Anyone can teach. We teach each other every day. For example, we give instructions to each other for such things as cooking, putting together furniture, and completing household other tasks. However, teaching someone is different than the process of educating someone. Consider the difference between informal learning and formal learning. An example of informal learning would be following a recipe to learn how to cook. In contrast, formal learning occurs within a classroom and usually is accompanied by evaluation and assessment. It may seem that teaching and educating are the same thing; however, the difference has to do with the place or context for learning.

This is the same distinction can be made for teaching informally (giving instructions) and teaching students in a formal classroom environment. A person enters the field of education as a profession - either full time in traditional academic institutions or as an adjunct (or part time) instructor. The reasons vary for why someone would choose to be in the classroom. A traditional full time professor may likely be responsible for conducting research, teaching, and publishing scholarly work. An adjunct instructor may teach in a community college, traditional college, or an online school. When someone teaches students in higher education he or she may be called a facilitator, instructor, or professor. This is important as there isn't a job with the word educator in the title.

The questions I would like to answer include: What then does it mean to be an educator? Does it signify something different than the assigned job title? What I have learned through my work in higher education is that becoming an educator is not an automatic process. Everyone who is teaching adult students is not functioning as an engaging and highly effective educator. However, it is possible to learn how to educate rather than teach and that requires making a commitment to the profession.

What Does It Mean to Teach?

Consider teaching as part of the system of traditional, primary education. Those classes are teacher-led and children as students are taught what and how to learn. The teacher is considered to be the expert and directs the learning process. A teacher is someone who is highly trained and works to engage the minds of his or her students. This style of teacher-led instructional continues into higher education, specifically traditional college classrooms. The teacher still stands at the front and center of the class delivering information, and students are used to this format because of their experience in primary education. The instructor disseminates knowledge through a lecture and students study to pass the required examinations or complete other required learning activities.

Within higher education, teachers may be called instructors and they are hired as subject matter experts with advanced content knowledge. The job requirements usually include holding a specific number of degree hours in the subject being taught. Teachers may also be called professors in traditional college classes, and those positions require a terminal degree with additional research requirements. For all of these roles, teaching is meant to signify someone who is guiding the learning process by directing, telling, and instructing students. The instructor or professor is in charge, and the students must comply and follow as directed. Here is something to consider: If that is the essence of teaching, is there a difference between that and educating students? Is the role of a teacher the same as that of an educator?

What Does It Mean to be an Educator?

Consider some basic definitions to begin with as a means of understanding the role of an educator. The word "education" refers to giving instruction; "educator" refers to the person who provides instruction and is someone who is skilled in teaching; and teaching is aligned with providing explanations. I have expanded upon these definitions so that the word "educator" includes someone who is skilled with instruction, possesses highly developed academic skills, and holds both subject matter knowledge and knowledge of adult education principles.

Skilled with Instruction: An educator is someone who should be skilled in the art of classroom instruction, knowing what instructional strategies are effective and the areas of facilitation that need further development. An experienced educator develops methods that will bring course materials to life by adding relevant context and prompting students to learn through class discussions and other learning activities. Instruction also includes all of the interactions held with students, including all forms of communication, as every interaction provides an opportunity for teaching.

Highly Developed Academic Skills: An educator must also have strong academic skills and at the top of that list are writing skills. This requires strong attention to detail on the part of the educator and in all forms of messages communicated, including anything written, presented, and sent via email. The ability to demonstrate strong academic skills is especially important for anyone who is teaching online classes as words represent the instructor.

The use of proper formatting guidelines, according to the style prescribed by the school, is also included in the list of critical academic skills. For example, many schools have implemented APA formatting guidelines as the standard for formatting papers and working with sources. An educator cannot adequately guide students and provide meaningful feedback if the writing style has not been mastered.

Strong Knowledge Base: An educator needs to develop a knowledge base that contains subject matter expertise, as related to the course or courses they are teaching, along with knowledge of adult education principles. I know of many educators who have the required credit hours on their degree transcripts, yet they may not have extensive experience in the field they teach. This will still allow these educators to teach the course, provided that they take time to read the course textbook and find methods of applying it to current practices within the field.

Many schools hire adjuncts with extensive work experience as the primary criteria, rather than knowledge of adult learning principles. Those instructors I have worked with who do have a strong adult education knowledge base generally acquired it through ongoing professional development. That was my goal, when I decided on a major for my doctoral degree, to understand how adults learn so that I could transform from an instructor to an educator.

Becoming an Engaging and Highly Effective Educator

I do not believe that many instructors intentionally consider the need to make a transformation from working as an instructor to functioning as an educator. When someone is hired to teach a class, someone other than a traditional college professor, they often learn through practice and time what works well in the classroom. There will likely be classroom audits and recommendations made for ongoing professional development. Gradually the typical instructor will become an educator as they seek out resources to help improve their teaching practices. However, I have worked with many adjunct online instructors who rely on their subject matter expertise alone and do not believe there is a reason to grow as an educator. For anyone who would like to make the transformation and become an engaging and highly effective educator, there are steps that can be taken and practices that can be implemented.

Step One: Continue to Develop Your Instructional Practice

While any educator can learn through time on the job, it is possible to become intentional about this growth. There are numerous online resources, publications, workshops, webinars, and professional groups that would allow you to learn new methods, strategies, and practices. There are also social media websites such as LinkedIn and Twitter that allow for the exchange of ideas and resources within a global community of educators.

You can also utilize self-reflection as a means of gauging your effectiveness. I have found that the best time to review my instructional practice occurs immediately after a class concludes. That is a time when I can assess the strategies I have used and determine if those methods were effective. Even reviewing end of course student surveys may provide insight into the perspective of my students.

Step Two: Continue to Develop Your Academic Skills

I know from my work with online faculty development that this is an area of development that many educators could use. However, it is often viewed as a low priority - until it is noted in classroom audits. If an educator has weak academic writing skills, it will interfere with their ability to provide comprehensive feedback for students. For online instructors, that has an even greater impact when posted messages contain errors with spelling, grammar, and formatting. The development of academic skills can be done through the use of online resources or workshops. Many online schools I have worked for offer faculty workshops and this is a valuable self-development resource.

Step Three: Continue to Develop Your Subject Matter Expertise

Every educator has subject matter expertise that they can draw upon. However, the challenge is keeping that knowledge current as you continue to teach for several years. The best advice I can offer is to find resources that allow you to read and learn about current thinking, research, and best practices in your chosen field. This is essential to your instructional practice as students can ascertain whether you appear to be current in your knowledge, or outdated and seemingly out of touch. Even the use of required textbooks does not ensure that you are utilizing the most current information as knowledge evolves quickly in many fields.

Step Four: Continue to Develop Your Knowledge of Adult Learning

The last step or strategy that I can recommend is to gain knowledge about adult learning theories, principles, and practices. If you are not familiar with the basics there are concepts you can research and include critical thinking, andragogy, self-directed learning, transformational learning, learning styles, motivation, and cognition. My suggestion is to find and read online sources related to higher education and then find a subject that interests you to research further. I have found that the more I read about topics I enjoy, the more I am cultivating my interest in ongoing professional development. What you will likely find is that what you learn will have a positive influence on your work as an educator and will enhance all areas of your instructional practice.

Working as an educator, or someone who is highly engaged in the process of helping students learn, starts with a commitment to make this a career rather than a job. I have developed a vision related to how I want to be involved in each class I teach and I recommend the same strategy for you. You may find it useful to develop teaching goals for your career and link your classroom performance to those goals. For example, do you want to complete the required facilitation tasks or would you rather put in the additional time necessary to create nurturing class conditions?

After developing a vision and teaching goals, you can create a professional development plan to prompt your learning and growth in all of the areas I have addressed above. While this strategy may require an investment of time, it is helpful to remember that we always make time for whatever we believe is most important. Being an educator is not sustaining a focus on job functions, rather it is cultivating a love of what you do and learning how to excel for the benefit of your students. Becoming an engaging and highly effective educator occurs when you decide that teaching students is only part of the learning process, and you work to transform who you are and how you function, while working and interacting with your students.

Dr. Bruce A. Johnson has expertise in higher education administration, adult education, distance learning, online teaching, faculty development, curriculum development, instructional design, organizational learning and development, career coaching, and resume writing.

To learn more about the books and resources that are available for professional development from Dr. J please visit:

The Impact of Technology on Business Environment and Society!

The tremendous technological growth that we have been experiencing is made possible through extensive programmes of technological research being conducted by many types of researchers working within universities, business, and non-profit research organizations. Technological developments are strong and all pervasive forces of the business environment. Technology is the scientific knowledge to practical problems.

Technology feeds on itself and it affects business in two major ways:

1. Through its impact on society in general
2. Through its direct influence on business operations and activities.

Technology affects society. In fact, we feel its effect on our everyday life. It affects economic growth, our standard of living and our culture. However, some of the effects of technology are highly beneficial and some detrimental. One should be careful that these effects on members of the society in turn affect business practices.

Technology affects our everyday life. We are surrounded by so much of technology, that we take it for granted and usually do not realize how much it affects us until we have to do without electricity, water, transport or telephone. Technological developments have raised the standard of living. In spite of inflationary pressure and considerably a high degree of unemployment, generally families eat better, wear a wider variety of clothing, and live in more comfortable homes.

Technology also influences basic aspects of our culture, including religion, education, mobility, health care, art, language, laws and their enforcement. For example, technological advances in health care allow physicians to treat their patients in a virtual environment through video conferencing, which again is helpful in legal environment too for the judges to proceed with investigations on hard core criminals, who need not be produced before the court for security reasons.

Every new technology is a force involved in creative destruction. Say, television hurts movies, synthetic fibres, rival for cotton fibre. The discovery of new technology even sometimes affects economic growth-TV with its high entertainment value takes away productive hours of mankind. Each new technology creates major long term consequences, that are not always foreseeable. How do you justify nations spending more money to develop missiles, nuclear weapons and bombs for the sake of security?

Developing nations have to buy technology from foreign countries, as they are not resourceful in terms of capital needed for Research and Development, expertise, patents, licenses, equipments and so on. This transfer of technology involves huge costs as a result of which a vicious circle is formed, in which weak technology creates dependence and dependence creates weakness.

The recent trend can be enumerated through this slogan, "Conserve, reduce and recycle". The stress today is on clean production measures, advanced robotics, zero-emition vehicles, material recycling and alternative fuels and materials. This change towards love for environment by the technologists is a sure sign of positive development.

MBA in Technology Management

For anyone with a passion for technology, this degree is a serious pathway to success. An MBA (Technology Management) is an online MBA degree that one can do from the convenience of home. So what does this course entail? It is meant for technology professionals who want to take up leadership positions while maintaining their specialization in technology. Technology has become central to the functioning of all organizations and technology management is a prerequisite for data management, security, and task execaution.

An MBA (Technology Management) equips graduates with relevant skills that are required to be part of this high-paced industry that is constantly changing and evolving. New skills learnt during this degree program prepare candidates for a long and successful career in technology because they are taught to work around management of technology products, companies and services.

While the primary aim of a technology management degree is to bridge the gap between management and technology, this online MBA course also helps develop the required strength in other facets of management such as marketing, finance, and human resources. Therefore, this course allows one to make science and technology a productive business practice.

Students of MBA in technology management not only receive sound academic knowledge, they are also given practical learning by simulating technology's interactions in a business environment. While assisting students to develop their analytical thinking, this course also focuses on communication, skill development and management of business principles. So a technology management degree holder can handle all spheres of management such as technology forecasting, selection, transfer, and creation of new technology.

As organizations are increasingly relying on technology to integrate various components and processes of their business as a means to enhancing productivity within organizations, the prospects for such a degree are only improving. Where the IT industry is a well-paying one already, with an MBA degree the chances of rapid success and increments increases greatly.

An MBA in Technology Management makes one eligible for jobs in major IT and software firms for positions of software manager, computer section supervisor, trainee manager, and technical executive. Because most persons who take up this degree come with sufficient work experience, they are usually taken up to work in senior management positions across all technology-based verticals. The option of working as a consultant or establishing one's own business always remains open.

Science Experiment Kits - Tips to Children to Do Simple Science Experiments

According to one education report, most of the countries will be in need of new scientists by the end of this decade. The reason behind this, the children are not interested to learn science these days. However, as a parent or teacher, you need to motivate your children to get interested to learn science at an early age. Most of the children thinking that this science subject is mysterious one to learn.However,the science is happening around us every day, and we need to use these things to motivate children interest and knowledge.

As a parent or teacher we are able to help our children with these incredible science experiment kits. And also you need to observe some of the things towards your children that willingness to try, observing the world, and you need to take the time to encourage their natural curiosity and many more.You need to motivate your children to get a positive attitude towards science yourself.By asking few interested questions about these things you can crate a positive attitude. And also one important point to consider that you need to have so much patience while giving the answers to the children.

And also you need to perform some science project of everyday activities. For example, you can provide the answer for how the moon is bright on one day and changing its shape. There are so many science project experiment kits are available in the present market, where you can do these experiments with your children. And some other daily activities like how the milk curdles when you add vinegar and many more experiments to do. Definitely, your children will get through knowledge about science with these experiments. When it comes to interests of children, no two children are having the same interest on these science projects. Fortunately, there are so many incredible science project experiment kits are available depending upon the interest of your children.

If you are selecting a hard experiment, then there is chance of frustration for your children towards this project. So, it is a better idea to start with small projects, later on you can do these hard projects. However, you need to notice that some experiments are suggested for particular age group children. And also you need to consider that which project will match your children personality and learning style. And also some of the experiments are meant to perform with a group only. When it considers the environment, you need to perform some of the project depending upon the climate conditions in your living area. And finally, you need to give freedom to your children to select the suitable project for them.

There are some well established and experienced manufacturers of these incredible science kits are selling these items through their web site. For more information and details,please visit their valuable web site.

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Incredible Science Experiments Kits - An Easy Way to Teach Science to Children

From the past decade, it has been observed that so many technologies around the world are making daily human tasks so easy. One of them is teaching science to your children. In earlier days, most of the children are not interested to learn science because of heavy notes and not understandable experiments. In these technology days, you can find so many incredible science experiment kits throughout the world and with these kits; your children are able to learn science without any hassle.For the teacher, these experiment kits are so much helpful to teach science to the children. In earlier days, if you want to do an experiment, you need to struggle for so many issues like group discussion and unable to find science kits and many more.In these days, you need to learn any biggest science experiments with these kits. According to one survey report, in coming up few years, the world needs more and more scientists to do some excellent experiments.If you are trying to teach science with these kits to your children definitely your children will become one of the greatest scientists in coming up few years.And now a question rose in your mind that was to find these incredible science experiment kits for your children. There are so many retailer stores are selling these kits. Some of the retailers are selling these kits through their secured web sites. Purchasing these kits through the internet will be a good idea because you are able to save you time and money also. With these kits, your children are able to learn some incredible fact about the atmosphere, earth, moon and atmosphere and many more.

Rather than giving a gift to the children, you need to present these science experiment kits, because, they will have so much fun with these kits, and they are able to know the fact of the science also.If they are doing experiments on these kits, they are able to improve their imaginations and the results will be helpful in their school days, college days and in professional career also.After understanding the performance of this experiment, they are now trying to learn new things.As parent or teacher, you need to consider one important point that while performing the experiment, the children will get so many doubts, and you need to answer them with patience. If you are providing useful and proper answers, then there is a chance of getting wonder full results.While you are replying to their queries, you need to answer them with elaborated answers.

With these science experiment kits, most of children are getting good knowledge in science and most of them are interested to do experiments rather than studying them.These experiment kits are available for children depending upon their age group. Finally, there are some well established and experienced manufacturers are offering these wonderful science experiment kits to their customers.For more information and details, please visit their valuable web site.

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How Can We Encourage More Girls to Love Science, Technology, Engineering, & Math (STEM)?

Although improvements are being made with the increased involvement of women in science-related careers, there is still a significant under-representation of women, especially among minority women. There are a number of factors that contribute to this lack of women in science in our society, but most of these factors can be overcome to produce the next Anita Roberts, Sally Ride, Jane Goodall, Elizabeth Blackburn, or YOU.

According to a study entitled, Women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) by Kristine De Welde @ Florida Gulf Coast University and Sandra Laursen & Heather Thiry @ University of Colorado at Boulder (2007), several key factors prevent girls from entering or being successful in STEM fields. First, they found that the classroom environments in schools were not conducive to encouraging girls to pursue interests in these types of careers. Another key factor was a lack of female role models who could provide encouragement and inspiration as well as demonstrate how to balance their lives between careers and family life. Other significant factors include girls not being well prepared for the demands of these fields as well as not being encouraged by people around them. Furthermore, these women experience more discrimination and bias against them in the workplace in both hiring practices and in opportunities for advancement. These discriminatory practices also include differences in salaries between women and their male counterparts as well as the practice of seeing women in these positions at a lower status than their male colleagues. Finally, it is more difficult in general for women in the workplace to balance careers and families, but it is even more so for STEM careers because they are often more time-consuming due to requiring extended education, and this can result in the sacrifice of family life or career goals for these women.

However, these factors don't have to squash a girl's dream to work in the variety of STEM careers. A survey study presented last month (March 2010) by Bayer Facts of Science Education XIV, released the main causes for the under-representation of female scientists in STEM careers as well as pointed out the key factors (both positive & negative) that influence girls and women as they journey through the education system and workforce. Their hope is that the results will help to "knock down the barriers and provide to all of our budding scientists and engineers the attitudes, behaviors, opportunities and resources that lead to success." (BFOSE XIV 2010)

The findings suggest that the lower numbers of women in STEM careers can be counteracted by certain changes. First of all, it is important for schools to have quality science programs that utilize hands-on materials and experiments, not just learning through textbooks. This is especially important in poorer school districts where these items may not be readily available. Educators should also be encouraged to provide more fun science classes and activities, and the district and community should support them and make the necessary resources available like BrainCake's The Girl Solution Gender Equity Tool Kit. These activities should also be geared more towards girl interests. Successful female scientists should be invited to speak to classes, and girl-centered science clubs like the GEMS club should be created to give them the confidence, support, and resources they need to achieve success. Furthermore, multi-media resources should be utilized to help make science come alive like watching renowned science programs on television or on DVD like PBS's NOVA and playing interactive games on the Internet like those found at Science News for Kids. Parents can also help encourage their daughters by purchasing science toys, kits, and equipment for them as well as help them to do simple experiments at home or for science fair projects. In addition, parents and educators can schedule trips to science museums & summer vacation science camps like Sally Ride's Camps as well as provide access to good female role models, mentors, & support groups. Finally, everyone can provide encouragement, help girls to set goals, and create opportunities for them to increase their positive science experiences and self-confidence. National Girls Collaborative Project and Expanding Your Horizons Network are two organizations that can help make this possible.

Another study published in February 2010 called Why So Few? Women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics by Catherine Hill, Ph.D., Christianne Corbett, and Andresse St. Rose, Ed.D. focus on how families, schools, and communities can encourage girls to overcome obstacles to help them enter STEM careers. At the same time, in order to overcome the gender inequalities and societal stereotypes, it is important to believe that intelligence isn't fixed, but it is something that can be nurtured and grown which helps level the playing field and means that girls have just as much potential to learn and thrive in these fields as boys. Another important factor in improving girls' chances of excelling in these fields is to provide them with spatial training to increase their spatial skills. This can be done simply by encouraging them to build things, take them apart, and then put them back together again. Drawing and working with their hands on various projects will also help enhance their spatial abilities.

So how can we encourage more girls into STEM fields? The answers may seem simple, but history tells us that change isn't easy. The key is for us to change people's attitudes first and foremost which is probably one of the hardest things to do, but it will be well worth it if we do because it will allow us to tap into a reservoir of talented, creative female minds that can help us soar into the future. Then we have to provide the opportunities, experiences, skills, and resources that are necessary to get the job done. If we can't find any in our communities, then we need to look to other communities for help or start new ones, and the Internet is full of practically infinite resources that we could use to jump-start any idea or program. What are you waiting for?

Please visit my website [http://www.whizkidscientist.com] for science resources including science kits and toys, a monthly newsletter and kid's contest, as well as science fair tips and helpful links to other outstanding science-related websites for kids.

An Itinerary For An Educational Field Trip To New York City

When student travel tours are scheduled for New York City, the main item on the itinerary is art and culture, with some standard points of interest, like The Statue of Liberty and Times Square, included. Here is a descriptive sample itinerary for a New York City student field trip, which balances art and cultural highlights with visits to interesting destinations in Manhattan.

Always use a professional educational travel consultant when planning a trip to New York City. Certified tour guides must be used in New York City, and motor coach drivers must be well versed in street layouts and traffic patterns. An educational travel consultant will select qualified individuals to work with an educational tour. The goal of educational travel is to deliver the highest quality learning experience to the group, and to keep the student travel tour on schedule.

Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)

Student travel tours planned in advance can easily complement classroom activities. "Modern Teachers" is a MoMA program that allows educators to customize educational tours of the Museum. Working closely with materials on MoMA's website, an educator can construct a lesson plan to coincide with the field trip to MoMA. This exciting tool for educators is complemented by video lessons on the world's greatest artists. With advance notice, educational tour groups can visit MoMA with a docent.

Metropolitan Art Museum

At the Metropolitan Art Museum, an emphasis on the classics benefit the student travel group, and give them a well rounded approach to art history. The brand new Greek and Roman galleries offer glimpses into the world of the ancients with 5,200 pieces from the permanent collection now available for public viewing. The Cloisters is located at Fort Tryon Park in Upper Manhattan and recently reopened in 2006. It represents the world of medieval art and architecture. Other exhibits, lectures, and special programs are also available to student tour groups. Have an educational travel professional schedule a guided student tour for the Met in advance.

A Student Tour of the Empire State Building

Have a qualified educational tour consultant schedule a group tour of the Empire State Building in New York City. The Empire State Building was constructed in 1930, during the beginning of the great depression, greatly reducing building costs. The 86th Floor Observatory offers a commanding view of Manhattan and has been the site of filming "Sleepless in Seattle" and "An Affair to Remember." The building has a unique history surrounding its construction. The impetus for building the Empire State Building was a contest between Walter Chrysler (Chrysler Corporation) and John Jakob Raskob (General Motors) to see who could build the tallest skyscraper.

Guided Tour of Manhattan

Half-day student tours of Manhattan usually begin at Central Park, the northernmost point in Manhattan, and end to Battery Park, the Southernmost point. The tour covers some major points of interest in Manhattan such as Central Park, Times Square, Soho, City Hall, Wall Street, The Statue of Liberty, and much more. In addition to seeing points of interest, student tour groups will also learn about the artistic and commercial history of Manhattan on this tour.

Educational Tours: See a Broadway Musical While in New York City

Almost every student travel group wants to experience at least one Broadway Musical while in New York City. Tickets for popular shows need to be procured in advance by a student travel company. "Wicked", "Chicago", and a "Chorus Line" are popular Broadway musicals appropriate for student travel groups. Off Broadway productions are also available. Book student travel group tickets in advance through a qualified educational travel company to obtain student seating together and receive the best price per ticket.

An educational field trip to New York City can offer the student the travel opportunity of a lifetime. This is only one sample itinerary of a student tour of New York City. There are many other variations of student travel tours to New York. With clear objectives in mind and proper planning, a more customized educational tour of New York City can easily be created.