Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Leadership

John McGinniss has provided a series of eight videos on leadership.

You can find these at:
http://www.youtube.com/user/edutectraining

eBooks

The trend in eBook retail sales growth suggests this is an area that will boom over the coming decade. In 2005, eBooks accounted for approximately 2% of retail book sales in the United States. By 2008 this had jumped to 5% and by the end of 2010 the figure is likely to be close to 10%.

So what is the reason for this spike in numbers?

1. People can search for books online, as opposed to a bookstore.
2. eBooks are generally cheaper than printed books.
3. The way to read eBooks has greatly improved.
4. Greater connection between reader and author.

More on this interesting topic soon.

English language tenses

I was talking about the importance of correct tenses with my language students today. One point that came up was the use of the future perfect tense.

eg. By next week I will have sent the invoice.

In languages such as Chinese, the future perfect tense does not exist, which may impede accurate reporting of financial transactions, in terms of time at least.

This is just one of the 12 main tenses we use in English, which can act to make precise communication difficult between non-expert users.

The importance of context

Background knowledge and context is such an important element of learning, especially for people from diverse backgrounds.

For example, the students who need to do an IELTS listening test can't just answer the questions based on their listening skills. In section 3 of the IELTS listening they need to understand western academic contexts and the ways that university function. In some cases they need to understand why university students conduct research, how they evaluate methodology such as questionnaires and sample sizes and the ways in which their results are analysed. Not only that, but they need to consider the implications of their finding, and what questions do they pose for future study.

As a result, students need to know the importance of academic style in Western institutions, not only the academic phrases related to academic study. This is often ignored by language teachers who simply teach students methods for passing a test, without doing into what any of the information actually means.

Using technology as a teaching tool

What do teachers and students generally think about using technology in the classroom? It seems they often have vastly different views.

Training with the use of technology can be hugely empowering for the student, as well as the teacher. But certainly not all teachers are keen to use technology, as I have experienced in the past. Once I was involved in teacher professional development training for a simple application, and almost half the teachers were glazing over, even offering openly negative comments like 'this is a complete waste of time' or 'how am I going to remember all this?'

It's funny how closed-minded teachers can be. Maybe it's due to the fact that they don't have the time or energy to deal with something new when there are so many demands on their time. When it comes to the learner's, however, it's appears to be a totally different story. From my experience they love it when you try something new with technology in the classroom, as it breaks up the monotony of standard lessons that drag on and on. Actually, it seems their desire to try something new is so strong, they will give the teacher the benefit of the doubt even when things go completely wrong with technology. It's as if they appreciate the effort that the teacher is trying to advance their knowledge in a fresh new way.

In conclusion, teachers should try to take risks with new technologies for learning, in any case it may help them re-consider the staid old lessons they've been hammering out over the years.

Direction for the business

Edutec Training and Development provides English language, business and leadership training. It has evolved over the years from Matt McGinniss' engagement in English as a second language training, business training and high quality content creation. We are passionate about these areas, as they have the ability to raise the prospects for people who may not have had strong opportunities in the past. In particular, we hope people from backgrounds that don't necessarily fit with the current paradigm of education and training will benefit from these services.

Edutec will provide training services that are user-friendly, value for money and accessible to a wide range of people through the face-to-face training and the internet.

We look forward to your support.