MWLS.com

Learning Blog


Home | Blog

Free alcohol units calculator

With the increasing strength of wine and beer, it is becoming too easy to consume more alcohol than you intend. Our free calculator will help you monitor what you are actually consuming.

You can download the desktop version of this program from:

http://www.mwls.co.uk/resources/apps/Alco.jar

The program needs to have Java installed on your computer for it to run. It could be on your computer already, but if it isn?t you can download it from:

http://java.com/en/download/index.jsp

more...

3 February 2014

1322   


Binge drinking damages memory

Researchers have found that a big night out destroys long term memory even in young adults

more...

2 February 2014

588   


Project to mimic brain

The Human Brain Project intends to build a software copy of the brain by around 2023.

The project, based at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne on the shores of Lake Geneva, aims to compile thousands of fragments of information and research into a unifying model of the brain.

The project leader, Henry Markram, says that around 100 billion neurons are needed to simulate a human brain. Currently, he is able to simulate about 360 000 neurons.

more...

2 February 2014

716   


This week?s events

Tuesday 12 July - Battle of the Boyne (Orangemen?s Day).

Thursday 14 July - Bastille Day.

Friday 15 July - Full Moon; Buddhist Lent.

more...

2 February 2014

683   


Quote of the Week

"The gift of fantasy has meant more to me than my talent for absorbing positive knowledge." Albert Einstein (1879?1955)

more...

2 February 2014

621   


Key Stage 2 testing to change

The UK Government has accepted all the recommendations of the independent review of testing, assessment and accountability at the end of primary school.

Changes to the Key Stage 2 system aim to make it fairer and more effective in raising standards.

The review recommended that:

- Writing test should be replaced by teacher assessment of writing composition.

- There should be a spelling, grammar, punctuation and vocabulary test - all have clear right or wrong answers.

- Maths should continue to be externally tested.

- Reading tests should continue but need to be refined.

- Science should continue to be teacher assessed with a sample test to monitor national standards.

- Speaking and listening should continue to be teacher assessed.

- Three-year rolling averages should be introduced to give a rounded picture of a school?s performance.

- There should be a greater emphasis on the progress of pupils.

- Progress should be given as much weighting as attainment and should be one of the two headline published measures, alongside attainment.

- There should be a strong focus on the progress of every pupil, as well as greater emphasis on the progress of each Year 6 cohort. A new progress measure should be introduced to focus on the performance of lower-attaining pupils. This will help stop schools focusing on children on the Level 3/4 borderline.

- New progress and attainment measures should be introduced for pupils who have completed all of Years 5 and 6 in a school so that schools are not held wholly responsible for the performance of pupils who have just joined them.

- Teacher assessment judgements should continue in English, maths and science, and should be submitted before test results are announced. This will mean more weight is attached to them and allow longer for these results to inform Year 7 teaching and learning.

- Transition to secondary school should be eased for pupils and their new teachers. There should be more detailed reporting to secondary schools so Year 7 teachers know right from the outset a pupil?s attainment and the areas where extra work is needed.

- Pupils who are ill on the day of a test should have a week to sit it, rather than two days.

Source

more...

2 February 2014

999   


New Resource: Business Jargon Generator

The cross-platform, desktop application of this program is now available.

more...

2 February 2014

851   


Teacher training wasteful

A study by Buckingham University found 27,976 (71.5 per cent) of the 39,103 trainees who qualified in the summer of 2010 were in teaching posts in January 2011.

It found that 62 per cent of the trainees were teaching in state schools, while 5 per cent were in independent schools and 4 per cent in ?other? education.

The report found that teacher trainees who entered the profession via ?hands-on? courses were more likely to go into the profession than those trained at universities, even though only a relatively small number of teachers come through this route.

A spokesman for the Department for Education said: ?These figures do not show the whole picture - the fact is some trainee teachers do not want to start straight away and others work in supply teaching first, but many of those do end up as full-time teachers.?

The report also noted that some subjects, notably languages, maths and the sciences, were still struggling to find teacher trainees and it said fewer of the trainees in these subjects went on to become teachers.

Source

more...

2 February 2014

942   


< Newer Posts | Older Posts >

Become a member to get early access to new resources.




Support the Learning Pages project | â˜•ï¸ Buy me a coffee