Tuesday, January 31, 2006

Barbara's Whereabouts in February

Barbara, in her true wizard style, is in Oz at the moment. She is conducting follow-up LS training with teachers in a large rural high school in Tumbarumba, NSW.

A big hand for the Tumbarumba teachers! They have transformed a rather drab country high school into a marvellous place of learning. The school caters for students' true learning needs right from the beginning and it now even has a beautiful Zen garden right in the middle of the main block for students to enjoy tranquillity, calming green environment and relaxing atmosphere.

Tumbarumba, you rock!

Tuesday, January 24, 2006

Internet safety

Internet safety is a bit of a buzzword nowadays. Everybody knows not to give out their personal details in chat rooms and not to send their credit card number in an email. Parents are aware that they need to supervise their teenagers (and, increasingly, pre-teens) when it comes to their browsing the Internet.

But did you know that the results of your child's Learning Style Analysis (LSA) can help you assess how safe or how unsafe your offspring is on the Internet?

It's simple. If your child has a preference for visual and tactile stimulation, if he or she prefers learning alone and structuring their own work, and if on top of it he or she has a non preference for kinesthetic and auditory activities, then the chances are high that the youngster will enjoy spending a lot of time on the computer. That in itself is not dangerous, of course, but it shows a predisposition towards favouring the computer as a means of gathering information, communicating and even socialising from a safe distance. That's just one step away from being bored one day and deciding to try one of the forbidden activities like surfing for porn, chatting in an adult room or playing in an on-line casino, gambling away on their parents' credit card. This can be prevented by knowing your children's learning styles, what interests them and how their preferences can be utilized in a meaningful way, enhancing their school performance.

To find out your child's Learning Style, please visit our website www.creativelearningcentre.com and let them do the LSA on-line questionnaire. They will love it because they can download their personal results within minutes and become proud owners of their LSA Profile and Report. This will make them proud of their special learning skills, giving your whole family a good understanding how they learn best and how to help when they are struggling. And of course, it will give you and indication of how safe your child is on the Internet.

Tuesday, January 17, 2006

Boys, girls and IT

Do boys and girls learn to use computers in the same way? According to a study conducted in Europe, there are significant differences between young male and young female IT users.

Boys seem to prefer learning about computers at home: either alone or with friends. Girls, on the other hand, learn their computer skills at school or with their family. (Do you know what your own learning style is when it comes to learnign in a group? If not, why not do your Learning Style Analysis profile on www.creativelearningcentre.com?)

Boys seem to spend more time on the computer playing games and looking up information than their female peers do. Both genders, however, spend about the same amount of time communicating via the Internet. Which brings us to the important topic of Internet Safety, discussed next week.

Read the full article on http://www.eurydice.org/Search/frameset_en.html.