Author Archives
2
Jul 10
Meet Luciana de Souza
Luciana with a statue of Maradona, Argetina's most famous soccer player.
Luciana de Souza is our resident Brazilian. Born in Salvador, Bahia in northeastern Brazil, she came to Buenos Aires, Argentina two years ago to learn Spanish and do a postgraduate program in Latin American Literature. After teaching Portuguese for a time, Luciana joined the Educaedu team in March of 2009.
In the office, Luciana is the Content Manager for Brazil and Portugal. Anything we need to do in Portuguese, Luciana is there to help us out, including lengthy translations and communications with clients and customers. She also handles our account on Orkut (a Facebook-esque site that is incredibly popular in Brazil). So if you want to say hi or make a comment, you can visit her by clicking here.
Luciana loves Argentina, but for her, Brazil is the best country in the world and no one can convince her otherwise (believe me, we’ve tried!). She will eventually return, but for now she will be at Educaedu, cooking, dancing, and laughing with her workmates who try to speak Portuguese with her.
Favorite food: Cozido – A Brazilian stew made with meat and vegetables.
Favorite author: Jorge Amado – a modern Brazilian writer
Best class ever taken: Arabic Dance Workshop – it only lasted 4 hours but she learned a lot about the culture and history behind the practice
4
Jun 10
You Can’t Talk About Education Without Paulo Freire
“You cannot talk about education without love” is one of the most celebrated quotes of the Brazilian educator, Paulo Freire. One of the most influential thinkers of his time, Paulo’s work favored an education system oriented towards a fair and coherent understanding of students’ previous knowledge and understandings.
Taking into account these basic points, in the 1960’s he created the “Paulo Freire Method” for adult literacy campaigns, which implies much more than just writing letters and repeating sounds. He believed that understanding words is a political, economic and social exercise.
The method caught the attention of João Goulart, the Brazilian president at the time, who planned to adopt the idea in a nation-wide project to erradicate illiteracy. Unfortunaley, with the start of the Brazilian dictatorship in 1964, the project was cancelled and Paulo Freire was exiled to Chile, adding to the list of intellectuals forced to leave during that dark time.
Written in 1968, his book “Pedegogy of the Oppressed” became one of the most substantial works in education studies. If you complete a degree in education you will at some point talk about Paulo Freire.
While outside of Brazil, Feire was a visiting professor at Harvard University, worked in Switzerland, and help with educational reform in Portuguese colonies in Africa. After returning to his country toward the end of the dictatorship, he was Secretary of Education of São Paulo from 1989 to 1991.
The Paulo Freire Institute was founded in 1992 to help expand work in education. The initiative resulted in a center that today promotes the education of the citizen, not just the student.
1
Jun 10
Study Tips for University Students
Everyone has their own habits and rituals when the time comes to prepare for a test. Some study in the early morning, others in the afternoon and some late at night. There are those who prefer to study with a group or those who study alone. Each person creates habits according to their personality. We can, however, give you some study tips that are helpful for everyone.
* Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) differentiates between people who are visual, auditive and kinesthetic learners. If you are more visual you will find it useful to use bright colors to highlight and take notes when studying. If you are in the second group, reading outloud could be quite beneficial. The last group, the kinesthetic group, will find it most helpful to write or read while they are walking or doing some sort of movement. Take some notes while you are running on a treadmill at the gym.
* Trust your instincts. This will prove useful during multiple choice exams. If you do not know the answer, go for your first instinct. Sometimes over-thinking things will steer you off track. If you have studied, your brain will guide you to the correct answer.
* Sleep well. There are many people who pull all-nighters to prepare for an exam. It is actually less productive for you for two reasons: One is that your brain works less when it is tired, it processes less. The second reason is the intrinsic relationship between sleep and memory. Brains remember more when they have time to rest. So, even though it doesn’t seem like it, you are studying while you sleep.
Flickr Creative Commons - umjanedoan
* Eat healthy. Studying is an activity that requires a lot of energy. Make sure your diet helps you replenish and fuel your body for the long study sessions. The idea is not to die of hunger or to get so full that you cannot even breathe. Apples, nuts, brown rice and fish are some recommended items for these situations.
* Sound of body, sound of mind. Your level of attention decreases after just 40 minutes of focusing. The best thing to do is to have a short physical activity that won’t wear you out. A quick jog or walk will allow you to rest your brain for a couple of minutes.
* Your personal image speaks a thousand words. We do not know if this phrase is necessarily true, but it does make sense. One should dress for success. If you feel prepared and professional, you will be more confident when it comes to sitting down and doing the test. Also, your professors will see that you are taking their class seriously.
* Two ways to communicate. It is not only expressing yourself with words, but also your gestures, posture and tone of voice. This needs to be taken into account during oral exams. You can show confidence in yourself and in what you are saying. Speak slowly and firmly.
* Our final advice is to take exams how they really are: one more moment to learn something. When you do not know the answers, take advantage of the fact that your professor is there and ask them to explain it to you once you have finished.
These are our recommendations. Some of them you will find applicable to your situation, and others no. Is there anything we missed? Happy studying!
21
May 10
5 Study Abroad Scholarships That Will Blow Your Mind
Studying abroad is an eye opening experience for students. One thing it should not do is break the bank, but unfortunately it is not cheap to study in another country. Luckily there are literally thousands of scholarships available to students, both undergraduate and postgraduate, who want to study abroad. Many of them are given out to specific fields of study, but below we have found five international study abroad scholarships that offer money to a wide range of students:
Gilman International Scholarship Program
For: U.S citizen undergraduate students in financial need.
Scholarship of: Up to $5,000
This program offers grants to pursue academic studies abroad. It is a congressionally funded program that gives awards to about 1700 students a year. Recipients are chosen based on a variety of factors including financial need, chosen country of study, disability status and ethnic background, among others.
Boren Awards for International Study
For: U.S. citizens studying abroad that want to “add an important international and language component to their education.”
Scholarship of: Up to $20,000 a year ($30,000 for the fellowship)
The Boren Awards are a privately funded, federally regulated set of scholarships and fellowships that offer funding to American students for study abroad programs. They are interested in funding the study of languages that are less mainstream, like Arabic and Turkish.
Mary Isabel Sibley Fellowship
For: Female post-doctoral researchers who are studying Greek or French language, literature, archaeology or history.
Scholarship of: Up to $20,000
The Mary Sibley Fellowship is offered by the Phi Beta Kappa Society, but applicants do not have to be members to apply.
Central European University Fellowship
For: Postgraduate students from anywhere in the world.
Scholarship of: Monthly stipend, houseing and tuition waivers.
Central European University in Budapest, Hungary offers financial aid to help lower study costs. Students from all over the world are eligible to apply, no matter their field of study, if they plan to enroll at CEU.
SIT Study Abroad Scholarships
For: Future SIT students.
Scholarship of: A wide range of financial aid options and scholarships.
Students who apply for study abroad programs through SIT Study Abroad are eligible for a range of financial aid options and scholarships, including a number of study-specific funds that cater to particular interests. SIT operates programs all over the world, including Switzerland, Spain, Ireland, Netherlands, France, Iceland, Czech Republic and the Balkans.
12
May 10
The Anti-Nobel Prize
“The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is not ‘Eureka!’ but, ‘That’s funny…” —Isaac Asimov
Have you ever read an article regarding scientific research about something that is seemingly unlikely and possibly worthless? If so, it is important to point out that many have a large budget to conduct research on these types of topics that they spend years investigating.
What kind of prize would you give to these people? It is actually called The Ig® Nobel Prize and it has been organized by an organization called Improbable Research since 1991. This foundation gives awards to scientific researchers who “first make us laugh and then think”. On their official website they explain that the goal is to motivate curiosity and make us ask ourselves how does one decide what is important and what is not, what is real and what is not, be it science or any other field.
The prizes are awarded at a ceremony at Harvard University and they are given out by real Nobel Prize winners. Then, the winners are invited to give a lecture at MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) detailing their work.
Some of the winners of the 2009 award include:
- Public Health Prize: Dr. Elena Bodnar for inventing a bra that, in case of emergency, can become a face mask (each bra can be used by two people).
Dr. Elena Bodnar accepting her award.
- Chemistry Prize: Javier Morales, Miguel Apática and Victor Castaño from the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, for transforming liquid into diamonds, specifically with tequila.
- Veterinary Medicine Prize: Catherine Douglas and Peter Wowlinson from the University of Newcastle in the UK, for proving that cows that are given a name produce more milk than those without names.
- Peace Prize: S. Bollinger, S. Ross, L. Oesterhelweg, M. Tahalí and B. Kneubuehl from the University of Bern in Switzerland, for determining by testing if it is better to be hit in the head with an empty bottle or a full one.
- Literature Prize: Went to the Irish Polish for giving out more than 50 traffic tickets to the person with the most tickets in the country, Prado Jazy, which in Polish means “Driver’s License”.
Educaedu would like to applaud all the winners. Congratulations.
10
May 10
Fashion Illustration – Course of the Week
It´s amazing how some people can just whip out incredible illustrations in only a few minutes. Contestants on the show Project Runway for example, get just 30 minutes or less to think about and sketch out their designs. It must take a lot of practice and skill to be able to do that. Apart from sketching for hours on end, is there a faster way to become the next big illustrator for Vogue magazine? It turns out that there is.
The Australian Institute of Fashion Design has a Fashion Illustration and Portfolio Development course to help you realise your dream. It is designed to improve your fashion drawing and illustration skills, using various rendering mediums (graphite, charcal, paint, etc.). Students will also learn how to professionally layout a portfolio, using techniques to enhance the design’s impact, communicate a design theme or story and create a flow through.
The following is a list of some of the topics that will be covered in this short course:
* Creating Fashion Stories
* Colour Schemes
* Using fashion figure templates/croqui
* Understanding the fashion figure proportions
* Using Various Rendering Techniques and Materials
* Mixed Media Techniques to Create Visually Stunning Presentations
* Using Watercolor Pencils, Gouache and Watercolor Paints, Pantone Marker Pens, Graphite and More
* Creating Different Illustration Styles
* Shading Garments on the Body
* Rendering Fabrics
* Portfolio Layout and Presentation
Your successful career as a fashion designer awaits you!
7
May 10
Glee Series Make Show Choirs More Popular in Schools
The characters on the hit show, “Glee” are not exactly part of the high school social elite. They are frequently ridiculed for their participation in a show choir and get grape slushies thrown in their faces on a regular basis. Due to the shows popularity, however, activity in the real world of show choirs has never been more popular.
“Glee,’’ which just returned after a four-month hiatus, has resonated among high school choral students. It has empowered students who are tired of being considered dorky, and boosted music programs across the country, with students lobbying for show choirs at their own schools.
The National Association for Music Education recently polled choral teachers to see whether the show has had an impact on their music programs – 43 percent said it had. They reported that students had been turning out in record numbers for auditions and pleading for choral arrangements of songs from the show.
John Burroughs High School in California performed on Oprah earlier this year. As you can see, they are quite talented and spared no expense. It´s good to see a TV show having such a positive effect in schools!
4
May 10
Read My Lips – Lipdub University
It all started in 2008 when six students at the Furtwangen University in Germany had a great idea. They proposed to create a “lipdub” -trying to lipsynch to a pop song while it plays in the background- and show different parts of their university’s campus in only one take.
This concept, which now has been dubbed Lipdub University, exploded on the internet and now there are more than 40 different universities participating around the world. The University of Alberta in Canada, Bucks New University in the UK, and Boston University in the United States are just a few examples of schools that have already made their own videos.
The production of the video can be problematic from a technical point of view and with the amount of people involved. It is not difficult to imagine that one might be embarassed to participate, even though looking at it objectively, the video has various benefits: first, it is good for the school in terms of promotion and free advertising; secondly, it is a fun way for students involved to get to know each other better.
The following is the original video created by those six German students:
3
May 10
Parapsychology – Course of the Week
Anyone who has seen the movie Poltergeist knows that paranormal events are difficult to deal with. Should you go into the light? Should you stay away from the light? It is just so confusing, especially when there isn’t always an older psychic woman to come and save the day. What does the family in the movie do? They consult a group of researchers who specialize in parapsychology. How do you specialize in that? Do you have to go to school for it? Well, yes. You do.
Conventry University offers a Master of Science in Parapsychology where students will examine a subject that holds a great fascination for many people – the existence of life after death and psychic abilities. The program provides a thorough empirical, theoretical and methodological introduction to the controversial field of parapsychology. It is delivered entirely online and is based upon existing staff research and teaching expertize in parapsychology within the university’s Psychology Department.
Areas studied on the course will include:
* History and Philosophy of Parapsychology
* Research Methods in Parapsychology
* Anomalous Experiences
* Extrasensory Perception and Psychokinesis Research
* Transpersonal Psychology
* Studies of Evidence for Survival of Bodily Death (Apparitions, Reincarnations, and Cases of Possession)
* A Dissertation Based on Empirical Research
The univeristy says that this program is geared towards individuals who are looking to continue on to get their PhD in the same area. With this degree families might soon be calling you to come fix their poltergeists.
30
Apr 10
Wii Replacing Physical Education – Good or Bad?
A P.E. class in the UK using Wii Fit.
Schools around the world have started using the best selling Nintendo Wii – an interactive wireless-based video game – to get children involved in “virtual” sport. Given the rising statistics of child obesity and the increasing time many kids spend playing video games, this seems like a great solution. Students get a workout without even stepping away from the television. A school in the UK recently conducted a trial with Wii and a select group of students. They were allowed to play only if they spent a proportion of their physical education lessons outside doing traditional games. A teacher said, “It has been great seeing boys enjoying exercise again - even if it is through a nontraditional medium. Some of the games are quite demanding.”
Not all feedback has been positive. Some schools in Australia, for example, have come under fire for integrating the Wii into the curriculum and allowing children to play virtual tennis, baseball and boxing on Wii consoles. Along with cricket and soccer, parents can opt for their children to play Wii Fit in P.E. class. Many are criticising this move saying that the Wii cannot replace traditional physical activity. Some parents say they would pull their children out of school if computer games were offered as a sport.
Shigeru Miyamoto, the man responsible for creating the Wii, says one his big projects is getting people to use the Nintendo Wii as an educational tool. The console has many applications that are not just related to physical activity. He believes it already has potential for math and geography, and it should have even more in the near future as the Wii upgrades and changes. It is already set to be used in Japan at the elementary level this coming year.
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