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Posts Tagged ‘Zane Education’

8th
Nov 2014

Have We Become a Disposable Society?

I look around me today and see that I am surrounded by many products that are manufactured to only last 5 years or less. From a myriad of electrical appliances to clothing, motor vehicles, furniture and building materials, little is build to last the way it was 40 years ago.

Then I look around again in the world of business and commerce and see much the same. Bank relationships built on trust and a mutual confidence no longer exist.

Loyalty to customer or staff is about as durable and robust as a printed sheet of paper outlining the company’s monthly latest policy towards customer service – which is adequately demonstrated now by the use of outsourced customer call centres where the telephone is answered by someone who can barely understand the same language as the caller, let alone speak it. (more…)


28th
Nov 2012

Online Educational Video and The Hidden Benefits of Subtitles

Using Subtitles on Video offers Teachers in the Classroom a potential Treasure Trove of Opportunity.

Sadly many believe that when Subtitles (otherwise known as Captions) are provided on educational video for use in the classroom, that they only benefit the deaf, and those with hearing impairments. Yet this could not be further from the truth.

In an educational environment, particularly the school classroom, the use of subtitles provides a range of benefits for children and students of all ages and ability, and certainly not just those with special education needs.

And the faster teachers and schools are made aware of those benefits, the sooner those benefits can be made available and passed on to their students. (more…)


26th
Oct 2012

Up to 80% of Teachers Using Video in the Classoom, But …

… Less Than 10% of Those Teachers Are Receiving The Full Benefits.

Research conducted over the last 18 months indicates that more than 80% of teachers in the US are using video in the classroom as a valued teaching resource, however a combination of lack of subtitles (closed captions), and a lack of understanding how to use those subtitles effectively, mean that the vast majority of those teachers are not getting the full benefits from that video for themselves or their students.

Subtitles have widely been regarded in the past as being essential only for those smaller numbers of children with hearing impairments. But sadly this misapprehension is robbing students of many opportunities.

A substantial amount of research over the last 30 years has demonstrated that subtitles on video, movies and television, has the potential to significantly improve students reading and literacy skills. In fact a pilot program operated by the late Dr. Alice Killackey of the Availll Institute demonstrated the ability to improve children’s Reading and Literacy skills by as much as one year, in as little as 6 weeks.

Evidence substantiating this potential comes from countries like Finland that have for many years provided TV programming with subtitles as a matter of course, and as a result they repetitively top the list of OECD countries with the highest Reading and Literacy skills amongst children.

However the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow that would enable children to improve their Reading and Literacy skills at the same time as studying a range of curriculum-based topics, has remained elusive while the majority of companies providing educational video for teachers have chosen to ignore and provide the use of subtitles – either because of the added cost of providing that captioning, or lack of awareness about the full potential it provides in the educational environment.
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7th
Sep 2012

Children’s Activity 104: Lemonade Stand

A Creative Activity

Here’s a summertime classic that’s sure to bring a smile to your neighbors’ faces.

Materials Required:

  • Cardboard boxes
  • Butcher paper
  • Markers
  • Cash box and change
  • Water
  • Lemon juice
  • Salt
  • Sugar 

Instructions:
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5th
Sep 2012

Children’s Activity 102: Kitchen Trace

An Arts and Crafts Activity

Your kitchen is a wonderful source of objects that can be traced and transformed into fanciful works of art.

Materials Required:

  • Paper
  • Pens, pencils, or markers
  • Kitchen containers and utensils 

Instructions:
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31st
Aug 2012

Children’s Activity 101: Kitchen Finery

An Arts and Crafts Activity

Ready for a surprise? Your pantry is chock-full of good stuff for making jewelry. Here are a few suggestions.

Materials Required:

  • String, yarn
  • Pasta

Optional Materials:

  • Food coloring

Instructions:

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30th
Aug 2012

Children’s Activity 100: Kitchen Camping

An Indoor Play Activity

If you like the idea of the great outdoors, but cringe at the thought of sleeping under the stars, we have good news for you – you can “camp out” withyour kids in the safety of your own home.

Materials Required:

  • Sheet
  • Large towels or blankets

Optional Materials:

  • Flashlights
  • Toilet paper tubes
  • Markers/paint

Instructions:
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29th
Aug 2012

Children’s Activity 99: Kids’ Circus

An Indoor Play Activity

If your child likes the circus, you can sponsor one right in your own living room or play room.

Materials Required:

  • Sheet or blanket
  • Stuffed animals
  • Boxes
  • Plastic containers/cups
  • String

Optional Materials:

  • Face paints
  • Adult T-shirt and sneakers

Instructions:
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27th
Aug 2012

Children’s Activity 98: Kiddie Bank

An Indoor Play Activity

Lots of kids seem to think that the bank is where anyone can go to get any amount of money needed, free. Would that it were so easy.

Materials Required:

  • Play money

Optional Materials:

  • “Coins” from aspirin bottles
  • Crayons
  • Notebook

Instructions:
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