How to Take Computer Courses Online

How to Take Computer Courses Online Fee Paying and Free Online Computer Courses (with certificate and without) ChaptersAdvantages of Taking Online IT CoursesHow to Find Computer Courses Online?What Equipment do I Need for IT Online Learning?Tips for Improving Your IT Skills Through Online Computer CoursesTechnology has forever changed the world we live in. We're online, in one way or another, all day long. Our phones and computers have become reflections of our personalities, our interests, and our identities. They hold much that is important to us. -  James ComeyToday, the internet is ubiquitous. It has come so central to people's lives that 24 hours without internet for many would mean a day turned upside down. According to a survey undertaken by the Office for National Statistics, in the first three months of 2017, 89% of adults in the UK had recently used the internet whilst 99% of people aged 16 to 34 years were recent internet users.It is possible to find almost any resource you need via the internet. Why not the make the most of it and also use it as a platform for learning to master t he ins and outs of the interweb.IT for beginner's, improvers or advanced - whatever level of learner you are, there will be something to suit you. Whatever computing knowledge you are looking to acquire, there will be an accredited online education institution waiting for you to enroll!You can take computer courses here. CalumDrama School Entrance Teacher 5.00 (15) £50/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors ToriSpanish Teacher 5.00 (1) £15/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors OliviaSchool support Teacher 5.00 (2) £21/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors MarkESOL (English) Teacher 4.76 (17) £20/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors YuweiChinese Teacher 4.33 (6) £19/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors JenniferMusic reading Teacher 5.00 (1) £30/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors LouiseAutoCAD Teacher 5.00 (3) £60/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors RickyPercussion Teacher 5.00 (7) £35/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors NicolasGuitar Te acher 5.00 (2) £35/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors MyriamOrganic chemistry Teacher 5.00 (13) £20/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors JonathanEconomics Teacher 5.00 (9) £40/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors Oluwakemi imoleMaths Teacher 5.00 (1) £30/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors AlexPhysics Teacher 5.00 (1) £50/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors AdamSinging Teacher 5.00 (14) £48/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors ValentiniMusic reading Teacher 5.00 (2) £50/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors MilenaMaths Teacher 5.00 (5) £25/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors RashmiEconomics Teacher 5.00 (1) £35/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutorsAdvantages of Taking Online IT CoursesLearning to use a computer and all that it entails (basic computer commands, the internet, software, multimedia, designing, etc.) can sometimes take time and very often demand concentration.This is why many learners use online resources as a way of finding information on how to become an IT pro. But what are the advantages of learning IT online rather than a more traditional learning experience with face to face tuition with a qualified instructor and exams, coursework, etc.?Do free online courses and online degree programs mean you are less likely to succeed in your chosen computer-based profession than those studying on traditional graduate degree programs or even postgraduate university courses such as doctoral degrees offered by brick and mortar higher education institutions?Of course not! Very often online programs and training courses can equip you  with all the IT knowledge and skills that you need for the profession.Find out information about our computer courses here.With the help of a webcam, you can take online IT courses with the click of a button. (Source: Visual Hunt)Have a look at our guide to the best schools to study computer science.Learn at Your Own PaceSearching on the internet, learning to make one's ow n website, managing a blog and editing and uploading videos - it is now possible to do so much online now to digital advancements, online tutorials and online instructional videos and lectures.A number of videos and forms of interactive online classes exist on the web. Many are geared towards IT enthusiasts and can help you to study different ICT subject areas.Just find computer-based subjects that you enjoy and gain the professional skills you need to turn them into a career!Another one of the benefits of following this type of online course curriculum is that you can continue and further your studies by working as quickly or as slowly as you would like to.Motivation is the driving engine behind any kind of learning.The chance to work at a moment that is convenient for you (work has finished/not too late and you are not too sleepy etc.) will ensure that your brain is able to remain concentrated for longer periods of time.Learning What You Want'What a girl wants, what a girl needs.. .', so goes the famous song by Britney Spears. However, the lyrics not only apply to one's love life but could just as easily apply for one's search for online IT lessons.Programming languages (java programming),  cybersecurity, computer technology, business communication, algorithms, internet browser, networking, Powerpoint, OpenOffice, free software, computer systems, etc. - the program of study and curriculum needed to become an accomplished IT and computer expert can sometimes turn out to be a long and fastidious  process.For some, it will be necessary to learn all the functions of a computer before starting out on an online course.The advantage of online IT courses is that they offer students the chance to choose  exactly  what they want to  in terms of the IT skills they have already acquired and  their learning goals.You could always establish your own program of study. Such as individual lessons in computer programming, IT equipment, web development, software development, co mputer networks, information systems security, network administration, health informatics, Microsoft Office, Microsoft Excel, Open Office, computer coding languages like HTML5/CSS3, Javascript or Java programming, JQuery, PhP, MySQL, etc.However, computer courses have the advantage of letting you ask questions and get feedback from a qualified tutor.Get a private IT tutor and learn at you own space.Learning Through PracticeSo that lesson content imparted during online IT lessons is properly absorbed by online learners, it is essential for the students to put into practice what they have learned. The great thing about learning online is that you can immediately try out and practice the elements of the course that you have just been taught by your online teacher or fellow online learners.There are of course some disadvantages to learning online.For example, you are not able to directly interact face to face with other students and the teacher, having conversations as you would in a cl assroom to further your learning - you are effectively self-taught.What's more, it is important to allocate some regular time each week and stick to a specific timetable to ensure that you do not let your study time slide and slow down your IT learning progress.Being effectively self-taught through an online computer course can be a challenge, but remember, nothing is impossible!  How to Find Computer Courses Online?Are you ultra motivated to become familiar with all the main bases of IT but do not know where to find the right course that corresponds to your needs?There are a number of options available to you if you are looking to learn online from the comfort of the sofa in your front room!Knowing that e-learning is now more and more common and that it has become very easy to access quality content online. However, now that there is such a huge amount of choice when it comes to online computer courses, locating a good course or courses for your studies can sometimes be a challenge in itself.Beware of 'pseudo schools' - not all online computer courses are worth the hefty online fees! (Source: Visual Hunt)First and foremost, it is probably worth looking at  free  IT online learning courses.Some internet sites are entirely dedicated to helping you with your computing learning. Learning to code, to upload/view/edit/download a video, learning graphic design, learning how internet networks work and have a range of resources all available online.Obviously, being free courses, they are usually not the best quality.In a nutshell, as soon as you see a course is free, you should have a look who it was created by.Some lessons can actually be really informative and come from professionals who work in the IT industry (computer engineers, IT experts,  systems integrators, programmers, web developers, ICT teachers, computer scientists, IT technicians, webmasters, computer maintenance repair specialists, etc.).Sometimes content is also written or filmed by amateur IT enthusi asts who are actually very competent and know what they are talking about in the field of IT.However, many free lessons are simply posted online with the aim of making money thanks to adverts on the webpage.Whatever the content, whether it is IT related or something completely different, such as, humanities, psychology, mathematics, criminal justice, science courses, etc., just make sure that you do not start wading through free online content with too optimistic an approach and be conned by titles like 'learn to code in 2 hours'. Even if you are a natural and find computer coding not as difficult as it seems, it will still take time to master the different computing languages.Look on online platforms like YouTube. A lot of people post IT tutorials (learn to program, or lessons in using computers for admin purposes, using the internet, making a PowerPoint presentation, analysing data, etc.) in order to learn a few of the fundamental areas of IT.Try to come up with a desired program of study once you have watched a few videos.You could always turn to paid courses later on. Some sites sell packs or blocks of tutorials which may be helpful. But as always, make sure you check carefully by whom they were created. For example, you can be assured that tutorials on Adobe software that have been filmed by reputable companies such as Adobe will be of a high quality and worth the money.Read around to see what other learners have to say about the courses before purchasing and look carefully at the course content to make sure it meets your requirements.There is also another formula for learning information technology online - having 1 on 1 coaching sessions with a private online tutor via a shared screen.This is very often a good compromise between having a private face to face tutor and teaching oneself.Whatever path you decide to go down, it is always advisable to carefully look at the program of study to see that the learning outcomes are clear and match your desired ta rgets. The program of study should be explained clearly with practical titles detailing each area to be covered.What Equipment do I Need for IT Online Learning?Learning IT lessons at home can be very practical, but only if you have the right materials. Computer, software, accessories and the knowledge to set them up and use them.Which Computer to Choose?If you are starting IT lessons, you will probably already have a personal computer within arms reach. Given that using a computer has become such a staple part of life, most people will already have one in their homes.But are all types of computer and laptop adequate enough to manipulate information, use software and complete all the functionalities needed for a professional IT course?You don't have to invest in a host of costly computer equipment to get by on online IT courses! (Source: Visual Hunt)Well, it will all depend on what subject matter you would like to cover in your classes and the existing equipment and software you alre ady have. Despite laptop technology significantly improving in recent years, desktop computers are very often still more powerful and tend to have a greater amount of memory than laptop computers.To ensure that your computer is able to handle all the software that you will need to install onto it, make sure that you check not only how much space is left on the device but also how much RAM it possesses. Having a sufficient amount of RAM is important because your computer will support a large amount of software without slowing down greatly.You could conservatively aim to have around 8 gigabytes of RAM before the start of the course in order to guarantee use of software and computer functionalities run smoothly during your lessons and waiting for the computer to react does not cut into your lesson time.SoftwareIf you do not have all the basic Microsoft software (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc), you can always use free versions of these types of text and data manipulation programs that ha ve similar functionalities, for example, Google Spreadsheets and WordPad.Nowadays, a lot of software is available to purchase via a monthly or annual subscription. Paintshop Pro, Photoshop, Lightroom, etc, are all rather expensive and you should, therefore,e plan to allocate a   budget for the purchase of such programs to be certain that you will be able to get your hands on the necessary software for practical use during the course.But don't panic! If you do not particularly want to shell out for expensive software subscriptions, you could always turn to free software such as gimp and Free Open Office in your hour of need!Computer AccessoriesNot all computer accessories are completely indispensable when it comes to learning IT online. You can easily learn how to create and set up a website or learn to code simply by using a computer with internet access and nothing else (apart from a mouse, keyboard and monitor, obviously!).However, if you are lacking space on your computer or simp ly want to back up your files for extra security then you would do well to purchase an external hard drive.Tips for Improving Your IT Skills Through Online Computer CoursesImproving your IT skills is not always easy without the presence of a teacher who is there to correct you or help you fix certain issues or bugs you may come across.However, with a bit of motivation and hard work, it is still completely possible to make good progress in your online IT training and become a veritable expert in all things digital!Getting the skills you need through a distance learning course, an online course, a MOOC or any other form of e-learning that teachers the skills you need to program, code or whatever else you may require in order to become a computer engineer or work as an IT maintenance specialist is completely feasible and doable!Regular IT Online LearningThe most important part of e-learning and the first thing you should do before you start your course or program of learning is to crea te a timetable of when you will study and stick to it. You will need to take regular online classes or watch tutorials at the same time each week or even every day in order to guarantee that you reach your learning targets.It is better to learn small nuggets of information every day rather than to have marathon e-learning sessions once every three months!You will retain a lot more of the information that you learned during your study sessions if you are learning regularly. What's more, you should not overload your brain with too much information in one go - like most things, little and often is the key to success!Nobody ever said computer science and IT were easy but online programming courses are as hassle-free as they come! (Source: Visual Hunt)Set Yourself E-Learning TargetsOne of the first conditions for study success is that you should know from the outset where you want to go with your IT learning. Learning to code, for example, is not necessary for successfully editing videos .So unless you are a true IT and tech enthusiast, make sure you study only the essential areas that will help you reach your targets to avoid wasting time and brainpower!Before starting your course, define your targets and the level that you would like to acquire. This will help to keep you motivated and stop your studies falling by the wayside!Write a list of all the things you would like to learn  (using the internet, Outlook Express and email, algorithms, Microsoft Word, computer programing, computer networks, computer architecture, Java, cryptography, digital and IT technologies etc).Check out our complete guide to learning computer science.Do Regular Practical IT ExercisesDon't forget that just because you don't have a physical teacher to get on your back about doing homework does not mean that you should not give yourself regular practical computer exercises to go over during the course of your online IT training. Try to set yourself targets, like learning the A-Z of creating a web page. This will help you to cover several areas at once, for example, computer coding, but also graphic design and cybersecurity.It might even prove to be fun and useful at the same time!IT tools, IT project management, antivirus, becoming familiar with Python, etc. - these are all good exercises that will help you to progress quickly.

4 Quick and Easy Italian Grammar Exercises

4 Quick and Easy Italian Grammar Exercises Brooke Neuman One of the keys to learning Italian is practice. Below, Italian teacher Nadia B. provides some quick and easy Italian grammar exercises to help get you on the road to success Despite what you may think, mastering Italian grammar isnt impossible. In fact, its as quick and easy as putting the rules youve learned into practice. The following four exercises will have you perfecting Italian grammar in no time! Remember, learning a new language takes time, so dont get discouraged if you stumble along the way. Its expected! Exercise 1: Interrogative Words In Italian, interrogative wordssuch as che  (what),  chi  (who),  quando  (when),  perché  (why) and  come  (how)are used to form a question. Practice using interrogatives by forming a question using each word above. Doing so will ensure that you can quickly produce the correct interrogative when needed to ask a question. See examples below: Che vuoi fare oggi? (What do you want to do today?) Chi era quelluomo? (Who was that man?) Quando arriva Giovanni? (When does Giovanni arrive?) Exercise 2: Telling Time Write down a series of times (for example, 2:24 p.m., 3:00 a.m., 8:00 p.m., and 9:45 a.m.) and then practice saying the times out loud, concentrating on your pronunciation. After youve mastered that, try working on your time expressions next. You can include di mattina  (in the morning), del pomeriggio (in the afternoon), di sera (in the evening) and di notte (at night). See examples below: Sono le nove e quattro di mattina.  (It is 9:04 a.m. in the morning.) Sono le sei e ventidue di sera.  (It is 6:22 p.m. in the evening.) Sono le undici e trentacinque di notte.  (It is 11:35 p.m. at night.) Sono le undici di mattina.  (It is 11:00 a.m. in the afternoon.) Dont forget that you also have the option of using the following phrases as well: a quarter before (meno un quarto), a quarter past (un quarto), half past (mezzo/a), noon (mezzogiorno), and  midnight (mezzanotte). See examples below: Sono le sette meno un quarto di mattina.  (A quarter before seven in the morning) Sono le otto e un quarto di mattina.  (A quarter  past eight in the morning) Sono le otto e mezzo di mattina.  (A half past eight in the morning) Exercise 3: There is vs There are There is and there are are indispensable in Italian, and its easy to practice using them correctly. Look around whatever room you are in, and use cè   (there is) and ci sono (there are) to describe the objects you see. For example, if you see a white chair in the room: Cè una sedia bianca. (There is a white chair.) You can even take it a step further and describe the quantity of each item to practice the numbers in Italian. Ci sono dieci libri e tre cuaderni. (There are 10 books and three notebooks.) Exercise 4: The Definite Article There are two main forms of the definite article in the singular, il (masculine) and la (feminine) and two alternate forms,  l,  for any noun starting with a vowel, and lo,  for any masculine noun starting with s- plus a consonant, ps-, or z-. Singular  masculine  noun: il Singular feminine noun: la Noun starting with a vowel: l Masculine noun starting with  s-  plus a consonant,  ps-,  or  z-  : lo Remember,  i  for plural masculine,  le  for plural feminine,  gli  for plural masculine beginning with a vowel, s- plus a consonant, ps-, or z-. Plural masculine noun: i Plural  feminine  noun: le Plural  masculine  noun beginning with a vowels-  plus a consonant,  ps-, or  z-:   gli To practice using definite articles, write out a list of singular nouns and then assign each one the appropriate definite article. Then, do the same for plural nouns by writing out a list of plural nouns and assigning each the correct definite article. See examples below: Singular mattita la matita (the pencil) zaino lo zaino (the backpack) uomo luomo (the man) Plural mele le mele (the apples) uomini gli uomini (the men) bicchieri i bicchieri (the glasses) With these Italian grammar exercises, you should be well on your way to a thorough and accurate understanding of basic Italian grammar. If you practice these quick and easy Italian grammar exercises regularly, youll start to notice that youre making use of these grammar concepts in an easier, more rapid, and accurate way than ever before in conversation and in writing. Nadia B. teaches Italian in New York, NY. She graduated summa cum laude from New York University, with a double degree in Italian Language and Literature and Classical Music Performance.  Learn more about Nadia here! Interested in Private Lessons? Search thousands of teachers for local and live, online lessons. Sign up for convenient, affordable private lessons today! Search for Your Teacher

How can I improve my English

How can I improve my English Learn English for the price of a cup of coffee Students often ask me this question. They want to practice their English, but they dont have anyone to practice with. Whenever I am asked, I am tempted to tell them my friends solution to the common question, How can I improve my English? I had a friend named Joseph who moved to Montreal from Czech Republic in the 1990s. He worked as a janitor and spoke very little English at the time. After work and on his days off, Joseph would go down to the local doughnut shop on Sherbrooke Street, in the Notre-Dame-de-Grace neighbourhood of Montreal. Every day, a strange woman would arrive, buy a cup of coffee, sit down and talk to herself. After she finished her coffee, she would get up and leave. One day, Joseph saw that she had finished her coffee and was about to leave, so he bought her another cup and asked to sit with her. The woman accepted the coffee and kept talking. She could talk and talk on any topic, provided there was a cup of coffee in front of her. Sometimes he would ask her questions. Sometimes he just listened. Since she spoke more than she drank, he said it only cost him about a dollar an hour for crazy conversational English practice. He spent about $3 a day on coffee for about a year and learned so much English by the end of it that he went on to become an English Second Language teacher. Joseph told me this story after class in a Grammar for Teachers, a course we took together at Concordia University  in 2001. I have never forgotten it. I am not sure whether going in search of crazy conversation partners is a good idea. However, it demonstrates that languages are learned primarily through the repeated exchange of meaningful messages with a focus on form. In Josephs case, he focused on form at home by studying grammar books in the evening. Please follow and like us:

The Sutton Trust praises Tutorfair

The Sutton Trust praises Tutorfair Private tuition remains to be the “hidden secret of British Education” says the Sutton Trust. The social mobility think tank, founded by Sir Peter Lampl, annually polls young people and educators through Ipsos MORI on their experiences of private tuition, helping to lift the curtain on tutoring. In this year’s report the Sutton Trust has also worked closely with Tutorfair, a website where parents can find and book a local tutors. With 40,000 tutors on their website, Tutorfair holds some of the most extensive data available within the tutoring industry, and this information was shared with the Sutton Trust in order to help inform the Trust’s findings. Almost 25% of 11 to 16 year old state school students have received private tuition - that’s over 700,000 young people in England and Wales. In London this figure rises dramatically to 40% of students. Tutorfair reports that the most popular tutored subjects are Maths and English (in that order), followed by science, musical instruments and foreign languages. The Sutton Trust’s report reveals that nearly half (43%) of state school teachers have tutored outside of their main teaching role at some point in their career. Top Tutorfair tutor and qualified teacher, John N comments, “I was a teacher on the Teach First programme, teaching in a challenging school in Kent. However, I've found tuition far more rewarding as a career in education. I love teaching, but the reality of teaching in schools is that too often there is a lack of respect and appreciation for teachers. Too much time is spent dealing with behaviour, social care or superficial bureaucracy, and academic rigour comprises a remarkably small part of the job. Tuition is entirely different, where academic rigour is a core aspect of the role and the focus is truly on high performance teaching and learning. Tutorfair represents the most socially responsible way of providing tuition, enabling tutors to help students whilst also providing support to students from less privileged back grounds who really appreciate and benefit the support that tutors can offer”. A meta-study into one-to-one tutoring by the Educational Endowment Foundation, shows that it provides 5 months additional progress over untutored pupils. This makes it one of the most effective forms of education that parents and teachers can use to support learning. Although tutoring is incredibly effective, it remains to be the most expensive, with tutors across the UK costing on average £27 per hour. Therefore, private tuition is mainly accessible to be those who can afford it. Privately educated students are almost as twice as likely to receive tutoring as state-educated students. So students who receive private tutoring disproportionately come from families that are already advantaged. Both the Sutton Trust and Tutorfair want to highlight that there are many important social mobility issues caused by this inequality within the industry. The Sutton Trust calls on more tutoring agencies to follow Tutorfair’s example and offer free tuition to disadvantaged students â€" with the aim of “levelling the playing field within education”. Andrew Ground, founder of Tutorfair “We welcome the Sutton Trust’s findings. Tutoring is very beneficial but action is needed to ensure it’s fair. We welcome more positive engagement on how tutoring can be good for everyone.” Tutorfair includes a donation from their paying students’ lessons, and develop free tuition programmes to support disadvantaged students. Their website cites the DfE 2012/13 figures that “61% of children on free school meals received a “D” grade or lower in their mathematics and/or English GCSE” and Tutorfair call for change. Tutorfair partners with schools that have a high proportion of students on free school meals, and gives free one-to-one and small group tuition to their students. They have so far helped 5,562 disadvantaged students, involving 675 tutors across 14 partner schools. Make a difference by recommending Tutorfair to students, parents, teachers and schools. Tutorfair’s socially responsible mission shines a light on the ‘shadow education’ industry, making tutoring both fair and transparent for all. If you would like to know more about Tutorfair and their mission, please contact them on support@tutorfair.com

Car Windows Potentially Unsafe

Car Windows Potentially Unsafe Photo Via: http://kenrobertsautoglass.com Your car’s windshield may be doing an okay job at blocking the son, but it’s probably not protecting you against any of the sun’s harmful rays. In fact, a recent study suggests that it’s important for drivers to protect against these rays, and to stop assuming that just because they are behind a windshield, they are safe. The study recommends that drivers wear sunglasses, sunscreen and utilize any other protection against the sun while driving in order to protect yourself from the sun, just as you would at the beach. According to the study, ultraviolet radiation emitted from the sun isn’t actually being blocked by your windshield, and your windows aren’t much better. In fact, some of the rays (tied to problems such as cataracts and skin aging) aren’t protected against at all. According to Dr. Brian Boxer Wachler, a researcher from the Boxer Wachler Vision Institute in Beverly Hills, California, in a statement to Reuters Health, “Some cars were as low as 50 percent blockage. Even cars that came with factory tint, there was no guarantee that would protect against UV rays.” For those not as familiar with UV rays, they may not be the most abundant of the sun’s rays, but they are extremely damaging to human skin. And according to the Skin Cancer Foundation, UV-A rays “are the most common and penetrate most deeply.” And now, driving a car is linked to these harmful rays. According to Boxer Wachler, as written in JAMA Ophthalmology, “Because drivers in the U.S. have their left side exposed to sunlight, UV rays have been blamed for the increased number of cataracts and skin cancers that occur on the left side.” So evidence would suggest that these rays are having an effect on drivers. Why is this? Rays are so powerful they can easily pass through clouds, which means they can easily pass through glass as well. So how do you know if your windows are safe or not? Getty Boxer Wachler had the same question. He used a UV-A light meter to test 29 different cars at a car dealership on a cloudless day in May of 2014. These 29 cars came from 15 different manufacturers all made between the years 1990 and 2014. The results were as follows: “On average, car windshields blocked about 96 percent of UV-A rays. The protection afforded by individual cars ranged from 95 to 98 percent.” Side doors, however, had a different result. “The percentage of UV-A rays blocked varied from 44 percent to 96 percent. Only four of the 29 cars had windows that blocked more than 90 percent of UV-A rays.” So while windshields offer a decent level of protection against the sun’s rays, side door windows offer very little protection, putting the driver at risk. According to Boxer Wachler, “It had no correlation at all with the cost of the car, high-end car or low-end car.” Dr. Jayne Weiss, a commentator on the study and director at the Louisiana State University Eye Center of Excellence, clarifies this problem by explaining that windshields have to be more protective than the door windows because they’re made of a different material (laminated glass as opposed to the door windows’ tempered glass) in order to prevent shattering. She says, “Don’t assume because you are in an automobile and the window is closed that you’re protected from UV light. For the eyes, your best bet is to get sunglasses that block UV-A and UV-B light and wrap around the face.” pexels.com And on the other side of things, Dr. Paul Nghiem, a head dermatologist at the University of Washington not involved in this study, claims that car windows allow in enough rays to have an effect on the skin as well. He says, “Wearing long-sleeved clothing, or sunscreen that is broad spectrum, would be extremely effective and seems indicated on long drives on sunny days.” As an added tip, Boxer Wachler suggests drivers obtain clear UV filters, which can be added to their car filters to protect against the damaging, UV rays. So if you care about your skin and your overall health, avoiding the tanning bed is no longer enough; you need to actively protect yourself from the sun, even in situations you otherwise wouldn’t be concerned about, such as driving your car to and from school or work five days a week. Using sunscreen before driving to work? It may sound crazy, but this study shows it may also be necessary. So whether or not you take these problems seriously now, it’s about time to reconsider how you feel about the problem at hand, especially as weather changes become far more extreme all over the country. So at the very least, be aware of the problem and do what you can to avoid future health problems while you still can.

How important are the Key Stage 2 SATs results

How important are the Key Stage 2 SATs results With the KS2 SATs results being released to schools later this week, we thought there was no better time to look at how important they are to your child's future. What do SATs assess? SATs assess how well students have understood what they've learnt in three subjects: mathematics, reading, and spelling, grammar and punctuation. It's only the second year of the new, harder SATs so 2017 results will only be comparable with last year. Not all schools offer SATs. Independent schools can choose whether to offer them, but they usually still do an equivalent at the end of primary/prep school to assess students ability. Do the results really matter? SATs are important to the future education of your child. Many secondary schools use the results to gauge student ability in order to organise them into sets for subjects and even to predict how they will perform right through to A levels. Poor results at SATs can lead to students being incorrectly streamed through school not allowing their true potential to shine through. One would hope that secondary schools are good at identifying children in the wrong sets, but unfortunately this isn't always the case, especially where there are big class sizes. The accuracy of the OLD SATs in predicting future student grades was disputed, however the new tests are designed to be far better at measuring performance. Consequently you and your child will have a clear picture of their strengths and areas of weakness that can be improved. If you feel your child could benefit from private tuition, do feel free to register HERE. The SATs results are also used to analyse how well a primary school is performing. Understandably teachers are under pressure to get their students working to the best of their ability. They might even be denied a pay rise if results are poor, although there are changes afoot to address this. Some would argue that SATs are more important to the school than the child and that there are less stressful ways to measure competence in the classroom than formal exams at this age. Help, my child's results aren't great! Firstly, reassure them that it's not the end of the world. They may be young, but will still have felt pressure to perform well and compare themselves to peers. In fact, some schools are boycotting SATs as they fear they are too stressful for pupils. There's always plenty of time to improve knowledge in weak subject areas, especially with the whole of the summer holiday ahead. As long as your child put in their best effort there's nothing more you could have asked for. At the end of the day, we put such importance on exam results, but they can only ever provide a snapshot of ability!

Tips for Those Working in Retail on Black Friday

Tips for Those Working in Retail on Black Friday pexels.com Wear Comfortable Shoes The biggest tip for working retail on Black Friday is to wear comfortable shoes. You are going to be on your feet, rushing around and more all day. The customers are sure to keep you on your toes. You will be re-organizing displays, ringing up items at cash registers, unpacking boxes, finding items in the back room. The goal is to make as much business as possible and the crowds are going to keep you busy and working all day long. If you are only an hour into your shift and your feet are already hurting, how are you going to make it the rest of the day? Not only will it impede your ability to do your job but being uncomfortable will put you in a bad mood, making it more difficult to work with your co-workers and employees alike. You want to get through Black Friday as unscathed as possible so wearing comfortable shoes is important. More than comfortable shoes, you can also use shoe inserts, tape certain toes together, and carry band-aids. The taping method is usually reserved for when wearing heels, but why not when working retail? WhoWhatWear.com lays out the method to tape your toes: “Tape your third and fourth toes (counting from the big toe) together we recommend nude medical tape for a low-profile look, but Scotch tape works in a pinch to alleviate pain in the ball of your foot.” pexels.com Have Headache Relief Tactics Headaches can be brought on by many different things, including but not limited to stress, loud noises, and difficult customers. You will have an abundance of those if you work retail on Black Friday. However, having a headache on Black Friday will make the experience even more of an ordeal than it has to be. The best thing to do is to ward off your headaches and have some headache relief tactics that work for you at the ready. You can always take Motrin, Advil, Tylenol, ibuprofen, Aleve. Whatever painkiller works for you is a choice. But in case you do not like taking medicines and want to try a few different tactics to relieve your headache, try these out: •Drink coffee! ·WebMD. com says this about the headache-relieving powers of coffee: “When your head hurts, you want relief fast. Whether its a run-of-the-mill tension  headache  or a  migraine,  caffeine can help. Thats why its an ingredient in a lot of popular pain relievers.  Caffeine helps reduce  inflammation, and that  can  bring relief.” •Drink water! ·According to FreeDrinkingWater.com, “Water can  aid as a treatment to all of these  headaches. In tension  headaches, it was noted above that a cause  can  be fatigue. Fatigue is a side effect of dehydration. So, if dehydration is the cause of the fatigue and fatigue is the cause of the headache,  start by treating the fatigue and get hydrated.” •Take deep breaths ·Oftentimes, as people go throughout their day, they do not take as many deep breaths as they should. It is easy to fall into the trap of not paying attention to your breathing and beginning to breathe too shallowly. When that happens, you do not get enough oxygen, and it can bring on a headache. Just take a minute or two to breathe, and breathe deeply at that. WebMD.com suggests this method of breathing: “Continue  breathing, but each time you inhale, imagine that you are  breathing  in more relaxation. Each time you exhale imagine that you are getting rid of a little more tension. Progressive muscle relaxation: Switch your thoughts to yourself and your  breathing.  Take  a few  deep breaths, exhaling slowly.”