so, from this perspective, the pandemic has fast-tracked the education sector by about 10 years. This undoubtedly means that the skills teachers need today around digital learning will continue to grow.

Teachers will, inevitably, continue to build on their level of tech literacy simply via hands-on, day-to-day learning.

Read more... 

Source: Ed Exec 

Blended learning: Another new normal to add to the list | Sibbald Training - Scottish Construction Now

When we talk to our clients about how their staff will work after the pandemic many talk about hybrid working, with a balance between home working and office collaboration and how the flexibility and benefits this brings means it is here to last by Scottish Construction Now

Photo: Scottish Construction Now

Some of the benefits to using a blended approach to learning for your employees include:

• Increased interest: use of online and face-2-face training helps keep interested and focus along with increasing information retention.
• Flexibility: the use of eLearning allows learning at their own pace and to choose where and when they complete courses.
• Time Reduction: Using a blended approach to learning can reduce classroom time, travel and missed work time making this a more efficient way to learn.

Read more... 

Source: Scottish Construction Now

How to Inspire a Love of Math | Family Finances - Investopedia

The current standard curriculum is anything but inspired by Amy Fontinelle, financial journalist and personal finance expert.

Photo: Investopedia

The standard American math curriculum is anything but inspiring. Based on memorization and timed tests, it encourages boredom and anxiety. A lucky few students get the inspiration and motivation required to enjoy and excel in math from a parent or teacher. The rest muddle through, often quitting at the firstopportunity. How can we disrupt this depressing state of affairs?...

What does a mathematician look like?

“The demographics of the mathematical community does not look like the demographics of America. We have left whole segments out of the benefits of the flourishing available in our profession.” — Francis Su, “Mathematics for Human Flourishing”7

Push back when a student says they aren’t a math person. Let them know that even if they struggle with one aspect of math, they might enjoy another type. Emphasize that, as stated above, math ability is not innate and must be acquired.23 Students who appear to be gifted may just be better educated. Perhaps they got a head start from math-fluent parents. They shouldn’t be the metric against which other students judge themselves.

Read more...  

Source: Investopedia