Feeling Stressed? Try Going Technology Free For a Day

"My technology-free day was a nightmare," exclaims one student at the very beginning of her final presentation on technology, nature, and her inner experiences of both. This exclamation has amused me so much that I have repeated it often through the day when describing this project to other students and colleagues at Saint Francis University, a small university tucked into the hills of the Allegheny mountains in central Pennsylvania.

As part of the curriculum in my Environmental Sociology class, students are asked to journal on two different but related kinds of experiences: two technology-free days and 6 times in nature, in solitude without cell phones or iPods. Their reactions to these types of experiences are both startlingly profound and surprisingly life changing, but in actuality, life-enhancing. In this article, I will relate their experiences with technology-free days.

For this assignment, I have given them some instruction, but I have left it up to them how they want to define a technology-free "day." Knowing how addicted most of my undergraduate students are to their cell phones, laptops with Face book, and iPods, I am loathe to tell them how long they should go without such supports. Some students really stretch themselves and define a day as an actually day- from sun-up until after dinner. Others can only go so far as to define one hour as their 'day.' I ask them to consider the following questions and write about them in their journals.

How does it feel to spend a day without technology? What effect does it have on your mood? Your mind? Your emotions? What differences do you notice between a technology day & a technology-free day? Similarities? What are some things you like about a technology-free day & why? What did you not like and why? How has being technology-free affected your social interactions? Explain. Please describe any other observations.

In our culture, most of us have become dependent on communication technology in some form or another. And most of us have become dependent on that technology without being aware of how much we rely on it. For example, we text friends, we blog and we 'Facebook' (and create a new verb in the process). With college students, I am amazed, and secretly touched, by how often they call their parents. Many students claimed to call their parents every single day. Others said they called their parents, usually their mom, between each & every class. Some students complained about missing meetings or practices without technology (apparently, their schedule changes each day & this is how they are informed).

On the other hand, I am also dismayed by how much computer interaction has replaced face-to-face interaction with college-age students who live right down the hall from each. They report to me that they might IM their friend, rather than simply walk down the hall to say hi.

I have used this assignment for hundreds of students over several years in dozens of classes. I am always amazed by the insightful awareness this simple exercise brings to them about their social interaction and their lifestyle. The following are a SELECT FEW of their personal reactions:

Being Present: "In a day without technology, you are completely concentrated on what you are doing & who you are with. You have no distractions to take you away from that place. My mind was into what I was doing."

Becoming more social: "This activity made me more social because in order to see what time to go to dinner and the time I had to go up to people and ask them instead of texting them or instant message. I also notice(d) how beautiful this campus really is."

"Technology-free days (have) improved my social interactions. I engage in more conversations with my friends & girls in my dorm than just sitting in the room talking on instant message and through texting. Talking face to face with people is more personal than just sending IMs and texts."

Waste of Time: "Ultimately, it wastes my time. The thought crossed my mind, 'What do I really get accomplished with using technology?'"

Addiction to technology: (During a 7.5 hour bus ride to her basketball match, without technology,) "I didn't think I was going to make it. When we stopped at our first rest stop, I was tempted to ask the bus driver to open the bottom of the bus, but instead my teammate encouraged me and I decided not to. When we got to the hotel, I immediately reached in my book bag for my phone because I really wanted to see my missed calls, text messages, and voicemails. I felt like a drug addict. I realized how obsessed I was with my cell phone." "(Without my phone), I did not know what to do with myself. I felt like I was going crazy. It definitely mixed my emotions up and had me feeling sad at some points, but then again happy because I accomplished not using my devices on the bus."

Spending time with family: One student extended the Tech-free day to her family: "As I was sitting in the living room yesterday, the phone rang. I glanced up and looked at our television. Our caller id comes up in every TV in the house. Just as I looked back down at my laptop, my sister instant-messaged me and asked who was calling. It was that moment that I realized how severely dependent my family is on modern technology. Later that night, I told my mother the story. She knows that my sister & I live in separate rooms and just message each other if we need something. So I asked her if for one night, the four of us could do something as a group. She thought this was a great idea!"

They went on to play 2 games of SORRY and 1 game of SCATTERGORIES. "To our surprise, we had fun.....Who knows! Maybe this will become our new tradition!"

Start a new tradition in your household! Go tech-free for a day, relieve stress, and maybe have some fun!

Technology Articles - How to Write Technology Articles Successfully

Technology articles (or technical articles are they are sometime known) are defined as articles that describe a procedure, give instructions or relay information about a technical product. This can include cell - phones, internet software, computers, mp3 players, DVDs, Blue ray and so on. Anyone who sells such devices online can benefit from posting technology articles to drive traffic to their website. Standard technology articles are available online for free or there are article- writing services available that will customise the technology article you require for your product. If you feel that you can write your own technology article then here are some tips to increase its quality-

1. Understand the technology. If you selling a cell-phone, for example- you need to know more than how to turn it on. You'll want to invest time in getting to know all the key benefits of this product, what it can do and why it's worth buying. The more information you know, the easier it will be to word it in your own unique writing style. Plus, when you know all your facts, the reader will trust that you genuinely know the product and assume that they finding out about something worthwhile.

2. Find out what's hot and what's not. People who are searching for technology articles or products online will mostly want information on the latest technologies. Talking about video players might not be the best idea in this respect. Keep yourself updated on what is newly available on the market and if possible give the reader new and exciting information on up and coming technology.

3. Use catchy titles. Technology can be boring to the average person plus there is so much technology available online now that it's hard for the reader to know what to click on first. You must grab their attention from the start using hook-lines such as - "Amazing new 3D screen about to be released." This creates a need within the reader to find out more and will give you an advantage over the more mundane technology articles out there.

4. Don't be afraid to use pictures. Where technology is concerned, people like to see visual evidence of what you are describing. Pictures are a great motivator for people to want the product or at least click on your link to find out more. It is just another way to engage the senses and prove to the reader that this product exists. You might also want to give them some links to relevant e-books or other products that you are selling, if they do not commit to one product, they might be more suited to something else.

5. Use relatively easy language in your technology article. There are few people that know the full depth of the technology you are describing so don't bore them with too much technical jargon. Allow them to feel like they understand what they are reading about, you don't want them to go away confused and irritated. If you keep it simple whilst showing them that you know what you are talking about, they will be more impressed. The result will be an entertaining and successful technology article to be proud of.

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Career in Life Science Industry - Guide to Clinical Research Jobs

The Life Science Industry is eying every avenue of life with its microscopic lenses. Innovation is at the core in the Life Science Industry than in any other industry. The life science industry innovates new ingenious ways of putting science to good use for the benefit of millions of people worldwide. People play a crucial role in the Life Science Industry. People who make the life science industry move are miraculously involved in researching new pharmaceuticals, in developing the latest industrial processes, in production, logistics and wide range of other support services.

There is a pool of opportunity for people who wish to pursue a career in the life sciences, and have a strong inclination to make new discoveries.

We can display a whole list of different scientific disciplines that could be considered life sciences.

Molecular Biology: Molecular Biology looks at the fundamental chemistry of life.
Cell Biology: Cell biology looks at cell.
Genetics: Genetics is the study of the blue prints that we are all born with and we will pass on to our children.
Developmental Biology: The study of how Life develops and reproduces.
Evolution: The study of how life came to be the way we now know it as.

Life Science is spread over such a wide array; there are surplus job opportunities in this industry that are highly exploring in nature. Notwithstanding the current economic downturn that has left few industries unscathed, the life science industry holds a great promise of better career prospects due to increase in demand for overall better health care worldwide.

There is a wide variety of different specialized fields in the biological sciences, and the list is growing rapidly. Although many life scientists are primarily involved in research and development, and work in the laboratory or field, you may decide you want to work in another area within the science.

In layman language Life Sciences are our developing knowledge of living organisms and the use of that knowledge to grow and do things to improve our lives. Developments in the life sciences will change our lives in fundamental ways - how we live and die, what we do, our eating habits, how we manage our health and so on.

The Life Sciences focuses on developing opportunities in:
o Bio-products and Bio-materials
o Bio-energy
o Health
o Nutrition
o Environment and Climate Life Sciences

Development of new and existing strengths in this area will produce the opportunity to create value in traditional sectors and ensure that economic growth is sustainable.

Clinical Jobs - An unfolding phase of Life Sciences
Clinical research is a multinational, multi-billion and multidisciplinary industry. Clinical Research is the next big thing in offering wider scope of job opportunities in the life sciences industry. The pharmaceutical industries are among the fastest growing sectors boosting the economy making rapid strides over the years.

As compared to prior years, clinical research has undergone a remarkable evolution in the scope, sophistication and power of its methodologies. There is a remarkable change in the approach to data collection, experimental design, and data analysis and these changes provide a strong basis for clinical research jobs. Numerous advances can be cited to describe opportunities in clinical research.

The Life Science Industry is climbing the ladder of success unceasingly. It is anticipated that this industry will generate $55 billion in revenues by 2020 and will have created new high-tech and value added jobs.

Tom Justa is the proud author of this quality article on Life science and biotechnology jobs, the author is the senior recruiter manager in Tag44 one of the leading staffing firm in US, for more source log on to http://www.tag44.com

Good Science Project Criteria

The criteria for a good science project are often debated by many teachers, parents, children, and science fair judges from all over. Everyone has their opinion on what makes a good science project, and while most people have good and reasonable opinions, the fact remains that there are specific criteria for projects that you can't get around, especially if this project is to be an entry in the science fair.

Most science fairs have some pretty standard criteria. The first one often highlights originality. Many good science project entries are good, but are carbon copies of projects already done. If you intend to enter your project into the science fair, make sure that it has an element that is completely your own. You can copy science projects off the Internet or from past projects, but adding something that wasn't there before or tweaking the project with something that you though up is a sure way to success with this criteria. If you're unsure about whether what you thought of is original, do some research to see if someone has done the same.

The next criteria is workability, which often goes hand in hand with simplicity. A lot of students think that a good science project will be complicated, but the reality is that some of the best projects are simple. This is because when a concept is well understood, you will be able to find the simplest way to demonstrate it and with the simplest or easily accessible materials. This almost always goes hand in hand with how easy it is to work the project. This is especially true if a machine was built or if part of the project relies on some kind of machine. The easier it is to work, the more likely it will score points with the fair judges.

Relevance is another criteria for a good science fair project. The project has to be relevant to what is learned in that grade level (this is very important), and having social relevance will score a lot of points. A demonstration of greenhouse gases by producing "global warming" in a jar, for example is a very relevant project that will catch the attention of judges and teachers because it shows that the student scientists is well informed with what is happening in the current world of science.

Finally, and believe it or not, neatness is always a criteria. Some schools are kind enough to remind their students to be neat, while others make it a kind of "hidden" criteria. A good science project is often very neat in appearance and in demonstration. This shows the the project was both well thought of and well worked on, and so neatness scores either real points or subliminal points, making it something you should have!

Be sure to have an idea of a good science project [http://www.easysciencefun.com/easy-science-fun-all-articles.html] for your child early on. You can plan on any good science project [http://www.easysciencefun.com/fourth-grade-science-animal-life-cycles.html] by having an idea on the criteria that will be used to judge it.

The Role of Adult Education Centres

"Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself." The famous quote of John Dewey simply says it all. Society is dependent on its individuals and education plays an important role in developing communities. Education provides humans with the ability to improve their performance and lifestyle by making informed choices and by forming opinion on political issues concerning themselves. Developed nations invest heavily on education as they realize the importance of providing education to their citizens.

In the UK there are many adult education centres that deal with the education of adults in the workplace, through continuing education courses at colleges, universities or lifelong learning centres. Adult education is often referred to as 'second-chance' or 'training and development' and many schools offer tailor-made courses and learning programs for the returning learners. Hence, these adult education centres play a vital role in society since education contributes to the development of communities.

Adult education is different from traditional children's education since adults have accumulated knowledge, and work experience which adds to their learning experience. They often apply their knowledge practically to learn more effectively. For instance in the 1990s when PCs were newly introduced many adults, mostly office workers, enrolled in computer training to learn the basic use of the operating system or specific application software. Most of the adult education centres provide one to one tutoring and small group sessions for adults.

Continuing education is also called further education in the UK, which refers to post-secondary learning activities and programs. The post-secondary learning activities include degree credit courses by non-traditional students, non-degree career training, workforce training, on-campus and online formal personal enrichment courses, self-directed learning through Internet interest groups, clubs or personal research activities, and experiential learning as applied to problem solving. The method of delivery of continuing education can include traditional types of classroom lectures and laboratories.

However, mostly continuing education is offered through distance learning, including videotaped/CD-ROM material, broadcast programming, online/Internet delivery and online Interactive Courses. Continuing education is basically for those adult learners who are beyond the traditional undergraduate college or university age. However, further education assumes adults have basic education and are continuing with their education hence it does not include basic instruction such as literacy, English language skills, or programs such as vocational training.

For more information regarding Adult Education Centres in the UK refer to SearchMe4 online business directory.

Content writer and specialist

Education Jobs - The Top 10 Jobs In Education

There are 3 main classifications into which the education sector can be divided. They are:

• School education
• Further education
• Higher education

Sometimes, education is carried out in a non-classroom background. It may take place in a prison or in a hospital. Education jobs are not only comprised of teaching jobs. Other people are working behind the running of the education sector. For example, there are people to look after the administration of an educational institute; there are people in the finance department, people are present to lend technical support to the institute, there are teaching assistants and also educational psychologists associated with the sector.

ABOUT DIFFERENT COUNTRIES:

The education sector in countries like England, Wales and in Northern Ireland is quite similar in administration. However, Scotland has different ways of running this sector. The rules and laws concerning the educational sector are different in this country.

THE DEMAND OF PEOPLE IN EDUCATION JOBS:

Graduates are in high demand as far as education jobs are concerned. Sometimes, there are a dearth of teachers in subjects like mathematics and science. Survey says that the primary schools are filled with teachers while the secondary schools still have vacancies.

THE TOP 10 EDUCATION JOBS ARE:

• Primary school teacher: the primary school starts from class 1 up to class 5. The teachers are required to teach subjects like English, mathematics, basic science, history, geography and another language. Other things like art and crafts and physical education are also taught. So not only subject teachers are required, there are places for education jobs too.

HIGHER EDUCATION JOBS:

• Secondary school teacher: the secondary school starts from class 6 and extends up till class 12. There are several subjects taught to the students at the secondary level. The students receive physical education training as well.

• Teacher in further education or in the college level: after passing out schools students enter colleges. Teachers train these students on specialized areas of their choice.

• University lecturer: they train students who seek admissions in universities.

• School Liberian: a Liberian is in charge of the entire library. He keeps an account of the books and lends them out to the students.

• Teacher of adult education: this type of job concerns adults. A teacher has to teach a few skills to students.

• Teacher in a prison or in a hospital: these teachers are required to impart education to the prisoners and the patients in a hospital.

• Educational psychologists: different educational institutes have psychologists who are engaged in counseling the students. They discuss problems of the students and motivate them and help them to deal with issues better.

• English teacher teaching in a foreign school or in a college: English is much in demand throughout the world. Those countries who are not well versed with the language hire teachers for educating them.

• A bruiser who looks after the financial affairs of a particular school.

To learn more about education jobs and to search through thousands of career listings, please visit http://www.EmploymentCrossing.com/lcjobtypelisting.php and sign up for a FREE trial today. Silas Reed, Writer for EmploymentCrossing, writes articles that inform and teach about different job tips and career advice.