Personal statement Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 13

Individual proclamation - Essay Example The subsequent principle property that got a handle on my consideration, was the relationship of this school to good and strict qualities. The estimations of this school, J-CHIEFS, hold each conceivable component that a human needs to thrive in a lifelong like drug store, which requires brightness so as to serve humankind. I feel it is the otherworldly perspective fused in the educational program of this foundation, which is makes it stand apart from all other drug store organizations. For me, it isn't simply severe pharmaceutical training that I might want to find out about, yet additionally the essentials a human need to make him kind and unobtrusive. Other than the strict part, the greatness in training drug store gave here will assist me with forming into the drug specialist I dream to be. Being a medical attendant, each and every day I manage individuals who have wounds, which once in a while can be relieved and are in some cases debilitating forever. Regardless of how much property, accounts or training you have, now and again it is only one wonder that spares your life. At the point when no medication or fix is accessible for an infection or condition, it is our petitions and confidence that help such a large number of among us to endure. Being in a clinical consideration calling, I have seen individuals, with all the benefits on the planet, kicking the bucket in a solitary moment. Then again, I’ve saw many endure wonderfully; in that very supernatural occurrence, I have seen a brief look at God, and no uncertainty it has been one of the most moving encounters of my life. Furthermore, it is with that soul and feeling in my psyche and heart that I’ve picked Pharmacy through which I can be a piece of this wonder; I can spare an actual existence. Working in the calling of nursing, I built up a feeling of needing more for myself as well as other people. It was the enthusiasm and the drive to accomplish more, to serve more, that my enthusiasm for the field of Pharmacy became more grounded. I have seen numerous patients experience torment and enduring, and at last kicking the bucket on the grounds that there was no fix or prescription for the ailment

Intrest throughout the three stories Essay

Sherlock Holmes is the fundamental character in the story, as in all the Sherlock Holmes stories. He is an exceptionally appropriate and astute man with a remarkable blessing. He is Observant and logical individual and can acquire a lot of data from a modest quantity of pieces of information, which most others would disregard. From at an opportune time in the story Holmes doesn't stop for a second to flaunt his analyst abilities when he meats Helen Stoner: â€Å"You have come in via train toward the beginning of today, I see. I watch the second 50% of an arrival ticket in the palm of imprints are splendidly new. There is no vehicle spare a pooch truck which hurls mud in that manner, and afterward just when you sit on the left-hand side of the driver†. This demonstrates Holmes believes these perceptions to be trifling, and that they don't extend his ability at all. Specialist Watson is Holmes’ right hand. He is a completely qualified specialist thus a smart man, yet close to Holmes he regularly seems to be an awkward, less savvy individual. This differentiation makes Holmes and Watson a fascinating couple to find out about. Watson is utilized for incidental silliness during the story. It is clear that Watson appreciates Holmes: â€Å"I had no quicker joy than in following Holmes in his expert examinations and respecting his fast deductions†. At long last, Conan-Doyle utilizes Watson to advance inquiries and sentiments, which the peruser might be considering. Holmes never straightforwardly dismisses these assessments, yet nor does he acknowledge them or answer Watson’s questions unmistakably. This makes distractions, which guarantee that the result of the story stays a secret to the peruser. Helen Stoner, the woman that has come to Holmes for help, is depicted in this story as the ‘damsel in distress’. She is in urgent need of help and has nobody else to go to. While Helen is attempting to disclose her pickle to Holmes, He is extremely quiet and aggregate and doesn't let her recount to the story in full quickly; he every now and again requests subtleties or interferes with Helen. This keeps the peruser intrigued in light of the fact that the individual in question is anxious to gain proficiency with the story. Holmes’ mentality towards Helen mirrors the time the story was written in. Holmes is thoughtful and courteous towards Helen: â€Å"‘you must not fear,’ said he soothingly, twisting forward and tapping her lower arm. ‘We will before long set issues straight, I have no doubt'†. Holmes isn't being chauvinist in his supposition that Helen is powerless and apprehensive, he is simply demonstrating the mentality towards ladies that was shared by most men around then. Holmes realizes that Helen needs assistance from somebody who is consoling and sure. Roylott is Helen’s stepfather. Roylott is a forceful, savage character who compromises Holmes by twisting his poker. Roylott is the prime suspect in the story for the peruser, on the grounds that the demise of his stepdaughters would mean he would get their legacy. All through the story, Conan-Doyle gives a few hints with respect to the result of the secret. Right off the bat, when Helen is revealing to her story from the earliest starting point, the peruser discovers that Roylott, who might acquire a measure of cash on account of the two sisters’ passings, is an irritable, risky man who has a past filled with savagery: â€Å"There was a progression of disreputable fights and fights with anybody giving him the least offence†. These pieces of information make Roylott the prime suspect for the passing of Julia Stoner. Furthermore, despite the fact that it leaves numerous inquiries unanswered, Helen uncovers that Julia’s final words were: â€Å"Helen! It was the band! The Speckled band! â€Å". Things being what they are, she was depicting the snake that bit her. At long last, there are a few significant educates given Helen’s room, close to Roylott’s room, before the plot is unfurled. Above Helen’s bed, which is fixed to the floor, is a chime rope that doesn't work, and a ventilator. The ventilator is in an exceptionally abnormal spot: the partitioning divider between the two rooms. For reasons unknown, these highlights were to permit the snake to get to Helen. Such pieces of information were planned to interest the peruser and indication to the peruser, allowing them to work the puzzle out for themselves. These hints are common of the secret class. There are additionally a few distractions in the story, for instance, the wanderers living in the grounds: â€Å"It more likely than not been those pitiable tramps in the plantation†. These focuses are unessential however bring up issues in the brain of the peruser, making them need to peruse on. Conan-Doyle additionally utilizes pressure to keep the peruser intrigued. At the point when Holmes and Watson are trusting that the snake will show up in Helen’s room, they are in murkiness and talk in murmurs. Holmes makes it understood to Watson that they are in impressive peril and should not get captured. Conan-Doyle likewise utilizes language methods, for example, shorter sentences to accomplish this pressure. Toward the finish of the story, as was basic in accounts of this classification, Holmes gives a clarification of the wrongdoing to assist the peruser. ‘The Devil’s Foot’ is like ‘The Speckled Band’ in that from the beginning there is a character that we have motivation to speculate: Mortimer. From the start, Mortimer doesn't appear to be as horrendous a foe as Roylott, as was regular in the time the story was composed, however a few signs uncovered by Holmes blame him. The homicide for this situation is likewise like the homicide in ‘The Speckled Band’. It is an extremely awful and puzzling homicide that some in the story accept to be of an extraordinary sort. Murders like this were frequently present in accounts of this time and type and were intended to captivate and stun the peruser. Holmes, be that as it may, says: â€Å"if it is past this world then it is absolutely past me†. This causes the peruser to accept that there must be a coherent or logical clarification. The wrongdoing is again unraveled by Holmes, who fathoms the secret by seeing little pieces of information and social event data, for this situation, seeing the connection of flammable powder between the two rooms in which the homicides occurred. To help his concept of this powder being the reason for the passings, Holmes risks his life and gives it a shot himself. This whimsy and ability to go so far to fathom a wrongdoing makes Holmes all the all the more fascinating and unordinary to the peruser.

6.270

6.270 Who knows what course 6.270 is without having to look it up? Anybody? Anybody at all? 6.270 is a LEGO robot programming class that takes place during IAP. Not Mindstorms, but just tons and tons of LEGOs, sensors, and a HappyBoard. ($1,500 worth of LEGOs, sensors, and HappyBoard). To avoid any further confusion, the HappyBoard is the brain of the robot, where all of the code is stored and run from. At the beginning of IAP we were given all of our supplies and an objective. We then had a month to build, code, test, and swear at our robot. Anybody who has programmed a robot before understands what Im talking about. I dont have much time now, but in the tradition of my last several blog entries, consider this entry just an intro, with future information to come. The main reason for this entry is to let you know about the live webcast of the competition. It will begin at 6 pm EST on Thursday the 31st (today). Check it out and root for Team 9 (also known as Team Awesome). Were in it to win it! Our teams website: CLICK Broadband Webcast Dial-Up Webcast RealPlayer 8 needed for the webcast. What you cant see in the picture is what Im thinking: WHY WONT YOU WORK?!

An Overview of Christallers Central Place Theory

Central place theory is a spatial theory in urban geography that attempts to explain the reasons behind the distribution patterns, size, and a number of cities and towns around the world. It also attempts to provide a framework by which those areas can be studied both for historical reasons and for the locational patterns of areas today. Origin of the Theory The theory was first developed by the German geographer  Walter Christaller  in 1933 after he began to recognize the economic relationships between cities and their hinterlands (areas farther away). He mainly tested the theory in southern Germany and came to the conclusion that people gather together in cities to share goods and ideas and that communities—or central places—exist for purely economic reasons. Before testing his theory, however, Christaller had to first define the central place. In keeping with his economic focus, he decided that the central place exists primarily to provide goods and services to its surrounding population. The city is, in essence, a distribution center. Christallers Assumptions To focus on the economic aspects of his theory, Christaller had to create a set of assumptions. He decided that the countryside in the areas he was studying would be flat, so no barriers would exist to impede peoples movement across it. In addition, two assumptions were made about human behavior: Humans will always purchase goods from the closest place that offers them.Whenever the demand for a certain good is high, it will be offered in close proximity to the population. When demand drops, so too does the availability of the good. In addition, the threshold is an important concept in Christallers study. This is the minimum number of people needed for a central place business or activity to remain active and prosperous. This led to Christallers idea of low- and high-order goods. Low-order goods are things that are replenished frequently such as food and other routine household items. Since people buy these items regularly, small businesses in small towns can survive because people will buy frequently at closer locations instead of going into the city. High-order goods, by contrast, are specialized items such as automobiles, furniture, fine jewelry, and household appliances that people buy less often. Because they require a large threshold and people do not purchase them regularly, many businesses selling these items cannot survive in areas where the population is small. Therefore, these businesses often locate in big cities that can serve a large population in the surrounding hinterland. Size and Spacing Within the central place system, there are five sizes of communities:   HamletVillageTownCityRegional capital A hamlet is the smallest place, a rural community that is too small to be considered a village. Cape Dorset (population 1,200), located in Canadas Nunavut Territory is an example of a hamlet. Examples of regional capitals—which are not necessarily political capitals—would include Paris or Los Angeles. These cities provide the highest order of goods possible and serve a huge hinterland. Geometry and Ordering The central place is located at the vertexes (points) of equilateral triangles. Central places serve the evenly distributed consumers who are closest to the central place. As the vertexes connect, they form a series of hexagons—the traditional shape of many central place models. The hexagon is ideal because it allows the triangles formed by the central place vertexes to connect, and it represents the assumption that consumers will visit the closest place offering the goods they need. In addition, central place theory has three orders or principles. The first is the marketing principle and is shown as K3 (where K is a constant). In this system, market areas at a certain level of the central place hierarchy are three times larger than the next lowest one. The different levels then follow a progression of threes, meaning that as you move through the order of places, the number of the next level increases threefold. For example, when there are two cities, there would be six towns, 18 villages, and 54 hamlets. There is also the transportation principle (K4) where areas in the central place hierarchy are four times bigger than the area in the next lowest order. Finally, the administrative principle (K7) is the last system where the variation between the lowest and highest orders increase by a factor of seven. Here, the highest order trade area completely covers that of the lowest order, meaning that the market serves a larger area. Losch’s Central Place Theory In 1954, German economist August Losch modified Christallers central place theory because he believed it was too rigid. He thought that Christallers model led to patterns where the distribution of goods and the accumulation of profits were based entirely on location. He instead focused on maximizing consumer welfare and creating an ideal consumer landscape where the need to travel for any good was minimized, and profits remained relatively equal, regardless of the location where goods are sold. Central Place Theory Today Though Loschs central place theory looks at the ideal environment for the consumer, both his and Christallers ideas are essential to studying the location of retail in urban areas today. Often, small hamlets in rural areas do act as the central place for various small settlements because they are where people travel to buy their everyday goods. However, when they need to buy higher-value goods such as cars and computers, consumers who live in hamlets or villages have to travel into the larger town or city, which serves not only their small settlement but those around them as well. This model is shown all over the world, from rural areas of England to the U.S. Midwest or Alaska with the many small communities that are served by larger towns, cities, and regional capitals.

Rumors, Deception and Samples My Experience at the School Library Essay

Rumors, Deception and Samples My Experience at the School Library Essay The Chronicles of Samples My Experience at the School Library Essay When you're in high school, it's definite that you're expected to do a few write-ups and projects which require pen and paper. All you write on paper is considered. There's a card for every single book. Don't lose out on this opportunity to find a top-notch paper from experienced writers. The members must pay a tiny monthly subscription. Our crew of well-trained and gifted writers are going to assist you with any problem. No student are able to keep a book for at least fourteen days. Our experience of over six years on top of online writing uniquely positions us as the perfect service. The value of Library cannot be exaggerated. In an excellent library the librarian is almost always a valuable individual. The library is quite a handy institution. It is a place where a large number of are kept. I have to take pride in my culture and myself. In our country every village should have a minumum of one library where the people may go for knowledge and data. The library is a location where there's a massive assortment of books. I feel like I need to promote this product because I want every person to have the chance to go through the fantastic things we experience with it each day. Don't be worried if you are not able to finish the job by yourself. The sole thing I can say is I have learned. Instead it prescribes a means to read. School is the area where we learn everything with the assistance of our teachers. High school isn't free in Kenya. It is also necessary for students as soon as it comes to English Language examinations. Not many college students know the things that they wish to do, and it's something which is just not worth worrying about. In our school the function of the librarian is extremely unique. Every very good school has to have a well-stocked library, which can be employed by students and teachers alike. Because of the ARD role I've been afforded, I have had the chance to observe how this possible career may play out. Being a student is about studies, school life demands hard work and discipline, but it could also be fun. The Fight Against Samples My Experience at the School Library Essay You should find the proper resources for your essay along with patience when finding the most suitable inspiration to write. Reading is about drawing and coloring. For the almost all of time, I have a tendency to try to find a topic which may not require difficult vocabulary because my vocabulary is restricted. Our sound wisdom and the exceptional writing skills of our specialists give perfect aid to assist you with your studies. Inside this section you'll find samples of essays belonging to several essay types and manners of formatting. It follows that you are able to be extended a random topic or subject to compose a composition about. If you believe that you lack the skills needed, the samples can help you to learn the intricacies involved in this sort of assignment. In English Language, compositions or essays actually are one of the most crucial facets of the subject. For instance, if you're writing an essay on How Global Warming can be decreased, it'll be an excellent idea you take a minute to define what global warming is about in your introductory paragraph. The introduction or the introductory paragraph is quite a relevant part of your essay due to the simple fact it states the principal idea of your composition. The conclusion can be composed of at least two sentences. Your conclusion does not need to have to be complex or extraordinary. Each amount of the handshake can cause a deeper and deeper trance. Moreover, it's our sincere desire to increase your expertise and sharpen writing skills. Determining your own personal writing style will ensure it is much simpler to zero in on your very own personal strengths, take far better advantage of your talent, and boost the effect of your writing. Knowing and perfecting your own private writing style is able to help you attain increased success for a writer. Therefore, the threat products form part of our product portfolio. The senior level influence happened, unsurprisingly, in English. Our specialists are open 24 hours each day to assist at any undertaking!

Who is contributer Free Essays

The young Narendranath Dutta (later Swami Vivekananda) A man comes; you know he is very learned, his language is beautiful, and he speaks to you by the hour; but he does not make any impression. Another man comes, and he speaks a few words, not well arranged, ungrammatical perhaps; all the same, he makes an immense impression. Many of you have seen that. We will write a custom essay sample on Who is contributer or any similar topic only for you Order Now So it is evident that words alone cannot always produce an impression. Words, even thoughts contribute only one-third of the influence in making an impression, the man, twothirds. What you call the personal magnetism of the man † that is what goes out and impresses you. Life Snapshot 2 Meeting his Guru, Sri Ramakrishna Dakshineshwar Temple, Kolkata In his college years, Narendra went about asking many religious leaders of the time whether they had a direct experience of God, but could not get answers which satisfied him. His quest brought him finally to Sri Ramakrishna. Thus began a guru-disciple relationship which is quite unique in the history of spiritual masters. 2 OF 27 Ancestral home of Swami Vivekananda in North Kolkata Narendranath, was known for his keen intellect and prodiguous memory. He acquired a thorough grasp of various subjects during his school and college years, especially Western logic, philosophy and history. He questioned the validity of superstitious customs and discrimination based on caste and refused to accept anything without rational proof and pragmatic test. In our families there are the heads; some of them are successful, others are not. Why? We complain of others in our failures. The moment I am unsuccessful, I say, so-and-so is the cause of the failure. In failure, one does not like to confess one’s own faults and weaknesses. How to cite Who is contributer, Papers

Should physician

Introduction Physician-assisted suicide is a hot topic that has managed to stir up heated debates over the years. Two sides have emerged due to this, the people who support it and those who are against it. This has led to a number of states legalizing it while other states are still not up for the idea.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Should physician-assisted suicide be legal? specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The central issue this report aims to respond and debate about is the main question posed whenever this issue is raised. The question is should physician-assisted suicide be legal? Physician-assisted suicide is being considered the best choice in cases where prolonging a patient’s life will only prolong suffering, as a result of poor medical condition and its effects (Balkin,2005). New life prolongation techniques and practices have been developed and improved due to medical advancements. So me of these methods go to extreme boundaries to keep people alive. This is one of the roots behind this dilemma. Various methods that are geared towards the smooth facilitation of this practice have also been developed. These methods are fast and painless and are aimed at making this process as easy as possible. Questions that have been raised now and again which act as a pivotal point for most of these arguments are mentioned below. ‘How much should a person suffer before the plug is pulled?’.’ should doctors be allowed to terminate a patient’s life?’, and ‘Is a doctor’s help to end one’s life under these circumstances really suicide?’ and ‘should a person be left to decide his or her own fate?’ Above are some of the questions that have led to the drive to reevaluate the preexisting rules (Engadhi, 2009). This report aims at supporting the need for Physician-assisted suicide. This is done through carefully an alyzing and backing the value of the right of the patient to self-determination.Advertising Looking for research paper on psychology? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More At the same time, there is also the matter of looking at a counter argument that opposes my point of view, which is that people think of this form of relief when they are in tremendous pain and depression and if these two elements are dealt with the option of physician-assisted suicide will not be considered (Roleff, 1998). Patient’s right to self-determination In the article the argument is because it is the patient’s choice over if they want to die or not because of bad medical condition. The patient is the one to be in charge. This is obviously, because the patient is the one who is in that situation, not the doctor or the state. The patient can have a number of reasons that may in the end lead to this decision. This may include: The patient may b e in immense pain and this anguish may go on for a very long period. In some cases, the patient may be forced to grapple with the pain for a very long period even if the doctors are sure that the chances of the pain going away are minimal to none. With this in mind, it is not valid for the government or anyone else to decide how long one is to suffer when there is a solution to the problem. This case has been termed as the mercy argument as it is the only reprieve a patient gets and this finally gives them a chance to end the pain and suffering. The costs and medical bills realized from trying to keep a patient in this condition are very high. Despite that, the facts that the person may never recover the bills still have to be paid. Thousands of dollars are being paid on people in a vegetative state or in conditions that have slim chances of improving. The patients’ family may be struggling to keep up and pay the bills while at the same time trying to fend for them. This econ omy argument on the side of the individual is based on the patients’ consideration of the interests of the family that is put in a difficult situation with an aim of guarantying their general welfare and peace of mind. This practice is also allowed in some regions around the world. Some states in the US have adapted this option as a last resort and it works. If this practice has been implemented and proves to work well why can other regions not also do the same? This is another argument question often raised that supports this.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Should physician-assisted suicide be legal? specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The other factor that needs to be accepted is that this method is in demand. People want it, this is evident in situations where even the elderly refuse to take their medication so as to try and stop the suffering or when doctors are constantly being asked by patien ts, friends and family members to just pull the plug and ease ones pain even if it goes against the laws of the country or state. Some of them choose to do this as they see the necessity behind it. Some doctors are even advocating for this practice. Overall, death in some cases is compassionate and should be considered if it is necessary. Pain and Suffering Majority of patients who want physician related suicide are those who are in pain or depressed. Some physicians are not trained on how to deal with people with depression; this leaves the patients with little hope when they get sick. The patients believe that they only have two options to suffer or to die. Trained physicians know how to deal with cases of depression and pain. Due to medical advancements treatments have been developed that ease the pain and different approaches of dealing with depression have been adapted that may go a long way in changing the mind of patients, making them opt for the option of living longer. Pati ents right versus pain and suffering Though this argument carries some weight, certain factors in relation to patients’ rights can still not be ignored. This argument does not have more weight over the latter. This is because factors like the case of the mercy argument have still not been dwelt on. Pain in some cases cannot be suppressed some extreme conditions are associated with immense pain that even the most effective drugs cannot always manage. Even with the coping of pain and depression, some cases have very small chances of being cured. The best the patient can do is hope for miracle healing. These cases offer the patient nothing to look forward to in their lives. These bring about things such as pain and suffering that is recurrent, and the question of a compassionate death is still an option.Advertising Looking for research paper on psychology? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Either way even if there is no pain or depression some of these conditions require a lot of money. The medical bills because of the medical services, medicine and checkups are very high. Even the patients’ insurance cover may not be able to cover these costs. These bills in most cases even wipe out the patients savings completely. This leaves a strain on the patients’ family and in most cases; the family members and friends have to chip in. This makes them strain in trying to cover all the expenses. The patient even though is not in pain may not want the people around him or her to suffer because of this hence the option of physician-assisted suicide to ease the peoples burden is chosen. Conclusion The patient should be the one to decide his or her fate as in the end it should boil down to ones right. The state and doctors should not be left with the task of dictating the life of a patient despite the pain, suffering and interests. The patients may have a variety of re asons that will lead him or her to opt for this option. The reasons are pain, suffering and the high costs realized because of trying to cope with the condition. Though the argument that the possibility of suppressing pain and depression can help significantly in making the patients not to choose this option other factors such as the amount of pain, the lack of hope of a cure and the financial strains on the patients family and friends make this option less effective. This option should however be practiced with caution, it should be the last resort after all the necessary options have been tried and no solution can be effective. Law from the unsafe implementation of this strategy should also regulate the physicians. Physician-assisted suicide should be legalized with no doubt. Its pros outweigh its cons and that is why different regions should consider this option for the general good. References Balkin, K. (2005). Assisted Suicide. Detroit, MI: Greenhaven press. Engadhi, S. (2009) . Assisted suicide. Detroit, MI: Green haven press. Roleff, T. L. (1998). Suicide: Opposing viewpoints. San Diego, CA: Greenhaven press. This research paper on Should physician-assisted suicide be legal? was written and submitted by user Giselle Daniels to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Top 4 CHALLENGES for Executives and Assistants

Top 4 CHALLENGES for Executives and Assistants According to founder and CEO of Office Dynamics International, Joan Burge, There is no greater relationship in the workplace than that of an executive and an assistant. This may seem like hyperbole if you havent had a really terrific working relationship with an executive or an assistant who gets it. If youre at the top of the food chain, try to see your assistant as a strategic partner; if youre in a support role, take advantage of these tips to improve your standing and the dynamics at work!1. BandwidthNobody has enough time in the day. Executives may have more than one assistant, or assistants may be supporting more than one executive (every one of which wants to feel like your Top Priority). Between the two of you, you may be fielding as many as 400 emails a day- have systems in place and revise them as necessary!  Be aware of the speed and intensity of the information flowing across your executives desk, and let that inform the pace of your interruptions, meetings, and indepen dent work.2. Digital DependencyTheyre working from multiple devices and may ask you do to the same. While that may make them feel independent and tech savvy, its important (for them and for you!) to realize that an empowered executive assistant is as valuable as the Cloud in terms of coordinating information and monitoring plans.3. DelegatingWith all the self sufficiency of scheduling software and remote access, its easy for executives to forget how to use their assistants most effectively. Companies lose time and money when execs underutilize support staff. Know your role, advocate for appropriate ways to expand it, and always be a reliable asset.4. Frustration in CommunicationWith complaints ranging from I dont have time to teach my assistant to do this job to I have no idea what this executive wants from me, some of the hardest aspects of the relationship to master are the simplest- how you perceive one another and what you expect from one another. Be verbal, follow-up, and be wi lling to disagree and resolve it! Dont be so wrapped up in status you forget to think like a team.Tips  for AssistantsInitiate ConversationTalk about your relationship as a teamGet clarification on likes and dislikesPut yourself on the execs calendar and leave it, unless theres an emergencyThink like an executive- anticipate needs and prioritize accordinglyGo the extra mileAttend meetingsRead everythingUnderstand the scope of their wordTips  for ExecutivesHave clear assignments and deliverablesDemonstrate the qualities you want to seeBe comfortable with disagreementRely on your assistant; dont micromanageBe appreciative- post-mistake shouldnt be the only time you give feedbackRecognize that your assistants job requires skillExecutives and Assistants are Struggling TodayRead More at officedynamics.com

11 Top Wordpress Plugins To Inspire Visitors To Take Action

11 Top Wordpress Plugins To Inspire Visitors To Take Action I hope inspiring visitors to take action ranks atop the reasons you chose to host a WordPress blog. Of course, your primary focus should be to publish educational content  to help your readers tackle the tasks thatll contribute to their success. Let’s assume you’ve got that down. And now, let’s look at a list of killer WordPress plugins to help you master some of the tricks of the trade, aimed at magnifying reader engagement. 11 WordPress Plugins to Inspire Visitors to Take ActionThere’s no shortage of WordPress plugins. A thread on Quora suggested there are at least 20,000 freebies. In fact, access to free plugins is one of the reasons WordPress is the dominant content management system (CMS) in play today. There’s also no shortage of posts, e-books, and sites that list and recommend WordPress; however, I’ve found many of them overkill. I don’t mean to suggest this article is your end-all, be-all rundown of effective WordPress plugins, but my aim was- based on my experience and research- to create a short and super useful list of plugins thatll help you inspire visitors to take action. You’ll find some plugins here that you haven’t yet experimented with, and should. Enjoy. Keep Your WordPress Plugins Safe (And Amplify Your Content) Download the guide to keeping your WordPress plugins and blog safe. Youll discover the best practices to keeping your blog secure. Youll also get the  e-book I made with ,  Amplify Content The Complete Insiders Guide To Promote Your Content And Reach A Larger Audience. You dont  want to miss out! Plugin #1. MaxButtons:  Create Something That Begs To Be Clicked Taking action online calls for clicking. In your content, you need to call attention to where you want readers to point their mouse or finger. An attention-getting call-to-action button will increase conversion rates on your landing pages, sales pages, or any pages. You can quickly create attractive buttons on your WordPress website with MaxButtons from Max Foundry. The plugin puts you in the graphic designer’s seat with an editor offering options to choose fonts and colors, apply shadows to the text or box, gradients, and borders of your button. With the Pro version, over 5,000 buttons are ready made, and you can add all kinds of icons to make your buttons stand out. Various integrations are offered as is Google Analytics event tracking. MaxButtons offers pre-made buttons for all popular social media platforms and every other action you can think of. Get MaxButtons or the pro version here. Plugin #2. Leadin:  Subscription Forms With Marketing Automation Features I’ve been experimenting with free and paid opt-in forms for years and am blown away with the capabilities of Leadin, a feature-rich freebie from HubSpot. Leadin not only helps you capture leads by creating and placing opt-in and contact forms, but it also delivers insights for everyone who fills out any  form on your website. â€Å"All Contacts† is a free CRM system that shows you the pages your contacts have visited and the social networks they use. You can setup  Leadin to sync to your email tool (and it need not be HubSpot), and there’s no need to replace existing forms. The plugin even features an analytics tool to show you what sources of traffic and content are driving your contacts. The service can also send you an email with a link to the new contact record with all of their visit history. Checkout Leadin here. Recommended Reading: 5 Plugins Guaranteed To Help You Collect More Leads Plugin #3. Bontact:  The Ultimate Conversation Starter Can you think of a better way to qualify prospects and win business than conversing with them? Bontact is both a free and affordable subscription-based plugin that enables your sales and service employees  to talk to customers on any device at any time. Visitors choose their preferred channel: chat, voice, text, email, Facebook Messenger, Skype, video call, or screen share. Bontact offers a mobile app so you can serve site visitors from anywhere. See how the Bontact plugin and app works. Plugin #4. Share From SumoMe:  Make It Stupid-Easy For Visitors To Share Ever found a blog post or piece of content you absolutely had to share with your followers, but couldn’t find the button you needed to do so? It makes you crazy, right? What do you do? Nothing. Some publishers place their share buttons or bars atop the page in hopes you’ll (1) share it before you read it or (2) scroll after reading. Not smart. Recommended Reading:  What Is The Best Placement For Successful Social Media Buttons? Some place their share buttons at the bottom of the page hoping you’ll read every word, make your way to the bottom and then share it. Another mistake, or at least, a risk. Many still stash their sharing app in a sidebar on their blog post pages. Bad call. On mobile, they get bumped down and appear beneath the article. The smart thing to do is to install a plugin to create a share bar that remains on-screen at all times. Share from SumoMe does just that. On a desktop, the vertical share bar is onscreen as you scroll. And for mobile, it’s always onscreen at the bottom- whether the reader holds the smartphone vertically or horizontally. SumoMe’s Share is: Free Connected to 16 social services Ultra-easy to setup Smart How can a share bar be smart? Turn on the SumoMe share smart mode and your share bar shows shares in â€Å"most to least† order, either vertically or horizontally. Share is just one of more than 10+ tools designed to grow your website traffic offered by SumoMe in free and paid versions. SumoMe tools are available here. Plugin #5. Image Widget:  Make Your Sidebar More Magnetic Images attract eyeballs. Images pull. Images inspire clicks. Don’t make me repeat research findings you’ve read 100 times. So†¦ What are WordPress users to do when they want to display an image in their sidebars? Most WordPress developers would say, â€Å"Write code.† Most WordPress users would respond, â€Å"Blech.† But because you read this post, you’ll have a better answer: Image Widget. This plugin, by Modern Tribe, makes it easy to add image widgets using the WordPress media manager you know (and may or may not love). Once installed, the widget guides you through the process of selecting an image to display and linking it to your destination page. Image Widget also makes it easy to include alt text (for SEO), add a caption, resize and/or align your image. Recommended Reading:  How To Boost Traffic With 27 Important SEO Tips You Need To Know (+ Free Checklist) Here’s an example from the ClickWP blog on how to use Image Widget to create an affiliate link in your sidebar. I’m not sure why the image is cropped incorrectly, but the widget makes resizing an easy task. Get Image Widget here. Plugin #6. Contextly:  Inspire Longer Visits Contextly is an affordably priced plugin created by publishers, for publishers. It’s tempting to label it a â€Å"related content† widget because it does indeed serve readers recommended content at the end of posts and in sidebars. However, unlike recommendation engines you commonly find on news sites, Contextly links are entirely internal. So visitors aren’t inspired to go away; they’re invited to stay onsite and consume even more content. The idea is to turn new readers into regulars. Shortly after its launch in 2014, Contextly added functionality to point visitors to videos and products as well. Here’s a look at the Contextly recommendation module, which can highlight articles or any content on your website. You can program the plugin to rely on its own algorithm or curate recommended content manually. Learn more about Contextly here. Plugin #7. Social Locker:  Trade Content For Shares Social Locker’s concept is simple. It asks visitors looking for access to your content to share it first. On the WordPress plugin directory page, the authors suggest you ask people to â€Å"pay† with a like, tweet, or +1, to: Access content Get a discount Watch a video View a funny picture Social Locker is free, however a paid version collects leads and unlocks extra themes and additional social buttons. Here’s the plugin page for Social Locker. Plugin #8. :  Make Tweeting Ultra-Easy Want to make it easy for your visitors to tweet about your content? Do the work for them. With , a free  plugin from , you can create tweetable content while creating your post or page on WordPress. A little bird shows the reader a ready-made tweet is just a quick click from appearing in their Twitter stream. Wow... a great list of plugins to inspire your readers to take action.Get this popular plugin here. Recommended Reading: How To Use Hashtags Effectively Without Being Annoying Plugin #9. Inbound Now:  Hello Marketing Automation Marketing automation is an explosive area. While it’s proven its merits, many of the companies offering marketing automation platforms (MAPs) have proven it takes time and resources to implement it effectively. Inbound Now is a panacea. While it operates as a plugin, it’s really a suite of plugins that will help you  take advantage of essential marketing automation functions: Calls to action Landing pages Lead tracking A/B testing Email Recommended Reading:  How To Write A Call To Action In A Template With 6 Examples Inbound now makes it simple to increase conversion on your WordPress site with a series of plugins for creating landing pages and CTAs. Inbound now offers a basic package for free and access to a library of templates and more features with its paid packages starting at $99/year. Check out the suite, its options, and library templates here. Plugin #10. Disqus:  Your Blog Commentary Creator You have quite a few plugin options for adding comment features to your WordPress blog. In my opinion, Disqus is the cream of this crop. With Disqus, readers can join the discussion thread on your blog simply by granting access to one of their social media profiles. Users are given a variety of options including subscribing to receive updates when the stream has new content via email. The plugin’s social media integration makes it less of a hassle to leave comments and also displays the commenter’s avatar, which I believe helps inspire readers to chime in. Disqus has additional features to inspire interactivity such as threaded replies, a voting system, and the ability to add images and video. The plugin is set to automatically adapt to your site’s design and color scheme. And my favorite feature: Disqus instantly gives your blog a â€Å"Recommended Content† feature. Recommended Reading: 10 Reasons You Should Be Using Blog Comments Notice how Disqus adds a suggested content section to my blog? That'll help inspire readers to click around and stick around. It even previews the commentary stream from the suggested posts. Here’s where you get started with Disqus. Plugin #11. Fanciest Author Box:  Sign-Off With Style Your posts should have author boxes to encourage interaction with readers. While you can easily tackle the task with your basic WordPress functionality, the Fancier Author Box plugin enables you to step it up and become something more compelling. Fancier Author Box presents your photo, title, and bio beneath your post as well as a tabbed system of social profiles and links you select. Here’s a Fancier Author Box demonstrated by the creator of the plugin. Here’s mine. Note that in addition to social profiles, I’ve also  included a tab that showcases my latest posts. And here’s where you get the Fancier Author Box plugin. Now You're Ready To Inspire People To Take Action With these plugins in your toolbox, you've got what it takes to have a super great website and an awesome audience who will take action for you.

'Poetry exists to disrupt habitual perception' Essay

'Poetry exists to disrupt habitual perception' - Essay Example Jonathan Swift an Anglo-Irish poet of the eighteenth century, is considered a skilled satirist whose most famous work would be Gulliver’s Travels, a novel that which satires human nature and political struggle. Considered to be his best poem and perhaps his best work, â€Å"A Description of a City Shower† is a commentary on urban life and the way that life in a city can be inauthentic and artificial. The poem is constructed with lines in a loose version of iambic pentameter, in heroic couplets. It can be said that the poem evokes that feeling of ’shared experience’ as those portrayed are collectively together and captured in the event of a storm. However, the other shared experience that is just past The subjects of his words are treated with wit and social relevance. The poem is filled with small references some of which may not be immediately revealed, but on repeated readings the joyful mockery has extraordinary appeal. At one point within the poem a direct jab is taken towards the political parties who forever argue and accomplish little in the process. Swift says, â€Å"Triumphant Tories, and desponding Whigs, forget their feuds, and join to save their wigs.†[1]. In one quick stab of wit, Swift suggests that in this moment of rain, the Tories and the Whigs finally have a common element in their experience. The rain may destroy their wigs. In this manner, he reduces the members of these groups to a common element of humanity. With skill and a great, quiet power, Swift is able to reduce his subjects and require humility as they must step off of their pedestal for a moment - all disguised within a cleverly crafted rambling of the story of a rain shower. Louis MacNeice‘s, another Irish poet, wrote â€Å"London Rain† (1941) which also speaks of a rain shower. MacNeice’s work wasn’t intended to have quite the wit of Swift’s work, however his thoughtful and

The Nurses Role in the Health Care System Essay

The Nurses Role in the Health Care System - Essay Example Sexually transmitted diseases have been handled as a single entity in the healthy people 2010 objectives. The main objectives include reducing the number of Chlamydia trachomatis infections especially in those whose age bracket ranges between 15 and 40 years. Congenital herpes has also been identified as a threat and therefore given a high ranking among the objectives which are geared towards the reduction of such infections. Gonorrhea is also among the STDs that have been given the first priority in the objectives of the healthy people 2010. From the data available in their records, it is estimated that there are approximately 19 new cases of gonorrhea infections per every 100, 000 people. 1997 recorded a high rate of 123 infections per 100, 000 people. Among these, it was noticed that the highest proportion of new infections was recorded in the Americans of the Indian origin. Another objective is to ensure that youths especially adolescents, who are prone to these infections either abstain from sexual activities or those who don’t make use of the condoms in order to control the transmission of these infections. The target for this objective is to achieve 95% of the youth to either abstain or use condoms, up from 85% recorded in the year 1999 (Health And Human Services Dept, 2007). If this is achieved, it means that only 5% of the adolescents will be left to make their decisions presumably those who do not like following statistics on the number of people who lose their lives to STDs.

Wireless Vulnerabilities Threats And Countermeasures Information Technology Essay

Wireless Vulnerabilities Threats And Countermeasures Information Technology Essay Introduction to Network Security maintains its focus on the network and its vulnerabilities, protocols, and security solutions. It includes network architecture, the functions of layers in a typical network, and network based attacks including header, protocol, and authentication attacks. Bottom-up approach, it provides understanding of the vulnerabilities and mechanisms of each layer of network security. In any stadium there is network security plan in order to control all the events occurred in the stadium like ticketing selling, consumable purchases, seating arrangement and others. By using the wireless technology and mobiles we can plan the top level network security in the plan, the steps taken in this are all the members in the wireless channel have one wireless mobile. From the mobiles all the members can give the information to channel that means it is a server. All the decisions taken by the empires are by the wireless only, the video channel also very much useful in controlling the stadium. Consider the cricket stadium Chinnaswamy, Cricket Stadium in Bangalore, INDIA. The boundary line of the stadium is marked by the rope and here the boundary line is called as the perimeter of the stadium having field diameter of 140 to 160 yards. Score board has to display scores and sometimes should work as a third empire for keen observation and all this setup should work with wireless technology because wired transmission cannot be implemented over there. This stadium with a seating capacity of 55,000. Features of the stadium: The entire stadium is equipped with the very sensitive digital cameras, short and long distance explosive detectors. Totally it have 29 closed circuit television cameras, in this 29 cameras five of them are very highly sophisticated which are having the 360 degree of vision and all these will covers all the corners of the stadium. Trained marshals will operate the 29 closed circuit television cameras (CCTV), nearly 20 trained marshals are there in the stadium. These marshals having the helmets which are with sensitive cameras and sensitive detectors which are capable for covering the explosives which are happened around of 300 meter, this is called as OSD(on-screen display) camera which in the helmet and it is directly connected to the CMS(central monitoring system) vehicle. This CMS vehicle is standing outside the stadium, so whatever the marshal see and do, each and every point of the stadium and things happening in the stadium are very clearly seen in the CMS (central monitoring s ystem) vehicle. The entire system works on SNMP(simple network management protocol). Total stadium can be seen in the CMS vehicle, and another important thing is that empires decisions for example take the out and not out decisions it can be displayed on the big digital screen. The runs taken by the both the teams will be displayed on the digital screen in stadium. At the heart of the modern stadium is a communications system capable of supporting the innovative new services and applications customers are looking for. Organizing and hosting events requires a complete communications foundation essential to satisfying the communication needs of fans, guests, corporate employees, service and security staff, event organizers, press and media. It is that to provide all the components needed to build a complete, converged, secure and reliable communications system. Security, communication and services are the main aspects at the stadiums now-a- days. The organizers and event managers should be able to satisfy the complete communications foundation essential to satisfying the communication needs of fans, guests, corporate employees, service and security staff, event organizers, press and media. And also the communication system which provides all the components needed to build a complete, secure and consistent communications system. Converged IP/Ethernet Core: Stadiums support the communications needs of events with much number of users. Moreover, the supporting infrastructure is shared by different groups with different needs including stadium corporate users, media and press and event promoters. It is important to the make the event successful with High-speed, consistent and secure communication which doesnt fails. With reliable, secure, high-performance, intelligent Ethernet connectivity the enterprise LANs can intelligently prioritize real-time business communications like voice, video and multimedia services. Voice communications: Voice communications are important in any environment and mainly in the stadiums. IP networks provide the strength and quality of service that voice service requires. Converging voice and data over IP maximizes network efficiency, streamlines the architecture, reduces capital and operating costs, and opens up new service opportunities. It would be secure for organizations of all sizes to use voice over IP (VoIP), with IP PBXs (Private Branch Exchange). Today the global markets have a complete variety of IP phones, including desktop phones with displays, rugged wireless handsets, and PC-based softphones. All of these access devices operate seamlessly across the range of IP-enabled platforms and applications. Mobility: The nature of the stadium environment is mobile. Staff move constantly on making the event successful and provide the security at the top level. For the users, it is essential to have the access to key information and communication tools and allows them to roam and remain in touch no matter where they are. In WLAN IP Telephony services, we have a large choice of mobile desktops and handsets. Voice calls can be placed from laptops or PDAs(Personal Digital Assistant) using soft phones and employees can be equipped with voice over WLAN handsets that support multiple functions extremely useful for stadium staff, such as text messaging, conferencing and a push-to-talk feature that allows groups of handsets to behave as walkie-talkies. With this, the good coverage can be assured in areas which are difficult to reach with public areas. Wireless Mesh Network extends the reach of Wireless LANs securely and cost-effectively for situations where cabling for the LAN network is not in place or too costly to deploy. Implementing new Technologies With a comprehensive communications infrastructure as the base, stadiums have the foundation on which to build an intelligent environment filled with new, media-rich applications and services capable of creating new revenue opportunities and improving the overall fan experience. Wireless ticketing kiosks: Premium seats for sporting events and concerts can be expensive. Stadiums can leverage wireless technology to implement standalone, mobile kiosks that attract fans to upgrade their existing tickets for an event onsite. Digital signage directs patrons to the kiosk during the event. The fan simply inserts his ticket, checks a map of available seats, uses a touch-screen to select the new seat and inserts his credit card to pay. The machine keeps the old ticket and provides the upgrade. The stadium fills the seats closer to the action and generates revenue that would have been lost. It creates a win-win for the guest, the team and the stadium. Stadium owners can use the same kiosk to encourage customers to buy tickets for future events while guests are onsite and in the mood to buy. The kiosk can advertise upcoming events and attract fans waiting to exit after watching a game or seeing a concert. The terminal shows a list of available events and allows users to follow the same simple steps to purchase a ticket. Additionally, stadium owners can use the kiosk to capture and collect valuable information about its customer base. The kiosk can advertise loyalty programs and contests that offer incentives for fans to provide personal data that helps the stadium better understand and communicate with its audience base. Public safety and security: With thousands of people attending major events at one time, public safety and security is critical. Stadiums can leverage the communications system to offer digital security options including digital video surveillance and RFID (Radio-Frequency Identification) tagging and tracking. For example, stadiums can improve security threat detection with high-resolution IP cameras that provide full surveillance of the crowd using pre-sets by section: operators can select a stadium section and automatically receive all video from that section in multiple views. Operations staff can set rules to govern detection of left bags, perimeter entry, threshold crossing and loitering receiving alarms if any of the rules are breached Stadiums can improve event response through video feeds and text alerts that are transmitted manually or automatically to remote PDAs, laptops or offsite responders. All responders can be linked together automatically via dedicated audio conferencing channel. RFID tags can be used to locate and dispatch the closest security personnel to an emergency situation, ensuring a timely response. ABOUT NETWORK SECURITY AND TO FIND THREATS Vulnerabilities, Threats and Countermeasures Wireless networking has many advantages. Network configuration and reconfiguration is easier, faster, and less expensive. But, wireless technology creates new threats and alters the existing information security risk profile. Wireless networking alters the risks associated with various threats to security, the security objectives remain the same as with wired networks, preserving confidentiality, ensuring integrity, and maintaining availability of the information and information systems. Wireless Networks present a host of issues for network managers. Unauthorized access points, broadcasted SSIDs, unknown stations, and spoofed MAC addresses are just a few of the problems addressed in WLAN troubleshooting. Wireless Vulnerabilities, Threats and Countermeasures The wireless networks consist of four basic components: The transmission of data using radio frequencies; Access points that provide a connection to the organizational network and/or the Client devices (laptops, PDAs) and Users. Each of these components provides an avenue for attack that can result in the compromise of one or more of the three fundamental security objectives of confidentiality, integrity, and availability. Wireless Network Attacks Malicious association Malicious associations are when wireless devices can be actively made by crackers to connect to a network through their cracking laptop instead of a access point (AP). These types of laptops are known as soft APs and are created when a cracker runs some software that makes his/her wireless network card look like a legitimate access point. Once the cracker has gained access, he/she can steal passwords, launch attacks on the wired network, or plant trojans. Since wireless networks operate at the Layer 2 level, Layer 3 protections such as network authentication and virtual private networks (VPNs) offer no barrier. Wireless 802.1x authentications do help with protection but are still vulnerable to cracking. The idea behind this type of attack may not be to break into a VPN or other security measures. Most likely the cracker is just trying to take over the client at the Layer 2 level. Ad-hoc networks Ad-hoc networks can pose a security threat. Ad-hoc networks are defined as peer-topeer networks between wireless computers that do not have an access point in between them. While these types of networks usually have little protection, encryption methods can be used to provide security. Identity theft (MAC spoofing) Identity theft (or MAC spoofing) occurs when a cracker is able to listen in on network traffic and identify the MAC address of a computer with network privileges. Most wireless systems allow some kind of MAC filtering to only allow authorized computers with specific MAC IDs to gain access and utilize the network. However, a number of programs exist that have network sniffing capabilities. Combine these programs with other software that allow a computer to pretend it has any MAC address that the cracker desires, and the cracker can easily get around that hurdle. Man-in-the-middle attacks A man-in-the-middle attacker entices computers to log into a computer which is set up as a soft AP (Access Point). Once this is done, the hacker connects to a real access point through another wireless card offering a steady flow of traffic through the transparent hacking computer to the real network. The hacker can then sniff the traffic. One type of man-in-the-middle attack relies on security faults in challenge and handshake protocols to execute a de-authentication attack. This attack forces AP connected computers to drop their connections and reconnect with the crackers soft AP. Man-in-the-middle attacks are enhanced by software such as LANjack and AirJack, which automate multiple steps of the process. What once required some skill can now be done by script kiddies. Hotspots are particularly vulnerable to any attack since there is little to no security on these networks. Denial of service A Denial-of-Service attack (DoS) occurs when an attacker continually bombards a targeted AP (Access Point) or network with bogus requests, premature successful connection messages, failure messages, and/or other commands. These cause legitimate users to not be able to get on the network and may even cause the network to crash. These attacks rely on the abuse of protocols such as the Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP). Network injection In a network injection attack, a cracker can make use of access points that are exposed to non-filtered network traffic, specifically broadcasting network traffic such as Spanning Tree (802.1D), OSPF, RIP, and HSRP. The cracker injects bogus networking re-configuration commands that affect routers, switches, and intelligent hubs. A whole network can be brought down in this manner and require rebooting or even reprogramming of all intelligent networking devices. Signal-Hiding Techniques In order to intercept wireless transmissions, attackers first need to identify and locate wireless networks. There are, however, a number of steps that organizations can take to make it more difficult to locate their wireless access points. The easiest and least costly include the following: Turning offthe service set identifier (SSID) broadcasting by wireless access points, Assign cryptic names to SSIDs, Reducing signal strength to the lowest level that still provides requisite coverage or Locating wireless access points in the interior of the building, away from windows and exterior walls. More effective, but also more costly methods for reducing or hiding signals include: Using directional antennas to constrain signal emanations within desired areas of coverage or Using of signal emanation-shielding techniques, sometimes referred to as TEMPEST, 1 to block emanation of wireless signals. Encryption The best method for protecting the confidentiality of information transmitted over wireless networks is to encrypt all wireless traffic. This is especially important for organizations subject to regulations. Securing Wireless Access Points Insecure, poorly configured wireless access points can compromise confidentiality by allowing unauthorized access to the network. Use anti-virus and anti-spyware software, and a firewall Computers on a wireless network need the same protections as any computer connected to the Internet. Install anti-virus and anti-spyware software, and keep them up-to-date. If your firewall was shipped in the off mode, turn it on. Change your routers pre-set password for administration The manufacturer of your wireless router probably assigned it a standard default password that allows you to set up and operate the router. Hackers know these default passwords, so change it to something only you know. The longer the password, the tougher it is to crack. Allow only specific computers to access your wireless network Every computer that is able to communicate with a network is assigned its own unique Media Access Control (MAC) address. Wireless routers usually have a mechanism to allow only devices with particular MAC addresses access to the network. Some hackers have mimicked MAC addresses, so dont rely on this step alone. Training and Educating Users Notice that Figure 1 also includes users as the fourth basic component of wireless networking. As is the case with wired security, users are the key component to wireless networking security. Indeed, the importance of training and educating users about secure wireless behavior cannot be overstated. To be effective, user training and education needs to be repeated periodically. The Security Policy To maintain a secured wireless network security, we need to apply these policies, so that the wireless network can be protected by the major threats and vulnerabilities. Computer Acceptable Use. A general document covering all computer use by eventstaff, including desktop, mobile, home PCs, and servers. Password. A description of the requirements for password protecting computer systems, the rules for choosing passwords, and how the password policy is enforced. Email. This policy covers the use of email sent from any email address and received at any computer system. Web. A specification of what browsers may be used, how they should be configured, and any restrictions on which sites event staff can visit. Mobile Computing and Portable Storage. A description of who owns the mobile computing and portable storage on the network, how they are supported, and what specific devices (if any) are authorized for use on the network. Remote Access. A policy stating who can access what information from which locations under what circumstances. Internet. A description of your Internet-facing gateway configuration, stating what is allowed in and out, and why. Wireless. A specification stating how wireless access will be managed on the network and how access points will be plugged in, secured, and maintained; who is allowed to use them; and under what circumstances. Servers. A statement of the standards for servers, what services are enabled or disabled by default, and important distinctions between production, test, and development environments. Incident Response Plan. No policy is complete until it also specifies what to do when defenses fail: what is considered a security incident; who gets called; who is authorized to shut things down if needed; who is responsible for enforcing applicable local laws; who speaks for the company. Standards: Workstations: Approval for workstation connection must be obtained as part of the standard workstation installation process handled by Information Technology Services, or authorized departmental technical personnel. Other devices (including, but not limited to, network components such as hubs, routers, switches, wireless access points, printers and other communication devices): Approval to connect devices other than workstations must be expressly obtained from Information Technology Services/Network Services. Vendors/visitors can obtain a physical connection access to the University network through Information Technology Services on a per visit basis. This access will be granted for a specific period of time Mail servers may not be run outside of Information Technology Services. Guidelines: Accounts Definition and use of departmental accounts and shared accounts should be restricted as much as possible. Only those functions needed by the user should be made available through such accounts. Servers 1. SSL should be implemented on Web servers if account log-in is required. 2. Run intrusion detection system where appropriate 3. Store backups offsite on a monthly basis. 4. Install firewall system where appropriate 5. Application updates must be performed every 30 days. 6. Run file integrity checker such as Tripwire daily. 7. Periodically test backups for integrity. Passwords 1. should not use any words found in dictionary of any language 2. should not use any combination of letters of a users real name, username, initials or nickname 3. should not use any combination of a famous persons name 4. should not use any combination of a spouses, girlfriends, boyfriends, or childs name 5. should not use any personalized numbers Workstations 1. Turn off workstations overnight. 2. Work-related files should be stored on the Novell cluster in the staff members home directory or the departments work directory 3. Implement periodic backups 4. Logging: a. should be enabled to record: i. successful and unsuccessful login attempts. ii. system and application errors. CONCLUSION: We introduce the top level network security plan in the stadium to control the things happening. So by this we can create the safe atmosphere to the audience in the stadium. We can prevent the things inside the stadium only but out side the stadium we cant, so the government have to come forward and give the external security to the stadium. Because of the terrorism attacks the government has to be very careful in giving the security to the stadium. For this each and every person who entering into the stadium is first checked with bomb squad and also by the wireless detector. By this we can provide the safety to people and the players in the match.

Six Challenges for Educational Technology

Six Challenges for Educational Technology Chris Dede George Mason University Many exciting applications of information technology in schools validate that new technology-based models of teaching and learning have the power to dramatically improve educational outcomes. As a result, many people are asking how to scale-up the scattered, successful â€Å"islands of innovation† instructional technology has empowered into universal improvements in schooling enabled by major shifts in standard educational practices.Undertaking â€Å"systemic reform† (sustained, large-scale, simultaneous innovation in curriculum; pedagogy; assessment; professional development; administration; incentives; and partnerships for learning among schools, businesses, homes, and community settings) requires policies and practices different than fostering pilot projects for small-scale educational improvement. Systemic reform involves moving from utilizing special, external resources to reconfiguring ex isting budgets in order to free up money for innovation.Without undercutting their power, change strategies effective when pioneered by leaders in educational innovation must be modified to be implemented by typical educators. Technology-based innovations offer special challenges and opportunities in this scalingup process. I believe that systemic reform is not possible without utilizing the full power of high performance computing and communications to enhance the reshaping of schools. Yet the cost of technology, its rapid evolution, and the special knowledge and skills required of its users pose substantial barriers to effective utilization.One way to frame these issues is to pose six questions that school boards, taxpayers, educators, business groups, politicians, and parents are asking about implementing large-scale, technology-based educational innovations. After each question, I’ll respond to the issues it raises. Collectively, these answers outline a strategy for scali ng-up, leveraging the power of technology while minimizing its intrinsic challenges. Question One: How can schools afford to purchase enough multimedia-capable, Internetconnected computers so that a classroom machine is always available for every two to three students?Giving all students continuous access to multimedia-capable, Internet-connected computers is currently quite fashionable. For politicians, the Internet in every classroom has become the modern equivalent of the promised â€Å"chicken in every pot. † Communities urge everyone to provide volunteer support for NetDays that wire the schools. Information technology vendors are offering special programs to encourage massive educational purchases. States are setting aside substantial amounts of money for building information infrastructures dedicated to instructional usage.Yet, as an educational technologist, I am more dismayed than delighted. Some of my nervousness about this initiative comes from the â€Å"First Gen eration† thinking about information technology that underlies these visions. Multimedia-capable, Internet-connected computers are seen by many as magical devices, â€Å"silver bullets† to solve the problems of schools. Teachers and 2 administrators who use new media are assumed to be automatically more effective than those who do not.Classroom computers are envisioned as a technology comparable to fire: just by sitting near these devices, students get a benefit from them, as knowledge and skills radiate from the monitors into their minds. Yet decades of experience with technological innovations based on First Generation thinking have demonstrated that this viewpoint is misguided. Classroom computers that are acquired as panaceas end up as doorstops. As discussed later, information technology is a costeffective investment only in the context of systemic reform.Unless other simultaneous innovations in pedagogy, curriculum, assessment, and school organization are coupled t o the usage of instructional technology, the time and effort expended on implementing these devices produces few improvements in educational outcomes—and reinforces many educators’ cynicism about fads based on magical machines. I feel additional concern about attempts to supply every student with continuous access to high performance computing and communications because of the likely cost of this massive investment.Depending on the assumptions made about the technological capabilities involved, estimates of the financial resources needed for such an information infrastructure vary (Coley, Cradler, & Engel, 1997). Extrapolating the most detailed cost model (McKinsey & Company, 1995) to one multimedia-capable, Internet-connected computer for every two to three students yields a price tag of about ninety-four billion dollars of initial investment and twenty-eight billion dollars per year in ongoing costs, a financial commitment that would drain schools of all discretionar y funding for at least a decade.For several reasons, this is an impractical approach for improving education. First, putting this money into computers-and-cables is too large an investment in just one part of the infrastructure improvements that many schools desperately need. Buildings are falling apart, furnishings are dilapidated, playgrounds need repair, asbestos must be removed†¦ otherwise, the machines themselves will cease to function as their context deteriorates.Also, substantial funding is needed for other types of innovations required to make instructional hardware effective, such as standards-based curricular materials for the WorldWide Web and alternative kinds of pedagogy based on partnerships between teachers and tools. (The McKinsey cost estimates do include some funding for content development and staff training, but in my judgment too little to enable effective technology integration and systemic reform. ) If most of the money goes into new media, little fundin g is available for the new messages and meanings that those devices could empower.Second, without substantial and extended professional development in the innovative models of teaching and learning that instructional technology makes affordable and sustainable, many educators will not use these devices to their full potential. â€Å"Second Generation† thinking in educational technology does not see computers as magic, but does make the mistake of focusing on automation as their fundamental purpose. Computers are envisioned as ways to empower â€Å"teaching by telling† and â€Å"learning by listening,† serving as a fire hose to spray information from the Internet into learners’ minds.However, even without educational technology, classrooms are already drowning in data, and an overcrowded curriculum puts students and teachers on the brink of intellectual indigestion. Adding additional information, even when coated with multimedia bells-and-whistles, is like ly to worsen rather than improve educational settings. Professional 3 development needs are more complex than increasing educators’ technical literacy (e. g. , training in how to use web browsers).The issue is building teachers’ knowledge and skills in alternative types of pedagogy and content, and such an increase in human capabilities requires substantial funding that will be unavailable if almost all resources are put into hardware. Third, the continuing costs of maintaining and upgrading a massive infusion of schoolbased technology would be prohibitive. High performance computing and communications requires high tech skills to keep operational and will become obsolete in five to seven years as information technology continues its rapid advance.Yet taxpayers now see computers as similar to blackboards: buy them once, and they are inexpensively in place for the lifetime of the school. School boards rapidly become restive at sizable yearly expenditures for technology maintenance and telecommunications usage—especially if, several months after installation, standardized test scores have not yet dramatically risen—and will become apoplectic if another $50B to replace obsolete equipment is required only a few years after an initial huge expenditure.For all these reasons, investing a huge sum in information infrastructures for schools is impractical and invites a later backlash against educational technology as yet another failed fad. I would go farther, however, and argue that we should not make such an investment even if the â€Å"technology fairy† were to leave $100B under our virtual pillows, no strings attached. Kids continuously working on machines with teachers wandering around coaching the confused is the wrong model for the classroom of the future; I wince when I see those types of vendor commercials.In that situation—just as in classrooms with no technology—too much instructional activity tends to center on presentation and motivation, building a foundation of ideas and skills as well as some context for why students should care. Yet this temporary interest and readiness to master curricular material rapidly fades when no time is left for reflection and application, as teachers and students move on to the next required topic in the overcrowded curriculum, desperately trying to meet all the standards and prepare for the test.Substantial research documents that helping students make sense out of something they have assimilated, but do not yet understand is crucial for inducing learning that is retained and generalized (Schank & Jona, 1991). Reflective discussion of shared experiences from multiple perspectives is essential in learners’ converting information into knowledge, as well as in students mastering the collaborative creation of meaning and purpose (Edelson, Pea, & Gomez, 1996).Some of these interpretative and expressive activities are enhanced by educational devices, bu t many are best conducted via face-to-face interaction, without the intervening filter and mask of computer-mediated communication (Brown & Campione, 1994). What if instead much of the presentation and motivation that is foundational for learning occurred outside of classroom settings, via information technologies part of home and workplace and community contexts? Students would arrive at school already imbued with some background and motivation, ripe for guided inquiry, ready for interpretation and collaborative construction of knowledge.People are spending lots of money on devices purchased for entertainment and information services: televisions, videotape players, computers, Web TV, videogames. Many of these technologies are astonishingly powerful and inexpensive; for example, the Nintendo 64 machine available now for a couple hundred dollars is the equivalent of a several hundred 4 thousand dollar graphics supercomputer a decade ago. What if these devices—many ubiquitous in rich and poor homes, urban and rural areas—were also utilized for educational purposes, even though not acquired for that reason?By off-loading from classroom settings some of the burden of presenting material and inducing motivation, learning activities that use the technology infrastructure outside of schools would reduce the amount of money needed for adequate levels of classroom-based technology. Such a strategy also enables teachers to focus on students’ interpretation and expressive articulation without feeling obligated to use technology in every step of the process. Such a model of â€Å"distributed learning† involves orchestrating educational activities among classrooms, workplaces, homes, and community settings (Dede, 1996).This pedagogical strategy models for students that learning is integral to all aspects of life—not just schooling— and that people adept at learning are fluent in using many types of information tools scattered thro ughout our everyday context. Such an educational approach also can build partnerships for learning between teachers and families; this is important because parental involvement is certainly one of the most powerful levers in increasing any student’s educational performance.In other words, unless â€Å"systemic reform† in education is conducted with one boundary of the system around the school and another boundary around the society, its affordability and sustainability are doubtful. As a bridge across these boundaries, new media can play a vital role in facilitating this bi-level approach to large-scale educational innovation. For example, videogame players are the only interactive devices widely available in poor households and provide a sophisticated, but inexpensive computational platform for learning—if we develop better content than the mindless follies of SuperMarioâ„ ¢ or the grim dystopias of Doomâ„ ¢.My research in virtual reality illustrates how multisensory, immersive virtual environments could leverage learning complex scientific concepts on computational platforms as commonplace as next decade’s videogames (http://www. virtual. gmu. edu). Districts can leverage their scarce resources for innovation, as well as implement more effective educational models, by utilizing information devices outside of classrooms to create learning environments that complement computers and communications in schools.To instead saturate schools with information technology is both very expensive and less educationally effective. Question Two: How can schools afford enough computers and telecommunications to sustain new models of teaching and learning? Educational improvement based on distributed learning—utilizing information technologies external to school settings to enable increased interpretive and expressive activities in classrooms—does not mean that schools won’t need substantial amounts of computers and commu nications.To empower project-based learning through guided inquiry, students must have access to sophisticated information devices in schools (Linn, 1997). Even if this is accomplished via notebook computers and wireless networks moved from class to class as required, with pupils also spending significant amounts of time learning without the aid of technology, districts must allocate more money to purchasing, maintaining, and upgrading computers and telecommunications than has been true historically. Where will educators find the funds for equipment, software, technical staff, ongoing telecommunications services, professional development—the myriad of costs associated with a sophisticated information infrastructure? In the past, this money has come largely from special external sources: grants, community donations, bond initiatives. To be sustainable over the long run, however, resources for technology must come from reallocating existing budgets by reducing other types of ex penditures.Of course, such shifts in financing are resisted by those groups whose resources are cut, and district administrators and school boards have been reluctant to take on the political challenges of changing how money is spent. An easy way to kill educational innovations is to declare that of course they will be implemented—as long as no existing activities must be curtailed to fund new approaches. Such an approach to institutional evolution is one reason why, if Rip Van Winkle awoke today, he would recognize almost nothing in modern society—except schools.Educational organizations are unique, however, in demanding that technology implementation accomplished via add-on funding. Every other type of societal institution (e. g. , factories, hospitals, retail outlets, banks) recognizes that the power of information devices stems in part from their ability to reconfigure employee roles and organizational functioning. These establishments use the power of technology t o alter their standard practices, so that the cost of computers and communications is funded by improvements in effectiveness within the organization, by doing more with less.If educators were to adopt this model—reallocating existing resources to fund technology implementation—what types of expenditures would drop so that existing funds could cover the costs of computers and communications? First, schools that have adopted the inquiry-based models of pedagogy find that outlays on textbooks and other types of standardized instructional materials decrease. While these materials are a smaller part of districts’ budgets than salaries or physical plants, nonetheless they cost a significant amount of money.When students collect their own data, draw down information across the Internet, and interact with a larger pool of experts than teachers and textbooks, fewer commercial presentational resources are required—especially if learners draw on topical data flowin g through information sources outside of schools. Moreover, covering a few concepts in depth rather than surveying many ideas superficially reduces the amount of prepackaged information educators must purchase.A second way to reconfigure existing financial resources is to reduce the staff involved in data entry operations. Educators are inundated with large amounts of recordkeeping functions, and one of the most debilitating aspects of this work is the continuous reentry of identical information on different forms. Businesses have saved substantial amounts of money by altering routine information processes so that data is only entered once, then automatically flows across the entire organization to each place in which it is needed.Were educators to adopt these already proven models for cost-efficient information management, the amount of time and staff required for data entry functions would decrease markedly, freeing funding for instruction-related uses of technology. Third, and on a more fundamental level, teaching is more efficient and effective with new types of technology-based curriculum and pedagogy. At present, substantial re-teaching of 6 knowledge and skills is required; presentational material flows into students’ minds, is retained just long enough to perform on a test, and then is forgotten.Class sizes are typically between twenty-five and forty—somewhat too large for effective project-based learning, yet small given that lectures work as well for several hundred students as for several dozen. The scheduling of class periods is too short, limiting teachers and students to fragmentary presentational and practice activities. Teachers all have comparable roles with similar pay structures—unlike other societal organizations, which have complementary staff roles with a mix of skill levels and salaries. Visions presented in the forthcoming 1998 ASCD Yearbook Dede & Palumbo, in press) depict how altered configurations of human resour ces, instructional modalities, and organizational structures could result in greater effectiveness for comparable costs—even with the acquisition of substantial school-based technology. This case is also made at greater length in Hunter & Goldberg (1995). In the commercial sector, too often these types of institutional shifts result in layoffs. However, because of the coming wave of retirements among educators, districts have a window of opportunity to accomplish structural changes without major adverse impacts on employees.Over the next decade, large numbers of â€Å"baby-boom† educators will leave the profession, and a staged process of organizational restructuring could occur in parallel with those retirements. Coordinating technology expenditures as an integral part of that larger framework for institutional evolution is vital in districts’ planning to afford computers and communications. Question Three: How can many educators disinterested or phobic about c omputers and communications be induced to adopt new technology-based models of teaching and learning?Thus far, most educators who use technology to implement the alternative types of pedagogy and curriculum are â€Å"pioneers†: people who see continuous change and growth as an integral part of their profession and who are willing to swim against the tide of conventional operating procedures—often at considerable personal cost. However, to achieve large-scale shifts in standard educational practices, many more teachers must alter their pedagogical approaches; and schools’ management, institutional structure, and relationship to the community must change in fundamental ways.This requires that â€Å"settlers† (people who appreciate stability and do not want heroic efforts to become an everyday requirement) must be convinced to make the leap to a different mode of professional activity—with the understanding that, once they have mastered these new appr oaches, their daily work will be sustainable without extraordinary exertion. How can a critical mass of educators in a district be induced simultaneously to make such a shift? Studies of innovation in other types of institutions indicate that successful change is always bottom-up, middle-out, and top-down.The driver for bottom-up innovation in a district is the children. Typically, students are joyful and committed when they are given the opportunity to learn by doing, to engage in collaborative construction of knowledge, and to experience mentoring relationships. That these types of instruction are accomplished via educational technology will excite some kids, while others will be indifferent—but all will appreciate the opportunity to move beyond learning by listening.Educators can draw enormous strength and purpose from watching the eager response of their students to classroom situations that use alternative forms of pedagogy. Often, teachers have shifted from pioneers to settlers 7 because they were worn down by the unceasing grind of motivating students to master uninteresting, fragmented topics; and administrators have undergone a similar loss of enthusiasm by being inundated with paperwork rather than serving as instructional coordinators. The professional commitment that kids’ enthusiasm can re-inspire is a powerful driver of bottom-up change.The source of middle-out change is a district’s pioneers. Many teachers entered the profession because they love students of a certain age and want to help them grow—or love their subject matter and want to share its beauty and richness. Often, these teachers feel alienated because the straightjacket of traditional instruction and school organization walls them away from meaningful relationships with their students and their subject. Similarly, many administrators want to serve as leaders and facilitators, but are forced by conventional managerial practices into being bureaucrats and bo sses.Middle-out change is empowered when educators who have given up hope of achieving their professional dreams see pioneer colleagues using technology to succeed in those goals—and realize that, if everyone made a similar commitment, no one would have to make continuous personal sacrifices to achieve this vision. The lever for top-down innovation is the community served by the district. Educators want respect—yet teaching has fallen from a revered professions to a much lower status.The relationship between educators and their community is seldom seen as a partnership; instead, teachers and administrators often feel isolated, forced to perform a difficult task with inadequate resources. Parents, the business sector, and taxpayers bitterly debate the purpose of schools and sometimes attempt to micro-manage their operation. In contrast, when homes, classrooms, workplaces and community settings are linked via new media to achieve distributed learning, much more positive interactions emerge between schools and society.Educators can move from isolation to collaboration with the community, from a position of low esteem to an respected role in orchestrating children’s learning across a spectrum of settings. This shift in status is a powerful driver for innovation. To activate these bottom-up, middle-out, and top-down forces for improvement, educators must take the lead in developing a shared vision for systemic reform, distributed learning, and sophisticated utilization of technology. Making such a commitment to large-scale educational innovation is not only the right thing to do, but is increasingly essential to educators’ professional integrity.In many ways, physicians working in health maintenance organizations (HMOs) face challenges similar to teachers and administrators working in today’s schools. These doctors are responsible for the well-being of their patients, but work within administrative structures that restrict their d ecision making capabilities, that are focused on saving money at least as much as on combating illness, and that do not provide the latest technology or much time and resources for professional development.Yet we expect those physicians to do whatever it takes—fight the system for what the patient needs, spend personal time mastering the latest medical advances and technologies—to help those whom they serve. To do otherwise would be malpractice, a betrayal of trust, a breach of ethics as a professional. Given advances in information technology that are reshaping the knowledge students need and the ways educators can help them learn, we need to accept a professional obligation—despite current institutional constraints—to do whatever it takes in changing traditional instructional practices so that a generation of children is truly prepared for the 21st century. Question Four: How do we prove to communities that new, technology-based models of teaching and l earning are better than current instructional approaches? Few communities are willing to take educational innovations â€Å"on faith. † Many people are uneasy about whether conventional instruction and traditional testing are developing and assessing the types of knowledge and skills children need for their future.However, most parents and taxpayers feel that the current system worked for them and do not want to substitute something radically different unless new methods are proven to be superior. What types of evidence can educators offer communities that innovative, technology-based models of teaching and learning are so much better—given what our society needs in the 21st century—that the substantial cost and effort of systemic reform is more than worth the trouble?Research documents that new, technology-based pedagogical strategies result in at least four kinds of improvements in educational outcomes. Some of these gains are easy to communicate to the commun ity; others are difficult—but together they constitute a body of evidence that can convince most people. These four types of improvements are listed below, in sequence from the most readily documented to the hardest to demonstrate. Increased learner motivation.Students are very excited when exposed to learning experiences that go beyond information assimilation and teaching-by-telling. Guided inquiry, project-based collaboration, and mentoring relationships all evoke increased learner motivation, manifested via readily observable indicators such as better attendance, higher concentration, and greater time on task. All of these not only correlate with increased educational performance, but also are in stark contrast to the attitudes parents and taxpayers formed about most of their schooling.Documenting to communities that students care about what they are learning and are working hard to achieve complex goals is not difficult, given the ubiquity of videotape players and camcor ders. Student-produced videos that show learners engaged and excited are intriguing to parents and taxpayers, who may not fully understand what is happening in the classroom, but are impressed by student behavior divergent from their own memories and likely to result in better learning outcomes.Too often, educators take little advantage of this easy way to open a dialogue about instructional improvement with the community. Advanced topics mastered. Whatever else they believe about the purposes of schooling, parents want their children to have a prosperous lifestyle and know that this necessitates mastering advanced concepts. In the 21st century, being a successful worker and an informed citizen will require the sophisticated knowledge delineated in the national curriculum standards, especially in the sciences and mathematics.Information technology can help students not only to learn these difficult concepts, but also to master the learning-how-to-learn skills needed to keep their ca pabilities current in a rapidly evolving economy. When shown that technologybased instructional strategies enable teaching sophisticated ideas not now part of the conventional curriculum, more complex than the items on current standardized tests, and harder than what they learned in school, taxpayers are impressed. 9 Students acting as experts do.Developing in learners the ability to use problem solving processes similar to those of experts is challenging, but provides powerful evidence that students are gaining the skills they will need to succeed in the 21st century. One of the most striking features of a classroom based on new instructional models is that learners are behaving as do teams of scientists, mathematicians, designers, or other kinds of expert problem solvers. Pupils’ activities in these learning environments mirror the analytic, interpretive, creative, and expressive uses of information tools increasingly characteristic of sophisticated workplace settings.When parents and taxpayers see students perform complex tasks and create intricate products, they are impressed by the similarity between the recent evolution of their own workplaces and the skills children are developing. Better outcomes on standardized tests. The most difficult type of evidence to provide for the superiority of new, technology-based instructional models is what communities first demand: higher scores on conventional measures of achievement.Standardized tests are designed to assess only a narrow range of knowledge, and the other three types of improvements just discussed fall largely outside the scope of what they measure. A major challenge for educational assessment is to develop methods that measure a wider range of skills than paper-and-pencil, multiple choice tests, without bogging educators down in complex, time-consuming, and potentially unreliable performance evaluations.Research shows that students’ outcomes on conventional achievement tests rise when tec hnology-based educational innovations are implemented, but this does not occur immediately, as teachers and learners must first master these new models of pedagogy. To succeed in systemic reform, educators must prepare communities for the fact that test scores will not instantly rise and that other, complementary types of improvements less easy to report quantitatively are better short-range measures of improvement.Overall, the single most effective means of convincing parents, the business community, and taxpayers that technology-based models of teaching are superior to conventional instructional approaches is to involve them in students’ education. Through distributed learning approaches that build partnerships between schools and society, communities have ample opportunities to observe the types of evidence discussed above, as well as to further enhance students’ educational outcomes. Question Five: How can educational technology increase equity rather than widen cu rrent gaps between â€Å"haves† and â€Å"have-nots? Implemented within a larger context of systemic reform, emerging information technologies can produce dramatic improvements in learning outcomes. But won’t such educational usage of computers and communications widen inequities in our society? However ample the access to technology students have in schools, learners differ greatly in the amount and sophistication of information devices in their homes and communities. Isn’t all this effort simply making education better for the â€Å"haves,† potentially worsening our society’s pathological gaps in income and power?Certainly, new media such as Web TV are dropping in price, and almost all homes have videogames, television, and videotape players—but won’t the rich always have more information devices of greater power than the poor, skewing the advantages of distributed learning and increasing inequality? 10 From an historical perspecti ve, innovative information technologies at first widen inequities within civilization, because initial access to the differential advantage they bring is restricted to the few who can afford the substantial expense of this increased power.As emerging media mature, drop in price, and are widely adopted, however, the ultimate impact of information technology is to make society more egalitarian. For example, the world of universal telephone service is a more equitable environment than was the world of messenger boys and telegraph offices. The challenge for current educational policy is to minimize the period during which the gap between haves and have-nots widens, rapidly moving to a maturity of usage and an universality of access that promotes increased equity.At present, most of society’s attempts to decrease the widened inequalities that new educational technologies could create are centered on access and literacy. In schools that serve disadvantaged and at-risk populations, extra efforts are made to increase the amount of computers and communications available. Similarly, educators and learners in have-not situations are given special training to ensure that they are literate in information tools, such as web browsers.To compensate for more home-based technology in affluent areas, many feel that our best strategy is providing teachers and students in low socioeconomic status areas with additional technology to â€Å"level the playing field† (Coley, Cradler, & Engel, 1997). While a good place to begin, this approach to educational equity is inadequate unless taken beyond access and literacy to also address issues of content and services. The on-line materials and types of assistance that learners and teachers can access must reflect the needs and interests of diverse and at-risk students.For example, I can take homeless people to the public library and show them how to use a web browser to download images of impressionist paintings at the Louvre, but this is not likely to motivate or impress them, since such a learning experience does not speak to their primary needs. Similarly, emerging graphical interfaces such as Microsoft Windowsâ„ ¢ enhance many users’ capabilities, but adversely affect learners with reduced eyesight who cannot effectively manipulate the visual features of these interfaces.The real issue in equity is empowerment—tailoring information technology to give dispossessed groups what they want. For example, I worked with a local team of politicians to explore the implications of information technology for improving public services. They were excited about using community-based information terminals to offer improved access to health care, welfare, education, and other social services for the immigrant and minority populations they served. However, when I began to describe how on-line communication tools could help these groups to increase their participation n voting and to form coalitions fo r political action, the elected representatives immediately lost interest. To truly achieve educational equity, working collaboratively with have-not populations is vital in developing content and services tailored to their needs and designed to build on their strengths and agendas. Otherwise, improving access and literacy will fall short of the success for all students essential to America’s prosperity in the 21st century. Question Six: If we use technology well, what should we expect as â€Å"typical† student performance? 1 If we were to implement systemic reform based on new strategies for learning through sophisticated technology, research suggests that â€Å"typical† students might do as well as â€Å"exemplary† learners do now. Our expectations for what pupils can accomplish are far too low, largely because standard educational processes are obsolete given the progression of information technology, insights into the nature of learning, and shifts in the educational outcomes society needs.In many ways, we live in the â€Å"Dark Ages† of schooling—restrained from making rapid advances toward increased instructional effectiveness by outmoded ideas, ritual, and tradition. Setting our sights higher and using better metrics to measure progress are vital to successful innovation. For example, many people are intrigued by results from the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), which show the United States well behind nations such as Singapore and Japan on math and science outcomes from a globally developed achievement test. Crusaders are implementing reforms to ensure that our students do much better on this test.However, our goal should not be to exceed the level of Singapore on an assessment instrument that, as described earlier, measures only a fraction of what students need to know for their future prosperity—and moreover incorporates a diluted definition of educational quality negotiated a cross many countries with very different populations and national goals. Others advocate using a standards-based curriculum as the touchstone for educational effectiveness, and reformers are centering state and national judgments of educational worth on this measure.Certainly, the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) standards are a major improvement over the hodgepodge math curriculum before their inception, as are the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) standards and similar efforts in other fields. But our metric for whether students succeed should not simply be whether they learn the math mathematicians think is important, the science scientists feel is vital, and so on. Being a productive worker and citizen involves much more than having an adequate background in each field of knowledge.Integrating these concepts and skills and being a lifelong learner with the self-worth, discipline, and motivation to apply this knowledge is of paramount im portance—yet not captured by discipline-based standards alone. New forms of pedagogy are also no â€Å"philosopher’s stone† that can make golden each educational experience for every learner. Some argue that, if only all classrooms were based on constructivist learning or situated cognition or individualized tutoring or multimedia presentations or integrated learning systems or whatever pedagogical panacea, every student would succeed.However, learning is a very complex and idiosyncratic process that requires, for each pupil, a repertoire of many different types of instruction orchestrated together. In other words, no test, no curriculum, and no instructional strategy in itself can guarantee educational quality—even though our current approach to determining schools’ worth is based on these inadequate measures. Instead, we need new standards for a knowledge-based society that combine all these metrics for success and that are based on much higher l evels of â€Å"typical† student outcomes.Successful technology-based innovations have the common characteristic that learners exceed everyone’s expectations for what is possible. Second graders do fifth grade work; nine graders outscore twelfth grade students. What would those ninth graders be accomplishing if, 12 from kindergarten on, they had continuous access to our best tools, curriculum, and pedagogy? Would they be the equivalent of college sophomores? We are selling short a generation by expecting less and by orienting our curriculum, instruction, and tests accordingly.Conclusion My responses to the six questions above sketch a conceptual framework for thinking about the process of scaling-up from islands of innovation to widespread shifts in standard educational practices. These answers illustrate that technology-based systemic reform is hard in part because our ways of thinking about implementation are often flawed. Large-scale educational innovation will never be easy, but can be less difficult if we go beyond our implicit assumptions about learning, technology, equity, schooling, and society.Understanding the scaling-up process is vital for making strategies for change affordable, generalizable, and sustainable. References Brown, A. L. , & Campione, J. C. (1994). Guided discovery in a community of learners. In K. McGilly (Ed. ), Classroom lessons: Integrating cognitive theory and classroom practice (pp. 229-270). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Coley, R. J. , Cradler, J. , & Engel, P. K. (1997). Computers and classrooms: The status of technology in U. S. schools. Princeton, NJ: Educational Testing Service. Dede, C. , & Palumbo, D. (Eds). (in press). Learning with technology (the 1998 ASCD Yearbook).Alexandria, VA: ASCD. Dede, C. (1996). 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