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GUEST POST: Who Benefits More From Peer Feedback: The Giver or the Receiver?

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GUEST POST: Who Benefits More From Peer Feedback: The Giver or the Receiver?

Li, Liu, and Steckelberg (2010) looked at undergraduate education students who completed a Webquest project and gave peer feedback before revising for a final submission (3). They found that, once the quality of the initial submission was controlled for, those who gave better feedback produced better final products than those who gave poor feedback. However, there was no link between the quality of feedback students received and the quality of the final projects. This is an interesting finding teachers can share with their students, to help improve engagement in peer review activities. 

One final interesting study is by Cho and Cho (2011), who categorized comments students gave their peers for an undergraduate physics lab report, to determine how the types of comments given and received influenced writing improvement, and how pre-existing writing skill and qualities of initial drafts influence the types of comments given (4). Comments were categorized by evaluation (whether they identified a strength or weakness in the writing) and scope (surface features, micro-meaning, and macro-meaning). 

When students commented more on the strength of macro-meaning and the weakness of micro-meaning, their revised drafts improved more. Effects of received comments were limited to a negative impact from strength comments on surface features, reinforcing the results from Li, Liu, and Steckelberg (2010). 

Cho and Cho’s most interesting finding is that stronger initial drafts elicited more strength comments and weaker initial drafts more weakness comments. While this is an obvious finding, it gets me thinking about how the assignments being peer reviewed can influence which writing features are focused on. Sample writing can be chosen that would invite comments on both strengths and weaknesses, as well as contain common errors that can be discussed as a class. 

In general, students who give feedback do just as well or even better than students who only receive feedback. Depending on the needs of a class, then, a revision workshop like that done by Graner can be used in lieu of peer review activities, and students will still gain the same benefits they would from participating in peer feedback. This avoids problems caused by students coming to class without a first draft, managing many peer review discussions, and varying qualities of feedback given. 

It also helps address issues of students being reluctant to give critical comments to their peers, or reluctant to receive critical feedback. One student from the Chanski and Ellis study (2017) shared that “It is easier to cut apart and criticize someone else’s writing than to hear it about your own. By focusing on someone else’s flaws you begin to see similarities between your writing and theirs making it easier for you to accept your own flaws.” 

Giving feedback also puts students in a more active role than receiving feedback, allows them to see other ways of approaching a task, and puts them into the role of reader, gaining distance from their writing that allows them to look at it with a more critical eye (2). 

Dylan Wiliam asserts that the purpose of feedback is to change the student, not the work, to improve their performance on tasks they have not yet attempted. By being focused on the feedback they give, rather than the feedback they receive, the student becomes responsible for identifying more general guidelines for writing and applying them to their work, rather than simply following instructions for fixing errors specific to their writing. This could help with transfer of skills to other writing tasks. 

How The Times Analyzed the Migrant Center Airstrike

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How The Times Analyzed the Migrant Center Airstrike

Times Insider explains who we are and what we do, and delivers behind-the-scenes insights into how our journalism comes together.

When Dataminr, a social media monitoring service, alerted our team on the evening of July 2 to Twitter reports of an airstrike on a migrant detention center in Tajoura, Libya, outside Tripoli, our Visual Investigations unit scrambled to find out more.

Initially, though we had been monitoring the renewed civil war in the area, it seemed too outrageous that a migrant center would be bombed. But if it were true, it would be a big deal, possibly a war crime, and the consequences to people held in the center could be catastrophic.

It was the middle of the night in Libya. How could we verify those claims quickly?

Here are some of the steps we took.

First, we wanted to know where this happened. We searched Twitter, Facebook and Snapchat using the Arabic spelling of Tajoura. Pictures of wounded African refugees and migrants being treated in a medical facility were being shared by Libyan local media accounts.

One picture of the alleged airstrike stood out. Evan Hill, an Arabic-speaking reporter on our team, verified that the logo painted on the building belonged to the Directorate for Combating Illegal Migration, an agency of the United Nations-backed Government of National Accord in Libya. These visual clues suggested the terrible reports were true.

We searched YouTube and Facebook for archival videos of the facility, and found this one of a party with migrants to which the D.C.I.M. invited representatives of various embassies in Libya, including those of Bangladesh and Pakistan.

The video allowed us to confirm the location of the center in Tajoura by comparing the details of the facility to old satellite imagery on Google Earth. We quickly marked the visual details with colored boxes to share the location confirmation on Slack. This method of determining the exact place where a photo or video is taken, called “geolocation,” is a key verification practice for our unit.

We also found a Facebook live stream from the location showing bodies being taken out of the center. “A lot of damage, and a big massacre,” the narrator said in Arabic. Soon after, an official Facebook page of the D.C.I.M. posted harrowing photos of the damage and victims’ remains.

So within an hour or two we were able to confirm where the airstrike happened and analyze the visual evidence. We consulted with our Middle East editor, Herbert Buchsbaum, and sent an overnight briefing to Declan Walsh, our Cairo bureau chief, who, in the morning, interviewed sources in Libya and wrote a detailed story on the attack.

Once that initial news article was published, we began a deeper, longer-term investigation, one that would end up revealing a bigger story.

Maxar Technologies provided a new high-resolution satellite image of the area captured the morning after the attack. A curious detail sent us down a new path of inquiry: The image showed another, smaller airstrike to a building less than 100 yards from the detention area.

In a news interview filmed the night before, one witness to the attack said that, before the detention area was hit, an airstrike hit a weapons area “where we work.”

Could we verify his claim? And could the weapons depot be the building with the small hole in its roof?

Working with Sally Hayden and Sara Creta, two freelance journalists who have been documenting the dire conditions in Tajoura and at other Libyan detention centers, we spoke with witnesses to the attack and former Tajoura detainees.

Several other sources confirmed the presence of the weapons depot, and sent us photos of detainees wearing military fatigues standing next to or washing trucks mounted with heavy machine guns. Some migrants told us they were conscripted to fight with a pro-government militia that ran the compound.

CreditProvided to The Times

Using visual clues such as the distinct gate, reference photos and satellite imagery, we were able to confirm that this military vehicle was inside the weapons depot. In a similar way, using photos from its Facebook page, we were able to confirm that a pro-government militia known as the Katiba al-Dhaman, or Security Brigade, was active on the compound.

Could it have been this weapons depot that was targeted on July 2? We scoured Libyan media to find out more, and stumbled upon a set of photos claiming to show the weapons depot after the airstrike.

In one of these photos, Thomas Gibbons-Neff, a Times reporter and former Marine, recognized a Soviet-made anti-aircraft gun amid the tangled remains of a burned-out pickup truck. Sunlight can be seen coming through a hole in the ceiling — the very same hole that sparked our interest in the first place.

Then we obtained surveillance camera footage from the compound showing the whole sequence of events. This confirmed the reports that the weapons depot was bombed first, at 11:28 p.m.

As smoke and debris spill out, people appear to flee. In WhatsApp voice messages, witnesses told us that people inside the detention center tried to escape but were stopped by guards who shot at the windows and told them to go back inside.

Eleven minutes later, at 11:39 p.m., an airstrike directly hit the detention center. More than 100 people were confined inside. At least 53 were killed, the U.N. said, and many others were wounded.

The next day, a spokesperson for Gen. Khalifa Hifter, the military strongman who launched an offensive on Tripoli in April, confirmed that his forces had hit the depot in an airstrike and blamed the militias loyal to the United Nations-backed government in Tripoli for using migrants and refugees as human shields.

A spokesperson for the U.N. Refugee Agency, which supports migrants and refugees detained in Libya, told us that 3,800 people are currently being held at centers like Tajoura in active conflict zones. The agency said that despite its pleas to European and other countries to move the people to safety, Italy is the only one that recently relocated refugees from Libya.

In the days before publication, we tried to get a comment from the European Commission, but its press officers declined to respond. On July 3, the European foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, issued a statement saying that the European Union had sought to evacuate migrants and refugees from the front lines.

On July 9, two days before we published our investigation, the Libyan authorities running the Tajoura detention center released the surviving detainees. With the U.N. unable to house them, hundreds set off down the road, onto the streets of an active conflict zone. A week later, migrants and refugees are back at square one, sitting ducks at a military facility, as a United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees official said the Tajoura detention center was being “refilled” again.

Answering basic journalism questions like “where” and “when” can be hard when there is no immediate access to the incident location. But a wide array of digital tools and methods — such as satellite imagery, social media posts and geolocation — allowed The Times’s Visual Investigations unit to prove some key claims and disprove others, and uncover new information about this potential war crime.

Reporting was contributed by Evan Hill, Sally Hayden, Haley Willis, Sara Creta, Husen Gdora, Barbara Marcolini and Thomas Gibbons-Neff.

Follow the @ReaderCenter on Twitter for more coverage highlighting your perspectives and experiences and for insight into how we work.

Gender in the Workplace Study

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Gender in the Workplace Study

Over the past three months, we have been reaching out to learning system vendors throughout the world, seeking to find information on the number of female executives at their companies and whether or not they had a leadership development program, and if so, what are the breakdowns?

This post covers what will be included in the study, what are some early takeaways, when the report will be published, and some additional information.

Background

The question to why investigate this, why look only at learning systems, and why now, is multi-fold. 

There has never been a research study on gender in the workforce in the e-learning industry, and because the learning system drives the largest amount of revenue in the industry, I choose to focus on that segment first. 

I wanted the research to not just be focused on one specific country, rather to go global and see if there are trends based on where in the world, the learning system was located.

Additionally, I wanted it to be a multi-layered study, not just a bunch of data, but really a deep dive.

Diversity is not part of the study, and there is a specific reason on why that is. Many countries do not collect any sort of data in terms of breakdowns of race.  As a result, vendors in those countries themselves do not collect or keep track of such data. France for example is one such country.  Thus, presenting a diversity breakout across say the U.S. and UK, as the only two, wouldn’t provide a balanced study, when vendors in other countries are following their respective countries mandates. 

What will be presented in the report

1. The data

Clearly the big item here –  the data will come all various sizes of companies, from start-ups to the biggest names in the industry, and thus very large employee base.  If the learning system is owned by a larger parent company, then the data is of the entire entity, although there were a couple that just noted themselves (which is fine). 

Specific numbers were captured, so if someone responded with a percentile, we went back to get actual numbers.  In the final study, the data is aggregated.  There a couple of exceptions, and it is only noted in the study, with the vendor’s permission. For example, there are a few systems where the top execs are all women.  It is extremely rare, but it exists. 

2. Interviews

I conducted interviews with several female executives from various vendors, located throughout the world.  In the final report, their company of course is noted, along with themselves.  Everything is intertwined, so this won’t be just here is the person, here are their responses. I selected the companies based on multiple factors, which will be listed in the study as part of an addendum. 

3. Data from other sources.  To gain a better understanding, data needs to be collected and presented that covers not just our industry, but other industries as well.   Certain industries were selected, that cross-over our space.  These industries include technology.

Data was also collected based on latest Labor reports from various countries.  There are countries which do not have specific breakdowns, so a sample of countries were selected.  Again, methodology will be noted. 

One area of data collection, relevant I think in today’s learning system industry, is tied to venture capitalists and private equity firms, and what percentage of companies founded by women receive funding compared to their male counterparts.  In today’s post you will find out.  The study includes it as well.

The study/report will include additional data including the number of women who founded an e-learning company – this is the only time where e-learning as a whole is brought into the equation.  The data breakdowns will be by continent, so Europe, North America and Asia. Other continents did not have sufficient data to present, so that will be something to look out in the future. 

4.  Hypothesis and Conclusion

As with any research project, the hypothesis, and a conclusion are essential. Both items are presented.  I did not do say a literature review – after all, this isn’t a thesis or dissertation. 

5.  Writing Style

The study is focused and written in a write to the point approach.  Similar to the way I write my blog, sans the witty banter. The style is what is referred to as new journalism and is the way I always write (for those wondering). 

I leveraged my background in Journalism, and followed that approach, including in the interviewing process.  Thus, there wasn’t everyone gets the same question approach with the interviews.  Questions were based on the flow of the discussion, upon what the person said or didn’t say, and so forth.  This is the best way, in my opinion in conducting an interview.

6. The study will come with a table of contents, and yes a couple of addendums.   One addendum will list the vendors who participated in the study.  Another will list those who outright declined (and stated as such to us) and those who never responded to our inquiries, despite multiple requests.  

When will the study be published

In mid-September of 2019.   It will be 100% free and available for download on Findanlms.com.  A summary with key findings will be published on this blog, with a link to where the report can be viewed and downloaded.  

Quick Takeaways

It is my believe that there is a systemic problem in the learning system space regarding the number of female executives in relation to their male counterparts.  Men make up more than just the majority, they make up a staggering high number.  This aligns to data that is seen in the tech industry as a whole, and in the Fortune500. 

Leadership development programs are no better.  The ratios are poor as a whole.  A troubling trend because when you think about, how can a learning system target L&D professionals and L&D executives, and yet they themselves either do not have a leadership development program themselves (data to be presented in our report) or that the ratio of male to females is of real concern.  

This isn’t to say that every company’s ratio is for the lack of a better word, poor, as there were systems whose ratios were either equal or above average.  Some vendors noted that they do not look at gender as a factor in who is placed into a leadership development program. But what we found interesting, is the ratio of male to female executives in those same companies.   Those results will be published.

Three Data Points (the report will contain a significantly quite more)

  • 6.6% – Percentage of female CEOs at Fortune 500 companies – (As of June 2019, Fortune magazine).
  • .09% – Percentage of female CEOs/Managing Directors in the learning system industry, if you subtract the number of women who founded the learning system company, the percentage is significantly lower
  • 7% – Percentage of VC funding that goes to women (Center for Venture Research)

Interesting Tidbits

In conducting background research I found that the top three areas/departments that are overseen by female executives are Human Resources, Marketing and Customer Service.  The data in the learning system follows the same pattern.   It is rare, although it does exist to find a woman overseeing a department such as Engineering, in the learning system industry.

Many vendors responded to us that they were just about to start a leadership development program. And there were some who do not have a leadership development program. 

Participation (as of July 18th) – Overall, the response has been fantastic.   It is great to see vendors in the learning system space who wanted to participate in what we believe to be important and relevant in today’s business environment. 

The list (More are on their way – based upon feedback from the vendor)

LinkedIn Learning, Cornerstone, Skillsoft/SumTotal, Workday Learning, Cross Knowledge/Wiley, eLogic Learning, Saba, Growth Engineering, Unicorn LMS, Learning Technologies Group (Instilled, PeopleFluent, among others),  Degreed, Blackboard, Instructure, Absorb, Axonify, D2L, Agylia, Biz Library, EdCast, UpsideLMS, Coorpacademy, Ethos CE, Eurekos, Fuse, GyrusAim, Cypher Learning (MATRIX, NEO), Neovation Learning System, NETEXAM, Academy of Mine, Skilljar, Unboxed Technology, Learn Amp, WBT Systems, emTrain, Knowledge Anywhere, FirstVenture EdTech, LearnUpon, Brainier LMS, Docebo, Talent LMS (includes eFront and Talent Cards), Udutu, ePath Learning, Learnnovators, HT2 Labs (Curatr, Learning Locker), eCom Scotland, Meridian KSI, Abara, GO1, Learning Pool, Thought Industries

Those who notified us that they declined to participate (okay one)

SAP  – Their reasoning was related to time, they didn’t have time to do it (Companies they own include of course themselves, SuccessFactors and SAP Litmos)

Crickets – Hello? Anywhere there?  Earth to you..Earth to you..

Multiple requests were made over a period of three months

Adobe, Oracle, Coursera, Healthstream, OpenEDX, Panopto VLP, Wisetail, Intellium, Schoology, NorthPass, Paradiso Solutions, Pluralsight, Kineo US, Workjam

I can’t say why, because honestly I do not know, why those vendors declined. One vendor Udemy, informed us they would participate, but since then have gone silent. Another said they would consider it, then silence  – that vendor is Lessonly.

This isn’t about shaming any of these vendors, but I am very much aware that readers will inquire about this or that vendor not being on the participation list, and thus, the other list of silence and not wanting to participate.

I left out those vendors who we are still in contact with, so your vendor may be on there (if you are unsure, contact me either below in the “comments” or via “LinkedIn” – message me, or via Twitter – DM me or contact me via e-mail.) – I will let you know. 

And is it too late to participate? Absolutely not, but data collection ends on July 25th.  

Bottom Line

I truly believe that this study is necessary.

That we all need to know, once and for all, where the learning system stands in terms of gender equality at the executive level and in leadership development programs. 

Have we progressed from the “Boys network” or have we regressed?

There is only one way to find out.

E-Learning 24/7

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How to craft the perfect work email

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How to craft the perfect work email

The first email (or ‘e-mail’) was sent by a computer engineer called Ray Tomlinson in 1971, sadly, the content of this message is lost to history. In 2017, 169 billion emails were sent every day, according to Statista.

Many would agree that email writing is an essential skill in today’s working world. And because it’s a skill, it can be developed. So, here’s a few ways to make your messages better.

1. Be brief

People in the modern workplace get a lot of email – so, make it as easy as possible for your recipient and keep it as short as you can. If you have a lengthy or complex message to convey, your email is a good way to set up a meeting or call to address this later.

Your email’s subject line is a great way to summarise your message, helping your reader to understand the context of your email.

Here it’s good to include Why you’re sending the email for example if you have a specific request, or want to invite the reader to something, mention it here. It’s also worth remembering that many emails are viewed on mobile, which can cause trouble with longer subject lines.

Getting down to business after you’ve greeted and thanked your reader can stop you from appearing blunt or rude, but try to get back to the point quickly.

Your final sentence or paragraph should provide some clear next steps, if required – or make it clear to your reader that the conversation can now be concluded. For example: “I look forward to catching up with you in the office on Tuesday” or “I appreciate your advice, I’ll take it from here”

2. Be polite

Unless your email is part of a chain of messages that’s been running for a while, it’s important to greet your recipient correctly. In business email, it’s better to be too polite than too informal (this applies to your greeting and the content of your message).

More formally, you can use ‘Dear’ and the recipient’s surname ‘ i.e ‘Dear Mrs. Smith’. Less formally, you could use a first name where ‘Dear’ may appear too stuffy. For example: ‘Hi John’. Try to avoid a generic ‘Dear Sir’ or ‘Dear Madam’ unless you don’t know your recipient’s name.

Your email’s sign off can be approached much the same way. In a formal email, you can consider closing with something like ‘Very best’, ‘Kind regards’, or ‘Respectfully’. With more informal email, a simple ‘Thanks’ or ‘Best’ may be fine.

Remember, it’s not a trade off between ‘friendly’ and ‘polite’, you can be both!

3. Check it thoroughly

Make sure you check every email thoroughly before you send it – even if you corrected the spelling as you went along. It might also be worth using software to help – Grammarly offers a useful plugin for your internet browser that’s great for checking spelling and grammar.

Now is also a good time to see if:

  1. The email has a clear purpose, with definite next steps for the reader.
  2. There’s anything you can remove that doesn’t support the main purpose of the email.
  3. There are any correctly spelled typos (for example typing ‘no’ instead of ‘not’).

At this point, you could also put your email into a word count tool. You may be surprised by how long it is.

How are you developing your email skills? Does your organisation recognise the importance of clear communication?

Let us know in the comments.

Imperial Research Teaching Fellow Helps Create “Alarm System” For Dengue Outbreaks

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Imperial Research Teaching Fellow Helps Create “Alarm System” For Dengue Outbreaks

Dengue is the fastest-spreading mosquito-borne viral illness in the world, and has become a leading cause of morbidity in many tropical and subtropical regions – including outbreaks in recent years in Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, and other Latin American countries. The direct impact of these outbreaks is exacerbated by the stress they place on public health systems, as hospitals become overwhelmed by a surge in cases of dengue as well as “false alarms” from non-dengue fevers. 

Early-warning systems for outbreaks are becoming an increasingly important tool to mitigate the impact of outbreaks for dengue and other diseases, potentially limiting the spread of the illness as well as enabling public health systems to respond more efficiently and effectively.

Current Imperial College London faculty previously participated in an international, World Health Organization (WHO)-led effort to study predictors of dengue outbreaks and develop an early dengue outbreak warning and response system (EWARS). Public health professionals hoping to make this kind of impact can work with Imperial’s world-class faculty from anywhere in the world through the online Global Master of Public Health. 

The first task of this project was to create a statistical model for dengue outbreaks that met the criteria of having a high sensitivity (number of true outbreak detections) and a low number of false positives. This work was led by Dr. Leigh Bowman, then at Umeå University in Sweden and now a Teaching Fellow at Imperial College as well as Consultant Epidemiologist with the WHO. 

Using data from 2007 to 2013 from Mexico, Brazil, Dominican Republic, Malaysia, and Vietnam, researchers sought to define dengue outbreaks based on numbers of hospitalizations and then retrospectively predict them using changes in three key types of alarm variables:

  • Meteorological: Outdoor temperature, rainfall, relative humidity
  • Epidemiological: Mean age of infection, circulating type of virus, probable dengue cases, hospitalized dengue cases
  • Entomological: Various factors indicating the presence and extent of the specific Aedes mosquito that carries dengue

Logistic regressions were performed on these “alarm variables” to develop coefficients for each to build a predictive model for outbreaks. Traditional epidemiological variables, and probable dengue cases in particular, had the greatest predictive potential, but meteorological variables — particularly mean temperature — were also effective predictors in Mexico and Brazil. Entomological variables, meanwhile, required further study. 

This work provided a foundation for the development of the “Early Dengue Outbreak Warning and Response System” (EWARS), a user-friendly, open-source software tool that provides an “alarm system” for dengue outbreaks based on these indicators. EWARS defines a moving average number of dengue cases within a “normal” state for a given set of local conditions, and then defines an alarm threshold for when these indicators increased the probability of an outbreak beyond a specified level requiring action.

The initial EWARS tool and a revised version (EWARS-R) were developed and tested in Mexico, Brazil, and Malaysia, achieving promising results for both sensitivity and positive predictive values (the proportion of true positives as opposed to false alarms, abbreviated PPV):

  • Mexico: 79-100% sensitivity, 50-83% PPV
  • Brazil: 83-99% sensitivity, 40-88% PPV
  • Malaysia: 50-99% sensitivity, 71-80% PPV

District health managers across all 30 study districts that had used EWARS in the field for seven to 10 months were also surveyed as part of the continuing calibration and development of this tool. Respondents indicated an overall consensus that EWARS is useful overall, but also had a number of suggestions for operational improvements to be included in future versions. This work will continue as the project partners work with stakeholders in dengue-prone countries to scale up and expand the use of EWARS.

This research has drawn support from leading international institutions for  its potential to mitigate the impact of dengue outbreaks in different, country-specific contexts worldwide. Primary funding came from the European Commission to the International Research Consortium on Dengue Risk Assessment, Management and Surveillance network.

In addition to Dr. Bowman, these two research papers included global contributors from Europe, Asia, and Latin America. Co-authors included representatives from universities in the United Kingdom and several other European countries; the Ministries of Health of Mexico, Brazil, Malaysia, and the Dominican Republic; and the UNICEF/UNDP/World Bank/WHO Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR).

If you’re looking to make this type of impact on the spread of infectious diseases or other pressing public health issues in Latin America or globally, the online Global Master of Public Health from Imperial College of London’s School of Public Health makes the next step of your career accessible from anywhere in the world. 

 

When One Teaches, Two Learn: Meet Codecademy’s Community

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When One Teaches, Two Learn: Meet Codecademy’s Community

Codecademy believes that “When one teaches, two learn,” a quote attributed to Robert Heinlein. To turn that belief into a reality for people learning to code, Codecademy hosts an online community with tens of thousands of members.

Across the globe, people meet and connect on their learning journeys, helping to motivate one another, celebrate accomplishments, and debug code. The forums and our Facebook group are open to all, and we host an exclusive community for Pro members.

Screen-Shot-2019-07-12-at-2.34.00-PM

But here’s the really amazing part—

Contrary to what many believe, a healthy peer-to-peer community always has a system of governance. Codecademy’s community certainly does. Our moderators are current and former Codecademy learners that have risen through the ranks of the Codecademy community by being helpful, supportive, and uber committed to our mission.

Because Codecademy is where so many people start learning to code, our moderators are expert beginners— they understand the experience of beginning to learn better than just about anyone on the web, and are driven to build a safe space for coding n00bs, so no one ever needs to be afraid to ask questions. What a relief!

Who are the Codecademy Mods?

Oh, and did we mention that the moderators are 100% volunteer? These knights in digital armor come from all walks of life, all corners of the globe, and all levels of experience. What brings them together—and makes them so important to the learning experience on Codecademy—is the belief that teaching someone else helps everyone learn, including themselves! A cycle of learning is created.

Screen-Shot-2019-07-12-at-2.30.09-PM

To quote Micheal Bragg, a Codecademy Moderator, the community runs like a “take a penny, give a penny” jar; it only works when the people getting help come back to give help. Thanks to our Mods’ support, we see people coming back to help all the time. Each person who learns here will come back to teach someone else, making everyone stronger.

How to get involved

Find the platform that meets your needs

If you’re still wondering if coding is for you, join the Codecademy Facebook group to connect with others asking the same question. Pros and beginners gather here to explore all possible paths and help one another find the right direction for them. We currently have 5 moderators in this space, but there’s always room for more leadership with great ideas.

For those already working through courses on Codecademy, the forums are a great place to get and give help with Codecademy curriculum. The forums have a fun and “gamified” system for gaining clout and becoming a leader. The Mods of this space do incredible work giving feedback and even creating challenges for learners to test their skills. Check out this page on badges you can earn for participating that help guide you toward becoming a leader.

For learners ready to commit to gaining technical skills for a better job, there’s an Exclusive community for Pro members. We’re always welcoming new members, joining live events, and sharing our successes. In this space, Moderators serve 6-month terms. We’re taking applications now! Join us and apply today.

Summer Reading Contest Winner, Week 2: On ‘When My Mother Forgot Me’

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Summer Reading Contest Winner, Week 2: On ‘When My Mother Forgot Me’

Thank you to the 527 teenagers who participated in the second week of our 10-week Summer Reading Contest, and congratulations to Chungjune Park, our winner, as well as to our many runners-up and honorable mentions.

Scroll down to take a look at the variety of topics — from the fight against gender stereotypes, to Hong Kong protests, to rising seas along US coastlines, to the new U.S. poet laureate — that caught the eyes of our participants this week.

And please remember to always check the top of our contest announcement to find the right place to participate, any week from now until Aug. 23.

Chungjune Park from New Jersey chose a Ties essay entitled “When My Mother Forgot Me” and wrote:

When Einstein proposed that time is relative, he was speaking of the physical world. Yet, as I read Kate Neuman’s “When My Mother Forgot Me,” I was reminded of how 5 minutes can feel long and yet cause a lifetime of regret.

As Ms. Neuman recounted the moment in which her mother had forgotten her because of Alzheimer’s disease, I thought about my grandmother. I can still remember my last phone conversation with my grandmother. She had called just to see how I was doing, but I was in a rush that day. I hurried the conversation along, thinking that we would have time later. What I did not know was that 30 minutes after that 3 minute conversation, she would pass away from a heart attack.

I have often been angry at myself. Why didn’t I talk longer? For all that she has done for me in my 17 years, why did I wasted those precious minutes with her on the phone?

While I still have regret and a profound sadness over my grandmother’s passing, Neuman’s words gave me some solace. Like Ms. Neuman’s mother, my grandmother was indeed a mirror. Every time I looked into my grandmother’s eyes, filled with love, she was a mirror that showed me my strengths, highlighted my deficiencies, and inspired me to be a better person.

What I have discovered is that when it comes to those whom we love, there is never enough time. So let us not waste any minute, any second we have with them. Let us live in the moment, and in doing so, make seconds last a lifetime by not having any regrets.

Swetha Berana on “What Makes a Leader”

Cody Busch-Weiss on “The Land Where the Internet Ends”

Robert DiChiara on “For Megan Rapinoe, Boldness in the Spotlight Is Nothing New”

A Complete List of SWAYAM Free Online Courses and MOOCs (2019)

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A Complete List of SWAYAM Free Online Courses and MOOCs (2019)

SWAYAM is India’s national MOOC platform, designed to achieve the three cardinal principles of India’s Education Policy: access, equity and quality.

Class Central has been keeping track of SWAYAM’s progress since it was first announced back in August 2014.  Since it beta launched in July 2017, it has seen over 10 million learners. At the rate it’s growing, in a few years, SWAYAM could become the world’s largest MOOC provider offering courses in a wide variety of disciplines from prestigious Indian institutions such as IITs and Central Universities.

In July 2019, the SWAYAM homepage and course catalog were revamped, notably to include all courses offered by NPTEL, a group comprising some of India’s most prominent engineering institutions. All these courses can be taken for free. Students can also choose to pay a small fee (about $15) to sit a proctored exam in an examination center in India to earn a certificate of completion.

Certificates may, in turn, be used by students enrolled in India’s higher education to earn academic credit for completing SWAYAM courses earmarked as credit-eligible by their universities. If you’d like to know more about how India is leveraging SWAYAM at the university level, head to our previous article: In India, MOOCs Are Now Part of the Education System.

I personally completed several courses on SWAYAM, including a SWAYAM-NPTEL course that was part of the last semester of my master’s degree in computer science (specialization in AI) at the Central University of Rajasthan, India. I paid a small extra fee (less than $2) to receive the certificate (embedded below) by mail. Paper certificates have since been discontinued, but students can still obtain virtual certificates that afford the same privileges.

Suparn NPTEL certificate

I joined the Class Central engineering team in April 2019, and part of my job is to maintain make sure that Class Central’s catalog is up-to-date. This means I maintain as well as write new scrapers that collect the course information from different providers.

And I am happy to say that we now list all SWAYAM courses. There are more than 500+ free online courses starting in July and August 2019. If you want to be notified about these courses, please use the follow button and Class Central will keep you in the loop.

Besides SWAYAM, platforms such as FutureLearn allow you to take courses and earn certificates for free: 17 FutureLearn Courses That Still Offer Free Certificates.

Below is a list of all SWAYAM courses categorized by subject. Click on the subject in the index below to directly jump to that section.

Computer Science (36)

Programming (14)

Engineering (137)

Science (93)

Social Sciences (44)

Humanities (31)

Art & Design (17)

Health & Medicine (8)

Business (58)

Data Science (8)

Mathematics (25)

Personal Development (9)

Education & Teaching (16)

The top 10 tax mistakes students make

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The top 10 tax mistakes students make

Studying part time while working makes for a busy life, one where personal administration can be low on your list of priorities—including taxes. That said, making sure you file them on time is important to make the most of your return and reduce your risk of fines or interest charges.

We chatted to Ashley Debenham, tax expert at Etax.com.au and asked her about the common mistakes they see part time students make, and how to avoid them.

1. Including dodgy deductions

The most common incorrectly claimed items come from students who are studying in one field but working in another, Debenham says.

“Students often mistakenly think they can claim self-education expenses like course fees, laptops, or travel.”

“However, for a self-education expense to be eligible, the course you are studying must be directly related to your current employment. It can’t be to get you a new job or a promotion,” she says.

2. Failing to claim what you can

Conversely, many part time students don’t claim the expenses that they can. Debenham says if you’re:

  • Improving your academic qualifications for the job you already have during your studies
  • Improving your knowledge or skills for your current job
  • A trainee and your self-education course is part of the traineeship
  • Can show that your course, qualification or degree can lead to an increase in income within your current employment

Then you are eligible to claim a range of expenses related to your study including course fees, stationery and textbooks, student service, union and amenity fees, equipment depreciation and repairs and possibly car expenses.

“If you’re working, you may also be able to claim uniforms if they have a company logo, or travel for work-related reasons,” she says.

3. Being afraid to catch up on skipped tax returns

It can be easier to stick your head in the sand If you’ve skipped a tax return in the past, for fear of fines or interest charges. 

However, Debenham says it’s best to get caught up—and you may even be surprised with a bonus tax return!

4. Buying up on ‘instant tax deductions’ at tax time

“For a deduction to be claimable it must be directly connected to your work. If, for example, you wish to claim office supplies, you must need to purchase your own office supplies to do your job,” Debenham says.

It’s also important to note items over $300 can’t be claimed in full and must instead be depreciated over the ‘effective life’ of the item, which is usually several years.

Using credit card online

5. Not keeping adequate records

It’s essential to have documentation of anything you plan to claim, so take the time to create a box or file to quickly stash any receipts you may be able to use to claim a deduction come tax time. If you’re planning on claiming travel costs, keep a log in your car and ensure you fill it in thoroughly (and regularly). 

6. Not understanding that Austudy is considered income for tax purposes

If you receive Austudy, it’s a good idea to look at your tax situation at the beginning of the financial year, rather than waiting for tax time, says Debenham.

Why? You might be stung with a tax bill. You can contact Centrelink to ensure this doesn’t happen.

7. Failing to file a return because you’re under the tax-free threshold or haven’t paid tax

While those earning under the tax-free threshold who haven’t paid tax probably don’t need to file a return, Debenham says you do need to notify the Australian Tax Office regardless with a non-lodgement advice. 

The good news is, much like catching up on late returns, if you have paid tax, you may net yourself a bonus return cheque!

8. Failing to clarify if you need to pay tax as an international student.

If you are a student studying in Australia and you’re earning income from working, chances are you will need to do a tax return, Debenham says.

Depending on how long you’ve been in Australia, you may be regarded as a resident or non-resident for tax purposes, and in each case different tax rates do apply. 

If you’re unsure, Debenham recommends getting in touch with a skilled tax agent for individual advice.

9. Not timing your voluntary HECS/ HELP repayments to your best advantage

If you plan to pay off some of your debt in advance, Debenham says the ATO applies a yearly interest indexation on your loan amount on the first of June each year. 

“If you make a voluntary repayment prior to 1 June—with enough notice that they can process it before 1 June, the amount of interest that is added to your loan will not include the amount you just paid off, saving you money,” she says.

10. Trying to DIY a complex tax return

It’s a tax agent’s job to ensure you get the best possible refund and to ensure you avoid ATO trouble, says Debenham. 

“Tax agent fees can be claimed as a deduction on your next tax return and for online services such as Etax, fees are generally less than $100 and can be deducted out of your refund so you’re not out of pocket for anything up front,” says Debenham.

With this information at hand, you’ve got all the knowledge you need to tackle your tax return head-on, and avoid the mistakes other students might be making.

Updates to the Web Development Path

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Updates to the Web Development Path

Good news! We’re making several changes to the Web Development Path.

Why?

Everything can always improve! We took a look at our Web Development path to find ways to make the content even better and set our learners up for greater success!

We’re adding several lessons, projects, and quizzes to introduce and scaffold important concepts in web development. We also know how important practice is in cementing learning, so we’ve added several new challenging projects to the path. You’ll learn how to develop applications locally, and work on real-world style projects which tie everything you’ve learned together.

How does this impact you?

If you’ve already started or completed the Web Development Path, you will see some new content added to the Path.

You won’t lose progress on the coursework that you’ve already completed; however, you may notice that your overall progress percentage has decreased, as there is a greater amount of content included in the Path.

When?

The lessons will be updated beginning at 1:00 PM EST on Friday, July 12, 2019. We expect the updates to be finalized by 7:00 PM EST the same day.

Take a look below to get an overview of the updates.

Changes to The Web Development Path

New content covering:

Plus several challenging cumulative projects:

  • Jamming
  • Boss Machine
  • Gold Medal Metrics
  • Codestrips
  • X-Press Publishing
  • Expresso

We’ve also decided to remove our jQuery curriculum from the Web Development Path. Though this content is a great introduction for anyone interested in learning jQuery, with all the improvements made to JavaScript over the last few years, jQuery is no longer an essential skill for every web developer to have in their skill set.

We’ve decided to remove this content from the path so that you can focus on the most important concepts. If you’re curious about jQuery or you encounter an older codebase that still uses it, head over to our Learn jQuery course!

TL/DR:

We’re updating our Web Development Path so that it’s an even better learning experience. It now covers additional important topics, doesn’t cover some less important ones, and reinforces all of that learning with engaging cumulative projects!

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