sábado, 30 de junho de 2012

Article - THE 10 WORST JOB MARKETS U.S. GRADS HAVE FACED

Sent by Jasmine Hall

Source: http://www.onlinecolleges.net/2012/06/11/the-10-worst-job-markets-u-s-grads-have-faced

You can do everything right from kindergarten. You can study, make good grades, get scholarships, get into a good college, and secure a great internship. Even with all that, there’s one crucial factor that’s completely beyond your control: what the job market will be like when you get your degree. Thousands of unemployed high achievers around the country are pulling their hair out and saying, “If only I’d been born at a different time.” Because misery loves company, we’ve identified nine other years where college grads had the misfortune of leaving campus at the worst possible time. (If you need a pick-me-up after reading this, check out the 10 best job markets U.S. grads have faced.)
  1. 1933:

    College graduates made up only about 4% of the population of the United States in the 1930s, as the economy was driven by unskilled labor that did not require degrees. Nevertheless, the students emerging into the work force then were faced with the highest unemployment rates in the country’s history. The crisis peaked in 1933 with fully one quarter of Americans out of work. (At the time, the calculation included workers age 14 and up.) That nearly makes 9% unemployment seem like a walk in the park, doesn’t it?
  2. 1961:

    The recovery that began early on in the year was not enough to help the lingering negative effects of a 1960 recession on the job market. The country lost millions of jobs, with unemployment as high as 6.8%. Although much of the job losses were for unskilled and older workers displaced by new technology, people with no work experience (i.e. college students) were also hit hard. Part of the problem was Baby Boomers born in the early ’40s reaching college graduation age at the same time and causing the size of the labor force to balloon and opportunities to decrease.
  3. 1975:

    When the economy starting tanking in 2009, the comparisons to the woes of 1975 began to appear. It was the third year of recession started in 1973 by such political missteps as wage controls, which forced salaries up and employers to cut back. Unemployment rose to 9% in May, just as new grads were hitting the job market. An article in the Lawrence Journal-World dated March 31, 1975, referred to students being “considerably less optimistic” about the job market. A dean at the University of Kansas was quoted as saying, “Most companies aren’t looking for as many people. And students are a little antsy.”
  4. 1982:

    The recession of the early ’80s made for a brutal time to be a job seeker. Between the summer of 1981 and the end of 1982, the U.S. economy lost 3.7 million (3.1%) of its jobs. “Job-market distress” — an unemployment indicator created by the Bureau of Labor Statistics to factor in part-time workers who want full-time work but become discouraged and quit — hit a high of 17.1%. It would be nearly 30 years before it approached such a mark again (2009, see below). Unemployment stayed over 10% for 10 months, maxing out at 10.8% in November.
  5. 1983:

    The situation did not improve much in 1983. The unemployment rate for college graduates set a record of 3.9% in January. The overall unemployment rate, meanwhile, was 9.6% for the year, peaking at 10.2% in April, an oft-cited example of the worst unemployment rate in decades. The next month, when college students all over the country were donning caps and gowns, the “jobs-hard-to-get” index that measures people’s feelings on the difficulty in finding a job broke 50, a mark it would not hit again until 2011. Surveys found employers in agreement that the market for new grads was the worst since World War II.
  6. 1992:

    The savings and loan crisis at the turn of the ’90s touched off a recession in mid-1990 to March 1991. Hiring immediately slid 13.3%, then 9.8% farther in ’91. By ’92, new grads were looking at a dismal job market. Hiring fell another 10%, and although gains were made in the second half of the year, unemployment ended up at 7.5%. Payroll jobs were cut, along with weekly hours. Companies like Aetna Life, Compaq, and Bell Atlantic laid off thousands of workers. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released a report in February 1993 entitled 1992: Job market in the doldrums.
  7. 2009:

    The unfortunate class of 2009 were the first victims of the 2008 stock market crash that relieved companies of billions of dollars and with them, their ability to take on and pay new workers. Job offers plummeted 20% from the year before. By November, the unemployment rate for recent college grads soared past the 10% rate for the rest of the country to an incredible 16%. Stories of applications submitted to hundreds of employers with virtually no response became common. Newspapers were quick to break out the “worst job market in years” headline, technically true but soon to be made redundant.
  8. 2010:

    Although the class of 2009 was the first to feel the effects of the 2008 market crash, 2010 grads faced a job market as bad or worse than theirs. And they had to contend with 2009 grads still looking for work by summer of 2010. People under 25 with college degrees faced an unemployment rate almost twice as high as that before the recession, not counting those who were underemployed. The labor force for their age group had shrunk by 1.1 million jobs. Average starting salaries fell 1.7% from the previous year. The overall unemployment rate would come out as 9.6% for the year, 0.3% higher than 2009.
  9. 2011:

    Things began to look a little brighter in 2011, mainly because they couldn’t get much worse. But it was still a brutal job market college grads found themselves stepping into that year. The crummy unemployment rate of 9.1% was actually worse than it looked: theworkforce participation rate fell to a 30-year low as discouraged job seekers gave up the hunt. And the rate of unemployment for workers in their 20s was visibly worse, hitting 12.8% in June. The average duration of consecutive unemployment also hit a historic record of 40 weeks.
  10. 2012:

    Yes, we hate to break it to you, Class of 2012, but you’re graduating into one of the worst job markets in recorded U.S. history. The national unemployment rate is averaging 8.3% each month, and the story is even worse for recent college grads. More than 53% of workers 25 and under were unemployed or underemployed as of the most recent figures. While the national unemployment rate is trending down from recent highs, don’t get too excited; economists expect the rate to remain at or above 8% into 2014.

Article - The 50 Best Sources of Free Liberal Arts Learning Online

Sent by Kaitlyn Cole
Source: http://www.onlineuniversities.com/blog/2012/06/the-50-best-sources-of-free-liberal-arts-learning-online


A liberal arts education can be the foundation for a career in just about any field, from politics to business, not just those directly related to liberal arts majors. Through these courses, students learn how to solve problems, think critically, write well, and gain a whole host of important facts about history and culture. That’s what makes these kinds of courses so essential in a well-rounded college degree program, and why so many colleges require students to take them, regardless of major.
Even if you’ve already signed up to take the basic liberal arts courses at your school, whether for your major or to fulfill general education requirements, it never hurts to take a few more or to expand your knowledge beyond the material covered in a course. We previously compiled a list of the best free STEM resources and now it’s the liberal arts’ turn, with loads of courses, lectures, reading material, and more on this list for you to look at and learn from in your free time.
Universities


These universities offer a wide range of liberal arts courses that students can access for free.
  1. MIT OpenCourseWare: MIT offers one of the largest collections of open courses anywhere on the web. While you might think they would just be STEM-related, there are actually a good number of liberal arts courses to choose from as well.
  2. The Open University: There are so many liberal arts courses to choose from on the Open University, from Art in Venice to the French Revolution, that you could take one every week and still not tackle them all.
  3. Open Yale Courses: Yale offers free courses in diverse fields, including African American Studies, Classics, English, History, and Art History, among many more.
  4. UC Berkeley Webcasts: Choose from courses in great liberal arts fields like anthropology and psychology when you head to UC Berkeley’s open learning site.
  5. Carnegie Mellon Open Learning Initiative: The bulk of the material on the OLI is technology-focused, but you can also find courses on French, speech, and soon, psychology.
  6. University of Notre Dame OCW: Notre Dame boasts an impressive collection of OCW in the liberal arts, with something to meet almost any students’ needs.
  7. UCI OpenCourseWare: Head to the University of California-Irvine’s OCW page to get access to courses in the social sciences, education, and the humanities.
  8. OpenUW: The University of Washington offers a limited number of courses for free, but some are on really great topics like the Civil War, Greek mythology, Hamlet, Shakespeare, and even JRR Tolkien.
  9. Columbia Interactive: While this site is no longer being updated with new material, the existing courses that are offered here are well worth your time to check out, covering everything from poli sci to literature.
  10. Open Oxford University: You don’t have to get accepted to this prestigious British school to take courses there. Instead, head to their iTunes U site and start learning about literature, nature, and much more.
  11. Stanford University on iTunes U: Stanford is another school with a standout collection of courses on iTunes U. Students can find everything from history to fine arts through the California school’s free offerings.
  12. UMass Boston OCW: Don’t miss out on the free resources offered by the University of Massachusetts-Boston. There’s a great mix of science, tech, and liberal arts courses to take advantage of.
  13. Cornell University: Architecture, communication, business, and music are just a few of the topics courses and lectures from Cornell focus on through their iTunes U site.
  14. Cambridge University: Find news, lectures, and even course material on this prestigious school’s iTunes U site.
  15. Capilano University OCW: Capilano offers free courses in liberal arts topics like art history, anthropology, English, geography, and philosophy.
  16. University of Wisconsin-Madison: Leading professors at UWM share their expertise through courses and lectures featured on this site.
  17. King’s College London Podcasts: Through free resources at King’s College, you can take a course in the history of philosophy or engage yourself in a humanities audio tour.
  18. NYU on iTunes U: Listen to lectures on subjects like French, Spanish, sustainability, architecture, and philosophy through NYU’s iTunes U portal.
  19. Arizona State University OCW: ASU provides a mix of OCW and lectures through iTunes U that can help you learn about a diverse selection of subjects, from geography to culture.
  20. World Lecture Hall: Use the World Lecture Hall site to help you find courses from leading universities around the world. Search by course, topic, or university.
Courses


You can also find great courses offered outside of universities, like those listed here.
  1. Connexions: On Connexions, you can search for free educational material on just about any liberal arts subject you can think of.
  2. Wikiversity: Whether you want to learn about architecture, ethnology, or history, head to Wikiversity for free course materials.
  3. BBC Learning: BBC Learning offers courses in topics like history, English, and religious studies, but some of their most popular courses can help you learn one of dozens of languages.
  4. Fathom: Find free seminars from around the world in liberal arts subjects when you use Fathom.
  5. Saylor.org: This free collection of college-level courses offers students the chance to learn about everything from art history to English lit.
Lectures


If you are more interested in a short lecture than a whole course, there are plenty of options out there. Here are some that draw on professors, scholars, experts, and other high-quality sources.
  1. Harvard @ Home: Even if you live thousands of miles from Harvard you can get access to their lectures through the resources offered on their Harvard @ Home site.
  2. Forum Network: The Forum Network collects great lectures from authors, scholars, and public figures on just about every subject imaginable.
  3. TED: Some of the most brilliant minds in the world have lectured at TED events, and you can see what they have to say by visiting the organization’s website.
  4. Princeton WebMedia: Princeton is home to some seriously amazing lectures, a collection of which you’ll find here.
  5. Academic Earth: Use Academic Earth to find high-quality lectures from top universities in subjects like religious studies, art, history, literature, and political science.
  6. MIT Video: Check out the liberal arts-related channels on MIT’s great lecture site to explore the cutting edge of the arts, humanities, and social sciences.
  7. Boston College Front Row: You can score yourself a front-row seat to some of the best lectures at BC when you visit their website.
  8. Conversations with History: The University of California Berkeley sponsors and shares this seriously amazing series on history.
  9. London School of Economics Podcasts: Give yourself a free economic education by listening to a few of the hundreds of podcasts uploaded to the London School of Economics’ website.
  10. Public Radio International: Here you’ll find some great stories from public radio stations, covering topics like history, culture, and language.
  11. Museum of Modern Art: You can learn more about art history by listening to the resources offered by the MOMA, exploring the works of great artists like Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, and Barnett Newman.
  12. UCLA OID Webcasts: The Office of Instructional Development at UCLA shares free video lectures of important campus events featuring great speakers and faculty research here.
  13. Duke University: Get a free education from Duke when you head to iTunes. Currently, the only full course they offer is in chemistry, but there is an amazing collection of free lectures that can be great learning tools.
Educational Resources


Do research, learn, and collaborate using these great educational resources in the liberal arts.
  1. Bio Network: The Bio Channel is a great place to read more about some of the most important figures in world history.
  2. Library of Congress American Memory: On the Library of Congress site you’ll find documents, photographs, music, and more from some of the most pivotal events in American history.
  3. National Archives: Whether you’re doing research or just browsing, the National Archives are a great place to learn more about American history and life in other eras.
  4. Federal Resources for Educational Excellence: The U.S. Department of Education offers some great learning materials here on a wide range of liberal arts subjects.
  5. Smarthistory: Created by the Khan Academy, this online history learning tool puts standard history textbooks to shame.
  6. Livemocha: If you’re trying to learn a new language, give this interactive social learning site a try.
  7. Smithsonian Folkways: The Smithsonian shares its collection of traditional music from around the world on this iTunes U archive. It’s a great way to broaden your understanding of world cultures.
Reading Material


Pair your free courses and lectures with some free reading material offered through these sites.
  1. Wikibooks: Wikibooks offers access to a number of free textbooks and reading materials, which can often be a great supplement for other free courses.
  2. Google Scholar: Use Google Scholar to find academic articles on just about anything, including the social sciences and psychology.
  3. Project Gutenberg: When books reach a certain age, their copyrights expire and they’re free to share. You’ll find hundreds of these books, some great works of literature, on the Project Gutenberg site.
  4. Bibliomania: Bibliomania is another great place to look for free books, from fiction to drama to poetry.
  5. FlatWorld Knowledge: FlatWorld develops open source textbooks. Currently, you can access great reads on writing, college life, job hunting, geography, history, and psychology.



Article - 50 Excellent Online Professional Development Resources for Teachers

Sent by Shirley Zeilinger
Posted at http://www.bestcollegesonline.com/blog/2012/06/19/50-excellent-online-professional-development-resources-for-teachers


Teachers may spend their days imparting knowledge to others, but that doesn’t mean they should stop learning themselves. Whether they choose to take classes, read books, or just talk with their colleagues, professional development offers a chance to become a better and wiser teacher. There’s no better time than summer vacation to dive into professional development opportunities, and luckily, there are numerous resources out there on the web, making finding, sharing, and accessing great tools for development easier than ever. We’ve collected just a few here that can get you started on learning and growing as an educator.

Essential Resources




Don’t miss out on these sites which are filled to the brim with articles, resources, and learning materials for teachers.
  1. Education Week Teacher PD Sourcebook: This sourcebook is filled with amazing resources for teachers, including great articles, a directory of useful sites, and links to PD events.
  2. Educators Professional Development: EPD bills itself as “professional development for teachers, by teachers” and that’s just what you’ll find here. Listings for local events, conferences, and a monthly newsletter can help you stay in the loop.
  3. Teacher Vision: Teacher Vision offers articles on a wide range of education topics, from learning how to be a better teacher to surviving your first year in the classroom.
  4. Teacher Tap: Teachers will find a wealth of great reading material on this site, touching on topics like technology, information literacy, and high-tech learning.
  5. Getting Smart: Through the Getting Smart website, teachers and librarians can learn more about high-tech learning and innovative ideas in education.
  6. Staffdevelop.org: This simple site offers teachers articles, books, resource links, and information about professional development workshops.
  7. Education World: Education World has a large professional Development section on their site, packed with articles, interviews, reviews, and other helpful tools for educators.
  8. Teachers’ Domain: Teacher’s Domain isn’t just a great place to find digital media for use in the classroom. The site also offers access to some useful professional development materials.
  9. Read Write Think: Learn about conventions, read publications, and network with other teachers through the professional development tools offered by this great website.
  10. Common Sense Media: On the Common Sense Media site, teachers can take advantage of curriculum training videos that touch on a number of key educational topics.
  11. Teachers Network: From lesson plans to videos about teaching to how-to articles, the Teachers Network site is an excellent place to start looking for some professional development resources.
  12. Intel Teach Elements: Intel offers teachers a chance to take part in their Teach Elements series which, through videos and reading materials, can help educators to learn more about a range of critical 21st century teaching topics.
  13. Kathy Schrock’s Guide for Educators: If you’re looking for a one-stop shop for all your teacher needs, consider this resource. You’ll find high quality tools for teaching as well as some to help you improve your own education as well.
  14. Podcasts for Teachers: Head to this site to find a list of 40 amazing podcasts for teachers. Through them, you’ll learn more about education news, how to teach, and the free resources out there for teachers.
  15. Best Books Channel: One of the best ways to educate yourself as a teacher is to read books. Luckily, Education World provides a place to find the best of the best when it comes to professional development and other teaching topics.

Courses and Workshops




These sites can help you find professional development courses and workshops, both for free and for a fee.
  1. Annenberg Learner: Here teachers can find information about workshops and courses, distance learning opportunities, personal development resources, or just pick up some new resources to use in the classroom.
  2. Learning Forward: From a professional development book club, to e-learning opportunities, to great content, this site offers innumerable resources to any teacher looking to learn.
  3. Teacher Online Education: In the market for some online courses to help you earn graduate or professional development credits? This site has plenty to offer educators.
  4. iTunes U: On iTunes U teachers can find a wealth of professional development courses, as well as those in just about any topic or field out there. Better yet, nearly all of them are free.
  5. Saylor.org: Saylor is a great place to take courses in basic topics, making it perfect for brushing up on college courses or refreshing your knowledge before heading back to the classroom.
  6. OpenLearn: The Open University offers teachers a chance to find free, useful courses on a wide range of topics.
  7. PBS Teacherline: PreK-12 educators will find a great list of courses offered through PBS and affiliate institutions that are designed to help teachers boost their skills in technology and teaching reading, writing, math, and science.
  8. The Teacher’s Workshop: Head to this website to find out more about workshops, sign up for a newsletter, get reading material, and even find some sample plans.
  9. Staff Development for Educators: This company offers teachers online courses, on-site training, workshops, and other useful professional development resources.
  10. OER Commons: Head to OER for a wealth of open educational resources, including a large number of articles and courses on professional development.
  11. Classroom Connect: Head to this site to learn more about workshops and conferences focused on technology integration in schools.
  12. Beacon Educator: Through Beacon Educator, teachers can take online professional development courses that can help to push their careers forward and give them more confidence in the classroom.
  13. Knowledge Delivery Systems: Those in the market to take online courses for professional development should check out this company, geared toward educational professionals.

Field Specific




Looking for professional development materials that are specific to the area in which you teach? These sites have got you covered.
  1. National Science Teachers Association Professional Development: The NSTA has a learning center, web seminars, and a social network to help science teachers build their professional skills.
  2. National Council of Teachers of English: English teachers should check out the resources offered by the NCTE, including books, articles, workshops, and more.
  3. National Council of Teachers of Mathematics: Those in the market for some math teacher-specific materials shouldn’t miss out on what the NCTM has to offer. With everything from high-quality publications to e-seminars listed in their professional development section, you’re sure to find something useful.
  4. National Association of Special Education Teachers: Being a special education teacher can be challenging, so you need all the support and resources you can get. The NCSET is one place to find both, so make sure to check out their publications, resources, and social tools.
  5. National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities: Through the NICHCY, teachers can learn more about effective staff development strategies for working with students who have disabilities.
  6. American Institute for History Education: Resources on the AIHE site range from grant writing help to web-based distance learning, offering a wealth of services for any dedicated history teacher to take advantage of.
  7. National Art Education Association: Find great professional development resources for teaching art when you visit the NAEA website.

Skill Building




Work on building specific skills that you’ll use in the classroom by visiting these amazing professional development resources.
  1. LOC Professional Development: The Library of Congress wants to help teachers expand their knowledge, so they’ve created tools to help teachers better learn how to get students in touch with primary source material.
  2. Teaching Tolerance: Learn new ways to promote tolerance and understanding in your students, through the great PD resources offered by this organization.
  3. ERIC: No matter what you want to learn about, whether it’s neuroscience or classroom management, you’ll find academic papers on it here that you can read and use to build your knowledge.
  4. CAST: Through the CAST website, teachers can learn more about UDL (Universal Design for Learning) using a series of modules, reading materials, and toolkits.
  5. Edutopia: Edutopia offers educators a number of professional development guides, which can be a great way to build skills in topics like project-based learning, technology integration, and assessment.

Groups and Organizations




These groups and organizations offer a number of professional development resources for teachers.
  1. National Education Association: The NEA is a great place to look for professional development resources. The site is home to great articles, resources for teaching, help with grants, tools, ideas, and much more.
  2. U.S. Department of Education: The USDE offers teachers help with building their professional careers through a series of useful articles and resources.
  3. AFT: If you’re paying those union dues, you might as well get all you can from the union. Visit the union website to find professional development resources and to learn more about the ER&D Program.
  4. Center for the Study of Teaching and Policy: Read the latest research from this organization, which can go far in informing your teaching practice.
  5. GEEO.org: Want to explore the world while working as a teacher? Consider one of the programs offered by the Global Exploration for Educators Organization.
  6. AIR Publications: The American Institutes for Research produce a number of useful publications for teachers that touch on topics like leadership, innovation, after-school programs, school reform, and more.
  7. ASCD: The Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development’s website is full of great resources. Teachers will find a magazine, updates about conferences and webinars, and help with online learning.

Social




Reach out to other teachers and educational professionals through these sites.
  1. Academia.edu: College professors can connect with others and see what research is being done through this academia-only social network.
  2. Teachers.net Chatboards: Looking for a little advice from your peers? Head to one of these teacher chatboards on Teachers.net to get answers to your questions, guidance, and support.
  3. OK2Ask: On the TeachersFirst site is a resource called OK2Ask. It’s a series of short live sessions where teachers can ask questions and get answers to their professional development issues.

Article - The 20 Best Job Apps for New Grads


Sent by Tim Handorf
Posted at http://www.bestcollegesonline.com/blog/2012/06/20/the-20-best-job-apps-for-new-grads

Laptop manufacturers have to be worried. Based on absolutely no proof, we’re guessing you could probably land a space shuttle with an iPad now. One thing we’re certain you can do is make your job search easier. So if you’re a new graduate, traipsing around Europe or camping out in Zuccotti Park, don’t sweat not having your computer. Just throw your smartphone or tablet into your backpack and go, knowing these 20 apps have all your job hunting needs covered.

  1. Job Search by Indeed:

    Millions of people have downloaded this great app offered by job-hunting site Indeed.com. The app perfectly reproduces the simple and effective process of searching job postings on the site, with simple viewing of new jobs listed since your last visit, and the functionality of saving queries for quick searching later.

  2. In the Door:

    As in, where you want to get your foot. Simply navigate your tablet or smartphone to the site, log in through Facebook, and find available jobs at the places your friends work. In fact, you can see all the companies hiring in your network, meaning jobs connected with your city or your alma mater are open to you, too.

  3. My Facecard:

    This app is the latest and greatest in digital business card sharing. With My Facecard you can tailor both sides of your digital business card, including background, font, and images. Transmit it easily to a business contact by the “bump” feature, and they’ll be left with a clickable calling card they can use to get in touch.

  4. Jobs by CareerBuilder:

    The popular job-hunting site presents this offering for iPhone owners to let them find and apply for jobs near (or far from) them. Search by keyword, location, company, employment type, and more. The app keeps track of listings you’ve looked at and lets you save them for looking at later.

  5. Droidin:

    We can’t in good conscience recommend LinkedIn Mobile to you, as we don’t approve of the app’s stealing data from users’ calendars. That being said, we can heartily recommend Droidin, which collects no personal info but does act as an awesome LinkedIn client. Sync connections with your phone contacts, accept connection invitations, update your status, and more.

  6. Xing:

    If you want to get away from LinkedIn altogether, try the app from Xing. Xing is a similar professional networking site that helps you find work projects, in addition to helpful business contacts. The app has a clean interface, and it’s also available on iOS.

  7. Pocket Resume:

    Who needs a laptop? Now you can create and send a professional-quality resume from your Android-based smartphone. The app streamlines the process of creating your CV, but the beauty is the ability to edit on the go, should the need ever arise. And the developer promises that integration with LinkedIn, CareerBuilder, and Monster is coming soon.

  8. Job Search Engine by LinkUp.com:

    Many users say they were connected  through this app with jobs that they hadn’t seen listed anywhere else. The app pulls that off by letting you search listings posted only on individual companies’ sites. You can set the app to notify you when a saved job listing is closed, as well as view vacancies across the country in a single space.

  9. WorldCard Mobile:

    It will be a while before paper business cards disappear entirely. Until then, spend the $7 it costs to download WorldCard Mobile. The app uses your smartphone camera to intuitively rip a contact’s details into a digital file that you can then store, sort, export, and more.

  10. JobMo:

    For access to jobs listed across the major job sites, including Monster, SimplyHired, and TheLadders, check out this app by Kiefer Consulting. Available on iTunes and Google Play, the app lets you compare salaries, view trends, and connect with other job hunters for tips or info on companies that interest you.

  11. Monster Job Search:

    Access and control your Monster profile from your Android phone with this app. It adds some slick features like push notifications for jobs that should interest you based on your criteria, job alerts over email, and the ability to edit cover letters.

  12. LunchMeet:

    The business lunch goes digital with this app that works in conjunction with your LinkedIn account to help you arrange mid-day meal meetings with other professionals. Set up your calendar availability and the areas you’re willing to meet and start making connections.

  13. Interview Questions Pro:

    For the low price of $.99 your iPhone becomes a mobile interview coach. Prep yourself to be peppered with queries from employers by quizzing yourself on the 600-plus questions developed by HR professionals on subjects involving work history, behavior, critical thinking, and more.

  14. iPQ Career Planner:

    Personality assessment company SHL released this app into the iTunes market to point job seekers toward the jobs they are best suited for. The free app will help you identify your key strengths and (for an extra buck) will send you a report on the jobs you are most likely to enjoy.

  15. Labor Stats:

    If you’re willing to work outside your degree field, check out this app made by the Department of Labor. It will give you insight into what industries are hiring the most, what geographic regions give you your best chance of landing a job, and more. And best of all, Uncle Sam doesn’t charge a dime for it.

  16. Dropbox:

    Although its uses range far beyond job seeking, this convenient app for storing documents and other files to a cloud that can be accessed from anywhere with an internet connection might be the difference in getting your foot in the door or having it slammed in your face.

  17. TweetMyJobs:

    This app wins on sheer cool factor: sign up with the type of job you’re looking for, then point your iPhone around. The location-based app finds matching jobs for you. It can also be programmed to send you job updates by Twitter (obviously), email, or SMS.

  18. iFreelancer:

    If you need some quick contract work to keep you afloat while you wait for something better to come along, try iFreelancer. The app pools postings from sites like Freelancer.com, Elance.com, Odesk.com, and Scriptlance.com and notifies you when a listing pops up in your area of expertise.

  19. Evernote:

    The best note-taking app available across platforms, Evernote can help you keep track of the details of your job search. Jot notes before, during, and after interviews for editing or sharing and syncing to your other devices later. You can also record voice messages and create to-do lists for yourself.

  20. HootSuite:

    Twitter is full of opportunities to job hunt, by following job posting feeds or searching by relevant hashtags. The best way to keep track of your searches is HootSuite, which helps you streamline the process and customize views of your saved searches. It even has a handy built-in “Job Search” feature to speed you along.

Article - 10 Old School Subjects Making a Big Comeback

Sent by Tim Handorf

Check an article posted at http://www.bestcollegesonline.com/blog/2012/06/27/10-old-school-subjects-making-a-big-comeback


It makes perfect sense that in an education system focused on readying students for standardized tests with a few particular categories, coupled with the need to prepare them for an increasingly digital world, some subjects that had been taught for decades faded out of fashion. And yet, if the current state of education in this country is any indication, we may have been a bit too quick to let some of those old subjects die. In the last few years, these dozen courses have been making a strong comeback at high schools and colleges in the U.S.
  1. Ethics:


    More than a decade of high-profile ethics abuses has created a surge in a subject that had largely fallen off the map. Business schools especially, like those at Philadelphia University and MIT, have revamped their MBA programs to make ethics a key component. Other colleges have offerings on ethics from different angles, from Harvard’s popular Ethical Reasoning 28: “Moral Inquiry in the Novels of Tolstoy and Dostoevsky,” to “Eat Your Values: The Ethics of Food” at Centre College in Kentucky.
  2. Technical:


    Once a staple of high schools across the country, vocational classes teaching technical skills like woodworking or automotive skills virtually disappeared as schools zeroed in on academics. But the classes are starting to reappear, and interest is surging. An April 2006 poll found 90% of 9th- and 10th-graders in California would find school more interesting if they could take vocational classes. That year, Gov. Schwarzenegger set aside $100 million for providing those classes. North Carolina and Florida also increased funding. Several Texas high schools offers the classes in topics like robotics, photojournalism, and welding.
  3. Latin:


    Ipsa scientia potestas est … knowledge itself is power. Education in Latin goes back to the Puritans, but it’s taken a recent surge in popularity to keep it from becoming a truly dead language in American schools. New York City educators from high schools like Maspeth High and Nightingale-Bamford recently testified to the current public mood that the study of Latin is beneficial for students. Three thousand miles away in Oregon, Latin has taken off at Portland High, serving almost twice the number of students it did a decade ago.
  4. Home economics:


    A recent The New York Times article calling for a return of home ec classes proved the subject is poised for a big comeback, if it hasn’t already begun. Now referred to as “Family and Consumer Sciences (FACS),” the classes can be found at high schools like Northglenn High in Denver, Hopkins in Minnesota, Cherokee High in New Jersey, and many other places around the country. Colorado State University , Kansas State, and Texas State University are three notable colleges offering degrees in teaching FACS.
  5. Agriculture:


    Until a few generations ago, agriculture was the backbone of the American economy, and ag education reflected that. But with the move to an information-driven economy, interest faded in many areas, until recently. A community-driven movement to have the FFA program brought back to the Independence Community School District in Iowa recently succeeded for the classes of 2013 and 2014. And the biggest school district in Nebraska recently made plans to dedicate nearly $300,000 to up to five ag classes over the next three years.
  6. Grammar:


    A few moments browsing the Internet should be enough to satisfy you that grammar instruction is a thing of the past. But a decision by the College Board — the group that administers the SAT — to include grammar questions by 2005 has since caused an uptick in the subject’s popularity. The National Council of Teachers subsequently reversed its stance against the teaching of grammar. Westfield High School in Virginia is one of the schools in the state that, with its neighbor Maryland and other states, is witnessing a return to grammar instruction.
  7. Abstinence-only sex ed:


    Teaching kids only about completely refraining from sexual activity in a sex ed class is definitely an old school way of handling the subject. And yet, abstinence-only education is enjoying a long day in the sun right now. This year, Wisconsin’s legislature passed an abstinence-only bill, while a Utah legislature bill banned the teaching of contraceptives altogether. Most recently, in Tennessee, the State Senate has gone so far as to define hand-holding as a “gateway sexual activity” in its abstinence-only curriculum.
  8. Philosophy:


    From 2001 to 2011, the number of philosophy graduates from four-year schools grew 46%. And despite what many may think about the degree’s usefulness, graduates say they are great to have in a weak economy because they prepare students to work virtually anywhere. The universities of Pittsburgh, Massachusetts, Texas A&M, and Notre Dame have all had twice as many philosophy majors in recent years as they did in the ’90s. Rutgers and Colorado State have also had big gains in the number of students entering the major recently.
  9. Yiddish:


    What’s more old school than a language created in the 10th century? Yiddish nearly disappeared when millions of speakers lost their lives in the Holocaust. Now, several colleges in the U.S. and Canada are working to preserve it by teaching it to students. At Atlanta’s Emory University, students learn Yiddish grammar and songs that they perform at area nursing homes. Rutgers offers courses in the language, the literature, and the culture of Yiddish and its native speakers. The University of Massachusetts offers Yiddish instruction as part of its Near Eastern Studies class.
  10. Personal Finance:


    Teaching kids how to handle money responsibly was once primarily a subject handled by parents or worked out through trial and error by students. However, tough economic times and huge amounts of student loan debt have made personal finance instruction a necessity, and colleges are stepping up in a big way. The NYU School of Continuing and Professional Studies offers several courses, and more students are starting to show interest in them. Similar courses can be had at Washington University, Drexel University, Kansas University, among other schools.


quinta-feira, 14 de junho de 2012

Vocabulary trainer

Sent by Bettina Hosp 


The site www.languagecourse.net has a "Vocabulary Trainer", which can help give a boost to your vocabulary. 

It is free and requires no registration. The most frequent 5000 words in 10 popular languages are already online and many more courses such as a slang course and travel phrases, among others, will be launched soon.


Online videos

Sent by Jessie Martin

Check an online video series teaching people English as a Second Language. They are very short and simple videos, ideal for Basic students.

Here are a few of the most recent lessons:Subject Pronouns: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1s8lYWALWdkThe Verb "To Be": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6cfOEVOOE-g&NR=1&feature=endscreen.Basic adjectives: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hw2tWDtN38k&feature=relmfu

quarta-feira, 13 de junho de 2012

Blog da Disal - Ensinando Inglês e promovendo a autonomia dos alunos com corpora

Fonte: http://blogdadisal.blogspot.com.br/2012/06/ensinando-ingles-e-promovendo-autonomia.html

Por Vanessa Prata

À primeira vista, trabalhar com corpora (singular = corpus) pode parecer confuso, mas basta um pouquinho de prática para perceber que essas ferramentas podem ser aliadas não apenas dos pesquisadores nas áreas de Linguística e Tradução, mas também dos professores de idiomas e até mesmo para alunos a partir de um nível pré-intermediário.


O que é corpus?

Corpus nada mais é do que um grande banco de dados eletrônico, uma coletânea de textos (reais) selecionados com finalidade de pesquisa. Em Português temos, por exemplo, o corpusdoportugues.org, com 45 milhões de palavras, e o corpusbrasileiro.pucsp.br, com 1 bilhão de palavras. Em inglês, alguns dos corpora mais comuns são o www.americancorpus.org, com 425 milhões de palavras, e o British National Corpus (http://www.natcorp.ox.ac.uk), com 100 milhões de palavras.
Mas, afinal, para que serve um corpus?

Serve para pesquisar a língua, identificar padrões de uso, saber o que é mais “aceitável” em termos de colocações, identificar a carga semântica de uma palavra (se certo vocábulo é usado mais em contextos positivos, negativos ou neutros), entre outras possibilidades. Diferentemente de um dicionário, o corpus não traz a definição das palavras, mas exemplos de frases que usam determinado item lexical, assim, pelo contexto, muitas vezes é possível perceber o sentido das palavras.

Como funciona um corpus?

Ninguém precisa ser pesquisador para começar a usar um corpus (todos os exemplos acima são de uso gratuito, alguns exigem apenas um cadastro, mas qualquer pessoa pode fazer). Bastam algumas instruções iniciais para entender a “lógica” desses bancos de dados e a pesquisa restante pode se tornar até mesmo uma grande diversão.

Na página inicial haverá um campo em branco para se digitar o termo a ser pesquisado. Vamos usar o www.americacorpus.org como exemplo. Veja a tela inicial.




Em “words”, digite a palavra que você quer buscar; e em “collocates” digite outro termo se quiser que as duas palavras apareçam na mesma frase (os números ao lado indicam até quantas palavras antes ou depois do termo principal serão consideradas para a pesquisa do termo secundário). Nos quadros abaixo há ainda a opção de escolher linguagem oral, acadêmica, apenas de jornais, apenas de publicações de ficção etc., ou apenas clique em “ignore” para abranger tudo. Feito isso, clique em “search”, e o sistema apresenta uma janela ao lado com a palavra, o número total de “ocorrências” e, embaixo, os primeiros exemplos de frases contendo a palavra selecionada (no caso busquei a palavra “language”).




Por meio das frases apresentadas, identificamos como a palavra costuma ser usada em contextos reais (com ou sem preposição? com ou sem objeto?) e com que outros termos ela é geralmente associada, ou seja, quais as colocações mais comuns (e as menos comuns). Um corpus, por ser uma coletânea de textos, não apresenta todas as possibilidades linguísticas, claro, mas as mais prováveis. Se não encontrarmos algo no corpus, isso não significa que o termo ou combinação não exista, mas pode indicar que não é uma colocação comum.

E como um aluno pode se beneficiar do corpus?
Um aluno que se habitue a pesquisar no corpus certamente desenvolverá uma autonomia de estudos e conseguirá resolver muitas dúvidas sem precisar recorrer ao professor todas as vezes. Um corpus não dará a resposta para tudo, mas pode indicar o caminho mais provável. Vamos supor que o aluno esteja escrevendo uma redação sobre aborto, e esteja em dúvida se o correto é “make”, “do” ou “have” an abortion. Talvez num dicionário ele não encontre essa resposta, mas o corpus pode ajudar. Ao digitarmos “abortion” em words, e “make” em collocates, temos 93 ocorrências (por questão de espaço aqui não entrarei em detalhes sobre o sentido das frases, mas ao lermos percebemos que não é a ideia de “fazer um aborto”). Ao digitarmos abortion com “do”, temos 165 ocorrências, mas novamente elas não transmitem a ideia que queremos. Já ao digitar “have” em collocates, temos 666 ocorrências, entre elas exemplos como: “Is anyone forcing you to have an abortion?” e “It is a woman’s right to decide whether or not to have an abortion”, que mostram o sentido que procurávamos.
Outro exemplo: suponhamos que o aluno está em dúvida se é “do” ou “make” the dishes. Ao usar o corpus, digitando “dishes” como words e “make” como collocates, encontramos 81 ocorrências, como “make healthy dishes” ou “make certain dishes”, que não é o sentido que queremos, de “lavar louça”. Já ao digitarmos “do” em collocates, temos 211 ocorrências, entre elas: “My roommates never to their own dishes” e “The kids decide which of them will set the table, do the dishes or prep the food”, que trazem o sentido que queríamos.
Assim, um corpus não dará a resposta para “como se diz lavar a louça em inglês”, mas ajuda a tirar dúvidas quanto ao uso da língua e desenvolve a autonomia de estudo nos alunos que já possuam algum conhecimento do idioma.

segunda-feira, 4 de junho de 2012

Site - Mr. What

Procurando um cabeleireiro, um restaurante, uma oficina, uma loja de materiais de construção ou qualquer outro estabelecimento comercial? Não importa em que Estado você está, o site http://www.misterwhat.com.br pode dar uma forcinha. Nela há um listagem com mais de 2 milhões de negócios no Brasil. Vale conferir!