China considers banning teachers from sexual relationships with young students

China is considering following Western countries in banning teachers from dating young students, according to a circular released to solicit public opinions.

The draft of School Protection Order for Juveniles was issued by the Ministry of Education on Tuesday and, if passed into law, requires primary and middle schools to prohibit teachers from dating students or having sex with them. The current age of consent in China is 14 years of age.

Other predatory behaviours that “hurt students’ physical and mental health” listed in the document include molesting students by groping or intentionally touching particular parts of their body, flirting, teasing, or making sexually suggestive comments.

Teachers are also banned from displaying or circulating messages, books, magazines, films, videos, or pictures that contain pornographic information to students.

The order also contains specific clauses on sexual harassment, by asking schools to establish safe management of dormitories, camera surveillance, and mechanisms for preventing, reporting, and dealing with sexual harassment incidents.

Among other regulations being proposed is a ban on schools revealing students’ rankings in tests and from publicising previous graduates who were enrolled by prestigious higher-level schools.

Teachers found violating the rules would receive disciplinary punishment and prevented from joining any award competitions for a period of one to three years. If the schools’ principal is responsible for an incident or found to have failed in their duty of care, they could be removed from their job for up to five years, the document said.

The public can send feedback about the order before April 23. It’s unclear if the order will be passed or when it would be put into effect.

Xiong Bingqi, director of the 21st Century Education Research Institute, said the latest order is to make clear to schools their duties as a way to support the country’s revised Law of the Protection of Juveniles that will be implemented in June.

A 2014 regulation governing teachers’ ethics has outlawed 10 specific activities, including sexual harassment or having an “inappropriate relationship” with students.

But regarding the definition of “inappropriate relationship”, different people have different ideas, Xiong told the South China Morning Post.

As a result of the absence of a clear definition of this term, it’s difficult for schools and the education department to deal with the case if the teacher involved is single, he said.

“In some cases, teachers accused of sexual harassment claimed this was an injustice by arguing the relationship had been consensual, Xiong said.

“Normally the teacher will be assigned to other schools, instead of being punished for an ethics error,” said Xiong.

“With the future implementation of the teacher-student dating ban, this kind of thorny issue will be treated smoothly since it’s not right for them to date in the first place,” he said.

Some people objected to the banning of teacher-student dating, arguing that dating is every person’s legal right.

“But they don’t understand that a teacher can use the power from his position to induce or force students to date with him or her. If a teacher is dating a student, he or she would often give privilege to the student. This is unfair for other students,” said Xiong. “So banning teacher-student dating is essentially to avoid interest exchanges.”

He urged the state authority to extend the ban to universities.

Maggie Yang, a Shenzhen mother of a 15-year-old girl, said she agreed with the teacher-student dating ban.

“I think dating is the business of adults. How can we tolerate that a teacher dates a minor student?” she asked. “This rule should have been made earlier.”

-South China Morning Post

Abu Dhabi unveils world’s first Artificial Intelligence university

ABU DHABI — The capital of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has announced the launch of the world’s first university dedicated to artificial intelligence, in a bid to stay ahead of the disruptive technologies and diversify its economy from the reliance on oil.

Named after the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and de facto leader of the UAE who has long championed science and technology development in UAE, Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI) will offer academic post-graduate (MSc and PhD) courses in three key fields of AI – computer vision, machine learning and natural language processing – with access to some of the world’s most advanced AI systems to unleash its full potentials.

All graduate-level students admitted to the school will be eligible for a full scholarship along with several benefits such as a monthly allowance, accommodation arrangements and health insurance.

The first class of graduate students is scheduled to start coursework at MBZUAI campus in Masdar City, a new urban area in Abu Dhabi, in September 2020.

“MBZUAI aligns with the vision of the UAE leadership that is based on sustainable development, progress and the overall well-being of humanity and underpinned by capacity-building and active participation in finding practical solutions based on innovation and state-of-the-art technology,” said Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of State, who also served as Chair of the university’s Board of Trustees, at the press conference in Abu Dhabi.

“As such, the Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence is an open invitation from Abu Dhabi to the world to unleash AI’s full potential,” Al Jaber said, referring to the school’s expectations that it would be able to attract talents in AI from all over the world.


“AI is already changing the world, but we can achieve so much more if we allow the limitless imagination of the human mind to fully explore it,” he added.

“The University will bring the discipline of AI into the forefront, molding and empowering creative pioneers who can lead us to a new AI-driven era.”

Dr Kai-fu Lee, Chairman and CEO of Sinovation Ventures and President of Sinovation Venture’s Artificial Intelligence Institute and a board member of the MBZUAI, said “AI is the new electricity.”

“It is the new technology upon which many applications will be built and they will change the world, it will disrupt and improve and amplify all kinds of professions and industries in the next 10-15 years,” Lee said.

He added that through the commitment for AI that the UAE has – having the first AI minister and now the first AI university, in addition to many pragmatic policies and considerable resources poured into the field – the country will soon become one of the technological leaders of the world.


Talking to Vietnam News Agency on the issue of female representation in AI in general and in the student body of the university, Prof Daniela Rus, director of the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) at MIT and also a member of the university’s board, said the university is committed to making an “inclusive atmosphere where women feel appreciated and it’s also important to show the young females all the potentials for technology, all the extraordinary things they could do in the future.”

She said that the field of computer science currently has problems that require the expertise and involvement of all people, especially including the “unique perspectives of women” in a field where women are otherwise underrepresented, to make progress and tackle the world’s problems.

According to PricewaterhouseCoopers (Pwc), AI could potentially contribute US$15.7 trillion into the world’s economy by 2030, in addition to giving boost up to 26 per cent in GDP to local economies. For the UAE, AI’s contributions to the national GDP could rise to 14 per cent in the same timeframe, the largest ratio in the entire Middle East.

UAE has also become the first in the region to launch a national strategy on AI development. It is also leading the region in terms of Government AI readiness index, earning the 19th place in the world, according to a report from Oxford Insights.

source: technology.inquirer.net

Student dies while running laps as punishment for being late

A 14-year-old student died after collapsing while running around his school’s field, as punishment for coming to class late.

The boy, identified as Fanly Lahingide, arrived in his school in Indonesia 25 minutes late last Tuesday, Oct. 1, as per Tribun News via AsiaOne last Friday, Oct. 4.


Lahingide, along with five other friends who also came to class late, were allegedly made by their teacher to run laps around their school’s field. Lahingide collapsed mid-run during his second lap.

Following his collapse, Lahingide’s mother (unnamed in the report), 46, received a call saying that he fell unconscious.

Lahingide was immediately brought to a hospital. The boy was declared dead at 8:40 a.m. after attempts to resuscitate him turned unsuccessful.

The boy was not known to have any history of medical conditions, leaving authorities still unable to identify cause of death. As per report, an autopsy is set to be carried out at Bhayangkara Hospital.

Recalling how Lahingide had breakfast at their home earlier that day, his mother said in the report, “I never thought this morning would be the last time I get to see my son.”

“I hope no other child has to experience this,” she added. “The police must investigate this incident and punish the teacher accordingly.”

Police told the news outlet that the victim’s family will file a case against the teacher who allegedly made the boy run laps. As per report, the family expressed that they disagree with the teacher’s actions. Ryan Arcadio/JB

source: newsinfo.inquirer.net

Student Debt a ‘Life Sentence’ for Millions of Americans

Haley Walters is five years away from earning her law degree. If everything goes according to plan, she will be under a mountain of $100,000 in student debt by the time she enters the workforce. Like millions of Americans, Walters is paying a steep price for an education that will likely weigh her down financially for much of her adult life.

“I think the student debt crisis is truly a life sentence,” the 19-year-old Californian told AFP.

With 45 million borrowers owing some $1.6 trillion, the debt burden of American college graduates has exploded in recent years.

It has emerged as a key issue in the 2020 presidential campaign, with candidate Bernie Sanders unveiling an ambitious plan Monday to erase all student loan debt.

“Somebody who graduates from a public university this year is expected to have over $35,000 in student loan debt on average,” said Cody Hounanian, program director of Student Debt Crisis, a California non-profit that assists students and fights for reforms.

According to official statistics, 71 percent of US students are burdened by such debt, with minorities the hardest hit.

“Black women particularly are the most impacted group with the highest student debt total per graduate,” Hovnanian said.

Despite scholarships and financial aid available to many, the cost of higher education is such that the majority of students are unable to repay their loans on schedule.

“When borrowers leave school, they’re in a program that’s supposed to take 10 years… but more and more are enrolling in federal programs that are actually 20 or 25 years in length,” Hovnanian said.

In the long term, the loan balance for such people increases, interest accrues, and the debt burden just keeps going upwards, he added.

Hovnanian spoke of his own experience as an example.

“I had $30,000 in student loan debt, I pay over $150 a month, and that’s in one of these affordable repayment programs,” he said. “By doing that, my loan balance is actually increasing. I’m not covering even the entire interest that’s accrued.”

“I’m paying every month,” he added, “just to be more in debt.”

– ‘System isn’t working’ –
Several experts interviewed said it’s not unusual to have two generations in one family burdened with student debt.
That’s the case for Walters, who just graduated with a two-year degree in political science from Pasadena City College, near Los Angeles.

While she managed to go through that school without accumulating debt, come autumn she will be entering the prestigious — and much more expensive — University of California Berkeley, with a law degree the ultimate goal.
Despite being awarded scholarships, Walters said she will still have to take out loans to pay for nearly $20,000 in annual fees.

“That is basically going to turn into a loan after loan after loan… each with individual interest rates and individual payments,” Walters sighed.

She said she grew up listening to her mother, 58, bemoan the student debt that still haunts her.
“I would hear my mom talk about… how it was basically crippling our finances,” she recalled.
“You know, we couldn’t go on vacation, sometimes I didn’t get school supplies for the new school year, sometimes we got fewer birthday presents.”

Walters said she hopes student debt will be a key issue in the 2020 White House race.
For some candidates, it is already front and center.
– ‘The system isn’t working’ –

Sanders’s “revolutionary” bill aims to erase all student loan debt and make public colleges tuition-free — and he wants the financial industry to help pay for it.
“The American people bailed out Wall Street,” Sanders said, referring to lenders deemed “too big to fail” during the late 2000s recession.

“Now it is time for Wall Street to come to the aid of the middle class.”
Democratic candidate Elizabeth Warren also has a debt cancellation and free public college plan.

“My dad grew up in an extremely poor family in southern California,” said Walters. “The only reason he went to university was that it was free.”

Tuition, however, is not the only financial burden of students.

In California, for example, housing and living expenses represent more than half of the $35,000 needed annually on average for public universities.

Hovnanian said it was crucial to address those issues to ensure students don’t end up saddled with heavy debt before starting their professional lives.

“The system isn’t working for students,” he said. “It’s working for profiteers, for big companies and for those who are making money off of students and borrowers.”

source: usa.inquirer.net

Can basketball save the world? New NYU course says yes

NEW YORK — Basketball is moving from the court to the classroom at NYU, though students won’t be tested on dribbling or shooting.

Nor will they spend much time on the game’s role as exercise or entertainment.

The theme is how it can save the world.

That’s the ambitious belief of professor David Hollander, who has seen the game grab people from his hometown gymnasium in New Jersey all the way to pickup courts in China, and in so many other places in between.

“Basketball seems like one of the few things that everybody in the world is OK with,” Hollander said. “Even the most closed societies, like North Korea, who wouldn’t allow anybody in, was OK with allowing a group of basketball players and Dennis Rodman.”

Hollander, in his 11th year teaching in NYU’s sports business program, had been developing ideas for a basketball-themed course for years, but it wasn’t until seeing the way his passion was articulated in the recent “Basketball: A Love Story” documentary that aired on ESPN that the plans really kicked into high gear.

One of the producers working with Dan Klores, the filmmaker behind the project, was taking classes at NYU and told him of Hollander’s interest. Hollander came to an early screening of the 10-part series and outlined for Klores how he was going to combine his ideas with aspects of the film to highlight the importance of the game to politics, culture, the arts and more.

That led to “How Basketball Can Save The World: An Exploration of Society, Politics, Culture and Commerce Through the Game,” a four-credit course that will debut for the summer 2019 session — right as the NBA postseason heats up — with plans to be available as an elective to undergraduate and graduate students in the traditional fall or spring semesters.

Hollander’s selection for the title was borrowed in part from Franklin Foer’s book “How Soccer Explains the World: An Unlikely Theory of Globalization.”

Klores thinks save might be too big of a word — “help is a safer word,” he said — but he otherwise agrees with Hollander about what the game can accomplish.

Soccer remains the world’s most popular sport, and FIFA President Gianni Infantino thinks it can bring peace to the Middle East, a central theme of his pitch for an expanded 2022 World Cup in Qatar. But Klores thinks basketball, invented in the U.S. by a Canadian and now being played by more than 300 million people in China, has a more extensive reach.


"It has become a global common denominator, and what I mean by that is you can go almost any place around the world, there’s only a few things we really all share,” Klores said. “You can introduce food, you can introduce God, you can introduce sex or love, you can introduce music and I think you can introduce basketball.

“As popular as soccer is, you can’t do that in the United States yet — a big part of the world. But you can go anywhere in the world now and the ball, particularly the basketball, has historically opened doors and opportunities and cultures to one another.”

The NBA has offered its support, perhaps in the form of providing speakers or access to its events and facilities. The sport might not be able to rescue the world, but a league filled with international players knows it can have an impact.

“It’s not a question of saving the world, but we have certainly seen firsthand the impact and the difference the game of basketball and the outreach work done by current and former NBA and WNBA players and coaches has on communities and people all over the world,” NBA president of social responsibility and player programs Kathy Behrens said, “from teaching how values of the game like respect and teamwork build bridges in communities (off the court) to promoting physical fitness and positive mental health, particularly among young people.”

The course plans to chart basketball’s growth in popularity, from its appeal to Irish and Jewish immigrants in urban U.S. areas to the way success in the sport has provided a national pride for countries in the former Soviet Union or Yugoslavia, such as Lithuania and Serbia. It also examines the game’s role in politics, from U.S. relations with basketball-crazed China to Rodman’s friendship with Kim Jong Un and visits to North Korea.

“There’s something about basketball that seems to reflect what society is going through and that certainly was true of society’s struggles with race in the ’60s and even until now,”

Hollander said. “It was certainly true of society’s engagement of culture — hip-hop, fashion, the sneaker business — and it continues to be true in terms of society’s open question faced today: How global do we want to be?”

Klores and his team conducted more than 500 hours of interviews with people connected to basketball for his documentary, and he’s eager to see the sport’s history taught to young people. He and Hollander say there are plans to develop a textbook so the course could be taught at other colleges, or even adapted to the high school level.

Perhaps some who take it will go on to find ways to use basketball to make a difference.

“I met so many people in this film that there’s no question in the world they are better leaders and I’d vote for president of the United States way before I’d vote for a bunch of these characters,” Klores said.

“You ask me, I’d pull the lever for Mike Krzyzewski, for Pat Riley, for John Thompson. I’d vote for them. That’s who I’d want to follow. I don’t think it’s an accident that they come from basketball.”  /muf

source: newsinfo.inquirer.net

Dedicated principal adds over 800 parents on WeChat

CHINA — Zhou Peili, a primary school principal in Ningbo, Zhejiang province has added almost every student’s parents on WeChat, reported chinanews.com last Monday.

Zhou found that WeChat could increase the connection and interaction between him and the children’s parents to help students improve.

Once, he noticed that a student who hardly followed his teacher’s instructions to complete his homework had parents who were not around due to work.

Zhou concluded that the student’s misbehavior was due to a lack of attention from his parents. He soon added the student’s mother on WeChat and informed her of the progress her child made regularly.

He also told the student his mother will know about his progress to encourage him to work harder and better. A few months later, the student showed a big improvement in his academic work and life.

Now, Zhou adds all the parents and shares the students’ progress on his WeChat to all the parents. He also shares updated education theories and school events that help parents to stay informed about their children’s education.

source: newsinfo.inquirer.net

$5,730 Grants Help Qualified Students Go Back to School

If you make less than $80,000 a year, college grants and financial aid may be available for up to $5,730 if you qualify.

If you’re like a lot of people you probably didn’t know grants like these were available. If you didn’t know, no worries, here are the three really important things you should consider when deciding which school you want to go to.

1) Grants, Scholarships, and Financial Aid Can Help

The big money part of this is pretty obvious to most students. Grants are an incredible way for qualified students to go back to school. Grants provide students up to $5,730 to help pay for school. The problem is that most students don’t think they’ll qualify. If you make less than $80,000/year you could apply for grants, a shocking number of students qualify every year for grants and it helps them save huge.

Other tips you need to consider are:

Scholarships from Schools: Ask schools you’re interested in if they offer scholarships. Schools have huge amounts of scholarships to help students pay for school. Schools you are interested in should have a massive list of scholarships you may qualify for, you just have to ask, and now you know too.

General Scholarships: There are literally hundreds of scholarships that are available to prospective students. These range from need based scholarships to super obscure scholarships for writing essays. If you’re willing to look, you may be shocked at what’s out there.

Employer Aid: See if you can get aid from your employer. Your employer wants you to increase your skill set. Many employers will not only help pay for you to go back to school but they’ll also give you time off of work to achieve your degree.

2) College Graduates Make More Money

This shouldn’t come as a shock. If you have a college degree it’s expected that you’ll have a higher paying job. What is a shock is how much more money college graduates make. A college graduate will make on average $2.3 million over their working life whereas someone with a high school diploma will only make $1.3 million. That’s a $1 million dollar difference. Think of how crazy that is. By getting your college degree, you will make on average $1 million more.

3) Online Options Are Great

Before higher education was made available on the internet students were stuck having to fit their lives into the schedule of whatever local school they wanted to attend. With great online options now, this is no longer the case. Online classes allow students to fit school into their schedules. For parents, they can take classes after their day’s activities with their kids. For people who are working, they can take classes at lunch or after work. The options are endless because you shape them… not to mention if you get your degree online you get to go to class and never get out of your pajamas.

If you’re interested in going back to school, partners like ClassesUSA may help you find the right school for you. See degrees that are available now.

source: smarterlifestyles.com

Bill Clinton to receive award for jazz advocacy

NEW YORK— Former President Bill Clinton will get a chance to play his saxophone when the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz honors him with its Founder’s Award.

The Monk Institute announced Monday that Clinton will receive the award at a Nov. 9 concert at Los Angeles’ Dolby Theater featuring Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Dianne Reeves, Dee Dee Bridgewater and others. The proceeds will support the institute’s free jazz education programs worldwide.

Hancock, the institute’s chairman, says Clinton honed “his creativity on the tenor saxophone” in public school music programs and has been “a jazz advocate for decades.”

The concert will include the finals of the prestigious Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition, which this year is devoted to trumpeters.

source: lifestyle.inquirer.net

KC Concepcion in NYC for studies, not to hide rumored pregnancy

NEW YORK, New York – Actress KC Concepcion is done being in the shadow of her famous parents.

She recently won two acting awards, making her an actress in the eyes of many and no longer just the love child of one-time heartthrob couple Sharon Cuneta and Gabby Concepcion.

“How many of us, children of actors, have achieved such honor?” KC wondered aloud during an interview with The FilAm. “The award is a big thing for me because it’s so hard for us having parents who are into showbiz as well. Oftentimes people would see us as no different from our

parents.”

Concepcion won Best Actress at the 30th Star Awards for Movies for her role as a stripper in “Boy Golden: Shoot to Kill, The Arturo Porcuna Story;” and Best Drama Supporting Actress at the 27th PMPC Star Awards for Television for the series “Huwag Ka Lang Mawawala.”

She learned about the Star Award from a friend’s text message showing a smiley face and three hearts. She couldn’t believe the news at first. It only sank in when her mother’s text message followed soon after.

“It’s an R-18 movie based on a true story, based on real people” she said of “Boy Golden.”

She accepted the role because of her faith in director Chito Rono, and it was a role that brought her out of her comfort zone.

“I’ve experienced firsthand certain roles that didn’t interest me at first yet gave me the chance to shine and get recognized.” “Boy Golden” was one of them.

KC is currently in New York — and will be in the city for a while — to study business and acting, and so was not able to receive her acting award.

Rumors flew fast that she was in New York to hide an unplanned pregnancy. She denied it, insisting she needed a long break from her highly demanding schedule.

“After doing ‘Boy Golden,’ I had pneumonia,” she said. “The doctors here said run-down yung katawan ko.”

KC said she had a back-to-back schedule, from hosting “The X Factor Philippines” to filming “Huwag Ka Lang Mawawala” soap with Judy Santos and Sam Milby and then “Boy Golden.” Her work schedule overlapped, and before she knew it, her body just shut down.

“I just realized my body was screaming out for a bit of rest and probably it came to a point that I would really want to explore (the city),” she said. “I’ve always been the type to need rest cause it’s so difficult to do that in the Philippines. It’s a different world out there and everyone knows your whereabouts.”

She is so happy to be in New York and to be able to live on her own. “Here, I can read three books in one week. In the Philippines, I had no time to read and just used the time to sleep.”


She has relatives in L.A., but her parents taught her to be independent and to not appear to be “too needy.”

“This is a good break kasi sa Philippines you needed a chaperone just to go to the bathroom.”

Actually, she will be shuttling between New York and Manila because of her many commitments. “I will be flying back and forth for work, been doing a lot of shoots for my endorsements and guestings because I still have many contracts that I need to fulfill.”

She is thankful to ABS-CBN and Viva for giving her a chance to pursue her studies.

An interview with KC – done over a period of two hours — is never complete without questions on love and relationship.

“Paulo Avelino is not my boyfriend yet,” she declared, setting the record straight. “I’m not committing to anyone right now. I have no commitments to anyone.”

After a tumultuous breakup with Piolo Pascual over a widely rumored gay past, KC is very cautious about becoming romantically involved.

“It’s not my priority right now. But it will be soon enough. Honest naman ako eh, the people involved know my state of mind right now and my limitations,” she said, intentionally sounding vague and elusive.

“I don’t wanna be hurt , it’s so tiring. I’m taking it slow. Talagang very slow. I’m very careful with my heart right now. I’m being good to myself, welcoming enough but also putting limits because I gave too much before,now it’s time to take care of me.”

She avoided talking about Piolo. “I’d rather keep that to myself,” she said.

For now, she is taking it easy and taking in as much as she can of New York.

“Apart from my classes, I enjoy the household chores. I do my laundry and spend some bonding time with my friends here like Ate Ritz Brinas.

“I’m lucky to have friends here who (no matter how busy they are) are always there to give me company when I want to go out.

“Sometimes, I play tourist, but I’ve always been a traveler rather than a tourist.

“Other times I go to nearby cities like Toronto and spend some time with friends over there. Throw a party in my balcony para mag-barbecue. Other times mag museum, manood ng concerts.

“But I like the fact that everything happens here in New York City, the center of everything.

“You can pay through apps here – you just point your smart phone. If you want to eat oysters, there’s an app for that too.”

KC is an avowed pescatarian and eats only fish and some seafood.

source: entertainment.inquirer.net

Intel set to expand digital literacy program

MANILA, Philippines – As computers continue to become a large part of people’s lives and society as a whole, digital literacy becomes increasingly important so that a person may utilize the technology and improve his life.

International computer technology company Intel said that being able to fully utilize computer technology allows people to uplift their lives and also drive the growth of the economy.

“Definitely education is key … you educate a person, it drives the economy,” Calum Chisholm, Country Manager of Intel Philippines said during the 2013 year-end review and 2014 predictions event last December 10.

Intel is looking toward 2014 and beyond to expand its digital literacy program both in schools and in the small and medium enterprises (SME) sector.

“In 2014, we will start to see digital literacy programs extend beyond school education. Governments need to invest to accelerate digital literacy throughout the community; a digitally literate SME sector will boost Asia’s global trade,” Philip Cronin, Intel Asia Pacific Director for Regional Sales said in a statement.

“Intel is working closely with governments to extend the digital literacy programs to adult communities,” he said.

Intel East Steps program, implemented by the National Computer Center, Commission on ICT, and the Technology Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), has already trained some 54,000 people, Chisholm said.

The primary target of their programs include those who had dropped out of school and the farmers and fishermen some of whom were not able to go to school.

Asked how he would be able to convince a fisherman to learn how to use computers when he might skeptical that it would not directly improve the amount of his catch, Chisholm said “but he might know the price of the fish and where to best sell it to make more money.”

The fisherman could also discover new things to do with the fish he has caught in order to develop a new innovation. “Just some simple things like that can absolutely enhance [their life],” Chisholm said.

“And that’s just the beginning, because actually a lot of the best ideas will come from the fisherman if the [software] developer then goes and talks to them,” he said.

Intel however admitted that there are challenges in improving digital literacy in the Philippines such as the geography, internet connectivity, and affordability of computers.

“Some people don’t even have electricity, connectivity, or internet devices, actually a lot, and that whole digital literacy is still a big challenge here in the Philippine,” Chisholm said.

“Its a big challenge but its something we feel passionately about … that’s our challenge to bring these accessible, affordable devices [to remote regions],” he said.

source: technology.inquirer.net

The Many Benefits of Online Education

Numerous individuals are going to schools, colleges and universities than ever before.
You can take a school course online from anyplace that has an Internet connection. Nowadays, with many wireless notebooks you can connect to the internet from almost anywhere which makes taking an online course considerably more accessible.

Online education programs empower you to go to educational institutions of your choice, without leaving your home. Most of business schools offer business course degree online. Online education allows you to take courses anywhere in the World, from best schools and at your own convenience. You can choose your class hours and area, can be at your home or office. Worries about transportation, the weather, even if you feel sick, it  is not an issue in online education.You can also save more on food expenses, you don't have to order food if it's meal time. A lot of advantages like flexibility, convenience, and freedom. You just pay the educational cost charges for the degree you enlist for.

People can get work experience and a business degree together from online schools. At the time you finish your course, you will likewise have work experience to give you an edge over others.

With many schools offering online courses,  it is helpful and simpler to achieve degrees these days, and it surely adds depth and confidence to career as well.

Studying online means you can go at your own pace. Whether your busy schedule leaves you little time for learning or you require more time to study a specific thought and you have the convenience to study and take tests at home.


Studying online means your classroom is in your own particular home that is convenient and relaxed. Online education is surely a choice in terms of getting a higher level of education.

5 Things College Grads Need to Know about Credit

With many students graduating from college, there are thousands of individuals venturing out into the “real” world for the first time.

Graduation often marks the first time that young adults begin to make their own money decisions, and begin to understand the consequences of their financial choices.

As graduates begin the next phase of their lives, here are 5 things they need to know about credit:

1. Good Credit is Vital

 

Many students underestimate the importance of good credit. However, building a good credit history is more important than many people realize. Good credit can mean that you save money on insurance premiums, and that you avoid paying a security deposit when you purchase cell phone service. Good credit can save you money, and even help you avoid being passed over for a job.

Not only that, but if you want to be able to complete certain transactions, such as buying a home, you need good credit — especially if you want to avoid paying thousands of dollars due to higher interest rates.

 2. Credit Cards are Loans

It’s easy to mistake credit cards for a source of money. However, they represent loans. While credit cards can be a fast way to build credit, they also require some restraint. One of the most important things to recognize is that the money isn’t yours. You’re borrowing it from the credit card issuer, and if you carry a balance, you will be charged a high rate of interest. Rather than treating credit cards as another source of available money, they should be treated as loans — since that is what they are.

 

3. On-Time Payment is the Most Important Thing You Can Do

 

The biggest factor influencing your credit score is your payment history. This means that you need to make sure that your payments are on time and in full. If you mail in a payment, make it a point to send it at least 10 days in advance (two weeks is better). If you pay online, schedule your payment so that it “arrives” in plenty of time.



Missed payments can quickly drag down a credit score. Create a schedule so that you know when your payments are due and pay them on time. Realize, too, that non-credit payments can also affect your score. Missed medical bill payments and missed rent payments can be reported to the credit bureaus and pull down your credit score.

4. You Don’t Have to Get Into Debt to Have Good Credit

 

Many people think that building a good credit profile means that you have to get into debt. While it’s true that you often have to use credit in order to build a credit profile, this doesn’t mean that you need to be in debt.

You can build your credit history with the help of a credit card, but you don’t need to carry a balance and pay a high rate of interest. Pay off your credit card each month, using your card as part of your budget. As long as you are careful to only buy what you already have the money for, it’s possible to avoid getting into debt.

Carefully plan your purchases, and you can build a good credit profile without becoming overwhelmed by debt.

5. Alternative Credit Scoring Models will Cost You

 

There has been a move toward using alternative scoring models that don’t rely on credit. These models claim to use items like rent payment, utility payments, and other payment histories to help build a history that shows that you are responsible with your money.

While these alternative scoring models can, indeed, help you establish some financial credibility, you will pay for these services. Often, you have to pay a fee to set up a situation by which an alternative reporting agency will gather information about your payment activities. Additionally, you have to convince your services providers or landlord to agree to report to these agencies.

Some agencies, like eCredable, will get the information for you just as you apply for loans from partners. However, you have to pay for this service, and the information is no longer “current” after 60 days or so.

While you can use alternative scoring, it’s a long process, and there’s no guarantee that it will work.

source: financialhighway.com

At more colleges, classes on genetics get personal

University of Iowa student Bakir Hajdarevic (BOCK-heer hye-dar-vich) didn't have to study for the most important test in his genetics class. He just had to spit.

The 19-year-old took an honors seminar in which students could choose to send saliva samples for testing to learn about personal health secrets such as whether they are at risk for cancer or carriers for genetic disease.

Taught at Iowa for the first time, the class is part of a growing movement in higher education to tackle the field of personal genetics, which is revolutionizing medicine. Several other universities have recently added similar classes.

They're forcing students to decide whether it is better to be ignorant or informed about possible health problems _ a decision more Americans will confront as genetic testing becomes cheaper.

source: lasvegassun.com

How to Find the Best Private Student Loan Terms

To keep up with rising education costs in the midst of shrinking savings and scholarship funds, many students are turning to private student loans to fill in the financial gaps to pay for college.

According to FinAid.org, private student loan volume is expected to return to the 25% annual growth rate unless there is another increase in federal loan limits or increased availability of federal student loans. The organization also expects private student loan volume to grow at double-digit rates and yearly private education loan volume will exceed federal student loan volume by around 2030 if federal loan limits do not increase every year.

Students can get private loans from banks, credit unions or other lending institutions to help cover remaining college expenses after scholarships, grants, federal loans and other types of financial assistance fall short.

“When federal student loan resources are exhausted, parents and students face tough decisions on how to pay for college,” says Ameriprise Financial private wealth advisor Rocco Carriero. “Most private loans are made directly to students, meaning that it becomes their financial and legal responsibility to repay the loan.”

Experts say taking out private loans to cover tuition should be students’ last resort—but if it’s required, here’s how to do it without bringing on life-time debt.

Know Your Rate and What it Means

Private student loan interest rates are variable and are pegged to an index such as the LIBOR or PRIME index plus a margin. The LIBOR index is the London Interbank Offered Rate and signifies what it costs a lender to borrow money, while the Prime Lending Rate is the interest rate lenders offer to customers with the best credit.

According to FinAid.org, a loan with interest rates based on LIBOR will be less expensive than a loan based on the Prime Lending Rate over the long term because a variable rate loan pegged to the LIBOR index will grow more slowly than a loan pegged to the Prime Lending Rate.

“The best private loan terms have the interest rates of the LIBOR at 2% or PRIME at 0.50% with no fees,” says Orlando Espinosa, former national spokesperson for The Sallie Mae Fund and current vice president of marketing for ScholarshipProz. “These are the standard competitive rates with the Federal Plus loan.They pretty much have to provide students with competitive rates because they want the students to actually take out the loans with them.”

Maintain Good Credit

For students who have established a credit history, the interest rate and fees paid on a private student loan are based on their credit score. If a credit score is less than 650, students are unlikely to be approved and a score increase of 30 to 50 points may be enough to get better terms on a loan, according to FinAid.

The experts point out that if a student has limited or no credit history, their greatest chance at qualifying for a loan with better terms (lower interest rates and fees) is to have a financially- responsible co-signer.

“Applying with a creditworthy co-signer should bring you the best pricing,” says Patrick Kandianis, co-founder of SimpleTuition.

Shop Around for the Lowest Rate

While some financial institutions have relationships with certain schools, it’s important that students do their homework to find lenders with the best options, says Espinosa.

It may be worthwhile to approach a financial institution where the student or the co-signer already has an established relationship, but it’s always a good idea to shop around and compare different lenders.

Espinosa cautions that some websites and brochures may have out-of-date material and that it’s the student’s responsibility to directly contact lenders to get updated information.

“The students actually have to do the leg work for themselves and look and see what’s out there, what’s available and not just rely on information that’s being handed to them,” he says. “It’s their education and they’re definitely going to want to pay a lower rate but they need to definitely do their research.”

Find the Best Private Loan Package

Students should understand that private loans come in various shapes and sizes (fixed rates, variable rates, no origination fees, some with origination fees, some 10 years, some 15 years, some 20 years).

 “In many cases they are currently cheaper or the same in price to federal options,” Kandianis says. “The Federal PLUS loan, for instance, has a 4% origination fee and costs 7.9% annually vs. some private loans with no fees and lower fixed and variable rates.”

Lenders may advertise a lower rate for the in-school and grace period only to have a higher rate when the loan enters repayment, so it’s important that students ask questions to make sure they understand the terms, says Espinosa.

Students should also find out about the lender’s repayment rules, especially when payments are expected.

“Some loans allow for a much lower cost by having repayment start right away and a shorter repayment time,” says Kandianis. “Some allow for deferment which helps with cash flow but might add cost.”

Understanding that the APR on the loan factors in fees, interest rate and time is essential, as it is the one determining factor that can allow for comparison between loans that have different structures, says Kandianis.

“Just because there is a fee, or is not a fee, or a higher rate, all of that gets measured in terms of APR and will come out in the wash,” he says. “Looking at APR and total cost should give a good idea on the costs over time.”

source: foxbusiness.com

Study: Student loans went to people who couldn't repay

WASHINGTON – Risky lending caused private student loan debt to balloon in the past decade, leaving many Americans struggling to pay off loans that they can't afford, a government study says.

Private lenders gave out money without considering whether borrowers would repay, then bundled and resold the loans to investors to avoid losing money when students defaulted, according to the study, which is being released today.

Those practices are closely associated with subprime mortgage lending, which inflated the housing bubble and helped bring about the 2008 financial crisis.

"Subprime-style lending went to college, and now students are paying the price," said Education Secretary Arne Duncan, whose department produced the report with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Duncan said the government must do more to ensure that people who received private loans enjoy the same protections as those who borrow from the federal government.

Student loans fall into two main categories: Loans directly from the government and those offered by banks and other private financial companies. The report focused on private student loans, which spiked from $5 billion in loans originated in 2001 to more than $20 billion in 2008. After the financial crisis, as lending standards tightened, the market shrank to $6 billion in 2011.

American consumers still owe more than $150 billion in private student loan debt, the study said. Including federal loans, Americans now owe more than $1 trillion in student loan debt, according to the CFPB. It has surpassed credit card debt as the biggest source of unsecured debt for U.S. consumers.

Private student loans are riskier than federal loans, the study said. They often carry variable interest rates, which can cause monthly payments to rise unexpectedly. Federal loans offer fixed interest rates.

In many cases, if a borrower is unable to repay, federal loans can be postponed or reduced. Those options are rare for private loans, the study said.

Students often did not understand the difference between federal and private loans, the study said. That caused many to take out costly student loans when they were eligible for cheaper, safer government loans.

The study highlights a unique feature of student debt: Unlike other credit card balances and most other debt, it is nearly impossible to cancel student debt by filing for bankruptcy. That leaves many borrowers trapped, behind on loans that lenders are unwilling to modify, the study said. There are more than 850,000 private loans in default, worth more than $8.1 billion, it said.

"Too many student loan borrowers are struggling to pay off private student loans that they did not understand and cannot afford," said Richard Cordray, director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The CFPB was created in the wake of the financial crisis to protect people against unfair loans, unexpected fees and other financial threats.

Lending standards for private student loans were loose during the credit bubble of the mid-2000s, the report said. Because private lenders marketed directly to students, bypassing school financial aid officers, schools did not review borrowers' financial needs or enrollment status. As a result, many borrowed far more than they needed to pay for tuition. The loans went to people with increasingly weak credit scores, making repayment less likely, the study said.

The head of a trade group representing for-profit colleges said in a statement that private loans sometimes are necessary for people to complete their degrees.

"These loans provide students access to higher education opportunities that they would otherwise not be able to pursue," said Steve Gunderson, president and CEO of the Association of Private Sector Colleges and Universities.

The report is based on data from nine lenders on over more than 5 million loans made between 2005 and 2011, as well as data from five nonprofit lenders. It was required under a sweeping overhaul of financial rules passed by Congress in 2010.

It said that lenders have been more careful since the financial crisis reduced the amount of credit available. For example, in 2011, more than 90 percent of private student loans required a co-signer, compared with 67 percent in 2008.

source: USA TODAY

Clinton to press India to stop buying oil from Iran

KOLKATA — U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton landed in India on Sunday with hopes of reinvigorating a relationship seen as losing steam despite efforts to bring the world’s two largest democracies closer.

Clinton was greeted by streets lined with waving well-wishers as she started her visit in Kolkata, where she will tour monuments and meet ordinary citizens in her latest bid to use her star appeal as a diplomatic tool.

She heads on Monday to New Delhi for talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh with whom she is expected to raise U.S. calls for India to stop buying oil from Iran, one of the most open disagreements in years between the countries.

Clinton said she saw ample progress in relations with India, pointing to rising trade and cooperation in areas from education to clean energy.

“I think it’s like any relationship—there is progress in some areas that we are very heartened by, and there is more work to be done,” Clinton told reporters before her arrival.

“But that’s the commitment that we make when we say to another country, we want to be your partner,” she said.

After more than a decade of warming relations, India has bristled at a U.S. law that would impose sanctions on banks from countries that buy oil from Iran due to concerns over Tehran’s contested nuclear program.

A senior U.S. official traveling with Clinton acknowledged that India had quietly been cutting back on Iranian oil and that New Delhi—fiercely protective of its sovereignty—could not be seen as buckling under U.S. pressure.

“Our assessment is that India is making good progress but we really need to receive assurances that they’re going to continue to make good progress,” the official said on condition of anonymity.

The official said that Carlos Pascual, the U.S. point man on the issue, would visit New Delhi later this month to determine the next step. Only EU nations and Japan have so far been given exemptions to the sanctions which go into effect on June 28.

India is highly dependent on foreign energy and has historically enjoyed friendly relations with Tehran.

But the U.S. official said that Indian businesses had made “a major strategic bet” on continuing good relations with the United States and did not want to jeopardize them over Iran.

Clinton will meet Monday morning in Kolkata with West Bengal’s Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who took power last year by sweeping out nearly 35 years of communist rule in the eastern state.

Clinton will seek to show solidarity with a fellow female leader but also press Banerjee to back the opening up of India’s fast-growing retail sector to major foreign companies such as Walmart, the U.S. official said.

Banerjee, a fractious ally of Singh’s government, was instrumental in scuttling planned retail reforms. Critics charge that liberalizing the sector would devastate India’s ubiquitous small stores, but foreign retailers contend that they can improve efficiency and consumer choice.

US businesses, once at the vanguard of building ties with India, have voiced disappointment over the deadlock on retail reform along with parliament’s refusal to give US nuclear firms greater protection from liabilities.

Nuclear energy had been a symbolic milestone in the relationship, with former President George W Bush championing a deal that ended India’s decades of isolation over its nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

President Barack Obama has backed another of India’s longtime ambitions by supporting its bid for a permanent seat on the U.N. Security Council. But few expect U.N. reform anytime soon and some Indians have accused the Obama administration of a lack of attention.

T.P. Sreenivasan, a former Indian ambassador to the United Nations, said that the initial expectations for the U.S.-India relationship had not been met but that Clinton had the advantage of being considered a friend of New Delhi.

The visit “comes at a useful time as there is a certain amount of strain in relations that needs to be rectified,” he said.

“The relationship has lost momentum partly because… both are preoccupied with their own internal problems,” he said.

source: japantoday.com

School Is Not Always About Grades

MANILA, Philippines — Thirty-one year old Zamboanga del Sur high school teacher Shateen Seraña had a dream — to educate her students beyond the classroom, hone their skills in Information and Communications Technology (ICT), and eventually encourage them to use what they have learned to give back to the community.

Armed with the desire to make a difference, Serana came up with a mangrove tree-planting project for her fourth year high school students.

“I did some research on what the students could do to help the community and I thought mangrove planting could be feasible because it would protect our coastal area from erosion. Since none of the students has ever experienced tree-planting before or used the Internet for school projects, this could be an interesting experiential project for them,” shared Seraña.

Taking a page from what she learned from the Global Filipino Teacher (GFT) program of Globe Telecom, Seraña adapted the project-based learning (PBL) approach in teaching both Filipino and ICT skills via the mangrove tree-planting project. Seraña was selected by Globe Telecom and the Coalition for Better Education (CBE) to take part in GFT last year in Zamboanga City. GFT is an intensive 54-hour, six-day teacher training program that promotes the use of ICT via online collaboration and PBL approaches across different subject matters and teachers.

STUDENTS DISCOVER

WONDERS OF TECHNOLOGY

For the project, Seraña asked her students to write proposal letters to their local Sangguniang Kabataan (SK), Parent-Teacher Association (PTA), and even to their local community leaders. “The best-written letter was translated to English and was used as a template for the letter we sent to the barangay, urging them to donate for the project and to join the students.”

Seraña also taught the students the best way to utilize the Internet for the project.

“We created Facebook groups where they updated each other on the progress of the tree-planting project and the tasks they had to do. One group was assigned to document the project online using Multiply. My students became more excited, less passive. Since resources were limited, the team who learned how to use the Internet taught their other classmates what they know. They also asked for donations to purchase a modem and they borrowed laptops from the school to work on the project,” she said.

The mangrove tree-planting project was recently hailed by Microsoft Philippines as the best project which used IT innovation for 2011 in their 7th Innovation in Teaching Leadership Awards (ITLA). Seraña is representing the Philippines in the regional Microsoft ITLA competition in New Zealand.

“I am glad my project was recognized. My students also became more confident because of their newly acquired skills. School is not always about grades but of new experiences and memories,” she said.

Seraña, who has been with Taluksangay National High School in Zamboanga del Sur for only two years, is not the only GFT graduate who was recognized by Microsoft Philippines ITLA. Eight out of the 10 finalists of Microsoft Philippines ITLA are products of GFT.

“This speaks a lot about the impact of the GFT program and the training they receive on project-based learning and ICT integration. It demonstrates how ICT can provide teachers and students with more accurate and quicker access to information, tools for easier and faster learning, and a chance to collaborate with the rest of the world. It was proven that by using ICT, there is increased teacher motivation and improved student memory retention and comprehension of various subjects,” said Rob I. Nazal, head of Globe corporate social responsibility.

source: mb.com.ph

NBA stars, celebs help fans learn English on website

Rising New York Knicks star Jeremy Lin has not only sparked NBA basketball interest in Taiwan, he may also inspire fans to learn English, according to people at the website "English, baby!"

With 1.6 million registered members and about a million hits a month, the educational website (www.englishbaby.com) has been using National Basketball Association players and celebrities to draw visitors to their English lessons, taught by guest stars who explain idioms associated with their work.

"We're really excited about that," Jason Simms, of English, baby!, said in a telephone interview from his Portland, Oregon office about the emergence of Lin on the NBA stage.

"There are lots of businesses out there that are tied to the enthusiasm for the NBA in Asia. We, like many people, were very disappointed when Yao [Ming] retired. It seemed like that might put a damper on that trajectory," he said about the Chinese star who played for the Houston Rockets.

But thanks to Lin, the 23-year-old Taiwanese-American sports sensation and media darling who propelled the struggling Knicks to several victories and sparked a craze dubbed "Linsanity," the trajectory may continue.

"We're really excited that Jeremy Lin is back to connecting the conversation between Taiwan and China and the United States about basketball."

China makes up the biggest audience for the service, comprising about 25 percent of the site's members, followed by Turkey at 7.1 percent and India, Brazil, Egypt and the United States. Taiwan is No.7 on the list at 2.2 percent.

John Hayden, who taught English in Japan and decided students advanced faster armed with cultural, as well as language fluency, started the company 10 years ago.

At first actors were used to stage conversations. But about three years ago he got the idea to tap into the Asian interest in basketball by inviting players to participate in an impromptu lesson, explaining a basketball term and engaging in a chat, which is accompanied by sub-titles on the screen.

NBA players including All-Stars Dwight Howard, of the Orlando Magic, and the New York Nicks' Carmelo Anthony, and Shane Battier, of the Miami Heat, and Al Horford of the Atlanta Hawks have participated along with singer Sheryl Crow, DJ Girl Talk, and rap group Bone Thugs-n-Harmony.

"A lot of players just perk up at the mention of China because they do interviews every day at media sessions during the season, but they don't get a lot of chances to speak directly to the fans in China," said Simms, who catches players at practice when their teams are in Portland to play the Trail Blazers.

"A lot of these players do tours and promotional events in China in the summer, but during the season they are mostly speaking to the American audience. This gives them a chance to reach out internationally."

The strategy seems to be a hit with teachers and students. The website receives lots of emails and comments, according to Simms.

"People say, 'Thank you for teaching us the real English. This is awesome. To know what this stuff means, I feel more confident I can talk like a real basketball fan,'" he explained.

"Sometimes we get stuff from teachers saying, 'I brought this video into the class and they really liked it.' As an educational outlet, our goal is to be complementary to a classroom experience." - Reuters

source: gmanetwork.com

Student Debt Consolidation Loans : Things You Should Know

Student debt consolidation loans can ease the accountability alike as the debts that students have to take on in order to finish their college education are getting more and more expensive and harder to repay. A student who is using multiple cards or multiple loans to meet their needs. These different unpaid debts also charge multiple interest rates which becomes unacceptable for many students.

Using a consolidation loan you will be able to solve this problem of being in debt by consolidating everything to a single source. Student loan debt consolidation loan is a single flat rate of interest through which a student can merge and pay off all your previous debts.


A Student loan consolidation is offered by many lending companies and is intended to improve the overall financial condition of students but with so many student loan consolidation companies, its difficult to decide which one best suits your needs. Following these simple rules and doing a little research, you will be able to find a company that offers a student debt consolidation plan that works for you. Before signing anything, read carefully and understand exactly all the terms and conditions that move with loan consolidation. A good student loan consolidation company would provide you with a step-by-step guide of how to deal with student loan debts, you will be informed and proceed after meeting a counselor that is provided by these companies.


Being a student borrower, you are allowed with lots of options and ways to cope effectively with your debts.

Apple Introduced iBooks 2 - Reinventing Textbooks

Apple Inc. held an event at Guggenheim museum in New York and the event was focused on education. The company’s number one initiative: "Reinventing the Textbook", said SVP of Worldwide Marketing, Phil Schiller.

Apple introduced iBooks 2 with their addition of electronic textbooks for purchase. Students will get to interact with their textbooks in a fully new way with iBooks 2.


Phil Schiller introduced tools to craft digital textbooks and he showed how authors as well as teachers can create books for students.