May 26, 2010 in Distance Learning by miss-jones
The National Institute of Adult Continuing Education (NIACE) recently conducted their annual survey and found that the numbers of adults in the UK interested in further education has hit a 20 year high!
Apparently 47% of the UK adult population are planning to participate in some form of study in the next three years which is great news. Interestingly, the survey discovered that the adults who stated that they were ‘very unlikely’ to sign up to further education in the next three years has significantly dropped from 47% last year to 34%.
One of the obvious reasons for this surge in further education interest is the current recession and fears about job security as a consequence.
- Three in five full time employees stated that they planned to study in the next 3 years. This is a jump of 13% from 2009.
- 58% of part time workers have indicated that they also planned to participate in further education.
- Two thirds of job seekers interviewed also said that studying was high on their agenda.
- The under 25’s are particularly keen to get involved in further education this year, as youth unemployment is currently high. Apparently three quarters of 17-24 year olds who have just left full time education plan to study again within the next 3 years.
- A third of those aged between 55-64 and a fifth of those aged 65-74 are also planning to further their knowledge and career prospects by signing up for further education.
The Chief Executive of NIACE, Alan Tuckett believes that a “growing appetite” for adult learning in Britain is a positive consequence of the recession. He stated that “We must make sure that provision of all sorts is available to respond to it. The government will need to resist the temptation to cut back on further education and training as it seeks to balance the books, employers will need to reverse the reductions of the past couple of years, and we will all need to be creative in exploiting the opportunities presented by the new technologies. For a country that relies for its prosperity on the creativity and skill of its people, investment in adult learning is as important as investment in the banks.”
Tags: recession, students, studying, youth unemployment
April 27, 2010 in Just for Fun, Study Tips by miss-jones
With exams fast approaching I thought it would be fun to look at some of the cool apps available on the iphone which could help you to study whilst on the move. I’ve listed my top 10 so you can check them out. You never know, these might be the tools you’ve been looking for!
- For Psychology students there is a great little app called Studysets – psychology lite which covers topics such as views of psychology, research methods, neuroscience, sensation & perception, consciousness, conditioning, memory, personality, developmental psychology etc. Perfect for squeezing in some extra revision time on the bus! (Studysets also have apps for Spanish and translation which I am sure will also be useful to students studying language).
- Studyguru is another app which has been specifically developed for students studying their GCSE Maths, Biology, Chemistry or Physics. It contains the full range of study materials for each of these subjects and is presented in digestible notes and diagrams. Use this with your study group or friends to test you knowledge on each.
- There are a number of apps: Geography GCSE revision, Biology GCSE revision, Chemistry GCSE revision which have approx 600 topic related questions to help test your knowledge for the exams.
- A fun revision app is Revision Aid. This app allows you to use the Question and Answer tool to build text or multiple choice questions which will be mixed up and presented to you in a quiz format. This is a great way of testing your knowledge when you have a little time to spare.
- To assist your study and revision, there is an app called Flashcards which funnily enough allows you to create your own flashcards. In each card you can have text, images, audio or any combination. You can also customise them with whichever font, colour, background image etc so that these suit your individual requirements. You can create groups for your cards and as many cards as you like. You can set these cards to display randomly or in any specific order you require. The great thing about these flashcards is that they go everywhere that you do as they are on your iphone.
- The Chemical Touch app basically displays the full periodic table. Now there are no excuses for not knowing the periodic table from top to bottom!
- If you need to brush up on your mathematics formulas then the Mathematical Formula app is the one for you. You can easily refresh your memory and check the formulae for Algebra, Arithmetics, Complex Numbers, Differentiation, Geometry, Integration and Trigonometry. It’s like having a maths tutor by your side which might be a little odd, but very useful at the same time.
- Quickpedia lite is a brilliant little app which makes finding facts so easy as its a little faster to use than wikipedia, although follows the same principles. This is also another useful addition and I’m sure that once you have completed your exams this one will also come in handy for your local pub quiz night.
- For all students studying Law there is even an app which gives information on the following categories: Animal Cruelty, Breaches, Communications, Drugs, Motoring, Offences, Public Order, Sexual, Theft or Violence. In each you can discover the range of sentences available to a judge or magistrate, which offences are punishable by custody, which by community orders or fines. It also gives brief outlines about which factors are relevant and which factors can lead to longer custodial terms. These sentencing guidelines are produced by the UK Governments Sentencing Guidelines council so if in doubt this is a great reference tool.
- After all of this studying some relaxation may be needed. There are even some apps for this. You can ‘Relax with Andrew Johnson – Deep Relaxation – Sleep’ or check out ‘irelax Melodies (sleep, meditation, yoga and relaxation) helper. But best not to do this on a bus as you may miss your stop!
Tags: apps, iphone, Revision, studying
