Category: Education

Are you a responsible parent looking to provide the best schooling and education to your children?  Do you know what are some important factors you need to consider when choosing a school for your kid?  Have you looked at the various schools, boards, and fee structures only to feel completely overwhelmed?

We all know how important it is to select the right school for your kids to help them with their academic journey. The right interest development in certain subjects can help create a favorable career option.

In recent years, both parents and kids are spoiled for choices when it comes to the sheer number of schools that have come up. However, with each promising to be better than the other, the task of choosing the right school can become overwhelming.

Given what is at stake here, there must be no margin for error when it comes to the decision. In this resource article, we look at some of the most important factors that need to be considered when choosing a school for your child.

Why Selecting the Right School matters?

For some parents, the choice of selecting a school is not that complex. In most cases, it is the government school that is within their zone. However, other parents feel that private schools are a better option. These private schools might be within the zone or outside of it. While if you are an expat in another country, choosing an international school might be best for you and your kid.

The right school embodies within an individual a direction. This direction is both in terms of the future academic foundations as well as career decisions that a child might want to take up once they finish the schooling.

According to experts, rather than the parents taking unilateral decisions based on what they feel is right, certain interests of kids matter too.

• It is important that the school fits and aligns with the overall personality of your child.
• Any school should play into the strengths of the child and allow it to further develop.
• Every family has a certain set of values and the school should look to build on that.

When the interests of both children and parents match in terms of the school, we can say that the decision is a successful one.

List of 7 Factors to Consider when Choosing a School for your Kids

1. The Distance between the House and the School

An important consideration that needs to be taken into consideration is the distance between the school and the home. The shorter the distance, the better it is for kids.  How does the school manage their transportation system.  You do not want your children to be spending two hours traveling on the bus or will you as a parent need to drive them.

This is sure to cause a lot of stress to both the child as well as the parent. Shorter distances between the two can allow a child to utilize the time in other important activities. These can be both educational ones or extra-curricular.

2. The Educational Qualification and Experience of the Faculty

A school is only as good as the kind of faculty members teaching there. As a parent, you need to look at the faculty profile and see the kind of experience that they have. Higher educational qualifications and experience automatically mean that the standard of education will be good.

Additionally, you should also look at the attrition rates of the faculty. Experts recommend that a period of four years on average is a good period to understand how good the school is in terms of retaining its faculty. This is a sign that the teachers are satisfied at the school.

3. Scope for Development of Extracurricular Interests

A lot of parents these days are open to the possibility of their kids pursuing professional activities other than education. This means that they want a school that can give their children the exposure to pursue extra-curricular interests like sports, theater, and others areas.

Having a strong extracurricular program also ensures that the physical development of students carries out. Over a period, a child can develop an interest in one such activity and choose to pursue it professionally. Some schools have a strong sporting culture which is a great benefit.

4. The Ratio of Students and Teachers in a Classroom

Every parent wants to ensure that their children get undivided attention at all times. This is only possible when the ratio of students and teachers is low. For example, experts recommend that the ratio of teachers and students in a classroom should be no more than 1:20.

The lower the ratio, the better can be the level of personal attention that can be expected at the school. Most kids when they are unable to get personal levels of attention can become introverts. It prevents them from raising questions about areas that are unclear to them.

5. The Educational and Extracurricular Infrastructure of the School

All parents want our kids to go to schools that are better than the ones we had gone to. This means that we would want that the infrastructure of the school should be great. School safety measures should be in place.  School buildings, classrooms, playgrounds, and other areas should be open and large.

You do not want students to feel suffocated or get injured because of rusty chairs and tables. Good schools invest a lot in terms of their infrastructure. The rise of smart classrooms also requires sizable investments. All this makes for a great learning environment for kids.

6. Fees, Affordability, and other Economic Considerations

There is no doubt that fees are one area that forces most of us to start rethinking our decisions. As parents, we need to think about whether we will be able to afford the fees not just now, but right up until kids finish their schooling (10 to 12 years).

Student fees are not the only area of expenditure parents should worry about. Schools these days take additional fees in the form of several other heads, some of which are not so transparent. Parents need to go for an affordable option to ensure they do not have to change schools.

Families working abroad may want to consider an reputable international school with ISP Learning opportunities.

7. The Educational or School Board that is Prevalent

Last, but by no means the least important consideration that should be made is the School Board. An easy decision is to go for a school that follows the recommended Government Board. An alternative would be to go for an International Board that follows a set curriculum.

Parents that are on the move would prefer an international school that follows the Cambridge Curriculum. Choosing a board will come into play later on, especially if you are looking to make your child sit for competitive examinations.

The Bottom Line

The quest of finding the right school for your kids is probably one of the toughest decisions you will make as a parent. The start of a child’s academic journey needs to begin with the best. It does matter whether you send them to the best preschools or public schools.

If you have any more questions that you would like us to answer or discuss, please write them down in the comments section below. We will try our best to request our experts to help you out to the best of our abilities.

As a parent, you want the best possible future for your child. You want them to be safe and successful and happy. For many parents, this dream for their children includes attending college, an educational pathway that opens many doors to excellent career prospects.

Depending on how old your child is currently, it can be tough to know if it’s time to have that conversation with them yet.  You might be asking yourself if it’s too early to talk to your kids about going to college and what their choice of college in the future may look like.

Your concerns are completely understandable, and we’re here to help.  Here are a few things you should keep in mind to make your decision.

Experts Recommend Starting Early

If you ask the education experts, earlier is actually better when it comes to discussing college options with your children. By starting the dialogue early on in your child’s education, you’re informing them of their potential pathways well before they even need to make a decision. Plus, it can be quite motivating because it gives your child a goal to work toward throughout their education.

 Tailor Your Approach to Your Child’s Grade Level

Depending on your child’s age and grade level, you’ll want to take a different approach in your conversations with them. Here’s a brief breakdown of how you should broach the topic for each grade level:

• Elementary school – This is a great time to start sharing stories of your own college experience to start planting the seed and producing excitement in your child. If you live close to a college, consider dropping by for a sporting event or a talk that might be of interest to your child.

• Middle school – When your child reaches eighth grade, this is an excellent point to start researching universities and exploring the topics of the grades needed to get into a good university. It’s also important to discuss the monetary component of going to college, especially if your child will need to contribute financially down the line. This gives them lots of time to familiarize themselves with the numbers and to plan accordingly.

• High school – This is when the conversations will turn a bit more serious. You’ll want to encourage your kid to get good grades and SAT scores and to become involved in extracurriculars to boost their college applications. At this point, you’ll also want to propose campus tours of a few different schools.

 Don’t Pressure or Preach

You may mean well but try your best not to pin all your hopes and dreams onto your child, especially if their own goals might look a little different. Don’t try to sway them into choosing one degree or one college over another and don’t focus on what worked for you when you attended university. Instead, ask them questions to get them engaged and excited. Focus on their interests, strengths, and passions and make recommendations based on that information.

If you’re wondering where to start when exploring college options for your child, check out American International College to kick start your journey.

Clearly, it’s never too early to start discussing college with your kids – it’s simply all about your approach. By customizing your approach to align with where your child is, you’ll support them and guide them to a successful future, whatever that may look like.

Millennials: Online Learning vs. Traditional Education

 

Parents are always worried about the safety of their children while sending them to school. That’s perhaps the key reason why they choose a school that is closest to their residence. Along with the quality of education and other better facilities, transport services have also become one of the priorities of parents when searching for the best school for their kids.

Today, most schools have their fleet of school buses to provide pick-up and drop facilities to their students and staff. They take all the essential measures to ensure student safety, especially while traveling on school buses. To achieve this, many schools are adopting the latest technology in the form of a school transport management system that makes the transportation management task much easier for the schools.

A Brief about Transport Management Systems

In today’s time, technological advancements have transformed the entire transportation management to a great extent. Today, most buses and other vehicles have GPS, Wi-Fi, satellite radio, and various other facilities that allow efficient and systematic management of transportation systems. The school transport management system is one such technological advancement in the field of education.

A transportation management system is a database-driven software system that allows users to plan, execute, and monitor their transportation system to ensure utmost safety and less chance of any accidents. By automating the whole process, the system significantly reduces the need for manual interferences. Also, various metrics can be analyzed in real-time and instant reports can be generated with all the key details of the transportation system.

The transport management system for schools consists of various robust, secure, and reliable transport management solutions. It can be one of the factors parents consider for their kids when choosing a school.  It allows school administration to keep an eye over their entire transportation system in real-time. The system delivers various functionalities including vehicle tracking, route details, driver’s details, driver profile management, and more. Even parents can take the benefit of live tracking of school vehicles to determine the exact location of their children. Also, schools can connect with students as well as their parents easily via centralized transport management solutions.

Features of Transport Management System

Some of the key features of a transport management system are mentioned below:

GPS Tracking

The transport management system for schools facilitates real-time GPS tracking. GPS or Global Positioning System is a technology that acts as a navigation satellite system and offers location, time, and speed synchronization. GPS technology works in almost all weather conditions. It is an ideal solution for tracking location, determining accurate time, and for navigation purposes. With GPS technology, school authorities can make their transportation system more efficient while ensuring student safety. The technology helps to optimize route management together with managing student’s pick-ups and drops in an efficient manner.

Live Tracking Facility for Parents

The system allows parents to remain updated regarding the pick-up and drop stops, traveling route, driver details (name and contact number), details of the school vehicle like number and identification, and other important details. With the help of a transport management system, parents can track the school bus and other details in real-time through their phones. This provides them the accurate details of the transportation system that their child is using. For any queries or concerns, the system allows them to connect directly with school management.

Transport Attendance Management

Transport attendance management is an essential feature of the transport management system. It allows school authorities to update details in the system with regards to holidays, vehicle scheduling, changes in routes, driver work shifts, assigning students, parents, and teachers to a particular school route, and various other details. With the help of the transport management system’s attendance management feature, it becomes very convenient for school management to create a precise and efficient schedule for the transportation system. This way it also helps to save a lot of time and resources by eliminating the requirement of manually deciding and managing things related to school transportation.

Carrier Contracts Management

The carrier contracts management feature of the school transport management system allows school authorities to track all their terms and carrier agreements in real-time. This allows authorities to access the carriers based on their specific requirements or parameters. Even the system can suggest the best carriers based on the specified parameters.

Transport Reports and Analytics

The transport management system also helps to keep a record of all the transportation related activities. It enables school administration to record and update details such as bus and transport insurance, license renewal, bus identification details, school bus route details, vehicle maintenance, expenses, student attendance, transport staff salary, etc. The report for all these details can be generated and analyzed easily.

Better Decision Making Ability

Based on the reports like vehicle usage, fuel consumption, driver’s behavior, any delays in pick-up or drops, and various other reports, school management can make important decisions. These informed decisions can contribute to improved vehicle performance, enhanced student safety, better service, etc.

Conclusion:

To create a secure and advanced school environment, education institutions must invest in the right transport management system. Nowadays, there are several school transport management system providers available in the market that can customize the solution based on the specific requirements of the education institutes. After all, investing in such systems is not only beneficial for school management in terms of automation, improved efficiency, better security, superior transport management, and cost-effectiveness but also beneficial for parents as they get peace of mind regarding the safety of their children.

Author Bio:

Shobhit Srivastava holds the position of Digital Marketing Executive at Ecosmob, a Customized VoIP and Web-IT Solution provider company. A writer at day and a reader at night, he is having keen digital marketing skills along with an experience in writing an SEO-friendly, creative & informative contents for distinct industries.

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For those living close enough to school to walk or ride a bicycle, discover innovative ways that parents are using cargo bikes designed to transport kids instead of driving.

G Suite is now Google Workspace for Education.  Used by students and teachers for school, the platform continues to provide tools that qualifying institutions can use for free.  Google for Education allows educators and students to interact simply.  Whether school is in session or consisting of online classes, these Workspace tools include essential web based applications.

Google Workspace allows teachers to plan and implement standard based lessons, manage grades and meet the needs of diverse learners.  A more simple way to explain how these tools and resources help educators is to say that it’s a collection of apps, just like you have on your phone. These apps are designed for use in work and educational purposes.

Some of these apps already exist for any organization needing to engage collectively online, but many have been specifically created for teachers and their classrooms. These Google tools will help you to engage students to interact with the content of any lesson presented, including back and forth communication other than just email or live online session.

Why Use Google Workspace for Education?

1. Free sign up then determine free eligibility for your institution.
2. Easy Collaboration between students and fellow teachers.
3. Use Google Workspace on any device with one log in.

Never before have these tools been more essential with many students having to attend their classes online. These resources bring all students together, whether at home or in school, to help increase everyday work flow for critical thinking, communication, collaboration and creativity with your students. All of this happens while supporting the standards in learning objectives that you have.

Google for Education Apps

You may recognize many of these Google platforms because as mentioned, many of them are not only used for education. Google for Education simply groups them all in one place through your Google account, in addition to adding specific apps essential for the online classroom.

Core Services of Google Workspace for Education

Whether conducting classes in school, online or a little of both, here are the Google apps that will make it easier for your students to connect through their each individual Google accounts, just as teachers and administrators are doing.

Classroom

This is one of the most commonly used workpace apps but many Google Classroom’s features may not be fully utilized. Even though the classroom is online, it is very secure as only those who are invited can join through a class code emailed to each individual student. Once a classroom is created teachers can can add various classes and sections as needed.

Some key features of Google Classroom are:

• Track classwork and submit assignments.
• Check originality, feedback, and grades. Share resources and interact in the class stream or by email.
• Parents and Guardians can get a regular email summary of student’s work.
• Review announcements and activities.

Drive

Think of Google Drive as a flash drive that is stored on a different computer that you can access from anywhere and from any of your devices. This is the same for students. It’s the easy way to share lesson files or educational videos and everyone in your class will have the latest copies. Add and remove files at will or update documents without having to forward revised materials your students. Drive brings all of the Workspace tools together for easy access on the cloud by everyone in your class.  Inside Google Drive you can create docs, work sheets, slides and forms for various purposes.

Docs

Any document your would normally create, print off and hand our to your students can be created in Google Docs. These docs will be available instantly for your entire class to see. You can restrict these documents from being edited by students, or their may be circumstances when you want to allow editing, if not students then with other teachers or administrators you share documents with.

Sheets

Make your lessons come to life with colorful charts and graphs. Google Sheets offers built-in formulas, pivot tables and conditional formatting options save time and simplify common spreadsheet tasks. Choose from a wide variety of budgets, schedules, and other pre-made spreadsheets — all designed to make your work that much better, and your life that much easier.

Learn about the Power of Spreadsheets for Learning

Slides

Google slides allow you to choose from a variety of presentation themes. There are hundreds of fonts, embedded video and animations as well. A wide array of pitches, portfolios and other pre-made presentations are also available.

Forms

Imagine the ability to create a pop quiz without having to print off copies and wait for students to attend your class? Google Forms is also a great place to get feedback from students. For example, lets say you want to create a place for students to leave questions or comments. Rather than sending out an email and getting overwhelmed with responses, you can create a form for them to list their name and comment or question. It’s also a great way for all students to see what their online classmates are thinking, just as if they were in a school classroom asking a question.

Sites

One of Google’s oldest platforms, Google Sites is easiest way for you to create a website for your classroom. Update it as regularly as you wish or simply use your class website to present year long resources, including links to safe websites for research. Many teachers provide a link to our safe search engine for kids to use..

Assignments

This tool allows teachers to streamline the distribution of assignments to students, as well as analyze and grade all work. Google Assignments integrates into your LMS (Learning Management System after your school administrator has turned on the tool within your domain. Learn more about how it works at https://edu.google.com/intl/en_ca/assignments/

Meet

Here is where you set up your classrooms for virtual learning. Just as all of Google for Education tools, it’s free for schools and gives you complete control to meet security and privately. You can block students from using classic Hangouts and Google Chat on their school-managed Chromebooks. You can block all students. Or, set different rules for students in certain groups.

Chrome

There are a lot of benefits to making Google chrome your default browser. First and foremost is the idea that Chrome works best with Google.  Since you’re using all of these Google tools you’re less likely to encounter any snags. Using Google Chrome also allows you to keep everything the same no matter what device you are using thanks for Chrome Sync.   

Gmail

Pretty straight forward here. Your Google email is connected to your Google account and has the same log in credentials as any Workspace tool you are currently using, all while maintaining efficient communication between administrators, teachers, and students. Gmail is not required by students to be part of an online class, but they will need a Google account and an alternate email address to get class notifications.

Calendar

The easy way to schedule online classes. Students and parents are always kept “in the loop” and everyone can get reminders about upcoming activities. You can also create multiple calendars that everyone can use together. Use of this app by all participants means students don’t have to create their own calendars to keep track of their schedules.

Contacts

Busy teachers often have different groups they need to communicate with. With Contacts you can organize and merge your contacts, as well as create personal mailing lists. Quickly send messages to specific groups of people with a single click.

Keep

The quick way to stay organized.  Create quick lists and add structured information and sub tasks.  Easily access your notes and lists on the web and your mobile devices.   Google Workspace administrators can control who uses Google Keep within your school. Users who have Keep turned on can use it to create, manage, and share notes within your school.

Admin

Google for Education within every school is controlled by an administrator. The Google Admin console is their access to manage all teachers and students using Workspace. There are plenty of free online tutorials to learn how to operate all of Google’s work and educationally based apps.  Google also provides training for educators to become Google Workspace administrators to fully utilize the power of the formally named platform G Suite.   Courses are held online and are regularly scheduled to continued availability.

Shared Workspace

Learn how a shared workspace online can benefits students for better learning, as well as encouraging collaboration with other teachers.  Explore ways teachers can use GitHub in the classroom.