Naked under the kilt (a fringe benefit) an imaginary conversation between Ellen Hulkower and her Ma Essay Example For Students

Naked under the kilt (a fringe benefit): an imaginary conversation between Ellen Hulkower and her Ma Essay For even the most seasoned theatregoer, wandering the streets of Edinburgh during the Festival can be as exhilarating and over-whelming as a stroll through a bazaar in Istanbul. During the last weeks of August every year, this staid Scottish capital is transformed into the theatre capital of the world, not by the official festival, prestigious though it is, but by the gigantic Festival Fringe which has engulfed it. The Edinburgh Fringe, like all of the fringe festivals modeled on it, does not in any way pre-select groups who wish to perform. In other words, anyone who can scrape together the money for travel, room and board, and then find a venue (often with the help of the Fringe administrative office), can participate. The facts and figures are daunting: Last year, for example, more than 550 companies performed each day for three weeks in 162 venues across the city, from 10 a.m. to midnight. Participants range from established names (last year Garrison Keillor, Steven Berkoff and Englands Hull Truck Company were in attendance) to a dizzying array of new writers, directors and performers, youth and community theatres, and university companies. To get a street-level view of what its like to take part in the Fringe, we asked one of last years participants, New York-based solo performer Ellen Hulkower, to describe her experiences. Her piece, Zel Rebels! The Story of a Woman in a (1) Man Show, is an irreverent examination of the metamorphosis of female roles. The characters she portrays, linked by an instinct for survival, include the sweetly impossible Regina, a repressed older woman who loves to describe in detail her finicky eating regime and occasional colonics; the volatile and brassy Darlene (portrayed with a set of plastic breasts), who surprises would-be harassers by harassing them back; and the long-suffering Ma, who voices her parental exasperation through rant-like momologues. Hulkower also pokes fun at the audiences voyeuristic tendencies in a brief interlude in which she takes Polaroids of the spectators while she is naked. She spent more than six months fundraising to bring Zel Rebels! to Scotland and hired two assistants, Dan Kagan an Philip Galinsky to help her run the show and publicize it. What follows is an imaginary (?) stateside slide show in which Ellen tel Ma what she did last summer. ELLEN: Okay, this is the city of Edinburgh and the amazing castle on a hill in the center of town which you have to walk past to get anywhere MA: (In a thick New York Jewish accent.) I know, Ive been there, go to the next. Oh this is the military tattoo. Didnt you love the tattoo? ELLEN: I wouldnt know, we never saw it. We were so busy campaigning that we missed out on a lot of sightseeing. MA: Your father and I loved it, all those bagpipes, all those horses ELLEN: All those men with nothing on under their kilts. MA: Thats just a myth. ELLEN: Ma, its true. I know. MA: Oh youre full of it. Whats this, why did you take a picture of people standing on a long line? ELLEN: Its called a queue. These people are queuing up at the Fringe Box Office. MA: They look so confused. ELLEN: Thats because theyre overwhelmed by trying to decide what to see. Last summer people had to choose from 572 possible shows MA: 572! And I thought Boca Raton was crowded in the winter. ELLEN: Boca schmoca 572 doesnt even include the main festival, the film festival, the bi-annual book festival and the endless free theatre happening in the streets. MA: So why would anyone want to see your show? Youre not famous or anything. ELLEN: Youre so encouraging, Ma. We pretended I was famous. You know, act as if? Look, heres a picture of one of the billboards Dan, Phil and I made. MA: Its huge! ELLEN: Yea, we kept making them bigger and better, adding more blown-up phrases from reviews hot off the press and 8 x 10 glossies from the show. Everyone hung flyers around the box office, but we wanted to stand out. So we hung a giant billboard from the scaffolding at the entrance of the box office, not a legal thing to do. Each time they tore it down, wed just make another one. Usually wed do this around 3 a.m., no competition then. Plus it was a glorious time to walk the Royal Mile. This is a picture of Dan and Phil with flyers pasted all over them. Mozart: Cosi fan tutte EssayELLEN: Not so small, a 75-seat house larger than most of the venues on the Fringe. We filled it up six or seven times and the other nights averaged around 25. We thought that was great since the average audience size on the Fringe was 7. MA: What about all those radio shows you did the time you were on with Garrison Keillor? ELLEN: I wasnt on with him, his interview was on right after mine. Ironically he made things more difficult for me because his show played for several nights at midnight too. So did many of the big comedians. They performed in these huge theatres and had an insane amount of publicity. But we rode on their coattails. Wed follow the guys hanging up their huge 3040 posters and while the wheat paste was still wet wed slap on our 1117 fluorescent pink posters. Saved us from having to drag a bucket of glue around town or getting a 6000 fine. You were lucky if your posters hung for 24 hours. The competition MA: I told all the neighbors and relatives you were on with Garrison Keillor. ELLEN: Sorry. One night I played to an audience of four men. I told them they were my own private bachelor party, and we immediately bonded. It turned out to be one of my best performances. MA: So that was your highlight? Running around naked on stage for four men? ELLEN: Ma, I did 22 performances in 24 days, not including all of the excerpts I did the pubs at 2 a.m., or at Fringe Sunday or on the Mervyn Stutter Show. It was a true test of stamina and a test of my material in a town not littered with friends. Audiences seemed to love the show. Many people saw it more than once MA: Maybe they didnt get it the first time. ELLEN: Funny. A middle-aged woman from France saw the piece five times, a 12-year-old Scottish boy saw it seven maybe even eight times and a group of high school students from Arkansas MA: A 12-year-old boy saw you running around naked? ELLEN: Yea, he loved it, kept calling it brilliant. Thats their word for cool, everythings brilliant. MA: Where were his parents? ELLEN: His dad was the super of the theatre I performed in, Randolph Studio, so Mark was able to sneak in. His mother finally stopped chasing him. She got me back though. She made me eat Haggis. Mark drew this caricature of me wait, I have a slide of it somewhereyea, here it is. Great, huh? MA: Brilliant. ELLEN: I had it printed up on flyers and T-shirts, it was a smash. Another audience member who sat in the first row sketched me naked. MA: No wonder they kept coming back. ELLEN: One time during the show a curtain caught on fire stage left. Excuse me, I told the audience, put the flames out with my bare hands and without a breath turned and said Im so damn hot the whole place is going up in flames. They applauded wildly. MA: When a plane finally lands after a bumpy flight people applaud wildly, too. ELLEN: The whole experience was kinda like a bumpy flight. The ultimate satisfaction came from moving people who were from different cultures night after night. It was very powerful. A young woman from Manchester came up to me and said, I cant believe it, that was my life up there. MA: Did you tell her it was really my life up there? ELLEN: Yours mine and ours, Ma. After all, if Im not careful Im going to turn into you someday anyway. MA: Now that would be brilliant.

The Importance of Caching in WordPress

When it comes to optimizing your website, the role of caching in WordPress can never be underestimated. Quite a lot has been talked about caching on the internet in general. Yet, it still remains a relatively lesser utilized feature among a large section of the WordPress user base.What exactly is caching all about? We know that it can speed up our websites, but is there more to it? How should we employ caching to boost the performance of our WordPress websites? Are there any specific considerations to bear in mind?This article will answer all of the above questions related to caching in WordPress:The importance of caching in WordPressWhat is caching?To begin with, let us take a moment to familiarize ourselves with the process of caching in general.In simple terms, caching refers to the process of creating static versions of your content, and serving that to visitors. Static pages are generally rendered quickly in browsers. This leads to faster performance of your website.In WordPress , rendering or fetching a page (or post or custom post type) requires back and forth queries to be sent to and from the database. Now, more often than not, you will create a post or a page and then you wont be updating it everyday. Caching creates static copies of your post or page, and serves that to visitors. This way, the back and forth queries to and from the database can be avoided, thereby reducing the server load.The benefits of cachingThere are various benefits of caching in WordPress, such as: First up, it enhances the speed and performance of your website. Static cached files load faster than dynamic database queries, and this leads to faster and better performance of your website. Caching can also help reduce the load on your hosting server. This can save server memory and I/O operations. As a result, caching is fast becoming a vital feature, especially for folks with limited hosting plans. Faster websites do not just load fast, but also get a favorable rank with search e ngines. This, obviously, depends heavily on other metrics as well, such as the quality of your content and your SEO settings. But all other things being constant, a website that loads faster will getter a better pagerank than a slower one. Google has confirmed that it takes pagespeed in consideration. Cached websites provide for a better user experience overall. A faster site helps users browse better. Furthermore, cached site means that the users bandwidth is also saved (albeit by a nominal margin), since static cached pages are less in terms of filesize as compared to dynamic requests. To make this happen, your caching solution must make use of combined and minified JavaScript and CSS, apart from just basic page caching. Impressed already? But how do you enable caching in WordPress? The easiest way to do so is by means of plugins. There are several free and premium WordPress plugins out there that help you to enable caching on your website. We shall take a look at some of the key ones here:Popular WordPress caching pluginsWP Super Cache WP Super Cache Author(s): AutomatticCurrent Version: 1.7.0Last Updated: August 16, 2019wp-super-cache.1.7.0.zip 86%Ratings 30,859,198Downloads WP 3.1+Requires WP Super Cache is a free WordPress plugin with over a million active installations. It generates static HTML files for your WordPress site. This way, your website functions faster than a non-cached site.WP Super Cache is a simple plugin, but it offers good scope for customization as well. You can also make it work in sync with your CDN service. WP Super Cache is a safe bet if you are new to caching in WordPress and are looking for a plugin that is under steady development,W3 Total Cache W3 Total Cache Author(s): Frederick TownesCurrent Version: 0.10.1Last Updated: September 11, 2019w3-total-cache.0.10.1.zip 86%Ratings 17,209,595Downloads WP 3.2+Requires W3 Total Cache is another extremely popular caching plugin for WordPress users, with over a million ac tive sites. Unlike other cache plugins, W3 Total Cache does more than just generation of static pages. It can also help you minify and compress your scripts, and leverage various other tools to further speed up your site.Demo videoAs expected, W3 Total Cache is a rather complicated plugin with a slightly steeper learning curve. If you are relatively newer to WordPress caching plugins, this one might be overkill for you.WP Fastest Cache WP Fastest Cache Author(s): Emre VonaCurrent Version: 0.8.9.8Last Updated: September 22, 2019wp-fastest-cache.0.8.9.8.zip 96%Ratings 12,735,516Downloads WP 3.3+Requires WP Fastest Cache generates static HTML pages of your content to speed up page load times. In addition to WordPress caching, it also offers various performance optimization options, such as the ability to minify HTML and CSS and speed up JS scripts.WP Fastest Cache also supports GZip compression that can be used to reduce the size of files sent from your server. This plugin is f ree, but is backed by a premium version that comes with added features, such as the ability to integrate with CDN services.Cache Enabler Cache Enabler WordPress Cache Author(s): KeyCDNCurrent Version: 1.3.4Last Updated: May 14, 2019cache-enabler.zip 86%Ratings 520,324Downloads WP 4.6+Requires Cache Enabler is a relatively newer WordPress plugin. It offers an extremely simple and easy to use interface. In other words, this plugin  does what it is meant to do cache your content and serve static cached pages to visitors.Cache Enabler is probably meant for you if you need a simple cache solution. This plugin does not involve heavy configuration or settings. It simply works out of the box. On the other hand, if you are used to something that offers granular control over every aspect of caching, Cache Enabler might seem rather unimpressive to you.Note that since Cache Enabler is a new plugin, it is way less popular than the other entries on this list (currently, it has over 60 00 active installs).Comet Cache Comet Cache Author(s): WP SharksCurrent Version: 170220Last Updated: May 20, 2019comet-cache.170220.zip 90%Ratings 395,422Downloads WP 4.2+Requires Comet Cache offers caching features such as generation of static HTML pages, as well as optimization features like GZip compression. It supports both browser and server-side caching. Currently, Comet Cache has over 30,000 active installs.Comet Cache also has a Pro version, that lets you do stuff such as integrate with CDN services, run custom PHP code, enforce canonical URLs, etc. The Comet Cache interface is slightly confusing though, and not as clean as that of the other plugins on this list. You might need some time before you get used to it.WP RocketWP Rocket is a premium solution, but it has been proven to deliver perhaps the best results out of all WordPress caching tools on the market. (This is probably the charge money.)WP Rocket is easy to set up, and also offers more individual features c ompared to the other plugins on this list. It is also the caching solution that we use on this very blog.ConclusionCaching in WordPress is very much like every other optimization and performance related tweak. It needs to be done together with other measures to truly work. If you really want to speed up your site, you should also go through these quick wins for site speed.Having a good cache solution always helps. If your site fails to load fast, you will lose business and visitors. As such, you should consider setting up a cache plugin on your site at the earliest.Which WordPress cache plugin do you use and why? Share your views in the comments below!Free guide5 Essential Tips to Speed Up Your WordPress SiteReduce your loading time by even 50-80% just by following simple tips.

Earn an Ivy League Degree Online

Earn an Ivy League Degree Online Almost all of the eight ivy league universities offer some form of online courses, certificates, or degree programs. Find out how you can get a top-notch online education from Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Princeton, UPenn, or Yale. Brown Brown offers two blended (online plus face-to-face) degree programs. The  IE-Brown Executive MBA program  offers professionals the chance to get a global education over a 15-month period. MBA students work together online and have five week-long sessions in person. The in-person meetings are in Madrid, Spain; Brown University in Providence, United States; and Cape Town, Africa. The Executive Master of Healthcare Leadership degree is an accelerated program for healthcare professionals. The 16-month program requires online students to meet on campus between the start and end of each term – four times total. Brown also offers online pre-college courses for advanced learners in grades 9-12. Subjects such as â€Å"So, You Want to be a Doctor?† and â€Å"Writing for College and Beyond,† prepare students for their upcoming college experience. Columbia Through the Teacher’s College, Columbia offers online certificates in â€Å"Cognition and Technology,† â€Å"Designing Interactive Multimedia Instruction,† and â€Å"Teaching and Learning with Technology.† Students can also enroll in one of two fully online education Masters degrees. The Computing in Education M.A. helps educational professionals prepare to work with technology in schools. The Diabetes Education and Management M.S. prepares health care workers to educate and advocate for improved understanding about diabetes. The Columbia Video Network enables students to earn advanced engineering degrees from home. Virtual students have no residency requirements and have the same access to their professors as traditional students. Degrees available online include M.S. in Computer Science, M.S. in Electrical Engineering, M.S. in Engineering and Management Systems, M.S. in Materials Science, M.S. in Mechanical Engineering, P.D. in Computer Science, P.D. in Electrical Engineering, P.D. in Mechanical Engineering. Students may also take individual online courses in medicine and religion through Columbia’s online programs. Cornell Through the  eCornell program, students can take individual courses and earn certificates completely online. Multi-course certificate programs are available in fields such as Finance and Managerial Accounting, Healthcare, Hospitality and Food Services Management, Human Resources Management, Leadership and Strategic Management, Management Essentials, Marketing, Sales Leadership, Product Leadership and Systems Design, and Plant-Based Nutrition. eCornell courses are designed and taught by Cornell faculty. They have set start and end dates, but are taught asynchronously. Courses and certificates offer students continuing education credits. Dartmouth Dartmouth College has a very limited number of online options. Students can earn The Dartmouth Institute (TDI) Certificate in The Fundamentals of Value-Based Healthcare by completing six online courses. The courses are generally not available for those outside of the certificate program. Health professionals are required to view a limited number of one-hour live streaming sessions, which are usually conducted on Wednesdays. Presenters lecture on topics such as Health Care Finance, Shared Decision Making in Patient-Centered Care, Health Care Informatics, and Understanding the Implications of Variation. Harvard Through the Harvard Extension School, students can take individual online courses, earn certificates, or even earn a degree. The  Bachelor of Liberal Arts degree program allows students to earn an undergraduate degree with the guidance of top-notch professors. Potential students â€Å"earn their way in† by earning a grade of B or higher in three introductory courses. Students must complete four courses on campus, but the rest of the degree can be completed through online options. Degree candidates have access to a variety of Harvard resources including internships, seminars, and research assistance. The Master of Liberal Arts in Extension Studies in the  field of finance or general management degree can be earned by taking 12 courses. Four of these courses must be traditional or blended courses. For distance learning students, blended courses can be taken by traveling to campus for one-weekend session per course. Additional blended Masters programs are available in Psychology, Anthropology, Biology, English, and more. Most require some evening courses on campus. Graduate certificates can be earned fully online and enrollment is open (no application required). Harvard Extension certificates can be earned in the fields of management, sustainability and environmental management, science and information technology, and social sciences. Notable certificates include Business Communication, Cybersecurity, Nonprofit Management, Marketing Management, Green Building and Sustainability, Data Science, Nanotechnology, Legal Studies, and  Software Engineering. Princeton Sorry, online learners. Princeton isn’t offering any courses or degree programs completely online at this time. UPenn While the University of Pennsylvania doesn’t offer any fully online degrees or certificates, the Penn Online Learning Initiative allows students to take  individual courses. Online courses are offered in Arts and Sciences, Executive Education, Nursing, Dentistry, and also English Language Test Preparation. Generally, students interested in these courses will need to apply to the university as a visiting student. Yale Every year, Yale students enroll in virtual courses through Yale Summer Online. Current students or graduates from other colleges are also invited to enroll in these for-credit courses. The course sessions are five-weeks long, and students are required to participate in a weekly live video group meeting with faculty. Some of the class offerings include: Abnormal Psychology, Econometrics and Data Analysis I, Milton, Modern American Drama and Moralities of Everyday Life.

Theories of Entrepreneurship Failure Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 15000 words

Theories of Entrepreneurship Failure - Essay Example This study looks into an entrepreneurship as something that many people look toward and few people accomplish. In the world of work, as the economy changes and workers lose traditional jobs, many are finding that entrepreneurship can be their next way to earn an income. The challenge with this idea is that many small businesses fail for a number of reasons and this often leaves the small business owner looking for a new job. Many people mistakenly think that â€Å"entrepreneurship† and â€Å"small business owner† are synonymous. The challenge with this thought is that there are many small businesses, but only a few real entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs find failure many times but there are a variety of reasons for it. Cardon, Stevens, and Potter suggest that failure is an â€Å"important phenomenon† because it leads to the entrepreneur’s ability to understand and make sense of what happened. In this way, they can make choices to do something different or begin another entrepreneurial venture. There are many theories that will be discussed in this essay to discuss scholarly views on the nature and types of theory. There are a variety of discussions that present the nature of theories and why they are important. Harlow states that one of the challenges to the word theory is that there are so many different ways that it is used. In other words, there is no universal meaning for this word. Harlow also notes that research uses theory to mean the relevant aspects of the literature that are important in building a background of information about the specific topic. As an example, in entrepreneurship, the use of theories will provide a foundation for the study of how entrepreneurship and failure are presented. Gelso (2006) describes theory from a more scientific point of view than Harlow (2009). Gelso posits that science and theory work together and one without the other would be very different. Gelso states that science must exist in collaborat ion with research in order to present solid research. In one respect, â€Å"science without controlled, empirical research would consist of only untested ideas and biases† (Gelso, 2006, para. 2), which would render research unusable. Gelso defines a theory as â€Å"a statement of the suspected relationship between and among variables† (Gelso, 2006, para. 9). With this understanding, Gelso suggests that the individual researcher can provide an integrated approach to the topic under study and make valuable assumptions about the research. Wacker (1998) adds to this discussion by stating that the difference in the way that professionals view theory is in the â€Å"exact nature† of the theory (p. 361). Wacker states that there are several reasons why theory is important to every discipline. These reasons are: â€Å"It provides a framework for analysis It provides an efficient method for field development It provides a clear explanation for the pragmatic world† (Wacker, 1998, p. 362). In stating such, Wacker (1998) supports the ideas of Gelso (2006) and Harlow (2009) in that theory is important and that it lays the foundation for research to be built upon. Waker also states that developing theory lessens the possibility of error because the researchers can build upon current theory; this leads to efficiency. Wacker (1998) creates a definition of theory using what academic theory understands as important. Theories are made of four factors in his definition. They must define terms or variables, they must have a domain where the theory generates from, the variables must have some type of relationship and the theory must have specific claims (Wacker, 1998, p. 363). This idea corresponds with Gelso (2006) and gives a foundation to the idea that research must be grounded in secure theories in order for them to be sound. Henderikus (2007) also has presented information regarding theory in a similar way as Wacker (1998). Henderikus (2007) suggest s that theory is a more mathematical concept and therefore

Management Report Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Management Report - Case Study Example The report will identify and describe about the possible problems that the organisation could face by implementing the new ERP system based on traditional system development life cycle methodology and also provide recommendations to Solaricot for performing its business operations effectively. What an ERP System is ERP system is fundamentally described as a set of applications that is incorporated to administer broad assortment of commercial activities like finance, human resource and inventory among others. ERP software incorporates all features of business operational functions comprising business development, production functions and marketing activities. ERP system usually utilise databases as a source of information. The basic objective of ERP is to share information for simplifying the flow of data across business within an organisation (O’Leary, 2004). Values of ERP That Can Bring To Manufacturing Firm The adoption and the execution of ERP system has been noted to be qu ite common in manufacturing organisations. Successful ERP installations help the manufacturing firms to enhance their strategic as well as economical capabilities. In manufacturing organisations like Solaricot, ERP system can successfully address several management challenges. In this modern day context, organisations must manage all resources including supply chain activities in an effective manner. The integrated characteristics of ERP system makes the sharing of information easier and also deliver timely information. Furthermore, ERP system also assists the manufacturing firms in managing its inventory level effectually. Various ERP tools that comprise demand forecasting, inventory visibility and cohesive scheduling are typically used for ensuring dynamic manufacturing operations. In manufacturing firms, ERP system makes the production functions to remain on track and generate quality products (Muscatello & et. al., 2003). Possible Problems of ERP System in Solaricot Though ERP s ystem can frequently assist different organisations towards enhancing their respective production abilities, it can also bring failure to certain organisations. In this similar context, several aspects could have gone wrong with the new system at Solaricot. The possible problems of ERP system in Solaricot have been described hereunder. Improper Customisation of the ERP system Based on the traditional systems development life cycle methodology, the first possible reason for the failure of ERP system

Formative Assessment Essay Example for Free

Formative Assessment Essay Chapter IV A Fundamental Duties ARTICLE 51A Fundamental Duties It shall be the duty of every citizen of India(a) to abide by the Constitution and respect its ideals and institutions, the National Flag and the National Anthem; (b) to cherish and follow the noble ideals which inspired our national struggle for freedom; (c) to uphold and protect the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India; (d) to defend the country and render national service when called upon to do so; (e) To promote harmony and the spirit of common brotherhood amongst all the people of India transcending religious, linguistic and regional or sectional diversities; to renounce practices derogatory to the dignity of women; (f) to value and preserve the rich heritage of our composite culture; (g) To protect and improve the natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers, wild life and to have compassion for living creatures; (h) to develop the scientific temper, humanism and the spirit of inquiry and reform; (i) (j) to safeguard public property and to abjure violence; to strive towards excellence in all spheres of individual and collective activity so that the nation constantly rises to higher levels of endeavour and achievement. CONTENTS Page No. Acknowledgments Preface Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation School Based Continuous Comprehensive Evaluation Continuous Comprehensive Assessment and Evaluation in e-Typewriting- English/Hindi Assessment Rubrics e-Typewriting Syllabus and Scheme of Examination for Class IX TERM-I Unit 1: Introduction to e-Typewriting Unit 2: Keyboard Layout (QWERTY INSCRIPT) Unit 3: Touch Typewriting 10 16 21 XL XLI 1 (I) (II) (IX) TERM-II Unit 4: Introduction to Word Processing 29 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. ADVISORY BODY †¢ Shri Vineet Joshi, Chairman CBSE. †¢ Dr. Sadhana Parashar, Head Innovations Research, CBSE. EDITING COMMITTEE †¢ Prof. Om Vikas, Retd. Prof. from DIT, Government of India. MATERIAL PRODUCTION GROUP †¢ Mr. Yogesh Kumar HOD, Computer Science. Meera Model School, Delhi. †¢ Dr. D. P. Bhatia, Mata Sundri College,University of Delhi. †¢ Ms. Gayatri Subramanian, Consultant, Ministry of Corporate Affairs , Govt of India. †¢ Mrs. Sunita Chug, Senior Lecturer, Mira Bai Polytechnic, Maharani Bagh, New Delhi. †¢ Mrs. Nancy Sehgal, Mata Jai Kaur School, Delhi. CO-ORDINATION †¢ Mrs. Sugandh Sharma, Education Officer (Commerce) CBSE. PREFACE Typewriters were developed to prepare documents with uniform letter prints, to overcome illegibility of hand written material and produce documents faster. Initially typewriters were mechanical, then electric and electronic typewriters came into being. Over a period, QWERTY keyboard layout was in use and it became the defacto standard for Roman Typewriting. Computers also use keyboard as an input device. Keyboard layout has specific letter on key allocation on the basis of frequency and count of letters over a fairly large sample of documents. High frequency letters are on middle/home row, distributed on both sides. For Indic scripts, Standard keyboard Layout is INSCRIPT. Mechanical typewriters are now becoming fast extinct. Computer empowers the user to input information with accuracy, speed and additional features of Word processing. The syllabus of Typewriting is hereby revised as e-Typewriting with an additional unit on Word processing in view of the growing use of computers for typewriting documents. Self assessment and keeping record of progress in Assignment files are encouraged so as to keep students motivated towards excellence. Profuse thanks are due to Prof. Om Vikas for steering the experts members Mr. Yogesh Kumar, Ms. Nancy Sehgal, Ms. Sunita Chugh, Dr. D. P. Bhatia and Ms. Gayatri Subramaniam for contributing towards development of the syllabus on -e-Typewriting and also the Formative Assessment Manual for Teachers. I also thank Ms. Sugandh Sharma, Education Officer for coordinating the meetings and bringing out the manual in this shape. It is expected that the students will enjoy this course even as an additional subject in view of the benefits of touch-typing skills in future career. We would welcome suggestions to improve upon content assessment methodology in tune with the objectives of CCE. (Vineet Joshi) Chairman, CBSE I Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation Education aims at making children capable of becoming responsible, productive and useful members of a society. Knowledge, skills and attitudes are built through learning experiences and opportunities created for learners in school. It is in the classroom that learners can analyse and evaluate their experiences, learn to doubt, to question, to investigate and to think independently. The aim of education simultaneously reflects the current needs and aspirations of a society as well as its lasting values and human ideals. At any given time and place they can be called the contemporary and contextual articulations of broad and lasting human aspirations and values. An understanding of learners, educational aims, the nature of knowledge, and the nature of the school as a social space can help us arrive at principles to guide classroom practices. Conceptual development is thus a continuous process of deepening and enriching connections and acquiring new layers of meaning. Alongside is the development of theories that children have about the natural and social worlds, including themselves in relation to others, which provide them with explanations for why things are the way they are and the relationship between cause and effect. Attitudes, emotions and values are thus an integral part of cognitive development, and are linked to the development of language, mental representations, concepts and reasoning. As childrens metacognitive capabilities develop, they become more aware of their own beliefs and capable of regulating their own learning. Characteristics of learning All lchildren are naturally motivated to learn and are capable of learning. Understanding l Children l and developing the capacity for abstract thinking, reflection and work are the most important aspects of learning. learn in a variety of ways-through experience, making and doing things, experimentation, reading, discussion, asking, listening, thinking and reflecting, and expressing themselves in speech or writing-both individually and with others. They require opportunities of all these kinds in the course of their development. something before the child is cognitively ready takes away real learning. Children may remember many facts but they may not understand them or be able to relate them to the world around them. takes place both within school and outside school. Learning is enriched if the two arenas interact with each other. Art and work provide opportunities for holistic learning that is rich in tacit and aesthetic components. Such experiences are essentially to be learnt through direct experience and integrated into life. Teaching l Learning l II Learning l must be paced so that it allows learners to engage with concepts and deepen understanding rather than remembering only to forget after examinations. At the same time learning must provide variety and challenge, and be interesting and engaging. Boredom is a sign that the task may have become mechanically repetitive for the child and of little cognitive value. can take place with or without mediation. In the case of the latter, the social context and interactions, especially with those who are capable, provide avenues for learners to work at cognitive levels above their own. Learning l Place of Evaluation in the Curriculum A curriculum is what constitutes a total teaching-learning program composed of overall aims, syllabus, materials, methods and assessment. In short it provides a framework of knowledge and capabilities, seen as appropriate to a particular level. Evaluation not only measures the progress and achievement of the learners but also the effectiveness of the teaching materials and methods used for transaction. Hence evaluation should be viewed as a component of curriculum with the twin purpose of effective delivery and further improvement in the teaching learning process. If properly understood, evaluation or assessment will not be perceived as something administered by the teachers and taken by the learners on the conclusion of a period of learning. When evaluation is seen as an end of the learning exercise, both the teachers and the learners will tend to keep it outside the teaching-learning process, rendering assessment broadly irrelevant and alien to the curriculum. Further such a perception associates anxiety and stress with evaluation for learners. On the contrary, if evaluation is seen as an integral part built into the teaching learning process; it will become continuous like both teaching and learning. When evaluation is subsumed into teaching-learning, learners will not perceive tests and examinations with fear. It will lead to diagnosis, remediation and enhancement of learning. The scope of evaluation in schools extends to almost all the areas of learners personality development. It should include both scholastic and co-scholastic areas, i. e. it should be comprehensive in nature. This is in line with the goals of education. Evaluation is continuous and reveals the strengths and weaknesses of learners more frequently, so that the learners have better opportunity to understand and improve themselves. It also provides feedback to the teachers for modifying their teaching strategies. In view of getting a complete picture of the childs learning, assessment should focus on the learners ability to – learn and l acquire a l acquire desired skills related to different subject areas. level of achievement in different subject areas in the requisite measure develop childs individual skills, interests, attitudes and motivation l understand and lead a healthy and a productive life. l monitor the changes taking place in a childs learning, behaviour and progress over time. l III l respond to different situations and opportunities both in and out of school.  apply what is learned in a variety of l work l independently, collaboratively analyze and evaluate. l environments, circumstances and situations and harmoniously. be laware of social and environmental issues participate in social and environmental projects and causes. l retain what is learned over a period of time. l Thus assessment is a useful, desirable and an enabling process. To realize this one needs to keep the following parameters in mind The need to: assess the learner. l use l a variety of ways to collect information about the learners learning and progress in subjects and cross curricular boundaries. collect information continuously and record the same. l give l importance to each learners way of responding and learning and the time it takes to do so. report on an ongoing continuous basis and be sensitive to every learners responses. l provide feedback that will lead to positive action and help the learner to do better l In the assessment process, one should be careful NOT to: l label learners as slow, poor, intelligent etc. make comparisons between them. l make negative statements. l Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE) refers to a system of school-based evaluation of students that covers all aspects of a students development. It is a developmental process of a child which emphasizes on two fold objectives. These objectives are continuity in evaluation on one hand and assessment of broad based learning and behaviourial outcomes on the other. The term `continuous is meant to emphasise that evaluation of identified aspects of students `growth and development is a continuous process rather than an event, built into the total IV teaching-learning process and spread over the entire span of academic session. It means regularity of assessment, diagnosis of learning gaps, use of corrective measures and feedback of evidence to teachers and students for their self evaluation. The second term `comprehensive means that the scheme attempts to cover both the scholastic and the co-scholastic aspects of students growth and development. Since abilities, attitudes and aptitudes can manifest themselves in forms other than the written word, the term refers to application of a variety of tools and techniques (both testing and non-testing) and aims at assessing a learners development in areas of learning like : Knowledge l Understanding/Comprehension l Application l Analysis l l Evaluation l Creativity Objectives of CCE are: l To help develop cognitive, psychomotor and affective skills. l To lay emphasis on thought process and de-emphasise memorization l To make evaluation an integral part of teaching-learning process l use To evaluation for improvement of students achievement and teaching – learning strategies on the basis of regular diagnosis followed by remedial instruction l. To use evaluation as a quality control device to maintain desired standard of performance l determine To  social utility, desirability or effectiveness of a programme and take appropriate decisions about the learner, the process of learning and the learning environment l To make the process of teaching and learning a learner-centered activity. Features of CCE are: l The continuous aspect of CCE takes care of continual and periodicity aspect of evaluation. Means assessment of students in the beginning of instruction (placement evaluation) and assessment during the instructional process (formative evaluation) done informally using multiple techniques of evaluation. means assessment of performance done frequently at the end of unit/term (summative) l Continual l Periodicity V l The  comprehensive component of CCE takes care of assessment of all round development of the childs personality. It includes assessment in Scholastic as well as Co-Scholastic aspects of the pupils growth. aspects include curricular areas or subject specific areas, whereas co-scholastic aspects include Life Skills, Co-Curricular Activities, Attitudes, and Values. in scholastic areas is done informally and formally using multiple techniques of evaluation continually and periodically. The diagnostic evaluation takes place at the end of a unit/term test. The causes of poor performance in some units are diagnosed using diagnostic tests. These are followed up with appropriate interventions followed by retesting. in Co-Scholastic areas is done using multiple techniques on the basis of identified criteria, while assessment in Life Skills is done on the basis of Indicators of Assessment and checklists. Source Examination Reforms, NCERT Scholastic l Assessment l Assessment l The functions of CCE are: l It helps the teacher to organize effective teaching strategies. Continuous l evaluation helps in regular assessment to the extent and degree of learners progress (ability and achievement with reference to specific scholastic and co-scholastic areas). evaluation serves to diagnose weaknesses and permits the teacher to ascertain an individual learners strengths and weaknesses and her needs. It provides immediate feedback to the teacher, who can then  decide whether a particular unit or concept needs re-teaching in the whole class or whether a few individuals are in need of remedial instruction. evaluation, children can know their strengths and weaknesses. It provides the child a realistic self assessment of how he/she studies. It can motivate children to develop good study habits, to correct errors, and to direct their activities towards the achievement of desired goals. It helps a learner to determine the areas of instruction in which more emphasis is required. and comprehensive evaluation identifies areas of aptitude and interest. It helps in identifying changes in attitudes, and value systems. in making decisions for the future, regarding choice of subjects, courses and careers. Continuous l By lcontinuous  Continuous l It helps l It provides l information/reports on the progress of students in scholastic and co-scholastic areas and thus helps in predicting the future successes of the learner. VI Continuous evaluation helps in bringing awareness of the achievement to the child, teachers and parents from time to time. They can look into the probable cause of the fall in achievement if any, and may take remedial measures of instruction in which more emphasis is required. Many times, because of some personal reasons, family problems or adjustment problems, the children start neglecting their studies, resulting in a sudden drop in their achievement. If the teacher, child and parents do not come to know about this sudden drop in the achievement and the neglect in studies by the child continues for a longer period then it will result in poor achievement and a permanent deficiency in learning for the child. The major emphasis of CCE is on the continuous growth of students ensuring their intellectual, emotional, physical, cultural and social development and therefore will not be merely limited to assessment of learners scholastic attainments. It uses assessment as a means of motivating learners in further programmes to provide information for arranging feedback and follow up work to improve upon the learning in the classroom and to present a comprehensive picture of a learners profile. It is this that has led to the emergence of the concept of School Based Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation. Source : Ncert VII Scholastic and Co-scholastic Assessment In order to have Continuous and Comprehensive evaluation, both scholastic and co-scholastic aspects need to be given due recognition. Such a holistic assessment requires maintaining an ongoing, changing and comprehensive profile for each learner that is honest, encouraging and discreet. While teachers daily reflect, plan and implement remedial strategies, the childs ability to retain and articulate what has been learned over a period of time also requires periodic assessment. These assessments can take many forms but all of them should be as comprehensive and discreet as possible. Weekly, fortnightly, or quarterly reviews (depending on the learning area), that do not openly compare one learner with another and are positive and constructive experiences are generally recommended to promote and enhance not just learning and retention among children but their soft skills as well. VIII School Based Continuous Comprehensive Evaluation There has been a consistent move towards reducing the load on the student by making public or board examination stress free. Over the decade there has been a high pitched race towards more marks and thus more competitiveness among students and schools. The move of the CBSE to replace marks with grades is a step in the right direction. The paradigm shift is to empower schools by creating a workable school based continuous and comprehensive scheme. School Based Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation system should be established to: reduce stress on children l make evaluation comprehensive and regular l provide space for the teacher for creative teaching l provide a tool of diagnosis and remediation l produce learners with greater skills l Position Paper on Aims of Education NCF 2005. NCERT Aims of School Based CCE l Elimination of chance element and subjectivity (as far as possible), de-emphasis of memorization, encouraging Comprehensive evaluation incorporating both scholastic and co-scholastic aspects of learners development.  evaluation spread over the total span of the instructional time as an integral built-in aspect of the total teaching-learning process. And meaningful declaration of results for effective use by teachers, students, parents and the society. uses of test results for purposes not merely of the assessment of levels of pupils achievements and proficiencies, but mainly for its improvement, through diagnosis and remedial/enrichment programmes. in the mechanics of conducting examinations for realizing a number of other allied purposes Continuous l Functional l Wider l Improvement l Introduction of concomitant changes in instructional materials and methodology. l Introduction of the semester system from the secondary stage onwards. l The l use of grades in place of marks in determining and declaring the level of pupil performance and proficiency. The above goals are relevant for both external examination and evaluation in schools IX Characteristics of School Based Evaluation : l Broader, more comprehensive and continuous than traditional system. l primarily to help learners for systematic learning and development. Aims l Takes care of the needs of the learner as responsible citizens of the future. l Is more transparent, futuristic and provides more scope for association among learners , teachers and parents. School based evaluation provides opportunities to teachers to know the following about their learners: What they learn l How l they learn l What type of difficulties / limitations they face in realising learning objectives together l What the children think l What the children feel l What their interests and dispositions are. The focus has shifted to developing a deep learning environment. There is a paradigm shift in the pedagogy and competencies of ‘controlling’ to ‘enriching’ to ‘empowering’ schools. Traditional Schooling l Teacher centred l Subjects and classes l Sorting and ranking Enriching Schooling Student centred l l Directed Self l Continuous assessment Empowering Schooling Experience centred l l Virtual authenticity l Multi literacies individuals Competency: l Memory l Competitive Competency: l Critical thinking l Collaborative l Creative Competency: l taking Risk l Ethical l Interactive There are four Assessment Paradigms Assessment of Learning Most commonly, assessment is defined as a process whereby someone attempts to describe and quantify the knowledge, attitudes or skills possessed by another. Teacher directedness is paramount and the student has little involvement in the design or implement of the assessment process in these circumstances – X Summative l Teacher designs learning l l Teacher collects evidence l Teacher judges what has been learnt (and what has not) Assessment for Learning The assessment for learning involves increased levels of student autonomy, but not without teacher guidance and collaboration. The assessment for learning is sometimes seen as being akin to ‘formative assessment’ and can be seen as informing teaching. There is more emphasis towards giving of useful advice to the student and less emphasis on the giving of marks and the grading function – Teacher designs learning l Teacher designs assessment with feedback to student l Teacher assesses what has been learnt (student develops insight into what has not) l Assessment as Learning ‘Assessment as learning’ is perhaps more connected with diagnostic assessment and can be constructed with more of an emphasis on informing learning. Assessment as learning generates opportunities for self assessment and for peer assessment. Students take on increased responsibility to generate quality information about their learning and that of others – Teacher and student co-construct learning l Teacher and student co-construct assessment l Teacher and student co-construct learning progress map l Assessment for learning and assessment as learning activities should be deeply embedded in teaching and learning and be the source of iterative feedback, allowing students to adjust, rethink and re-learn. Assessment in Learning The assessment in learning places the question at the centre of teaching and learning. It deflects the teaching from its focus on a ‘correct answer’ to focus on ‘a fertile question’. Through the inquiry, students engage in processes that generate feedback about their learning, which come from multiple sources, and activities. It contributes to the construction of other learning activities, lines of enquiry and the generation of other questions Student at the centre of learning l Student monitors, assesses and reflects on learning l Student initiates demonstration of learning (to self and others) l Teacher as coach and mentor l XI Teachers and students need to understand the purpose of each assessment strategy so that the overall assessment ‘package’ being used by learners and teachers accurately captures, generates and uses meaningful learning information to generate deep learning and understanding. Purpose of Assessment To lascertain what learning, change and progress takes place in the child over a period of time in different subjects of study and other aspects of the childs personality. To find out the needs and learning style of every learner. l To ldevise styles. To improve the teaching-learning materials by adding value. l To help l every learner find out their interests, aptitudes, strengths and weaknesses so that the learner can evolve effective learning strategies. a teaching-learning plan that is responsive to the individual needs and learning To measure the extent to which curricular objectives have been realized. l To enhance the effectiveness of the teaching-learning process. l To l record the progress of every learner and communicate it to parents and other stakeholders. a dialogue between the teacher and the student and also the parents as a collaborative endeavor for overall improvement of the system. To lmaintain To involve the learners in the process through peer and self assessment. l Different stages in Assessment Examination is not assessment; it is only one of the tools of assessment. As we have seen above, assessment is an integral part of the teaching-learning process and hence cannot be seen as the final stage in isolation. The overall aim of assessment is to gather information to improve the teaching-learning process. So it has certain distinct stages. Stage 1: Gathering information about and evidence of the extent of effectiveness of teaching and learning We gather information in a variety of ways, using a number of tools. Observation, conversation and discussion, assignments, projects, different types of tests etc are some of the methods and tools we use for collecting information. Stage 2: Recording of Information The information gathered has to be systematically recorded because it constitutes not only rich inputs that have to be used for improving teaching and learning but also evidence to support the conclusion we come to about the progress made by the students. In order to make the recording effective, we must use different recording devices such as learner profile, XII ancecdotal records, case studies, report books etc. It is essential that the information is recorded in both quantitative and qualitative terms along with well thought out and objective observations by the teacher. It is also necessary to keep samples of students work as evidence to support the report of the teacher. The most important aspect of good recording and reporting is that it shows the progress of the learner in different domains over a period of time. Stage 3: Analysing and Reporting the Information Collected The recorded information constitutes valuable feedback that the teacher, the student and the parents should use to enhance the learning process. To do this, the gathered information has to be analysed periodically so that the teacher can draw conclusions about how a child is learning and progressing. Such analysis and the grading that is done is actually a mapping of the progress of students in a learning environment. Analysis and review also leads to unambiguous statements about the strengths of every child and the aspects requiring further improvement. The report has to be communicated to the learners and their parents so that they are able to collaborate with the teacher to take the necessary steps for improving learning. It is essential that the child is encouraged to compete with self rather than with others. One of the key components of engaging students in the assessment of their own learning is providing them with descriptive feedback as they learn. Research shows descriptive feedback to be the most effective instructional strategy to move students forward in their learning. Descriptive feedback provides students with an understanding of what they are doing well, links to classroom learning and specific input on how to reach the next step. Stage 4: Using the Information for Improvement Assessment should result in improvement. Though the student, the teacher and the parents are all stakeholders in this paradigm, it is the teacher who has to take the initiative to use the analysis of information on each learner to enhance learning. This calls for reflective practices. Some questions that the teacher could ask himself/ herself are: 1. Are all the learners involved in the activities of the class? 2. Are there learners who face problems in coping with the pace and flow of the teaching learning process? 3. What are their problems and how should I help them? 4. Is there something in my teaching strategy that has to be modified to make the class learn better? How should I go about it? 5. Are there some learners who are not challenged by the materials and methods and hence lose motivation quickly? How should I respond to their special needs? 6. Are there some lessons/ chapters/ units that pose difficulties to many learners? How should I add value to these portions of the syllabus? 7. Have I identified certain common errors, mistakes and instances of lack of conceptual clarity from the information collected and analysed? How should I go about an effective programme of remediation? XIII 8. Is my classroom time management effective? What are the changes that I could introduce to make it more learner and learning oriented? 9. Am I getting adequate support from the school management, my colleagues, the parents and the community? How can I involve all the stakeholders more actively in what I am doing for the benefit of my learners? 10. What are my own needs of professional development? How can I fulfil them in a continuous manner? Such reflective questions will help the teacher modify and refine the programme of teaching to achieve the learning objectives as well as to enhance his/ her professional competence continuously. By now it is well established that learning is a continuous process and it involves informal, formal and non-formal modes. It is also widely acknowledged that children learn by constructing their knowledge and it makes learning a process that takes place within the children rather than without. In this paradigm of constructivism, the teacher ought to recognize the importance of different stages of learning i. e. , the initial stage where the existing knowledge of the learner is seen as the entry level, the second stage where new knowledge is understood and accommodated with the existing knowledge and the third stage where the constructed knowledge as a whole is tested by the learner by applying it to real life situations for making sense of the world and the self and for drawing conclusions, problem solving, decision making etc. What constitutes knowledge at the third stage automatically becomes the learners existing knowledge for further learning and thus it is a cyclical process. The main purpose of assessment is to enhance the effectiveness of the learning process and hence it has to be integrated appropriately with every stage of learning. Since learning is continuous, assessment also must be continuous. Otherwise the learner will not be able to know whether she/ he is proceeding along the right lines, what is the stage at which he experiences difficulties, what are the new inputs and strategies that are required to successfully continue the process of construction of knowledge and what is the help that is expected from the teacher. Similarly the teacher also has to know at what stage of learning each learner is at a particular point of time, what are the changes that are to be made to the teaching strategies to make every child learn effectively and what further help can be provided. For instance, when a child in class I comes to school, it is probable that the child has not had any formal schooling earlier. It does not mean that the child has no prior knowledge because learning, as has been pointed out earlier, can be through informal and non formal modes too. So the teachers duty is to identify the prior knowledge of the child while dealing with a particular concept or skill.

Control, Empowerment, and the Fake World: Converging Metaphors :: Metaphors Education Educational Papers

Control, Empowerment, and the Fake World: Converging Metaphors "Metaphors not only structure the way we think about school, they also help create the world of the school" (Cunningham, "Metaphors of Mind" handout). This quote speaks the truth! Metaphors are the tools we use both to structure thinking about our culture and to create culture at the same time. An excellent example of this dual and interconnected role of metaphor is Marshall's belief that "the dominan t metaphor in many schools is SCHOOL IS WORK" (Cunningham, "MOM" handout). Marcel Danesi would say that this metaphor underlies a way to "conceptualize the world" of school (Danesi 107). By thinking about school in this way, the world of school is "crea ted" to be a work-filled experience. Students need to do homework and work harder at their lessons and teachers must manage their classrooms (Cunningham, "MOM" handout). It is in this way that the metaphor is the "cognitive phenomenon that converts fact ual feeling states into artifactual conceptual structures" (Danesi 107). Together, people create metaphorical ideas that turn into "real" artifacts, the representative structures of culture. The metaphorical idea of "school is work" pro duces the artifac tual world that fosters homework, working harder, earning grades, and managing classrooms (Danesi 108). These artifactual signs in turn perpetuate the controlling metaphor. Metaphors, then, are at the heart of understanding the way we view aspects of our culture while we simultaneously build that culture. Umberto Eco stresses that culture is a collective experience. In his view, "there is no such thing as a single mind, un connected to other minds or to their (collective) social cultural constructions" (Cunningham, "MOM" handout). If this is taken as fact, the "social, cultural, historical, and institutional contexts" humans find themselves in contribute to creating their metaphors and in turn, their artifactual worlds. Therefore, the situational context and the metaphors found there are intertwined and must be examined together. For example, I work in a juvenile prison. Prison is an interesting cultural context to investigate from its various perspectives. Many metaphors may be made about the same system depending on a person's immediate cultural group, or what Eco better terme d as humans' "local cultural organizations" (Cunningham, "MOM" handout). The sign of school and its object, the prison school program, has at least three distinguishable interpretants in the facility in which I work. These interpretants can be viewed as metaphors and are different depending on whose point of view and "local cultural organization" one is investigating.