Marketing Software and Tools for 2021: A Quick Overview
If you’re looking for more marketing software and tools to add to your business toolkit, be sure to check out our blog post on the best marketing software and tools for 2021!
In this post, we take a look at some of the best marketing software and tools available for startups and SMEs in 2020.
Marketing Software and Tools for 2021: A Quick Overview
As a business owner, you know that marketing is the most important part of your success.
However, with so many options available when it comes to marketing software and tools, it can be difficult to know which ones to use.
That’s why we’ve put together this list – if you need to choose from some of the best marketing software and tools for 2021, read on!
Trello Trello is a free project management tool designed by Fog Creek Software in 2014.
It allows businesses to create boards full of lists in order to easily track projects in a visual way.
Boards can contain cards – checklists or images representing specific tasks – that can be easily dragged and dropped between lists.
For example, you could have a marketing board for your startup, with lists such as “ideas”, “todo” and “done.”
Within each list are cards containing tasks or ideas.
Trello is one of the best ways to keep track of your projects without making things too complex.
isOne Marketing Software – IsOne is a cloud-based marketing solution designed to help businesses market their products online, it goes perfect with Kanban.
This software allows users to create automated lead capture funnels in WordPress sites, set up landing pages within seconds, manage ads on Facebook’s advertising platform, create advanced email drip campaigns, automate follow-up messages based on user behavior, monitor website data using Google Analytics dashboards.
There are a number of different marketing software and tools that are available on the market today.
It can be difficult to know which ones are the best for your business, and which ones will help you achieve your marketing goals.
Here is a list of some of the best marketing software and tools available in 2021:
1. HubSpot Marketing Software – HubSpot is a comprehensive marketing software that allows you to manage all aspects of your marketing campaigns, from creating and publishing content, to tracking website visitors and leads.
2. Hootsuite Social Media Management Tool – Hootsuite is a powerful social media management tool that allows you to track all of your social media channels in one place, and schedule posts for future publishing.
3. LeadPages Landing Page Builder – LeadPages is a powerful landing page builder that allows you to create high-converting landing pages for your marketing campaigns.
4. BuzzSumo Content Analysis Tool – BuzzSumo is a tool that allows you to track the most popular content on the web, and see who is sharing it.
This can help you identify potential content topics for your own marketing campaigns.
5. Google AdWords Paid Advertising Platform – Google AdWords is the world’s largest paid advertising platform and can be used to target potential customers based on their search behavior.
6. MailChimp Email Marketing Service – MailChimp is one of the most popular email marketing services, and allows you to easily create and send out emails to your customers.
7. Google Analytics Web Traffic Tracking Tool – Google Analytics is one of the best web traffic tracking tools available today, and allows you to see who is visiting your website, how long they are staying for, etc.
This can help you better understand your customers.
8. Buffer Social Media Scheduling Tool – Buffer is a powerful social media scheduling tool that allows you to easily schedule posts on all of your social media profiles at once.
9. WordPress Blogging Platform – WordPress is one of the most popular blogging platforms available today, and it’s easy to set up and use.
10. Crazy Egg Heat Map Tool – Crazy Egg is a heat map tool that tracks where visitors click on your website and shows you which parts of your website people are reading the most.
Marketing software and tools always change as new ones come onto the market, so it’s important to keep up-to-date on what’s available.
To stay ahead of your competition, it can be a good idea to invest in some marketing software and tools that will help you achieve your business goals.
Making use of any of these tools may help you attract more customers, and improve your overall level of sales.
In 2021, there are many different options for marketing software and tools that can help make running a business easier than ever before.
So don’t wait any longer – get started today!…
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Building Your Social Media Marketing Strategy for 2022
In this article, we’ll look at how your organization can best position itself on social media within the next five years.
We’ll also highlight some of the pitfalls of a successful social strategy, and point out what you need to avoid if you’re going to succeed. 🏆
Firstly, it’s important that each of your departments have its own team dedicated to handling social media.
This might be a new role for some organizations, so it’s important to begin building early on.
Your teams should consist of Community Managers looking after Social Media Content, Growth Hackers focusing on scaling up user acquisition efforts, and Data Scientists leveraging predictive analytics to inform decision-making processes.
You may find it advantageous in time to integrate Chatbot developers into these teams, but we’ll cover that in a separate article.
This could be you! [picture of the author] 🙋♀️🙋♂️
It’s worth noting at this stage, that there will be no need for an SEO department moving forward.
Search engine algorithms are constantly evolving to reward high-quality social content and punish clickbait and fake news stories.
The days of buying links and redirecting websites to inflate your search rankings are over — so say goodbye to Google penalties and manual actions.
It’s time to go all-in on social media marketing.
We understand that many organizations still employ agencies & contractors in addition to full-time employees when it comes to generating social media content.
But the reliance on agencies will dissipate over time, as your in-house teams grow and you begin to see a return on investment.
Medium has already begun showing signs that their phase-out of sponsored content is underway, following their recent update that sees non-organic posting limited to one post per week.
This should be an industry-standard moving forward.
As users continue flocking to social channels seeking authentic interactions with brands, advertising dollars should gravitate away from vanity metrics such as impressions and clicks and into engagement rate and influence scores.
It’s important that we avoid turning our beloved social networks into ad-hoc versions of Google Adwords — where we’re constantly barraged by invasive banners trying to sell us products we’ll never need.
You’re probably thinking, “where does this leave my SEO rankings?”
Well, there’s no need to worry.
With the right social media strategy in place, you’ll continue to rank organically for many years to come.
You might even find that your content is ranking higher than it ever has before! 🤔
Your teams will be responsible for creating engaging original content (not just reposting what other people create) which will tell a story about your brand and resonate with your target audience through topic serendipity.
They won’t be restricted by word count or page layout design, so they can take their creativity as far as they want to go.
A lot of marketers are making the mistake of assuming that all social media users want to see ‘marketing speak’ — but this couldn’t be further from the truth.
If you’re only using social media as a sales channel, you’ve already failed at winning people’s hearts.
Your content will help demonstrate your expertise in your industry by solving problems, sharing announcements, and engaging with customers when they have questions or complaints.
This isn’t all that different from what goes on in traditional marketing, so people shouldn’t really need an introduction to what you do.
Just remember that everything is open for discussion on social media, so always reply with empathy & positivity when someone tweets something negative about your brand 🙃
As 2021 rolls around, all of your work over the past couple of years will be starting to show the fruits of your labor.
By this point, you’ll be able to see solid growth in engagement rates, social media referrals to your website, and most importantly — revenue generated from social spending.
We’re not saying that you should abandon other channels like paid search or email marketing (just yet), but it’s important for teams to stay focused on their KPIs 💪
We often tell companies that ‘social first’ should not be a tactic, it should be your strategy.
If your whole business model is based around generating referral traffic via social networks, you need to rethink how successful your company is performing as a whole.
Your efforts will really begin paying off once influencer marketing becomes mainstream.…
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How can I help my child learn?
I’m often asked, “how can I help my child learn”?
When my son was born a few months ago, it took all of our time and effort to get him through the newborn stages, and now, as he is beginning to feel his age, we’re having to learn new ways to help him along.
There are many programs out there designed to help infants and toddlers learn, but you can also find many natural methods for teaching your child at home too.
One of the first things you need to know if you want to help your child learn is that babies are wired to learn through touch.
They will pick up things wherever they can and will replicate what they see you doing.
So, it’s important that you keep their environment constantly busy with lots of different kinds of repetitive movements like running, crawling, and dancing.
These types of movements will help them get used to being in a lot of different situations and will help them begin to understand that they need to move with other people as well.
Babies will learn a lot more quickly when you help them stimulate their senses.
This can be accomplished in many ways.
One of them is by having a very quiet place to play.
Find ways to put your baby in front of a lot of bright natural light and noises, like a sunny day, a baby monitor playing calming music, or maybe a fire burning out in the background.
While you’re at it, find ways to help your child relax.
One of the better ideas we can use is online tutoring with the help of Ls Tuition, tutoring has proven to be really good choice.
Scented candles, incense, and essential oils will help them relax their sense of smell.
You can use these in the nursery, in the bathroom, and even in the kitchen if you cook a lot.
This will help them to associate certain smells with certain activities, like getting dressed, going to the bathroom, rolling over in the crib, or any other activity.
It’s amazing what times children can be introduced to and allowed to explore.
If you start them young with learning toys, then you’ll never have a reason to complain about “all the time they were running around!”
Most children will enjoy playing pretend games or dolls.
They will spend a lot of time pretending to be mothers and fathers or just other kids.
Dollhouses are another great place to learn about language, word recognition, and memory skills.
The more you can do to encourage your child in all of his learning experiences, the easier it will be for them to pick up new skills and learn new things.
If you can help your child build blocks, then you can help him build his vocabulary at the same time.
Or you can start him out with simple games that just have him memorize what he needs to do before trying a more difficult one.
You can start simple and make it fun, or go all out and get him an electronic gadget or game to play.
There are endless ways to teach a child how can I help my child learn?
You also want to have fun when teaching your child.
This creates a learning environment that will motivate and inspire your child.
Keep your lessons fun and interesting.
Games like spelling puzzles and jigsaw puzzles are great ways to create learning experiences that will stick in your child’s mind.
You can even use music or voices to help inspire your child’s learning.
How can I help my child learn?
Try these simple strategies.
You might be surprised by just how much you can help your child increase his or her intelligence.
And, helping your child become an independent, well-rounded learner makes life a little easier.…
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Whisky for Beginners: Here’s How to Pick the Best Whiskies
For some reason, people think it is quite funny to order a “Whisky for Beginners” kit as a beginner to whiskey drinking.
If you look a bit deeper into it though, you will see that the kit is actually quite helpful.
Of course, we all know that there is no “best” or “perfect” whiskey – it is simply that there are many to choose from.
What I am talking about are this particular brand and their “hand-picked” best-selling whiskey.
While I think most people will agree that Johnnie Walker’s whiskey is indeed one of the best in the world, is there any way to make your drinking experience better?
Whisky for Beginners: Here’s How to Choose the Best Whiskies.
The main criteria that one should consider when purchasing a new selection of whiskey for beginners is – cost.
There is a general belief that the more expensive the selection the better it is – and there is some truth to it.
But that said, the cost should not be your only criterion.
Of course, price is not the only thing to look at.
After all, there is no point in buying something if you have to settle for the cheapest choice.
The selection here is actually quite wide.
You have Bulleit, Scotchford, Blended Scotch, Irish cream, whiskey barrels from around the world, and so much more.
Some people believe that price alone should determine what they buy, but I am here to tell you that this is not true.
If the price is high then it does not necessarily mean that the whiskey is of poor quality.
On the contrary, it can be that the distiller behind the brand has done a great job!
Of course, you will get more for your money when you buy good quality – so do not make the mistake of looking for the cheapest available choice.
Price, however, is certainly one of the most important considerations when choosing the best whiskey for beginners.
You must also consider the price when you are ready to make a big purchase.
You can buy a bottle of Whisky for beginners at a fraction of the cost of buying another bottle.
In fact, you may find that it is a lot cheaper – and this will be an excellent opportunity to try new blends.
At the same time, you can also save some money by not purchasing a single bottle.
In addition, prices are very important to newcomers because they need to set a budget, to begin with.
If you are a beginner, you must remember that there is no such thing as the perfect whiskey.
You must experiment to see which among the brands available is the best for you – and this can save you money and a lot of time.
When you are ready to make the choice of the best whiskey for beginners, one of the most important factors that you must look at is the aging process.
If you love Jack Daniels, you should check the label to see what the specific age statement is.
The younger the whiskey, the less aging it undergoes, so you might want to purchase the “younger” whiskies.
Whichever way you choose, keep in mind that quality comes before quantity.
Of course, we all know that there are some cheap brands as well as good brands.
There are even brands made from ingredients that are cheap such as palm oil.
This is why it is very important to check the label to see what the specific ingredients of the best whiskey for beginners are.
After you have chosen a good whiskey, always remember that good taste comes before an expensive price tag.…
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Dark Planet: Battle for Natrolis Review
Here are the deal boys and girls, so listen up.
You’re on a planet, Natrolis, and it is populated by a bunch of primitive reptilian warriors and spell-casters.
It has just been invaded by humans, because, um? that’s what humans do.
Complicating matters is an ancient insect race that has just woken up within the planet and is itching to eat everybody.
Got it? Good. Let’s get it on!
This is about as deep as the story gets in Dark Planet: Battle for Natrolis, so if you don’t like to read or be drawn in by a gripping narrative, your game has arrived.
But seriously, many games without a story have gone on to be great experiences.
So, in a flooded real-time strategy market, with heavyweights like Warcraft 3 out there and less popular but still quality titles like Battlecry 2, should anyone plunk their money down for yet another iteration of gather, build, destroy gameplay?
Read on my RTS devotees.
The three races I mentioned above-Sorin, Human, and Dreil respectively-are the race players that will lead to global domination.
Gameplay is by-the-books RTS, though there are some small innovations I will mention.
The campaigns, one for each race, consisting of a few tutorials to get you started and then a string of scenarios with varied objectives.
Though there are three campaigns, each uses the same maps, so there is a lot of repetition if you simply must beat the campaign with each race.
It would have been nice to have an in-depth storyline experienced differently by each race.
It would also be nice if I won the New Jersey Big Game Lottery, so let’s work with what we have.
In the spirit of gathering resources that make no sense (Enemy Nations is the only RTS I know of that actually makes players refine coal and iron into steel-that makes sense), there are three that each race must acquire.
Humans need crystal, gas, and stone, Sorin’s need, wood, stone, and faith (acquired by praying at a temple), and the Dreil, being nasty insects, have to acquire wood, crystal, and cocoons, left behind after killing enemy units or neutral creatures roaming the maps.
As you can see, the three races couldn’t be more different, and this translates well into the combat aspects of the game.
The roster of units and upgrades for each race is pretty impressive and really distinguishes each one.
The Sorins have a nice lineup of lizard units to train, including Archers, Stompers (Hulk smash!), Dragons, or Zeppelins.
Their Priests are able to use a variety of spells to do everything from making the trees grow faster-such conservationists!-to calling down a rain of fire or undead army on the enemy.
The Dreil can breed a ton of huge bugs like the Mantis, Spitter, Winger, or Kamibees that can go on suicide runs.
In order to accommodate their need for fresh cocoons, there are a few different units that can collect them, including a giant worm that burrows beneath the ground.
The Human colonists are the most familiar, sporting Marines, Flame-Thrower troops, Jet Bombers, and mechs like the missile-wielding Koot.
A few neat additions are Aqua-Marines that can traverse rivers, Sniper Droids, and everyone’s favorite, nuclear missiles.
Thankfully, each one of these units and weapons looks fantastic.
Dark Planet runs on a 3D engine that is at times stunningly beautiful.
With the mouse or keyboard, you can quickly zoom in and out and rotate at will.
Zooming in allows you to admire the detail in each unit and building.
https://warpath.guide/pc-download/
The animation is smooth, and the effects, such as spells and explosions, are a joy to look at.
Even the way the units die, with the souls of troops killed by the Sorin leaving the body or the Dreil exploding into a goopy mess, is intricate and eye-catching.
I was enthralled just by watching Sappers (human resource gatherers) call in a floating craft that beams down new buildings.
The engine also sports some nice lighting effects, and the battlefield can suddenly and rapidly turn a multitude of colors as missiles explode, spells are unleashed, or blood spills over the ground.
At times this literal rainbow of colors can distract more than entertain, but these instances are rare.
The sounds don’t fare as well.
Explosions, gunshots, and screams are in abundance to be sure, but the units lack real personality.
Why can’t I hear a few quips from marines as I order them about?
Natrolis is a pretty lonely place for a commander.
The interface tries to be more streamlined by containing everything on a bottom toolbar.
The problem with this is that the icons for different functions like building and researching upgrades are all on one line with no text description.
When you hold the mouse over an icon, a text description lines the top of the screen.
Not the biggest inconvenience, but it can be distracting to look up to read it when you’re trying to build up quickly.
Of course, this problem is alleviated after extended play when you memorize the icons.
One convenient feature is that when you go to build a unit or construct a building, the amount of each resource needed is displayed right next to your current stockpile.
This allows you to quickly assess and adjust your resource gathering.
There were a couple of interface quirks that shipped with the game, such as the camera immediately jumping to a selected group of units.
This made assaults consisting of multiple groups a chore, as you constantly had to scroll back to a waypoint after selecting each group.
This was quickly fixed with the first patch.
I’m hoping a second patch is released to fix the broken skirmish mode.
There is a nice selection of maps, but the AI is out of whack.
I was surprised at this, being that both the friendly and enemy AI in the campaign is pretty strong.
In skirmish mode, if you set the enemy AI to easy or medium, it is an absolute pushover.
If I tied a mouse to a squirming fish, the fish would dominate.
Put the AI on hard, however, and you are bombarded by the AI with a constant stream of units that doesn’t let up.
A balance has obviously not been achieved.
This leaves multiplayer, playable over Ubi Soft’s gaming service.
There is hardly anyone there, however, so if you don’t have friends willing to buy and play the game with you, you’re out of luck.
While many elements of Dark Planet are derivative and some are simply missing, I found myself enjoying the game at times.
At this point, it doesn’t have a lot of longevity due to frustrating skirmish AI and a repetitive campaign, but I would welcome a sequel that could remedy these shortcomings.
There are indeed elements that are simply fantastic, such as the graphics and unit variety, but this first outing to Natrolis simply does not hold up against other selections in the genre.
If you have an RTS obsession, or have already gobbled up other strategy games and are itching for something new, you might want to give the demo a shot.
It is both a compliment and a criticism, however, to say that I was left hungry for more.…
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Social Media Platform for Your Business
Many businesses and companies are already using Social Media Platforms for their Business and as a result, the growth of such businesses is increasing every day.
In fact, the growth is so high that nowadays many of them have failed to achieve their target due to some reasons.
Most of the time, Social Media Platform for Business is the main reason for the failure of any business.
One of the biggest reasons is the lack of basic knowledge about such platforms.
To overcome this problem, here are few points that will help you get familiar with your Business on Social Media Platforms:
If you are planning to build a strong online presence for your company, the best feature to have is the Social Media Platform for your Business.
Social Media Platform is actually a platform where different users and visitors can share their views and opinions with each other through blogging and commenting.
To get maximum benefits out of Social Media Platform for Business, it is important for you to build your brand image on it.
It is through your brand image that you can gain maximum traffic on your website or blog.
To enhance your brand image and popularity, you need to have good knowledge about the various features available in the SMM World Platform for your Business.
The first and foremost point to consider before selecting any Social Media Platform for your Business is engagement level.
You need to know how active users visit your website or blog on a daily basis.
To get an idea about how many daily users visit your site or blog, you can perform a search on Google or Yahoo using the appropriate keywords.
Once you have the list of the most popular keywords and their daily usage rates, you will be able to understand how many active users visit your site or blog on a daily basis.
Another important factor to consider while selecting a Social Media Platform for your Business is the engagement level on each Social Media Platform.
You must know how active people use interest as a platform to publish their latest post or photo.
Based on this data you can understand how many people use interest as their main platform to publish their latest news or information.
You can also identify which social media platforms are used by businesses with the help of interest.
To get an idea about the number of people who access Pinterest regularly, you can utilize the Pinterest widget provided on various social networking sites.
Social Media Platform for Business also provides you with the ability to connect with across different demographics.
Various studies have revealed that most people access a platform to share news or information with their friends and family.
Social Media Marketing is the best way to reach out to these individuals.
To make sure that your business reaches out to the right audience and makes a lasting impact, you can opt for the best features available in interest.
Businesses must take advantage of the best features of interest to build brand recognition.
Pinedale is a social media marketing company that helps organizations find their target demographic and expand their market reach.
They identify the areas that need improvement across different demographics and map it on various platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
This helps in understanding the requirement in each area and develop the feature accordingly.…
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What Is Instagram Marketing?
So… What is Instagram Marketing?
Simply put, it is a tool that businesses use to promote themselves on the internet by creating and sharing pictures of their products and services.
If your business has an Instagram account then you can set it up so that you can upload images of your products or services, along with a short description and link to your website.
This is essentially a mini social media platform for businesses that use pictures as the means of communicating with their customers.
This method is similar to what Facebook does for its users; however, unlike Facebook, the user’s interaction with this platform is not restricted to merely posting pictures.
The way that Instagram works is that users are able to add text as well as images to their profile page.
Businesses can take advantage of this feature to market their brands and engage with their customers on a much more personal level.
Companies that have an Instagram account can interact with their customers through text, they can post images and they can send messages.
All of this engages the user in a more direct manner than their Facebook counterparts.
One of the most unique aspects of Instagram is the “add ons” that businesses can add to their platforms.
For instance, companies can add content such as coupons, images, videos, and even applications.
What’s interesting about these apps is that it allows users to interact with one another in ways that Facebook and Twitter do not allow.
For instance, users who may not be familiar with your brand can “like” your company and add content that is related to their interests.
This form of social engagement is what makes Instagram such a powerful platform.
The reason why Instagram is better at marketing is that it allows users to provide feedback.
A large number of users give feedback on different aspects of a brand or product and this information can be used to improve the company’s products and services.
If you are unfamiliar with what “best practices” are, you should visit the official Instagram page to find out more.
There, you can see examples of what the platform looks like and how businesses have marketed themselves through it.
In essence, you can learn from the best practices of other businesses.
If you want to know what the future holds for your brand, then the answer is simple: find your niche.
If your niche is not online, then it doesn’t matter how much you invest in marketing on the platform because there will be no noticeable effect.
On the other hand, if you have a very specific target market in mind, then it pays to start interacting with them.
The best practices suggest that businesses should reach out to their audience on a daily basis so that they remain aware of their customers’ needs and requirements.
Now that you understand what Instagram is and the benefits that it offers to businesses, it’s time to put the knowledge into practice.
It is recommended that you make your first post on Instagram visible to everyone on the platform so that your followers can notify you as well.
If you are wondering how to get a Twitter handle that is inactive, you can learn it today.
It also pays to add some basic hashtags on your first post so that search engines can find your page as well.
For businesses that are just starting out, it pays to create a number of posts in order to build up followers as well as interact with them.
For businesses that have been active on the social network for quite a while, making just one post on a daily basis can drastically improve visibility.…
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Engineering is Elementary Lessons: EiE Teaches Students to Make Science Connections and Solve Problems
Engineering, the science that applies science and mathematics in order to solve problems and create tools of use to humankind, is more important than ever in the global, technological world. However, until recently, engineering topics have rarely been introduced to students before the high school or even college levels.
Engineering is Elementary Units for K-6 Classrooms
As a part of the National Center for Technological Literacy (NCTL), the Engineering is Elementary team of scientists and educators at the Museum of Science in Boston aim to bring engineering lessons to K-6 classrooms.
Each unit includes preparatory lessons that act as advanced organizers and encourage young students to consider engineering, technology, and the Engineering Design process. Students investigate misconceptions about technology and learn about the engineers who design these technologies. Additionally, each topic in the series is introduced with an engineering story that promotes an understanding of how engineering is used around the world to solve everyday problems.
Follow-up activities and worksheets emphasize important vocabulary and encourage students to think about the factors that are incorporated into engineering planning decisions. Since the stories take place in a variety of cultures, students are also taught to recognize that engineering is a science that is important to agricultural and industrial nations alike. These lessons also allow students to think and act like engineers as they problem solve, design, and improve upon ideas. Furthermore, hands-on engineering activities encourage students to learn from mistakes as they troubleshoot design flaws.
Current Engineering is Elementary titles, which can generally be covered in eight to ten 40-minute lessons, cover mechanical, environmental, material, civil, industrial, acoustical, agricultural, bioengineering, electrical, chemical, geotechnical, package, and transportation engineering topics. Future units to be published in 2008 and 2009 will also include civil, aerospace, eco-systems, computer science, and biomedical engineering.
The units stand alone and include both basic and advanced levels of instructions so that teachers can differentiate lessons to meet science objectives at appropriate age and ability levels.
Teacher Educator Institutes
As well as providing lessons for elementary students, the EiE provides teacher training workshops to introduce educators to the series. Additionally, workshops provide participants with information for implementing professional development within elementary schools. The Teacher Educator Institutes are presented at a variety of levels, or strands, in order to provide a progressive program of study to interested teaching professionals.…
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Research Education Choices First For Furthering Career Options
Further education is never a waste – unless the student wastes the opportunity; picks a career without doing the necessary research first; or cannot realize its application to the real world. Everything one learns is another notch on the experience belt, and really does move one forward on the career path. However, a student could still end up with the wrong credentials to enter into a chosen field. The wise student/career enhancer follows these simple guidelines to ensure every penny and minute spent on education really is an investment.
Research to Ensure Employability after Graduation
Don’t ever just assume a certain title of degree or certificate really will make it easier to get a job. Investigate to find out what is necessary for the chosen path, and then if the institute really provides those qualifications. As well, make sure the institute has the authority or is recognized by the particular province or state you want to work in. Make sure the expectations are not just based on personal assessment. Do the research necessary to see what else is needed to get into that field. An ad stating “take this course and you could be a CSI in x years making $X” is just that – an ad. Get the real facts before enrolling. Do not just take the admissions officer word for any promises – ask for supporting research or documentation.
It’s also prudent to make sure there will be jobs available after graduation in the chosen field. A quick way to do this is to check out local employment news items and online sites. Indeed.ca offers job trends via industry which provides a fairly cohesive chart comparing the various industries. Clicking on the individual industry link will give a breakdown of the types of employment for that industry as well as top keyword searches and the top city locations for that job.
Full Time or Part Time; Online or Face-to-Face
Many believe education is just a matter of money. It’s not just cost that has to examined as one parameter to choosing an educational institute, but cost is a large part of the decision. The potential student needs to also understand and choose between style of institute and delivery of program. Face to face, or traditional education, involves going to a campus and attending classes. The plus side is the social aspect of being right there to ask questions and get support from fellow classmates. There’s also more perceived help available when dealing face to face, and more immediacy in problem solving. Online education though, allows the student the flexibility of deciding when to do the required reading and assignments – even if it’s at 2 am. This arrangement allows students to work either full time or part time, and fit in the education around the work schedule, as opposed to fitting in part time hours around class times.
The down side of online education for many is the perceived isolation, which can be overcome by participating in online forums and chats in the online classroom. Online education is great for mature or returning adults; meaning those who can motivate themselves. And there’s no travel time involved to get to the class. The cost though is much higher than for traditional education.
Pick the Right Type of Education for the Right Fit
Both methods of education allow for part time or full time studies; so it becomes a matter of personal preference weighed against cost and time; as well as feasibility.
Another important feature is the after-graduation support the educational institute provides. Many online institutes are geared to those already working the chosen field, and are providing a working way to be accredited. Traditional institutes such as University of Toronto or Sheridan College actually provide Career Counselling for students and Career Fair days within the professions – definitely a help for those trying to break into their new field.
Even if the education doesn’t get the job seeker the desired result of a new job, the education itself is not unworthy. All education can be applied to real situations – the student learned better study habits, learned how to learn, and how to do time management – definite pluses in today’s working world and job search.…
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Alternative Education – Steiner Schools' Lesson Structure
Steiner schools alternative teaching system, follow anthroposophy and use a different approach to teaching children. The school’s philosophy, teaching training and the school curriculum are somewhat different to state schools. The general outline is a follows:
Steiner Lesson Structure
According to Yeuhdit Angres, author of, Impressions from Waldorf’ Education: Pedagogical Diary, 1990, usually, the day consists of three parts. In the morning the class remains together. During the first two hours frontal lessons are used to teach the main subject as children are more willing to listen and absorb in this period. Just before noon practising and drilling are the main elements of the lessons in which playing instruments and eurhythmics are included. Arts and crafts are left until the afternoon when concentration is at its lowest.
Steiner Pre-school – Lots of Copying
Until age 5/6 the school day blends structure and freedom in the form of creative play in an atmosphere comparable to a second home. The child learns respect for the natural world and one another and for his environment through healthy repetition. Copying is the main characteristic of this period of development; therefore, teaching subjects such as grammar are ineffectual. As copying is at the forefront, Waldorf teachers use it as an educational tool; for example, for disciplinary purpose, instead of reproof the children are taught through emulation. (Rudolf Steiner Waldorf Education.)
Steiner Lower School – Imaginative Thought
Around age 6/7 children enter the “Lower School”. At this stage of their education Steiner recommended children remain with the same teacher until the age of 14, since, continuity enables those responsible to follow and evaluate each child’s needs through the important developmental stages of childhood and youth.
During this period, development and encouragement of imaginative thought is at a premium. Much of the lesson is conveyed through the spoken word allowing the pupils freedom to exercise their imaginations. They make home-made textbooks in preference to commercially produced books, encouraging active rather than passive involvement in their education. (Rudolf Steiner Waldorf Education)
Steiner Upper School – Childhood into Young Adulthood
During the ages 13-18 great developmental changes occur and the child has to contend with the metamorphism from childhood to young adulthood. The teacher’s main task is to help the student adjust to the new demands of this period with the help of the sound base built in the formative years.
Steiner School Subjects
Following is a brief look at a selection of subjects taught in Steiner schools.
Music
According to Angres, the ideal age for introducing musical instruments is between 7 and 14 when children need to fulfil their senses. In addition, music enhances listening and studying abilities. The recorder is a good instrument to begin with because it’s notes emphasise the contrast between sound and silence.
Language
Angres mentions that since Steiner educators view language as the foundation of freedom and expression, therefore, children are exposed to foreign languages from class 1. For the first two years they learn mostly through songs, rhymes, and movements.
Reading and Writing
As mentioned above, until around the age of seven children are great imitators and copiers; however, in order to learn to read there has to be understanding. At this stage the child cannot relate words to pictures, therefore, Steiner education suggests that artistic aspects such as writing should be developed before the intellectual aspects of, for example, reading are focused upon. As children can only absorb one item at a time, anthroposophic teachers teach only one letter at a time. The child learns by repeatedly copying the letter and experiencing it in different ways. (Angres)
Painting and Drawing
Since the natural world is full of colour, anthroposophic painting and drawing deepens the understanding of form and colour. Pupils use a lot of water colours and learn the characteristics of each colour and shade evoking emotions and enhancing perception. Around age 13/14, the beginning of the adolescence, sketching becomes very important. At this stage emphasis is placed on contrasts between light and shade, in preparation for the contrasts and conflicts the teenagers may face. (Angres)
Daily Story
The daily story plays an important part in education as they help develop the imagination. There are different stories for every age group, for example, between age 8 to 10, The Bible, Vikings, and Greek mythology help children relate to the world and see things in proportion as they illustrate ways of dealing with difficulties and torments. (Angres)
Maths
One of Steiner methods of teaching maths is by using movement. For example, walking around and counting steps. Another way is to take a large number and reduce it to it’s components. This is useful for the future as it teaches children to face problems holistically and encourages analysis and investigation. (Angres)
Alternative System Focusing on the Child
Many of Steiner schools methods are based upon the child’s stages of development and use a different approach to learning that pays more attention to the develomental needs of the child. However, parents should check thoroughly any education system they are interested in before enrolling their children.…
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