fbpx
Home Blog Page 1251

Tapon Mahamud Jony: “Alison has helped me significantly, especially since I included my certification in my resumé.”

0
Tapon Mahamud Jony: “Alison has helped me significantly, especially since I included my certification in my resumé.”

“My name is Tapon Mahamud Jony. I have completed a Diploma, a Bachelor of Engineering and pursued a Masters’s degree in Business Administration. I’ve completed two diploma courses with Alison to enrich my knowledge of project management and customer service. Both courses’ curriculums were well-organized and the topics were industry standard. Professionally, I am a Broadcast Engineer working in the TV and OTT satellite industry. I was one of the broadcast crew members for the Rio Olympics in 2016 and I will be working at the Japan Olympics this year if everything goes well.”

 

 

How did you learn about Alison?

I was searching online for a way to take some courses to learn about areas I’m interested in. I found Alison and enjoyed the interactive learning platform. 

What was your first course on Alison, and why did you choose it?

It was IT Management (Software & Database). As an IT professional, I always try to update my skill set. I saw some new topics in the course layout which encouraged me to complete the course. 

How have Alison courses affected your career?

Alison has helped me significantly, especially since I included the Diploma in Project Management certification in my resumé. This course has helped me a lot in writing profiles on different projects. 

 

What’s your favorite way to relax from studying?

When I take a short break from study, I love listening to songs from my favorite singer. This works like a power nap for me. 

Where are you working and what are you studying now?

I’m currently working for a Satellite and OTT service provider based in Singapore and I am preparing now to go to the Japan Olympics, bringing with me the industry-latest broadcast equipment and technology. I am currently studying cybersecurity, an essential topic for our industry these days. Beside a professional course from CEH, I am considering taking a few cybersecurity-related courses with Alison

What’s next for you, in terms of education and work?

I’m preparing myself to be an updated technologist and I’m developing a web platform where newbies can learn about satellite and OTT broadcasting. I am working on a second edition of my book Satellite Broadcasting Fundamentals.

What would you say to someone if they asked you about Alison? Would you recommend it and why?

Alison is a wonderful platform to learn in an interactive way. Putting in a daily effort definitely helps you to achieve your goals. 

Isaac Rudansky: “To know that just a few hours worth of lectures can really have an impact on somebody’s life is really rewarding.”

0
Isaac Rudansky: “To know that just a few hours worth of lectures can really have an impact on somebody’s life is really rewarding.”

Generally, for online courses I would say three things. Firstly, take notes of the key topics that you think are interesting or useful, and then investigate and further your knowledge of those topics with extracurricular content, whether it’s through blogs or other courses. Also, if you took a course and it’s good, watch or do it again. Repetition is how you remember the content so you can actually use it in your daily life. Very often we’ll watch courses and they’re long and advanced and it’s so much information that you can’t really practically implement it because you don’t remember it well enough, so watch it twice. The third thing I would advise is that there’s so much content out there, so much of it is good but also so much of it is bad. Try to figure out from the first 15 to 30 minutes of watching a course whether or not this is going to be high quality because you don’t want to be 12 hours in and realise that you’ve wasted the last 12 hours.

Manish Gupta: “Alison and I have the same objective: to impart knowledge to the masses.”

0
Manish Gupta: “Alison and I have the same objective: to impart knowledge to the masses.”

My advice to Alison learners would be to complete courses in their entirety and to take assessments in all honesty. Learners will get the most benefit is they try to apply their learning in practice.

In my belief, education is very important for people to be able to skill themselves. Alison’s free model means the learner can learn free of cost, at their own comfort or while working at the same time. Alison has helped to bring world class courses to masses of people and helped them upskill in their life.

Gram Notes – the software publishers combining expertise and experience

0
Gram Notes – the software publishers combining expertise and experience

Alison provides a marketplace to teach and learn without physically having to be in the same place. In a world where social distancing is the new normal this is a big plus. Alison pays publishers regularly and on time, which make it a reliable source of revenue as well. A big advantage of Alison is the fact that all courses are reviewed and it’s ensured that all guidelines are followed. Alison supports you through much of the process of making a course. Also, feedback is provided for improvement and this differentiates Alison from other online course websites.

144 Picture Prompts to Inspire Student Writing

0
144 Picture Prompts to Inspire Student Writing

We’ve been publishing our Picture Prompts series four days a week since 2016. These short, accessible, image-driven prompts invite students to create short stories, poems and memoirs; share experiences from their lives; analyze illustrations, graphs and charts; and weigh in on hot-button issues.

Here, we’ve rounded up all the Picture Prompts we published for the 2019-20 school year and organized them by the type of writing they ask students to do. You can find even more in our roundups for the 2016-17, 2017-18 and 2018-19 school years. That’s over 600 prompts in all. And many are still open for comment by students 13 and up.

To learn how you can use Picture Prompts to build literacy skills, promote critical thinking, spark discussion and foster creativity in your classroom — physical or virtual — watch our on-demand webinar, “A Picture Prompt Is Worth a Thousand Words.” For dozens more ideas, see our lesson plan, “How to Teach With Our Picture Prompts (and Other Times Images).”

If you use this feature with your students, or if you have other ideas for how to use photos, illustrations and graphics to encourage writing, let us know in the comments.


Summer Reading Contest Winner, Week 3: On ‘NASA Names Headquarters After Its First Black Female Engineer, Mary Jackson’

0
Summer Reading Contest Winner, Week 3: On ‘NASA Names Headquarters After Its First Black Female Engineer, Mary Jackson’

Chandini chose the article “NASA Names Headquarters After Its First Black Female Engineer, Mary Jackson”, which detailed the remarkable career of an aeronautical engineer, and wrote:

If I said I was an Indian-American girl and interested in STEM, I doubt anyone reading this would be in shock. I guess my love for math and science makes me an embodiment of the Indian stereotype or, in other words, a nerd.

Given this, when my seventh-grade science teacher asked our class to draw what they thought a scientist looked like, I naturally drew myself. However, each kid showed doodle after doodle of old, Einstein-Esque white dudes. I was the only student who drew a brown-skin girl with dark, frizzy hair.

Imagine my confusion- one look at me, and my peers peg me as the nerd type. Yet, I don’t look like a real scientist. This article proved to be a remedy to much of my confusion. My classmates and I weren’t aware of influential women of color in science because they were not recognized, not because they didn’t exist. Although reassuring, I was angered by the erasure of such important people. When Carolyn Lewis expressed her sadness, as women like her mother are not praised, “until maybe after [they’re] gone,” I felt immense remorse and anger. The anger was because a blockbuster movie was needed to inspire changes, which could have made school easier for girls like me.

Although NASA’s plan gives me hope for women of color in STEM, the best outcome of reading this article is the research I did and the women I discovered. Wait until my science class finds out about Mileva Marić Einstein.

In alphabetical order by the writer’s first name.

Aayami on “Li Zhensheng, Photographer of China’s Cultural Revolution, Dies at 79

Alor Sahoo on “What’s Gotten Into the Price of Cheese?

Banafsheh on “Virus Cases Are Soaring in Texas. But Closing Down Again Is a ‘Last Option.’

Elizabeth on “How Texas Swaggered Into a Coronavirus Disaster

Eric Cai on “Why Weren’t We Video Calling All Along?

Jiayue Shi on “Bring Back the Tomboys

Judy on “Why Would My Father Not Want to Know Me?

Natalie Kim on “This Land of Denial and Death

Sinead on “How to Raise an Anti-Racist Kid

Xamantha Laos Cueva on “The Coronavirus Crisis Inside Prisons Won’t Stay Behind Bars

Trending online courses in business, data science, tech, and health

0
Trending online courses in business, data science, tech, and health

With more world-class content launching every week, there are always new topics to explore, new skills to learn, and new ways to achieve your goals. These latest courses, Specializations, Professional Certificates, and MasterTrack™ Certificates cover everything from AI, blockchain, and cybersecurity, to contact tracing, social work, and UX design. What will you learn next? 

Business

Blockchain Applications MasterTrack™ Certificate from Duke

Financial technology (FinTech) is changing the way we think about financial services, and with blockchain technology serving as an encryption base for a variety of applications, understanding its use and limitations is a critical skill for FinTech leaders across industries. In this program, you will complete a real module from Duke University’s Master of Engineering in Financial Technology program. Through these courses, you’ll explore the history, current environment, and near-term outlook of FinTech, focusing on applications of blockchain technology.

Excel Fundamentals for Data Analysis from Macquarie University

The ability to quickly and accurately analyze data is an essential skill in today’s digital economy. Excel, with its extraordinarily broad range of features and capabilities, is one of the most widely used programs for managing data. Upon completing the course, you’ll be able to use a range of Excel tools and functions to clean and prepare data for analysis, automate data analysis with the help of named ranges and tables, and use logical and lookup functions to transform, link, and categorize data.

Managing Supply Chain Disruption During COVID-19 from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

In this course, you will learn about why and how supply chains become susceptible to a disruption. You’ll examine this by discussing supply-side and demand-side issues, as well as primary supply chain flows, complexity, risk management and a combination of solid theoretical supply chain perspectives and current real-world stories. You will also learn about the structural, relational, and operational factors that come into play during a supply chain disruption and the mechanisms for the effective management of these factors. You’ll enhance your understanding through examples from manufacturing and health contexts, and the PPE supply chain disruption during COVID-19.

IBM AI Foundations for Business Specialization from IBM

In this Specialization, you’ll come to understand the overall focus areas for business leaders considering AI-based solutions for business challenges. The first course provides a business-oriented summary of technologies and basic concepts in AI. The second introduces technologies and concepts in data science. In the third course, you’ll learn about the AI Ladder, which is a framework for understanding the work and processes that are necessary for the successful deployment of AI-based solutions.

Data Science

AI & Machine Learning MasterTrack™ Certificate from Arizona State University

In this program, you’ll complete a real module from ASU’s online Master of Computer Science program that will help you understand artificial intelligence through a combination of theory and practice. Across a series of interactive lectures and team-based projects, you’ll explore how machines learn in the form of learning paradigms, and discover how to create autonomous agents that can reason, learn, and act on their own. You’ll also learn how to train and optimize deep neural networks. 

Upon completion of these courses, you’ll have a strong understanding of the techniques used by practitioners in the field of AI, which will enable you to advance your career in AI, work more effectively on machine learning projects, and identify new opportunities for how you can apply AI.

AI for Medicine Specialization from deeplearning.ai

AI is transforming the practice of medicine. It’s helping doctors diagnose patients more accurately, make predictions about patients’ future health, and recommend better treatments. In this three-course Specialization, you’ll gain practical experience in applying machine learning to concrete problems in medicine.

Natural Language Processing Specialization from deeplearning.ai

Upon successful completion of this Specialization, you’ll be ready to design Natural Language Processing (NLP) applications that can perform question-answering and sentiment analysis, create tools to translate languages and summarize text, and even build chatbots. These and other NLP applications are going to be at the forefront of the coming transformation to an AI-powered future, and this Specialization offers an ideal way to start mastering these transformational skills.  

This Specialization is designed and taught by two experts in NLP, machine learning, and deep learning. Younes Bensouda Mourri, an Instructor of AI at Stanford University,helped build the Deep Learning Specialization, and Łukasz Kaiser, a Staff Research Scientist at Google Brain, is also the co-author of Tensorflow, the Tensor2Tensor and Trax libraries, and the Transformer paper.

Tech

Cybersecurity MasterTrack Certificate™ from Arizona State University

In this program, you’ll complete a real module from the online Master of Computer Science program that will help you understand the field of cybersecurity through the lens of computer systems and algorithms. You’ll learn to protect and defend information and information systems by ensuring their availability, integrity, authentication, confidentiality, and non-repudiation through protection, detection, and reaction practices.

Software Engineering MasterTrack Certificate™ from Arizona State University

Software engineering is needed in every industry and focuses on the application of techniques that ensure the successful completion of high-quality products. Following a software process ensures that the final product is maintainable, reliable, and scalable. 

In this program, you’ll work on real-world projects to apply software development concepts to blockchain technology, test software to validate sustainability of smart mobile applications, predict software reliability using operational profiles, and practice software architecture and design principles.

IBM Cybersecurity Analyst Professional Certificate from IBM

A growing number of exciting, well-paying jobs in today’s security industry do not require a college degree. In this 8-course Professional Certificate program, you’ll gain the technical skills necessary to become job-ready for a cybersecurity analyst role. Instructional content and labs will introduce you to concepts including network security, endpoint protection, incident response, threat intelligence, penetration testing, and vulnerability assessment.

AWS Fundamentals Specialization from Amazon Web Services

In this Specialization, current and aspiring IT professionals can get an overview of the features, benefits, and capabilities of Amazon Web Services (AWS). As you proceed through these four interconnected courses, you’ll gain a more vivid understanding of core AWS services and key AWS security concepts, as well as strategies for migrating from on-premises to AWS, and the basics of building serverless applications with AWS. Additionally, you’ll have opportunities to practice what you have learned by completing labs and exercises developed by AWS technical instructors.

From 0 to N: Architecting on Alibaba Cloud Specialization from Alibaba Cloud Academy

This Specialization is intended for business professionals who aim to learn more about how cloud technology can help their organizations grow. Course materials include step-by-step demos that will take you from theory to practice, showing you how to build solutions for your business’s needs. You’ll then dive deeper into analyzing and displaying large sets of information while using machine learning and AI algorithms to increase the value of data sets.

Health

COVID-19 Contact Tracing from Johns Hopkins University (available in English, Spanish, and Portuguese)

The COVID-19 crisis has created an unprecedented need for contact tracing across the country, requiring thousands of people to learn key skills quickly. The job qualifications for contact tracing positions differ throughout the country and the world, with some new positions open to individuals with a high school diploma or equivalent. 

In this introductory course, you’ll gain the skills needed to be a contact tracer, including how to build rapport with cases, identify their contacts, and support both cases and their contacts to stop transmission in their communities. 

Population Health During A Pandemic: Contact Tracing and Beyond from the University of Houston

The global effects of the current COVID-19 pandemic have disproportionately affected certain regions and population groups. This course provides an overview of the far-reaching impact of COVID-19 and presents contact tracing as a tool to mitigate the spread of the disease. Contact tracers are critically needed to help state and local health departments, particularly in large and diverse states such as Texas. 

Health Systems Development Specialization from Imperial College London
In this Specialization, you’ll get a holistic view of health systems and learn about the importance of a horizontal approach to health system investment in order to achieve better health outcomes. You’ll also gain new insight into a range of disciplines including organizational behavior, health policy, information systems, and human resources, in order to strengthen your capacity to think as an effective health leader.

Humanities

Finding Purpose and Meaning in Life: Living for What Matters Most from the University of Michigan 

In this new course taught by an award-winning pioneer in the field of behavioral science, you’ll learn how science, philosophy, and practice all play a role in both finding your purpose and living a purposeful life. You’ll learn how to define what matters most to you and the concrete steps you can take to improve your long-term happiness. 

Learning How to Learn in Spanish (Aprendiendo a Aprender) from IE Business School

Con el propósito de desarrollar habilidades y herramientas mentales que favorecen el aprendizaje, Aprendiendo a Aprender busca ayudar a los participantes a dominar temas complejos y difíciles; además de motivarlos a continuar aprendiendo a lo largo de la vida. 

UX Design MasterTrack™ Certificate from the University of Minnesota

User experience is an in-demand field where successful practitioners need to have a holistic understanding of the design process. In this program, you’ll complete a real module from the University of Minnesota’s Human Factors and Ergonomics Graduate program. Through these courses, you’ll gain both artful and scientific skills for conducting, implementing, and evaluating user experience design and research. 

At the culmination of the program, you’ll apply your new career skills by designing a proposal and developing a user experience product for your organization or interests. Your UX Design MasterTrack Certificate will serve as a pathway to the associated Human Factors or  Ergonomics Graduate Programs at the University of Minnesota.

Sustainability and Development MasterTrack™ Certificate from the University of Michigan

Sustainability and development pose unprecedented challenges as human societies grow and seek to ensure future well-being and prosperity. In this program, you’ll complete courses that will earn you credit towards the University of Michigan’s Master of Science in Environment and Sustainability if you’re admitted to the program. Through these courses, you’ll learn how to address sustainability and development challenges with actionable knowledge that empowers you to develop solutions to the world’s most pressing problems.

Social Work: Practice, Policy and Research MasterTrack™ Certificate from the University of Michigan

In this program, you’ll complete a series of practice-focused modules from the University of Michigan’s Master of Social Work. You’ll learn the skills you need to empower individuals, families, communities, and organizations to meet their needs and create positive change. You will gain a greater understanding of social work practice, the history and impact of policy on key social services, and the research that supports effective practice.

High Stakes Leadership: Leading in Times of Crisis from the University of Michigan

Learn how to effectively navigate the challenges of significant organizational disruptions in this leadership course. You’ll discover why an understanding of various stakeholder perspectives can inform and dramatically improve your response to events that threaten an organization’s survival. This course is also about understanding and developing individual and organizational resilience—the ability to anticipate potential threats; to cope effectively with adverse events when they occur; and to adapt to changing conditions, ensuring a viable path forward for yourself, your team, and your organization. 

Foundations of Mindfulness from Rice University

Gain a broad overview of the fundamental concepts, principles, and practices of mindfulness. With interactive exercises to help you explore your attitudes, mental habits, and behaviors, Foundations of Mindfulness offers a pathway for living with more freedom, authenticity and ease. Featured components of the course include experiential exercises, guided meditations, personal reflection and interactive discussions.

Research Design: Inquiry and Discovery from the University of North Texas

Learn how to ask good questions and discover their answers in this introductory course. You’ll cover topics like the basis of human curiosity, development of questions, connections between questions, and approaches to information-gathering design, sampling, reporting, and the ethics of inquiry projects. You’ll focus on approaches used in the social sciences (e.g., sociology, psychology, anthropology), but the course will also discuss how others (e.g., natural scientists, business analysts) might approach the inquiry process.  

Design of Experiments Specialization from Arizona State University

In this Specialization, you’ll learn modern experimental strategy, including factorial and fractional factorial experimental designs, designs for screening many factors, designs for optimization experiments, and designs for complex experiments such as those with hard-to-change factors and unusual responses. You’ll additionally cover modern data analysis techniques and software for experimental design. Applications include electronics and semiconductors, automotive and aerospace, chemical and process industries, pharmaceutical and bio-pharm, medical devices, and many others.


Whether you’re at the beginning of your career journey or looking to enhance your skillset to make a mid-career transition, you’ll find ample opportunities to gain new knowledge across these new offerings, and depending on your life and career goals, you’ll can choose from a range of learning experiences to find the courses and programs that are right for you.

 

Robin Hills: “Publishing with Alison has meant being able to spread the message about emotional intelligence to a global audience in unique ways.”

0
Robin Hills: “Publishing with Alison has meant being able to spread the message about emotional intelligence to a global audience in unique ways.”

Robin Hills is an emotional intelligence coach, trainer and facilitator working with a variety of organisations from small start-up companies to large global multinationals. Robin is Director of EI4Change – Emotional Intelligence 4 Change – with expertise in emotional intelligence, positive psychology and neuroscience. Robin tells us about his background, working with Alison and the importance of committing to developing our emotional well-being.

The post Robin Hills: “Publishing with Alison has meant being able to spread the message about emotional intelligence to a global audience in unique ways.” appeared first on Alison Blog.

Paula Guilfoyle: “If you want to get ahead of the curve in your career, upskill in Excel.”

0
Paula Guilfoyle: “If you want to get ahead of the curve in your career, upskill in Excel.”

I qualified as a certified public accountant (CPA) 20 years ago. I have a lot of experience across a broad range of industries and sectors, including accountancy, business management, process improvement, internal audit and operations management and training. While working as a financial controller, I noticed a skills gap among accountants in the area of Excel. I created my first Excel course in 2010, aimed at professionals looking to upskill. Teaching Excel became a passion and soon after I launched the blog TheExcelclub.com. I am now proud to say that 90,000 students from 168 different countries have taken my courses.

Shai Spetgang: “Free education creates a level playing field.”

0
Shai Spetgang: “Free education creates a level playing field.”

Every day we manage our own risks. We get out of bed, we stand up. It’s actually advisable not to stand up right away, to wait ten seconds or so, to let our blood pressure equalise. Because if we just stand up out of bed, go from horizontal to vertical, we can blackout sometimes. That right there is risk management – leaving those ten seconds. We manage our risks all the time but what we don’t do is think about them, break it down and say, how could I have managed it better? A lot of our risk management is knee jerk reactions and reflex actions. And I argue in the course that in our daily lives we’ve got that down. But in our work life, we don’t have that because it’s not something we’ve grown up with. When you use a disk cutter, there’s like 20 things you need to do correctly so that if the disc explodes you don’t get it in your eye. There are all these rules and I’ve learned them over the years because I’m a registered safety manager. And so I wanted to share that.