Apps and education

I knew it would come something like this when I got my dear Samsung droid:
"Apps created by and for the academy could turn smartphones into essential academic tools for everything from teaching and citations to social-science fieldwork"
http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=26&storycode=416937&c=2

Narrow focus on math and reading/writing skills and tests

In India as well as in Sweden, the desire to do well in mathematics and reading/writing has gone too far with the last two years (8th-9th) in Swedish middle school entirely about Math/Swedish/English. India has its 10 standard exam craze for same reasons.

In the US, the No Child Left Behind Act has driven this to the extremes.  ASCD, an education policy unit, has taken on the challenge to thwart this narrow curriculum http://www.ascdpolicypriorities.org/ascdpolicypriorities/0711#pg1

Stockholm University invests in international students

My former employer Stockholm university needs more students from abroad :


 "Stockholm University is not only one of the largest universities in Scandinavia, with around 50,000 students, but is also generally ranked among the top 100 universities worldwide. That makes it a great choice for prospective students in search of a vibrant and diverse study environment. " (http://www.thelocal.se/34958/20110715/  and www.su.se)


Jobs  seeem to abound too:


Sweden (Ericsson) needs Indian computer engineers says Migration Board, Stockholm. "The most common native country among those granted a work permit is India. Of these 584 people, 504 work as computer .specialists, making them the single largest group of migrant workers during the first quarter of 2010" (http://www.migrationsverket.se/info/3858.html )

Recommended reading on teacher effectiveness

I met with one of the authors of the report linked below, Tara Beteille, here in Delhi last year 2010  at the World Bank. I was very impressed by her research into the links between teacher absenteeism and local political support in India. Here is more from her team found at http://schoolchoice.in/blog/?p=4322" In this paper, we use value-added methods to examine the relationship between a school’s effectiveness and the recruitment, assignment, development and retention of its teachers." By  Susanna Loeb, Demetra Kalogrides and Tara Béteille. http://www.nber.org/papers/w17177.pdf

Starting anew

This new blog is dedicated to my new education services offered in India. Living in New Delhi and active in the education gambit in Sweden and in India for  + 20 years, I do think I have something to offer to the Indian K- 12 schools and higher education.