StudyChamps to integrate LearnDash LMS

StudyChamps to integrate LearnDash LMS

We at StudyChamps were looking for the right platform to expand our educational website and take it to the next level. I must mention that it was really a very time consuming and difficult task to evaluate various LMS platforms available until we came across LearnDash. I was pleasantly surprised to see that it covers most facilities we were looking for, and we started our journey towards embracing the new platform. Even before we purchased LearnDash, it was very evident that the team was very willing to support and prompt in resolving queries. We are now working on the LearnDash platform backstage now.

 

StudyChamps is an educational portal which provides free Math, English and Science resources for kids for more than 2 years now. With the increasing popularity and requests for specific content, facility to track progress of kids etc. made it imperative to upgrade the platform to a learning management system. We are quite excited with LearnDash and very soon we will roll out the subject courses for kids specific needs based on LearnDash. We thank all our followers, kids, their parents and teachers for their continued support. We also thank LearnDash team for the support and helping us with the right suggestions and guidance.

 

Stakeholder

A stakeholder is a party that can affect or be affected by the actions of the business as a whole. The stakeholder concept was first used in a 1963 internal memorandum at the Stanford Research institute. It defined stakeholders as "those groups without whose support the organization would cease to exist." The theory was later developed and championed by R. Edward Freeman in the 1980s. The term has been broadened to include anyone who has an interest in a matter. Stakeholder includes shareholders, creditors, employees, investors, government, customers, labour unions, suppliers and community at large.

European Business School Rankings 2010

The 2010 Financial Times European business school ranking sees HEC Paris come first once again. Despite challenges from old adversaries and newcomers alike, the grande école has been Europe’s top school for five years in a row. London Business School is ranked second and Insead third.

HEC’s continued domination of the ranking – a combination of the five business school rankings published annually by the FT – is partly explained by its range of expertise: it is one of only five schools to feature in all of the FT rankings in 2010. The quality of its programmes is apparent. Each is ranked in the top 10 in Europe, including a top place for the customised programmes the school designs to business clients’ specifications.

See the full ranking.

Highlights from Education at a Glance 2010

Highlights from Education at a Glance 2010 is a companion publication to the OECD’s flagship compendium of education statistics, Education at a Glance. It provides easily accessible data on key topics in education today, including: education levels and student numbers, economic and social benefits of education, education spending, the school environment (hours of instruction, class size, etc.) and school choice and parent voice.Highlights from Education at a Glance 2010 is an ideal introduction to the OECD’s unrivalled collection of internationally comparable data on education and learning.

To download this book see here (pdf).

Can E - Learning Replace Classroom Learning?

Online Learning or e - learning clinched a business of $50 billion with some 3.5 million students benefiting from it in 2006 and the figures are only leaping. A report by Ambient Insight Research suggests that in 2009, 44 per cent of post-secondary students in the USA were taking some or all of their courses online, and projected that this figure would rise to 81 per cent by 2014.  In a couple of decades, it is touted to touch a trillion dollars, when third world countries are expected to wipe out rural illiteracies though online education, and with a laptop costing just Rs. 1500 in India it’s no longer a dream. The Letter "e" in e-learning does not stand for just electronic in today's context. As the learned author Luskin puts it, it is interpreted to mean exciting, energetic, enthusiastic, extended, excellent, and educational in addition to "electronic".

With more and more youngsters using the internet these days, online education has found a worldwide acceptance due to its flexibility. In many developing nations e-learning has not only been welcomed in formal educational institutes but is also adopted by the administration as a method of imparting education. This seems to be a blessing of the new-generation technology which makes teaching possible anytime and anywhere.

But the popularity of e-learning has raised many questions regarding the relevance of traditional classroom teaching in the new world and whether teachers teaching in schools and colleges are gradually becoming dispensable. What about the existence of the text books? Can e-learning companies take over the publishing companies? Does that mean our classrooms are going to turn obsolete?

Well the basic answer to all these questions is that the key areas of framing a course and its execution are the same be it a formal classroom teaching or online teaching. The basic factor in the both the cases is the effective learning. Learning is not a passive experience. Instructors do not teach, they help people to learn. The primary responsibility for the learning experience rests with the student who must be motivated to be an effective learner. Both classroom teaching and online teaching need to have a systematic approach to a course.

Classroom learning stands for formal learning for it has stated objectives and gives fixed results. Some kinds of e-learning also give formal education and learning experiences online. Online learning is boosting up because of its flexibility. In many contexts, online coaching is self-paced and the learning sessions are available 24x7. Learners are not bound by a specific day and time to physically attend classes. Most online learning environments are accessible from a standard internet connection and typically require average home computer system requirements. Students often correspond and share ideas with other students taking the same course via e-mail and correspond with instructor/mentors for clarification of concepts. Group discussions can be mediated by the instructor and facilitated in real time via any of several chat services. One of the major benefits of completing a course online is that you can fit it around your work schedule, and when you have a spare hour you can log on and do a bit more of your training. In the developing countries context, online coaching is all the more relevant, not only for reaching out to the rural illiterate mass through technology, but also for higher levels of learning.

However e-learning is not without its flaws. Here only motivated students who are matured enough to take the responsibility of their studies on their own can do well. Unmotivated students either end up not doing anything or not finishing their course which means nothing but a waste of time. Other than this adequate computer knowledge in students and proper interaction between the learner and the instructor is mandatory which in most cases prove to be a weakness. Many people still think classroom teaching the best mode of education.

Classroom training under the right conditions is still one of the most effective training methods available. Classroom time should be dedicated to organized case study, team problem solving, and labs that re-enforce concepts learned thru self-study. The classroom training experience should be enjoyable and productive. None of the systems can completely replace the other and online learning in no way can be thought to replace formal classroom teaching completely. E-learning best complements the already existing education system. The perfect classroom teaching should be followed by a successful completion of web-based course and online group assignments to make the learners more competent to face the competitive world outside. Learning highly depends on the individual's motivation to learn. So it still comes down to the effort that the students put into their education that ultimately determines how much they will retain and how beneficial the overall experience was to their future career.

My WiZiQ Class

I have scheduled a class on Introduction to Company under Companies Act, 1956 (India) at WiZiQ on Monday 20th September, 2010 at 11: 30 AM (AUS Eastern Standard Time).
Introduction to Company under Companies Act, 1956 is an introductory level class that will cover the fundamental concepts of what a company is. This class has been designed not only for commerce students, but also for general awareness about a company and its features for public at large. The topics that will be covered in this class include definition of a company, its features along with facts and decision of various legal cases. These topics will be covered from a theoretical perspective as well as with legal case studies.
For entering the class please click here.

Executive MBA

An Executive Master of Business Administration degree is specially designed for the working executive. The type of students who pursue an Executive MBA already possess wealth of business experience from an array of backgrounds— an aspect that is unique to the programme. EMBA helps to enhance the knowledge and develops a broad business sense, with courses focusing on analysis, strategy, and leadership.

EMBA programs come in all shapes and sizes, but with a few common features. First, they take only 12 to 24 months to complete. Second, programs are formatted to accommodate the schedules of professionals who cannot attend classes on a full-time basis. Third, courses are often discussion-oriented, focusing on the student’s professional experiences. Fourth, they are targeted to experienced and successful managers. And, perhaps most importantly, they are often more expensive than conventional, full-time MBA programs starting from anything over $50,000.

Not surprisingly, the schools have reasons to defend the price differential. According to the dean of Melbourne Business School in Australia, one of the key reasons is the profile of the students. Executive MBA participants tend to be ten or twenty years older than their counterparts on conventional programs and have significantly more experience. Their expectations are correspondingly higher in everything from accommodation and catering to class size and style of teaching. Meeting those expectations costs money.

Indeed one of the biggest challenges facing executive-MBA providers is finding faculty that can hold the attention of such a demanding audience. Most EMBA participants have already learned the basic lessons of business and are on their chosen program because they want better insight into the way they are operating within their present company, rather than for personal development or a career change. Such lessons are both difficult and expensive to teach.

The answer to whether this price differential is worth it or not lies not in the quality of teaching or faculty or even in the standard of accommodation, food and wine. Instead, the premium comes down to the doors that an EMBA opens.Three quarters of students who took part in the Executive MBA Council 2009 Student Exit Benchmarking Survey said EMBA education have increased their value to their organization. An astounding 97 % of EMBA graduates were satisfied or more than satisfied with the career impact of their degree programmes. Indeed, almost a third of survey respondents (32 per cent) were promoted and 44 % received additional job responsibilities during the course of their programmes. They also see a great return on investment as students reported a 23 % salary increase after graduation. (Source: Executive MBA Council, California)

So, for moving into the executive management ranks, EMBA is worth looking into. This advanced degree is a great investment as it increases the knowledge base, enhances the skill set, opens new possibilities, and broadens the professional network. Moreover, like a solid mutual fund, an EMBA will continue to pay dividends for years to come.