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Retrieval Practice and Bloom’s Taxonomy

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Retrieval Practice and Bloom’s Taxonomy

By Cindy Nebel

As researchers attempting to bridge psychological science and education, we come across several challenges. Each of us has expertise in the area of retrieval practice, where many of the classic studies take place in the laboratory with simple materials. Researchers have therefore attempted to answer several questions to address the extent to which the research conducted in the laboratory meaningfully applies to the classroom. We have discussed these issues in previous blogs, specifically with relation to the lab to classroom model, transfer to related material, and how knowledge of facts are required for application.

One criticism that we have received is that retrieval practice is primarily good for fact learning, but not for higher-order learning. In other words, retrieval practice might serve rote memorization but not the ability to critically think about material or apply it. We addressed this question here and explained that facts must be sufficiently encoded in order to use those facts in a new situation. Because retrieval supports knowledge acquisition, retrieval practice of facts should therefore support application.

However, a recently published study (1) by one of our colleagues, Dr. Pooja Agarwal, examined whether retrieval practice could do more than just support the acquisition of factual information. The study was based on a common prescription for using Bloom’s taxonomy (2): students should first focus on the lower levels of the taxonomy before higher-order thinking can be accomplished. Dr. Agarwal directly compared retrieval practice with the use of lower vs. higher-order thinking to determine if the lower levels of Bloom’s taxonomy were indeed necessary before moving to more complex thinking. Here is what she did:

First, she examined the effect of quizzing using either fact or higher-order questions on a final test two days later using laboratory materials. Participants read passages that supported two sides of a controversial issue (e.g. “Does welfare do more harm than good?”) and then were given the opportunity to study the passage again, took a fact-based quiz, or took a higher-order quiz over the passage. In order to illustrate the difference, here is an example of each type of question:

Over 100 ‘Evergreen’ New York Times Articles With Questions and Activities for Students

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Over 100 ‘Evergreen’ New York Times Articles With Questions and Activities for Students

The above video is featured in this Article of the Day.

_________

Every school day we choose an important or interesting news or feature story to become our Article of the Day, then write a quick series of questions and activities designed to help students both understand the piece and connect it to their own lives.

Each edition has suggestions for engaging students before they read, comprehension and critical thinking questions to support them as they go, and ideas for taking the topic further when they’re done.

As you might expect, many of our Articles of the Day respond to the big issues and news events of the day. This year, topics included the U.S. midterm elections, the synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh and the California wildfires, along with international events like protests and crises in France, Sudan and Venezuela.

But we also try hard to choose pieces as our Article of the Day that are “evergreen”: stories that are interesting in their own right, and that will be powerful, vivid and compelling in the future. From the 181 Articles of the Day we published during the 2018-19 school year, we selected 102 evergreen stories to include in the categorized list below, drawn from the Arts, Sports, U.S., World, Education, Science, Health and Technology sections. We hope some of these articles and their related learning activities can become part of your curriculum.

Have you taught with our Article of the Day feature? Let us know how, and please share any suggestions you might have for making it even more useful, by posting a comment.

In a virtual world, the sky is no longer the limit

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In a virtual world, the sky is no longer the limit

Kayleigh Oliver began her career as one of just six women in a room full of more than 100 computing students. 10 years later, she works as a QA and Release Manager at Immerse, a virtual reality training software company. Kayleigh also runs her own app development business in her spare time. We spoke to her about the exciting real-world opportunities opening up through the virtual environments.

Using a virtual reality headset

While the technology surrounding VR continues to advance at pace, the skills and qualities needed for a successful career remain the same.

The new BSc in Computer Science, launched by the University of London and member institution Goldsmiths, has been developed to meet demand for talent in advanced technologies like virtual reality.

Virtual reality is a really exciting field because there is so much potential. With VR, people can access training wherever they’re based around the world. With our platform, all they need is a headset and a link to the scenario.

When Facebook spent $2 billion in 2014 to acquire Oculus, a small start-up specializing in VR headsets, confidence and interest in virtual reality soared. Now, with the global VR market predicted to be worth $49.7 billion by 2023, companies across a diverse range of industries are investing in the trends of virtual reality and augmented reality.

One such application is in training: the virtual reality software company Immerse works with a range of clients, from Shell to EY, to create bespoke VR training programs. Kayleigh Oliver has worked for Immerse for more than two years, managing a team of QA engineers.

“It’s my role to ensure that every product we release is high-quality and that the underlying infrastructure running the VR technology works correctly, however and wherever it’s being accessed. I’m good at it because I’ve got good attention to detail – everything has to feel exactly right. It’s a highly technical job but you also need to be able to communicate clearly and accurately. For example, it’s key to write precise reproduction steps to fix any bugs you identify. Virtual reality is also a physical setting for fully testing functionality, so there’s no need to hit the gym after work!”

Industry estimates suggest more than a billion people will regularly access virtual reality and augmented reality content by 2020. Kayleigh believes more companies should consider the benefits of VR technology for their business.

“Virtual reality is a really exciting field because there is so much potential. One of the clients we have worked with is a leader in mobile satcomms that uses satellites worth around £80 million. They needed to be able to train their staff to use that equipment without risking wear and tear. With VR, people can access the training wherever they’re based around the world – all they need is a headset and a link to the scenario.”

Kayleigh earned her degree in software engineering more than a decade ago. However, as she explained that while the technology surrounding VR continues to advance at pace, the skills and qualities needed for a successful tech career remain the same.

My degree taught me how to learn programming languages. If you learn the core elements – data structures, loops, algorithms – you can apply that to any language that is developed in the future.

“Hardly any of the programming languages I learned back then are still being used. But my degree taught me how to learn languages – how to pick things up quickly, test them, and work out what I liked. If you learn the core elements of a language – data structures, loops, algorithms – you can apply that to any language that is developed in the future.

“Beyond the technical understanding you gain, studying a degree teaches you essential soft skills you’ll need in any job. Things like how to work with team members with different priorities; and how to communicate technical information to non-technical people. Tech is always evolving and new software is constantly being launched – that’s one of the exciting things about it – but the soft skills will be useful throughout your career.”

Beyond the technical understanding you gain, studying a degree teaches you essential soft skills you’ll need in any job.

In addition to her VR role, Kayleigh has also set up her own app development business, Junction 5. Her advice to budding entrepreneurs is simple – don’t be afraid to fail, and to learn quickly from your experiences.

“To run your own business you have to be very determined to stay ahead of the curve. Make sure you’re keeping up with what’s going on in the industry, and don’t be afraid to experiment with new devices and software. You might fail, just make sure you fail fast, learn from it, and move on. Working in tech is rewarding because everyone loves what they do. If you love technology then it’s not just a job – it’s your passion.”

Find out more about BSc Computer Science degrees like BSc Computer Science (Virtual Reality).

 

Grids are gone, Welcome2 T-Quad

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Grids are gone, Welcome2 T-Quad

I’m sure you have heard of this old ditty from the days of past, “Ol’McDonald had a grid, e-i-ee-io. And on this Grid he has some vendors, e-i-e-i-o.  He had vendors in this quad, he had vendors in that quad and didn’t have your vendor, e–i-e-i-o.”

As you can see Ol’McDonald was a traditionalist.  He stayed true to what many of us are used to when it came to grids and learning systems or grids with anything in the consumer markets.

Yes, Ol’McDonald who was probably 120 back in the early seventies, so he knew his grids.

A New Approach

Say so long to the grids of yesterday.  Leaders quad?  Up and comers?  Average?  Avoid like the plague err low on the pole quad? 

Well, they do work, heck I’ve used that approach in the past.  But, after consulting my horse – a long day on the Pony Express will do that, I said to Igor, we need to change this up.  No, we cannot stay on the farm with Mr. McDonald.  We need to recognize what folks really want to know – who to buy!

T-Quad

Three quadrants – I’ll call them building blocks or just block for short. Each block err quad (the formal term) will have different labels depending on the category itself.

LMS T-Quad 

Top of Quad – the main top tier quad – will be systems to Buy  (a listing of six) – with dots on the area, based on functionality, UI/UX, Analytical data, data visualization and reporting, 

The top quad will cover Functionality/UI and UX (learner side),  then the next top quad in this category will focus solely on the administration side including UI/UX and data visualization/analytical data and metrics.  The third will be Wild Card (sounds cool, huh?).

The mid-quad – part of the T,  are “Vendors to Watch”  ” (six vendors) – This is a list of vendors who you may want to buy, but recognize they are on the rise – potentials – just like your favorite actor who you feel is underrated because they haven’t had that breakout role, but they are talented!  

In all seriousness, these are systems that I have no problem recommending, but recognize they are in the potential phase. 

They could continue to rise and achieve elite or they could slump and be right there on the Lifetime movie channel or whatever channel you have that shows movies that are between the direct to video circuit or handed out on a street corner.  

At the base of the T – is the third quad.   This will be a group of six vendors who once were on the rise, but something has happened.  They aren’t in the “do not buy and/or avoid category”, rather they are in the “consider category, but be aware that they have some flaws.” 

Wild Card are all the tangibles – support, training, roadmap track-record, Tier 1 NexGen.  You could find vendors that are in the other quads at the top level, equally here and the same applies to the second category of Admin UI/UX/data one too.  

Compare Three

That is right.  From all that information noted above with the three T’s will come a mini-table listing the top three that score the highest in each quad (points will be identified, so there is no confusion.  Maybe Widget in category one is “recommend to buy” – that is worth 10 points.  Widget is in the lower T in second category worth three points.  Widget in “Wild Card” is lower T again, another three points. 

Widget scores 16 points.  I doubt Widget makes it to the final three. 

LXP T-Quad (Six per Quad)

I have to ask.  Who did you like better – Mother Nature, Mr. Freeze  ( I can’t recall his name and I am too lazy to look it up) or Heat miser?  No reason, just curious. 

Anyway,  the LXP T-Quad is going to be served up a bit different.  It is still a T, but will be three categories.

Category 1 –  Functionality  (excluding skills specific)/UI/UX (Learner and Admin), Data and reporting/content partnerships/marketplace

Category 2 –  Skill building and development – functionality and capabilities

Similar to the LMS:

Top of the T –  Recommend Buy

Mid T –  Vendors to Watch

Lower T – Flawed, but doable.

Top Three

Add em up and score.  The Final Three. 

So yes, you could be a “Buy” in category 1, and a dumpster fire in category 2.  Uh, I will not be publishing that list (i.e. dumpster fire). 

Sales Enablement Platform T-Quad (Six Per Quad)

These are systems that focus on sales training (also customer service – but they do not always pitch that).  They all have some level of a sales component to them, hence the entire platform, some even have a mini CRM, but not all.   What they do have – most that is – are channels or playlists of sales content.  So they are heavily focused on sales training.

The T-Quad here is different, because so many folks are unaware of them, it is a very small niche compared to other learning systems, and thus it isn’t fair to follow the T structure as the others.

It is one category – The entire system – with the focus being on the learning side of the platform, since they push strongly on sales training. 

Some SEPs include Raven360, QStream, Mind Tickle, the soon to be launched Hub360,  ShowPad (just raised 70M USD in series D funding and bought LearnCore last year for 50M USD) and Brainshark.  That is just a few names, there are a lot more, thus,  there will be a Sales Enablement Platform Buyer’s Guide coming out this fall with the entire list of the systems. 

The Grid appears at the same time, and thus, listed by “Recommend”,  “Consider”,  “Maybe go back to Consider”.  I’m kidding. 

Recommend,  Consider, Potential  – those are the three quads. 

There isn’t a score break out per se though.

NexGen Learning Systems T-Quad (Eight per Quad)

These are vendors who have excelled in the areas of mentoring, skill management, data visualization (ideally includes BI tools or integration), integration app capabilities (beyond the usual of Salesforce, HRIS platforms, etc.),  Playlist/Channel functionality,  content curation, video management, machine learning and mobile Version 2.0.  

– You could see LMSs, LXP, SEP, Learning Platforms, whatever a vendor wants to call themselves but it is a learning system solution, micro-learning platform, etc.

The breakouts are

a.  Elite –  You can’t go wrong with any of these vendors

b.  Gold  –  Still can’t go wrong, but are not the whole package, very strong, just not elite.

c.  On the Rise – Has some really strong areas, and some average areas,  hasn’t risen to the level of Gold.

Learning Systems Bell Curve

It is a bird.  No, wait a plane. Superman – you are alive – but after seeing your last movie, please go back and be dead.

Bell curves can be a bit wonky to some folks, and I totally understand. 

This bell curve though will have labels so you know where the vendor is at all times.  If they are in the middle – i.e. top of the bell curve (Elite),  heading down the curve (right of the top) – depending where they are on the curve, not as strong as they once were, but still solid/good, if they are at the lower bottom – there are better ones out there, do not waste your money.

On the left side of the bell curve – the “risers”, the “ones to watch”, and near the top on that little bit of bell right below the top – Very good.

Basically, left side, top are recommend depending on your needs; right side off of top, still good/solid, mid of the right side of the curve – uh, have you heard of the Titanic? Abandon ship!  Bottom of the curve?  Better option is being part of the Poseidon Adventure (Great movie, but a key reason, why I won’t go on a cruise ship).

I think you see where this is going

They will play a key role in the 2020 Top 50 Learning Systems – not all of the entire criteria mind you, but a very important role – so you can see early on here in mid to late 2019, where they are placed, based on the T-Quad.

And now a brief word on my Gender research study

For those who are not aware, I am working on a research study involving gender in the workplace and leadership development.  The study is focusing on the learning system space.  A study investigating this area (I am holding off making all the details public) has never been conducted before in e-learning, let alone learning systems.  

Since learning systems make up the biggest segment of e-learning, it was fitting to start here.

Over 100 learning systems around the world have been contacted and asked to participate.  From vendors in the 10 people range to ones over 14,000 employees.  

Many have been very supportive and have already responded with their information (I requested) or will be doing so in the next 1.5 weeks.  

While the list of those already “in” is extensive, here are some names you might recognize  (this is not the entire list of vendors who are participating) 

Linkedin, Workday,  SumTotal, Cornerstone On Demand, Skillsoft,  eLogic, Cross Knowledge, D2L, Unicorn LMS, Saba, Docebo, Digits Glo, Fuse Universal, Degreed, EdCast, Udemy, Growth Engineering, eCom Scotland, Skillgate, Learning Pool, Spoke (Unboxed Technology), Eurekos, Gyrus Aim, Instancy On Demand, UpsideLMS, Absorb, Coorpacademy, Learn Amp and Axonify. 

Here are vendors we contacted and heard only crickets (despite multiple requests) 

Coursera, OpenEDX, Blackboard, Adobe, Oracle, Mind Tickle, QStream and G01.  

One vendor informed us that they have declined to participate

SAP 

Publish Time (August) and Interviews

The study will be published in late August. It will be 100% Free. 

It will include interviews from several folks including those from Linkedin, Cornerstone, SumTotal, Axonify – thank you Carol – amazing CEO, Growth Engineering and Cross Knowledge.  

And it will contain additional data based upon our research topics. 

There will be two posts on the subject material.  One will be on this blog, the other on my Findanlms.com site. 

Lastly, there will be a video of my findings, that will be on the Findanlms.com web site, under our new vendor videos section coming at the end of July.  Yes, I will have my own channel/playlist too. 

Bottom Line

From the study, I can’t thank the vendors who are participating enough.  We have had vendors reach out to us, saying they want to be part of the study and we sent them over the information.  To any vendor who wants in, but we do not have on our list – please contact me, and I will send you over what I need.

As for the Grids, I refer back to my old traditional friend, Ol’McDonald,

“There’s a new grid, over there is another new grid, hey check it out, these are

Grids, and not grits.”

E-Learning 24/7

 

 

 

 

 

Winners of Our Second Annual Student Podcast Contest

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Winners of Our Second Annual Student Podcast Contest

The inner monologue of an anxious teenager. A fictional radio story about a robot takeover. An investigative report about teenage climate activists. A personal narrative about what it’s like to have a baby at 15.

These are just a few of the winning pieces from our Second Annual Student Podcast Contest, in which we invited teenagers to create an original audio program, five minutes or less, about anything they wanted.

We received nearly 900 submissions — including interviews, conversations, reviews, investigations, personal stories and fictional tales — from students all over the world.

But there were 39 entries — 12 winners, 15 runners-up and 12 honorable mentions — that stood above the rest. These podcasts pulled us in right from the start and kept our attention to the end. They brought their topics to life with music, environmental noise, media clips and the human voice. They were entertaining, informative and emotionally gripping.

But don’t take our word for it. You can listen to all the finalists for yourself, below.

Congratulations to our winners and thanks to everyone for participating! In the meantime, don’t forget our Summer Reading Contest, which runs from June 14 to Aug. 23.

_________

“How My 90-year-old Neighbor, a Holocaust Survivor, Sees America Today” by Lila Shroff

“Sexism at Lillian Osborne” by Kaia Janmohamed

“Teen Pregnancy Story” by Trinity Edwards

“The Truth About Your Seat Belt” by Molly Cleary

“A Day in the Life of an Anxious High Schooler” by Cece Benz

“Ram’s Evolution” by Tomer Keysar

“Alexa, the Start of the Robot Revolution” by Silas Bartol and Mila Barnes-Bukher

“The Ides of March: An Uprising to Save the Earth” by Madeleine Klass

“Black Ink” by Kaela Wilkinson and Jalen Lewis

“Period Poverty” by Genevieve Schweitzer

“Depression Memes and Me: Why I Stopped Looking at Depression Memes” by Zuheera Ali

“My Incarcerated Family” by Samantha Zazueta (shown at the top of this post)

_________

In alphabetical order by title

Note: Students who submitted more than one entry, or who used copyrighted music, were disqualified.

_________

Contest judges: Jessica Cheung, Caroline Crosson Gilpin, Jeremy Engle, Michael Gonchar, Willow Lawson, Julia Longoria, Keith Meatto, Andy Mills, Kelly Prime and Natalie Proulx

It’s a Match: Essential Skills Mapped to Critical Business Functions

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It’s a Match: Essential Skills Mapped to Critical Business Functions

By Kyle Clark, Enterprise Content Strategist

Coursera’s Essential Skills Map identifies the skills of tomorrow for key functions, future-proofing your workforce while helping your business keep pace with digital transformation.

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Technology is rapidly transforming the nature of jobs and skills. Partnering with over 1,900 companies globally through Coursera for Business takes us deep into the evolving skills landscape, where the increasing rate of digital change is reducing the half-life of skills. An ongoing challenge for companies is to reliably identify the future skills they will need. The World Economic Forum points to a ‘growing skills instability’ and estimates that the core skills required to perform most roles will change by 42% (on average) by 2022. More than ever, employees must walk a tightrope between improving current skills and acquiring new skills. Companies need to anticipate and invest in developing future skills that will matter while also steering investment away from skills that will become obsolete. Those who linger will increasingly be disrupted by agile, digitally transformed players vying for a piece of their market share.

To address the skills transformation problem, we have developed an Essential Skills Map for Digital Transformation – our recommendations of the critical skills you need to compete and succeed in your industry. Our Essential Skills Map is based on an exhaustive analysis of data from millions of Coursera learners on trending and future skills, from AI to design thinking, that key functions in your organization need. In other words, these are the skills employees in critical teams should be learning to help you stay ahead of the competition.

Essential skills by function (no one size fit all)
Coursera’s Essential Skills Map is based on learner enrollments, performance data, and insights from over 40 million learners globally combined with our experience partnering with over 1,900 enterprise customers from around the world. Our algorithms determine the top skills learners in specific roles are pursuing. We then add insights from our content experts and enterprise partners to distill the data into recommendations by skill and function. The final result is the Essential Skills Map, which displays the top three recommended skills in business, technology, and data that learners need across specific business functions.

Competency mapping made easy
We hear time and time again from our customers that creating competency and skill maps for multiple functions is expensive and time-intensive. Even worse, many of our customers’ competency maps become out of date soon after launch. But companies need some way to understand skills across functions in order to achieve their goals, especially since digital transformation requires organization-wide changes. The Essential Skills Map solves for the initial heavy lifting of competency mapping by helping you pinpoint future skills across your most critical business functions. It also stays up-to-date because the Map itself is based on dynamic data from our platform that automatically updates over time. In short, we provide the latest skills map so you can continuously identify where you need to focus.

Matching trending skills to courses from the world’s leading institutions
Besides identifying the top skills for major functions, the Essential Skills Map also matches the corresponding courses that your employees can take on Coursera to acquire those skills. For example, the top skills for Engineering include Leadership, Agile Management, and Machine Learning, so we recommend the following courses: Foundations of Everyday Leadership, Digital Product Management: Modern Fundamentals, and Neural Networks and Deep Learning. We provide similar recommendations across functions including Data Science, Finance, and Marketing, as well as Management.

To get started and access the Essential Skills Map for your organization, reach out to our Essential Skills Specialists. Customers, contact your Customer Success Manager for more details.

Coursera’s Essential Skills Map builds on Coursera’s rich database of talent insights and is used by organizations worldwide to design winning workforce transformation strategies. Learn more about how your industry stacks up in the skills of tomorrow in the Coursera Global Skills Index 2019.

 

US vs China: Will they make amends at the G20 Summit?

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US vs China: Will they make amends at the G20 Summit?

Like an awkward run in with an ex at a house party, President Trump and President Jinping are likely to meet in Osaka this June at the G20 Summit.

Although neither party has agreed to a meeting yet, Osaka is seen as the last opportunity for the two presidents to talk and resolve things before the situation worsens, and Trump enters the 2020 presidential campaign.

Donald Trump, an avid ‘Tweeter’, enraged China with empty threats of increased tariffs and other disparaging remarks on Twitter. Now, the pair are no longer on speaking terms. If they sit down together at the G20, then it will likely result in a big win for everyone.

So, let’s get up to speed with the situation, and find out why Jinping and Trump are trading blows.

What is the G20 Summit?

The G20 Summit is an international forum, where leaders of the 19 member countries and the European Union (20 in total) come together. Their aim is to discuss, and ultimately, cooperate to achieve global economic growth. The member countries (and the European Union) consist of the largest economies and trade nations in the world, like Australia, India, Mexico, Germany and the US and China. Each country sends a delegation including the Finance Minister and the head of the central bank.

The first summit was held in 1999, with representatives meeting to ensure financial stability and solve global issues together such as pollution.

The US-China trade war

The US and China are currently in a trade war, which is where two states create or increase tariffs, and impose other trade barriers on each other. For example, a country may put a complete embargo on the importation of goods from another country.

The US-China situation has far-reaching impacts, damaging the global economy. Given that both countries are some of the biggest economies in the world, the tension shifts the footing of almost everything. Companies have to review their supply chains and operations, growth slows or stalls, and political tension can spill over into conflict.

President Trump is threatening high tariffs on Chinese goods in the US if President Jinping refuses to meet during the G20 summit. The threat is a stalemate – if Jinping accepts he may be perceived as weak at home in China, but if he refuses it could cost both local and global economies enormously.

The US has also banned Huawei Technologies Co. over suspicions it’s acting as spy arm for the communist party. Beijing has responded by drafting a list of ‘unreliable’ US entities, impacting their operations in the region.

US companies (and the US Government) are looking to Taiwan for back-up solutions, which rattles the cage for China even more.

China will also likely want to downplay any negative influence from the recent Hong Kong protests, where some two million people spilled into the streets to denounce the extradition law that would see residents deported to mainland China.

Jinping finds himself in a very tough position entering the G20 summit, so it’s also in his best interests to find a solution in tandem with Trump.

With G20 approaching, it is with great hope that leaders take the high road, put their differences aside, and settle on solutions that are truly beneficial. If not, our global economy is looking at some serious implications.

Accounting: It’s the language of business

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Accounting: It’s the language of business

Despite the common perception, accounting is more than just crunching numbers. Half of what any accountant will do involves written and verbal communication – interpreting what is going right and wrong and explaining exactly what the numbers mean to stakeholders.

When you’ve got an accounting degree, the door is open to practically any industry. You’ve got the choice of different types of organisations, such as government, accounting firms, large-scale corporations or small businesses, with the opportunity to fulfil any role from accounts payable to Chief Financial Officer (CFO).

With such flexibility of employment, you’re free to choose a workplace that aligns with who you are, and what excites you.

Tom’s career in accounting

Tom Peskett works as a senior accountant for Prime Accounting and Business Advisory, and was kind enough to spare some time to chat about a career in accounting. “Before I got into the industry, I thought it was just a lot of numbers and data crunching,” recalls Tom, “but I realise it’s more about being an advisor to your client, being able to explain information to them, and being able to manage their expectations.”

Tom Peskett on his laptop

Tom Peskett – Accountant in Melbourne

Day to day, Tom is speaking to clients about their business, about tax compliance such as tax returns and financial statements, and helping them plan their financial future. As legislation is always changing, Tom is continually learning – change is all part of the job, and a successful accountant will embrace that.

The qualifications that helped Tom gain his role were a bachelor’s degree in business, a master’s degree in accounting, and a Chartered Accountants qualification. Graduates of course need good technical skills, but what’s also important is the soft skills, which will help them develop relationships with their clients, and communicate well in general in both a written and verbal manner. Accounting does require commitment to study, but the reward is a stable role within any number of different industries – take your pick.

What to expect from an accounting degree

A general accounting degree will provide a foundation of knowledge, which can then lead to specialised study in such areas as auditing, tax accounting, management accounting, or forensic accounting.

The staff that convene University of South Australia’s Bachelor of Accounting, on offer through Open Universities Australia (OUA), graciously talked us through the course content. “When you study accounting you will learn basic business functions, day to day transactions, understanding statements and the bottom line,” says Heather Prider, coordinator for ACG11 Accounting for Business.

Students will discover how accounting is used in business decision-making processes, and learn about debits, credits, journal entries, and ledger – all the elements that build basic statements. They’ll also come to understand what’s involved in analysing statements (income statements, cash flow statements, balance sheets etc.) and how to examine and utilise the data to make better business decisions.

In terms of degree structure – core subjects delve into economics, statistics, business law, management concepts, marketing, tax law, and auditing practice. Elective subjects will help you understand accounting in a broader context, through the study of topics like international business, human resources, and business ethics.

Study online through OUA

If you’ve got a busy lifestyle with many in-person commitments, why not study an accounting degree online? Through Open Universities Australia, you’ll study the same coursework as an on-campus student, and graduate with the same degree. If you don’t have an extensive academic history, you’re still able to enter a degree by first competing pre-requisite subjects (which count towards your degree, so no time wasted.) With plenty of help available from both your university tutors and OUA student advisors, there’s no need to feel isolated or anxious – we’ve got your back.

Accounting degrees on offer:

Bachelor of Accounting – University of South Australia

Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting) – Curtin University

Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting) – University of South Australia

Master of Professional Accounting – RMIT University

Master of Professional Accounting – University of Tasmania

Accounting single subjects:

Many of the subjects included in our accounting degrees can also be studied in isolation as single subjects. This is a great way to brush up on your knowledge without making a big commitment. A number of these subjects have no pre-requisites, so you can start studying no matter your academic history. Be sure to check out the information on the webpage of each subject for specific entry details.

To express your interest in any of the courses we offer, accounting or otherwise – fill out the form on this page, and we’ll put you in touch with a friendly student advisor. If you’re keen to explore on your own, simply head over to our website to browse the extensive catalogue of courses from universities across Australia.

Adding Pages to a Blogger Blog

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Adding Pages to a Blogger Blog

Adding pages (aka: a navigation bar or menu bar) is a great way to organize your blog to make important information easily accessible to your readers.

Designer Blogs offers several types of navigation bars: a navigation bar with simple text links, a navigation bar with custom buttons, and a navigation bar with drop-down menu (click on links for examples). These navigation bars are customized to give your blog a unique & professional look and can be purchased through our accessories shop.

However, you may just want a basic, non-customized Blogger menu bar, so today we are sharing a tutorial that explains how to get pages and a basic navigation bar added to your Blogger blog all on your own!

Steps for adding pages to your blog:

Step 1: Log in to the Blogger blog you are wanting to add pages to and click on the “Pages” link.

Step 2: Click the “New Page” button.

Step 3: Type the page title (this will appear as a link on the navigation bar), add the page content and then click “Publish.” Note: make sure the page is published or it will not show on your navigation bar.

Step 4: After your pages are published, you need to add the Pages gadget to your layout to make the categories appear on your blog. Go back to “Layout” and click on “Add a Gadget” in the space underneath the header. Note: If you want your navigation bar placed on your sidebar, click on “Add a Gadget” in the sidebar space.

Step 5: Choose “Pages” from the list of gadget options.

Step 6: Drag and drop your pages to rearrange them in the order you want them to appear and then click “Save.”

Adding a web address to your navigation bar:

Step 1: You may want to add some web addresses or links to labels along with your blank pages. Click on the “Pages” gadget and choose “+ Add external link.”

Step 2: In the first box, type the title you want to appear in the navigation bar. In the Web address (URL) box, insert the web address you want to link to. Then click “Save.”

Now view your blog to see your new pages and navigation bar!

RELATED POST: How to Link a Menu Bar Link to a Label or Category

For adjusting left aligned navigation menus

If you have a blog template with a left aligned navigation menu and you would like to adjust the positioning of the links, follow the below steps.

Step 1: In your dashboard, click on the “Theme” link and then click on “Customize.”

Step 2: In the Blogger Theme Designer click on “Advanced.”

Step 3: In the “Advanced” tab, scroll down until you find “Add CSS.”

To add more space to the left side of the navigation bar, add the following code:

.PageList {text-align:left !important; padding-left: 20px; }
.PageList li {display:inline !important; float:none !important; }

You will see a preview of how the design will look with the changes. If you adjust the “20” to a larger number it will add more space. If you want less space adjust the “20” to a smaller number. Adjust it as you want and then click “Apply to Blog” to save the changes.

Example:

To center the links, add the following code:

.PageList {text-align:center !important; }
.PageList li {display:inline !important; float:none !important; }

You’ll see a preview of the changes. If you are happy with the way it looks, click “Apply to Blog” to save the changes.

Example:

For any further customizations you might need made to your navigation bar, you can visit our add-on shop to purchase one of our navigation bar options.

Please feel free to leave a comment or contact us at [email protected] with any questions you may have.

Summer Reading Contest, Week 1: What Interested You Most in The Times This Week?

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Summer Reading Contest, Week 1: What Interested You Most in The Times This Week?

Our Tenth Annual Summer Reading Contest begins!

To participate, just post a comment here by 9 a.m. Eastern on June 21 that answers the questions “What interested you most in The Times this week? Why?”

What should you choose? Well, as you know from the rules we’ve posted, you can pick anything published on NYTimes.com in 2019, including articles, essays, Op-Eds, videos, photos, podcasts or infographics.

So what did you read, watch or listen to this week? Maybe you were consumed by front-page headlines about the protests in Hong Kong — or maybe you were more taken with the Women’s World Cup or the Tony Awards.

We hope you’ll click around NYTimes.com and find your own great articles, features and multimedia, but we know that not everyone who participates has a Times subscription. Because all links to Times content from the student features on our site are free, every week we’ll try to help by posting interesting pieces from a variety of sections.

‘We Either Buy Insulin or We Die’

The Anti-College Is on the Rise

Roads, Smoke and Microsavings

We Read 150 Privacy Policies. They Were an Incomprehensible Disaster.

_________

Whatever caught your eye, tell us about it in the comments.

Need more details? The contest rules are all here, and you can read the work of last year’s winners here. A quick overview, though:

• You can choose from anything published in the print paper or on NYTimes.com in 2019, including videos, podcasts, graphics and photographs. (In your response, please include the URL or headline of the piece you pick.)

• We’ll post this question each Friday from today through Aug. 16, and you’ll have until the next Friday morning to respond with your picks. Then we’ll close that post and open a new one with the same question.

• We’ll choose at least one favorite answer to feature on our site each week. Winners from this week will be announced on July 2.

• Feel free to participate each week, but we allow only one submission per person per week.

• The contest is open to students ages 13 to 19 from anywhere in the world.

_________

While this is the only Student Opinion question we’ll be asking this summer, here is our section that features hundreds of writing prompts still open to comment.

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