Education

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Japan to boost education support for non-native children

Noticias

Asia/ Japan/ 18.06.2019/ Fuente: asia.nikkei.com.

Easier-to-read entrance tests among proposals for more inclusive schools

Japan will provide more support for educating children of foreign nationals from early childhood through high school, including by increasing Japanese-language classes, under a plan released Monday.

The education ministry’s proposals follow changes in April to immigration law that allow certain foreign workers to bring family with them to Japan. Schools had already been facing a rise in students learning Japanese as a second language, prompting criticism that efforts on this front were lagging.

Monday’s plan, which calls for working «to ensure that all children of foreign nationals have educational opportunities,» seeks to provide seamless support to learners from preschoolers to job-seeking international students.

It proposes multi-language guides to ensure parents have information on how to enroll students at kindergartens and elementary schools.

Public schools are to receive more teachers for Japanese as a second language as well as aides who speak the languages of foreign students. Some schools currently have no such staff. Regions with a shortage of human resources will use translation and distance-learning systems.

Public high schools will be asked to give special considerations for Japanese-language learners when taking admissions tests, such as making it easier to read kanji characters and allowing the children to bring dictionaries into the exam rooms.

The ministry proposes creating an evening middle school program in every prefecture and major city for those who could not receive compulsory education in their home countries.

The initiative also will help international students in higher education find jobs in Japan, proposing the certification of collaboration programs between universities and businesses.

The plan covers Japanese-language learners of all ages.A 14-language online curriculum for self-study will be developed for residents of areas that lack easy access to Japanese-language classes.

Source of the notice: https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Japan-immigration/Japan-to-boost-education-support-for-non-native-children2

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Technological innovations have improved quality of education

Louis Fourie

By: Louis Fourie.

 

History has proven that education is one of the most powerful tools to drive positive social, economical and technological change, and, therefore, create a more prosperous future for a country.

In South Africa many approaches to enhance the educational experience and quality have been tried in the past, but none of them were dramatically successful in improving the results of students, giving them greater access to post-school studies or enhance their employability.

There is a constant drive for educational policy change at national level, yet the attempts generally seem to be perennially futile. We have tried the appointment of more teachers, pedagogical methodologies that did not work elsewhere, and instructional designs that are outdated in the Fourth Industrial Era.

Perhaps the answer (partly) lies in technology. In our endeavours to increase the access and quality of education in South Africa, the Internet of Educational Things (IoET) may provide the much needed support. Historically, technological innovations and enhancements have improved the quality of and access to education all over the world.

In particular the Internet has had a profound impact on teaching and learning. Due to the many free online resources such as Massive Open Online Courses from leading institutions such as Harvard and MIT it is possible to take a class at home.

High school learners can access the rich sources of the Khan Academy and digital encyclopedias. Almost any skill or theory can be learned via YouTube and TED.

It is possible to find an online tutor for a child in any subject for a reasonable amount and children can even (illicitly) outsource their mathematics homework and other assignments to an unknown person on the Web.

But the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) has not left education untouched. The Internet of Things (IoT), one of the building blocks of the 4IR, is an important innovation to create smart learning environments in schools and universities.

The IoT can improve the education system and can also add value to the face-to-face teaching environment and to structured learning.

The IoT makes it possible for schools to implement an unparalleled number of systems and methods that could enhance the abilities of students. It also revolutionises classroom dynamics, from primary school to university education.

The IoT, with its inherent connection of numerous devices and people to the Internet, will significantly transform our learning processes, as is evident from recent research that confirmed the educational potential at lower grade levels of the IoET devices.

Dr Jim Ang and his team from Kent University in the UK investigated how IoET technology could be effectively designed and used to support education in primary schools in rural Northern Thailand.

They developed a bespoke IoET platform called “Observation Learning System” (Obsy) that made the learning process more “real, local and fun”.

The toy-like Obsy device was based on the inexpensive Raspberry Pi mini computer and had several ports to which the learners could connect environmental sensors to measure ambient light and temperature. The recorded data was then transferred wirelessly to the tablets of the children. The Obsy was specifically designed to look like a toy to rouse the curiosity of the children and to minimise any possible technology anxiety or distrust.

At the back-end the system consisted of an IoET platform, which processed the context of learning activities, how the experiments have been carried out, as well as the results, allowing for improvements.

The children had to undertake three science-based learning activities with the aim of improving their understanding of certain science processes while simultaneously learning to work in teams.

They had to study the growth of mould in different conditions; learn about the factors that influence the growth of mushrooms; and determine how much light can pass through different objects by taking photos or videos, monitoring temperature changes, and measuring the amount of light with the Obsy device.

All the information that was wirelessly transmitted to their tablets, visualised in the form of graphs to assist the learners in making comparisons of the results and also in understanding how different conditions can lead to different results.

The device not only encouraged observation, but also invited students to share their results with the rest of their classmates.

From the research in Thailand, the researchers were able to demonstrate that the children using the IoET device had a significant higher learning engagement and obtained better scores than a control class that undertook the same experiments without the use of the Obsy device.

The current growth in the IoT has the potential to cause a move towards a new class of ubiquitous learning applications that rely on inexpensive sensors, edge devices, IoT middleware, and web-based protocols like HTTP to enable innovative ubiquitous and personalised learning designs in language and social sciences learning, science and technology learning, and domain independent learning.

Through the confluence of physical objects with the digital world, IoT allows the development of new hybrid systems. One solution is the powerful combination between Virtual Reality (VR) and IoT that was researched by Mohamed Fahim and others in Morocco.

IoT makes physical objects part of the virtual and digital environment, while VR makes digital environments seem realistic. Due to the increase in learners and shortage of physical resources in Morocco, the researchers resorted to VR and the IoT to create a credible virtual learning space where the learners could perform practical activities like in the real world – in this case the measurement of ultrasonic velocity in the air.

Thirty students were randomly divided into an experimental and a control group. A post-test revealed that the experimental group using the learning system based on IoT and VR were significantly better than the control group who only had a theoretical course.

Fourteen learners in the experimental group averaged 93.3percent, while the control group averaged between 46.7 and 53.3percent in the test.

The study indeed indicated that IoT and VR could widen the possibility for innovations in the teaching and learning, especially by creating a virtual environment where the learner is an active participant that can “learn by doing”, through the interaction with the 3D virtual objects.

An educational environment based on VR and IoT can further solve the problem of the equipment/product insufficiency often experienced by institutions. Such an environment can provide learners with a rich, interactive learning experience where they can perform tasks safely; participate in learning situations that require repetition; and participate in learning situations that are too expensive to implement in the real world.

It is evident that IoET technology in the classroom can bring major educational benefits. It can significantly improve learning outcomes and participation and allows learners to grasp more complex concepts.

Given the high percentage of children and students with smart phones in South Africa, the smart phones with their various sensors could easily be integrated into the learning activities of schools.

Learners live in a world where digital devices constitute a vital part of their daily lives.

It is time that the educational system harnesses this proficiency of students in the use of modern tools in order to stimulate their appetite for learning and their understanding of complex concepts.

Educational institutions can benefit greatly by using IoT in their regular educational activities. Perhaps the biggest problem is not the readiness of the students, but the readiness of the teachers.

Source of the article: https://www.iol.co.za/business-report/opinion/opinion-technological-innovations-have-improved-quality-of-education-26220202

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Fathers are necessary in the lives of children and their education

David Plazas

By: David Plazas. 

 

The absence of fathers in the home life of a child is bringing disaster to every fabric of our state and nation.

As Chair of the Tennessee General Assembly House Sub and Full Education Committees since 2013, I have spent many thousands of hours studying and looking for ways to best educate and challenge the children in our State.

The latest figures show that our 89.1% high school graduation rate is the highest in our state history.  Even with that positive statistic, still fewer than half of these graduates are ready to move into higher education or the workforce without remediation in English and/or Math.

Another startling statistic: Only 37% of our students in third grade are reading on grade level. This is a critical and very disturbing statistic: “if you cannot read you cannot learn!”

That means grades 4-12 and beyond will be difficult for these students. The inability to perform in School results in drop out, truancy and little or no skills to compete in todays workforce.

Funding has improved for education, but our outcomes are still low

So, what is the answer? Many say, “just add more money and we will improve.”  But time has proven that, even though money is a factor, it is not the solution.

In 2010, Tennessee was the recipient of $500 million “Race to the Top” dollars from the Federal Government.

Tennessee put that money in many excellent programs but still we struggle, as the 37% third grade reading statistic indicates.

Also, Tennessee has been on an education reform movement for the past 10 years.  We have added $1.5 billion new dollars to our state education budget and over $570 million new dollars to teacher compensation since 2013.

Tennessee Public Schools K-12 Education Budget for 2019-2020 School year is $6.6 billion dollars. Because of our reform and our funding, Tennessee has the title as the “fastest improving state in education” in the nation.  But there is a critical piece of the equation that is missing – a piece of the equation that money and the best teachers cannot remedy.

Why dads matter in the lives of their kids

It is now time that we address with seriousness why so many of our children are coming to school without the foundation to learn.  In 2007, I authored a book titled:  “May I Call You Dad? Why Fathers are needed in the Home.”

We must realize that fathers are necessary in the lives of children, and that their absence in the home life of a child is bringing disaster to every fabric of our state and nation.

In 2017, 43.6% of children in Tennessee were born to single mothers.  It is a fact that more poverty exists in single parent homes. Last year 1,000 new children were admitted to Tennessee Department of Children Services because of drugs and other addictions.

Domestic and sexual abuse in the home has risen so drastically that we now spend millions of dollars addressing the issue known as “Adverse Childhood Experiences or ACE.”

This is the new study on how a child’s brain is prevented from developing properly because of the constant trauma in their home. With enough ACE experiences from birth to age 5, the neuron connections in brain development are so damaged that the act of learning and simple behavior development is challenged.

We are now spending billions of dollars trying to do in school what the home is failing to do for children.

“Communities in School Programs» provide wrap around services for school age children, RTI or Response to Intervention Programs, mandated by the state but without adequate funding, attempts to put a second teacher’s aide in the classroom to help with children falling behind.

Our local school districts are trying to fill the funding gap but the demand is greater than funds available.

A few staggering statistics we should know are:

  • 63% of all youth suicides are from fatherless homes.
  • 85% of all youth in prison are from fatherless homes.
  • 71% of all high school dropouts are from fatherless homes.

Positive factors related to education include:

  • Children with fathers are less likely to repeat a grade in school.
  • Children with fathers are morel likely to get A’s in school.
  • Children with fathers are more likely to enjoy school and engage in school  activities.

The question is asked: “Have we lost a generation and now must find a way to change moving forward?”  I refuse to accept such a pessimistic attitude.

This is why we are looking for programs and budgeting state dollars to fill the gap where the home is failing. We must challenge and teach every teen and young adult that bringing another life into the world carries with it the responsibility of building a safe and loving fortress (Home) around that child.

It is the role of the father to be the provider, protector, guide, role model, listener, stabilizer and hope giver for the future of a child.  Let us resolve to renew this commitment to our children on this Father’s Day.

Source of the article: https://www.tennessean.com/story/opinion/2019/06/15/fathers-children-tennessee-education/1431197001/

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New education policy misses a critical chance to address inequalities in system

Anjela Taneja

By: Anjela Taneja. 

 

The draft National Education Policy (NEPTodas las entradas), 2019, is full of provisions that many in the education sector have been desperate to see for decades. The conferring of the Right to Education to children under six and above 14, doubling of the overall financial allocation to education and strengthening the teaching profession bring cheer. However, many of the policy’s omissions and contradictions, combined with the previous track record of central and state governments in implementing existing education policies, diminish this hope.

The omissions: While the policy talks about the need to bring “unrepresented groups» into school and focus on educationally lagging “special education zones», it misses a critical opportunity of addressing inequalities within the education system. It misses to provide solutions to close the gap of access to quality education between India’s rich and poor children. It proposes to remove the expectations that all schools meet common minimum infrastructure and facility standards, and that primary schools be within a stipulated distance from children’s homes.

India’s schools already vary across the scale—from single room structures without water and sanitation, to technology-enabled international schools. Not specifying a common minimum standard below which schools cannot fall, creates conditions where quality of facilities in some schools will only sink lower, widening this gap.

This is even more of an issue since it proposes a roll back of existing mechanisms of enforcement of private schools making parents “de-facto regulators» of private schools. Parents, and particularly poor and neo-literate parents, cannot hold the onus of ensuring that much more powerful and resourced schools comply with quality, safety and equity norms.

India should have moved towards a national system of education that shapes India’s next generation and enforce standards of quality across the country.

The contradictions: While the policy places considerable emphasis on the strengthening of “school complexes» (clusters of schools sharing joint resources) and decentralized mechanisms for supporting teachers, their everyday management appears to have been tasked to the head teacher of the secondary school in the cluster.

Furthermore, no separate funding appears to have been earmarked for this. This is false economy, since this is a full time activity and needs to be staffed and resourced accordingly.

Lessons from non-implementation of past policies: The policy’s implementation is predicated on the assumption that the education budget would be almost doubled in the next 10 years through consistent decade-long action by both the centre and states. However, the revenue is decentralized to the states and it is unclear what would be done to ensure that resources needed will be allotted. The sheer scale of changes expected, the rapid timeline, the absence of a strong mechanism for handholding states on this journey and the probable inadequate budget raises questions on the full implementation of this policy. India’s history is littered with ambitious education policies that have not been fully implemented. The National Education Policy risks following this tradition, unless the government addresses the reasons behind the past policy-practice implementation gap and makes conscious efforts to carry all of India on the same road towards improvement in education.

Source of the article: https://www.livemint.com/opinion/online-views/new-education-policy-misses-a-critical-chance-to-address-inequalities-in-system-1560282262183.html

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Looking to history can shape Utah’s education future

Lynn Stoddard

By: Lynn Stoddard.

During the last week of May of this year, 30,250 students graduated from 78 Utah public high schools for an average of 388 students per graduating class. In 1945, I graduated from Ogden High School in a graduating class of approximately 400 students. During the 74 years since my graduation has anything changed in our system of public education?

Except for one big thing, nearly everything has stayed the same. All six of my grandchildren who graduated this year were required to abide by the same school system and curriculum that I did 74 years ago — the one that was installed in 1892 by a “Committee of Ten” scholars. This committee recommended eight years of elementary school followed by four years of high school and a “call to teach English, mathematics, and history or civics to every student every academic year in high school. The recommendations also formed the basis of the practice of teaching chemistry, and physics, respectively, in ascending high school academic years.”

My six graduating grandchildren each attended a different high school and were all subject to the same graduation requirements: 24 credits in English, mathematics, science, social studies, arts and computer, health and physical education and five electives.

What’s wrong with this picture? The “Committee of Ten” inaugurated a system of education to standardize students with a predetermined outline of subject matter courses. Each of my graduating grandchildren achieved what was required of them and has a diploma to show it. They were all exposed to the same knowledge and skills as the other 30,244 Utah graduates.

The one huge difference between education as it was 74 years ago and today is not really a difference at all, but a window to a revolution: computers and electronic communication have shined a spotlight on human differences. Back in my day, we obtained our information about the required curriculum from books and teacher lectures. Now, with the worldwide internet, television and hand-held interactive devices, we have suddenly found new ways to learn and discovered that it is impossible to standardize students in knowledge and skills.

Technology now offers a bridge to unlimited student learning and accomplishment. The present required curriculum allows for only a small percentage to become extraordinary, “sterling” scholars. On the other hand, using computers to access the whole world of events and information makes it possible for every student to attain phenomenal knowledge and accomplishment. Each student will now be able to prove that he or she can become a genius in some area of knowledge.

What needs to be done to have this utopia of education become a reality? Before the federal government imposed subject matter standardization on the system, some schools were starting to use human standards rather than subject standards to help learners grow as powerful individuals. Teachers and parents united to help students grow in human powers such as inquiry, interaction, imagination, initiative, identity, intuition and integrity.

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By using this approach, hundreds of students in several schools discovered their genius and reason to exist as important contributors to society. With “identity” as a top priority, teachers united with parents to help students magnify their unique talents and strengths. Teachers and parents were starting to learn how to find and develop student-oriented curriculum based on the important questions and needs of students. They were starting to learn how to develop a much better student-oriented education.

We now have a choice: go back and get on the right path or continue on the subject-dominated, assembly-line path of student standardization.

Source of the article: https://www.deseretnews.com/article/900075359/guest-opinion-looking-to-history-can-shape-utahs-education-future.html

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Filipina student sees possible cure for diabetes

Noticias

Asia/ Filipinas/ 11.06.2016/ Source: www.asiatimes.com.

The Jamaican cherry, known as aratiles in the Philippines, has components that could cure type 2 diabetes, she says

16-year-old Filipino student has discovered that the Jamaican cherry, known as “aratiles” in the Philippines, is a potential cure for diabetes.

Maria Isabel Layson, a student from Iloilo National High School, recently discovered that the Jamaican cherry has anti-diabetes properties and could cure type 2 diabetes, GMA News reported.

The young Filipina said she saw that the fruit is often neglected yet grows abundantly in the Philippines. She found that bioactive compounds like anthocyanin, flavonoid and polyphenol were in the fruit and these components may be used as a cure for diabetes.

“Nobody pays attention to the fruit and its medicinal properties. They don’t realize that it has potential for becoming a regulator of diabetes,” Layson said.

Layson said she was inspired to research the fruit because she had lost several family members to diabetes. According to the Department of Health, diabetes is the deadliest disease in the Philippines.

Her research led her to win the Best Individual research in Life Science during the Department of Education’s 2019 National Science and Technology Fair.

She also represented the Philippines in the Intel Science and Engineering Fair in Arizona in the United States last month.

“My research won’t end here. It will actually further develop into more specific compounds. We will delve into other diseases,” she said.

Source of the news: https://www.asiatimes.com/2019/06/article/filipina-student-sees-possible-cure-for-diabetes/

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South Africa: Education Department clarify claims of Grade 4 “masturbation classes”

Noticias

Africa/ South Africa/ 11.06.2019/ Source: www.thesouthafrican.com.

Parents have been in a flap this week, after a report claimed masturbation would be taught in Grade 4 classes across Mzansi. But the DoE are furious with the story.

The Department of Basic Education have furiously denied that “masturbation” has found its way onto the Grade 4 curriculum in South African schools. The topic – which the Sunday Timesreported was set to feature in Life Orientation classes – was allegedly going to be introduced to children as young as nine.

The article in question quoted a lifestyle doctor who said she’d helped design the curriculum, which also aimed to educate Grade 4 learners about gender neutrality and the benefits of yoga – effectively, it would have been a conservative parent’s worst nightmare.

Masturbation “will not be taught” to nine-year-olds

The department are as good as seething with the publication, however. The outline for the new curriculum has been released on Tuesday, and spokesperson Elijah Mhlanga rubbished claims that children aged 10 and under would be exposed to the topic of masturbation. He blamed the paper for causing “mass hysteria”, too:

“The article is misleading and in fact, a complete misrepresentation of the work the Department is doing. It’s unfortunate that the article published has now caused mass hysteria unnecessarily and has caused confusion.”

The new Life Orientation textbook for Grade 4 currently being written does not cover masturbation. The textbook content for sexuality education in this grade is guided by UNESCO’S technical guidance on sexuality education and includes input from highly respected South African institutions.”

Elijah Mhlanga

Life Orientation: What will be on the Grade 4 curriculum?

It has been confirmed that masturbation is only a topic that gets covered from Grade 7 onwardswhen children hit their adolescent development phase between the ages of 12-13. Life Orientation for Grade 4 will focus on things like the environment, road safety and the dangers of smoking.

The closest the primary school kids will come to learning about the birds and the bees will be in an age-appropriate lesson which explains how babies are made. They will also be taught about cultural celebrations like imbeleko – an event that takes place when families celebrate the birth of another child.

Source of the notice: https://www.thesouthafrican.com/buzz/education-department-clarify-claims-of-grade-4-masturbation-classes/

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