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"जिबन पर्यन्त शिक्षाका लागि पुस्तकालय (Library for lifelong education)"

Monday, September 19, 2016

The impact of ICT on organizations

Technology is involved in all aspects of our life, but what is the impact of new technologies on business organizations? The Internet has undoubtedly become one of the best ways of selling and reaching consumers nowadays.

The concept of the value chain from Porter has been one of the most highly diffused business management models over the last few years. However, in the network economy, the new economy and the Information Society, this business model has changed drastically due to ICT’s extensive implementation.

Below is a list of the new concepts brought to us by the new technologies that you can apply to your organization to stay up-to-date.

New organizational models: Some of the main effects ICT has had on organizations is the reduction in the size of the organizational units and the redefinition of business processes and chain values. In this new economy, companies are less hierarchical, more flexible and more decentralized, and they work with multidisciplinary profiles that rely on the real time information to deliver products and services specifically tailored to the market and clients.

E-business models: E-business models enable the fragmentation of business processes at basically any scale, no matter how small. Digitalization has brought a big fragmentation of media and supports, and due to this concept, each company offers just a few products or services focusing on a core competency and implements cooperative strategies with other companies.

Process reengineering: This process is a business management strategy focused on the analysis and design of workflows and business processes within an organization in order to improve operational costs, quality, customer service and speed.

Know-how: For centuries, the know-how of family businesses has been handed down from generation to generation, enhancing and exploiting the most effective and efficient knowledge. Thanks to ICT, the need-to-know requirements of today and tomorrow can be determined, and weaknesses can be identified, allowing people to apply knowledge effectively and efficiently to make better informed decisions.

Work shifting: New technologies allow employees to work in a remote area away from the office by giving them the option to choose their work schedule and location.

E-recruitment: The search, selection and recruitment of candidates has changed dramatically with the Internet. Electronic selection is becoming an important tactic in most companies. Electronic selection owes its success to its ability of attracting and retaining talent, as well as speed and cost reduction.

E-learning: E-learning is one of the main solutions offering a more individual and flexible education in terms of learning pace, frequency, time, place and peer group. Thanks to e-learning, people can get a quality education at any time regardless of their location.

Collaborative design: New technologies provide tools to employees to work simultaneously in several parts of the world. In this sense, collaborative design allows the exchange of information in real time between team members no matter the location.

E-procurement: Thanks to this concept, procurement processes of indirect goods and services can be automatized via the Internet in a far more flexible manner than traditional shopping. Decreasing costs, reducing the time of purchase cycle and process efficiency are some of the main benefits of this type of procedure.

ERM: Meaning Enterprise Resource Management refers to the management of all assets and resources of the company.

SCM: Supply Chain Management drives the management via the Internet of the flow of goods, services, money and the information shared with suppliers, producers etc. This concept facilitates a reduction in production and distribution costs.

Automated manufacturing: Making production processes are increasingly automated bringing greater accuracy, cost savings and flexibility and can produce customized products for global markets (concepts that were completely incompatible until now).

E-fulfilment: An e-business strategy must ensure that once the customer has placed an order online, he can receive the product or service under the established conditions.

Virtual Store: A website is your shop window,so it’s important to take care of specific aspects such as presentation and the ease and speed of operations and navigation function.

Electronic markets: These type of markets are a virtual representation of physical markets. The main difference between them is that there’s at least an electronic component in the electronic market.


CRM: Customer Relationship Management is a business strategy focused on customers used for gathering as much information as possible about them in order to build long-term relationships and increase the user satisfaction.


            source: shapingtheodds

Saturday, September 17, 2016

KOHA: Integrated Library Management Software

A Koha is a special kind of gift, most accurately defined as a gift with expectations.


Koha is the first open-source Integrated Library Management System (ILMS). Development started in New Zealand in 1999-2000 by a web development company called Katipo for libraries in rural areas of New Zealand. Katipo worked with Horowhenua Library Trust (HLT) to write the first version of Koha, and then released the code under the GPL (The GNU General Public License). 

Koha is web-based multilingual LIMS to cater to the automation needs of medium to large libraries around the world. Koha satisfies all the functional requirements of a library management system. It is full-featured MARC based Integrated Library Management System and can customize to cater to the needs of libraries.

Koha can be downloaded from the official site: www.koha-community.org.   Koha is not a company - Koha is a world-wide project and a product. The word Koha is a Maori word meaning gift or donation. Koha development is steered by the collaboration of a growing community of libraries and a team of volunteers from around the globe. Koha is developed using technologies like Perl (Practical Extraction and Report Language), HTML, CSS, Javascript, Apache and MySQL. It runs on Linux.

Features of Koha
  • MARC 21 compatible
  • Z39.50 search
  • MARC Import/Exports
  • Multilingual Web OPAC
  • Comprehensive advance search
  • Flexibility to customize according to your library needs
  • Printing functions for barcode labels, and reports
  • Virtual Book Shelf
  • Barcode and spine label printing
  • Copy Cataloguing
  • Branch Libraries Management and Items transfers
  • Budget Management
  • Customizable Data Entry Sheet
  • No platform dependence. It can run on Linux, Windows etc. Koha uses MySQL as backend RDBMS and Apache Web server (these software are also open source).
Modules
Fully web-based and all necessary library modules available to perform traditional library operations:
  • Multilingual Web OPAC
  • Cataloguing
  • Patron Management
  • Acquisition
  • Circulation (Online and Offline)
  • Serials system for periodicals
  • Authorities Control
  • Reports
  • FAQ
OPAC: customizable, RSS feed for searches, comments /reviews by patrons

Cataloging: data entry, copy cataloging using Z39.50 search, MARC and UNIMARC support, authority control

Patron Management: photos, custom fields, fine management, history

Acquisition: This preference defines the type of acquisitions the library plans to use.

Circulation: checking in/out, overdue notices (email, sms)

Serials: serials management, receive issues, track late issues, process vendor claims, check-in supplements Acquisitions track vendors, track orders, receive orders, process claims, budgeting

Custom Reporting: Statistics wizards - select fields to display in table form and generate statistics
Report wizard - Choose database fields to generate custom reports to meet your library's needs, SQL reports

Important Links
  1. http://www.web2learning.net/wp-content/uploads/2006/06/introkoha-lyrasis.pdf
  2. http://www.slideshare.net/arslanone/introduction-to-koha-7712058?from_action=save
  3. https://wiki.koha-community.org/wiki/Main_Page
  4. http://opensource-ils.cci.utk.edu/content/koha
  5. http://www.koha.org/download
  6. https://koha-community.org/about/koha-project-organization/
  7. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1W4vUwEQK5alc474WEt0h38qQ5VOGJxPpnJiytxJSgu0/edit
Why Koha?
Full-featured ILS. In use worldwide in libraries of all sizes, Koha is a true enterprise-class ILS with comprehensive functionality including basic and advanced options. Koha includes modules for circulation, cataloguing, acquisitions, serials, reservation, user management, branch relationships and et al.

Dual Database Design 
Koha uses a dual database design that utilizes the strengths of the two major industry-standard database types (text-based and RDBMS). This design feature ensures that Koha is scalable enough to meet the transaction load of any library, no matter what the size.

Library Standards Compliant 
Koha is built using library standards and protocols that ensure interoperability between Koha and other systems and technologies, while supporting existing workflows and tools.

Web-based Interfaces 
Koha’s OPAC, circulation management and self-checkout interfaces are all based on standards compliant World Wide Web technologies XHTML, CSS and Javascript making Koha a truly platform-independent solution.

Free/Open Source
Koha is distributed under the open-source General Public License. 

Minimum Hardware, Software and Manpower Requirements for Koha Implementation

Hardware Requirement:

                  Processor     Pentium-4, 2.6 GHz or higher
                  RAM            2 GB
                  HDD            80 GB
                  DVD Drive /USB Drive   

Software Requirement: osslis  
  • Windows XP (Service pack 2 or 3) or higher for installation of Koha on Window. OR Any flavor of Linux operating system (Ubuntu, Centos, Fedora) for installation on Linux or Unix.
  • ActivePearl - programming language
  • Apache Server
  • Koha ILMS Software
  • Firefox Webbrowser
  • Mysql Server
  • SQLyog mysql administration tool
  • wrar - winrar is a windows data compression tool that focuses on the RAR and ZIP data compression formats.
  • Any flavor of Linux operating system (Ubuntu, Centos, Fedora) for installation on Linux.
Manpower: The professionals having expertise in Linux operating system and knowledge of the Local Area Network (LAN). Internet Configuration: A high speed dedicated Internet link.


Koha upgrade
New version of Koha release every six month with bundle of new features. Updates also release during the six month.

Up-gradation is easy with Koha installation based on Debian packages.

Apply the following command in Applications > Accessories > Terminal
sudo su    [enter the Linux root password when it ask]
apt-get update
apt-get upgrade
apt-get install koha-common

If any errors shows, install again repository key.

wget -O- http://debian.koha-community.org/koha/gpg.asc | sudo apt-key add -
Again repeat the upgrade process.

Clean the packages after upgradation
apt-get clean

After upgrading you have to install additional perl modules missing, Open Koha staff interface and check,  About Koha > Perl Modules You can find missing perl modules highlighted in different colors,

How to install missing perl modules, Apply following commands in a terminal,
sudo su
sudo cpan

Here is an example to install a perl module called Data::Pagination
install Data::Pagination

The same way, you can install other missing Perl modules.

Now your Koha is upgraded to Koha 3.12 and ready to use. 

References:  
  • https://wiki.koha-community.org/wiki/Main_Page
  • kohacommunity.org
  • http://www.slideshare.net/search/slideshow?searchfrom=header&q=KOHA+TUTORIAL
  • https://koha-community.org/about/release-schedule/
  • https://www.perl.org/
  • https://www.webyog.com/
  • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ou7WgoeSmOc
  • https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1anrAx83fzuy0j0CWqAqi8P8JQeNDWwrX1mhktzAUjf0/edit#slide=id.g1425b80d6e_0_123
  • http://www.koha.rwjr.com/downloads/Koha%20on%20Windows.pdf
  • https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/
  • http://kohageek.blogspot.com/2013/05/how-to-upgrade-to-koha-312-in-koha-live.html

DSpace: Digital Assets Management System

DSpace is the software of choice for academic, non-profit, and commercial organizations building open digital repositories.  It is free and easy to install "out of the box" and completely customizable to fit the needs of any organization.

DSpace preserves and enables easy and open access to all types of digital content including text, images, moving images, mpegs and data sets.  And with an ever-growing community of developers, committed  to continuously expanding and improving the software, each DSpace installation benefits from the next.

The DSpace Vision and Mission Statement

Vision: The DSpace Project will produce the world’s choice for repository software providing the means for making information openly available and easy to manage.

Mission: We will create superior open source software by harnessing the skills of an active developer community, the energy and insights of engaged and active users, and the financial support of project members and registered service providers.

DSpace software will:

1. Focus on the Institutional Repository use case.

2. Be lean, agile, and flexible.

3. Be easy and simple to install and operate.

4. Include a core set of functionality that can be extended to or integrated with complementary services and tools in the larger scholarly ecosystem

System Requirements for DSpace -   Installation Requirement , Tutorial


Important Links
  1. http://www.dspace.org/introducing
  2. https://wiki.duraspace.org/display/DSPACE/Home

Source:
  • dspace.org
  • wikiduraspace
  • youtube.com

Friday, September 16, 2016

The qualities of skillful leadership

If you want to be a leader who attracts quality people, the key is to become a person of quality yourself. Leadership is the ability to attract someone to the gifts, skills and opportunities you offer as an owner, as a manager, as a parent.16 Jim Rohn calls leadership the great challenge of life.
What’s important in leadership is refining your skills. All great leaders keep working on themselves until they become effective. Here’s how:

1. Learn to be strong but not impolite.
It is an extra step you must take to become a powerful, capable leader with a wide range of reach. Some people mistake rudeness for strength. It's not even a good substitute.

2. Learn to be kind but not weak.
We must not mistake weakness for kindness. Kindness isn't weak. Kindness is a certain type of strength. We must be kind enough to tell someone the truth. We must be kind enough and considerate enough to lay it on the line. We must be kind enough to tell it like it is and not deal in delusion.

3. Learn to be bold but not a bully.
It takes boldness to win the day. To build your influence, you've got to walk in front of your group. You've got to be willing to take the first arrow, tackle the first problem, discover the first sign of trouble.2 Like the farmer, if you want any rewards at harvest time, you have got to be bold and face the weeds and the rain and the bugs straight on. You've got to seize the moment.

4. Learn to be humble but not timid.
You can't get to the high life by being timid. Some people mistake timidity for humility. But humility is a virtue; timidity is a disease. It's an affliction. It can be cured, but it is a problem. Humility is almost a God-like word—a sense of awe, a sense of wonder, an awareness of the human soul and spirit, an understanding that there is something unique about the human drama versus the rest of life. Humility is a grasp of the distance between us and the stars, yet having the feeling that we're part of the stars.

5. Learn to be proud but not arrogant.
It takes pride to build your ambitions. It takes pride in your community. It takes pride in a cause, in accomplishment. But the key to becoming a good leader is to be proud without being arrogant. Do you know the worst kind of arrogance? Arrogance from ignorance. It's intolerable. If someone is smart and arrogant, we can tolerate that. But if someone is ignorant and arrogant, that's just too much to take.

6. Learn to develop humor without folly.
In leadership, we learn that it's OK to be witty but not silly; fun but not foolish.11

7. Learn to deal in realities.
Deal in truth. Save yourself the agony of delusion. Just accept life as it is—the whole drama of life. It's fascinating.

Life is unique. Leadership is unique. The skills that work well for one leader may not work at all for another. However, the fundamental skills of leadership can be adopted to work well for just about everyone: at work, in the community and at home.

source: success.com

10 Little Things Successful People Do Differently


Successful people think differently, act differently and ultimately distinguish themselves from unsuccessful people by taking a distinctive path toward their goals.

Successful people all have similar traits and similar patterns. The truth is that being successful is not far-fetched if you can learn what other successful people do. And no, it doesn’t have to be big acts of philanthropy or innovation. It can be small things, things you can do every day to reach your goals.

Here are 10 things successful people do daily:


Ø  They strive for consistency. 
Successful people are focused on meeting their objectives and this is why they have a consistent schedule. According to Rameet Chawla, founder of Fueled, having a consistent schedule aids prioritization and allows you to keep the important tasks at the top of your list.

Ø  They set daily goals.
Kenneth Chenault, CEO of American Express, has a detailed plan for his day by writing down three things he wants to accomplish the next day. Successful people are clear about their goals and having a list to propel them to meeting these goals sets them apart.

Ø  They nurture the right relationships.
In his book Tribes, Seth Godin explains there are tribes everywhere hungry for connection, meaning and change. Successful people look for support and find people they can connect with intellectually. Find your tribe and collaborate, play off each other’s strengths and watch everyone grow9. Jim Rohn says you are the average of your five closest friends. Who are yours?

Ø  They display high emotional intelligence.
Emotionally intelligent people constantly look for ways to add value and contribute to their environment. They use their emotional awareness to think progressively and find answers to problems. This quality helps them to inspire others to be successful, too. According to Steve Jobs, “Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn’t really do it; they just saw something. It seemed obvious to them after a while.”

Ø  They take action.
Successful people take action. Nothing is solved when you let the feeling of overwhelm set you back. Through actions you can attain results and discover a path toward your goals.

Ø  They practice positive self-talk.
When you use phrases like, Today is going to be a great day or I am successful, you boost your intellectual ability and improve your chances of attaining your goals for the day.

Ø  They stay healthy.
President Barack  Obama exercises 45 minutes per day, six days a week. A healthy mind and body is the first step to success. Your body is a vehicle to everything you achieve. Such physical activity doesn’t only keep the body physically healthy; it also improves one’s mental state.

Ø  They meditate.
Meditation allows you to focus and be more productive. Oprah Winfrey speaks about the great benefits of meditation and how the results have included better relationships and being more creative.

Ø  They act on small improvements toward their major goals.
According to Henry Ford, “Nothing is particularly hard if you divide it into small pieces3.” Successful people apply the domino effect toward their ambitions by making small and continuous improvements every day.

Ø  They wake up early.
From Tim Cook, the CEO of Apple, to Jeffrey Immelt, the CEO of General Electric, waking up early seems to be the tradition of successful people. So much can be done within those wee hours of the day that is much harder to accomplish when distractions, meetings and environmental noise are added. 

In the end, it takes consistent practice to be successful. Success doesn’t happen by accident, but because you have committed yourself to certain activities, that will help you reach your goals.

Source: success.com 


Monday, August 29, 2016

10 Tips for Writing a Successful PhD Thesis

Writing up a PhD can often take place in a frenzy of activity in the last few months of your degree study, after years of hard work. But there are some steps that you can take to increase your chances of success.

1.   Do not be daunted by the task of “writing up”. Work on the text as your PhD takes shape, remember that all writers need editing, and help yourself by using these basic tips to make life easier. Read what great writers say about how to write before you start, and take their advice to heart. There is no dark art to clear, concise work; it is mostly a result of editing, and editing again. Above all, keep Elmore Leonard’s advice in mind: “If it reads like writing…rewrite it.”

2.     Plan the structure of your thesis carefully with your supervisor. Create rough drafts as you go so that you can refine them as you become more focused on the write-up. Much of writing comprises rewriting so be prepared to rework each chapter many times. Even Ernest Hemingway said: “The first draft of everything is shit.”

3.   Academic writing does not have to be dry. Inject some flair into your work. Read advice on writing and remember George Orwell’s words in Why I Write: “Never use the passive where you can use the active”; and Mark Twain’s on adjectives: “When you catch an adjective, kill it.” If you prefer, Stephen King said: “The road to hell is paved with adverbs.”

4.     Do not write up in chronological order. Work on each chapter while it is fresh in your mind or pertinent to what you are doing at that moment, but come back to it all later and work it up into a consistent, coherent piece, restructuring sections where necessary.

5.     Think carefully about your writing. Write your first draft, leave it and then come back to it with a critical eye. Look objectively at the writing and read it closely for style and sense. Look out for common errors such as dangling modifiers, subject-verb disagreement and inconsistency. If you are too involved with the text to be able to take a step back and do this, then ask a friend or colleague to read it with a critical eye. Remember Hemingway’s advice: “Prose is architecture, not interior decoration.” Clarity is key.

6.      Most universities use a preferred style of references. Make sure you know what this is and stick to it. One of the most common errors in academic writing is to cite papers in the text that do not then appear in the bibliography. All references in your thesis need to be cross-checked with the bibliography before submission. Using a database during your research can save a great deal of time in the writing-up process. Helpful software includes EndNote or Paperpile. Managing your bibliography from day one may seem obsessive, but it will save you a great deal of time and stress by the end of the PhD process.

7.  Use a house style. Professional publications such as Times Higher Education use a house style guide to ensure consistency in spelling. For example, do not use both -is spellings and -ize spellings, stick to British spelling and be consistent when referring to organizations or bodies. Because dictionaries vary in their use of hyphenation, use one dictionary and stick to it throughout the writing process. If you consult the New Oxford Dictionary for Writers and Editors, you will note the extraordinary number of words with alternative spellings. It can also be a very useful guide to preferred spellings, use of italicisation and foreign phrases.

8.  Take care when quoting from other sources. Ensure you note whether the italic emphasis is in the original and take careful notes when you are collecting quotes for your thesis. Transcribe them accurately to save work later and keep original spellings (even if they differ from your chosen style) to ensure fidelity to your source.

9.    Think about plagiarism. If you are quoting from works, quote from them accurately and paraphrase where necessary for your argument. This is where careful note-taking and use of references is invaluable and will help you to avoid even inadvertently plagiarizing another work.

10. Remember that your thesis is your chance to present your work in the best possible light. Consider your opening paragraphs, entice your reader with your writing and above all be clear about your hypothesis and your conclusion. Append material where it adds value, but not where it merely bulks out your work. Consider your reader at all times. This is your chance to showcase your work.

If you stick to these simple rules, your writing will be clear and jargon-free. Above all, take to heart Orwell’s advice: “Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word, or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent.”

Source: cbscugcnetforum

Book Care


जलाद्रक्षेत्तैलाद्रक्षेद्रक्षेच्छिथिलबन्धनात् |
मूर्खहस्ते न मां दद्यादिति वदति पुस्तकम् ||


'Save me from water, protect me from oil and from loose binding,
And do not give me into the hands of fools!' says the manuscript."
~Book



Sunday, August 28, 2016

Parts of the Book


Should the parts of a book be in a certain order? Yes, and there's a reason: so readers, librarians, teachers, and booksellers can easily turn to the page in the book to find a particular type of information. Understanding the order in which they should appear may help you remember the difference between a preface, a foreword, and an introduction? There is considerable confusion about the difference between the three, and judging from what the Chicago Manual of Style says, I mixed the two up myself in my history of the NIH Clinical Center, where an editor made my Introduction a Foreword, which I then changed to a Preface. It should have remained an Introduction.


Words into Type succinctly characterizes the differences between a preface and intro: "A preface or foreword deals with the genesis, purpose, limitations, and scope of the book and may include acknowledgments of indebtedness; an introduction deals with the subject of the book, supplementing and introducing the text and indicating a point of view to be adopted by the reader. The introduction usually forms a part of the text [and the text numbering system]; the preface does not." Go here for a fuller discussion of how a memoir differs from an autobiography (or memoirs). .

The foreword, says the Chicago Manual of Style, is usually written by someone other than the author or editor, usually someone eminent (to lend credibility to the book), and although the title page may say "Foreword by X," if the foreword is only one or two pages (which is normal), the name of the foreword writer normally appears at the end of the foreword. (The title or affiliation of the author of the foreword may also appear there.) For details on positioning of these elements, and what kind of type to use, refer to one of those two manuals, if your publisher doesn't handle the formatting.

A.      ORDER OF FRONT MATTER
The normal order of parts of the book:
Half title, or "bastard title" (title only, on otherwise blank page)
Book card (or card page, listing previous works by author, or books in same series)
·         Title page
·         Technical Information Page
o   Title
o   Author(s) / Editor(s) / Illustrator(s)
o   Designer
o   Publisher/Distributor
o   Price
o   Copyright notice
·         Dedication
·         Blank
·         Table of contents (labeled "Contents")
·         (List of) illustrations
·         (List of) tables
·         Foreword (by another person)
·         Editor's preface
·         Author's preface
·         Acknowledgments (if not part of preface, or if not at back of book)
·         Introduction
·         Prologue
·         [list of abbreviations, timeline]
·         Second half title (optional)

B.      TEXTUAL PART
       Main textual part of the book

      Page numbers for the front matter, up to the introduction, are small Roman numerals (x, xi, xii, etc.). Some include the introduction in that numbering system, if it is prefatory in nature (about the writing of the book). If it is more like part of the text (essentially Chapter 1), start the regular page numbering with the introduction.

C.      ORDER OF BACK MATTER (not all of these are required!)
·         Epilogue
·         Afterword
·         Conclusion
·         Postscript
·         Appendix(es)or Addendum
·         Notes
·         Glossary
·         Bibliography
·         (List of) Contributors (perhaps with brief biographical sketches)
·         Index(es)
·         Errata

        Colophon (optional, including facts of production, font, etc.--rarely used now)
The epigraph (brief quotation or saying), according to Words into Type, may appear on the title page or on the back of the dedication or may replace the second half-title or be on the back of it, facing the text. To me it makes sense that it be near the text.

       The dedication usually comes right after the copyright page, which is on the back of the title page. Sometimes publishers squeeze it onto the top of the copyright page, when space is tight.
What are the purposes of a preface/​intro? Here are some purposes members mentioned at a meeting of the Washington Biography Group:

• To talk about how you came to write the book, especially if that will help draw the reader into the book. Perhaps best in the preface.

• To sell the book to the potential reader/​buyer (lure them, hook them, make them want to read more). In the case of Ruth Selig writing about the death of her twin, providing the personal details up front would be important, for example).

• To answer the question: why this book? why now? why this person? why by this author?

• To talk about how you got the information — what your main sources were (and how they differ from other books on the subject, if this is book #189 on the Kennedys, for example)

• To provide a framework for what's to follow — the hooks on which to hang the pegs of story details

• To provide, in brief, your main argument or point of view about the subject. The alternative is to not express your position clearly up front but instead to weave it into the fabric of the biography so that the reader has to read the book to find it. Critics may object to this. My impression is that you want to suggest your conclusions or viewpoint clearly up front but express them more fully and strongly in the concluding chapter, if there are conclusions to be made. What you want to draw your reader in with is the story -- tell them just enough to hook them, make them curious, and keep them reading.

       What about prologues? Linda Lear wrote a prologue (a term from dramaturgy) to start her biography of Rachel Carson. A prologue starts the action and is PART of the action, though it could take place in the middle of the action — it often focuses on a pivotal moment. If you have a prologue, you must also have an epilogue, says WBG's guru, Marc Pachter.

     Some people feel nobody reads the introduction; some people believe it's important because it’s the first thing people look at. Obviously it should be done well, if the latter is true even some of the time, but some people do skip it. Personally, I think it's important that everything in the book be interesting, because you never know where the reader will start, and you even want the ending to be good, so they leave feeling satisfied and you get good word of mouth. With ebooks, Google scans the first 500 words or so, and to the extent that that's what captures readers, you want to put material upfront that will help "market" your book and catch reader's attention. I tend to put acknowledgments at the back but try to make them interesting, to give them content. I am sometimes overruled, because others feel the acknowledgments should be up front, where you are making it clear who helped you, and to show your gratitude.

      Forewords, Prefaces, and Introductions: Where to Begin? (Carol Saller, Lingua Franca, Chronicle of Higher Education 4-5-12) offers further insights. Academic writers: check out helpful tips in the comments section!

NOTE ON SPELLING: A lot of people misspell foreword as foreward or even forward! It is a "word" be"fore" the book itself. The foreword is usually written by someone other than the author.

OTHER USEFUL MATERIAL ON HOW TO MAKE A BOOK (AND LABEL THE PARTS CORRECTLY):

• Forewords, Prefaces, and Introductions: Where to Begin? (Carol Saller, Lingua Franca, Chronicle of Higher Education 4-5-12) offers further insights. Academic writers: check out helpful tips in the comments section!

• Joel Friedlander's Unabridged List of the Parts of a Book, one of many great resources on a wonderful page of articles by The Book Designer (he's clearly far more than that).

• Every non-fiction book needs an index: Here’s why (Alan Rinzler's blog, The Book Deal: An Inside View of Publishing)

• Editors, How Much Is an Index Worth to You? (American Society of Indexers)

• Authors, How Much Is an Index Worth to You? (American Society of Indexers)

• How to number the pages of the front matter (SPAN's answers to self-publishers' frequently asked questions (FAQ)

• How to Make a Book: The Interior and Body of a Book (Creative Minds Press)

• Linchpindex: The missing index for Seth Godin's "Linchpin" (a quirky online index for Seth Godin's book Linchpin: Are You Indispensable?

• On Wikipedia see preface, foreword, and introduction.

The importance of good introductions and conclusions

"Even when they have found the right story, some writers simply fail to make its relevance clear from the beginning. Unused to writing introductory chapters, journalists often neglect them, plunging into the narrative in a hurry to get on with it or out of a fear of being boring. But a good introduction whets readers’ appetites partly by showing us both why this story is going to entertain us, and why it’s meaningful. Likewise, I sometimes receive manuscripts that end abruptly without a proper conclusion. A dramatic climax, even an epilogue, is not the same as a conclusion that helps the reader look back at how far he has come and reminds him of the importance of that journey. It’s not obligatory, but it’s a terrific tool for sending your reader off charged with excitement about your book – and eager to tell other readers about it."

Source: patmcnees

Tuesday, August 9, 2016

Flipped Classroom for Education

Flipped classroom is an instructional strategy and a type of blended learning that reverses the traditional learning environment by delivering instructional content, often online, outside of the classroom. It moves activities, including those that may have traditionally been considered homework, into the classroom. In a flipped classroom, students watch online lectures, collaborate in online discussions, or carry out research at home and engage in concepts in the classroom with the guidance of a mentor.
source: slu.edu

Traditional vs flipped teaching


In the traditional model of classroom instruction, the teacher is typically the central focus of a lesson and the primary disseminator of information during the class period. The teacher responds to questions while students defer directly to the teacher for guidance and feedback. In a classroom with a traditional style of instruction, individual lessons may be focused on an explanation of content utilizing a lecture-style. Student engagement in the traditional model may be limited to activities in which students work independently or in small groups on an application task designed by the teacher. Class discussions are typically centered on the teacher, who controls the flow of the conversation. Typically, this pattern of teaching also involves giving students the task of reading from a textbook or practicing a concept by working on a problem set, for example, outside school.

The flipped classroom intentionally shifts instruction to a learner-centered model in which class time explores topics in greater depth and creates meaningful learning opportunities, while educational technologies such as online videos are used to deliver content outside of the classroom. In a flipped classroom, content delivery may take a variety of forms. Often, video lessons prepared by the teacher or third parties are used to deliver content, although online collaborative discussions, digital research, and text readings may be used.

Flipped classrooms also redefine in-class activities. In-class lessons accompanying flipped classroom may include activity learning or more traditional homework problems, among other practices, to engage students in the content. Class activities vary but may include: using math manipulatives and emerging mathematical technologies, in-depth laboratory experiments, original document analysis, debate or speech presentation, current event discussions, peer reviewing, project-based learning, and skill development or concept practice. Because these types of active learning allow for highly differentiated instruction, more time can be spent in class on higher-order thinking skills such as problem-finding, collaboration, design and problem solving as students tackle difficult problems, work in groups, research, and construct knowledge with the help of their teacher and peers. Flipped classrooms have been implemented in both schools and colleges and been found to have varying differences in the method of implementation.

A teacher's interaction with students in a flipped classroom can be more personalized and less didactic, and students are actively involved in knowledge acquisition and construction as they participate in and evaluate their learning.

Educational Technologies



1.       Social Technologies
  • Diigo - better reading and research with annotation, knowledge sharing community
  • Edmodo - global education network, helps connect all learners with the people and resources needed to reach to reach their full potential
  • Edublogs - largest education blogging platform on the web
  • Facebook - connect with friends, family and other peoples you know
  • Google+ - is a place to connect with friends and family, and explore
  • Grockit - continually learns as you learn, and targets you with the material you need to work on most
  • Instagram - sign up to see photos and videos from your friends
  • Linkedin - networking tool to find connections to recommended job candidates, industry experts and business partners
  • Ning - an online service to create, customize, and share a social network
  • Openstudy.com/Openstudy.org - ask, answer and understand, get real-time study help
  • Pinterest - content sharing service, it allows members to 'pin' images, videos and other objects to their pinboard
  • Quora - the best answer to any question
  • Scoop.it - build your online presence by publishing content
  • Skype - free calls, collaboration, expert interviews, enable participation, tutoring, virtual career and group projects with extracurricular activities 
  • Slideshare - discover, share and present, the future of work, cultivating the next generation of leaders
  • Twitter - connect with your friends and other fascinating people. get in the moment updates on the things that interest you and watch events unfold, in real time from every angle
  • Wikispaces - a free wiki host providing community wiki spaces, visual page editing and discussion areas

2.       Online Learning Technologies
  • Animoto - make great videos, easily
  • BDPA - education: from the classroom to the boardroom
  • Coursera - take the world's best courses, online
  • Eduvee - learn and practice (science)
  • edX - best courses, top institutions. learn anytime from anywhere
  • Kerpoof - learning works for kid
  • Khanacademy - you can learn anything for free, for everyone and forever
  • Knewton - a path for every student
  • Mooc - massive open online courses; educational institutions, businesses and teachers easily build and host courses for the world to take
  • SchoolTube - the best videos from student and teachers everywhere
  • Skills Genius - collection of song lyrics and crowdsourced musical knowledge  
  • Socrative - your classroom app for fun and effective classroom engagement
  • StudySync - cross-curricular, core literacy solution with video and multimedia lessions.
  • Udacity - free online courses, make a career change, or get a new job by completing a Nanodegree program
  • Udemy - online learning and teaching marketplace

3.       Multimedia Technologies
  • Bitstrips - your own personal emoji; wherever you go, your avatar is now just a click away! Easily insert bitmojis into gmail, messenger, slack, virtually anywhere you communicate on the web.
  • eduCanon - unleash interactive video, deeply engage learners and accountably measure understanding
  • Evernote - capture what's on your mind; collect, nurture, and share ideas across desktop and mobile platforms
  • Pixlr - A free online image editor. Enables to fix, adjust, and filter images in a browser.
  • Planboard - online lesson planner, add curriculum sets and organize your schedule
  • Prezi - presentation software, uses motion, zoom and spatial relationships to bring your ideas to life and make your a great presenter
  • Quizlet - makes simple learning tools that let you study anything; flashcards, games and learning tools
  • Rubistar - tool to help the teacher who wants to use rubrics; rubric means "a scoring guide used to evaluate the quality of students' 
  • Screencast-O-Matic - tool to create and share screen recordings
  • TED-Ed - build a lesson around any TED-Ed original, TED Talk or youtube video
  • Thinglink - annotate image and videos
  • Padlet - digital canvas to create beautiful projects and easiest way to share and collaborate in the world
  • Wordle - toy for generating 'word clouds' from text that you provide
  • Youtube - enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with with friends, family, and the world on youtube
  • Vimeo - high quality tool for hosting, sharing and streaming videos in gorgeous HD and 4K with no ads

4.       Coding Technologies
  • Code Avengers - code games, apps and websites with fun and effective interactive games. html, css and javascript tutorials for beginners 
  • Code.org - student creations, anybody can learn code/programming languages
  • Hour of Code - one hour introduction to computer science, designed to demystify "code" learn the basics and to broden
  • Kodable - basics of computer programming
  • Minecraft - free games online
  • Raspberry pi - learn computer programming through fun and practical projects
  • Scratch - programming language and online community, where you can create your own interactive stories, games and animations
  • W3Schools - the languages for building web pages

5.       Classroom Technologies
  • Book Creator - create beautiful books on your tablet
  • Camtasia - screen recorder and video editor
  • Canva - amazingly simple graphic design software
  • Class messenger - teacher, students, and parents notes about field trips, homework assignments or a dance chaperone 
  • ClassDojo - build wonderful classroom communities with parents and students 
  • Doceri - authoring and controlling presentation 
  • Doodle - scheduling tool you'll actually use. find a date for a meeting 2x faster!
  • Dropbox - get to all your files from anywhere, on any device, and share them with anyone
  • edShelf - a socially-curated discovery enging of websites, mobile apps, desktop programs, and electronic products for teaching and learning 
  • ePals - connect, communicate and collaborate
  • Explain Everything - collaborative and interactive whiteboard
  • Google Apps - google apps for work is a suite of cloud computing productivity and collaboration software tools and software tools offered on a subscription basis by google
  • Groupboard - free online whiteboard and chat app that can be easily embedded into your website
  • iBeacons - dedicated source for news, analysis, and commentary on proximity and hyperlocal technology
  • iKeepSafe - learn how to keep safe online, so everybody can take full advantage of all the wonderful collaborative learning opportuties 
  • iRubric - comprehensive rubric development, assessment and sharing tool 
  • Jing - free screenshot and screen cast software
  • Kidblog - provides teachers with tools to help students publish writing safely online. students exercise digital citizenship within a secure classroom blogging space. teachers can monitor all activity within their blogging community 
  • LiveBinders - organize your resources in an online digital binders
  • Mastery Connect - it acquires socrative to bring you integrated student response fo for free. it is a smart student response system that empowers teachers
  • iMovie - video editing software
  • Office 365 - your office alternatives
  • OneNote - digital note taking apps for your device
  • Osmo - osmo is an award-wining game system that will change the way your child interacts with the iPad by opening it up to hands-on play 
  • Pikochart - web-based infographic application which allows users without intensive experience as graphic designers to easily create professional grade infographics using themed templates
  • Pinkmonkey - study resource for junior high, high school, college students, teachers and home schoolers 
  • Popplet - popplet is a tool for the iPad and web to capture and organize your ideas
  • QR Codes - QR codes for teaching and learning
  • Remind - latest news, media reports and announcements
  • Rubister - free tool to help teachers create quality rubrics 
  • Schoology - learning management system
  • Showme - create beautiful tutorials with the tip of your finger
  • Skitch - get your point across with fewer words using annotation, shapes and sketches, so that your ideas become really faster  
  • Slack - a messaging app for teams who put robots on mars
  • Storify - make the web tell a story: the tools to create the best evergreen and live blog the stories uniting traditional storytelling with engaged audience 
  • Stumbleupon - easiest way to discover new and interesting web pages, photos and videos across the web 
  • Videonot.es - all the notes you type are automatically synchronized with the video. later, just click on a line for the video to jump to the relevant part 
  • Wordpress - web software you can use to create a beautiful website, blog or app with priceless effort 
6.       Hardware Technologies
  • iPad - IPad is an iOS based line of tablet computers designed and marketed by Apple Inc 
  • Chromobook - a laptop running chrome OS as its operating system 
  • MacBook - a brand of notebook computer mfg by Apple Inc
  • Android - a mobile operating system developed by google, based on the linux kernel and designed primarily for touchscreen mobile devices 
  • Iso - international organization for standardization
  • IWBs - interactive whiteboard; a large interactive display that connects to a computer. a projector projects the computer's desktop onto the board's surface 
  • Apple TV - a digital media player and a microconsole developed and sold by Apple Inc. it is a small network appliance and entertainment device that can receive digital data from a number of sources and stream it to a capable television 

7.       Education Conference
  • All Conference Alert - academic conferences worldwide
  • AIEA - Association for International Education Administrators
  • ASCD - a global community of educators dedicated to excellence in learning, teaching and leading 
  • ASUGSV - revolution in corporate learning
  • BETT - the world's leading education technology event 
  • BIE - project based learning
  • CUE Conf - ed tech professional development begins with CUE and our conferences, workshops and symposiums 
  • DML - digital media and learning research hub is to advance research in the service of a more equitable, participatory, and effective ecosystem of learning keyed to the digital and networked era 
  • Excel in Ed - to build an american education system that equips every child to achieve his or her god-given potential 
  • Edcamp - an organic, participant-driven professional learning experience. a community created by educators, for educators. the leading edge of professional development in educationEdNET
  • EdTech Europe - is the leading thought leader summit bringing together executive level investors, innovators and industry influencers from European and international education companies
  • EdTech Teacher - digital storytelling in classroom 
  • Education Innovation Summit - WISE is an international, multi-sectoral platform for creative thinking, debate and purposeful action
  • Educon - global engineering education conference
  • FETC - future of educational technology conference
  • GESF - global education and skill forum
  • Global Educational Conferences - connecting educators and organizations worldwide
  • Inacol - is an international nonprofit transforming education to student-centered learning
  • Integrated - IEEE integrated stem education conference
  • ISTE - international society for technology in education
  • Learn Launch/Learnlunch - driving innovation to transform learning
  • Learning and Brain - educational psychologist
  • Miami Device - mobile learning events
  • New Schools - nonprofit venture philanthropy working to transform public education
  • OEB - cross sector conference on technology supported learning and training
  • PBL world - project based learning
  • ST4T - audio resources for cross cultural communication
  • Summit - summit professional education
  • SXSWedu - conference & festival fosters innovation in learning by hosting a passionate and diverse community of education stakeholders 
  • WISE - 
Libraries in developed countries are using most of these technologies and are visible on their websites. But in developing and underdeveloped countries many library professionals are not aware and trained about using these technologies. we should use ourselves and prefer to use others to provide global education with quality for all.

source: wikipedia, ijaers