Web 2.0 and Social Media Learning Opportunity, SomaliREN

SomaliREN in collaboration with the Training Centre in Communication (TCC), and CTA started hosting a 5-day Web 2.0 & Social Media Learning Opportunity on 22-26 September, 2014. Participants will be introduced to selected web 2.0 applications and will learn how to use them hands-on.

How to Learn in the 21st Century

At this time (the 21^st century), "memory and learning" research has reached at a level we can utilize for improving how we actually learn. This research field has developed certain specific strategies that enable us to create our own "specific tactical plan."

Memory Palace Technique, a Tool for Memory Athletes

The memory palace is a very ancient technique, which dates from the ancient Greeks and Latins. Orators in the Roman Senate used this technique to remember the concepts they had to develop in public. To be effective, this technique requires that the places in the palace be always the same and always in the same order.

How to Learn More by Studying Less?

Being intelligent within … (a) subject is often a factor (of) just how much exposure you have had to it. - Scott Young, a "Marco Polo" of Learning.

To learn more in less time, it only depends on motivating yourself. But, in the first place, Why do we fail to motivate ourselves?
This is because majority of learners use low-efficient study methods when they want to learn more; and this takes more of their time. In turn, this more-time-requirement leads to a tendency of preference for "ineffective study methods".

Therefore, what do we have to do to motivate ourselves?

How to Write Warrants in Research Arguments?

An example of argument based on reason: We are facing significantly higher health care costs in Europe and North America _claim, because global warming is moving the line of extended hard freezes steadily northward. _reason

An example of a general principle that justifies relating your particular reason to your particular claim: When an area has fewer hard freezes, it must pay more to combat new diseases carried by subtropical insects no longer killed by those freezes.

Like all warrants, this one says that if a general circumstance exists (an area has fewer hard freezes), then we can infer a general consequence (that area will have higher costs to combat new diseases).

NEW STUDY REVEALS HOW ANIMAL DEFENSES EVOLVE

The article, SOCIAL OR STINKY? NEW STUDY REVEALS HOW ANIMAL DEFENSES EVOLVE, by the University of California – Davis is about how animals defend themselves against carnivorous animals. The researchers found out that animals that are active in the night and under threat form others use “noxious spraying,” while those are active during the day and fear from from “birds of prey….live in social groups” to defend themselves against predators.

WHY OLDER PEOPLE ARE MORE FORGETFUL THAN YOUNGER ONES?

A study published in the Journal Topics in Cognitive Science tried to examine the current measures used to show that older minds are more forgetful than their younger counterparts. The study, headed by Dr. Michael Ramscar of Tübingen University, found that these methods are “flawed” and have not taken other critical factors into account.
The writers argue that older people, like old computers, have more information gathered from experience and it takes more time for the brain to process these information. This contradicts the general assumption of ‘as we age, the capacity our brains decline.’
They argue

My Experience with MOOCs–College Writing 2x: Principles of Written English

Source: edX

 

Introduction

Principles of Written English is an online introductory level university course designed for learners of English. The course has attracted 40,000 registrants around the world. It is offered by Berkley University of California for free through EdX. EdX is a non-profit created by founding partners Harvard and MIT whose mission is to bring the best of higher education to students of all ages anywhere in the world, wherever there is Internet access ( http://edx.org ). The course will continue five weeks and includes a required final essay.
Luckily, I am one of the registered students of the course

Summary of Bradbury’s “The Last Night of the World”

The short story of “Last Night of the World” by Ray Bradbury is about how a couple spent one of their evenings “in their own special way”. The whole story is about a “dream” of the world coming to an end by the husband.

E-books are not Doing a Good Job at “gathering ‘metadata’ about our reading” Compared to Normal Books

This post is all about why the concept of marginalia - making notes in the margins of a book – is still a feature not considered “seriously” in e-readers. The author believes “marking up books….is one of the Seven Undying Cornerstones of Highly Effective College Studying.”

WHY OLDER PEOPLE ARE MORE FORGETFUL THAN YOUNGER ONES?

A study published in the Journal Topics in Cognitive Science tried to examine the current measures used to show that older minds are more forgetful than their younger counterparts. The study, headed by Dr. Michael Ramscar of Tübingen University, found that these methods are “flawed” and have not taken other critical factors into account.

NEW STUDY REVEALS HOW ANIMAL DEFENSES EVOLVE

The article, SOCIAL OR STINKY? NEW STUDY REVEALS HOW ANIMAL DEFENSES EVOLVE, by the University of California – Davis is about how animals defend themselves against carnivorous animals. The researchers found out that animals that are active in the night and under threat form others use “noxious spraying,” while those are active during the day and fear from from “birds of prey….live in social groups” to defend themselves against predators.

“Noxious scents” is most effect at night when vulnerable animals unexpectedly find out predators near them. At night, they may even “stumble upon a predator.”

How to Handle Missing Data in SPSS?

Introduction


Missing or invalid data are generally too common to ignore. Survey respondents may refuse to answer certain questions, may not know the answer, or may answer in an unexpected format.

If you don't filter or identify these data, your analysis may not provide accurate results.

For numeric data, empty data fields or fields containing invalid entries are converted to system-missing, which is identifiable by a single period (shown in fig. below).

Attention, Writers: The Next Blogging U. Challenge Is Here

If you're new to blogging, this self-directed course is for you. Be aware: online writing is different from paper writing!

It’s Too Early to Dismiss MOOCs

INTRODUCTION


MOOCs, abbreviated from massive open online courses, have become the most discussed educational topic because they promise higher education to be "better, cheaper and more widely available" across the world (Kirp, 2013). They are a form of a free online education for everyone around the world with internet access. They are provided by elite institutions, mainly from North America – Harvard, UC Berkeley, Standford.

If you observe MOOCs' quick spread across the world, they are the best technological innovation for education that required the least effort to be applied (Baggaley, MOOC rampant, 2013).

They originate from the North America but they are intended for the underprivileged masses around the globe. For example, as of this writing, India has the second largest participants after the USA (SOURCE).

MOOCs and Business Schools

Will someone regret of going to business schools instead of waiting for a few more years to take MOOCs? This article explains that question.

Blogger vs Wordpress

If anyone wants to establish his professional presence online, then Wordpress is your destination.

Running Your First Analysis in SPSS

This post is related to how you can run your first analysis in SPSS. Note: This post uses the "demo.sav" file as a reference for explaining the process.

If you have any add-on options, the Analyze menu contains a list of reporting and statistical analysis categories.

We will start by creating a simple frequency table (table of counts). This example requires the Statistics Base option.