Many teachers and parents feel their children are behind in personal, emotional, and social development, as a result of the Covid restrictions. Trying to catch up isn’t easy on top of the critical learning gap that exists as well. As the new school year starts, it still remains a challenge to provide children with good quality opportunities to understand their emotions, practice social interaction, and train their use of language.
Children’s book author Judith Millecker is convinced that doing philosophy with children is a great way to tackle those issues jointly while keeping it fun. Her new book series “The PhilosoCats” combines a picture book story with a philosophical activity book for children from ages 4 to 9+. The first episode, “I thought we were friends!”, is a story about anger, trust, and forgiveness. These concepts are introduced in the story and will be further explored in the included activity book which contains 20 pages of varied and skillfully chosen activities, from philosophical questions and mindfulness exercises to games, creative activities, and brainteasers. This variety will inspire and challenge the mind and critical thinking of children as well as adults in multiple ways.
Lukasz Krzywon, who is an educator, author, and experienced Philosophy for Children practitioner from Creative Together in Ireland, says:
“The PhilosoCats “I thought we were friends” is a simple story exploring a rich terrain of anger, trust, and forgiveness. Resources supporting the story skillfully connect philosophical reflection with mindfulness exercises and embodiment. It will be useful for anyone wanting to explore these topics with children at home as well as in the classroom. A wonderful addition to the philosophy for children toolkit.”
Exploring and discussing philosophy has many benefits for children. It engages and trains:
critical thinking & logical reasoning
verbal expression & communication
personal & emotional development
social development
creative thinking & imagination
understanding of the world
being aware of one’s place in the world & critical citizenship
The goal of the PhilosoCats series is to support adults and children in having meaningful conversations, connecting with one another, and spending quality time together. The activity book is supplemented by guidance and tips for adults on how to do philosophy with children and some background information about the lives of important philosophers.
The PhilosoCats series is suitable for any setting, be it in the classroom or living room, for bedtime, or during after-school club.
Here’s what the author, Judith Millecker, says about her inspiration for “The PhilosoCats”:
“When reading stories to my young nephews, I often felt there was something missing. Most books stop at “The End” without giving children a chance to reflect on the story and the message they take away. As a philosopher and storyteller, I wanted to change that. That’s why I set out to inspire children to reflect, think deeply, and gain a new perspective.”
The first PhilosoCats episode “I thought we were friends!” is available worldwide as a paperback and e-book on Amazon, which you can find here: https://amzn.eu/d/alXHL70. The 20 pages of the activity book are also available as a free pdf on the website www.philosoworld.org, where you will find more philosophical activity sheets on other popular books, such as The Gruffalo and Stickman.
The university experience can be the most exciting time in a young person’s life.
New friends, new opportunities, living away from home for the first time, it’s a truly transitional period between life stages, a bridge between childhood and adulthood.
Many universities offer students the chance to spend a year studying abroad, which can be a fantastic opportunity to make new, international friends and gain invaluable life experience.
However, it is a big step and can be a significant undertaking for a young person. We’ve put together a list of three factors you should consider before deciding to spend a year abroad.
If you’re spending a year studying in another country, you’re obviously going to need money to survive. Don’t count on securing a part-time job as soon as you arrive, jobs can be hard to come by and many businesses may think twice before hiring a foreign student who may not even speak the native language.
Student loans and grants can give you financial support, but make sure you budget accurately to ensure you can afford all the basic living expenses while leaving some spare cash for you to enjoy yourself.
Setting up an online bank account can make it easy to manage your finances abroad. Finally, make sure to inform your existing bank that you will be moving.
2. Accommodation
Finding somewhere suitable to live is crucial. While the university might arrange this for you with dorms that you can get cheap dorm essentials for, it’s still worth familiarising yourself with the local areas in preparation for your move. Some areas may be less safe than others, so always ensure you’re aware of your surroundings.
Consider your current accommodation too. What are you going to do with all your things? You won’t be able to take everything, and if you’re having to give up your accommodation for the move, you’ll need somewhere to keep your possessions. Family and friends could be an option; however, this might not be viable if you’ve moved away for your studies.
Most major cities will have spaces you can rent, Safestore is one of the best London storage options, offering a range of unit types and sizes.
3. Language & Culture
While it’s not totally necessary to speak the language of your destination country, knowing a handful of common words and phrases prior to your arrival will make the transition much smoother and more stress-free. You’re likely to pick up more of the language the more time you spend there, but it can’t hurt to have some prior knowledge, and it will endear you to locals by showing you’ve made an effort. You can use some language learning apps to make a start.
Culture is an important consideration too. Always ensure you are adhering to the country’s social norms and customs; show respect and you’ll get respect in return. Researching your destination beforehand can allow you to brief yourself on what to expect and how to behave, preventing you from committing any social faux pas.
Conclusion
There can be a lot involved in preparing to move abroad, and for a young person balancing studying simultaneously, it can be easy to get overwhelmed by the planning and organization required. Drawing up budgets, researching cultures and customs, and familiarising yourself with the language and local areas can help ease your transition while securing adequate accommodation will ensure a comfortable arrival.
Don’t forget about what you’re leaving behind. Make sure you have somewhere to store your possessions while you’re away, if family or friends aren’t an option, consider renting a personal storage unit for a secure space to keep your things while you enjoy your year abroad.
Blogging can be a very rewarding gig for students.
It does not take much time. Once you have set up the blog, you perhaps need to spend 3-6 hours a week writing new content.
If the blog becomes popular, an income of £1,000 every month is very achievable. In fact, Britain’s top bloggers such as Joe Wicks and Louise Pentlan lead almost celebrity-like lifestyles thanks to their passionate blogging.
But how do you learn to blog and what tools do you need, especially if you’re still a student?
We guide you through the process of setting up a student blog that will have maximum reach with minimum investment of time and money.
Check out our featured student bloggers here to get inspired:
Over 75% have considered dropping out of their university course.
The amount received for maintenance is short by £340.
40% of the students have a side hustle to make ends meet.
A startling number of them are making risky investments in cryptocurrency.
34%, or just over a third, worry that their grades suffer due to money issues.
65%, or almost two-thirds, say that their mental health suffers.
The savethestudent.org student money survey 2021 also revealed that most students get money from their parents (66%), part-time jobs (66%), loans (65%) and savings (50%). However, interestingly 6% get money from self-employment and 3% from social media.
A clear indicator that some utilise the internet to earn.
How To Setup A Student Blog Using WordPress And Web Host SeekaHost?
To start a student blog, you need a domain and hosting as well as a platform or web builder. It is known as a CMS or content management system.
You could code a blog from the ground up using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
But CMS platforms, e.g., WordPress, have made it easier to manage your content. They provide ready-made software that lets you set up a blog in a jiffy.
The best CMS platform is WordPress. Why is it better than others?
WordPress is open source and free. It is written in PHP and uses MongoDB.
You (and everyone else) have access to the source code and can change it entirely.
WordPress offers thousands of themes, many of which are available for free and others at very little cost.
WordPress has thousands of plugins that improve and increase the functionality of the core software.
You can choose your hosting provider or buy your own server. You can even configure it to run off your desktop at home (if you keep it running 24×7).
How to Make a Start with a WordPress Blog
1. Plan the site
You must understand the objective of the website to find an effective domain name and web host SeekaHost offers a domain checker tool to search for available domain names. For a personal student blog, you could use your own name for example.
You then need to research who your target audience is and which niche you favor? Some might want to write about fashion, others about photography techniques, and so on.
You also need to zero in on the website design. What do you want the site to look like? Usually, beginners choose to use a basic and free WordPress Theme to get started easily and quickly without investing much.
In general, you must keep four things in mind:
Niche
Content
User experience
Website design
2. Find a domain name
Netflix, Google, Amazon, TikTok.
What is common among these web properties (besides being multi-billion-dollar brands)?
They have names that are easy to remember.
You need a catchy name for your site.
You also need to determine the top-level domain. By default, most go with .COM but of late new top-level domains have become popular, such as .IO, .INFO, .BIZ, .ME etc.
Let’s say you choose the name www.vanessabakes.biz
In the next step, head over to SeekaHost and find if the domain is available.
If it is, you must first register that URL in your name.
SeekaHost is ahead of its competitors when it comes to offering discounts.
You can buy domain names from SeekaHost for $4.99/year ($12 on renewal).
3. Find a host for web hosting
A website is nothing but a folder full of HTML, CSS, and image files. Just like any other folder, it needs to reside on a hard drive.
But a site is also up 24/7 and thousands might need simultaneous access to it.
That is why instead of your desktop you must host it on a server.
No need to buy one – a single server that contains hundreds of terabytes is overkill for a single blog site. You rent space from a hosting service provider.
SeekaHost is ahead of everyone else and offers the best features:
Managed WordPress hosting for bloggers
Easy 1 click WordPress install
Manage multiple sites from the same dashboard
24/7 support from experts through live chat
Automated updates and backup to ensure smooth operation
Competitive pricing starting $1.35 per blog per month.
You get hosting that has an uptime of 99.9% for less than the price of a cup of coffee.
4. Install WordPress
SeekaHost supports a one-click install. The site already provides WordPress software. You simply install it and add the URL, admin username, password, and email.
You can also import a website you have designed on your PC.
5. Design the site
The next step is to design the site. You must select a theme. Some are free with WordPress and others come with plugins such as Divi and Elementor.
After you install the theme, you need to customize it with images and content. The page layout takes time.
You would also need to choose plugins. Constant Contact, WPForms, and WP Rocket are some of the most popular plugins for bloggers.
You could also explore SEO plugins and image managers. There is no need to hurry. Many plugins come and go over the lifetime of a site.
If you want to engage your readers more with interactive elements on your blog such as QR codes for downloads or additional information, you can use a QR code generator.
Go through this detailed tutorial to follow all the important steps to set up your blog with WordPress:
Now the site is ready. Hit Publish and the job is done. Your blog is now live.
The Best Blogging Categories
What are you going to blog about?
To find the niche, follow your passion. In the world of blogging and content generation, you cannot fake your knowledge and enthusiasm.
Let’s look at a few niches that have traditionally generated huge traffic.
Fashion
An evergreen niche that is always important and never stale. Dress up and flaunt a few dresses. Get your friends to act as models. Have advice about makeup. You could earn by hosting affiliate links and doing reviews of apparel lines. Special sections about dressing for a casual date, finding your personal style, and recreating celebrity looks can draw thousands of views.
Finance
Readers are always in need of good financial advice. There is nothing better than learning to save and invest. Advice on how to manage finances and make good financial decisions is always popular. Add in a few financial calculators with a plugin such as Formidable Forms and your site would be cool and professional looking. Maybe you’ll become the next Money Saving Expert Influencer!
Health
The great thing about health sites is that they never run out of new topics. “7 Health Benefits Of Chia Seeds” to “10 Calisthenics Exercise To Build Upper Body” the possibilities are endless. Google loves more articles, and this is the exact niche that provides endless content. Add in affiliate links and sponsors from the booming supplement market and you are looking at a six-figure income in two years.
Food
Reviews of restaurants and recipes for delicious food are a brilliant combination. You require a DSLR camera for brilliant images but think of it as a one-time investment. Food blogs can easily have a tie-up with a YouTube channel you co-produce. Together they will drive SEO, traffic, and engagement through the roof.
Best Student Bloggers in Different Niches
We all need inspiration. Are you hesitating a little bit? Worry not since your peers have created the best student blog examples for your inspiration.
Martin runs The University Blog. He is also active on Twitter. He mostly writes about study tips, job and career advice, and personal development. The blog site also offers two free eBooks for students.
Jack Edwards is an undergrad student from Durham where he studies English Literature. He loves travel and photography. Jack is also an avid YouTuber.
You can see from these brilliant blog examples for students that a little bit of enterprise and elbow grease are all that it takes to launch your blogging career. Discover more finance student blogs that will inspire you for both blogging and finance management.
Last words…
Go on and take the plunge and launch your student blog for fun.
There is no upfront investment except time and effort, although you might want to pay for things like low-cost SEO for small businesses so your blog can be found more easily, or designer templates so your blog looks even better. Who knows, perhaps you might take up blogging as a full-time profession in the future as so many have.
Arguably one of the industries with the most variety today is the IT industry.
There are countless jobs available for someone looking to start a career in IT, and finding something to suit you should be fairly straightforward.
In fact, there will likely be a number of different IT roles that you’d be happy with, and the good news is that many of them pay very well.
Whether you want to get into an IT research role, a tech support role, or one in which you spend your days discovering innovative tech solutions for large corporations, there are a few important steps you’ll have to take.
1. Research Potential Roles
Your first step is to identify the types of roles you’d be interested in pursuing. Because of the sheer number of different roles, it’s important to know what things are available to you based on your skills and qualifications and to then narrow that search down based on your interests.
For example, if you’re more skilled when it comes to working with hardware, a job related to coding probably won’t be something you really want to pursue. Visit job websites to find a list of possible roles in your area. This will give you a better idea of what sorts of things you could try your hand at and will also allow you to apply easily to any that catch your eye.
2. Start Your Own Tech Business
You could take the more complex route of starting your own business if you’re struggling to find a role you really want to do. It’s worth noting that starting a small tech business is easier than ever due to the amount of external support you can receive, including external IT support from a business like Totality Services.
Suppose your expertise lies predominantly in innovation and development within the IT industry. In that case, there’s a strong chance that you won’t necessarily be as skilled in fixing IT-related problems as an IT support service would be. And if you are a business owner, you won’t want to be spending all of your time handling your own company’s IT support, as you’ll have many more tasks to focus on.
3. Continue To Develop Your Skills
When it comes to IT, progress and development are fairly quick, with new technology and software being released regularly, as well as new methods of doing things. New coding languages are created, new platforms are developed, and innovative new technologies are created. Because of this, it’s so important to constantly seek to learn new and useful skills within this industry to ensure you remain indispensable to your company.
As well as this, these new digital skills will continue to improve your career prospects, opening up new doors and pathways for you to pursue. It’s also worth remembering that some soft skills will always help you land most jobs, no matter what your specialisation is, including teamworking, communication, and problem-solving skills. It’s all well and good if you’re a dab hand at tech support, but if you have awful communication skills and low emotional intelligence, then a business may see you as more of a hindrance than a help, especially if you’re applying for a managerial position.
So, go and get started with your research and implementation of these 3 steps to land your dream IT job soon.
If you think that your Level grades may not get you into your chosen university, you can go through a so-called “clearing”, which might allow you to enter a university with lower requirements for entry.
You can look for another university from your second and third options list. Your other choice is to resit some of your Level modules and retake A level exams.
Things to consider
You should not make your final decision right away. First, check with the university you like to see if they can accept you or if you have extenuating circumstances. The university might have some requirements that will qualify you for acceptance.
For example, they may have an opening on a different course or allow you to enter their Foundation year, which will give you a firm A-Level base in the university setting.
If one module got a significantly lower grade than the rest, you could consider getting it remarked if you think you worked hard and performed well in the exam.
Should you retake your A Levels?
If resitting is the only option left for you, it is vital to study your A-Level results first. The common reason people want to retake A Levels is to get higher grades than the ones they got. But you should think about why you did not do well in some modules.
For example, you might have worked hard but still failed the exams or did not work hard enough because there were too many distractions.
However, if you know you worked hard but did not do well in some subjects, you may do the following:
Consider lowering your university sights and investigating applying to another university with lower entry grades.
If a particular subject does not work for you, investigate doing a crash course in another subject.
Consider applying for a degree that does not have particular entry requirements.
Consider a degree where your Level scores fit all the entry requirements.
For example, if you want to take medicine but failed chemistry or biology at A Levels, resitting might not be an option. If you fail it at A Levels, you will still have difficulty keeping it up at university.
The goal in resitting for A Levels is to improve your score. Otherwise, it will only be a waste of money and time. However, if you are confident that you can do better, then resetting is a good option.
Choosing the subjects to retake
Retake only the subjects that you think will boost your overall grade significantly. It is vital to determine which subject/s pulled down your overall grade. Another thing you should consider is time.
Do you have enough time to revise your score? Do you think you can improve your grade?
Not all universities accept applicants with retakes at A Levels. Before you start your resit, call the university you want to enter and ensure they will accept you. Know their specific requirements to understand if a resit will help.
Grades are a good indicator of your child’s learning and abilities in the subjects they learn at school.
Children can often feel stressed and anxious about their grades, and this can impact their performance in class and on tests.
If your child’s grades have dropped, or you are struggling to get their grades up to meet the learning curve, here are some top tips that can help you out.
When children are struggling at school, they often begin to feel overwhelmed by the pressure to perform from parents, teachers, and their grades. This can be counterproductive, as the added pressure can exasperate the problems they are having and negatively impact their grades.
Their school grades are important, but they are not more important than the health and mental wellbeing of your child. Talk to them about their grades and ease their fears. It helps if you learn more about their education and how they are graded.
This guide to average GPA and what it means in the American grading system, in case your child attends an international or US school for example, could be an invaluable resource to help you educate yourself and your child about their grades and how they can improve them.
Read this post if you want to learn more about the Scottish and English national curriculum and grading system.
2. Make Homework a Habit
The worst thing you can do for a child is to start doing their homework for them. Educating someone is difficult, especially if it is your own child. It can be far too tempting to give them the answer or make it too easy for them to solve the problem. Instead, help your child develop positive homework habits.
Make sure they have a suitable space in their home environment to do their homework and a scheduled time to do it. Homework needs to be a routine part of their evening. Remove the distraction of electronic devices like smartphones and tablets, unless they are going to be used to help them complete the work.
3. Review Their Homework with Them
When your child is getting ready to sit down and do their homework, go through their tasks with them. This lets you know what they have to do, so you can make sure they finish their work, but also gives your child the opportunity to ask you questions that might help them understand things better.
If they are preparing for an exam or test, your experience of being in school can help them prepare. Though curriculums can change and evolve, getting ready for a test or pop quiz at school remains the same.
4. Work with their Teacher
You are not the only person invested in your child’s future; their teacher is too. They may have similar concerns about your child’s grades or their performance on school tests. By contacting their teacher and having a few informal discussions, you should be able to create a plan of action for your child’s learning both at home and at school.
Teachers are always happy to improve the parent teacher communication and hear that the children in their class are being supported at home and are often eager to share tips and tricks to help your child develop their skills and knowledge.
Your child’s grades should improve with the above top tips and your support. It takes a little extra work and some discipline, but any child can begin to excel at school with help from their parents and teachers and a healthy mindset.
Did you know that the human brain tends to forget the things that we learn within 2 to 3 days? That’s unless you keep practicing what you’ve learned.
So, if you don’t want your kids to become actual blank slates when the new session starts, here are a few educational holiday activities to keep them engaged.
These will not just ensure that kids remember what they have already learned, but also pick up new concepts.
Maths
Apparently, kids in the UK are the most anxious about mathematics as compared to students anywhere else in the world and you can discover more about education systems in different countries.
So, some of the following recommended numeric online activities during holidays would set a good base for the school year.
1. Math Land
What good are holidays without some video game fun? Add maths to that and you’ve got for your kids a real mathematical adventure.
With Math Land, your kids can remember and practice the core concepts of maths they learned in school. And they can also learn new concepts and be the brightest of the lot in class.
Suitable for kids over 3 years of age, Math Land is also available on Nintendo Switch.
For children in Pre-K till Grade-5, SplashLearn is a fun-centric learning app. The app also offers live tutoring classes, but that’s for when the school session starts. During holidays you can keep your kids entertained with their Maths games.
According to the official SplashLearn website, learners showed an 80% increase in confidence in just 4 weeks. So, join 40 million other learners and boost your child’s confidence and prepare them for school.
If your kids love building and decorating things, Moose Math is the perfect game for them. By solving multi-level maths problems, kids get rewards that they can use to build their own city and decorate it.
It also offers a report card section which you can use to check your child’s progress.
A survey suggested that 72% of Brits believe learning another language would be good for them. However, only 23% of people have been able to do that successfully.
Chances are by starting early, your kids can boost their language proficiency and learn a new language easily.
1. Vocab Victor
Vocab Victor helps kids learn more words, relationships between words, proper usage, and more. And all of this is done through integrated games, which don’t make the learning task become boring.
If you aren’t a fan of your child spending so much time online, here’s what you can do.
Take inspiration from the app and create flashcards-based games for your kids to enjoy offline.
Imagine if classic stories which you and we have grown up hearing could help your kids learn a new language. Stories by Gus on the go make that possible.
With fun characters and timeless tales, the friendly owl Gus can teach your kids several languages. These include French, Spanish, Mandarin Chinese, Hebrew, Greek, Hindi, and even vulnerable languages like Ingush.
Gus on the go also offers a free library of printables that you can use for some offline linguistic fun.
You must have heard of Duolingo, right? DinoLingo is a close cousin of that, with a dinosaur twist to make it more appealing for the young ones.
With DinoLingo, you can set your kids out on a linguistic adventure where they can learn while having fun. The app and website are 100% safe with parental controls as well.
And when you want to take the fun offline, you have the downloadable worksheets and flashcards available too.
Whether your kids are just naturally inquisitive or actually interested in the science stuff, online activities will make their holidays more memorable and fun.
1. Tinybop Universe
Tinybop is one of the leading names in creating STEM-based learning apps for kids as young as 4 years of age.
From learning about the human anatomy to exploring Mother Earth, and experimenting with the science of space, weather, and more, the Tinybop app and digital product universe is truly a fun learning space.
If you are looking for family-friend activities that will help build bonds as well as strengthen your child’s tech and problem-solving skills, consider having found an answer with Curiosity Machine.
You can take up design challenges, see what others have created, and engage with the thriving community too.
Check out some fun holiday activities because all study and no play would make your kids dull.
1. Build themed playlists with Spotify Kids
While you love jamming to songs on Spotify, let your child also explore the world of music with Spotify Kids.
Available with Spotify Premium Family, the Spotify Kids app lets your ward find new tunes, listen to bedtime music and learn something new with audiobooks. All while, you have the parental controls in place.
Aimed at helping practitioners focus better, calm themselves, and practice mindfulness, mandalas are a set of geometrical patterns.
Whether it is drawing mandala art or coloring it, the process is extremely soothing. So, when you are tired of your kids running around the house, a mandala app can help them calm down. (Giving you some precious minutes of peace.)
You can either download free mandala coloring apps on the phone or also get mandala sheets printed for some hands-on mindfulness, find some highly rated free apps here in the “apps for arts” section.
No matter how interested your little MasterChef is in cooking, you cannot let them loose in the kitchen. But you can definitely help them practice and have some delicious fun with the Toca Kitchen app.
The app lets kids prepare meals for 4 hungry characters. Who knows your little one might create a recipe that you can replicate for them in the actual kitchen!
5. E-visit kid-friendly sections of world museums and galleries
Physically taking your kids to museums and galleries is the best way to help them learn new stuff. But if you can’t actually take them, let your phone take over. There are many museums and galleries (not just in the UK but all over the world) that are open to virtual visitors.
Here’s what a virtual navigation experience might look like (from British Museum). You navigate time, click on a bubble, interact with the artifact, and so on.
LEGO has been the reason for countless hours of family fun forever. And even if your kids are too young to actually set up LEGO structures, the app can work wonders.
Introduce your kids to the world of LEGO digitally with any of the LEGO apps and games.
Say hello to happening Holidays today
With that, we hope you have enough ideas for online activities to keep your kids engaged during any holidays that approach faster than you think.
Whether you leverage the apps available online or create equally fun offline versions of the activities, learning and entertainment are guaranteed.
For young children, being in outdoors would be their preferred environment.
Sunlight, fresh air, and plants are all of nature’s gifts that children appreciate and a minimalist lifestyle can often incorporate such features. For children of grade-school age, recess in the outdoors is the time of day they look forward to eagerly.
The time they spend outdoors allows them to play and stay physically active, which is essential to keeping them healthier and happier.
However, your children will also spend a lot of time indoors, and it is vital to create a safe and healthy home environment to ensure that they are well and focused and protected from anything that can be harmful to them.
You may not be aware of it, but your home environment does not only impact the behavior and disposition of your child. It can also be dangerous to their physical and mental well-being.
A safe and healthy home environment ensures that your family’s overall well-being is never compromised, from the air they breathe to the food they eat. It must also be a place where they feel safest so that they can fully engage with home activities and family life.
So, here are a few expert tips to help you create that safe and comfortable home for your children.
1. Check your home’s indoor air quality
Often, we neglect to consider that the air inside our homes is stale and may contain germs and bacteria that contaminate our indoor air and are toxic to the family. The humidity factor also needs to be considered, which frequently occurs in most households. Because of poor indoor air quality, children can develop allergies and other respiratory problems.
You can address these issues and reduce dampness in the air by choosing dehumidifiers strategically placed in different areas of your home. It would also be helpful to use electric window openers linked to your humidity sensor so your windows automatically open and close, keeping your interior well-ventilated when it becomes too humid. This will reduce the risk of children and other family members getting sick.
2. Focus on home security and safety
Burglaries, home invasions, and fires are no longer uncommon. Thus, it would be best to take security seriously and do whatever is necessary to keep your property and children safe. It is best to install deadbolts on doors and locks on windows and invest in a sound security system for protection.
If you have younger children, you should keep medicines and other dangerous chemicals away from reach. If you have firearms at home, keep them locked away. Window guards keep young children from falling off windows on higher floors. Never leave matches or lighters where kids can access them.
3. Keep lines of communication open
While children spend a lot of their time at school, your role as a parent is to ensure they are comfortable opening up to you. Many children and teenagers are afraid to approach their parents with problems, fearing being reprimanded or even ignored. Instead, they turn to their peers, who may not often give the best advice. More recently, social media have also become a go-to place for youngsters to seek advice or help, but with all the fake news published on such platforms, it is vital to ensure your child’s e-safety at all times here are some e-safety tips on how to do so.
It is your role to support and motivate your child. Teach them the value of education and provide the necessary tools and environment to inspire them to study.
You will discover what an impact little changes can have on children and communicating with them about what makes them feel good also helps to make your home an environment they truly feel safe and cherished.
The Insomnia Gaming Festival returned to NEC Birmingham on 26-29 August with a showcase of the most notable gaming trends, challenges, and exciting new gaming products to emerge and many famous brands were involved.
“Since the last edition of IGF in April 2022 we’ve seen many fantastic exhibitors with very innovative and creative displays on offer for visitors,” comments Angela, one of the team of sales operations managers on site. “This year’s events have been vital for the industry as a chance to come together outside the virtual world and discover all the trends, opportunities, and products in the real world.”
Virtual reality and eGaming inspire the real world
This year various exhibitors such as Royal Airforce esports and The Army Base Camp took advantage of bringing the virtual and the real world together at IGF by enabling visitors to experience simulations as well as physical experiences such as a climbing wall example.
UK Web Host and Game server hosting provider SeekaHost took on the challenge of bringing the extremely popular Minecraft game to the exhibition by offering a wide range of games and challenges for all age groups through the SeekaHost Minecraft Servers.
They offered quizzes and challenges that everyone could take part in by just using their smartphone and the QR code provided. However, they also offered free gaming on their SeekaHost Minecraft servers and tournaments for the real Minecraft gaming geeks to win a cash prize of £50.
Showcasing high-end eGaming solutions
Because Minecraft is an online game that attracts young and old, SeekaHost offered free Minecraft gaming on their Minecraft servers at the IGF on a first come first serve basis, which proved extremely popular as many visitors waited patiently for their turn.
While they waited, many also took part in the quizzes to win a SeekaHost USB stick or Minecraft tournaments with races, parkours for 1v1 action to win cash prizes on the SeekaHost stage.
Celebrating early excellence
The SeekaHost team, which closely works with the marketing team at ClickDo, celebrated the very young eGaming and Minecraft talents represented at the IGF as they braved the challenges confidently via their social media channels.
Parents and children alike were extremely happy to walk away with a prize as everyone was rewarded for simply giving the challenges a go, so everyone was a winner.
SeekaHost and ClickDo CEO Fernando Raymond, who also attended the festival, commented:
“It’s been lovely to see so many young players join our Minecraft servers here and take on our challenges to win. We can see great talent emerging and want to encourage them to play confidently, eventually even building their own Minecraft servers. We provide a lot of guidance via our seekahost.co blog so that every gamer can grow their own online presence also with a blog or website managed with our easy-to-use SeekaPanel.”
It is fair to say that the event was a big success for gaming enthusiasts and businesses alike, uniting them all in the wonderful world of gaming.
You can watch the highlights of the IGF with seekahost.co hosting Minecraft server games and competitions here:
About Insomnia Gaming Festival
Founded in 1999, the Insomnia Gaming Festival originated as the i-Series; a small LAN (Local Area Network) event where gamers could come together and play together as part of one community. Today, IGF welcomes 40,000 visitors to Insomnia and the LAN parties have grown to the biggest in the UK, seeing 2,800 gamers in one space for a weekend of non-stop, 24-hour gaming.
About SeekaHost: a web hosting provider with a difference
Offering web hosting services since 2000 this company has grown and expanded over the last five years under the management of SEO agency ClickDo, providing a wider variety of web hosting services like SEO hosting, and PBN hosting, before being registered as a limited company. It now is an established web host offering services all over the world and innovating new hosting solutions.
Alexandria, VA — September 1, 2022 — iSpring Solutions Inc., a world-renowned vendor of eLearning software and services, announced the release of its brand-new iSpring Suite 11. It will let content creators design even more impactful eLearning with new customization features, hand-drawn characters and locations, player speed options, and an industry-leading user interface.
iSpring Suite is an all-in-one authoring toolkit that lets users design pro-looking eLearning content — interactive courses, quizzes, video tutorials, role-plays, SCORM-compliant e-books, and interactions, fast with no tech skills or IT background required. It also comes with an extensive library of assets and templates and an online space where users can store content, work on it with their team, and share it with stakeholders for review and approval.
This tool is fully compatible with iSpring Learn LMS, an online training platform that goes beyond standard training delivery and helps companies transform their business. Content created with iSpring Suite can also be easily exported to over 150 of the most popular LMSs, where it will display perfectly and provide training statistics.
The new iSpring Suite 11 has a modern, extremely intuitive interface and additional features that let users create more personalized learning experiences and allow learners to study at their own pace:
New customization features. Instructional designers can create courses in keeping with the brand identity, set the colors and gradients of the player, round off buttons, and use downloaded fonts. They can now use one of the five new course player templates and create their own presets once and then simply select this preset instead of building new courses from scratch.
The new look of interactive role-plays. iSpring Suite 11’s role-plays have a new look and animations. Learners’ replies don’t disappear as before but move up the screen. This allows learners to track the progression of their training scenario better – how the answer options they’ve selected affect the dialogue.
Hand-drawn characters. Unlike previous versions, iSpring Suite 11 lets educators create role-plays with hand-drawn characters and locations designed by iSpring professionals. There are 5 ready-made characters with multiple images of their emotions, and more are on the way.
Player speed options. iSpring Suite 11 introduces a new feature based on user requests that let learners select the course playback speed. There are now 5 playback speed options, from 0.75 to 2x. Course developers are able to decide whether to enable this option for their learners.
Michael Keller, eLearning Officer at iSpring, says:
“iSpring Suite 11 focuses on the most essential aspect of online learning – the learning experience. With this new version, course creators have endless options to customize how their content looks and is displayed. Freelance instructional designers can create unique presets for each of their clients. L&D specialists can design training programs in keeping with their brand identity. Teachers can incorporate hand-drawn characters to engage their students and explain new topics in a more exciting way. Everyone will be able to create even more impactful eLearning with Suite 11!”
Pricing and Availability
iSpring Suite 11 is available in 9 languages, and the course player window comes in 13 languages, including Spanish, Chinese, and Japanese. It can be downloaded at the iSpring Solutions website and used with a fully functional trial for 14 days. The current price of the eLearning tool is $770/year for a basic plan and $970/year for an advanced plan.
This release also introduces a new unique pricing plan for freelancers, in addition to special prices for academic institutions, nonprofit organizations, and government agencies. Detailed pricing can be found at: www.ispring.com/pricing.
About iSpring Solutions
iSpring is a global leader in creating award-winning software for eLearning. It released iSpring Presenter, its first eLearning tool, back in 2001 and has designed multiply advanced, yet easy-to-use, solutions for eLearning professionals ever since.
For over 20 years, iSpring has developed more than 10 stand-alone eLearning tools, such as iSpring QuizMaker, iSpring Converter Pro, and iSpring Cam Pro. These tools are highly popular among eLearning professionals both separately and together – in iSpring Suite, an all-in-one authoring tool. The release of iSpring Learn, a cloud-based LMS, in 2014 enabled companies to power their online learning with iSpring’s solutions alone. The vendor constantly updates its products to stay one step ahead of the game and introduces new features based on user requests.
iSpring is recognized for its beautifully engineered products and exceptional customer service. More than 59,000 customers in over 170 countries choose iSpring for its high performance and reliability. The customer list includes thousands of freelance instructional designers and teachers, almost 200 of the Fortune 500 companies, government agencies, and educational institutions worldwide, some clients being Microsoft, SAP, Boeing, Dell, Adidas, Procter & Gamble, University of California at Berkeley, Harvard University, and Stanford University. For more information, visit the official website: https://ispri.ng/lBL1l.