Tag: Arts

  • Evolving technology in musical education

    Music education is an important, but often overlooked, form of education that has countless benefits. Music education is evolving rapidly and there are now many cost effective and beneficial tools to help make music education possible, like the iPad.

    Many school districts around the country unfortunately don’t understand the value of music education, and are quick to cut funding to music education initiatives when budgest are trimmed. What they don’t realize is that music education can play a major role in the learning process, helping to improve memory and retain information.

    Through this infographic, created by Kent State University, the goal is to help illustrate the value of music education and provide scientific proof of its importance.

    • Music students, on average, scored nearly 40 points higher on the verbal portion and 20 points higher on the math portion of the SAT
    • Music training, over a period of seven months, aided under-achievers to surpass fellow classmates by 22% in math

    To learn more about how music education is evolving in the education world, checkout this infographic created by Kent State University.

    Andrew Deen creates high-quality content for the higher education industry, and is an expert in infographic creation.

  • Difference between words that sound alike

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    Snipping or sniping?
    Pray or prey?
    Desert or dessert?
    Knowing the different meanings and variations of words will allow you to properly use them and spell them correctly without worrying that you are making a mistake.
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  • Which language is easiest to learn?

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    It is true that English is the lingua franca of our times, but inspite of this fact, there are still many languages that one can learn in order to enrich himself/herself, to develop skills, to improve the business developing. Have a look at the infographic below and see for yourself which language is less or more difficult to learn. Have fun!

    Explore more infographics

     

  • How learning languages affects our brain?

    Speaking a foreign language is always useful, but learning a new language can be a difficult task.

    There are so many weird rules, unfamiliar words and pronunciation problems that most of the time you believe that you’ll never learn anything. It is easy to feel discouraged and to give up. But, the truth is that you are catching up faster than you believe and soon you will manage to master it and become a real expert. Or at least you’ll learn enough to order a meal next time you are visiting the country whose language you are learning. Not only does learning languages have ability to transform social aspects of your life, but it can also affect your brain. The How learning languages affects our brain? Infographic showcases the consequences of learning a language and the pretty epic impact it has on your brain!

    We need to make mental fitness a huge part of our everyday routine. Learning new languages is both a fun and challenging way to give our brains the workout they crave. According to the infographic higher language skills are linked to growth in the hippocampus and areas of the cerebral cortex, where we process memory, thought and action. The increased size is associated with better memory and sharp thinking in old age.

    Apart from benefiting your brain, language also changes the way you think.

    For example, there are more terms for light blue and dark blue in Japanese than in English. This means that Japanese speakers can distinguish between multiple shades of blue, as compared to English speakers.
    Have a look and leave your comments below.

  • What to do when you need a grammar check?

    At some point in time, every person has needed a grammar check.

    Whether one is a student writing a paper for school, an employee writing content for an employer, or a creative writer writing content for one’s own enjoyment, at some point, everyone needs a grammar check. Even the best, most skilled writers on the planet make grammatical errors; they are simply a part of the writing process. It often takes several sets of eyes to find errors in a piece of writing, so it is important for one to get one’s writing checked after each draft and by as many people as possible.

    The importance of the revision process

    Any experienced writer understands just how crucial the revision process of a piece of work can be. One should never attempt to make the first draft of anything perfect; this puts too much pressure on the writer and often results in more errors than not. The first draft of any piece of writing is the writer’s opportunity to get out all of his or her ideas so that none of them will be forgotten. During this part of the process, writers can feel free to use shorthand, make scribbles, and even use spelling and grammatical errors – all will be fixed by the time the final draft is printed.

    After a writer completes his or her first draft, he or she should reread it a minimum of three times. At least one of these rereads should be done out loud. By hearing the words out loud instead of simply skimming them with one’s eyes, one is more able to catch any errors that lie in the work. One might be surprised just how many one will catch; even the most skilled of writers make mistakes.

    Despite the fact that a writer proofreads his or her own work, it is crucial that a third and even forth and fifth, party be consulted for another edit. After reading the same words over and over again, the mind becomes so used to them that small mistakes are difficult to see. Even if one has a degree and plenty of training in the editing field, it is always wise to ask someone else to give the work another check.

    Once the revision process is completed, the writer can begin work on a second and final draft of his or her piece. Each draft of the work should be proofread along the way to prevent as many errors as possible.

    Where you can find a second set of eyes?

    Writers may understand the importance of editing and revising very well, but that does not mean that one has another person one would trust to look a document over. Fortunately, there are plenty of editorial websites that provide free or very low cost grammar checks.

    The people performing grammar checks via online interfaces are hired to do exactly what a writer needs them to: proofread. With tons of experience and several editors looking at each piece, one can be certain that one’s work is in good hands.

    No writer should ever skip the grammar check portion of the process, in the long run, these checks are more than worth the extra effort.

    About the Author: 

    Stephanie Frasco wrote this article about grammar. She is also the community manager on the www.myreviewsnow.net website.

  • Learning English as a second language

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    There are instructors in schools all around the world currently teaching children and adults English as a second language. These classes are sometimes included as part of a degree program. This is because so many institutions and businesses have adopted English as the central language for communication between members. Understanding English as a second language provides students with a number of advantages in the modern world.

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  • Income opportunities for writers – don’t quit your full time job

     

    Some writers like to make writing their own profession while others simply enjoy writing as a hobby. If you want to make money off your writing, but you don’t want to quit your day job, you should consider partaking in some of the following.

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  • What defines amazing books?

    There are many authors in the world who write on a wide range of topics that suit their audience. However, not all the books that are released in the market are good for the readers. There are those that fail to meet the expectations of the readers hence it is important to understand the things that make up amazing books. Those who have made it through writing and reading can acknowledge that they took a lot of time to come up with their story before putting it on paper. Below are some of the things that determine or that define amazing books.

    The plot

    Every story must have a beginning and an end. These are most vital or crucial parts of any story since a person must ensure that they maintain the flow of the story from the beginning to the end without losing the theme of story. The plot basically is like a writing plan that guides the author on what they are writing about. Amazing books must maintain the plot such that the reader can be able to relate what is been talked about by the author. Good authors are able to create good plots that readers are able to relate with easily and without much of a problem.

    Character creation

    In every book, there are characters or people who are used to pass the message of the story. There is no book that can be written without characters in it hence it is always important to ensure that characters are created in a way that people are able to know their roles. Different characters have their own personality which the author must be able to bring out effectively. When reading amazing books, you will notice that there is no confusion between characters and their roles are usually exploited in a unique and dynamic manner. A reader should be able to acknowledge how good an author is in creating characters when reading a book.

    The mood of the story

    An author should be able to create the mood of the story. It can be suspense, a feeling of sadness or happiness or any other emotions in the book that help the reader to relate to the story. Basically, it should make the reader behave as though they know the characters of the story in the real life and hence let out their feelings. If it is mourning, the reader should feel the pain of such events thus this is one of the things that define amazing books. The ability of the author to bring out such moods is important since it keeps the readers glued to the book reading.

    When writing a book, an author has the hard task of making sure that the book will be worth their time and money. This is the reason why most of them will do their best to put themselves in a position of the readers. Professional authors prefer to write their books over a long period of time so as to avoid repetitiveness in the book. It also helps them come up with amazing books for everyone full of new ideas as the time goes by.

    About the Author:

    William Yatscoff is the marketing manager of Bookkaholic Magazine and is constantly looking for new amazing books with new and creative stories to have on his website. If you are interested in getting your book or writing onto a book magazine you should check Bookkaholic’s Book Promotions or Book Advertising.

  • 3 Must-read post-apocalyptic novels

     

    One of the most anticipated movies of the year is World War Z. An adaptation of Max Brook’s 2006 horror novel of the same name, World War Z has once again focused the spotlight on post-apocalyptic literature. Here are three must-read novels that don’t have much hope for humanity’s future.

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  • Reprogram your mind to become a more confident learner

    If you want to become a good student, it is important to have confidence in yourself as a learner, it is important to believe that you actually like learning, and that you really enjoy the topic you are studying.

    When you picture yourself learning poorly, you actually program your mind for more learning failures – this is what you expect, so it becomes more likely that you will achieve it.

    What should you do if you do not actually have confidence in yourself as a learner, or if you are convinced that you will never understand the topic you are studying, that you will never be able to learn that or this lesson?
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