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Our 2013 Almanac of significant, notable and interesting dates is now available to view.
27 April 2014
A shrinking cortex region is linked to sleep disturbances and memory impairment.
An article in the Scientific American based on research published in Nature Neuroscience indicates that deterioration of a brain region impairs sleep quality as people age, leading to poorer memory retention.
Sleep strengthens newly-formed memories, and slow brain waves are thought to enhance the transfer of information to long-term storage.
The findings suggest that deterioration of part of the cortex diminishes the slow waves that occur during deep sleep. Consequently, older people are less able to solidify their memories.
Source
27 April 2014
MWLS Learning Pages now has a new RSS link.
mwls.co.uk/rss.xml
27 April 2014
Following a number of changes that Google has recently made, I have started to wonder whether the very essence of Google is changing.
I have been working with Google for many years using: AdSense, AdWords, iGoogle, Google for Agencies and Froogle (now boringly called Google Shopping.
The first change that I noticed was an announcement that iGoogle was going to be closed on 1 November 2013. The mobile version closed on 31 July 2012. Google has said that the need for iGoogle has eroded because of modern apps that run on platforms like Chrome and Android. iGoogle was extremely useful for organising RSS feeds that I use for providing stories for my website. Google Reader will read RSS feeds but it is nowhere near as good for organising the information. I am currently experimenting with Opera Portal as a replacement and so far it is looking promising.
The next change that I noticed was that Google changed the AdWord vouchers that I used to get from Google for Agencies and give them to my customers if they bought certain services from me. Originally, these were straightforward £50 vouchers which they could use for advertising with Google AdWords. Now, the voucher entitles them to £75 of free advertising - but only after they have spent £25 pounds of their own money. I am no longer offering AdWords vouchers as an encouragement for using my services.
I sell some books on my websites and I used to upload them to Google Shopping so that they could be searched as a specific product on Google. This used to be free, but now they have to be included in an AdWords campaign for them to be activated. I am no longer uploading my stock to Google Products.
I am still using Google AdSense which puts advertising on my website, but the revenue I receive has decreased by 50 per cent over the past 12 months.
27 April 2014
Make sure that your learning materials match the age of your learners.
27 April 2014
Schools are increasingly using unqualified support staff to teach lessons
26 April 2014
A rise in the number of support staff in the classroom has had ?no impact? on standards, said a report published by the Sutton Trust charity. The study suggests that assistants can ?positively affect? pupils? attitudes towards education but may undermine lessons when used as a teacher substitute
26 April 2014
Some 200,000 maths pupils and 160,000 English students are failing to achieve the GCSE grades predicated by their primary school national curriculum tests (Sats). Those with a level 5 in Sats are expected to attain at least a B grade at GCSE, those with a level 4 should obtain at least a C, while those with a level 3 should achieve at least a D. More than 37 per cent of pupils failed to make the progress expected of them in maths, while more than 29 per cent missed their GCSE targets in English
26 April 2014
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