Israeli Entrepreneur Plans a Free Global Online Only University

An Israeli entrepreneur with decades of experience in international education plans to start the first global, tuition-free Internet university, a nonprofit venture he has named the University of the People.

“The idea is to take social networking and apply it to academia,” said the entrepreneur, Shai Reshef, founder of several Internet-based educational businesses.

“The open-source courseware is there, from universities that have put their courses online, available to the public, free,” Mr. Reshef said. “We know that online peer-to-peer teaching works. Putting it all together, we can make a free university for students all over the world, anyone who speaks English and has an Internet connection.”

About four million students in the United States took at least one online course in 2007, according to a survey by the Sloan Consortium, a nonprofit group devoted to integrating online learning into mainstream higher education.

Online learning is growing in many different contexts. Through the Open Courseware Consortium, started in 2001 by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, universities around the world have posted materials for thousands of courses — as varied as Lambing and Sheep Management at Utah State and Relativistic Quantum Field Theory at M.I.T. — all free to the public. Many universities now post their lectures on iTunes.

For-profit universities like the University of Phoenix and Kaplan University have extensive online offerings. And increasingly, both public and private universities offer at least some classes online.

Outside the United States, too, online learning is booming. Open University in Britain, for example, enrolls about 160,000 undergraduates in distance-learning courses.

The University of the People, like other Internet-based universities, would have online study communities, weekly discussion topics, homework assignments and exams. But in lieu of tuition, students would pay only nominal fees for enrollment ($15 to $50) and exams ($10 to $100), with students from poorer countries paying the lower fees and those from richer countries paying the higher ones.

Experts in online education say the idea raises many questions.

“We’ve chatted about doing something like this over the last decade but decided the time wasn’t yet right,” said John Bourne, executive director of the Sloan Consortium. “It’s true that the open courseware movement is pretty robust, so there are a lot of high-quality course materials out there, but there’s no human backup behind them. I’d be interested to know how you’d find and train faculty and ensure quality without tuition money.”

Other educators question the logistics of such a plan.

“The more you get people around the world talking to each other, great, and the more they talk about what they’re learning, just wonderful,” said Philip G. Altbach, director of the Center for International Higher Education at Boston College. “But I’m not at all sure, when you start attaching that to credits and degrees and courses, that it translates so well.

“How will they test students? How much will the professors do? How well does the American or British curriculum serve the needs of people in Mali? How do they handle students whose English is not at college level?”

Mr. Reshef said his new university would use active and retired professors — some paid, some volunteers — along with librarians, master-level students and professionals to develop and evaluate curriculums and oversee assessments.

He plans to start small, limiting enrollment at 300 students when the university goes online in the fall and offering only bachelor’s degrees in business administration and computer science. Mr. Reshef said the university would apply for accreditation as soon as possible.

Mr. Reshef hopes to build enrollment to 10,000 over five years, the level at which he said the enterprise should be self-sustaining. Startup costs would be about $5 million, Mr. Reshef said, of which he plans to provide $1 million.

For all the uncertainties, Mr. Reshef is probably as well positioned as anyone for such an enterprise.

Starting in 1989, he served as chairman of the Kidum Group, an Israeli test preparation company, which he sold in 2005 to Kaplan, one of the world’s largest education companies. While chairman of Kidum, he built an online university affiliated with the University of Liverpool, enrolling students from more than 100 countries; that business was sold to Laureate, another large for-profit education company, in 2004.

Mr. Reshef is now chairman of Cramster.com, an online study community offering homework help to college students.

“Cramster has thousands of students helping other students,” said Mr. Reshef, who lives in Pasadena, Calif., where both Cramster and the new university are based. “These become strong social communities. With these new social networks, where young people now like to spend their lives, we can bring college degrees to students all over the world, third-world students who would be unable to study otherwise. I haven’t found even one person who says it’s a bad idea.”

Unlearn Learned Helplessness | Take Charge of Your Life

How we attribute the events that occur in our lives has a significant effect on our attitudes and efforts in improving our lot. In particular there are three types of belief affect us:

• Stable or unstable cause: If we believe that events are caused by factors which do not change, we assume that it is not worth us trying to change them. So if I believe my success is based on an unchangeable ability, it will seem that it is not worth my trying to improve myself.
  
  
• Internal or External cause: We can believe that events are caused by ourselves or something outside of ourselves. If I assume a serious car crash was my fault, I will be less likely to drive again than if I attribute it to a greasy road.
  
  
• Global or Specific cause: If we believe that events are caused by a large number of factors then we feel we can do less to change things than if we see few and specific causes.

Martin Seligman is responsible for the Learned Helplessness theory which had a major influence on psychological research into depression in the 1970s. Seligman discovered helplessness by accident whilst studying the effects of inescapable shock on active avoidance learning in dogs.

Seligman restrained dogs in a pavlovian harness and administered several shocks (UCS) paired with a conditioned stimulus (CS) - this is the conventional CS-UCS pairing procedure used to study classical conditioning . Then these dogs were placed in a shuttle-box where they could avoid shock by jumping over a barrier. The shuttle-box was used to study the role of operant conditioning in learning. Most of the dogs failed to learn to avoid shock.

Seligman argued that prior exposure to inescapable shock interfered with the ability to learn in a situation where avoidance or escape was possible. Seligman used the term Learned Helplessness to describe this phenomenon.

It is important to emphasize that helplessness is not an all-or-none phenomenon. Seligman studied the behavior of about 150 dogs between 1965 and 1969. About 100 (2/3rds) were helpless after the administration of unavoidable electric shock in the pavlovian situation. The remaining 1/3rd were completely normal and learned to avoid shock in the avoidance learning test. There was no intermediate outcome - dogs either learnt to avoid, or passively accepted shock in the shuttle-box. Furthermore, about 5% of naive dogs that had never received inescapable shock, exhibited helplessness when first exposed to shock in the operant learning situation.

The central idea in the Learned Helplessness theory is the notion that all animals (including humans) are able to learn that reinforcers are uncontrollable . This marks a sharp change in direction from previous studies of learning which had focused on learning in controllable situations (Seligman,1992).

Example

If a poor test result is attributed to a lack of intrinsic capability as evidenced by many past failures, then we are likely to reduce our efforts, be more depressed and view ourselves in an ever-fading light.

Cognition and helplessness

It is important to appreciate that although cognition is at the heart of Seligman's theory, learned helplessness affects other psychological processes:

• motivation - reduced, no incentive to try new coping responses
  

• cognition - inability to learn new responses to overcome prior learning that trauma is uncontrollable
  
  
• emotion - the helpless state resembles depression

The most efficient solution for learned helplessness is to open your eyes and free your mind. Many of us think of learned helplessness as an inability. We tend to imagine this situation as not being able to do something. We also tend to believe that it involves fear.

Those are not close to the truth of learned helplessness.

Learned helplessness is a psychological condition in which a human being or an animal has learned to act or behave helpless in a particular situation, even when it has the power to change its unpleasant or even harmful circumstance (wikipedia).

When a person is suffering from learned helplessness, he or she is not even aware of his or her state. When confronted with a situation which requires an act on the part of an individual, and this individual does not act accordingly, this is not because of a feeling of helplessness. It is because he even cannot think that he should act or he does not know that he can act.

Therefore, the key solution to learned helplessness is not courage but awareness. This is not a road in which the subject will be empowered. This should be a way of "dis-learning" or forgetting and learning again in a new fashion, what is being learned beforehand.

Learned helplessness is not an emotion, it is a belief.

Then how can one overcome learned helplessness? How is it possible for an individual who is not really aware or just barely aware of his situation?

Learned helplessness is itself not an emotion but it can produce negative emotions usually so much that the individual knows deep inside about his helplessness. However the big obstacle is the resistance towards such a negative emotion and willing to work on it. It takes time.

So, the biggest help is insight about the helplessness and trying to decondition and unlearn it.

To overcome such a learned helplessness, you have to try and expose yourself to the same situation again.

I think we all have a touch of this learned helplessness, in some areas of our lives, and I also think we can overcome this learned helplessness in three very simple steps.

The first step is just to recognize that you’re practicing learned helplessness. You can ask someone you really trust if they see this behavior in you at times. You can also start noticing when you tell yourself you can’t do something when in fact you really just don’t want to. Whatever method you use for recognizing your helpless behavior, it’s important that you do recognize it.

Second, you can then begin eliminating this behavior simply by committing to stop. Like anything else, you have to want to stop acting helpless, but fortunately, once you realize you are doing this, you’ll be so annoyed by your behavior, yourself, that you’ll be very eager to get rid of this pattern of inaction in your life.

And of course the third step is to stop acting helpless. Of course, it’s not that easy. I would suggest that once you’ve identified an area in which you do not take responsibility (which is all learned helplessness is), you first find someone who can help you learn the things you need to do, if you don’t know how, then make a practice of doing one thing in that area every day. If it’s not something that needs doing every day, then spend time every day learning or writing about that area of your life.

When I say “area,” I don’t mean that if your computer is messed up or you haven’t figured out how to program the DVD player you should spend endless hours fixing these things. But if you can spend time on that area of your life. Learn what it takes to take charge of those technologies or hire someone else to do so. This way, you’ll be using the technology for what it was intended for instead of watching it gather dust and cursing at it and the world in which we live. Spend time on the maintenance areas of your life.

How can you take charge of your life and overcome learned helplessness today?

• Find one area of your life that needs an overhaul
  
  
• Plan what you can do this week to start taking responsibility
  
  
• Take an action today

Seligman suggests in his book "Learned Optimism" that one can overcome depression by learning new explanatory styles. This is the basis of cognitive therapy. In such therapies, the counselor challenges the client's beliefs and explanations of life's events.The whole self-help movement is based on the optimistic belief that we can change ourselves for the better.

Deep Change (in attitude)

I live in India, and I have seen something... it doesn't matter if you have a great or very very bad background, if you have or you don't have education, if you have or don't have your family support, society, friends, etc. what it does matter if your attitude.

I have seen many people in very difficult situations and they achieved many thing in their life, some overcame poverty, and now they have better income than many in my region. But this change is due to their own attitude change, they dreamed what they wanted and they were eager to sacrifice themselves, doing huge effort until they achieved their goal.

Most of the people in poverty situations they don't want a change, if they really wanted that, I would like to see them doing everything they can to create their own solutions, but guess what, instead they want to receive the benefits of solutions without any effort from their side.

I´m sorry if you are planning macro economics, or micro economics, solving problem practices, but, i have seen many people with all this kinds of resources and they didn't get any better than they were before, just because they didn't change their attitude.

Just think about it, imagine two situations. One is just waiting for someone to come and gives them everything they need. And the other making tremendous efforts to create that reality for them. Who is going to change their status and keep improving in any situation?

In my family I have seen my parents, aunts, uncles, and many more, they worked from 6 AM to midnight for many years, and when someone came and ask for money without any disability, or mental problem, or something that I know they aren't truly capable of achieving for themselves, we offer them job when available, and we tell them that by just working they can change their situation ... and guess what, none of these people are wiling to do anything, if we arrange activities for them in our business, they don't show up the first day, or if they come they do not last for 3 or 2 business days.

Maybe, an easy manual of how to change your attitude, could be the solution for overcoming poverty, only each person can change his own attitude, so it wouldn't be a bad idea to create a tool for every person to follow their own path in their attitude change, and life change.

The kingdom of heaven

The kingdom of heaven is like a professor who went off on a long sabbatical. Before he left, he called together his graduate students and gave each of them projects to work on; to one he gave five projects, to another two, and to another one, each according to their ability.

The one who received five projects immediately went to work, designing experiments, building equipment, and analyzing data. She worked long and hard, and eventually she achieved good results on each project. Likewise, the one who received two projects immediately went to work, and eventually got results as well. But the student who received one project was easily discouraged, got distracted by her coursework, and eventually gave up.

After a very long time, the professor returned to settle accounts with his students. The first student said, "Professor, you gave me these projects to work on, and see, here are the results." And the professor answered, "Well done, good and faithful graduate student. You have been faithful over five projects. You shall be co-author on five publications and receive a Ph.D! (And you can expect a good letter of recommendation, too!)" Likewise the second student showed his results, and the professor said, "Well done, good and faithful student. You have been faithful over two projects. You will be co-author on two publications, and receive a Master's degree."

But the third student came and said, "Professor, I know that you are a harsh man, publishing where you did not labor, and claiming credit where you did not contribute, and I was afraid. So I kept the lab locked up and I didn't let anyone borrow any equipment. See, everything is just the way you left it." Then the professor answered, "You wicked and slothful graduate student! I will judge you by your own words. So, you knew that I was a harsh man, publishing where I did not labor, and claiming credit where I did not contribute; well then, you should have at least gotten a teaching fellowship so that I wouldn't have had to pay your salary out of my research grants! Now depart from me and from this institution ... out into the REAL world, and try to find a job. There you will have weeping and gnashing of teeth."

For to everyone who has, more will be given. But to him who has not, even what little he has will be taken away. (Matthew 25:14-30)

Source: Parables for Modern Academia

Copyright reserved by Deborah and Loren Haarsma.

May be freely distributed electronically in whole or in part, but please keep this notice attached and do not alter the text.

Reflections

Hi!

Received this wonderful one in mail today and was worth sharing.

"In real life, grades do not produce value.
The value is in how effectively the learning is applied."

--unknown

Storyline:

In the summer of 1974, in an Applied Mathematics class under Professor Ho. During the very first class, while the Professor was going over the course curriculum, students repeatedly kept asking questions about his grading system, bell curve percentages and things to do with how the final mark was worked out. When asked one too many times, Professor Ho said, "Well, if everyone deserves a C then everyone will get one."

The next class was half the size of the first one. Many students had decided to drop out after listening to Professor Ho's explanation of his grading system.

At the end of the semester, when the day of reckoning arrived, the students were astonished to see that everyone had gotten either an A or B. There were no grades lower.

One students curiosity got the better of them and they asked Professor Ho, "If this is what the end result is, why did you scare off half the students with your comment about C grades in the first meeting?"

According to Professor Ho, the primary purpose of going to school should be learning, and not finding ways to manage or manipulate indicators like grades to get by. "Jumping from one class to another or from one Professor to another just to get grades does not build a strong foundation or lasting learning, which is neither a benefit to the students or to society."

Reflection:

Later, Professor Ho revealed a secret that some students had not done well in the exams (one time sitting) but he graded them based on his observation of how much commitment they had demonstrated in real learning and effort. He believed that those students would go a long way in life and career.

--
A friend 4 ever
Relations are all about three things -
Winning, Losing and Sharing.
Winning heart,
Losing ego
and
Sharing joy & sorrow.
So always be related.

8 Life Lessons We Can All Learn From 'Predator'

There is so much in the movie 'Predator' that has gone unappreciated. Below is a list of the life lessons we could learn from Dutch and his crew as they try to take on the Predator himself.

1. Don't Push Too Many Pencils

When we learn it: Dutch is reunited with his old "friend" and they lock arms to see which one has more pump left in their ridiculously huge biceps.

Why it's important: It's a simple, childish game designed to determine which participant is stronger, but in this context it helps remind us that spending too much time stuck behind a desk will leave you a puny weakling.

2. Do Whatever It Takes To Survive

When we learn it: Tracker, Billy breaks a vine in half and drinks some of the liquid from within, Man Vs. Wild-style.

Why it's important: You don't have to be heading into a jungle to benefit from some general survival skills. Not only will you make your old Boy Scout leader proud, but it might save you from becoming a meal for a hungry bear or ... a particularly sporty alien hunter.

3. Payback Is A Bitch

When we learn it: Upon discovering some of their fellow soldiers that have been skinned and strung up, our elite squadron sets out for payback.

Why it's important: Almost everyone loves getting revenge. Luckily, not everyone has access to a huge chaingun like Old Painless, but this scene should make you think twice about the consequences before you do something to piss off someone else.

4. Rank Isn't Always Important

When we learn it: Mac threatens to "bleed" Dillon if he gives up the squads position just one more time.

Why it's important: Though he outranks the rest of the team, Dillon's slip-up put the whole team at risk. Just because you're the boss doesn't mean you get a free pass to suck.

5. We Ain't Got Time To Bleed

When we learn it: Upon storming the guerrilla camp, Blain takes a bullet. When he's asked about it, he replies simply, "I ain't got time to bleed."

Why it's important: Somehow, we find time to update our Twitter and Facebook pages 30 times a day, while this guy doesn't even have time to bleed. A lot more would get done if we shared his sense of urgency. Even Jesse Ventura today keeps himself constantly occupied by acting completely insane.

6. When In Doubt, Fire Wildly Into The Woods

When we learn it: After his first encounter with the Predator who has just killed his squad-mate, Mac picks up old painless and peppers the nearby shrubbery with bullets. The rest of the team soon joins in.

Why it's important: It takes a whole hell of a lot of bullets, but one finally catches the Predator, spilling some of his blood and providing an important clue. It's not the most efficient model for getting things done, but it's a lot better than sitting back and doing nothing.

7. Never Rely On The Help Of Others

When we learn it: The situation is beyond FUBAR, but the superiors refuse to authorize air transport out of the suck.

Why it's important: Self-reliance is a valuable trait to have, whether you're in the jungle or trying to get something on a really high shelf at Home Depot.

8. If It Bleeds, We Can Kill It

When we learn it: After having a talk with their female captive, Arnold and Co. set up a series of Home Alone-worthy booby traps to snare their snarly enemy.

Why it's important: All this talk about killing is simply a metaphor for getting things done. With strategy, cooperation and lots of hard work, there really isn't anything that can't be accomplished. It also helps if you bring a bunch of of machine guns.

Source: http://www.premiere.com

Cyber Security

For many business owners, the line between their personal identity and that of their business is, at best, blurred. So when it comes to protecting themselves from identity theft, they have twice as much to lose. And if you think shredding your credit card statements and keeping your Social Security card locked away in your safe is doing enough, you are mistaken.

The biggest challenge for many entrepreneurs is that many times, they build their company's credit on the back of their own. People don't know the company, so typically the entrepreneur is working off that personal credit to start out with. It's critical that they keep that good credit, and if they become a victim of identity theft personally, it can have a negative impact not just on their personal life, which is horrific enough because it can take hundreds of hours to clean up, but now you're talking about your business not being able to get the credit it needs to operate and to fund growth. In some cases, it can wipe out both the personal credit and the business and then you're really in a catastrophic state.

Small-business owners have to be vigilant on two fronts when it comes to fighting identity theft. First, they need to protect their own personal information and that of their company's key executives. Then they have to make sure to safeguard any information collected from customers or clients. Too many consumers, rather than take steps on the front end to prevent fraud, rely on monitoring their credit through the major credit bureaus, looking for smoke when they’ve already been burned.

A much better approach is to go after a preventative solution. So even if your information falls into the hands of a criminal, when they go out to turn it into money, they get turned away. It's not about detection after the fact--it's about preventing the crime before it occurs.

While technology has certainly given hackers a leg up in the identity theft battles--they use everything from modified credit card readers to Bluetooth to steal personal information--their favorite weapon is still manipulation of human nature. Known to hackers and social scientists alike as social engineering, it's the practice of gaining people's trust to the point where you don't have to steal their identity at all--they give it to you.

Why Cyber Security is Necessary

Cyber security is important because there are many risks involved, some more serious than others. Among these dangers are viruses erasing your entire system, someone breaking into your system and altering files, someone using your computer to attack others, or someone stealing your credit card information and making unauthorized purchases. Unfortunately, there's no 100% guarantee that even with the best precautions some of these things won't happen to you, but there are steps you can take to minimize the chances. As the saying goes, 'Prevention is better than cure.'

victims of identity theft may:

• Be arrested for crimes they didn't commit.
  
  
• Lose hundreds or even thousands of dollars to thieves and/or to fees for cleaning up financial records.
  
  
• Spend countless hours clearing personal records.
  
  
• Be refused loans for housing or cars due to poor credit resulting from identity theft.

Trends in Cybercrime

The recent trends in cyber crime are professionalisation of cybercrime; hacktivism; cyberwarfare; rising rate of identity theft; epidemic of security vulnerabilities in software & networking products; shrinking time from exposure to attack; soaring rates of SPAM; targeting of web-based applications; targeting of desktop computers; new risks stemming from mobility of data; and emergence of sophisticated, multi-vector "blended threats".

There is good reason to be pessimistic when it comes to preventing fraud altogether--but there are certain things business owners can do to make life at least a little harder for hackers.

1. Protect your credit card and bank statements.
   While most people worry more about having their credit card accounts stolen, their bank accounts are cause for more concern. Fraudulent credit card transactions are easily reversed and accounts easily canceled. He says identity thieves often send business owners a small check in the mail, and when the business owners deposit the checks without thinking twice, their canceled checks delivers their bank account numbers to the hacker on a silver platter. Other hackers will manipulate caller ID software to make potential marks believe they're receiving a call from their bank branch.
   
   
2. Don't disclose information over the telephone.
   Beware of anyone asking out-of-the-ordinary questions over the phone and, unless you're the one making the call, never give out sensitive information. Hackers will often pose as credit card companies offering a fabulous--and limited-time--offer. People will do more to avoid a loss than to realize a gain, so that's an influence factor a fraudster can use to get someone to cooperate.
   
   
3. Educate employees not to disclose customer information.
   This goes along with being careful over the phone when it comes to talking about personal information. Identity thieves will often call businesses posing as customers and then ask for account or other sensitive information.
   
   
4. Encrypt your wireless network.
   It may seem obvious, but a hacker ring recently compromised 40 million people's information by driving around with laptops and hacking into businesses' wireless networks. Take the extra steps and set up a web key to limit access.
   
   
5. Beef up your physical security.
   Again, it sounds simple, but all the tech savvy in the world won't help you if someone can waltz into your office and steal computers and hard-copy files. If it were so obvious, experts wouldn't have to warn against it. Is your security stringent enough?

In case this isn't scary enough, there are other forms of identity theft that most people never even consider, which is just as well, given that there's no way to prevent them. He says a hacker armed with people's personal information can even file false tax returns in their names and collect refunds, something he says the Income Tax authorities are woefully underprepared to combat. While nothing is fool-proof, more pedestrian hackers can be repelled with a healthy dose of forethought. And, it certainly beats the alternative. If someone breaks into your car and steals your car, they sell it one time to the chop shop, make their money and it's over. The problem with our personal information is that once they steal it, once it's been sold, it's very hard to go in and change your Social Security Number. Most people don't want to change their name. You can't change your birth date. These are things we're stuck with our entire life, and if they're in the wrong hands, you've got to worry about someone 10 years from now showing up and trying to compromise you again.

College degree not the only option

For Class XII, a total of 6,27,022 students appeared in the examination conducted by the CBSE and 52,552 students for the exam conducted by the ICSCE.

Out of these almost seven lakh students, a vast majority does not get above 80 per cent marks -- a fact that often gets lost in the celebrations on the 95+ percenters, who in spite of scoring so well in their final examinations, still have to search for the right colleges to do their degree or professional courses. There is a shortage of "good" colleges and thus it is inevitable that many students will not get admission to their dream institutions, and will have to make compromises.

Education is one of the most powerful instruments for reducing poverty and inequality. Education is key to enhance India's competitiveness in the global economy. Therefore, ensuring access to quality education for all, in particular for the poor and rural population, is central to the economic and social development of India.

Not all students are suitable for degree education. Once we face this reality, much of the pain and privation that students undergo at the admission stage can be tackled. We must realize that degree college is not an end in itself, but rather, a way for finding gainful employment and building careers.

There is tremendous shortage of skilled persons in India, and in order to meet the demand, there is a crying need for institutions that would impart proper training and thus equip the students with skills that would enable them to get good jobs.

In developing countries, only some of high school graduates get college degrees and a few go to university for further education. Most students make a conscious choice, based on their aptitude and career plans, and take an education path that fulfills their needs and plans.

In the US, college fees are generally high, and parents play only a limited role in financing the education of their children. It, therefore, comes as no surprise that most students are labor force participants, i.e. they either work while they are studying or looking for work to help finance their college education.

How many students in India can say that? Most India students depend on their parents financial assistance as they attend college, looking for degrees, and then start looking for work.

In fact, the government has long recognized that all high school graduates don't need to have higher academic education. The concept of vocational education and training, through which students are trained for jobs, is based on manual or practical activities. Vocational courses are related to specific trades.

The government has vocational educational programs in place but, what is needed is an expansion of vocational education, setting common standards for training and defining goals that ensure learning in fields where there is demand for jobs and ensuring accountability and good use of resources. The way to the nation's progress is through maximizing the competitive advantage by having a large number of skilled workers.

India has a tremendous advantage demographically because of a large number of young people. But the nation seems ill equipped to provide them with skills that would enable them to compete in an increasingly globalized economy. In fact, we do not even have proper information about the skill deficit.

In India’s organized sector, the employment is estimated at 26.44 million as against 432.00 million of unorganized sector based on 2004-05 government figures. The percentage of youth enrolled for higher education while in South Korea is 80% and Germany and Japan 40% each, in India it is just 8%. Secondary school enrollment in India is just 35% against 100% of Germany, Japan and South Korea, adds the ASSOCHAM findings.

The findings incorporated in a Paper on `Education Linkages to Transform India’ also says that India’s exports are at meager US$ 125 billion in 2006-07 against US$ 1133 in Germany, US$ 590 of Japan and US$ 332 in case of South Korea.

The Chamber Paper highlights that vocational education and training barely exists in India. While China has over 5 lakh vocational schools, India has less than 3000 such institutions. Higher and technical education is utterly controlled from the center in India as a result of which shortages of seats and opportunities of high quality education is missing in India.

About 99% of all entrance examination participants in the IITs, IIMs are rejected due to capacity constraints. The rejected top 40% get admission anywhere in the world. Over 1,50,000 students every year go overseas for university education which costs India a foreign exchange outflow of US$ 10 billion per annum. This amount is sufficient to build many IIMs and IITs.

Many of these students do "menial work" which they would refuse to do in India. This is a mindset problem, but it can be addressed if proper infrastructure is provided to the technical training institutes, and students given the skills that would get them good jobs, or allow them to work as entrepreneurs in their own right. While soft skill like knowing the language, tourism related work and computer training have their own place, we should not forget the vast need for blue-collar workers and skilled technical workers.

The proposal of crating a National Vocational Qualification Framework and increasing the number of vocations to be offered to students to 4,000 is indeed ambitious and much needed. It should be translated into reality as soon as possible. As a start, facilities at various institutions that provide vocational education should be upgraded to impart the skills necessary for tomorrow's workers.

I Can'ts Funeral

Devika's fourth grade classroom looked like many others I had seen in the past. The teacher's desk was in front and faced the students. The bulletin board featured student work. In most respects it appeared to be a typically traditional elementary classroom. Yet something seemed different that day I entered it for the first time.

My job was to make classroom visitations and encourage implementation of a training program that focused on language arts ideas that would empower students to feel good about themselves and take charge of their lives. Donna was one of the volunteer teachers who participated in this project.

I took an empty seat in the back of the room and watched. All the students were working on a task, filling a sheet of notebook paper with thoughts and ideas. The ten-year-old student next to me was filling her page with "I Can'ts". "I can't kick the soccer ball past second base." "I can't do long division with more than three numerals." "I can't get Deviani to like me." Her page was half full and she showed no signs of letting up. She worked on with determination and persistence. I walked down the row glancing at student's papers. Everyone was writing sentences, describing things they couldn't do.

By this time the activity engaged my curiosity, so I decided to check with the teacher to see what was going on but I noticed she too was busy writing. I felt it best not to interrupt. "I can't get John's mother to come for a teacher conference." "I can't get my daughter to put gas in the car." "I can't get Aman to use words instead of fists."

Thwarted in my efforts to determine why students and teacher were dwelling on the negative instead of writing the more positive "I Can" statements, I returned to my seat and continued my observations.

Students wrote for another ten minutes. They were then instructed to fold the papers in half and bring them to the front. They placed their "I Can't" statements into an empty shoe box. Then Devika added hers. She put the lid on the box, tucked it under her arm and headed out the door and down the hall.

Students followed the teacher. I followed the students. Halfway down the hallway Devika entered the custodian's room, rummaged around and came out with a shovel. Shovel in one hand, shoe box in the other, Donna marched the students out to the school to the farthest corner of the playground. There they began to dig. They were going to bury their "I Can'ts"!

The digging took over ten minutes because most of the fourth graders wanted a turn. The box of "I Can'ts" was placed in a position at the bottom of the hole and then quickly covered with dirt. Thirty-one 10 and 11 year-olds stood around the freshly dug grave site. At this point Devika announced, "Boys and girls, please join hands and bow your heads." They quickly formed a circle around the grave, creating a bond with their hands.

They lowered their heads and waited. Devika delivered the eulogy.

"Friends, we gathered here today to honor the memory of 'I Can't.' While he was with us here on earth, he touched the lives of everyone, some more than others. We have provided 'I Can't' with a final resting place and a headstone that contains his epitaph. His is survived by his brothers and sisters, 'I Can', 'I Will', and 'I'm Going to Right Away'. They are not as well known as their famous relative and are certainly not as strong and powerful yet. Perhaps some day, with your help, they will make an even bigger mark on the world. May 'I Can't' rest in peace and may everyone present pick up their lives and move forward in his absence. Amen."

As I listened I realized that these students would never forget this day. Writing "I Can'ts", burying them and hearing the eulogy. That was a major effort on this part of the teacher. And she wasn't done yet.

She turned the students around, marched them back into the classroom and held a wake. They celebrated the passing of "I Can't" with cookies, popcorn and fruit juices. As part of the celebration, Devika cut a large tombstone from butcher paper. She wrote the words "I Can't" at the top and put RIP in the middle. The date was added at the bottom. The paper tombstone hung in Devika's classroom for the remainder of the year.

On those rare occasions when a student forgot and said, "I Can't", Devika simply pointed to the RIP sign. The student then remembered that "I Can't" was dead and chose to rephrase the statement. I wasn't one of Devika's students. She was one of mine. Yet that day I learned an enduring lesson from her as years later, I still envision that fourth grade class laying to rest, "I Can't".

Why we don’t need to reinvent books for the internet age

ibooks are the very opposite of what publishers need to be thinking about. The very concept of a book as a simple compilation of URLs and bullet points appears quite misleading; perhaps, this model works in tech publishing, where there is a huge demand for “tell me how?” kind of questions. But books that change history rarely answer the “who and where?” type of questions; they are, instead, about the “how and why?” - and this knowledge is hardly searchable, not to mention linkable. Even with such a widely-covered subject as Twitter, there is still a lot to be said about its impact on the information flows, authority, trust, and cognition that may not yet be widely discussed anywhere in the “Twittersphere”. This is why we have traditionally prized original and fresh thinking; what makes it original is precisely the fact that these points haven ‘t yet been addressed before.

This may also explain why sales of serious books haven’t plummeted in the age of free and ubiquitous content. With so many free resource materials available on the Web, it does seem strange that anyone would still want to pay 20 bucks for “a compilation of links” that most non-fiction books are (at least, according to O’Reilly). But the likely explanation here is quite simple: compiling links in meaningful and readable ways is exactly the kind of premium value that we are willing to pay for when we buy a book. It’s becoming obvious that in the age of information abundance the value of curation rises dramatically. As the number of available resources that writers and readers could consult rises, it’s actually quite normal that we would place more and more value on the process of synthesizing rather than simply aggregating information. From this perspective, if I want to read a book on a subject that is slightly more complex than the world of Twitter, I expect that authors would actually read all the available resources (rather than just a sampling of a few hundred 140 “best” Twitter status updates), take a principled stand, and actually try to compress the very boring 30,000 pages they read while researching the book to much more readable 300 pages – precisely “so that I don’t have to”.

Good books – unlike buggy early releases of software – are meant to be finite intellectual products; good books are not supposed to be never-ending and self-updating streams of consciousness. Nor are they supposed to be interrupted by a constant flow of references to other books; if you cannot move to the next page without having to consult a reference work cited in a footnote, the author has probably failed at synthesizing. Granted: everyone is building on someone else’s shoulders. But this is is exactly the point of a talented author: to synthesize by compressing millions of links, facts, and opinions into a readable guide to the subject. The reason why we often turn to the best book in a field that we do not yet know well is exactly to avoid reading twenty books instead. Do not get me wrong: I do have an ereader and I am an avid consumer of ebooks; yes, I do like the ability to navigate from the index page to any page I want. But - and this is a big “but” - I don’t really feel any need to compress the text even further; nor do I feel any need to extend it beyond what it is; most good books I’ve read are good precisely because offer “just enough” information and arguments.

What's Really Behind The Talent Gap

It's been a long-running complaint that there aren't enough young people entering the IT field. But judging by the list of experience and skills some employers demand from IT job candidates, you have to wonder if young people just starting out their careers even have a shot at being hired.

Employers aren't just looking for folks with technical skills, they're seeking strong communication ability, business know-how, vertical industry background -- and, in many cases, hands-on experience with a variety of specific technologies and track records of successful deployments. It's one thing to seek the "full package" from someone who's been in the field for years, but much more difficult to find that in people newer to the profession.

So what does that mean? If there really is a shortage of the "full-package" people you're looking for, as employers you've got to be willing to help develop those folks. But apparently, many employers aren't willing to do that. Many companies just don't have the time, money, resources, patience, or vision to cultivate future talent. So, they'll look outside their organizations for ways to bring in "new" people quickly. Or they'll outsource. Or they'll seek foreign workers with H-1B visas. The problem with all of that is this: Often those people don't have all the "right stuff," either.

There's a big gap in what's going on. There's a mismatch in the demand for talent many IT organizations are seeking -- and the degree to which these companies are providing the appropriate training and career development opportunities to build up their bench strength internally. Plus, when it comes to younger folks entering the field, there also are disconnects between what many universities are offering to help these students "align business with technology" with what employers expect from tech workers today. Universities are slow to adapt.

What is your organization doing to nurture its IT talent?

Don't Graduate with the Wrong Degree

Let’s pretend you’re a senior liberal arts major, and the only reason you chose liberal arts in the first place is because you didn’t really know what else to major in. Now you wish you could go back and major in business and work in sales instead.

Does this mean you’re doomed to a career you don’t care about? No.

Here are some ways to apply your wrong degree to the right career:

Focus on Transferable Skills

There are the skills you can easily transfer from one job or career to another. Your transferable skills might include research and writing skills from typing up all those reports.

Supplement Your Wrong Degree with the Right Experience

Majoring in liberal arts, you may not have considered an internship in sales. Put your knowledge to use and gain experience by netting internships at a small business or volunteering to write material for a sales organization.

Don’t Let it Hold You Back

There’s really no such thing as a wrong degree. With the right experience, anyone can transition to a new career or profession. If going back to school is an option, start by searching for schools and degree programs for the career you’ve always wanted!

It’s Never Too Late To Go Back to School

You might be graduated with a liberal arts degree, but that doesn’t mean you can’t return to school to pursue your passion. Degree programs are more convenient than ever.

11 Things I Learned While Trying to Figure Out the Financial Crisis

From 2parse

I have been trying to figure out the financial crisis - the cause and the cure for it. In this post, Joe Campbell shares some insights on the financial crisis which I found interesting and educative.

To Get an MBA or Not?

By Guy Kawasaki




Kawasaki shares his thoughts on whether or not to get an MBA. The problem with an MBA he says is that you believe you are being taught how to manage, and he generally thinks it is impossible to learn how to manage in school. The only way to learn how to manage, according to him, is to do it in the real-world.

Guy Kawasaki is a managing director of Garage Technology Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm and a columnist for Entrepreneur Magazine. Previously, he was an Apple Fellow at Apple Computer, Inc. Guy is the author of nine books including Reality Check, The Art of the Start, Rules for Revolutionaries, How to Drive Your Competition Crazy, Selling the Dream, and The Macintosh Way. He has a BA from Stanford University and an MBA from UCLA as well as an honorary doctorate from Babson College.

Related Post:

Arrogant MBAs, Is an MBA Worth it, Jobs in the Down Economy

A Vision of Students Today

A short video summarizing some of the most important characteristics of students today - how they learn, what they need to learn, their goals, hopes, dreams, what their lives will be like, and what kinds of changes they will experience in their lifetime. Created by Michael Wesch in collaboration with 200 students at Kansas State University.

Arrogant MBAs, Is an MBA Worth It, Jobs in the Down Economy

As you might imagine, I have lots to say about what MBAs can do in this new economy, whether the MBA degree helps, and who are these people who think they walk on water because they have the degree?

MBAs in the New and Improved Economy
Yes, that’s right — I believe that the economic situation now is better than before. The past few years were not based in reality – they were driven by greed and ignorance. Everyone was driving overpriced cars and living in oversized houses, blissed out and ignoring the fact that they could not afford any of it. Now, the truth is out. Things might get worse before they get better (I am not an economist, but I believe they will get worse, with or without a stimulus plan), but they will eventually get better. And hopefully, there will be lessons that everyone, MBAs and non-MBAs, can carry with them. The MBAs who studied strictly in classrooms will now earn some battle scars, practical knowledge, and a dose of reality.

What can MBA grads do if they’ve been laid off, their business is dissolving, or their fat bonus checks have disappeared? They can certainly try to get another job, because there are still jobs out there. However, landing them requires a bit more creativity. The jobs might not be sourced through career management centers; networking, soul searching and unusual tactics will be important. As I repeatedly say, hard times breed creativity, and that is what I find exciting about our current situation. MBAs — who are connected to each other and to potential investors and who know the basics of how to run a business — are in a fantastic position to pursue something new or to start something from the ground up. So, I would suggest adding another research area to the feature package’s list of finance, healthcare, social entrepreneurship and energy: brainstorming. There are ways to rebound, and I think many people will end up doing something more aligned with their interests because they are no longer just picking from whatever companies happen to be recruiting on campus.

Does the MBA Help?
I strongly think it does matter. However, many people mistakenly think that an MBA is the golden ticket to whatever they want afterwards — especially those who are going to a top school. They think, “If I can get X University on my resume, I’m set for life!” As with everything we pursue, from careers to relationships, there is no such thing as “set.” Your success and fulfillment in the business world are dependent on what you do with the degree. To the person who complains that after the MBA he/she is still in a dead-end job, I would say that is not your business school’s fault. It’s your job to take your credentials, your network, and the knowledge you gained during your MBA program and go out and make the most of it. I cannot believe that knowledge, networks and alumni resources hurt someone’s situation.

In fact, in these difficult times, a lot of schools are going the extra mile to help their alums. Just yesterday, a colleague received an alumni email from Kellogg, offering a free “turbo job-search” workshop. This is in addition to free career counseling for life. If you’re looking for a new job, or a better job, this is absolutely the time to leverage your MBA network. Contact classmates and alumni networks, set up informational interviews, and get moving. I laugh when I read comments about the MBA opening or not opening up doors. The degree does not open up doors – the person does. But an MBA can increase your muscle.

Are MBAs Arrogant Jerks?
Yes, some of them are. So are some chefs and athletes and rock stars. It is incredibly difficult to get admitted to a top business school, especially one in the top 10. Those that make it through are generally quite accomplished, have achieved a lot, and are pretty darn smart. Does this give them a right to be arrogant? No, but it does put a stamp on them that, like it or not, recruiters are often attracted to. It’s ridiculous to say that all MBAs are a certain way and that, as a group, they are not as qualified to take on certain jobs. Top MBA grads, as a whole, are a very strong group of individuals. It’s easier for a potential employer to take a bet on a grad from a top school, their pedigree, and the promise it holds. If a by-product of their accomplishments is arrogance, I dare say in these most challenging of times, employers might prefer that over a nice person who cannot help them solve their problems.

Related Post:

To Get an MBA or Not?

All government high schools in Kerala to get laptops

All the 1,016 government-run high schools in Kerala will be supplied with a laptop each as part of the IT@School project. Speaking to reporters here Saturday, K. Anwar Sadat, executive director of IT@School project, said Kerala would become the first state in the country to implement this project. "This project is run under the central government supported ICT in School Scheme and they would provide Rs.1 lakh (Rs.100,000) each and the state government would chip in with Rs.33,000. All the schools would get the laptop this academic year itself and the inauguration would take place here on Monday," he said.

Wipro model laptops will be supplied to the schools after the firm was selected in a tender floated by KELTRON.

Apart from the laptops, the project is for supply of 1,300 printers, 750 scanners, 400 handycams and 400 generators to schools that need them.

"This project would also be extended to 3,055 schools in the private sector. This would be based on their request and we expect to deliver this also at the earliest," said Sadat.

The IT@School project was launched in the state in 2000 and each year, 1.6 million students in the state are initiated into the world of computers.

"As a result of IT being extended to even the upper primary classes, from the next academic year a total of three million students in the state would enjoy the benefit of IT. As of now, more than five million students and two lakh (200,000) teachers have learnt the nuances of computers and this was achieved with the help of 200 master trainers and 5,600 school IT coordinators," added Sadat.

As many as 97 percent of the schools in the state have broadband Internet connections.

Goals: Use the power of ‘imaging’

All of our achievements and accomplishments – on the personal, family or career front – not necessarily in that order though – are completely connected to our ability/habit to set goals with deadlines, write them down on paper and review the progress regularly and with rigour.

This progress towards achievement of our goals is made easier by the power of imaging in the mind – once the image of the outcome is fed continuously to the mind, it is only a matter of time before the goal turns into reality. Imaging is the most potent tool of the mind, to achieve anything in life.

Here is a simple illustration of imaging in getting to goals. Just think of something which each one us had vividly visualized and it came to existence after sometime – in some cases just a few days, and sometimes after longer time – things like your parents being with you when you got that university topper gold medal, or getting wedded to a spouse who has the name you liked the most, or you became the head of your division. Actually, in a corner of your mind, that image kept lingering unconsciously, and it led to the outcome. In fact how fast the image came to be true in existence is directly linked to the intensity and power with which we had done the imaging exercise. For sure, all of us will have at least a couple of events or instances, wherein powerful imaging came into reality, without seemingly much effort. That goes to show how powerful imaging can be, and just think of what we could aspire for if we chose to use imaging consciously in our desire to make it big.

Use the power of imaging in the mind in anything you want to do – visualize yourself as someone looking fit and 10 kgs lesser, commit the same to paper, and read the same about five times a day, and you will naturally act to do whatever is needed to look like that. This is just an easy example; your goal can be anything you always wanted.

It may seem complex and arduous but reaching goals is so simple when you passionately image and visualize the outcome of what you intend to achieve. This power of imaging combined with the power of having the goals as a written statement in your wallet, propels and catalyses your journey to achieving what you never could have thought possible.

Creating and recreating the winning images in the mind will seem tough only initially. But that comes with practice and exercise. As they say in any success literature, there an average of about 60000 thoughts per day that come into the mind. So the moment we write down about 10 or 20 life goals, and begin imaging the outcome in the mind, the mind is tutored and trained to focus on these goals. It gets into the subconscious mind, and moving or working towards achievement of the goals becomes a 24/7 process and the dynamics of action towards goals gets embedded in the subconscious mind.

These exercises of the mind make getting to goals great fun and easy too. The minute the mind is exercised and stretched it does not rest until the moment the image that is fed to it becomes a reality in life.

Good looks, great knowledge in any subject, getting into your dream company, becoming a CEO…be it anything, you become the CEO of your life by harnessing the power of imaging and getting to goals.

"M.U.R.D.E.R." A Study System

Mood:
Set a positive mood for yourself to study in.
Select the appropriate time, environment, and attitude

Understand:
Mark any information you don't understand in a particular unit;
Keep a focus on one unit or a manageable group of exercises

Recall:
After studying the unit,
stop and put what you have learned into your own words

Digest:
Go back to what you did not understand and reconsider the information;
Contact external expert sources (e.g., other books or an instructor) if you still cannot understand it

Expand:
In this step, ask three kinds of questions concerning the studied material:

• If I could speak to the author, what questions would I ask or what criticism would I offer?

• How could I apply this material to what I am interested in?

• How could I make this information interesting and understandable to other students?

Review:
Go over the material you've covered,
Review what strategies helped you understand and/or retain information in the past and apply these to your current studies

Social networking benefits validated

Texting, blogs, Facebook, gaming and instant messages might seem, to some, to be just more reasons to stare at a computer screen.

Thinking like that is so 2008, any middle schooler will tell you. Now a study that looked at the online habits of 800 teenagers backs them up.

Researchers in the study, titled the Digital Youth Project and conducted primarily at the University of Southern California and the University of California at Berkeley, found that in our increasingly technological world, the constant communication that social networking provides is encouraging useful skills. The study looked at more than 5,000 hours of online observation and found that the digital world is creating new opportunities for young people to grapple with social norms, explore interests, develop technical skills and work on new forms of self-expression.

"There are myths about kids spending time online -- that it is dangerous or making them lazy," says Mizuko Ito, lead author of the study, which will be the basis of a forthcoming book, "Hanging Out, Messing Around, Geeking Out: Living and Learning With New Media." "But we found that spending time online is essential for young people to pick up the social and technical skills they need to be competent citizens in the digital age."

Co-author Lisa Tripp, now an assistant professor at Florida State University, says technology, including YouTube, iPods and podcasting, creates avenues for extending one's circle of friends, boosts self-directed learning and fosters independence.

"Certain technical skills in the coming years are not going to be just about consuming media," she says. "It is also going to be about producing media. It is not just about writing a blog, but also how to leave comments that say something. Learning to communicate like this is contributing to the general circulation of culture."

That means anything from a video clip to a profile page is going to reflect the self-expression skills one has, so teens might as well practice what will say who they are.

Social networking also contributes greatly to teens' extended friendships and interests, Ms. Tripp says. While the majority of teens use sites such as MySpace and Facebook to "hang out" with people they already know in real life, a smaller portion uses them to find like-minded people. Before social networking, the one kid in school who was, say, a fan of Godzilla or progressive politics might find himself isolated. These days, that youngster has peers everywhere.

"This kind of communication has let teens expand their social circle by common interests," Ms. Tripp says. "They can publicize and distribute their work to online audiences and become sort of a microexpert in that area." The study found that young people's learning with digital media often is more self-directed, with a freedom and autonomy that is less apparent than in a classroom. The researchers said youths usually respect one another's authority online, and they often are more motivated to learn from one another than from adults.

Parents, however, still have an important role to play when it comes to tweens, teens and social networking, the researchers say. They need to accept that technology is a necessary and important part of the culture for young people and, other experts say, be aware of with whom the teens are communicating.

Monica Vila, founder of theonlinemom.com, an online resource for digital-age parenting, says parents need to set parameters just as they would "at any other playground." "This kind of study puts a lot of facts behind the value of social networking," Ms. Vila says.

It is up to parents to monitor what is being expressed, she says. She recommends that parents "have a presence" in their child's online social network. That doesn't necessarily mean "friending," communicating and commenting, but it does mean having a password or knowing who your child's online friends are. One Fairfax County mother of a middle schooler, who asked that her name not be used to protect her daughter's privacy, says she was skeptical at first when her daughter wanted a Facebook page.

"I was hesitant for all the reasons we hear about, such as how it could bring in unwelcome visitors," the woman says, "but eventually I realized that this is the main medium for kids keeping in touch. It has gone from e-mail to IM to texting to Facebook in such a quick progression. [Social networking] is like the modern-day equivalent of the lunch table. If you are not on Facebook, then you are not in the loop."

The woman says she stays in the loop because she knows her daughter's password, and her daughter knows her mom can access her page whenever she wants -- and can see who is there and what they are posting.

A few rules: no putting your exact whereabouts on your status update, and be aware of who is tagging you in a photo because if that photo contains unflattering behavior, it could come back to haunt you. Also, the mom has a Facebook page of her own, although she is not yet among her daughter's 100-plus friends.

"I have become accepting that there are more positives than negatives from social networking," the woman says, noting that she is pleased to see the connection of her daughter's network through various circles such as school and sports. "It is allowing a lot of dialogue among people who may not otherwise have a chance for a lot of dialogue." Those are all good rules and observations, Ms. Vila says.

"I like to catch parents before this whole process starts," she says. "That way you can set the ground rules early and [not] be trying to catch up. If your kids know that you have a presence in their online community, you are acting like a chaperone. If they won't friend you, you should at least have their password.

"It is not that kids are untrustworthy," Ms. Vila says. "It is that they often lack processing skills. Parents need to explain that images may be damaging. They may not be able to think past the next day, let alone what will happen when they are looking for a job six years later." Studies such as the Digital Youth Project and the report "Enhancing Child Safety and Online Technologies," issued recently by Harvard University's Berkman Center for Internet and Society, show that social networking has earned a place in American culture from which there is no turning back, Ms. Vila says.

"A few years ago, parents were saying, 'I don't want any of that stuff coming into my house,' even about video games," she says. "Then they realized, 'I have no choice, it is all around me.' Now studies are saying technology is going to encourage skills for jobs we didn't know existed. At the very least, social networking is encouraging technology skills, and that is going to be essential to the digital economy." To read the full report from the Digital Youth Project, visit http://digitalyouth.ischool.berkeley.edu/report.