Mobile phones and Gadget Technology

Posts Tagged ‘Making’

How are educational institutions taking advantage of technology to compete and win students?

Technological advances are rapidly changing the way in which educational institutes operate; from campus to classroom. The metal detector has replaced the friendly instructor inactivity to greet you at the school gates; the abacus has gathered dust in favour of the calculator; and the good old-fashioned blackboard seems to be as much a part of the past as the tablet. To be up-to-date with the modern world, educational institutes realize that they must make the most of technology, especially when providing an education becomes a business. Whether it be advertising the institute, deciding when and where the class should be, or the modern technology that today’s classrooms are equipped with, the evidence shows that modern educational institutes are making the most of modern technology to entice students. 

Before the birth of the world wide web, educational institutes had to rely on word-of-mouth, advertising in newspapers, at other educational institutes, in newspapers, and at events specifically designed for showcasing further learning institutes such as open days and seminars. Nowadays, each modern educational institute has a website, and links to the websites via other associated websites. These websites not only appeal to prospective students, but are also used as a platform to advertise for teachers. For example, www.ajarn.com and www.daveseslcafe.com are both well known websites where ESL instructors can post there resumes for potential employees to view, as well as browsing the sites jobs page. 

Another way in which the world wide web has changed the way in which institutes compete for students is online learning. Universities and colleges in particular a keen to utilize the world wide web and more specifically, e-learning. The typical university student is no longer seen as being a young twenty-something; people from all places and all ages are potential students and the higher learning institutes are aware of this. By using emails and MSN it is now doable for students to correspond with instructors at the click of the button. WebBoards are used as virtual classrooms where students and instructors alike can post messages, have discussions, and upload files. The captivating features of e-learning give students the flexibility to study during hours that suit them from the comfort of their own home or the nearest world wide web café. 

However, the traditional classroom can't be forgotten about just yet. The classroom is still the main learning environment for any institute and the technology used in the classroom has come a long way. Most schools are equipped with personal rooms and it is common for there to be a personal in the class for the use of the teacher. Overhead projectors (OHPs) are also used to display images from the personal onto a massive white screen. This feature is particularly useful for instructors who wish to use software such as PowerPoint when presenting their lesson. Wireless microphones are also used in the classroom to wage perceptibility in massive classrooms whilst at the same time allowing unrestricted movement around the classroom. 

As technology advances, so do educational institutes, be it in how they advertise, where they wage an education, or the use of equipment in the classroom. A student looking to attend university has no further to go than online in his search. Once there, he will find a multitude of options, including online Master’s degree programs from universities on different continents. The future of the classroom looks promising with interactive whiteboards becoming favourite in current years, podcasts being used by instructors who are technologically adept, and assignments, syllabuses, grades, and schedules posted online can all by found being used in the modern classroom.

Need a:
Tube pan?
Empty a clean metal food can and place it in the center of a deep block pan…fill the can with beans.

Salad spinner?
Place your wet salad in a pillow case and shake.

Sifter?
Put flour into a salt shaker and use it to flour a pan.

Problem:
Nuts are sticking together in the food processor.
Fix: Place some sugar from the recipe in with them while processing.

Shortening sticking to the measuring cup.
Fix: If recipe calls for eggs, crack them into measuring cup and add to recipe. Then place shortening into the same cup. It will not stick! Or you could spray the measuring cup with cooking spray before adding shortening.

Brown sugar is hard.
Fix: Place a slice of bread in with it the night before you need it. Or, place it in the microwave for a few seconds until soft.

Ran out of buttermilk.
Fix: For 1 cup of buttermilk: 1/3 cup lemon juice and fill the rest of the cup with milk to equal 1 cup total.

If you need to know if your eggs are fresh:
Place eggs in water. Older eggs will float higher.

If you have extra bananas:
Mash them and freeze in a small plastic bag. This will be great to use later for banana bread!
Pic taken from yahoo.com.

In this day and age, technology is in constant motion of change. The goals that the NETS place are based on essential operations, concepts, social, ethical and human issues, among many other important factors. These standards are sensible, usable, as well as measurable. They also support the states’ content standards as well as the NCLB. (No Child Left Behind Act) One of the most important goals in this agenda is to superior prepare students so they can be continuous learners. The ITSE shows how to stay up to date on new technologies in education and other related areas. It is our job not only to instruct the core subjects, but to also help students and fellow instructors make informed decisions about the role of technology. Similar to how NCLB has standards for each grade level, the NETS places standards for each grade, K-12.

In order to make sure all students are caught up technology and its fundamental uses, instructors must be aware, informed and on top of the change. By setting certain goals for each grade level, it ensures that the standards are being met and displayed by the students. The way these standards will be met is first for the instructors to demonstrate a sound understanding of technology operations and concepts. Instructors will need to meet certain standards according to the grade they are teaching. A common way these goals can be met is by applying certain resources of technology to classroom activities. Some examples might include telling a story of the Holocaust using digital story board. Another example is supplying each student with their own laptops to collaborate and communicate with other classmates regarding homework and class projects. However, in order to meet these standards, the resources must be used among

the educators as well. Teachers/educators also will be required to engage in workshops, conferences and classes to help them reach those standards.

In brief, the competent instructor will meet the standards and use what he or she has learned in the classroom. It is essential for a competent instructor to apply the tools given to enhance individualized professional growth and productivity. The competent instructor also will apply learning based technology to support their lessons in their grade level and subjects. It is very important for the competent instructor to apply concepts and skills in order to make decisions regarding the social, ethical and human issues related to computing and technology. The competent instructor will also collaborate with other instructors and the larger school community. He/she will also be productive, develop information literacy skills in order to access, evaluate and apply the information to superior instructor and learning. In other words, a competent instructor is not one that can only use the technological resources. A competent instructor is one that can use what is given from technological tools to superior enhance the student’s education, as well as their own profession in each day applications.

Technology is a great enabler when used properly, and when used appropriately by virtual contact centers can really improve customer service.

First you need a good definition about your strategy, How do you want to offer your service? So many times we want the latest in technology and the supplier persuades us with technology excellence and ROI, but we don’t know how to use it to give superior service.

Technology is not the end all be all cure of customer service issues. While CRM or call management system applications are useful, they should never overshadow the use of intuition and intelligent thought. The tip here is to use personal as a tool to improve customer service, not become a computer. Don’t use technology to make pretty stats! Use the tools the customers benefit from and use it because your job gets done right – and use the stats to tell you the truth and then work on fixing the truth. Don’t use technology to give pretty stats to the manager, who hasn’t a clue on how the customer feels when he looks at “fake” stats. Make sure that your technology is easy to use and reliable. The ideal integrated systems are no good if they don’t work when the customer needs them or they are place off by navigating through the telephone menus and web sites. Get your staff and their families to try it out and act on what they tell you.

At the most basic level companies need either a CRM system or take advantage of a PIM. If you are not tracking your transactions, looking at some basic reports on buying patterns, and having the discipline to enter your interactions into a system of some sort, you are letting invaluable data just achievement out the door. The CRM is the foundation for making any customer care infrastructure and the use of an integrated telephony and CRM system is critical to ensuring the service loop is always shut to the satisfaction of apiece caller. Building automated reporting, notifications and work flows to ensure apiece issue can meet Service Levels and the ball is never dropped. Automation wherever doable is key and then processes to back up the technology.

Get up to date; find out what the new technologies can deliver and spend the money to get up to speed. Before you reach that point, however, companies need to give customer care the priority it deserves in support of growing sales, increased customer loyalty and retention. Executive attitude and attention to customer service is mandatory.

Make usability tests – focus groups with clients, a prerequisite when considering the use of new technologies. Most companies are good in leveraging technology to create new products for channels of interaction with clients, yet the creators are too often focused on meeting internal objectives – achieving cost savings for the organization; reducing handle times internally. Before implementation, ask clients for their feedback. Not only will this show the organization is listening to its clients, it can also lead to uncovering nuggets which the internal experts might have missed.