5 effective educational search engines for school going kids

Google maybe to vast for school going kids who need to use a safe search engines. Parents must see to it that their kids are not exposed to harmful or utterly useless information on the internet.

Following is the list of some of the most useful search engines which you can recommend to school-going children. 

1)      Kidzsearch : This search engine responds to a child’s specific search query without any adult or sensitive content mixed with it. The results obtained are of a quality as high as the quality of Google search engine.

2)      Exalead: For well-segregated, more relevant and quicker results, students should opt for Exalead. Exalead helps students as they can find project documents and PDF files for reference.

3)      SearchyPants – SearchyPants makes Internet browsing more fun for kids. This safe engine allows families to communicate with each other with the help of custom messages.

4)      Ask Kids – A free and interesting platform which helps kids with their school assignments. This search engine is filled with information on various subjects like history, science, maths and geography.

5)      DuckDuckGo – Another innovative search engine which will help kids find an answer to any kind of doubt they have. The interface is nice playful and the engine is extremely easy to use.Read more details...

 

3 kinds of teaching and learning methodologies which will benefit the 21st century students

Teachers may often wonder that despite their best efforts students are unable to understand what they teach or be attentive during their classes. To bridge this gap it is important to understand children’s learning needs and develop new strategies to cater to them.

Take a look at the three approaches which should be used by educators to help students learn better:

1.  Inquiry-based learning: Learning that is induced by investigation, pursuit and study is called inquiry-based learning. All the great inventions made in the history were based on the initial inquiries made by the inventors. It relies on getting the student involved in the learning process more than the teacher and propagates the fact that curiosity creates knowledge. 

2.  Project-based learning: Learning that revolves around students undertaking various kinds of assignments which results into a constructive output like a presentation or a product. This kind of learning not only helps the student understand topics better but also gives him hands-on experience when he applies himself on a project. It also improves his decision making and problem-solving skills.

3.   Problem-based learning: This technique is similar to inquiry-based learning. A challenge related to the topic being taught in class is presented to the students. Students then form little teams to explore and solve the problem in their individual ways. The teams then present their solutions in front of everyone. This kind of learning incites participation and enthusiasm from the students thereby enhancing the learning experience.

The above three instructional approaches are being widely accepted in schools worldwide. All of them involve student’s participation in the process which helps with the learning and teaching process.

Instilling good values in kids is education too

One cannot fully emphasize the importance of having good values. Since good values are one of the most intangible qualities one could have, many often don’t regard it necessary. Young children are impressionable and pick up everything the society around them propels. Social Emotional Learning needs to be accepted and taught to kids so that they grow up to be good humans. Qualities like compassion, tolerance, kindness helps an individual contribute to the society positively.

People skills may not be a listed official job requirement but it is not any less than a person’s educational qualification as a bad image or lack of people skills makes it almost impossible for a person to grow in an organization. It’s only too late when a person realizes its importance. Once children learn negative qualities it is difficult to make them unlearn once they grow up. Famous adage ‘What you sow is what you reap’ has us aware somewhere in our minds that to be treated well one must often learn to treat others well.

A developed EQ also equips a person to handle problems in his life with a certain level of maturity. Individuals with poor tolerance often react to bad situations only to make the issues at their hands worse. Parents and teachers should play a role in helping children differentiate right from wrong and have role models who are not just successful but also exceptional human beings who are grounded and know how to treat other human beings.

Our society may show that individuals have a sense of community but the prevalence of apathetic anti-social elements can influence other individuals to resort to malice for their own safety or benefit. Children need to be taught that goodness eventually triumphs everything and that evil cannot be countered with evil. Enforcing such behavior would help them handle future challenges in a positive way.

Adults are the torchbearers of behavior and character for the young people and they must consciously take the effort to shape the young minds in a positive way. Adults must try and be the ideal role models which their children seek or see to it that their children find the right role models to learn from. To sum it up instilling social values is as important as becoming an educated individual because the only threat to humanity is other humans who fail to be humane.Read more..

Practice and test-taking enhances exam performance

A study plan that does not include test practice is an incomplete plan. The importance of practicing tests cannot be stressed hard enough. The difference between a  student with poor knowledge of the subject and a student who has studied just enough but has not practiced any tests is not too huge.

Following are the ways parents could help their children prepare for exams to avoid exam-jitters:

1)      Handling stress: Sitting for a 3-hour exam with complete focus isn’t easy for most students, especially those who have not trained themselves in test-taking atmosphere. Such exams not only require stamina but also great deal of concentration. A subjective question paper worth 100 marks could make the student feel under a lot of pressure if he is unprepared. Parents and tutors can design monthly long tests so that children get the hang of sitting for the term exams.

2)      Reading habits: Many students struggle with reading because they have not developed the habit of writing long essays, chapters or comprehension passages. Comprehension passages form the major part of language-related tests. Parents should make it a point to get their kids to develop their reading stamina.

3)      Understanding directions: Reading the directions wrong due to being stressed during exams is a common phenomenon. Such blunders cost students their precious grades. During practicing tests, students should develop the habit of double-checking questions as well as their answers so as to avoid losing marks because of silly errors.

4)      Being organized and having a plan: Writing an exam with a cluttered mind is never a good idea. Test-taking practice would give students a good idea about what their strengths and weaknesses are. They can start their exam paper answering the questions they are very confident about. Having a plan takes care of the exam anxiety.

5)      Time management: Students end up missing out on a number of questions for not being fast enough. Not being prepared enough causes students to ponder upon the questions given in the test paper due to which they end up easting a lot of time answering only some questions and missing out on the rest. Studying enough combined with test practices will program students to manage their time wisely during the exam.

6)      Learning the important words: Lower-grade kids may not necessarily understand the meaning of words ‘analyze’ , ‘Describe’, ‘Evaluate’. Parents should take the responsibility of helping them increase their basic vocabulary.

In case, parents are unable to find time to help students with their studies, a good tutor is always a good option.