Kids Cartoons that are Educational AND Fun:

1. Little Einstein's

• Four little explorers go on world wide missions with their rocket ship. Each episode is a different mission somewhere in the world where children learn about geography and culture. This educational kids cartoon also includes classic music and famous art.

2 .Blaze and Monster Machines

• A kids cartoon about group of nine friendly trucks, who all have different abilities.The cartoon focuses on learning about STEM (Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) so when your child is watching Blaze, at least they will be learning something worthwhile.

 3.Dinosaur Train

• Dinosaurs climb abroad a train to embark on an adventure through prehistoric jungles and swamps, visiting volcanoes and other parts of mother nature.This exciting and educational kids cartoon encourages basic scientific thinking skills.

  4. Octonauts

• Captain Barnacles and his eight member adventure team love to save the day when there is trouble in the ocean. In this fun kids cartoon, children learn about sea life and how to protect the environment

5. Sid the Science Kid

• Based on a young inquisitive kid named Sid and his group of school friends, this kid’s cartoon uses children’s natural curiosity to introduce science into every day life.Each episode explores the every day questions that children have, and encourages them to think, and work like scientists do to work out the answers.

6. Word World

• This is a cartoon for kids where words come alive. With a narrator and animal characters, the simple story lines creatively contain the use of letters and words all through out the episode. Children will learn letter recognition as well as the sounds and spelling.

7. Paw Patrol

• The Paw Patrol are a group of rescue pups led by a little boy Ryder who love to “save the day”. Each dog is from a different breed and has a special skill based on a real life profession.Children learn about problem solving, and teamwork.

8.Super Why

• Super readers to the rescue! Whyatt, Red Riding Hood, Princess Pea and Super Readers Pig, are the characters in the re-telling of popular fairy tales. They jump into books to solve all the problems of the fairy tale characters living in Story Book village. Children learn real life lessons such as being kind, telling the truth, and being yourself.

Math Viewed as 'Most Valuable' School Subject, Survey Finds

Ask a child to name his favorite class, and odds are you'll hear two letters: P.E. Ask an adult which subject has been most valuable in life, and the most popular answer turns out to be math.

That's according to survey results of American adults by the Gallup organization. About one-third of adults (34 percent) picked math. It wasn't even close. The next in line was English, at 21 percent, followed by science at 12 percent. Here's the full set of results:

Cooperative Learning

What Is It?

Cooperative Learning, sometimes called small-group learning, is an instructional strategy in which small groups of students work together on a common task. The task can be as simple as solving a multi-step math problem together, or as complex as developing a design for a new kind of school. In some cases, each group member is individually accountable for part of the task; in other cases, group members work together without formal role assignments.

According to David Johnson and Roger Johnson (1999), there are five basic elements that allow successful small-group learning:

• Positive interdependence: Students feel responsible for their own and the group's effort.
• Face-to-face interaction: Students encourage and support one another; the environment encourages discussion and eye contact.
• Individual and group accountability: Each student is responsible for doing their part; the group is accountable for meeting its goal.
• Group behaviors: Group members gain direct instruction in the interpersonal, social, and collaborative skills needed to work with others occurs.
• Group processing: Group members analyze their own and the group's ability to work together.

Japanese School Life

Students eating lunch together (AFLO)

Elementary school children on an excursion to the Lake Biwa Canal. (City of Kyoto, Board of Education)  

In Japanese elementary schools, classes are divided into small teams for many activities. For example, as part of their education, every day the students clean the classrooms, halls, and yards of their school in these teams. In many elementary schools, the students eat lunch together in their classrooms, enjoying meals prepared by the school or by a local "school lunch center." Small teams of students take turns to serve lunch to their classmates. School lunches contain a rich variety of healthy and nutritious foods, and students look forward to lunchtime.

There are many school events during the year, such as sports day when students compete in events like tug-of-war and relay races, excursions to historical sites, and arts and culture festivals featuring dancing and other performances by children. Students in the highest grades of elementary, middle, and high schools also take trips lasting up to several days to culturally important cities like Kyoto and Nara, ski resorts, or other places.

Most middle and high schools require students to wear uniforms. Boys generally wear pants and jackets with stand-up collars, and girls wear two-piece suit with sailor collar or blazers and skirts.

Certificate vs. Diploma vs. Degree:

 What’s the Difference?

Academic institutions can grant all three of these awards, but each award refers to a slightly different thing.

Is it best to say diploma or degree? What about diploma or certificate? Well, that depends.

When to Use Certificate

A certificate generally refers to two types of documents. The first has an academic sense; the second has a governmental/legal sens

1. In the first sense, a certificate is a document issued to a person completing a course of study not leading to a diploma. In this sense, you may be getting a certificate for completing an individual course or receiving a certificate of completion for a certification program.
2. The second sense of certificate is a legal document that states that you can officially practice in certain professions. For example, a certification in cosmetology will allow you to officially work as a hairdresser

When to Use Diploma

A diploma is similar to a certification but is usually more in depth. Many schools offer diploma programs in nursing, for instance, which is generally a two-year program of course work and on the job training.

Diploma programs, which are usually offered by community colleges and technical schools, offer people efficient ways to change careers, as the programs are more focused than a degree program but more in depth than a certification

When to Use Degree

Colleges and universities award degrees to successful candidates. There are four primary degrees awarded by institutions of higher learning.

Associates Degrees

An associate’s degree is two-year degree most commonly granted by a community college or technical school. They can, however, also be granted by four-year colleges and universities.

Bachelor’s Degree

A bachelor’s degree is a four-year degree that is granted by a college or university. Most schools that grant bachelor’s degrees require a specific course load and a minimum number of credits to graduate.

Master’s Degree

A master’s degree is what is called a post-graduate degree because you go on to get one only after you have graduated with your bachelor’s.

Master’s degree programs are typically an additional two years on top of your bachelor’s and usually require some level of student teaching, conducting research, and a thesis paper to be written.

Ph.D. (Doctor of Philosophy)

A Ph.D. is another example or a post-graduate degree, and is several more years of study and intensive research. Ph.D. programs vary in length, but they are generally four or more years

Unbelievable Facts

1.  Human thigh bones are stronger than concrete.
2. Cockroaches can live for several weeks with their heads cut off, because their brains are located inside their body. They would eventually die from being unable to eat.
3.  Scientists have tracked butterflies that travel over 3,000 miles.
4.  To produce a single pound of honey, a single bee would have to visit 2 million flowers.
5.  The population is expected to rise to 10.8 billion by the year 2080.
6.  You breathe on average about 8,409,600 times a year
7.  More than 60,000 people are flying over the United States in an airplane right now.
8.  Hamsters run up to 8 miles at night on a wheel.
9.  A waterfall in Hawaii goes up sometimes instead of down.
10.  A church in the Czech Republic has a chandelier made entirely of human bones.
11.  Under the Code of Hammurabi, bartenders who watered down beer were punished by execution.
12.  Our eyes are always the same size from birth, but our nose and ears never stop growing.
13.  During your lifetime, you will produce enough saliva to fill two swimming pools.
14.  You are 1% shorter in the evening than in the morning
15.  The elephant is the only mammal that can’t jump!
16.  Most dust particles in your house are made from dead skin!

Nutrition Facts

1. Drying fruit depletes it of 30-80% of its vitamin and antioxidant content
2.  A 2010 study found that 48% of soda fountain contained fecal bacteria, and 11% contained E. Coli.
3.  9 out of 10 Americans are deficient in Potassium.
4.  Blueberries will not ripen until they are picked.
5.  About 150 people per year are killed by coconuts.
6.  Ketchup was used as a medicine back in the 1930’s.
7. Honey never spoils.
8.  About half of all Americans are on a diet on any given day.
9. A hard-boiled egg will spin, but a soft-boiled egg will not.
10.  Avocados are poisonous to birds.
11.  Chewing gum burns about 11 calories per hour.
12. The number of animals killed for meat every hour in the U.S. is 500,000.
13.  If you try to suppress a sneeze, you can rupture a blood vessel in your head or neck and die.
14.  Celery has negative calories! It takes more calories to eat a piece of celery than the celery has in it to begin with. It’s the same with apples!
15.  More people are allergic to cow’s milk than any other food.
16.  Only 8% of dieters will follow a restrictive weight loss plan (such as h Cg Drops diet, garcinia Cambodia diet, etc.)
17.  Coconut water can be used as blood plasma.
    
    
     

Educational Technology :

  The Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) defined educational technology as "the study and ethical practice of facilitating learning and improving performance by creating, using and managing appropriate technological processes and resources".It denoted instructional technology as "the theory and practice of design, development, utilization, management, and evaluation of processes and resources for learning". As such, educational technology refers to all valid and reliable applied education sciences, such as equipment, as well as processes and procedures that are derived from scientific research, and in a given context may refer to theoretical, algorithmic or heuristic processes: it does not necessarily imply physical technology. Educational technology is the process of integrating technology into education in a positive manner that promotes a more diverse learning environment and a way for students to learn how to use technology as well as their common assignments