5 Reasons Why Wikipedia is a Good Teaching Tool (aspen publishers)
No commentsBy kelliew
Every once in a while, we here our students cite great facts or topics from relevant websites or blogs. Im sure youve heard Wikipedia being mentioned every now and then.
For those of you who havent visited the site yet, Wikipedia is:
A free multilingual encyclopedia project supported by the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation. Its name is a portmanteau of the words wiki (a technology for creating collaborative websites, from the Hawaiian word wiki, meaning quick) and encyclopedia. Wikipedias 12 million articles (2.8 million in the English Wikipedia) have been written collaboratively by volunteers around the world, and almost all of its articles can be edited by anyone who can access the Wikipedia website. Launched in January 2001 by Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger, it is currently the most popular general reference work on the Internet.
So instead of the traditional large volumes of books you previously had in your shelf, the creators of Wikipedia have developed a system where a community of trusted editors (volunteers) works on informative articles on any available subject.
You might be thinking of adding this website as a magic wand in your teaching career and helping you with certain topics that textbooks may not have yet covered. But youre also probably thinking is it worth the try? Well, it certainly is.
Im not suggesting you consider Wikipedia as your sole source of information but as a valuable supplement.
Here are top 5 reasons why you should have Wikipedia as a good teaching tool:
Collaboration of Trusted Editors : There is a strict policy on editorial process for Wikipedia considering the fact that its an encyclopedia which is available for editing anonymously. But according to Wikipedia: Each entry in Wikipedia must be about a topic that is encyclopedic and thus is worthy of inclusion. A topic is deemed encyclopedic if it is notable in the Wikipedia jargon; i.e., if it has received significant coverage in secondary reliable sources (i.e., mainstream media or major academic journals) that are independent of the subject of the topic. With that in mind, you can expect topics and articles presented on Wikipedia to have that trusted credibility.
Selections of Languages : There are about 246 languages supported by Wikipedia. So if you want to have information to be derived in a non-English native language, the left Languages sidebar should help you translate in just one click.
Effective Search Engine : It may not be as competitive as Google, but Wikipedias search does have some useful results. For example if you search for teaching, aside from the article about teaching itself it also gives you: For university teachers, see professor. For extra-help teachers, see tutor. For Parapros, see Paraprofessional educator. These give you versatility when researching a topic and expand to other subjects of interest.
Notes and References to Different Sources : This is one of my favourite features in Wikipedia. At the bottom of each article you will have dozens or even hundreds of notes and references to the subject. These references could be from cited websites, online documents, newsletters, videos, etc.
Revision History : Although this feature doesnt get visits often, but it does help to know the timeline of revisions done to the article on the History section of Wikipedia. Especially for articles and topics which get updated or modified by certain events or other related facts.
About the Author : -
Dave Fuentes is an SEO Analyst/Consultant and is also contributing content for TheEducationProfessionals.Com Teaching Jobs, the number one online resource for those seeking an education career in Dubai and the Middle East.
Throwing a Baby Shower
By Gail Logan
Baby showers are parties thrown for friends that are pregnant. This practice has significantly changed over the course of the years and has gradually become more and more elaborate and planned.
Baby showers can make an expectant mother feel more secure in the fact that her friends are all pulling for her and giving moral and financial support. Usually the baby shower is organized by non-relatives. But today, there is isn’t abnormal to find family members, support group members, church friends and pretty much anyone except the expecting mother.
Inviting the Guests
Who should you invite? Usually, the guest list will only include those nearest and dearest to the expectant mother. It wouldn’t hurt if she gets a first look at the guest list so that she can suggest who should be invited. If you are planning a surprise baby shower, you will have to do a little research on who should be attending instead of running the list through the expectant mother.
If the child is not a firstborn, you may opt to keep the number of guests down to the closest to the mother. Firstborn baby showers tend to have a larger guest list since it is, after all, the mother’s first time.
The thing to remember is that the nature of baby showers is intimacy. So, for any baby shower party, try making the gathering one of intimate friends.
You could use informal ways to invite these guests: email, phone and others. Invitation cards and other letters are the best way, however, as they provide a tangible, traceable evidence of invitation. Plus, it is the most sure and formal way to invite a person - and in many cultures - the only way.
What About the Guys
The nature of the party is probably going to tend towards the feminine side; if the organizers of the party have a provision for this, then inviting men would be fine. It also depends on the men, since the party may dwell on topics such as pregnancy, children, and other motherly topics, they might not be that excited to join. All in all, it depends on the preference of the organizers.
Venue
Anywhere! As long as it can keep with the placid and fun nature of the occasion, any place would be fine. The more usual places on baby shower lists are backyards, formal halls, restaurants, and basically any room that has the amenities to make a baby shower successful. Just make sure the venue is not crowded and stressful to the mother-to-be. It also pays to make sure the venue is set long before the actual baby shower happens.
When to Throw a Baby Shower
Usually this is one or two months before her due. The baby shower is the perfect time to get your friend baby needs and stuff she may not have had time to purchase yet. It has to be well-timed though - not too close to the due date, and not to far as to whittle down the excitement.
Baby showers are a pleasant surprise to expecting mothers. It takes a lot of the stress of expecting a child off of their minds and provides a means for friends to show support and concern (and of course, baby gifts) to expecting friends.
A properly coordinated baby shower will be greatly appreciated and forever remembered by mothers long after they have delivered their children.
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Baby Boomers and Health Insurance
By Gail Logan
As people grow old, they become more and more prone to diseases or illness. At the point they reach old age, they will suffer from arthritis, and heart related conditions. Because of this, everyone should have some form of security in order to live a worry-free life. Although it may not prevent diseases from affecting you, this form of health security will ensure you that you will never worry about medical-related bills, such as hospitalization, and medicine.
This form of health security is called health insurance. Depending on the type of health insurance you purchase, it will cover just about anything. It will cover hospitalization bills, the doctor’s professional fee, medicine, and anything related to health care.
You have to remember that health insurance will not actually ensure that you will not acquire diseases or illness, what it does is assist you financially in order to help you recover from illnesses. Today, there are a lot of health insurance policies that insurance companies are now selling to people. Some covers only limited amount of health care, and some health insurance that is more expensive covers just about anything related to health care.
Today, baby boomers are getting more and more concerned about their financial and health security. So, why is it that baby boomers are getting more and more worried about their health security? And, who are the baby boomers?
First of all, you need to know who the baby boomers are. Baby boomers are people who were born between the post World War II in 1946 and before the Vietnam War in 1964. People who were born on this era were called baby boomers. They were called baby boomers because of the significant increase in the birth rate during this era.
The baby boomer generation population is one of the largest populations in the United States. In fact, the baby boomers generation is comprised of around 20% of the United States population. Obviously, that is considered quite a lot.
Baby boomers came of age during the time where civil rights protests were constantly in the streets and where most of them were drafted to fight in the Vietnam War. Baby boomers are people who had a very large influence in politics and its influence is continually showing today and perhaps will go on in the future.
Baby boomers grew up in the time where the country was dominated by the American Military Might where the communists and socialists were the enemy. Because of the atmosphere they grew up in, baby boomers are well-aware about the different government structures and are also very aware of their civil rights. Besides, they should be aware because they were the ones who fought for it.
Back to health insurance, baby boomers are getting more and more concerned about this subject because today, they are currently in their late 40s and early 60’s. Obviously, aging is closely associated with diseases and illnesses. Because of the high population level of the baby boomer generation, they are concerned that when the time comes that they will need the assistance of health insurance, they think that because of the high population of baby boomers in today’s society, health insurance companies will be unable to provide enough financial assistance.
If you worked in private companies, there may be issues concerned about company health insurance. You may be covered by health insurance even when you are retired. However, in the event of bankruptcy, the court will cancel the entire employer’s obligation on paying for the insurance. Although it may not include pensions, you have to expect that in case bankruptcy is filed by your former company, your health insurance policy will not be covered anymore by the company. You will be the one who will pay for it.
If you worked for the government, you may still be able to get free health insurance provided by the government as a benefit for their former employees.
Today, the government is now adjusting the national budget to provide for aging and retiring baby boomers. However, there is another growing concern facing baby boomers. Health insurance policies are now expensive for aging people. Low cost health insurance may not be sufficient for your health needs.
However, pressures from the government are now providing several options for baby boomers who are applying for health insurance. So, if you are part of the baby boomer generation, you can expect that in the near future, all your problems facing health insurance will be solved with low cost comprehensive health insurance and also low cost health care provided by hospitals and doctors for senior citizens.
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Thursday, September 24th, 2009 at 4:25 pm and is filed under education. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
