http://www.gatesfoundation.org/
Altius Education Tom Dearden Appointed Chairman; Matthew Schnittman to Join as President and CEO Salt Lake City, UT – October 10, 2013 – Datamark, the leader in data-driven enrollment marketing, today announced it has acquired the technology assets of Altius Education, including its competency-based online learning platform, Helix, as well as its enrollment management and student retention platforms. An investment group led by Oakleigh Thorne, current Chairman of the Board of Datamark and former CEO of eCollege, financed the transaction and committed an additional $11 million in equity to fund the further development of the company’s infrastructure, as well as support the growth of Altius’ current educational partnerships, which will be managed by Datamark going forward.
Organic Management of Soil and Crop Nutrition - Department of Environment and Primary Industries Australia’s National Standard for Organic and Bio-dynamic Produce states ‘ The fertility and the biological activity of the soil must be maintained or increased …’ and ‘ A high or routine use of off-farm inputs is not encouraged by this Standard ’. This sets the scene for organic farmers - maintain or improve soil health, and rely on on-farm resources as much as possible. Soil management is addressed over two factsheets in this series. THE ECONOMICS OF ECOSYSTEMS AND BIODIVERSITY - Environment Additional tools Human well-being is dependent upon "ecosystem services" provided by nature for free. Such services include water provision, air purification, fisheries, timber production and nutrient cycling to name a few. These are predominantly public goods with no markets and no prices, so their loss often is not detected by our current economic incentive system and can thus continues unabated. A variety of pressures resulting from population growth, changing diets, urbanisation, climate change and many other factors is causing biodiversity to decline. As a result, ecosystems are continuously being degraded.
Bill Gates: In Five Years The Best Education Will Come From The Web Bill Gates thinks something is going to die too. No, it’s not physical books like Nicholas Negroponte — instead, Gates thinks the idea of young adults having to go to universities in order to get an education is going to go away relatively soon. Well, provided they’re self-motivated learners. “Five years from now on the web for free you’ll be able to find the best lectures in the world,” Gates said at the Techonomy conference in Lake Tahoe, CA today. International Climate Protection Fellowship For young climate experts from developing countries interested in conducting a project in Germany and developing long-term collaborations The fellowship allows future leaders to spend a year in Germany working on a research-based project of their own choice in the field of climate protection and climate-related resource conservation. Fellows are free to choose their own hosts. Submit an application if you come from a non-European transition or developing country (see list of countries) and are active in any of the following areas: scientific, engineering-based, legal, economic, health-related or social aspects of climate change.
The New Horse-Powered Farm Featured in The New York Times Across the nation, farmers are returning to an age-old technology that’s at the cutting edge of sustainable agriculture: horse-power. Why? Simple. It’s better for the land, and better for the soul. Bill Gates: A fairer way to evaluate teachers In much the same way that sports teams identify and nurture talent, there is a window of opportunity in public education to create systems that encourage and develop fantastic teachers, leading to better results for students. Efforts are being made to define effective teaching and give teachers the support they need to be as effective as possible. But as states and districts rush to implement new teacher development and evaluation systems, there is a risk they’ll use hastily contrived, unproven measures. One glaring example is the rush to develop new assessments in grades and subjects not currently covered by state tests. Some states and districts are talking about developing tests for all subjects, including choir and gym, just so they have something to measure. This is one reason there is a backlash against standardized tests — in particular, using student test scores as the primary basis for making decisions about firing, promoting and compensating teachers.
Climate change and communities How can communities in the UK improve their resilience and responses to climate change? Climate change is one of the greatest risks facing society. This includes direct effects, such as increased flooding, higher temperatures and drought, and indirect effects, including an increase in the cost of living as food and fuel prices rise. Our Climate change and communities programme builds on JRF evidence about which people and places will be affected by climate change in the UK and how this may link to poverty and disadvantage – see this summary of our publications and our infographics.
Banyan Roots: Udaipur’s First Organic Food Store and Cafe Published: October 31, 2011 | Last Updated: 31 October 2011 9:28 PM Udaipur has witnessed its first dedicated Organic Food Store today, Banyan Roots . One can get Rice, Wheat, Corn, Pulses, Lentil, Gram, Spices, Ghee, Peanut Oil, Mustard Oil, Herbal Tea, Hair Oil, Thyme, Sulphur free Sugar, Tea, Coffee, Papad etc. and various other products, all purely grown and/or produced naturally without adding any harmful chemicals. Banyan Roots is not only an organic grocery store but they also have a special cafeteria where every food served is organic. Moreover, the Banyan Roots also has place for artists of any genre to practice their talents and talk about their skill with other artists. This innovative assortment of natural food and art, Banyan Roots is an initiative of two youngsters Jayesh Mohta and Rohit Jain .
Evidence The Earth's climate has changed throughout history. Just in the last 650,000 years there have been seven cycles of glacial advance and retreat, with the abrupt end of the last ice age about 7,000 years ago marking the beginning of the modern climate era — and of human civilization. Most of these climate changes are attributed to very small variations in Earth’s orbit that change the amount of solar energy our planet receives. Scientific evidence for warming of the climate system is unequivocal. The current warming trend is of particular significance because most of it is very likely human-induced and proceeding at a rate that is unprecedented in the past 1,300 years.1
Education Week This week, National Board certified teachers gathered in Washington for the National Board's annual Teaching and Learning conference. They were presented with a beguiling vision of teacher leadership, from both Arne Duncan and Bill Gates. It is beguiling because it offers NBCTs an opportunity to grasp something that teachers desperately desire - a sense of authorship over their classrooms, and genuine influence over future education policy. But what is being offered calls into question the meaning of true leadership. Here is what Duncan promised in his speech: