The United States’ big professional sports leagues are moving toward technological systems for officiating games. Is that a good thing?
The Night Sky
What is the coolest thing you have seen in the night sky?
Word of the Day: concurrent
This word has appeared in 83 articles on NYTimes.com in the past year. Can you use it in a sentence?
Comment on Bloggers’ Secret Weapon: 20 Sites with Stunning Free Photos! by Diomayra
Life can sure get hectic, and sometimes, as a blogger, you may not have the time or even the photography skills necessary to take stunning, high-quality photos for your blog. Today I wanted to share with you my favorite sites with free photos for the blog posts.
Free Photos for Your Blog Posts
When I’m looking for photos I usually go to places I know. Below you will find my top three sites that I visit almost every day.
#3 Unsplash
Unsplash is a chuck full of stunning high-resolution images. These images are free to download and you can do whatever you want with them. You can peruse all of their gorgeous photos or you can narrow your search by category. Ten new photos are added every ten days.
If I really need some specyfic free photos for blog posts and I can’t find them on the sites above (what doesn’t happen foten) I visit one of those five links:
#4 Pixabay
One of the most popular sites with free stock photos. I definitely recommend checking it out if you do not know it yet.
#5 FoodieFeed
Looking for food-related photos? It is a perfect place for you.
#6 Picography
Modern looking site with unique photos.
#7 Magdeleine
On this site, you will find both free photos and those that require attribution, so make sure to check the license of the image you want to use.
#8 TravelCoffeBook
Great idea for the site. You will find here travel photos that are free to use. Make sure to buy the author a coffee if you will find his site helpful.
If you are still looking for more, below are other sites with free stock photos that will be perfect for blog posts. I do not use them, but since I keep the list, just in case, I thought it is a great moment to share it with you.
#9 Foca Stock – https://focastock.com/
#10 Startup Stock Photos – https://startupstockphotos.com/
#11 Pixjumbo – https://picjumbo.com/
#12 Gratisography – http://www.gratisography.com/
#13 Little Visuals – http://littlevisuals.co/
#14 Free Images – https://www.freeimages.com/
#15 Stock Snap – https://stocksnap.io/
#16 Realistic Shots – http://realisticshots.com/
#17 Cupcake – http://cupcake.nilssonlee.se/
#18 Skitter Photo – http://skitterphoto.com/
#19 Kaboompics – http://kaboompics.com/
#20 Stockcake (AI Generated) – https://stockcake.com/
I hope that this post will help you with finding free photos for your blog posts. If you know, any other sites that offer high-resolution stock photos, share them with us in the comments!
Announcing new Professional Certificates and scholarship program from Adobe to help train the next generation of content creators and graphic designers
By Marni Baker Stein, Chief Content Officer, Coursera
Today, we are thrilled to announce that Adobe, a leader in creativity and digital experiences, is expanding the Adobe Digital Academy with the introduction of two new entry-level Professional Certificates on Coursera: Content Creator and Graphic Designer. An additional program for digital marketing is also in development. The new certificates were unveiled today at Adobe MAX, the world’s leading creativity conference where attendees learn new skills, get inspired, and connect with other creatives.
With the increase in digital media consumption and advent of new technologies, Goldman Sachs predicts the creator economy could approach half a trillion dollars by 2027. These new certificates from Adobe prepare learners without a college degree or professional experience to enter this growing industry – and provide valuable hands-on experience with their most popular tools, including Adobe Express.
These new certificates were announced as part of an expansion of the Adobe Digital Academy, a program aimed at equipping next-generation learners and teachers with AI literacy, content creation, and digital marketing skills to thrive in the modern workforce. Adobe is also committing $250,000 in scholarship licenses that will be distributed through nonprofits in the first year of the program to access Adobe courses and certificates on Coursera.
“The digital landscape has transformed dramatically with the surge in social-first content, personalized marketing at scale, and the rise of AI. This shift demands new and evolved skills in AI literacy, digital marketing and content creation,” said Stacy Martinet, VP Marketing Strategy and Communications, Adobe. “At Adobe, creative expression and digital experiences are at the core of what we do. We have the unique expertise to empower emerging professionals with the practical skills to navigate this new reality. We’re excited to partner with Coursera to provide accessible education pathways and scholarships to help individuals stand out in the modern workforce.”
Content Creator entry-level Professional Certificate
As the creator economy continues to grow at an unprecedented rate, this Professional Certificate will help learners of all backgrounds develop versatile skills for creating professional-quality content and engaging audiences across platforms. Through four courses, learners will:
- Master visual design principles using Adobe Express to effectively communicate ideas.
- Understand how to enhance their social media presence with engaging content and trends.
- Produce diverse digital content like videos, podcasts, and blog posts, building a portfolio for potential employers.
- Use generative AI responsibly and ethically.
By the end of the program, learners will be prepared for the Adobe Express certification exam, an industry-recognized credential. The first two courses in the Content Creator entry-level Professional Certificate are available for pre-enrollment today; all courses will be available by the end of the year.
Graphic Designer entry-level Professional Certificate
Graphic design is one of the most in-demand creative skills among freelancers, according to Upwork. As technology evolves, designers looking to stay on top of tech trends can enroll in Adobe’s Graphic Designer entry-level Professional Certificate. Through five courses, learners will:
- Explore the core principles of design – including layout, typography, and color theory – to create visually compelling work.
- Understand visual storytelling principles and how to effectively communicate ideas through design.
- Harness the power of generative AI to enhance the creative process.
- Gain experience with key tools such as Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and Firefly.
The first two courses in the Graphic Design entry-level Professional Certificate are available for pre-enrollment today; all courses will be available by 2025.
These Professional Certificates will also be included in Career Academy, a training academy that enables academic institutions, businesses, and governments to prepare entire populations for high-demand digital jobs.
Next year, Adobe plans to launch a Marketing Specialist entry-level Professional Certificate that will cover key areas such as understanding and collecting audience insights, measuring campaign performance, and designing impactful marketing strategies, with a focus on emerging tech such as AI.
We are honored to partner with an industry leader like Adobe. This marks an exciting chapter toward equipping global creatives with the resources needed to remain competitive and innovative in today’s evolving workforce.
What’s Your Favorite Hate-Watch?
Do you ever watch, read or listen to content that you think is bad? Why do so many of us do this?
Stack of Food
What do you think this image is communicating? What news reports might it have illustrated?
Word of the Day: robust
This word has appeared in 1,321 articles on NYTimes.com in the past year. Can you use it in a sentence?
To Prompt or Not To Prompt: Effects of Prompt-Questions and Educational Videos on Learning
By Carolina Kuepper-Tetzel
Educational videos are often used in the classroom setting to support instruction of content. On the positive side, these videos can help scaffolding a topic which can lead to better understanding of it. They can also increase situational interest in students because they are fun which may spark further engagement with the topic. Potential pitfalls of educational videos are that students may overestimate their comprehension of the topic because these videos are often easier to process – leading to a so-called “illusion of understanding”. This can be problematic because students may conclude that no further studying or engaging with further reading is necessary.
In a recent study, Krebs et al. (1) investigated whether adding prompt questions after watching an educational video and before engaging in further reading could be a way to counteract the potential pitfalls and to fully reap the benefits of educational videos. Prompt questions can support learning through knowledge consolidation as it is a form of retrieval practice, but they can also make students aware of their knowledge gaps, and as a consequence, guide future studying efforts.
Krebs et al. (1) had participants either watch a 5-min educational video on test anxiety (educational video condition) or read an 800-word video script on the topic (video script condition). Afterwards, participants either answered 6 prompt questions (prompt condition) or no prompts at all (no-prompt condition). Hence, there were a total of four conditions: a) video/prompt; b) script/prompt; c) video/no-prompt; d) script/no-prompt. Afterwards, all participants were given a 10-page book chapter on test anxiety to study. The text contained some overlapping content with the video/script, but also featured more in-depth content. Finally, recall and transfer performances on the material were assessed through a series of test questions (i.e., multiple choice, open-ended questions, and cloze questions). The researchers also measured a range of variables as part of this experiment such as situational interest, perceived cognitive effort, perceived difficulty of content, and more.
Before looking at the results, I’d like to give a brief overview of the prompts that were used. We will later see that the benefits of the prompts may depend on other conditions, but nevertheless it can be useful to look at a concrete example. Two types of prompts were used: cognitive and metacognitive prompt questions.
Cognitive prompts:
“How do you define performance anxiety, what are its components and how do they affect learners?”
“What are possible causes of severe test anxiety?”
“How can learners, parents and teachers counteract test anxiety?”
“Think of your own example of the most important content of the topic.”
Metacognitive prompt:
What’s Going On in This Graph? | Oct. 23, 2024
Two powerful hurricanes recently spun up in the Gulf of Mexico. How has ocean heat in the Gulf changed over time?
