Monday, January 27, 2020

Planning, Scheduling and Control

Planning, Scheduling and Control Business or business organizations involve conceptualization of implementation of a specific plan designed for particular business outcomes. This particularity of business outcomes envisages putting up a well coordinated system for realization of the same. Forming a conglomeration of peoples, activities work schedules, methods, processes, all geared towards achieving a specific business objective, work or assignment, it works according to a plan to achieve the objective within a particular time-frame, with the available or additional resources. This whole process is given the generic name of Project, and coordinating all the activities within it to achieve the desired objective to perfection within the time frame is known as Project Management (Heerkens; 2001). Given the generic nature of the work as well as the outcome it can be said that every activity requiring a particular work to be completed within a particular time by using a particular amount of resources takes the shape of a project. In that way every activity, be that of building a township, a bridge, a subway project, oil refinery, steel production, manufacturing facility erection or even conducting a study to seek some particular information, data or have some desired outcome, all can be termed as projects. In that way projects are distinguishable from continuing work processes like manufacturing process, routine management work or doing daily chores, which are continuing in nature, with the distinguishing factor being a specific time for start and completion of a particular work. So, essentially, time is the core element of a project. As a result the inseparable part of a project is adoption of proper management systems and processes to complete the project within the particular time and cost (Levine; 2002). For this it is imperative that there should be proper planning to execute a project within the allotted time, cost and resources for which there should be proper planning for its implementation . Project planning and implementation within the allotted time by properly organizing it to maintain quality of execution, avoid risks and adhere to the project schedule by proper utilization of resources is key to the success of a project (Hillson; 2003). This study essentially pertains to discussing the key aspects of project planning and control activities in order to successfully complete a project by adhering to the quality of execution of projects. Project Management: Project management essentially is the process of planning, organizing and managing the allotted resources given to a project in order to successfully complete the projects objectives and program. As said, a project is one time work unlike a continuing process, and has a particular period of execution with a starting and ending time in order to meet particular goals and objectives that is aimed at bringing about a particular outcome(Kerzner; 2009). It means that the projects are different from usual business processes that have repeat value and are of permanent nature requiring routine functional work that is envisaged to produce different products and services. In actual practice, the two systems are quite different, thereby requiring the development of specific technical skills and adoption of separate management practices. Projects adhere top specific phases or stages of work processes. According to Horine, project management process includes conducting feasibility studies, defining the project scope and objectives, planning the model to attain those objectives, implementing the plan according to design and scope, evaluating the process of implementation to ensure that the project is being implemented according to guidelines and quality along with provision of proper support and maintenance backup to protect against any hiccups in the implementation process (Horine; 2009). All these are required because project management is a meticulously planned and organized effort to attain a specific and single objective like building a flyover, implementing a software system or building a thermal power plant. It is for this reason only that the project management process includes developing a project plan, which includes defining the project goals and objectives, identifying tasks and goals to be achieved, quantifying the resources needed, and determining budgets and time peri od for completion and managing the implementation of the project plan, along with establishing control procedures to track the proper implementation of the project according to the objectives relative to the plan and intervene to restore the quality of implementation wherever required (Lewis; 2006). All these aspects constitute the project planning and control process. Project Planning, Scheduling and Control: Planning: According to Lewis, project planning and control includes developing a standardized management methodology to implement the objectives of a project that can be comfortably adapted to any project and be flexible enough to be customized for such projects but for which there should be a specific system with checks and balances to proceed with the project according to the plans and objectives (Lewis; 2005). This means that the project management function has a specific process and stages of implementation as is given below: Project Planning: Contents Project Planning: Key Stages Source: F Harrison; Advanced Project Management: A Structured Approach; Gower Publishing; 2004 The project planning and control process therefore pertains to defining the scope and responsibilities accruing to a project, scheduling the time and resources, estimating the cost and budget and analyzing the risks associated with the project implementation process and planning to handle those risks. Suppose there is a project to construct a new administrative building for a certain organization. In this case the management of the organization will define the scope of implementation of the building plan, estimating the time needed to complete the project and the resources in terms of materials, money and time needed for it. There would also be measures to analyze the risks that can come in the way of constructing the building in terms of escalation of costs, time, materials and inadvertent incidents that would hamper the e smooth construction of the building. For this the manager of the project will have to make a blue print and accommodate all the factors while planning the impleme ntation of the project. In such cases the planning process is properly delineated and documented for the benefit of all the members of the project team as well as the client or the organization for whom the project is being implemented (Turner; 1998). This process also becomes beneficial in taking steps to control the project according to the requirements and preventing it from going from its planned path that would necessitate intervention in terms of cost and materials by the project manager. In order to achieve all these objectives the project management process includes key elements to the project planning process i.e. the products, activities, resources, schedule, budget, risks and assumptions. Accordingly, the project planning process determines what are the products and sub-products that a project must deliver ad what quality aspects it must adhere to, what are the activities and the resources needed to carry out the project, what is the sequence and schedule that must be fol lowed to complete the project, what is the budget needed for implementing the project, what are the risks associated with implementing the project and what are the assumptions that are part of the project(Burke; 2003). The projects management planning process therefore incorporates all these aspects to formulate the plan of implementation. Broadly speaking the project plan includes all the aspects that are needed to properly implement a project according to the specifications of the client. Accordingly the actual requirements of a project may vary but there is no dichotomy with regards to the planning process that needs to be applied of such projects. For this the project implementation and planning process includes some fundamental principles, like breaking down the whole project into cohesive work packages, defining the desired results and encouraging the team members to work towards the plans to achieve the results (Williams et. al.; 2008). All these aspects of the planning proce ss follow certain basic objectives of the project plan that includes ensure that all the work and products need to achieve the project objectives included in the plan. For this the project planners include a framework to integrate the key planning and control functions i.e. scope, quality, cost, time and risk at different stages of the project management and implementation stage and specify the team and the responsibilities of the team members   to deliver the requirements of the project (Kendrick; 2004). In this whole planning process there includes factors such as scheduling the project to bring the desired outcome of the project. Scheduling and Control: Scheduling of a project essentially signifies managing the implementation of the project, keeping in view the time factor in primary sense, and adjusting the men, material and activities into the whole process (Berkun; ; 2005). This means that the project must follow a regimented routine according to daily weekly and monthly basis so that the project is effectively implemented according to the controls of its requirements and other factors. It is also important that the different activities associated with a project planning and implementation process are well coordinated so as to avoid delays and chaos in the implementation of the project that would result is costs and time overruns. A typical project schedule divides the work associated with a project into different activities all coordinated to the overall whole. In this the works are divided into areas of activities and the tine taken as well as the mode of operation is determined accordingly with the most easy path and the criti cal yet effective path of each activity of the path is determined with assessment as to the time lapse that can happen in the event of the time and work pace not keeping up with the allotted time schedule. Source: : F Harrison; Advanced Project Management: A Structured Approach; Gower Publishing; 2004 Accordingly the project implementation stage and control stage is divided into various activities and the time allotted is measured accordingly as is shown in the diagram above. In it the works are divided into critical and non-critical activities and the milestone is to be achieved with the overall work process along with the float time that can emerge due to unavoidable time delays. Along with all these factors it is also likely that without proper scheduling of the project it may happen that it may drag along beyond the manageable limit and therefore become unviable. So, the core part of effective implementation of a project is its proper scheduling so that unnecessary delays and cost overruns area avoided and there is harmonious coordination between all aspects of the work process of the project as well as the different stakeholders and service providers associated with it. Project Documentation: As mentioned in the preceding scheduling of a project is done in order to achieve all the factors the project planning process breaks down the project into a particular schedule as per its desired outputs in order to facilitate the proper implementation and control as well as help in maintaining quality of implementation of the project. Accordingly the project is divided into different sub-structures and process in order to effectively maintain quality of implementation such as primary outputs of a project a supplementary outputs of a project (Berkun; 2008). Along with it the project manager needs the proper documentation and processing of the activities in order to effectively track the implementation of the project as well as communicate with the team members and the management to articulate the progress of the project, give directions to the members to work according to an accepted framework and measure the progress of the project at different stages of implementation for which th ere should be proper documentation of the project planning, scheduling and control process. In the primary outputs the documentation process includes defining the product breakdown structures, product descriptions, work breakdown structures (WBS), work package descriptions (WPD), organization breakdown structure (OBS), responsibility assignment matrix (RAM) and assumptions documentation. In the secondary outputs of a project planning, implementation and control process the documentation and processing those are needed pertain to creating a product flow diagram (PFD), work flow diagram (WFD), control accounts (CA) and dependency structure matrix (DSM) (Berbee; 2009). All these aspects of the project process are properly documented in order to properly implement a project. For this the project manager establishes a proper structure and accessories for documentation as well as recruitment of relevant persons to manage such processes, which brings to the human resources aspect and the management structure of a project planning and implementation process. According to Leach, the most critical part of a project management process is the management part itself which means that if the management structure and the people manning it are not competent enough to effectively plan and implement the project than all the other factors even if they are of highest degree of quality, will fail to deliver the results (Leach; 2004). It is for this that the project planning and implementation process gives utmost importance to the management structure and team as well as the human resources aspect of the overall project structure and process. Management Structure: A typical product management structure incorporates the following management structure as mentioned below, with necessary customization as per the requirements of the individual projects: Source: Self Designed The typical project management team therefore consists of a project head who takes part in the conceptualization planning and overall control of the project followed by a project manager who actually oversees the implementation of the project with a team that consists of technical head, operation head quality control head resource head who do the actual work of implementing the project and directly supervise the work   through a team consisting of managers workers, technicians, suppliers and stakeholders along with support staff(Rothman; 2009). In the case of a building project the management would consist of a project head having wide experience in managing building projects, same is the case with the project manager who must have ample experience in managing projects associated with the construction industry. The different heads of the project should also have adequate experience in their area of activity and desirable experience in actual projects involving the construction indu stry. In this place it may be convenient to argue as what would happen if some people with general project management experience are taken into projects involving construction if buildings. In normal sense it would not make that much of a difference. But in actual stage of implementation and the critical factors associated with it the hands on experience of a person comes in handy. Along with it there is the factor of scheduling for efficient management of time and resources. In such a situation it if great advantage if personnel with hands on experience in specific projects are included in the project planning implementation and evaluation process rather than having general project management experience (Wong; 2007). Nonetheless the underlying spirit for proper implementation of a project is management of time and quality. Nowadays there are various technologies, tools and methods to manage project planning, implementation, quality control and delivery.   Techniques and Technologies: The present day project management exercise is a highly technical function involving a number of complex tools and processes as well as advanced software systems to effectively implement, schedule, track and maintain the quality aspects of a project. It is immaterial whether the project is a brick and mortar concept or an academic concept, what is important is that there have emerged methods that can effectively coordinate all the activities and effectively establish communication channels between all the stakeholders of a project in order to maintain the time, quality and overall objectives of a project. At the outset there are basic operational tools like PERT and CPM which effectively schedule the project into different activities and measure the time, cost and materials required for completing the project (Kendrick; 2009). Along with these basic tools there are some methods that quantify the time required for completing the project along with the costs required. Some allied disciplines and tools are also used like the financial forecasts, statistical measurement of lead and lag time for completing a project as well as the application of quality tools like six sigma to ascertain that the project is going according to the accepted quality standards. But the most profound effect of technology on the project management discipline has been the development of various software for proper management of the overall project planning, scheduling, implementation, quality control, budgeting and assumption processes. One of such tolls is the Project Management suite developed by Microsoft that is known as MS Projects, which is a complete software package to manage the entire project management process. In it there are various functions and techniques to effectively plan, schedule monitor and implement various projects by adhering to all the functions and disciplines required for implementing a project (Microsoft Inc; 2009). Besides MS Projects there are other software applications designed to manage projects that are developed by different software companies for specific projects by different companies. Along with all these developments there have been instances where companies have developed their own software and techniques by applying a host of discrete software processes to create their own project management tools that cater to all its aspects including budgeting and quality control. In essence all these softwares have made the project management with overall planning, scheduling, quality control budgeting and monitoring, a smooth and hassle fee process by which the managers can hope to achieve expected outcomes without leaving anything to chance. This goes a long way in achieving efficiency in project planning scheduling and control process as well as its proper implementation. Conclusion: Project management is a complex and complicated   process requiring coordination of a host of disciplines along with men, money material that are to be coordinate within a proper time frame to achieve all the objectives of a project without compromising on the quality aspect of it. In that way it becomes necessary to design proper planning, scheduling and quality control mechanisms to give proper implementation to it. In this it becomes necessary to take the help of different tools techniques, documentation processes and technologies so that the project gets implemented successfully and according to its objectives. -x- Reference: Gary Heerkens; Project Management; McGraw Hill Professional; 2001; 250 pages H Levine; Practical Project Management: Tips, Tools and Tactics; John Wiley Sons; 2002 D Hillson; Effective Opportunity Management for Projects; Marcel Dekker; 2003 Harold Kerzner; Project Management: A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling, and Controlling;Wiley; 2009 1120 pages Greg Horine; Absolute Beginners Guide to Project Management;   Que publications; 2009; 432 pages James P. Lewis; Fundamentals of Project Management; AMACOM; 2006; 160 pages James Lewis; Project, Planning, Scheduling and Control; McGraw-Hill; 2005; 550 pages F Harrison; Advanced Project Management: A Structured Approach; Gower Publishing; 2004 R. Turner; The Handbook of Project Based Management; McGraw Hill; 1998) R Burke; Project Management: Planning and control Techniques; John Wiley Sons; 2003 Mary Williams, William Meri; The Principles of Project Management; Site Point; 2008; 224 pages Tom Kendrick; Project Management Toolkit; AMACOM; 2004; 256 pages Scott Berkun; The Art of Project Management; OReilly Media; 2005; 374 pages Scott Berkun; Making Thngs Happen: Mastering Project Management; OReilly Media; 2008; 392 pages Davis Berbee; 97 Things Every Project Manager Should Know; OReilly Media; 2009; 250 pages L Leach; Critical Chain Project Management; Artech House; 2004 Johanna Rothman; Manage Your Project Portfolio; Pragmatic Bookshelf; 2009; 250 pages Zachary Wong; Human Factors in Project Management; Jossey-Bass; 2007; 368 pages Tom Kendrick; Identifying and Managing project Risk; AMACOM; 2009; 368 pages Microsoft Inc., MS Projects 07; 2009; cited in http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/project/default.aspx

Saturday, January 18, 2020

Goals of Financial Management Essay

Money required for carrying out business activities is called business finance. Almost all business activities require some finance. Finance is needed : †¢To establish a business , †¢To run it †¢To modernize it †¢To expand it or diversify †¢It is required to buy whole variety of assets, they may be tangible like machinery ,factories,building,offices or intangible like patents, technical expertise etc. Success of business depends considerably on how well the funds are deployed in assets Financial management is concerned with optimum procurement as well as usage of finance. The financial management has to take three important decision viz. (i) Investment decision i. e. , where to invest fund and in what amount, (ii) Financing decision i. e. , from where to raise funds and in what amount, and (iii) Dividend i. e. , how much to pay dividend and how much to retain for future expansion. In order to make these decisions the management must have a clear understanding of the objective sought to be achieved. It is generally agreed that the financial objective of the firm should be maximization of owner’s economic welfare. There are two widely discussed approaches or criterion of maximizing owners’ welfare – (i) Profit maximization, and (ii) Wealth maximization. Profit maximization would probably be the most commonly cited business goal, but this is not a very precise objective. Do we mean profits this year? If so, then actions such as deferring maintenance, letting inventories run down, and other short-run, cost-cutting measures will tend to increase profits now, but these activities aren’t necessarily desirable. The goal of maximizing profits may refer to some sort of â€Å"long-run† or â€Å"average† profits, but it’s unclear exactly what this means. First, do we mean something like accounting net income or earnings per share? As we will see, these numbers may have little to do with what is good or bad for the firm. Second, what do we mean by the long run? As a famous economist once remarked, in the long run, we’re all dead! More to the point, this goal doesn’t tell us the appropriate trade-off between current and future profits. Profit Maximization: Maximization of profits is very often considered as the main objective of a business enterprise. The shareholders, the owners of the business, invest their funds in the business with the hope of getting higher dividend on their investment. Moreover, the profitability of the business is an indicator of the sound health of the organization, because, it safeguards the economic interests of various social groups which are directly or indirectly connected with the company e. g. shareholders, creditors and employees. All these parties must get reasonable return for their contributions and it is possible only when company earns higher profits or sufficient profits to discharge the obligations to them. As long as we are dealing with for-profit businesses, only a slight modification is needed. The total value of the stock in a corporation is simply equal to the value of the owners’ equity. Therefore, a more general way of stating our goal . Finally, our goal does not imply that the financial manager should take illegal or unethical actions in the hope of increasing the value of the equity in the firm. What we mean is that the financial manager best serves the owners of the business by identifying goods and services that add value to the firm because they are desired and valued in the free marketplace If we assume that stockholders buy stock because they seek to gain financially, then the answer is obvious: Good decisions increase the value of the stock, and poor decisions decrease the value of the stock. The goal of maximizing the value of the stock avoids the problems associated with the different goals we listed earlier. There is no ambiguity in the criterion, and there is no short-run versus long-run issue. We explicitly mean that our goal is to maximize the current stock value. Because the goal of financial management is to maximize the value of the stock, we need to learn how to identify those investments and financing arrangements that favorably impact the value of the stock. This is precisely what we will be studying. In fact, we could have defined corporate finance as the study of the relationship between business decisions and the value of the stock in the business. Wealth Maximization: The term wealth means shareholder’s wealth or the wealth of persons who are involved in business concern. this is also known as value maximization or net worth maximization The wealth maximization (also known as value maximization or Net Present Worth Maximization) is also universally accepted criterion for financial decision making. The value of an asset should be viewed in terms of benefits it can produce over the cost of capital investment. †¢Wealth maximization is based on the concept of cash flow . cash flow are a reality and not based on subjective. †¢It considers time value of money.

Friday, January 10, 2020

Building the Nation Future Leaders

â€Å"Building the Nation Future Leaders through the K to 12 Basic Education Program or The K to 12 Basic Education- Tungo sa Paghuhubog ng mga Makabagong lider ng Bansa. † By ANDEA, ISIDRO JR B. Great day to everyone! Warmest congratulations to the elite corps of successful graduates this school year 2012- 2013 especially to our ever loving parents and the teaching force of this institution. Ma’am and Sir, Good morning! With my great desire, to be one of the guest speakers at today's event; I accept the challenge and invitation of the teaching staff of this institution to challenge everyone today!It is a great privilege and opportunity for me to speak in front of you as a challenger of your mind and hearts to give an inspirational message that will challenge everyone today! You truly deserve to give pride to yourself as you step into another ladder of your success. It’s been unforgettable event that we should reminisce every now and then the significant marked o f our lives as we give priority to our achievement in the field of learning.We bind us one today to celebrate the fruit of our sacrifices; your unsung hero shows their unfading support behind your success as they watch you to recognize this day, your ever loving teachers honored you for the commendable appreciation of your great work during learning process and the person who is one way of molding your life interest and being proud to yourself that you have done the great job in schooling. Our Theme: â€Å"Building the Nation Future Leaders through the K to 12 Basic Education Program or the K to 12 Basic Education- Tungo sa Paghuhubog ng mga Makabagong lider ng Bansa. I would like to talk first about the program of Department of Education in order for us to understand well the message of our nation for us as a stakeholder of change. The K to 12 Program covers Kindergarten and 12 years of basic education (6 years of Primary Education, four years of juniors High School, and another t wo years of Senior High School) which provide our learners to undergo sufficient time for mastering the concepts and skills presented during learning process. Enhance the abilities and capacities of our learners, and prepare our graduate to higher education, job employment, and business or entrepreneurship.The K to 12 Basic Education Program is a key chain to success because it helps our graduates to become ready and more successful to go in their different paths, Maybe some them will proceed to tertiary education, for employment, or do a business. We strongly believed that this changes in our Educational Program will affect our way of living, to give us hope for a better future because our young leaders equipped with different skills in different learning areas, trained and prepared them to become an agent of change;Formal Education will make us living if we seized the right opportunity given to us. Let us work hand in hand for the betterment of our future, Let us let other known a bout this program, and encourage them to have a full support in achieving our Country’s progress. You as a graduate have a vital role to strengthen your great potential to become a partner of change. You will be one of the backbones of our K to 12 graduates sooner and later know that you will have to deal with changes, both big and small, continually. Be prepared to be flexible and to adopt as needed.Here are the three things to consider on becoming more successful in achieving our goals in life and to become a productive leaders someday: 1. Heads-up to your great potential. Sometimes, we may not realize the essence of our abilities. But there’s a gift given to us by our omnipotent master to give our full potential to become the most successful person. We may become successful beyond of our wildest dream. You should know yourself better, Identify your strength and weaknesses and facing the real you. The achievement of your goal is assured the moment you commit yourself to it and believe that you can do something.The first thing that we need to consider is to open your eyes to your great potential by setting your mind and goals in life. Mind setting (power of imagination) is a tool for showing your potential to become great individual for the next days. Because of it, you can now set your goals in life. Some great person believed that goal is vital. â€Å"People with goals succeed because they know where they're going. † According to -Earl Nightingale. â€Å"The achievement of your goal is assured the moment you commit yourself to it. † -Mack R. Douglas. Formal education will make you a living.Self-education will make you a fortune. † â€Å"Unless you change how you are, you will always have what you've got. † â€Å"We all have two choices; we can make a living or we can design a life. † I want you to â€Å"Take up one idea and act on it. Make that one idea your life. Think of it, dream of it, and live on that id ea. Let the brain, muscles, nerves, and every part of your body be full of that idea and leave all other ideas alone. This is the way to success. † According to SFI Rules to Success; setting goals is so easy to do, yet 95% of people never set goals.They just never take the time. And who do you think are the most successful, highest-earning people in the world? The 5% group of course! If you want to be in the 5% group, don't even think about ignoring goal-setting! 2. Begin with realistic plan (winning starts with beginning). If you sealed with something and you fell not moving on your way, start to get started and start whatever you had right now. There’s no perfect time to wait, do the best job you can and always keep learning and moving ahead. Who among you here have a Facebook account?What is the first thing you do in getting connected with that social networking? Just to sign up and get started, right? â€Å"You don't have to be great to get started, but you have to get started to be great. † -Les Brown, â€Å"Everyone who got where he is had to begin where he was. † -Richard L. Evans. â€Å"Failing to plan is planning to fail. † â€Å"Without goals, and plans to reach them, you are like a ship that has set sail with no destination. † -Fitzhugh Dodson â€Å"Most people have no idea of the giant capacity we can immediately command when we focus all of our resources on mastering a single area of our lives. – Anthony Robbins. â€Å"Nothing can add more power to your life than concentrating all your energies on a limited set of targets. â€Å"- Nido Qubein. â€Å"What you choose to focus your mind on is critical because you will become what you think about most of the time. â€Å"- Noel Peebles We cannot become successful in aiming at something, if we are trying to do many things just for once. We should be realistic in our planning and concentrate your thoughts upon working hand in hand. As they say, chase t wo rabbits and you'll catch neither! â€Å"Success demands singleness of purpose. – Vincent Lombardi â€Å"No life ever grows great until it is focused, dedicated, disciplined. – Harry Emerson Fosdick. 3. Live with your goals and persist until you win. We don’t need to invest so much to earn something and to pay for our reward. â€Å"Success seems to be connected with action. Successful people keep moving. They make mistakes, but they don't quit. â€Å"-Conrad Hilton. â€Å"It's when things get rough and you don't quit that success comes. † â€Å"Other people and things can stop you temporarily. You're the only one who can do it permanently. -Zig Ziglar Don't let little problems upset you. Concentrate on the positives†¦ and the â€Å"big picture. † Also remember that the only thing that will never change is that there will always be changes (especially in today's rapidly evolving world). Don't let changes upset you. Know that you will hav e to deal with changes, both big and small, continually. Be prepared to be flexible and to adapt as needed. â€Å"Learning is very fun and lifelong process† which I always emphasize in the field of learning because it awakens our interest to learned.At your youthful stage, there is an eagerness to learn in every chance as you participate inside the class. Your teacher taught you so much how to become smart, how to behave, how to learn, how to work effectively, how to perform a task and know how to accept student’s responsibility. I know each one of you possess a precocious gift from God. Who among you here wants to be a Doctor, Nurse, Lawyer, Engineer, Military, Teacher, or a President? Then don’t stop learning. ALWAYS REMEMBER THIS THREE WORDS: DON’T STOP LEARNING! ANDEA, ISIDRO JR B. KABACAN WESLEYAN ACADEMY HIGH SCHOOL DEPARMENT

Thursday, January 2, 2020

Instructional Technology As A Problem Solving Tool For...

Blended learning has been a popular topic in education over the past decade. With the rapid advancement of technology in recent years and the ever-increasing demands on teaching staff, there is a scramble to find the golden goose – the key to harmonizing technology and education in order to reach more students and ease the burden of teachers. It becomes more than just an issue of getting technology into the classroom because hundreds of thousands of classrooms already have technology capabilities. It becomes an issue of how to train teachers to use instructional technology and truly integrate it into curriculum. It becomes an issue of how to make technology a problem-solving tool for students of all ages and learning styles. Some researchers believe blended learning to be the golden goose for education – which raises even more issues and many questions. What instructional technologies can be useful in K-12 subjects? How can instructional technology be used in college and professional development for adults? Is blended learning the future of education? Can blended learning influence various learning styles and create a deeper knowledge base? What professional development programs can we offer to ensure that future teachers are prepared to operate technology in the classroom? The purpose of this paper is to examine the aspects of blended learning and how instructional technologies can facilitate lessons across many subjects and age groups. Blended learning isShow MoreRelatedEvaluate How To Communicate And Integrated Case Study991 Words   |  4 Pagescollaborate effectively using a variety of modalities including digital-age tools that ensure the learner’s professional growth. 2. Reflect on design and implementation challenges experienced during the redesign of a prior coursework activity. Purpose: The purpose of the research study was to examine how as reflective educational practitioners we could incorporate and implement the use of technology to create a blended professional learning community across districts within our state to share knowledgeRead MoreEducation Is A Transformative Component Of Creativity And Learning898 Words   |  4 PagesProblem solving in education is a transformative component in fostering creativity and learning. An educator is constantly seeking new ways to better enhance and to create meaningful learning experiences. In a world that is so driven by technology in the digital age, finding ways to creatively use Computational Thinking and Computer Science skills will create innovative thinkers among our students. Besides the foreseen challenges of the ever changing upgrades and application of new technologies;Read MoreThe National Educational Technology Standards For Students, Teachers, And Administrators Essay1082 Words   |  5 Pages I am a graduate student pursuing a specialist degree in Educational Leadership with National Louis University. Currently, I am enrolled in a course titled, Realizing Vision through Technological, Human and Financial Resources. The National Educational Technology Standards (NETS) are a set of standards sponsored by the International Society of Technology in Education (ISTE). I have explored the ITSE website and reviewed the NETS standards for students, teachers, and administrators. In this paperRead MoreEvaluating A Smart Learning Recommendations1408 Words   |  6 Pagessignificantly strengthen teachers’ ability to determine the most appropriate learning recommendations for every student. Students have anytime access to their learning profiles, which are instantly updated whenever they have taken a quiz, completed a problem set, submitted an assignment and received a grade or comments. Teachers use this information to determine personalized learning recommendations. Thi s dashboard also provides all of our stakeholders with the critical information they need to effectivelyRead MoreThe Effect Of Technology On The Classroom Essay1210 Words   |  5 PagesThere is a growing trend in the use of technology in the classroom. As a teacher, I am always looking for ways to use manipulatives in my lessons to increase meaning and authenticity for students. I would love to keep my students engaged, motivated and interactive in the classroom and still be able to get through the content each day. In order to achieve this, I need to have an arsenal of tools to draw from. That is why I agree with (Tataroglu Erduran, 2010) as stated in the International ElectronicRead MoreVygotsky Essay1960 Words   |  8 Pagesproximal development. Evaluate the efficacy of approaches to teaching and learning [eg. reciprocal teaching, cognitive apprenticeships, and communities of learners] which incorporate this notion. Many theorists throughout the century have developed concepts that have analysed and explained how a child learns during their schooling years. Educational theorist Lev Vygotsky produced the social development theory of learning. He believed social interaction is the primary cause of cognitive developmentRead MoreThe Influence of Media Technology and Information and Communication Technology2068 Words   |  9 PagesThe Influence of Media Technology and Information and Communication Technology Today it is not sufficient to have knowledge and experience, it is indispensable to be able to share them, to belong to a networked knowledge community and to have skills of lifelong learning in order to exploit all information, competences and skills, learnt from formal, informal and non-formal learning experiences. These continuous changes determine the evolution and innovation of learning process in order to exploreRead MoreDigital Technology : A Paradigm Shift3243 Words   |  13 Pages(2000) digital technologies is used to describe the use of electronic resources to effectively find, analyze, create, communicate and use information. In other words digital technology is used as an umbrella term to describe the variety of computer base programmes of learning being offered within schools. This includes; information technology, technology ICT (information and communication technology), computing, information management, text and information management, the use of web tools, digital mediaRead MoreThe Effects Of Technology On Students Attitudes Education Essay1995 Words   |  8 PagesTechnology Has Positive Effects On Students Attitudes Education Technology has evolved and grown rapidly. This is the reason why technology plays a major role in modern life that affects all the aspect of human activities. Therefore, our societies get a lot of benefits from modern technology. Universities and colleges for example have so many facilities. Such as labs with sophisticated computer devices, internet connections with high speed, projectors and smart boards. Using these developed toolsRead MoreAspects Of Blended Learning : Technology Supports Diverse Classrooms3818 Words   |  16 PagesAspects of Blended Learning: Technology Supports Diverse Classrooms Blended learning has been a popular topic in education over the past decade. With the rapid advancement of technology in recent years and the ever-increasing demands on teaching staff, there is a scramble to find the golden goose – the key to harmonizing technology and education in order to reach more students and ease the burden of teachers. It becomes more than just an issue of getting technology into the classroom because hundreds