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 The pen is mightier than the keyboard

So say researchers Pam Mueller of Princeton University and Daniel Oppenheimer of UCLA, who recently published a paper with that title in Psychological Science.

The three experiments they did led them to conclude that using laptops for notetaking might actually impair learning. Why? Because it often leads people to process information more shallowly.

In a nutshell, if you type your notes, you probably tend to record lectures verbatim. If you put pen to paper, you have to be more selective in recapping key components.

Paper notetakers’ brains are working to digest, summarize, and capture the heart of the information. This, in turn, promotes understanding and retention.

Mueller and Oppenheimer found that participants who took notes on laptops performed worse on conceptual questions than those who took traditional paper notes.

“Laptop notetakers’ tendency to transcribe lectures verbatim rather than processing information and reframing it in their own words is detrimental to learning,” they wrote.

When you really need to grasp new material, consider dusting off your trusty pen and paper.

When you try to recall the information later, your brain will thank you for making its job easier.

2. Robust recall: Handwriting makes a difference

Some notetakers argue that they’re more productive when they type because they can capture more material faster.

But without reviewing and studying those notes after an event, all of that extra transcribing doesn’t do much good.

Psychology professors Dung Bui, Joel Myerson, and Sandra Hale at Washington University found that taking computer notes does offer the immediate benefit of better recall than well-organized, handwritten notes.

So the computer wins…at first.

But then their research, published in the Journal of Educational Psychology, uncovered something interesting: that advantage disappears in about 24 hours.

By that point, people who typed their notes actually performed worse on tests about the material.

The researchers concluded that the typing notetakers had worse recall because they weren’t actively summarizing and synthesizing key points.

“Taking organized notes presumably involves deeper and more thorough processing of the lecture information, whereas transcribing requires only a shallow encoding of the information,” they explained.

Next time to you need to recall information from a lecture or meeting for more than 24 hours, consider handwriting your notes. The material will stick with you longer.

3. Writing your way to a healthy brain

Some people prefer taking notes electronically because their handwriting has turned into illegible scrawl.

If that sounds like you, don’t put away the pen and paper just yet!

There are brain health and developmental reasons to keep writing on paper.

Research from psychology professor Karin James of Indiana University evaluated children who hadn’t yet learned to read or write.

Published in Trends in Neuroscience and Education, her study engaged children by asking them to reproduce a single letter by typing it, drawing it on plain paper, or tracing it over a dotted outline.

Then the researchers put the children in a functional MRI brain scanner and had them study the image again.

While reviewing the image, scans showed that kids who drew the letters activated three distinct areas of their brains.

Brains of children who traced or typed the letter didn’t experience the same effect.

The study demonstrates the learning benefits of physically writing letters, James notes, especially the gains that come from engaging the brain’s motor pathways.

But that doesn’t mean the perks of handwriting only apply to kids.

The more you use those neural pathways, the better it is for your overall brain health. The phrases “lifelong learning” and “use it or lose it” are never more true than with your brain. Both activities ward off debilitating disease like Alzheimer’s and keep your cognitive abilities strong.

In other words, when you want to check out Facebook during a boring talk at a conference, go for it! That’s a great reason to have your computer open.

But when you’re trying to capture and retain complex material — or simply stay extra-sharp — put the laptop away…and take out a pen.

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Answers to Portmanteau Words

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Author of quote, Ray Bradbury

Ray Bradbury’s internationally acclaimed novel Fahrenheit 451 is a masterwork of twentieth-century literature set in a bleak, dystopian future.

Guy Montag is a fireman. In his world, where television rules and literature is on the brink of extinction, firemen start fires rather than put them out. His job is to destroy the most illegal of commodities, the printed book, along with the houses in which they are hidden.

Montag never questions the destruction and ruin his actions produce, returning each day to his bland life and wife, Mildred, who spends all day with her television “family.” But then he meets an eccentric young neighbor, Clarisse, who introduces him to a past where people didn’t live in fear and to a present where one sees the world through the ideas in books instead of the mindless chatter of television.

When Mildred attempts suicide and Clarisse suddenly disappears, Montag begins to question everything he has ever known. He starts hiding books in his home, and when his pilfering is discovered, the fireman has to run for his life.

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 One party, the Democratic-Republicans, admired Jefferson and the Declaration. But the other party, the Federalists, thought the Declaration was too French and too anti-British, which went against their current policies.

By 1817, John Adams complained in a letter that America seemed uninterested in its past. But that would soon change.

After the War of 1812, the Federalist party began to come apart and the new parties of the 1820s and 1830s all considered themselves inheritors of Jefferson and the Democratic-Republicans. Printed copies of the Declaration began to circulate again, all with the date July 4, 1776, listed at the top. The deaths of Thomas Jefferson and John Adams on July 4, 1826, may even have helped to promote the idea of July 4 as an important date to be celebrated.

Celebrations of the Fourth of July became more common as the years went on and in 1870, almost a hundred years after the Declaration was written, Congress first declared July 4 to be a national holiday as part of a bill to officially recognize several holidays, including Christmas. Further legislation about national holidays, including July 4, was passed in 1939 and 1941.

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Exercise actually has a neurological benefit (as well as a physiological one). The endorphins released in our brains during exercise make us happier, and the feeling of accomplishment we get from regular activity can help curb anxiety.

Guided meditation can also help, since the entire point is to calm the mind and dismiss the errant thoughts that lead to anxiety and stress. Meditation can help you focus on your surroundings or be mindful of the present, instead of letting the background seep into the foreground.

Imagine that you’re in the most relaxing environment that you can possibly think of, whether it’s at home in bed or on the beach in the tropics. Wherever you think you would be most relaxed, stop and really put yourself there. If you’re at the beach,  ask yourself how warm it is, and whether there are clouds in the sky. Are you alone? Is it quiet, or can you hear the ocean? The goal here isn’t just to paint a pretty, relaxing picture in your head, but also to get your brain working on those details—the more you do, the farther away your mind will be from whatever’s triggered your anxiety.

 

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Which impulses take up more space and why?

The actions we take can literally expand or contract different regions of the brain, firing up circuits or tamping them down. The more you ask your brain to do, the more cortical space it sets up to handle the new tasks. It responds by forging stronger connections in circuits that underlie the desired behavior or thought and weakening the connections in others. Thus, what you do and what you think, see, or feel is mirrored in the size of your respective brain regions and the connections your brain forms to accommodate your needs.

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Five Types of Dog; Which One Are You?

In Chinese element theory, each zodiac sign is associated with one of the five elements: Gold (Metal), Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth. For example, a Wood Dog comes once in a 60-year cycle.

It is theorized that a person’s characteristics are decided by their birth year’s zodiac animal sign and element. So there are five types of Dogs, each with different characteristics:

Type of Dog Year of Birth Characteristics
Wood Dog 1934, 1994 Sincere, reliable, considerate, understanding, and patient
Fire Dog 1946, 2006 Intelligent, hardworking, and sincere
Earth Dog 1958, 2018 Communicative, serious, and responsible in work
Gold Dog 1910, 1970 Conservative, desirable, cautious, and always ready to help others
Water Dog 1922, 1982 Brave and self-centered, even seemingly selfish; well-versed in dealing with financial issues
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Your Score—-and what it means?

Rate your responses on a scale of 1 (completely disagree) to 7 (strongly agree) and add your score. According to Caglar Yildirim, an assistant professor of human computer interaction who created the scale for use in his research at State University of New York at Oswego, a score of 20 or below means you’re not an addict; a score of 21 to 60 means you’re mildly nomophobic; and a score of 61 to 99 means you probably can’t go long without checking your phone.

“It might be a good idea to be conscious of that,” Yildirim said, “but we are only concerned if it starts to interfere with your daily life.”

Did you score between 100 and 200? You’re probably struggling with severe anxiety when you can’t access your cell phone, he said.

“This might negatively affect your social life and relationships with friends and family,” Yildirim said. “There are studies that show those who score high on the test tend to avoid face-to-face interactions, have high levels of social anxiety and maybe even depression.

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 Signs of Smartphone Addiction

 Signs of Smartphone Addiction

Baylor University professor James Roberts believes:

“It is incumbent upon researchers to identify the all-important ‘tipping point,’ where cell-phone use crosses the line from a helpful tool to one that enslaves both users and society alike.” 

But where is that line? For full “addicted status,” Dr. Greenfield believes smartphone use has to impact major life areas such as: work, academics, home life, and relationships. Below are 10 signs that may indicate a teen is addicted to their smartphone:

  1. Looking at their smartphone upon waking and last thing before going to sleep
  2. Checking notifications during the night
  3. Losing interest in activities that don’t include a smartphone
  4. Interrupting face-to-face conversations to answer calls or texts
  5. Using their phone to avoid social interaction
  6. Turning to their phone when things get awkward
  7. Checking their smartphone constantly for no reason
  8. Feeling phantom phone vibrations
  9. Being on their smartphone during study time, class time, or work
  10. Experiencing panic attack or increased anxiety if their phone is left at home
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10 Commandment for Social Media Use

#1 – Educate Yourself

When you purchase a product for your child(ren) make sure you know what types of media that they will have access to. Media can be accessed many ways…. iPod, smartphones, tablet, laptop, desktop, and even gaming consoles.

With all of these devices your teen will have access to the outside world.  What apps are they downloading? What do those apps do? What websites are they visiting? What types of games online are they accessing? What kinds of ads are those games showing your children? You have to know what your children will have access to when you give them these devices! For example, you may have purchased games for their consoles, but they can also access games, apps and other content online… even chat. How do you find this out? Talk to your teen. Get know to know what apps & games they like as well as what they friends are talking about and using.  Even though you may be completely disinterested in keeping up with what is available…. for the sake of your teen, you need to do your research.

#2 – Educate Your Teen

Teach your kids appropriate and safe behavior. As parents, we hear stories of teens doing crazy things like sending inappropriate photos of themselves to other people or bullying other teens and we think ‘my teen would NEVER do that!’.  But the fact of the matter is, communicating via social media provides anonymity.  Kids feel safer saying things on text, email, or chat than they would in person.  So this means as a parent, you need to be proactive!  Have conversations with your teens about what is safe behavior and what to do if someone does ask them to do or say something that is not healthy, safe, or smart. You need to also build enough trust that they know that if someone were to talk to them inappropriately or if something bad popped up on their device, they know they can come to you for help.

#3 – Use Social Media Yourself

As a parent you may think you do not have time for this, but the fact is you do not have time not do this. To properly understand social media and how it works you really need to be actively using it. No, you do not have to have a Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, KIK account. Choose one… the most universally used is Facebook and it is one that you will most likely benefit from. Use it and interact with it. If you really want to get a window into youth culture get an Instagram or Twitter account.  (insert Cathy here… I think you SHOULD be where your kids are.  And they aren’t on facebook anymore).

You will get an ‘eyeful’ that is for sure. It is a window into the current teen culture and will help you understand the challenges your teen is faced with. And at the same time, if your child knows him/her mom is following them, they are less likely to do inappropriate things on their page!

10 Commandments for your teenagers' social media use... If your kid has access to an electronic device that connects to wifi, then you need to read this. And you need to make sure your friends know this too.

#4 – Know Their Friends

This may seem obvious and you may be thinking ‘of course, I know their friends’. The ones they go to school with or have on the basketball team or go to church with.  Well I hate to break it to you… if they are using social media at all, it’s quite possible they have gained a whole lot of NEW friends. Friends you have never met, friends that probably live in other states as well as possibly in other countries. Youth are very open, trusting and are hungry for friendship… so they are willing to open themselves up to people that they have only met through a photo, or a twitter feed. Talk to them about who they have met and where they live. Don’t be shocked if your daughter says, “Nicole and I are going to the mall next week” and you find yourself thinking “Who is Nicole?”.  Then after asking your daughter you learn that she and her new friend were texting last week because they liked the same photos on Instagram.

Uh yeah….it can happen that fast.

Don’t panic, be open.  Be willing to talk about these new friends with your teen and meet them yourself.

#5 – Front Load Expectations and Responsibilities

Before you hand over the weapon of mass communication, think about what expectations and responsibilities your teen needs to maintain.  Some things to consider are…  chores, homework, cleanliness, attitudes, and appropriate use.  If you have a co parent, talk it over with them.  Discuss what these rules and responsibilities should and will be and sit down with your teen and explain what the expectations are.  Keep the rules simple and few so they are clear to all parties involved.

#6 – Limit Gadget Use

Once you have opened the door to mobile technology such as a tablet, iPod or smartphone, it is a difficult door to shut. The teen that you once knew can become much like a zombie, wandering around the house from couch to chair, with their face staring at a screen… with only one thing on their mind… the next response that they feel compelled to give to their new found friend on the other end. Most likely you will need to limit their gadget use. If you do not, it will become attached to their hand and it will be difficult for them to perform small tasks like picking up their dirty dishes, or doing their math homework or just even paying attention to you when you are attempting a conversation. It is amazing how a conversation with a live person can quickly take a backseat to a conversation with a person they have never personally met.  Believe me it does happen.

Some questions to ask yourself to help set limits:

  • Do you want them using them at night when they should be sleeping?
  • Should there be ‘gadget free time’ in your house?
  • Should their phone have limits on texting or calls?

These are just a few things…. think of ways technology could affect your child and set limits on those things even before you give them the device.

10 Commandments for your teenagers' social media use... If your kid has access to an electronic device that connects to wifi, then you need to read this. And you need to make sure your friends know this too.

#7 – Keep Their Passwords

All of the devices listed at the top require passwords.  BEFORE you hand over that device YOU set the password. This allows you to have access to the device at any time. It gives you the ability to check it if you need to. Realize that this does not give you license to be a ‘stalker’. Some parents can be so invasive with their teens that it damages their relationship… driving the teen off into social media oblivion avoiding all parental contact.

Passwords and emails are also a requirement when setting up social media accounts for for app purchases on ipods, smartphones and tablets. Using your email or setting up an email account that you have access to will help you monitor what apps they are downloading. Also when you lose access that you at one time had with their device it is a sign that they could be hiding something from you. TIP: If you are using an apple device, give your children your Apple ID to use. That way, whenever they download an app, it will also download on your device so you know what kind of apps they are using.

#8 – Use Parental Controls

There are lots of ways that parental controls can be employed in your teen’s use of social media. There are apps that you can download onto your teens devices before you hand them over. If you have any apple products you can look up in the app store and find several time limit apps, content limiting apps etc. (Word from Cathy – Apple has some built in restrictions that I personally like) Read over them and decide which ones are the best fit for the guidelines you have set for your youth. Invest in a wifi router that allows you to turn off wifi access to devices in your house at certain times.

Here are some of my favorite ways to help you control what happens on the internet in your home:

Linksys AC1200 Wireless router

The Linksys AC1200 Wireless router allows you to manage internet access for all wifi enabled devices in your home. This can be set up through a program on your computer and managed through your smartphone. In one word AWESOME….It is an investment of $180.00 that is well worth it.

Net Nanny

A fantastic resource for more of this information is Net Nanny. Net Nanny is dedicated to educating parents and teens about social media and they have software that will help you keep your family safe when they are online.

Circle

Circle is a small little device that pairs wirelessly with your home wi-fi and gives you the ability to manage any device that is connected to your network through the app.  You can create profiles for each family member so they have a customized and appropriate experience while on their device. You can also control WHEN they can be on their devices… dinner time, homework time, bedtime… any time you want to “pause” their usage, you can! You can also add filters that will only allow them to see things that are appropriate for their age. Circle will allow you to set limits on how long they can be on an app and will automatically shut it down once that limit is reached. This device is awesome and is a great way to protect your kids. I have many friends who use this and LOVE it.

Check out more about it on our full post JUST about Circle! 

Screentime

The app Screentime is another option to protect your children and it is the one that I personally use! Like Circle, Screentime will allow you to personally control your children’s devices right from your phone. It is done all via an app. What you will do is download the app on your device and then download it on each of your children’s devices as well. You will be able to set up a profile for each child and customize the way you want them to use their devices. You will be able to see their search history, know how long they are spending on each app, set times, pause the internet, set bedtimes and much much more! I personally swear by this app and love how I am able to protect my kids. It is so important to know what they are doing and this app helps me always be aware.

Follow this link to get a free 2 week trial! 

There are many ways to control your children’s devices and these are just 4 of my favorites. Try them out and see which one works best for you and your family.

#9 – Be Willing to Take it ALL Away

There may come a time in your teen’s use of social media that you discover they are engaging in unsafe behavior. Risking not only their own selves, but others. They may be sneaking out at night to meet people, visiting porn sights, sending inappropriate photos via text or snapchat. This type of behavior warrants taking away access to all devices. If you find your teen in a place such as this, be willing to do the ‘hard thing’ and get them help. Get a referral to a counselor so that you can talk to a professional in how to get your teen the help they need. This type of behavior is not to be taken lightly and is often a cry for help.

#10 – You are the Parent

Yes….you….you are capable, you are knowledgeable, you are in control and contrary to what your teen may voice to you they NEED you.  They need you to be consistent, loving, informed, present.

You are the largest influence in their life, and they truly need YOU the most.

Let’s keep our kids safe!

These 10 commandments will help your children tremendously if you just take the initiative and start being a few steps ahead of them. The internet is such a wonderful thing, yet it can be such a harmful thing. Make sure that your children only see the good things that the internet can provide (because let me tell you, there are so many bad things out there!) Although your children might seem upset when you start to implement new rules, remember that it is for their good and someday they will thank you!

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