Are 2-Year Colleges the Path to Jobs? What's the Latest Development? Canada is finding that its system of community colleges is better at preparing students for employment than its traditional four-year universities. And students who are ready to enter the workforce prefer shorter, more specific degree programs over required courses in underwater basket weaving and philosophical systems of the 18th century. Community colleges are more nimble, able to respond faster to industry when it needs workers trained for specific tasks, such as video game design which has become big business in Toronto. What's the Big Idea? The American economic crisis is partly an education crisis in two main areas: cost and job preparedness. Photo credit: shutterstock.com
Main Page - FreeMind - free mind mapping software MIT expands its free online courses While students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology pay thousands of dollars for courses, the university will shortly announce a new programme allowing anyone anywhere to take MIT courses online free of charge – and for the first time earn official certificates for demonstrating mastery of the subjects taught, writes Tamar Lewin for The New York Times . “There are many people who would love to augment their education by having access to MIT content, people who are very capable to earn a certificate from MIT,” said L Rafael Reif, the provost, in a conference call with reporters on Friday. MIT’s free OpenCourseWare now includes nearly 2,100 courses and has been used by more than 100 million people. But the new ‘MITx’ interactive online learning platform will go further, giving students access to online laboratories, self-assessments and student-to-student discussions. Full report on The New York Times site
Brainstorming The Brainstorming (brainstorm) method is a semi-structured creative group activity, used most often in ad-hoc business meetings to come up with new ideas for innovation or improvement. Members of the group are encouraged to put forward ideas about a problem and how it may be solved, in order to generate as many ideas as possible, even if they are not always usable alternatives. The idea behind brainstorming is, that a group of people can achieve a higher (synergy) level of creativity than the sum of the participants separately. Brainstorming Rules Three major rules for a successful brainstorm session are: Participants should be encouraged to come up with as much ideas as possible, however strange they are (there are no bad ideas). Brainstorming hints Some hints for a successful brainstorm session are: Use an experienced facilitator. The effectiveness of brainstorming Book: Michael Michalko - Thinkertoys (A Handbook of Business Creativity) - More Management Methods, Models and Theory
9 Quirky Things Every 'Cool' Workplace Is Required to Have If you have any interest in games or animation or technology, you've probably watched a "look how fun and crazy our workplace is" video or photo tour of some company. They'll throw everything from scooters to Nerf guns at you to show you how their company is basically Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory if Willy Wonka made software. But if you watch enough of these tours you start to notice the same things coming up again and again. #9. Working At Popcap I know what they were thinking here. Short answer, lots of people. I'm just saying, it's not exactly Die Hard. Each person posts theirs as if people's minds are going to be boggled that Nerf guns would be used in a workplace. There is nothing more exciting than a guy standing in front of a company logo without a Nerf gun, talking about Nerf guns. But wait! Via VentureBeatThe other cliche would be the high-visibility mascot you have to sell when your company goes bankrupt. #8. NerdBusiness.comI might be impressed if it wasn't all Marvel titles.
25 Napping Facts Every College Student Should Know Written By: Angelita Williams It's almost cruel the way adults ease children into life outside of the house. They got us on board with the whole going to school thing by letting us take naps in pre-school. But then, come kindergarten, no more naps! Nothing but 12 more grades of trying to focus all day without a siesta. It makes you smarter According to Dr. If it was good enough for them… Presidents JFK and Bill Clinton used to nap every day to help ease the heavy burden of ruling the free world.
Thiel Foundation To New Crop Of College-Bound Grads: Don't Go To overworked high school seniors anxiously filing college applications, we have some good news. You don’t have to go. To 19-year-old college students ripe with talent we have even better news: You can leave. Your parents won’t tell you this, guidance counselors won’t tell you this, and university administrators, test prep companies, politicians, a nearly $1 trillion student loan industry, and other unscrupulous profiteers won’t tell you that you don’t have to go. Last year, the Thiel Foundation (established by Peter Thiel, right) decided to start a revolution. It’s easy to see how people have been lulled into bad choices. So-called high-debt borrowers graduate from private universities with an average debt of $53,200, and some with multiple degrees owe $200,000. In recent years, Sallie Mae has paid two of its executives hundreds of millions of dollars to reign over this mess. So with higher prices, deeper debt, and stagnant prospects, we have to ask, what are colleges good for?
Insanity Workout Drop serious pounds and sculpt sexy curves with Insanity, the DVD craze that lives up to the hype. The magic behind the routine comes from plyometrics: explosive, full-body exercises that rev your heart rate and ratchet up metabolism to torch megacalories and build lean muscle. We asked Insanity creator Shaun Thompson for his top multitasking moves to help you get an insane body in only 20 minutes. You'll need: Zilch. Unless you count a wardrobe of size-smaller clothes. The plan: Do each sizzler for 1 minute without stopping between exercises. The HEISMAN Works: shoulders, arms, abs, butt, thighsStand with feet hip-width apart, elbows bent, arms close to body. Stance Jacks Works: shoulders, abs, obliques, butt, thighsStand with feet together, arms raised to chest level, elbows out, fingertips touching. Hit the Floor Works: abs, butt, thighsStand with feet shoulder-width apart, arms down. Works: abs, butt, thighsStand with feet hip-width apart, knees soft, arms down. Double Diamond