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Student Contest Winner: A Different Vision of Iowa Farming

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Student Contest Winner: A Different Vision of Iowa Farming

This conversation has been edited and condensed.

Credit…Ashley Nesises

What influenced you to become an activist urban farmer?

My parents often had us visit a friend’s farm; we learned a lot. Then, as I got older, I started looking more to growing my own food, especially because I couldn’t find anything here that I was accustomed to eating. At my old apartment, there wasn’t room to grow anything except in containers. And then a co-worker of mine offered me some rows in her garden. It was always difficult to find room in the city. If I’m having this problem, then other people are having this problem. The food insecurity, you have to look at it like food injustice.

What nontraditional vegetables do you grow and why?

Vegetables like okra and other varieties that I don’t see here. With climate change, I’ve started growing items that aren’t zoned for our area, like bitter melon, which is more of an Asian/Indian gourd. It’s zoned for a 9, which is more tropical, and Iowa is zoned at a 5. I sold the bitter melon gourd at the farmers’ market. All my stuff was sold in two hours. It was really an eye-opener, because people are looking for different foods. A woman from India came up to me at the farmers’ market and had her granddaughter ask me about okra. I talked to them about how I like to cook okra and make it crispy. I thought to myself, “Isn’t this something? This woman doesn’t speak English, but we came together on this.” I think people forget that our demographics change.

How can urban farming help solve food deserts — those areas with limited access to affordable and nutritious food?

It will provide access to those fruits and vegetables not always readily available. Economicswise, a package of lettuce seeds is $1, $2, but look how much more you get from it. Similarly, if you plant onions, garlic, anything, it’s readily available. Sometimes it’s not that people don’t want to feed their family healthily; it comes down to economic choices. It’s fine to have all of these free meal sites, but what’s there all the time to help people?

Unfortunately, city ordinances prevented goats, chickens and even composting at times. Do you think our city currently helps or hurts urban farming?

What Are Your Plans This Summer?

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What Are Your Plans This Summer?

Note: This is our last Student Opinion question for the 2021-22 school year.

Do you have plans for this summer? Vacations? Summer camps? Hanging out with friends? Starting new projects? Does this summer mark any big transitions for you, such as moving up to high school or college or starting a summer job?

In “Summer in the City Is Back (Again!),” Julia Carmel shares some recommendations for ways to spend the next few months in New York City. Even if you live somewhere else in the country — or the world — you can probably find many similar activities in your community. Here are a few things on the list:

Visit a farmers’ market. If you’re feeling adventurous, buy something you’ve never tried before. I’m planning to try a new flavor of goat cheese from Lynnhaven farm at the Grand Army Plaza Greenmarket at my next picnic in Prospect Park. If prepared food is more your speed, Korsha likes the doubles, the quintessential Trinidadian street food of flatbread and saucy stewed chickpeas, at A & A Bake and Roti Shop and at Ali’s Roti Shop in Crown Heights, as well as the jerk chicken at Peppa’s in Flatbush.

Visit a new museum. I’m hoping to check out the retrospective of Raphael Montañez Ortiz at El Museo del Barrio, and the upcoming Duke Riley and Virgil Abloh exhibits at the Brooklyn Museum.

Spend an afternoon finding something new. Last summer, after a trip to Chicago was canceled by inclement weather, I visited Au Cheval and learned that there is half of a squished silver bean (much like the famed one, officially known as “Cloud Gate,” by the British artist Anish Kapoor, in Chicago) nearing completion on Leonard Street in Lower Manhattan.

Catch a few live music shows. Celebrate Brooklyn, Lincoln Center and the Parks Department (can you tell I love public parks?) all have their calendars up for this summer.

Sports! Frankly, I do not understand baseball but Nick Bogel-Burroughs, who works on the National desk, got me into going to Brooklyn Cyclones games. I was won over: There are sometimes fireworks! There are always frozen drinks! And did I mention they celebrate Weenie Wednesdays with two-for-one hot dogs?

Learn about what lives in our public parks. There are plenty of birding events, and Dodai Stewart, our Times colleague and New Yorker extraordinaire, has even signed up to work with horseshoe crabs. My mom also loves going on fungi walks led by the New York Mycological Society.

Try a new hobby. There are free kayaking lessons on the Hudson River, shuffleboard courts in Gowanus and lots of free dance and workout classes scattered around the city’s parks. (I’ve always wanted to try glass blowing, as well, but I might save that for a colder season.)

Students, read the entire article, then tell us:

  • Did any of the ideas in the article stand out to you? What is one thing you would like to do or see in your community this summer?

  • What is one thing you would like to achieve or accomplish this summer? Do you have a goal to read a certain number of books? Spend more time outside? Get a job?

  • How do you plan on treating yourself and relaxing this summer? What will feel like a rewarding break to you after the school year is over?

  • Does summer break ever bring up negative emotions for you? Do you ever feel overwhelmed by the amount of unstructured time off? Or get anxious about the school year ahead? How do you cope with those feelings?

  • Write a recommendation for a summer activity to do where you live. Is there something you’ve experienced that you think other teenagers should try? Or something you’ve never done but always wanted to? Use inspiration from the featured article to make your description exciting and enticing, and then post it in the comments.

Want more writing prompts? You can find all of our questions in our Student Opinion column. Teachers, check out this guide to learn how you can incorporate them into your classroom.

Students 13 and older in the United States and Britain, and 16 and older elsewhere, are invited to comment. All comments are moderated by the Learning Network staff, but please keep in mind that once your comment is accepted, it will be made public.

Certification Program Success via your Learning System

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Certification Program Success via your Learning System

Certification Programs. Just the sound of the words “certification” can lead some folks to immediately think this is going to be challenging (it should) and equally worthwhile (it should). A certification program must benefit the person who is seeking to be certified. Whether it is for potential new job opportunities, financial rewards (current or next job), personal empowerment or business success.

Certification Programs are usually found in the association space, more so than say Corporate and definitely more so than Academia. Yes, their are certifications for IT skills, but in this post, what I will be focusing on, will not be IT skill certifications or similar. If that is your sole objective, then Pluralsight does the best job for that.

Certification = Revenue

A certification program should never be free. The revenue opportunities a training department or education department (in an association) can be quite high. One association that offers a finance designation, once told me that the revenue alone drives the entire association, far more so, than their trade show. Usually the show, is the revenue driver.

Pricing you charge will be based on benefits and demand. Even if it is a new program, and demand isn’t there yet, the goal is to boost demand and interest. The more challenging the program, the better the rewards per se. If the certification program is easy, and everyone passes, then it is not as valuable to the entire audience, especially those who will leverage the certification for better opportunities or personal growth.

Certification Questions

Before diving into how to tap into your learning system for the certification program experience, here are some questions you will need to think about, before saying “okay, we are doing a certification program online”.

  • What is the end game/objectives for your certification program? Is it available to everyone or limited? If you are in a trade association, how will it benefit the business owners/employees?
  • Will it require an assessment/test at the end or a project/portfolio or some combination? For the test will it require an online proctor? Will it be timed (if an assessment)?
  • Will it have multiple-levels or steps? In other words, they pass level one, by doing this and that, then move up to another level, with each level becoming more difficult than the previous one? (this is how that financial designation one works). The first level is difficult too.
  • How many people will pass each level or you expect? Using the financial designation one, less than 2% of all folks who make it to the final level, pass, and receive that designation – which folks in the finance world do see as a major plus.
  • Will the program be online courses only? What about reading materials – ebook, manual (yuck), PDFs, podcasts, some other type? What about vILT or on-site F2F (not something I’d recommend in this new business environment)? Will it require checklists? Will it involve some form of social or communities within the system? Will there be scenario-based online content or just standard? Can they tap into experts or mentors with the program – either as part of the levels or after they pass each level or if no-levels, pass and complete and achieve the certification?
  • Will they receive a certificate? Will they get additional benefits beyond the certification designation? Can they add the designation badge to their social media sites? What about LinkedIn? Or if their system offers internal jobs – seeing the designation listed within the system and on their profile?
  • Will you use gamification as part of the entire experience? Will you incorporate skills as part of the certification process – gaining new skills, building upon skills (non IT related)?
  • Will you use playlists (if available) or similar? What about curated content from the Internet?
  • Will you be using off-the-shelf, 3rd party publisher content or only content/courses that you have built yourself? If the latter will you need an authoring tool or use the one that comes with the system – if they offer it?
  • Do you need to have digital signature? If yes, does it come with your system? (It’s not universal common, but it is gaining traction, as for mobile – it is very rare). If the system does not have digital signature, can you API in one or connect with one say Docusign for example?
  • How are folks going to pay for the certification program? One-time? Using promo or discount codes or some other code? On the analytics side, does your system provide data that can tap into some financial data tied around sales, etc? If not, can the vendor create a custom report for you? (If they offer it, it is fee-based).

Learning System + Certification = Here is what you need

Because e-commerce will play a key role (you want people to be able to purchase what they need, rather than have to contact you)

  • Accepts credit cards – Visa, MasterCard and AMEX
  • Offers promo codes, discount codes
  • Learners can purchase courses, content (make sure they can buy PDFs, etc. beyond courses)
  • Learners can purchase webinars/seminars (only if you plan to include this in your certification program)
  • Accepts Purchase Orders
  • An administrator can create an order
  • Self-registration for external end-users (this is different than self-registration which usually focuses solely on internal. It may be one and the same with a simple rule setup in the system)
  • Learners can purchase a subscription package or bundle (I like this one because perhaps you want the end-user to be able to put together their own “certification package options” – think that you have eight courses that people can select from – they have to choose five of them – thus the bundle)
  • Multi-currency
  • Offers VAT (essential if you are outside of the U.S.)
  • Out of the box payment processor integration (If unsure whom to use, ask the vendor – they may have preferred or have experience and thus integration set to go with certain processors. For vendors who use Stripe, everything is handled by Stripe – if you want, and you want)
  • SSL – For security
  • Digital Download area – An added plus (not a deal-breaker though if the system says no on this)
  • Allows for charge-backs
  • Optional Accepts Paypal – but only if it also accepts credit cards. There are vendors where it is PayPal only. Pass.

Assessment tool – you want this if you are going to have any type of assessment/test

  • Quiz bank
  • Ability to randomize questions
  • Accepts M/C, T/F, Multiple Answers and Essay (if this is of interest to you)
  • Limit the number of times someone can go back and take the assessment
  • Ability to change/add weights, add points (gamification angle) to questions
  • Timed assessments (only if you are planning on having this)
  • Assessment can be in another format – such as you adding video or audio or image files to it, as part of the question.

Certificates

  • Ability to generate a certificate
  • Ability to edit a template certificate and be able to upload your own certificate
  • Ability to add multiple certificates to a single course or content
  • Ability to send certificates to end-users (via e-mail)

Languages (this is for the entire system or can be for each learner – some systems offer this flexibility – a plus)

  • You want as many languages as you will need. There are vendors where the only options are English or English and one other language. If you are in Germany, then this isn’t going to work. Never assume they have your language. Some vendors offer additional languages for a fee, but English is free. I do not get that, when we live in a global marketplace. Oh, and I hate that (uh, English is free but you pay for other languages).

Multi-Tenant – Applicable only if you will have companies or entities that want their employees to go thru the program, and want their own look and feel

  • Each tenant can upload their own end users, content (if allowed by Parent)
  • Multiple custom domains
  • Ability to change the look – add logo, colors to each tenant
  • Ability for each tenant to see data and reports (this is just for this tenant, not everyone. As the parent, you can see everyone).

General

  • Playlists are a win here, especially if you can change the header, so instead of “Assigned” it says “Certification Selections” or something else. You can keep Assigned of course. There are systems where the headers, location of the playlists are locked in – in other words, you are stuck with what the vendor uses for terminology, even with tabs – another you do not want – you want to be able to change tabs, headers – anything the learner can see. One other ideal you want – the ability to hide other playlists or however they set this up. I mean “suggested” isn’t applicable in a certification program nor is “recommended” or “trending” or “most popular”.
  • I’m a fan of allowing the movement of say one playlist up higher than other – that said, “static” is the common way – which means that if “recommended” is fourth it stays fourth.
  • Content curation – Ability to pull stuff down off the web (again, this might be a requirement of your program.
  • Ability to add CEUs, CPDs or credits to any course or content (only applicable if you need this)
  • 256 AES or higher (ties around security, anything lower, ehh pass)
  • Screen or webcam recorder – Only applicable if this is something you need. There are still vendors who pull the “you select your own, because we do not have this feature.” That says 2010.
  • vILT integration – if you are going to do webinars or have sessions where people need to attend something with an online speaker. Always find out what data can be captured and what web conference tool will work with their system. API or connectors are common here, however there are vendors whereas they already have the integration setup.

Mobile

This is relevant, because people can access the system beyond them having to be on their desktop or laptop. I still do not understand why there are vendors today who lack a native app and online/offline synchronization. How many times has your Internet gone down?

  • Native mobile app for iTunes and Google Play – Some systems it is iOS only, even though 80% of the smartphone market is Android
  • Online/Offline Synchronization – Simply means they can take courses/content etc, and if they lose the net connection or can’t access the net – hello airports and your own place, no worries – when it re-connects all the data gets pushed back into the system
  • Ability to take courses and content in the app – again, content could be a PDF

Questions to ask around mobile

  • What browsers do you support? When a vendor says browser-agnostic this tells me they haven’t checked which browsers will work. This is for folks where you can access additional features via the web only or you choose to just go to the site (rather than use the mobile app). For example, I like Kiwi Browser (I have an Android), but I do find it doesn’t work with all the systems. Same with Brave and Opera. If your content is heavy video, Safari doesn’t have a great track record.
  • Is it the same view in the mobile app for iOS and Android? Never assume it is. I have an app for my pool, and the iOS version (my iPad) has more options and looks different than the app for Android.
  • Do you offer digital signature within the mobile app? A nice plus, this is a certification program, not “Captain Kangaroo’s fun palace. I bet he would reject Mr. Greenjeans – I never trusted him. Bonus fact – The guy who played the Captain was Bozo the clown for national TV.
  • Can the end-user record their own video and upload it to the system – perhaps you are offering a project or some other item with your certification whereas the learner needs to record some video or take pictures. You want to make sure they can upload via the app. Several systems accept any video/pictures with filters (popular).

People Development – The term is somewhat variance here, but I’m referring to people development powered by mentoring. Remember mentoring is not the same as coaching. However, if the system offers only coaching – find out what that really entails. Having someone text to someone else and then the coach texts back – is outdated. Plus it is reactive. Let’s say you have a system where the mentor (the expert) can mentor multiple folks at one time or provide expertise to multiple folks at one time.

  • Experts option – this is where the end-user can select an ‘expert’ to provide additional help/or insight. I’m a fan of mentoring, because coaching just focuses on the task at hand, and not the entire learning experience including the growth of said person. Experts says “okay, you are in this program, and we want to give you access to a few folks who can provide aid in your discovery. OR after you pass our program, you can on-going mentoring via these experts – I love this. It truly sets your program apart from so many others, and can be an added-value and plus for the learner. It is not just you pass, see-ya”. Best solution for the mentoring angle is MentorCloud – which can be API into your system. MentorCloud is the best solution I’ve seen for 2022. That said, there are systems that offer “Experts” which are specific end-users. Always find out from the vendor what data they capture around an expert/mentor. You want to know the response time, what folks think of the expert, the expert’s own answers. Just because you are an expert, it doesn’t mean you are awesome. You could be lazy and indifferent. Funny, I find the same issue with a few professors who think ‘office hours’ online or responding to a discussion board is optional.
  • If your certification includes role-playing/scenarios – then having a video skills solution with such capabilities is a plus. In my experience the best solution to do this is Bongo, which there are vendors who already have it. Worse case – you can add it to your system via integration.

If your system has online proctoring built-in and you want this, then it is a nice to have. Online proctoring doesn’t mean there is someone watching these folks, so always find out. Find out what security measures are in place, there are solutions where the person has to show their license or it is fingerprint scan or equal measure. The issue today is privacy, and do I want to have someone capture my license information? If some end-user balks on giving the proctor anything, what do you do then?

Analytics

  • Data visualization is a must. Bonus if it is not just pie charts or Excel 2002 graphs placed online.
  • Data capture that is relevant to your certification program. Views is not relevant. Assessment results by question for example will be. You might see that a lot of folks are getting the answer wrong with a certain question. Now it is your job to figure out is it due because the question isn’t specific or that the information cannot be attained with whatever you provided to the learner OR is it something else?
  • Data capture that shows in-progress and completed for each piece of content/course. Again, this is a certification program – it is not meant to be simple, you need this data to track over a period of time. You are looking for trends here.
  • Data around skills – if this is applicable to you, ditto around the experts, ditto around content curation – I’d want to know what folks are pulling down off the net – I will admit it is beyond rare to find this out in a system beyond you having to look at each one.
  • Any sales data they can capture. If they can’t, find out if they can API or connect with whatever 3rd party solution you want to use, such as a BI tool.
  • Pass and fail of the program – think this way, what percentage of people pass the entire program? If it is anything higher than 70%, that could indicate it isn’t fully easy, but it isn’t fully difficult either. If it is above 85%- too easy. If it is 2%, well, that better be a program with massive upside – beyond what you think. A safe number is 50-60%, but again, you may say, we want 25% pass rate for either program, or each level – that’s your choice.

The courses/content

  • Will you be creating the content/courses? If yes, do you want a built-in authoring tool – which will never be something that a person with a background in ID will find useful. It is meant to be easy and simplistic, and thus not robust. Commercial tools are more robust – I recommend cloud-based that have or can be API/integrated into the system.
  • Will you be purchasing 3rd party content? Remember you will have to provide this free to the end-user. You cannot charge for it.
  • If you are outsourcing the build of courses/content to a course developer, than yeah, you can charge your end-users.

Bottom Line

Certification programs can be low cost or high-cost, but always know your audience. Charging $3,000 for your program, which has limited upside, won’t work. You may have a strong program and decide to charge $450 for the entire program. Again, it is your choice. I have seen programs that the cost is so high, it limits people who want to go thru the program. We are dealing with inflation – globally, and a recession may not be far off – globally.

Who will be reviewing the program results along the way? The person overseeing the program, or a few folks or Mr. Greenjeans?

Will the program be so difficult to figure out that you see a high drop out rate? Then this will be an indicator that there are problems within the program itself. Never go MOOC here, your completion rates will be awful.

What will the badge designation look like? If it looks like something you could draw at eight years old, then yeah, not a win. If you are unsure on badge options and what the system to handle it – check out a vendor called Credly. There are systems that use this. My preference is hire or have someone in house create a very nice badge. Don’t go with some clip art here.

Lastly, think of the golden rule.

The benefit the end-user will they pass and complete the program,

Will be gold to them.

E-Learning 24/7

Understanding The Value Of A Career Guide And Who Should Use It

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Understanding The Value Of A Career Guide And Who Should Use It

We spend nearly one-third of our lives at work. This comes to roughly 90 000 hours of work during the course of your life. With so much time spent working, you want it to be in a career you love, can grow in, and look forward to. Making the right career choice requires lots of thought, time, and guidance. This is where the value of having a career guide for career starters and people returning to the workforce comes in.

 

 

Information about different careers is not always available. For younger students at school, there is limited awareness of career paths they can explore after leaving school. More mature individuals who are often already in the workforce also find themselves in jobs they may not be passionate about, unsure of how to make the switch and in some cases, experience doubt about if they too can make use of career guides. Alison’s Career Guide provides everyone, regardless of age, and level of experience everything they need to know about career development. Read on to understand the value of a career guide and who should use it and how ours can help you get on the career path of your dreams.

What is a career guide?

A career guide is a programme that’s specially designed to help individuals select the right career path. This is based on their education, interests, competencies, skills, and their professional choices. Career guides include an assessment, sometimes both qualitative and quantitative, of the learner to correctly identify which career options are not only available but best suited to them.

Alison’s Career Guide

Our free Career Guide is an all-in-one encyclopedia that tells you everything you need to know about different careers, the roles, and responsibilities in each job, and lists the specific skills and background you need to excel in that career. Our tool is unique. It doesn’t just tell you what you need but also recommends the free top-quality resources to help you develop the skills you need to pursue a specific career path. It’s a holistic approach to career guidance because it takes each individual from identifying their skills to equipping them with the skills through our courses, and finally providing you with the tips and know-how on meeting their individual professional goals.

Some of the information available in our Career Guide include:

  • Job tasks and responsibilities
  • Typical salary expectations in the US and UK
  • Work environments
  • Background and qualifications
  • Required skills
  • Lists courses related to the career and courses based on the job skills
  • Outline of possible career path

Benefits of a career guide

Our career guide offers assistance for launching your career, but also in choosing the right career, helping you land your first job and direct you in possible career paths and options available. We’ve put together a list of 9 benefits of our career guide.

  • Helps you identify your strengths, weaknesses, interests, and values
  • Helps you launch and set clear career goals
  • Offers insight into the world of work
  • Introduces you to unexplored careers
  • Offers methods to deal with various workplace issues
  • Learn (and unearth) new skills
  • Offers support in your job search
  • Broadens your perspective
  • Helps you make sound professional decisions

The list goes on. When you don’t know where to look, where to begin and what to look for, our career guide takes you step-by-step through the career process.

Who should use a career guide?

You’re never too old to make use of a career guide. Nor should career guides be limited to the walls of a formal school. The truth is everyone should use a career guide.

  • High School students: exposes students to career streams and reduces the pressures associated with making choices based on other people’s preferences.
  • Graduates: helps graduates discover the various routes available to them based on what they’ve studied.
  • Professionals: upskill themselves and learn how to redirect their career paths like a course in Supervision.
  • HR Officers: provide their teams with the right tools, access, and information on how
  • to best serve and advise them on their career. This also helps HR employees learn
  • how to manage and understand Behavior and Diversity in the Workplace.

There’s no doubt that every 9-5 is different. The people you’ll meet and have to work with daily come with different backgrounds, ways of working, personalities and perspectives. Take the FREE Alison Personality Test and get insight into your workplace personality, knows your strengths, areas of improvement and skills to develop by directing you to the right courses that will help you grow in these areas.

Celebrate Pride By Contributing To These Open-Source & Community Projects

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Celebrate Pride By Contributing To These Open-Source & Community Projects
Celebrate Pride By Contributing To These Open-Source & Community Projects

Whether your Pride tradition includes cheering on your local parade route or holing up with a good book by a queer author, ‘tis the season to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community.

For folks in tech who are looking for ways to give back to the LGBTQ+ community this Pride Month, there are plenty of opportunities to show your support. You can lend your coding and technical skills to LGBTQ+ open-source projects, or connect with other LGBTQ+ tech workers at Pride events.

Need ideas? Here are some LGBTQ+ open-source projects, tech organizations, volunteer opportunities, and community happenings to check out this Pride Month — and how to get involved. Happy Pride!

Digital Corps

Out in Tech’s Digital Corps is a group of volunteers who build WordPress websites for LGBTQ+ organizations around the world, with an emphasis on serving organizations in countries where same-sex relationships are outlawed. The organization hosts events where volunteer developers are paired with an organization that needs technical assistance.

How to get involved: Developers, UX designers, or copywriters who are looking to participate can apply to be an Out in Tech volunteer. Beyond these volunteer days, Out in Tech host lots of virtual networking events for queer people, with several taking place throughout the month of June for Pride. You can also join Out in Tech’s Slack to connect with other LGBTQ+ people working in tech and stay up to date on the organization’s latest projects and happenings.

QueerMap by Qiekub

If you’ve got big summer travel plans or just want to discover the queer hangs in your neighborhood, check out QueerMap, a global interactive map of LGBTQ+ community centers, tourist attractions, nightclubs, restaurants, and more. You can filter your search results by location, age recommendations, or queer acceptance delineation (like, “Only for queer people” or “Queer people are welcome”).

The map started as a passion project for developer Thomas Rosen, who wanted to help other queer people discover inclusive spaces. “For me, writing software — coding — has always been the tool that helps me achieve what I want to do,” Thomas said in an interview with Amazon. “And that is not developing software per se, but to build things that can be there for people, to help everyone be more conscious of each other and more compassionate.”

How to get involved: For starters, you can put your go-to spots on the map by adding a new place on the website. There’s also a GitHub page where you can check out the map’s API and open-source repositories. Not sure how to use GitHub? Our course Learn Git & Github will teach you how to use Git commands and start collaborating with other developers using Github.

Refuge Restrooms

The open-source web application Refuge Restrooms is a database that tracks unisex restroom access. The goal of Refuge Restrooms is to make it easier for transgender, intersex, and gender nonconforming individuals to find and access safe restrooms.

How to get involved: Refuge Restrooms is on Github, where you can read the code, point out bugs, or suggest improvements. (FYI, most of the contributions on Refuge Restroom’s Github are written in Ruby, so you might want to download it first.) Even if you don’t feel ready to contribute to the open-source code, adding listings to the site is a simple way to keep it alive and make it more useful for others.

Maven Youth

Think summer camp, but instead of making friendship bracelets and canoeing, the campers are LGBTQ+ teens building mobile apps to serve queer youth and prepping for careers in tech. Maven Youth hosts free virtual camps, workshops, and career mentorship programs for LGBTQ+ youth (12-24) who want to “network, organize and educate for social change through technology and the tech sector.”

How to get involved: Maven Youth is looking for volunteers to donate their time and resources for the 2022 virtual summer camp programs. If you’re a gaymer or interested in sharing your career advice with the next gen of tech, there are lots of opportunities — and you don’t need coaching experience to participate. (It’s a good idea to follow Maven Youth’s Instagram for the most up-to-date information.)

.gay Domain

Why have a plain .com domain name when your website could end in .gay? The domain registrar GoDaddy offers .gay websites, and will donate 20% of the cost of registration (it costs $49.99 a year) to LGBTQ+ nonprofits like GLAAD. While this is a small tweak that pretty much anyone with a website can make, using the .gay domain could be a simple way to showcase your pride online.

How to get involved: Search to see if the .gay web address you’re looking for is available, then reserve the domain. If you’ve got a knack for building websites and want to learn how to implement other creative features and designs, be sure to check out our web design courses.

Queer in AI

Members of the LGBTQ+ community who are interested in AI and machine learning should check out Queer in AI, which is an offshoot of the nonprofit Out in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (aka oSTEM). Queer in AI’s mission is to “make the AI community a safe and inclusive place that welcomes, supports, and values LGBTQIA2S+ people.”

Queer in AI hosts conferences, meetups, and events. You can watch recordings of select past talks on the organization’s YouTube channel.

How to get involved: You can volunteer as a Queer in AI organizer, a commitment that lasts throughout the year. Donating money to oSTEM’s Covid community relief fund, which goes toward the urgent financial needs of people affected by the pandemic, is another way to show your support. Queer researchers who are studying topics on queer issues in natural language processing and linguistics can submit papers to the organization. And there’s a Queer in AI Slack channel you can join to connect with other members of the organization (learn how to join the Slack channel here).

Free June 2022 Wallpaper & Instagram quote

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Free June 2022 Wallpaper & Instagram quote

Free June 2022 Wallpaper & Instagram quote

Free June 2022 wallpaper is here!

Bring the warm summer sunsets to your home and office with this month’s free wallpaper. Bold pink and purple shades combined will give you cozy and calming energy and help you relax.

Each wallpaper download from June 2022 includes:

  • Desktop wallpaper x3 (plain, with the calendar, and with a quote)
  • Phone wallpaper x2 (plain and with a quote)
  • Tablet wallpaper
  • Instagram ready quote

As always, June’s free wallpaper comes with two different mobile phone layouts. They are great to use at once – the simple version for your phone background and the one with a quote for the lock screen.

Quote for June 2022

My goal this year is to keep you motivated. Every quote I choose for monthly wallpapers and Instagram square images is chosen with this in mind. June’s quote is no different! Remember always to follow your dream and believe in yourself!

Be fearless in the pursuit of what sets your soul on fire - Free June Instagram Quote

Be fearless in the pursuit of what sets your soul on fire

P.S the square image is also included in the download package below! Feel free to post it on your Instagram.

Looking for more? Check our previous wallpapers!

The free download includes three desktop options – one with the calendar and one without the calendar, and one with a quote. There is also a wallpaper for tablets and two options for the phone. We have also included an Instagram-ready square with the weekly quote.

Free June Wallpaper on different devices

FOR PERSONAL USE ONLY.

NOTE: this template is available as a free download through June 30, 2022 only. After that, a $5 download fee applies.

What font is it?

If you are curious about what font has been used this month, let me help! For the sans-serif text, I used my all-time fav called Geometrica. I must admit that I may be using it too often; however, it is such a perfect classic font that it just matches every project. For the script font, I picked Amithen, which is a nice-looking textured brush font that will be a great addition to any font collection.

If you are looking for some new fonts for your collection, make sure to check 6 Hottest New Fonts for 2022.

Your voice matters!

If you have your favorite quotes and would like them to appear on the next free wallpaper, make sure to post them in the comments below or send us your ideas via email.

Enjoy!

P.S This post includes affiliate links so by clicking them you are supporting us. Thanks!

Reflective Class Feedback: Enriching In-Class Quizzes With Discussion

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Reflective Class Feedback: Enriching In-Class Quizzes With Discussion

By Carolina Kuepper-Tetzel

One way to engage students and foster their learning is through in-class quizzes (1). In-class quizzes have gained in popularity due to the open access to polling software that teachers can easily set up and students can engage with via their phones, tablets, or laptops (e.g., Kahoot, Slido, Poll Everywhere). Therefore, quick in-class quizzes are easy to administer in classrooms. The most common question format for such in-class quizzes is multiple-choice where the class is provided with a question with several answer alternatives from which students are asked to select the correct option. Afterwards, corrective feedback is presented to the class (i.e., the correct answer is displayed to the class) before the next question is presented.

A recent study by Mimouni (2) set out to investigate whether the effectiveness of in-class quizzes could be further increased by providing students with Reflective Class Feedback. Reflective Class Feedback goes beyond simply displaying corrective feedback and moving on. It engages the whole class in a reflective exercise and prompts students to think about why an answer is correct and the other alternatives not. It makes students think about each answer alternative, but also reflect on what they would need to know and to improve on to answer the question in the future. Reflective Class Feedback combines teacher-guided elaborative interrogation with class discussion.

Student Contest Winner: An International Teacher on Showing Up for Life

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Student Contest Winner: An International Teacher on Showing Up for Life

This piece is one of 10 winners of our 2022 Profile Contest. You can find more here. Brynne Mittleider, the author, is 17 and goes to Holy Trinity Episcopal Academy in Melbourne, Fla.

by Brynne Mittleider

It was the American dream. They had a house in the suburbs. A minivan sat in the driveway. Their son was in nursery school. But despite each of them working 12 hours a day, she and her husband were drowning in debt. She told herself, “There’s got to be a better way than this.”

On a visit to her husband’s old high school in Argentina, she found it. In six months, the house, the car and the suburban dream were gone. Her solution? To teach abroad.

For 20 years, Carinn Mariani taught thousands of students spanning three countries. In every culture she experienced — be it the open-air community atmosphere in Buenos Aires; the new Vegas-like intensity in Dubai, United Arab Emirates; or the joie de vivre spirit of liberation in São Paulo, Brazil — she embraced the thought that “every day we make a choice about how we want to live. Craft your life however you want it. To settle otherwise is a waste of a life.”

Since then, Ms. Mariani has transitioned to teaching private school students in Brevard County, Fla. She reflects on her experience in and out of the international teaching world, especially her time in Dubai, in this interview, which has been edited and condensed.

When did you decide that you wanted to go into teaching?

Teaching wasn’t something I planned to do. When I studied literature in college, I never asked myself what I was going to do with it. In my early 20s, I was bartending, sneaking into the 1996 Olympics, quite directionless. When I decided to go into a teaching program, it was organic. Generally, that is how things work out. You stumble upon something, say, “That’s a good idea. I’ll pursue that and see if I like it.” I appreciate that a lot of life is luck. It’s showing up. Being present.

You seem very influenced by Dubai. Why did it affect you?

I loved the graciousness in my Emirati students and their parents, with being invited to their homes. It was something I never experienced in the United States. We don’t perhaps build community as a cornerstone of our society like some other cultures do.

The politics of Dubai went against my base instincts. I believe in democracy, female autonomy and not politicizing the expression of identity. I had to accept that I’d chosen to live in a culture where my values might not align, but it didn’t mean that I couldn’t be in a classroom full of students and show them the kindness and compassion, and more, that supported my value system.

How did it feel to experience so many cultural shifts as you moved?

There’s so much growth that occurs in every place that you live because of those cultural differences. There is no doubt that a piece of you breaks off when you leave. But, listen: students are the same, from the ultraprogressive girl in São Paulo to the covered, Muslim Saudi girls in Dubai to the students I have now who are going through the debutante process. There are few interactions that are different. There are little cultural things I have to think about because I respect where I live. But I talk to them the same way.

Do you expect to teach internationally again?

Now that I’ve had the professional positions I’ve wanted and lived the places I’ve wanted, I don’t know that I need that frenetic life as much anymore. Now, the tiny yoga studio up the street, and the beach across from it, are maybe all I need.

Is there anything else you’d like to pass on?

Most of my generation, when we were 17, didn’t see ourselves as global citizens. Your generation has this great potential because of this little box of world knowledge you have in your hand. The problem is, you have to harness all of this sensory information that’s flooding you from screens to find the path that is calm and quiet. Hopefully, a teacher’s job is to teach you how to get rid of all the noise and find exactly what you’re looking for.

Student Contest Winner: Energy Empowers Her

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Student Contest Winner: Energy Empowers Her

Before coming to Iqaluit in 2019, she worked on community-led renewable energy projects in Ontario and New York State.

The following interview has been edited and condensed.

Were you interested in renewable energy growing up? Was it as talked about at the time?

When I first got interested in climate justice, renewable energy wasn’t my biggest priority. At the time, there was more dialogue about “Here’s what’s wrong, we’re all going to die in 30 years,” which is really anxiety-inducing — and we need to be aware of climate anxiety. In my late teens, I realized that we need to come up with solutions and not just point out issues, and it was in university that I started to think about renewable energy. From when I joined, the conversation has shifted, and we’re now talking about how we can use the solutions we have. We just need the political will to actually do that.

What is a myth you want to bust about renewable energy in the Arctic?

The question I get asked the most is “Does solar work in the Arctic?” Some communities see 24 hours of darkness at times, so how does that work? When you’re looking at renewables in the Arctic, it’s important to look at the annual energy production from solar. In the summer, some communities see 24 hours of sunlight, so there are times when you’re constantly generating electricity. It definitely works.

The term “just transition” is often used in terms of renewable energy. What would a just transition in Nunavut look like to you?

A just transition must be community and Inuit-led and incorporate Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit (Inuit traditional knowledge and societal values). Inuit need to be meaningfully consulted in any process, and I’m not seeing that right now. It’s not just about getting something out there so we can have a renewable energy policy in Nunavut, it needs to benefit and stem from Inuit communities.

What is one reality of the climate crisis that everyone needs to understand?

For me, the biggest reality that people don’t necessarily understand is the urgency of the climate crisis. There are a lot of climate targets for 2030 or 2050, but things need to change now. It’s this thought that we just have to keep the lights on right now, but we also need to transition away from diesel as 100 percent of the territory’s electricity.

Have you watched the movie “Don’t Look Up”? What are your thoughts?

I did. When I first got involved in climate justice, the dialogue was mostly “Here are all the terrible things that are happening,” and I felt that from the film. The message tried to be “There’s an urgency that people aren’t taking seriously,” which is accurate of climate justice, but I prefer the dialogue of “Here’s what we can do to make things better.”

Advocating climate justice is important, but it can also be exhausting. How do you take care of yourself while taking care of the environment?

It can be frustrating to feel like nothing is changing, so it’s important to find or build a network of people who share your concerns and passions. Getting outside also reduces my stress. I got a dog a few years ago, so having her force me to go out is a good thing. Having other passions beyond this one thing that is so big is important.

How hopeful are you that governments and businesses will get on board with the transition to renewable energy?

I am optimistic that things are changing. We now realize that leaders are making decisions that affect youth, and businesses have been getting on board with this transition because they’ll generate cheaper electricity. We just need the territorial government and utility companies to cooperate with us. I’m optimistic, but there’s still room for improvement.

Student Contest Winner: From Field Labor to an Engineering Major

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Student Contest Winner: From Field Labor to an Engineering Major

In high school, I joined this club called MESA, which is local to our area. We had engineering competitions once a year, building mousetrap cars and gliders. That was the only STEM program that we had in high school. Besides that, no. Just fixing things around the house and getting the Wi-Fi to work again. Really, I’ve only started working more with machines for the past two years, because I bought my own truck — I’m always working on it because it’s always breaking down.

Growing up in Chualar, you’ve always been surrounded by farms, so what first got you interested in agriculture?

My parents, they work in agriculture. My dad does all tractor work, like fertilizing and plowing everything. And my mom, she does weeding. I got my first job because of my dad — they needed workers for the summer.

Could you talk a bit more about those work experiences?

When I was 14, I started off setting up irrigation systems. It was laid back, because it was a small crew of four other high school kids and we were really just goofing around. We didn’t really get paid much, but it was fun! After that, I started broccoli harvesting, which I did up until 2020. That was a lot harder, but it paid more.

This summer, 2021, I moved out of the fields and I got to do an internship with a company there in Salinas, which was also agriculture-related. They make these weeding machines that use A.I. to detect weeds from the good plants, and that was cool.

How has this work inspired your career goals? Why do you think developing agricultural machinery is important?

I want to work in harvesters, A.I. harvesters. Things like broccoli, you have to be picking which head is good and which isn’t. Because I worked a lot with broccoli in high school, I’ve gotten really good at picking and choosing really fast. That’s where A.I. comes in, and that’s what I want to develop.

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