Six stumbling blocks to our schools' success
by W. James Popham
If there’s any truth in the saying, “Those who don’t learn from their mistakes are destined to repeat them,” why is it that today’s educators seem almost compelled to replicate their predecessors’ blunders?
Having been a public school educator for well over a half-century, I am fed up with seeing today’s educators making precisely the same sorts of mistakes I’ve seen their predecessors make, again and again, in earlier years.
In the following analysis, I will identify a half-dozen mistakes we’ve made in our schools. Some are mistakes I made myself long ago, as a high-school teacher in Oregon or as a teacher educator at state colleges in Kansas and California and at UCLA. Others are mistakes I’ve observed up close and personal in the course of several decades of work in the field of assessment. Some are errors of commission, while others are errors of omission. All of them are mistakes that have a negative impact on a large number of classrooms. All of them diminish the quality of schooling we provide to our students.
Mistake #1: Too Many Curricular Targets
Educational policymakers have laid out an unreasonably large number of curricular aims for teachers to teach—too many to be taught and too many to be tested. These target aims—usually referred to as content standards, objectives, benchmarks, expectancies, or some synonymous descriptors—tend to resemble a curricular “wish list” rather than a realistic set of attainable educational outcomes. In some states, for example, elementary teachers at each grade level are supposed to teach their students to master 300 or more curricular aims by the end of a given year. Any of the 300 aims may appear on the state’s annual accountability assessments.
This problem has plagued us since the 1960s, when the growth of the “behavioral objectives” movement—an effort to identify what learners would be able to do as a result of instruction—resulted in the proliferation of highly detailed objectives (the equivalent of today’s curricular aims). While the movement itself was well intended, it ultimately failed because of this problem.
Because teachers are patently unable to get their students to master so many different aims at any defensible level of depth, what happens in many classrooms is a desperate effort in which teachers try to touch on all the skills and knowledge their students might encounter in the upcoming accountability tests. But content that has only been touched on is unlikely to make a real difference to students. Superficiality rather than meaningful instruction is fostered.
Moreover, because accountability tests can’t possibly include enough items to measure accurately every curricular aim, the people who build those tests are required to sample from the skills and knowledge that are eligible to be tested. As a result, many teachers try to guess which curricular aims will actually be on the test. If they guess wrong, the tests wind up measuring content the teachers didn’t teach and failing to measure content that they did. Thus the state’s annual accountability tests provide a misleading picture of educators’ instructional success.
To fix this problem, state educational leaders must reframe their state’s curricular aims at a more appropriate level of breadth—that is, at a larger “grain size.” Second, they must prioritize the resultant curricular aims so that only the most important can be designated as potentially assessable each year. These broad aims can encompass subsets of lesser skills and knowledge, but must be stated with sufficient clarity so teachers can properly target their instructional activities. Moreover, with fewer curricular aims to assess, the state’s test developers can include enough items to measure each one accurately.
Mistake #2: The Underutilization of Classroom Assessment
For more than a decade we have had access to empirical research showing conclusively that when teachers employ formative assessment in their classrooms, whopping improvements in students’ learning will take place. Yet too many teachers continue to employ classroom assessments exclusively to grade students or to motivate those students to study harder.
Formative assessment is a planned process in which assessment-elicited evidence of students’ status is used by teachers to adjust their ongoing instructional procedures or by students to adjust their current learning tactics. Although two seminal articles on formative assessment were published as far back as 1998— one (PDF) in a prestigious scholarly journal, the other in the widely read Phi Delta Kappan, both authored by British researchers Paul Black and Dylan Wiliam—these insights have yet to be applied in classrooms on a large scale. To the extent that our teachers are not routinely employing classroom formative assessment as part of their regular instructional activities, students are not being as well educated as they could be.
We need to get the word out to the nation’s teachers that formative assessment is capable of triggering big boosts in students’ achievement—the educational equivalent of a cure for the common cold.
For instance, in 2006, the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) established a standing advisory committee to investigate ways to promote the use of formative assessment. At the same time, CCSSO created a collaborative of about 20 states committed to implementing formative assessment. By 2008, the CCSSO National Conference on Student Assessment was giving substantial attention to formative assessment, in addition to its traditional focus on large-scale assessment. The CCSSO story could obviously be replicated in other associations—associations of teachers and educational administrators, school boards, or other education advocacy groups.
We must also create a variety of mechanisms, for instance, diverse professional development programs and the provision of supportive assessment materials, to help more teachers apply this potent process in their classrooms.
Mistake #3: A Preoccupation with Instructional Process
Many teachers focus almost obsessively on the instructional procedures they use, rather than on the impact those procedures have on students. This overriding attention to “what teachers do in class” instead of “whether students learn” seems to have plagued teachers from time immemorial. In practice, it means that teachers spend too little time evaluating the quality of their instructional activities. If instructional activities have not been evaluated, they may be less effective than teachers believe them to be. As a result, many teachers persist in employing instructional activities that are of limited benefit to students.
Teachers who have a clear grasp of the relationship between educational ends and means are more likely to understand the importance of routinely verifying the quality of their instructional procedures (means) according to the impact those procedures have on students (ends). The nature of this means-ends relationship—and the need to evaluate means according to the ends they produce—must be emphasized in the preservice preparation of teachers and administrators. In addition, the nation’s leading professional organizations should collaborate to urge educators to pay greater attention to the outcomes of instruction rather than the nature of instructional procedures per se.
Mistake #4: The Absence of Affective Assessment
At this moment in our schools, there is a dearth of assessment instruments suitable for measuring students’ affect—that is, students’ attitudes, interests, and values. Although most educators, if pushed, will agree that the promotion of appropriate affective outcomes is as important as—and in some instances even more important than—the promotion of students’ cognitive achievements, almost no systematic attention is given in our nation’s classrooms to the promotion of appropriate affect among students.
This problem dates back at least to the 1950s and 1960s. When Benjamin Bloom and his colleagues published the influential Taxonomy of Educational Objectives in 1956, they separated educational objectives into three major categories: cognitive, affective, and psychomotor. The book’s focus, however, was almost completely on cognitive objectives. A subsequent volume by David Krathwohl and two coauthors, published in 1964, laid out a hierarchical taxonomy of affective objectives. But the book never enjoyed the success of its cognitive cousin.
Because of this overemphasis on cognition, the affective consequences of instruction are unpredictable and sometimes harmful. For instance, a child who dislikes reading or is intimidated by mathematics develops attitudes in school that are almost certain to have a negative impact on his or her life.
A prominent reason that schools pay little attention to students’ affect is the absence of assessment instruments suitable for measuring students’ attitudes, interests, and values. At a fairly modest cost, however, governmental and/or nongovernmental agencies could provide teachers with a wide range of survey instruments to be completed anonymously by students, so that teachers can adjust their instructional activities accordingly. Teachers may also benefit from professional development regarding ways to promote appropriate student affect.
Mistake #5: Instructionally Insensitive Accountability Tests
Almost all the accountability tests being used to evaluate our nation’s schools are incapable of doing so. From the earliest beginnings of the educational accountability movement in America—a movement nearly a half-century old—we’ve been using the wrong measurement tools to judge the quality of America’s schools. Nearly every state-level accountability test tends to measure the composition of a school’s student body—what students bring to school in terms of socioeconomic status or inherited academic aptitude—rather than the success with which those students have been taught. As a result, enormous numbers of U.S. schools are currently being inaccurately evaluated. Effective schools are thought to be failing; so-so schools are seen as successful.
These inaccurate evaluations of school quality have both an immediate and long-term harmful impact on our students. For instance, teachers who are doing a good instructional job, but whose students’ test results (inaccurately) indicate otherwise, may abandon effective instructional techniques and adopt less effective ones. Teachers who are doing an inept instructional job, but whose students’ test results (inaccurately) indicate otherwise, are apt to continue using unsound teaching procedures. In both of these scenarios, students end up as the losers.
What we must do—immediately—is replace today’s instructionally insensitive accountability tests with those that can, with accuracy, sort out schools where students are being well taught from schools where students are not. Evaluating tests for instructional sensitivity could follow the same basic strategy as that used to evaluate items for racial, gender, or class bias—a combination of expert judgment and empirical evidence. An overhaul on this scale will be an expensive undertaking, but the cost and effort are justified by the educational damage caused by our current reliance on instructionally insensitive tests.
Mistake #6: Abysmal Assessment Literacy
At a time when test-based accountability dramatically influences what goes on in our schools, far too few educators understand the fundamentals of educational measurement. Increasingly, however, educational decisions for the nation’s youth depend directly on the role of educational tests. Assessment-dependent educational decisions call for assessment-knowledgeable educators. Yet teacher education has not changed to accommodate this demand. Preservice and professional development initiatives need to address two key areas: classroom assessment and accountability assessment. It is patently absurd for teachers and administrators not to understand the instruments by which their professional competence is determined, and on which critical educational decisions are based.
Moxie, Not Money
Fortunately, almost all of these mistakes can be solved with moxie—not money.
“Moxie”—the slang synonym for courage or boldness—traces its roots to America’s first mass-market soft drink. Distributed in Lowell, Mass., during the mid-1920s, Moxie was a fizzed-up version of an 1884 patent-medicine tonic said to cure “brain and nervous exhaustion, loss of manhood, softening of the brain, and mental imbecility.” It is small wonder, then, that the name of this popular New England soda soon became a descriptor for someone with plenty of nerve.
Given the current status of the U.S. economy, most improvement strategies we adopt will need to be based on educators’ moxie rather taxpayers’ largesse. Those involved must be committed to the belief that the problem under consideration warrants attention. I personally believe that each of the six deficits identified here could, if fixed, make a dramatic difference in the way we educate our students. What’s needed is a clear commitment to remedying them—and sufficient moxie to make that remedy work.
W. James Popham is an emeritus professor at the UCLA Graduate School of Education and Information Studies. This article is adapted from his most recent book, Unlearned Lessons: Six Stumbling Blocks to Our Schools’ Success (Harvard Education Press, 2009).
5/1/09
E-learning - benefits as opposed to traditional classroom settings
ELearning can provide for major benefits for the organizations and individuals involved.
1. Reducing environmental impact: eLearning allows people to avoid travel, thus reducing the overall carbon output.[citation needed] The fact that it takes place in a virtual environment also allows some reduction of paper usage. With virtual notes instead of paper notes and online assessments instead of paper assessments, eLearning is a more environmentally friendly solution.
2. Quality education, made affordable: The fact that instructors of the highest calibre can share their knowledge across borders allows students to attend courses across physical, political, and economic boundaries. Recognized experts have the opportunity of making information available internationally, to anyone interested at minimum costs. This can drastically reduce the costs of higher education, making it much more affordable and accessible to the masses. An internet connection, a computer, and a projector would allow an entire classroom in a third world university to benefit from the knowledge of an opinion leader.[citation needed
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
What are the benefits of e-learning?
e-learning makes use of information and communications technology to provide innovative ways to learn. Distance learning covers learning remotely on courses such as home study or 'self-study' courses, which can be combined with e-learning.
e-learning may appeal to you if you:
• want to learn when and where you want, at your own pace
• have commitments which make it harder for you to attend a regular course
• have mobility or health problems that make travel or attendance difficult
• live a long way from a training provider
• work irregular hours or shifts
What are the benefits of e-Learning?
http://www.learngroup.com.au/cms/about/benefits.asp
As we’ve all learned through the years, e-Learning can be a very effective training tool, but only when it’s used in the right places – for the right prices. Otherwise, it can be a wonderfully broad hole to dump your money into…
But! When applied correctly, e-Learning can have the following benefits:
• reduced training costs – e-Learning can reduce the cost of delivering applicable training by 20% in the first year and up to 50% in subsequent years. Please see the ROI section to understand the breakdowns and our assumptions.
• reduced time – e-Learning can reduce the time your employees take to train by 25% to 50%. This improvement, of course, depends upon the type of training offered, but it is largely due to higher retention which can result from the visual and auditory nature of the medium, and the specific feedback for employees.
• more effective learning / better staff productivity – Not only does this delivery method reduce employee learning time, it can also improve their mastery and retention of the training material. This richer learning environment maximises the way many people retain information. A study by J.D. Fletcher for the Institute for Defense Analysis found that in some situations employee learning achievement was improved by up to 25% over conventional training methods.
• more consistent learning – imagine the consistency of having your best trainer in front of your employees!
• flexible delivery / distance delivery – interactive e-Learning can be delivered in many formats – floppy diskette, corporate networks, CD-ROM’s, corporate intranets, even over the Internet. This means that you can get the same training content to employees virtually anywhere. It is often effectively combined with paper-based materials, such as workbooks and written case-studies.
• measurable learning – because a computer is involved, your management team can track which training areas are giving employees the most difficulty, which competencies are most in need of refocusing, which employees need what training – and you can analyse this across departments, branches, groups and regions!
• recognition of prior learning – effective training needs to reach a variety of audiences, sometimes both experienced and inexperienced employees. Using learner "streaming" methods, you can allow employees to pre-test at the beginning of a module and stream them through the appropriate lessons, based upon their performance.
• multi-cultural learning – this is quickly becoming an important challenge for trainers. Again, using streaming techniques, e-Learning can handle multiple languages and cultural idioms to ensure that the employee’s learning environment is made as "comfortable" as possible.
What are the benefits of e-Learning?
http://www.odportal.com/elearning/index.htm
Yes, e-Learning is "cool," but what are the strategic benefits of this way of learning? When does e-Learning become a strategic imperative?
• Cost The cost of e-Learning becomes an important benefit particularly if you factor in the travel expenses of the learners.
• Time The speed of e-Learning becomes an important imperative in some situations: First, if you have a dispursed group of learners they may spend more time traveling to the instructor than actually learning. Second, the time will be reduced for learners who already know some of the material, as they can skim over what they already know.
• Pace Learners can pace their learning according to their work demands. They can learn during chunks of free time.
• Reference Learners can use the learning as a permanent reference system, which they can go back to for refreshers or if a particular need arises.
There area other reasons for e-Learning, and equally there are benefits for instructor led training. As we see better e-Learning content, organizational development professionals need to be careful to select the most appropriate learning styles. One style that is emerging is the blended learning approach, also called blended e-learning.
What are the benefits of e-learning?
what is E-Academy :
on line Trainings give a whole new dimension to learner-centric approach. It offers a wide range of highly interactive Web-based courses designed specifically to deliver effective knowledge transfer. It comprises of a series of Presentations with explanations, demonstrations and hands-on exercises to ensure that you get the maximum inputs.
Advantages :
E-Academy: e- Learning from SAP Education enables you to:
• Improve the return on your training investment
• Increase productivity
• Reduce TCO (total cost of ownership)
• Boost motivation
• Transfer business process knowledge related to SAP effectively
• Use your time in the most efficient way
• Plan your training to suit your schedule
• Revisit or revise content at later date
• Monitor your performance
• Identify additional learning needs
1. Reducing environmental impact: eLearning allows people to avoid travel, thus reducing the overall carbon output.[citation needed] The fact that it takes place in a virtual environment also allows some reduction of paper usage. With virtual notes instead of paper notes and online assessments instead of paper assessments, eLearning is a more environmentally friendly solution.
2. Quality education, made affordable: The fact that instructors of the highest calibre can share their knowledge across borders allows students to attend courses across physical, political, and economic boundaries. Recognized experts have the opportunity of making information available internationally, to anyone interested at minimum costs. This can drastically reduce the costs of higher education, making it much more affordable and accessible to the masses. An internet connection, a computer, and a projector would allow an entire classroom in a third world university to benefit from the knowledge of an opinion leader.[citation needed
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
What are the benefits of e-learning?
e-learning makes use of information and communications technology to provide innovative ways to learn. Distance learning covers learning remotely on courses such as home study or 'self-study' courses, which can be combined with e-learning.
e-learning may appeal to you if you:
• want to learn when and where you want, at your own pace
• have commitments which make it harder for you to attend a regular course
• have mobility or health problems that make travel or attendance difficult
• live a long way from a training provider
• work irregular hours or shifts
What are the benefits of e-Learning?
http://www.learngroup.com.au/cms/about/benefits.asp
As we’ve all learned through the years, e-Learning can be a very effective training tool, but only when it’s used in the right places – for the right prices. Otherwise, it can be a wonderfully broad hole to dump your money into…
But! When applied correctly, e-Learning can have the following benefits:
• reduced training costs – e-Learning can reduce the cost of delivering applicable training by 20% in the first year and up to 50% in subsequent years. Please see the ROI section to understand the breakdowns and our assumptions.
• reduced time – e-Learning can reduce the time your employees take to train by 25% to 50%. This improvement, of course, depends upon the type of training offered, but it is largely due to higher retention which can result from the visual and auditory nature of the medium, and the specific feedback for employees.
• more effective learning / better staff productivity – Not only does this delivery method reduce employee learning time, it can also improve their mastery and retention of the training material. This richer learning environment maximises the way many people retain information. A study by J.D. Fletcher for the Institute for Defense Analysis found that in some situations employee learning achievement was improved by up to 25% over conventional training methods.
• more consistent learning – imagine the consistency of having your best trainer in front of your employees!
• flexible delivery / distance delivery – interactive e-Learning can be delivered in many formats – floppy diskette, corporate networks, CD-ROM’s, corporate intranets, even over the Internet. This means that you can get the same training content to employees virtually anywhere. It is often effectively combined with paper-based materials, such as workbooks and written case-studies.
• measurable learning – because a computer is involved, your management team can track which training areas are giving employees the most difficulty, which competencies are most in need of refocusing, which employees need what training – and you can analyse this across departments, branches, groups and regions!
• recognition of prior learning – effective training needs to reach a variety of audiences, sometimes both experienced and inexperienced employees. Using learner "streaming" methods, you can allow employees to pre-test at the beginning of a module and stream them through the appropriate lessons, based upon their performance.
• multi-cultural learning – this is quickly becoming an important challenge for trainers. Again, using streaming techniques, e-Learning can handle multiple languages and cultural idioms to ensure that the employee’s learning environment is made as "comfortable" as possible.
What are the benefits of e-Learning?
http://www.odportal.com/elearning/index.htm
Yes, e-Learning is "cool," but what are the strategic benefits of this way of learning? When does e-Learning become a strategic imperative?
• Cost The cost of e-Learning becomes an important benefit particularly if you factor in the travel expenses of the learners.
• Time The speed of e-Learning becomes an important imperative in some situations: First, if you have a dispursed group of learners they may spend more time traveling to the instructor than actually learning. Second, the time will be reduced for learners who already know some of the material, as they can skim over what they already know.
• Pace Learners can pace their learning according to their work demands. They can learn during chunks of free time.
• Reference Learners can use the learning as a permanent reference system, which they can go back to for refreshers or if a particular need arises.
There area other reasons for e-Learning, and equally there are benefits for instructor led training. As we see better e-Learning content, organizational development professionals need to be careful to select the most appropriate learning styles. One style that is emerging is the blended learning approach, also called blended e-learning.
What are the benefits of e-learning?
what is E-Academy :
on line Trainings give a whole new dimension to learner-centric approach. It offers a wide range of highly interactive Web-based courses designed specifically to deliver effective knowledge transfer. It comprises of a series of Presentations with explanations, demonstrations and hands-on exercises to ensure that you get the maximum inputs.
Advantages :
E-Academy: e- Learning from SAP Education enables you to:
• Improve the return on your training investment
• Increase productivity
• Reduce TCO (total cost of ownership)
• Boost motivation
• Transfer business process knowledge related to SAP effectively
• Use your time in the most efficient way
• Plan your training to suit your schedule
• Revisit or revise content at later date
• Monitor your performance
• Identify additional learning needs
Mehico's Shutdown of parts of its economy to slow swin flu spread
Mexico is preparing for a five-day shutdown of parts of its economy in a bid to slow the spread of swine flu.
Non-essential government services will be suspended, while businesses such as cinemas and restaurants will be closed.
Mexican officials say the spread of the virus - suspected in more than 160 deaths - is slowing, but international experts are more cautious.
Globally, cases of swine flu have now been confirmed in 12 countries across three continents.
In cases outside Mexico the virus does not appear to be severe, although one death has been confirmed in the US.
The WHO has set its pandemic alert level at five - but says it has no immediate plans to move to the highest level of six.
Economy fears
The shut-down in Mexico covers two public holidays and a weekend.
CONFIRMED CASES
Mexico: 168 suspected deaths - 12 confirmed
US: one death, at least 109 confirmed cases
New Zealand: 3 confirmed, 13 probable cases
Canada: 19 confirmed cases
UK: 8 confirmed cases
Spain: 10 confirmed cases
Germany: 3 confirmed cases
Israel, Costa Rica: 2 confirmed cases each
The Netherland, Switzerland, Austria: 1 confirmed case each
Peru case now 'unconfirmed' by national government
Mapping the outbreak
Mexico: First swine flu cases
Border town not slowing down
Africa awaits two swine flu tests
Some factories will stop production and schools are already closed. Residents have been urged to stay at home.
But some people say they will ignore it because they cannot afford not to work.
There is also growing concern at the effect the virus could have on Mexico's already-struggling economy.
The number of confirmed cases of swine flu infection in Mexico now stands at 260.
Twelve people are known to have died from the virus and it is suspected in more than 160 other deaths.
Announcing the figures, Mexican Health Secretary Jose Angel Cordova said that new cases of the virus were levelling off.
"The fact that we have a stabilisation in the daily numbers, even a drop, makes us optimistic," he said.
But Dr Keiji Fukuda, acting assistant director general of the World Health Organisation, said fluctuations were to be expected. "If it didn't do that [it] would be very unusual," he said.
In other developments:
• The US has announced that it will buy 13 million new courses of antiviral treatment and send 400,000 of them to Mexico
• Mexico says it will lodge a formal challenge at the World Trade Organisation demanding explanations from countries that have banned imports of Mexican pork products
• The Inter-American Development Bank said it would approve $3bn in loans to help Mexico fight the virus
'No panic'
On Thursday European health ministers held an emergency meeting on measures to tackle the virus, which has been confirmed in six European countries.
SYMPTOMS - WHAT TO DO
Swine flu symptoms are similar to those produced by ordinary seasonal flu - fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, chills and fatigue
If you have flu symptoms and recently visited affected areas of Mexico, you should seek medical adviceIf you suspect you are infected, you should stay at home and take advice by telephone initially, in order to minimise the risk of infection
Q&A: What is swine flu?
In pictures: Swine flu concern
Mexican economy squeezed by flu
The quest for a swine flu vaccine
EU Health Commissioner Androulla Vassiliou said Europe was well prepared to handle swine flu and there was "no need to panic".
The ministers agreed to work with pharmaceutical companies to develop a vaccine, but rejected a French plan to suspend flights to Mexico.
Several countries have restricted travel to Mexico and many tour operators have cancelled holidays.
The WHO, meanwhile, says it will now call the virus influenza A (H1N1) rather than swine flu - which it says is misleading as pork meat is safe and the virus is being transmitted from human to human.
Non-essential government services will be suspended, while businesses such as cinemas and restaurants will be closed.
Mexican officials say the spread of the virus - suspected in more than 160 deaths - is slowing, but international experts are more cautious.
Globally, cases of swine flu have now been confirmed in 12 countries across three continents.
In cases outside Mexico the virus does not appear to be severe, although one death has been confirmed in the US.
The WHO has set its pandemic alert level at five - but says it has no immediate plans to move to the highest level of six.
Economy fears
The shut-down in Mexico covers two public holidays and a weekend.
CONFIRMED CASES
Mexico: 168 suspected deaths - 12 confirmed
US: one death, at least 109 confirmed cases
New Zealand: 3 confirmed, 13 probable cases
Canada: 19 confirmed cases
UK: 8 confirmed cases
Spain: 10 confirmed cases
Germany: 3 confirmed cases
Israel, Costa Rica: 2 confirmed cases each
The Netherland, Switzerland, Austria: 1 confirmed case each
Peru case now 'unconfirmed' by national government
Mapping the outbreak
Mexico: First swine flu cases
Border town not slowing down
Africa awaits two swine flu tests
Some factories will stop production and schools are already closed. Residents have been urged to stay at home.
But some people say they will ignore it because they cannot afford not to work.
There is also growing concern at the effect the virus could have on Mexico's already-struggling economy.
The number of confirmed cases of swine flu infection in Mexico now stands at 260.
Twelve people are known to have died from the virus and it is suspected in more than 160 other deaths.
Announcing the figures, Mexican Health Secretary Jose Angel Cordova said that new cases of the virus were levelling off.
"The fact that we have a stabilisation in the daily numbers, even a drop, makes us optimistic," he said.
But Dr Keiji Fukuda, acting assistant director general of the World Health Organisation, said fluctuations were to be expected. "If it didn't do that [it] would be very unusual," he said.
In other developments:
• The US has announced that it will buy 13 million new courses of antiviral treatment and send 400,000 of them to Mexico
• Mexico says it will lodge a formal challenge at the World Trade Organisation demanding explanations from countries that have banned imports of Mexican pork products
• The Inter-American Development Bank said it would approve $3bn in loans to help Mexico fight the virus
'No panic'
On Thursday European health ministers held an emergency meeting on measures to tackle the virus, which has been confirmed in six European countries.
SYMPTOMS - WHAT TO DO
Swine flu symptoms are similar to those produced by ordinary seasonal flu - fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, chills and fatigue
If you have flu symptoms and recently visited affected areas of Mexico, you should seek medical adviceIf you suspect you are infected, you should stay at home and take advice by telephone initially, in order to minimise the risk of infection
Q&A: What is swine flu?
In pictures: Swine flu concern
Mexican economy squeezed by flu
The quest for a swine flu vaccine
EU Health Commissioner Androulla Vassiliou said Europe was well prepared to handle swine flu and there was "no need to panic".
The ministers agreed to work with pharmaceutical companies to develop a vaccine, but rejected a French plan to suspend flights to Mexico.
Several countries have restricted travel to Mexico and many tour operators have cancelled holidays.
The WHO, meanwhile, says it will now call the virus influenza A (H1N1) rather than swine flu - which it says is misleading as pork meat is safe and the virus is being transmitted from human to human.
Technology helps learn more information and more quickly
With the help of technology, people nowadays can learn more information and learn it more quickly.
Do you agree or disagree with this statement?
========================
From my everyday experience and observation I can state several factors, which defend the statement that with the help of technology, students nowadays can learn more information and learn it more quickly.
First of all, the latest inventions of humankind dramatically improved our life. Nowadays we can move from one place to another more quickly, we do not spend much time cooking, we have many different recourses of information and means of communication. So, our life now is more dynamic and changeable. During our day we receive a huge amount of information and process it. Students at the same time have more resources to get information they need. They can go to a library, the nearest bookstore, or borrow it from a friend or even download it from an Internet. I think It is great. Instead of waiting for one's turn to get a book in a library, one can print it from a file downloaded earlier. The great thing about it that one can print only those pages he is interested in and also make marks on the pages to mark important ideas.
Another important aspect of this is the advantages of using computer, the greatest invention of the last century. Students do not have to spend their time by writing and re-writing many papers. It is really time-consuming. They just type information in and may use many useful features such as "copy", "past", "delete", "save", etc. Also, sometimes students do not have to write down lectures because they already have them on their computers.
Internet plays an important role in our life now. We can communicate with the people who are on another part of the planet. We also can get the latest news very quickly. People can ask for a piece of advice or find different kinds of information on the Internet. Students can get their degree on-line, register for classes, communicate with professors, take tests and even listen to a lecture.
I think the great part in it that students may more effectively arrange their time. They can get their task by e-mail and stay home to do it. It really saves time and makes studying more fun especially if a person has to work in order to pay his or her tuition.
To summarize, I think that many last inventions improved students' life and allowed them to concentrate more on studying.
==============
1. You can write your own essay
2. You can also give comments on the writing or
3. You can edit the essay
or else
Do you agree or disagree with this statement?
========================
From my everyday experience and observation I can state several factors, which defend the statement that with the help of technology, students nowadays can learn more information and learn it more quickly.
First of all, the latest inventions of humankind dramatically improved our life. Nowadays we can move from one place to another more quickly, we do not spend much time cooking, we have many different recourses of information and means of communication. So, our life now is more dynamic and changeable. During our day we receive a huge amount of information and process it. Students at the same time have more resources to get information they need. They can go to a library, the nearest bookstore, or borrow it from a friend or even download it from an Internet. I think It is great. Instead of waiting for one's turn to get a book in a library, one can print it from a file downloaded earlier. The great thing about it that one can print only those pages he is interested in and also make marks on the pages to mark important ideas.
Another important aspect of this is the advantages of using computer, the greatest invention of the last century. Students do not have to spend their time by writing and re-writing many papers. It is really time-consuming. They just type information in and may use many useful features such as "copy", "past", "delete", "save", etc. Also, sometimes students do not have to write down lectures because they already have them on their computers.
Internet plays an important role in our life now. We can communicate with the people who are on another part of the planet. We also can get the latest news very quickly. People can ask for a piece of advice or find different kinds of information on the Internet. Students can get their degree on-line, register for classes, communicate with professors, take tests and even listen to a lecture.
I think the great part in it that students may more effectively arrange their time. They can get their task by e-mail and stay home to do it. It really saves time and makes studying more fun especially if a person has to work in order to pay his or her tuition.
To summarize, I think that many last inventions improved students' life and allowed them to concentrate more on studying.
==============
1. You can write your own essay
2. You can also give comments on the writing or
3. You can edit the essay
or else
Birds - Dance Moves
Birds show off their dance moves
By Rebecca Morelle
Science reporter, BBC News
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Snowball dances in time to his favourite Backstreet Boys song played at three different tempos
Some birds have a remarkable talent for dancing, two studies published in Current Biology suggest.
Footage revealed that some parrots have a near-perfect sense of rhythm; swaying their bodies, bobbing their heads and tapping their feet in time to a beat.
Previously, it was thought that only humans had the ability to groove.
The researchers believe the findings could help shed light on how our relationship with music and the capacity to dance came about.
One bird, Snowball, a sulphur-crested cockatoo (Cacatua galerita eleanora ), came to the researchers' attention after YouTube footage suggested he might have a certain prowess for dance - especially when listening to Everybody by the Backstreet Boys.
This is a capacity that everyone thought was uniquely human, but we've found evidence that some animals can keep a beat
Adena Schachner, Harvard University
Dr Aniruddh Patel, from The Neurosciences Institute in San Diego, said: "We found out that the previous owner usually listened to easy listening music, but he did have this one album, and he noticed Snowball bobbing his head to the Backstreet Boys".
To test Snowball's skill, the scientists filmed him as they played his favourite song at various tempos.
Dr Patel told the BBC: "We analysed these videos frame by frame, and we found he did synchronise - he did slow down and speed up in time with the music.
"It was really surprising that he had this flexibility."
Another group, led by Adena Schachner, from Harvard University, also looked at Snowball, as well as another bird, Alex, an African grey parrot (Psittacus erithacus ).
Dr Schachner said: "We brought some novel music that we knew Alex had never heard before - so there was no way he had been trained to dance to this music.
"We set up the camera and hit play, and we were shocked to see that Alex started dancing to the beat. He started to bob his head up and down."
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Alex is not as good a dancer as Snowball, but he was able to dance to songs he had not heard before
While Alex's dance routines were not as elaborate as Snowball's, analysis of the footage revealed that he was also able to match his movements with the music he was hearing.
Dr Schachner said: "This is a capacity that everyone thought was uniquely human, but we've found evidence that some animals can keep a beat."
Song and dance
The scientists believe that the parrots' apparent capacity for dance may be linked to another talent that they share with humans - the ability for vocal learning and vocal imitation.
They believe the part of the brain that evolved to allow us and a handful of other species, including dolphins, songbirds, elephants and some cetaceans, to learn and mimic different sounds may also be responsible for the ability to move in time to music.
YouTube footage suggested Asian elephants can dance
To test whether this might be the case, the researchers turned to a vast resource of animal footage - YouTube.
From more than 1,000 videos of different dancing animals, the team found only 33 films that showed animals moving in time to a musical beat.
Dr Patel said: "These 15 species were all vocal learners - 14 parrots and one Asian elephant."
After these initial studies, both teams now want to look more closely at different species' relationship with music.
Dr Patel told BBC News: "No other primates, besides humans, have vocal learning, so there is a strong prediction that no other primates could learn to synchronise to music, even with extensive training.
"However, there are other mammals that have a response to vocal learning - dolphins are a notable category, and I'd love to collaborate with dolphin researchers to find out if dolphins can move to a musical beat."
Dolphins have the ability to mimic sounds - but can they dance?
The scientists believe further research will also provide an insight into how our relationship with music evolved.
Dr Patel said: "Music is a true human universal - it is something we find in every single human culture.
"One of the questions we are asking is whether this is wired into our brains because of evolution, or is it because it builds on other brain systems.
"And this evidence builds on the fact that it is probably linked to other existing brains systems rather than being an adaptation in its own right."
He adds: "You see here a fundamental response to music seen in species that normally don't have a relationship to music in the world.
"They are clearly using a brain system that has a different day job, so to speak."
By Rebecca Morelle
Science reporter, BBC News
Advertisement
Snowball dances in time to his favourite Backstreet Boys song played at three different tempos
Some birds have a remarkable talent for dancing, two studies published in Current Biology suggest.
Footage revealed that some parrots have a near-perfect sense of rhythm; swaying their bodies, bobbing their heads and tapping their feet in time to a beat.
Previously, it was thought that only humans had the ability to groove.
The researchers believe the findings could help shed light on how our relationship with music and the capacity to dance came about.
One bird, Snowball, a sulphur-crested cockatoo (Cacatua galerita eleanora ), came to the researchers' attention after YouTube footage suggested he might have a certain prowess for dance - especially when listening to Everybody by the Backstreet Boys.
This is a capacity that everyone thought was uniquely human, but we've found evidence that some animals can keep a beat
Adena Schachner, Harvard University
Dr Aniruddh Patel, from The Neurosciences Institute in San Diego, said: "We found out that the previous owner usually listened to easy listening music, but he did have this one album, and he noticed Snowball bobbing his head to the Backstreet Boys".
To test Snowball's skill, the scientists filmed him as they played his favourite song at various tempos.
Dr Patel told the BBC: "We analysed these videos frame by frame, and we found he did synchronise - he did slow down and speed up in time with the music.
"It was really surprising that he had this flexibility."
Another group, led by Adena Schachner, from Harvard University, also looked at Snowball, as well as another bird, Alex, an African grey parrot (Psittacus erithacus ).
Dr Schachner said: "We brought some novel music that we knew Alex had never heard before - so there was no way he had been trained to dance to this music.
"We set up the camera and hit play, and we were shocked to see that Alex started dancing to the beat. He started to bob his head up and down."
Advertisement
Alex is not as good a dancer as Snowball, but he was able to dance to songs he had not heard before
While Alex's dance routines were not as elaborate as Snowball's, analysis of the footage revealed that he was also able to match his movements with the music he was hearing.
Dr Schachner said: "This is a capacity that everyone thought was uniquely human, but we've found evidence that some animals can keep a beat."
Song and dance
The scientists believe that the parrots' apparent capacity for dance may be linked to another talent that they share with humans - the ability for vocal learning and vocal imitation.
They believe the part of the brain that evolved to allow us and a handful of other species, including dolphins, songbirds, elephants and some cetaceans, to learn and mimic different sounds may also be responsible for the ability to move in time to music.
YouTube footage suggested Asian elephants can dance
To test whether this might be the case, the researchers turned to a vast resource of animal footage - YouTube.
From more than 1,000 videos of different dancing animals, the team found only 33 films that showed animals moving in time to a musical beat.
Dr Patel said: "These 15 species were all vocal learners - 14 parrots and one Asian elephant."
After these initial studies, both teams now want to look more closely at different species' relationship with music.
Dr Patel told BBC News: "No other primates, besides humans, have vocal learning, so there is a strong prediction that no other primates could learn to synchronise to music, even with extensive training.
"However, there are other mammals that have a response to vocal learning - dolphins are a notable category, and I'd love to collaborate with dolphin researchers to find out if dolphins can move to a musical beat."
Dolphins have the ability to mimic sounds - but can they dance?
The scientists believe further research will also provide an insight into how our relationship with music evolved.
Dr Patel said: "Music is a true human universal - it is something we find in every single human culture.
"One of the questions we are asking is whether this is wired into our brains because of evolution, or is it because it builds on other brain systems.
"And this evidence builds on the fact that it is probably linked to other existing brains systems rather than being an adaptation in its own right."
He adds: "You see here a fundamental response to music seen in species that normally don't have a relationship to music in the world.
"They are clearly using a brain system that has a different day job, so to speak."
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