Solving the Native American Team Mascot Problem

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Hola y’all! As many of you guys know there’s a debate RAGING in the sports world over the use of Native American names and imagery as mascots for sports teams. A lot of people think they should be done away with because they are offensive to Native Americans. Well, today I thought I would solve this problem by suggesting some good alternative names for some of major sports teams that use Native American mascots. <o:p></o:p><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b>Washington Redskins:</b> The <strike>late</strike> great Tony Kornheiser has already solved this one. He says to just put a potato on the side of the helmet and that takes care of everything. I don’t really think I can improve on that idea. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqF4ryBsW6-wgNdCD1n5YnsKCCCQ9S990bloq1SSoKBd83jL3P5VjDBfOkcvZ0PYvFoKsLrSkHLOYiCwQIxoeNFCieHNerQIQpYXSFCMfknnH1edAi8azdOMogDXyh4-xj5ziCKaR9S1c/s1600/Freida-Pinto-Hot-Legs-Feet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqF4ryBsW6-wgNdCD1n5YnsKCCCQ9S990bloq1SSoKBd83jL3P5VjDBfOkcvZ0PYvFoKsLrSkHLOYiCwQIxoeNFCieHNerQIQpYXSFCMfknnH1edAi8azdOMogDXyh4-xj5ziCKaR9S1c/s320/Freida-Pinto-Hot-Legs-Feet.jpg" width="214" /></a><b>Cleveland Indians:</b> Most people think this one would be the most difficult, but not me. In fact, I’m taking a <o:p></o:p>cue from Mr. Kornheiser and telling Cleveland that they don’t even have to change their name. Just change your logo to Frieda Pinto. Problem solved. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b>Edmonton Eskimos:</b> I don’t know if people in Canada are really up in arms over this one or not. It doesn’t seem as bad as some of the others. But, if it is a problem simply change the team name to “Edmonton Eskimo Pies.” Who doesn’t love ice cream? They can give out free Eskimo Pies to kids and make little Eskimo Pie Pucks to sell as souvenirs and shit like that. It will be a great move marketing-wise! <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b>Atlanta Braves:</b> The Braves are probably the second most controversial team after the Redskins when it comes to offending Native Americans. A lot of people really HATE the war chant too, including me. My dislike of it comes mostly from the fact that they stole it from Florida State University though. Actually, if you watch Braves baseball games, you can kind of tell that the fans are a bit embarrassed by the chant too. Instead of “Daaa-daa-da-da-da” they’re more like “Saaa-aaa-rr-rr-y” So the obvious answer is to simply drop the “B” and go with the Atlanta “Raves” Just get someone to draw a silhouette of a person with a glow stick in his/her hand and hitting a bong and build a mosh pit in the bleachers in center field and all will be right with the world.  <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhijr4panLP7y1UKZ19E3UaQcYLiWARkPeUf0ODikQbV5pTZVIuU-xpRflnTvdAj85RzaQVJT_I18ut8Y7d2EHSDyQtDTXDYBYSeB9C7CE2LEG8HPDFYMd4nGZ47Hv5O-q5L-TEVdcqoo0/s1600/Giada-de-Laurentiis-Boobs-Cleavage-Hot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhijr4panLP7y1UKZ19E3UaQcYLiWARkPeUf0ODikQbV5pTZVIuU-xpRflnTvdAj85RzaQVJT_I18ut8Y7d2EHSDyQtDTXDYBYSeB9C7CE2LEG8HPDFYMd4nGZ47Hv5O-q5L-TEVdcqoo0/s320/Giada-de-Laurentiis-Boobs-Cleavage-Hot.jpg" width="256" /></a><b>Kansas City Chiefs:</b> Again, a very simple fix. Just change the name to the “Chefs.” The fans could all wear<o:p></o:p> silly chef hats to the games and KC already has a great tailgate party tradition so the new name fits right in! Also, get Giada de Laurentiis to model your football gear or to put her name on some Kansas City Chefs tailgating gear and rake in the money guys! </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b>Florida State Seminoles:</b> FSU is who all the other “war chant” teams have modeled their offensiveness after. They claim the okie dokie from the Seminole Indians so they have no intention of changing. BUT … If they do change I have a great idea for them. They could change their nickname to “Florida State University Semicolons!”  Think about it! Semicolons are every bit as controversial as Seminoles and far more intellectual which is a great thing for a major institution of higher learning to do. I think this is my best idea of all!  <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b>Chicago Blackhawks:</b> This is really a tough one. I don’t want them to have to make a HUGE change to the name. Just changing one or two letters is preferable. I mean, I guess they could go with the Chicago Blacks … Wait, you can’t do that. Shit I don’t know about this one. Oh I’ve got it. The Chicago Blackcawks! That won’t upset anyone! <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">There you go! As you can see, a little creativity and an open mind usually solve all problems and make everyone happy. A name change isn’t the end of the world. Look how great things have gone for the Washington Wizards since they changed from the “Bullets!” <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="mailto:Jayman3768@gmail.com">Jayman3768@gmail.com</a><br /><a href="http://facebook.com/Jayman68" target="_blank">Facebook.com/Jayman68</a><br /><a href="http://www.twitter.com/jayman_iws" target="_blank">@Jayman_IWS</a><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p><br /></o:p></div></div>

Solving the Native American Team Mascot Problem

Hola y’all! As many of you guys know there’s a debate RAGING in the sports world over the use of Native American names and imagery as mascot...

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Mane Teeze Review

<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoEIpAPdYQJi1JNdnLu1jgRsnblSoOJLQ-WX-YeB7LZCWeDqR2GgCxw7oxmgbwOqj4-TzPDSVWay7EmYaLGlzzDV61nuoYPY3YVW22n-2Y0w1BYAc81PADGxp_bdNDAh-9_7_Nwg6UYxE/s1600/Mane+Teeze+hair+care.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoEIpAPdYQJi1JNdnLu1jgRsnblSoOJLQ-WX-YeB7LZCWeDqR2GgCxw7oxmgbwOqj4-TzPDSVWay7EmYaLGlzzDV61nuoYPY3YVW22n-2Y0w1BYAc81PADGxp_bdNDAh-9_7_Nwg6UYxE/s320/Mane+Teeze+hair+care.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">One thing I absolutely love is hair care products!</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Especially if they are made to make your hair smell nice, which has brought me to this wonderful product I will be discussing with my readers today!</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Browsing on the net one night I came across this perfume site called <a href="http://www.maneteeze.com/">Mane Teeze</a> ,</span><br /><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">and guess what</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">It's for your hair! </span><br /><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Say what? Yes you heard me right it's for hair!</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I thought to myself I have got to try these!</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">The truth just got sweeter:</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">*Doesn't leave an oily residue on hair</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">*won't conflict with other fragrances</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">*lasts up to 12 hours!</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">*Won't dry your hair out</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">*Higher concentrate of fragrance</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">*Great on all hair types</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">*2-3 sprays is all you will need!</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">*Sulfate and paraben free</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">*PETA approved</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">All you do is spray it on, style it and you are good to go, well your hair is anyway.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">They have three wonderful amazing scents I know you will love!</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">With just a spritz you'll leave your man wanting more, of the scent that is!</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">They smell so good!</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">How do I know?</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I was sent some Mane Teeze perfume sprays for review and had the pleasure of smelling these wonderful potions!</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">You can use these for a hot date, a girls night out, or after a workout to freshen up your mane .Laugh out Loud.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">The scents:</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><u><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Black Widow</span></u></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">this one smells divine!</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">With the scent of grapes infused with dark amber leaving a floral scent in that beautiful hair!</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Work it girl!</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><u><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Haut Mess</span></u></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Now this is one that smells so good you are going to want to eat!</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Chocolate infused with luscious caramel aroma.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Yes chocolate perfume for your hair!</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">The guys will love the smell of this and leave them thinking of a decadent dessert!</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><u><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Social Butterfly</span></u></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Now didn't I tell you before that I just love coconut!</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Well this one has that coconut scent that will leave you thinking of the beach in the summer time!</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">You have got to check out their site!</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Order them!</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">You won't be disappointed!</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Website:</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><a href="http://www.maneteeze.com/">http://www.maneteeze.com/</a></span></div><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Face Book:</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mane-Teeze-by-TM/239160042794347">https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mane-Teeze-by-TM/239160042794347</a></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Twitter:</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://twitter.com/@Mane_Teeze"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">https://twitter.com/@Mane_Teeze</span></a></div>

Mane Teeze Review

One thing I absolutely love is hair care products! Especially if they are made to make your hair smell nice, which has brought me to this wo...

Read more »

New York City for Design Lovers

Here is <a href="http://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/9400936/list/Houzz-Travel-Guide--New-York-City-for-Design-Lovers">a guide to NYC</a> that I recently put together for Houzz. Click the arrows in the bottom-left corner to cycle through, and click the photos to see the whole Ideabook (recommended, since the embedded slideshow is only partial).<br /><br /><div id="hzroot5105887" style="border: 0; font-size: 12px; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-align: center; width: 620px;"><div style="font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 3px;"><a href="http://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/9400936/list/Houzz-Travel-Guide--New-York-City-for-Design-Lovers">Houzz Travel Guide: New York City for Design Lovers</a></div><div style="border: 0; margin-bottom: 3px; margin: 0; padding: 0;"><iframe border="0" frameborder="0" id="HouzzWidget688651.4144768263" name="HouzzWidget688651.4144768263" scrolling="NO" src="http://www.houzz.com/jsGalleryWidget/gallery/9400936//new_window=yes/title_on=yes/width=620" style="border: 0 none; height: 490px; width: 620px;"></iframe></div></div>

New York City for Design Lovers

Here is a guide to NYC that I recently put together for Houzz. Click the arrows in the bottom-left corner to cycle through, and click the p...

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Optical Engineer ( metrology | optical testing & design | alignment | DUV to NIR ) (#109295)

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="WordSection1"><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Job Title:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"> Optical Engineer<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Location:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"> Milpitas, CA<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Duration:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"> Fulltime<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Job Description:<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Responsibilities:<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small;">The position will be responsible for conducting product concept, design, development, prototype and qualification of complex DUV to NIR optical subsystems.  The position will be responsible for leading optical system design and development activities across multiple programs to ensure best in class optical solutions meeting product performance, cost and time to market requirements.  This position will be expected to enable designs that ventures into new product areas and retire risks in existing product lines.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small;">This is a hands-on, hardware oriented position requiring expertise in the areas of: Geometrical and diffraction theory, optical systems design, analysis and tolerances, coatings, radiometry, stray light, polarization optics, sources and detectors, opto-mechanics, opto-electronics, optical alignment, optical testing and metrology, design to manufacture and assessment from the component level through completed system over product life cycle.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small;">The position will work closely with managers, engineers and technicians and actively participates in the design, development, prototype, assembly and qualifications of optical subsystems. This position will conduct briefings and participate in technical meetings as a subject matter expert for internal customers and will be responsible for defining and implementing optical subsystems specs, tooling and test equipment and facility requirements in support of optical engineering efforts.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Preferred Qualifications:<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small;">Masters or PhD degree in Optics, Electro-Optics, Physics or similar technical degree and 7+ year(s) related experience.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Required Skills:<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small;">1.Seven (7) years of relevant experience in hands-on optical systems design & development<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small;">2.Five (5) years optical test and alignment experience including Interferometric metrology<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small;">3.Expertise in the concept, design, development, prototype and test of complex optical systems for DUV to NIR semiconductor metrology applications.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small;">4.Expertise in geometrical and diffraction theory, radiometry & stray light analysis.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small;">5.Skilled in other engineering disciplines such as mechanical, thermal, structural and electrical and their interaction with optical systems<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small;">6.Proven track record of driving complex optical design & engineering projects which contain technical and time to market challenges<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small;">7.Expertise in working with the vendor base to ensure requirements is met on time and within cost.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small;">8.Skilled in design for production with successful products to market.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small;">9.Expertise in optical design using Zemax<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small;">10.Expertise in rapid prototyping and qualification of complex optical systems.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small;">11.Knowledge of Matlab and other modeling software.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Preferred Experience, Skills and Education:<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small;">1.MS or PhD Optics, Electro-Optics or Physics<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small;">2.Expertise in DUV to NIR spectrometry, reflectometry and scatterometry optical systems development.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small;">3.Subject area expert in one or more of the following areas: Geometrical optics, diffraction optics, radiometry, broadband and laser sources, polarization optics, active and passive optics, stray light, DUV to NIR metrology system, elliposometry, reflectometry, scatterometry and overlay metrology, fiber optics, detectors, illumination and imaging systems.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Minimum Qualifications:<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small;">Doctorate (Academic) with at least 2 years of experience. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small;">OR <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small;">Master's Level Degree with at least 4 years of experience. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small;">OR <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small;">Bachelor's Level Degree with at least 5 years of experience.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Please send in your resumes to vinod.sanker@kla-tencor.com</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div></div></div>

Optical Engineer ( metrology | optical testing & design | alignment | DUV to NIR ) (#109295)

Job Title: Optical Engineer Location: Milpitas, CA Duration: Fulltime Job Description: Responsibilities: The position will be responsible...

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Snack time

What do you like as a healthy snack?<br /><br />I like to kid myself that these Kelkin chocolate rice cakes are healthy! <br/><br/><div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzOVARih1ipp8EhUIWF02jjRfqPE_sXOviZwBUssoPxU5jhkT3jkuaoiPL1wZKImXqdlVH50uJHmd8cT-x1sMcSXzGDmtGnC0TABCAaFt76XQnX_xfiANDTNcU-tquwyGAiujVZGxs6qyg/s640/blogger-image-1262845896.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzOVARih1ipp8EhUIWF02jjRfqPE_sXOviZwBUssoPxU5jhkT3jkuaoiPL1wZKImXqdlVH50uJHmd8cT-x1sMcSXzGDmtGnC0TABCAaFt76XQnX_xfiANDTNcU-tquwyGAiujVZGxs6qyg/s640/blogger-image-1262845896.jpg" /></a></div> <br/><br/><div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiigOSZX0rwdM73bpHLKcdSNkw3q5QTc-cKUSL2MJZXIPX8mJ-JvBllZDM-VyRHw5689iht80Uj4t7Hp6_aqG60Csr79S6l0qHVDVRAJ7OUz0KhypgkjRAJBOA6UXR932HhoRnZzPohZ8y3/s640/blogger-image-614733888.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiigOSZX0rwdM73bpHLKcdSNkw3q5QTc-cKUSL2MJZXIPX8mJ-JvBllZDM-VyRHw5689iht80Uj4t7Hp6_aqG60Csr79S6l0qHVDVRAJ7OUz0KhypgkjRAJBOA6UXR932HhoRnZzPohZ8y3/s640/blogger-image-614733888.jpg" /></a></div> <br/><br/><div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht0RNEZNM6CbK7aOwrZNKOugQgDQ_7bnxbX16gUQuAg3mPC5k0MIoX7VkO4K0B6ebF-NUbcK93kcZ_FkNLZtIu403X_uwB2MabDmKb4MHNmmLPs1eIbXRUVoaKOOImUwW27_p6nu-5-zPH/s640/blogger-image--1034068717.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht0RNEZNM6CbK7aOwrZNKOugQgDQ_7bnxbX16gUQuAg3mPC5k0MIoX7VkO4K0B6ebF-NUbcK93kcZ_FkNLZtIu403X_uwB2MabDmKb4MHNmmLPs1eIbXRUVoaKOOImUwW27_p6nu-5-zPH/s640/blogger-image--1034068717.jpg" /></a></div>

Snack time

What do you like as a healthy snack? I like to kid myself that these Kelkin chocolate rice cakes are healthy!

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Celebration Church Jacksonville Music Levels Disturbing Neighbors

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoUJTYa0pM3rA31WGhHAwJtabr6Bnuro0rfWj2tooJyb0-1trVzfWuw94QlRlJvifEc9F90DuYbS0rZ2S9QJDg-Pm3CtWTNXsY16l0OOQ83Ndky2UN3ScrSY9fEt5aBwFf5qjc2AjQFi2v/s1600/CelebrationArena.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoUJTYa0pM3rA31WGhHAwJtabr6Bnuro0rfWj2tooJyb0-1trVzfWuw94QlRlJvifEc9F90DuYbS0rZ2S9QJDg-Pm3CtWTNXsY16l0OOQ83Ndky2UN3ScrSY9fEt5aBwFf5qjc2AjQFi2v/s1600/CelebrationArena.png" /></a></div>Here in Jacksonville one of the largest, fastest growing churches is <a href="http://www.celebration.org/" target="_blank">Celebration Church</a>, pastored by Stovall Weems.They recently completed construction on a new main campus facility, what they call "Celebration Arena", shown at left.They are a multi-campus site, with videos of Stovall transmitted to several satellite locations in Jacksonville. This church is our city's version of Elevation Church, and Fellowship Church. Good looking, hip pastor, with loud rock-style music. In fact, Stovall has preached at Fellowship, and Steven Furtick has preached here at Celebration. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.firstcoastnews.com/topstories/article/308240/483/Can-you-please-turn-the-music-down" target="_blank">As reported by TV-12 News last night</a>, the noise levels coming from the church during their services are so loud as to be a nuisance to the adjoining neighborhood, described by the homeowners as a "retirement"community.<br /><br />However, from the TV-12 report last night, it seems that the church is not very concerned, and would not even talk to the reporter for her story. Here is an excerpt from the TV report last night:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"><i><b>"Since October, Dave and his wife along with his neighbors say they have sent letters, emails and have made calls to Celebration Church asking for assistance with the noise, <span style="color: red;">but have received only one response that referenced a few pine trees planted as buffers</span>....I [the reporter] called Celebration Church and asked for an interview but was told <span style="color: red;">they would need two weeks notice and passed along contact information.</span>"</b></i></blockquote>I visited the church a few Sundays ago to hear Tim Tebow speak at the new Celebration Arena, and I can understand the neighbors' concerns. As I told many people about my visit, the one word I used to describe that church is LOUD. I have never, ever heard music and bass levels as high as in that church. The music was so loud, I felt like my inner organs were vibrating! I've been to my share of rock concerts back in the day, and nothing was as loud and deep as the music being played at the church. As I walked in, I noticed the "fog" in the air to give the arena a nightclub feel. The "arena" is beautiful - huge back screen, HD side screens, comfortable chairs - and one heckuva sound system.<br /><br />Hopefully Celebration Church will do more than just point to the pine trees, and will do something real to alleviate the concerns of Dave and his neighbors. In the TV piece last night, Dave says he is a man of faith and he felt guilty about raising the issue given that the noise is coming from a church, but he and his neighbors believe their quality of life is diminished by the noise levels on Sunday and Wednesdays. Celebration certainly CAN turn the music down, or provide some other engineering modifications to reduce the noise emanating from the property.<br /><br />It is quite interesting that while this issue is going on, <a href="http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=291927" target="_blank">our city council is addressing citizens' complaints about noise coming from Metro Park rock concerts</a> downtown. So Celebration, please be proactive and address this. If our city council is concerned about noise coming from city-owned property on a few weekends a year, certainly YOU can address the noise concerns from your own church every Sunday and Wednesday.<br /><br />And for goodness sake, Celebration Church, please talk to the reporter. Why do you need two weeks to prepare to speak to a news reporter working for our largest TV news station in Jacksonville?

Celebration Church Jacksonville Music Levels Disturbing Neighbors

Here in Jacksonville one of the largest, fastest growing churches is Celebration Church , pastored by Stovall Weems.They recently completed ...

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Report back on the East London TeachMeet 12th March

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKSi4cTO1BkFfa2gcIzuASsqAqaQqe3YCcKNLHKpVhr8bRgt3kJKDxwkxjrkoWA7wyZ9TZFqzeR7aVXC9-kcjywsY3iHEtD7E4lqbYBq_WpI_4ppLr5NYy1k4Kjp7-soDtqqTIOvUknjA/s1600-h/image%25255B3%25255D.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="62" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgjOT6V2_d324A7hHCnyQpVL9NfbyEAVQWjPpEUsDZrgcz4TSMQmcmX-8HvF05FQoygRn0PWsrADTTE1WJY9MALmrD56ZdFBBOL6fZxjFAGolN-ckTha8yES1HjaKKlfTN36FyG-Y201E/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="244" /></span></a></div><br /><i><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Submitted by Fiona Beal</span></i><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Every time I attend a TeachMeet I come away feeling inspired and encouraged after experiencing the fantastic atmosphere and enthusiastic presentations delivered by teachers. I love to see the types of innovation that teachers are employing in their classrooms. On Tuesday 12th March 2013 I attended the second TeachMeet in East London. Last time it was held at Stirling Primary (organised by Claire Dean) and this time it was held at Clarendon Primary (organised by Sharon Cox). You can read the report on the first TeachMeet in East London </span><a href="http://e-blogschool.blogspot.com/2012/10/report-back-on-teachmeet-in-east-london_14.html" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">here</a><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNIrr9Vs4Bs6mpBu476qnQAmXi3P9QFwuWlC2IO7bFeyTMbwCV9t1frBL4S5FfDpgy11k3IPglGSxt0AZ2p-D9KCRyWp6j_ShiMo84BxxJWIaCr6b7fNwWzytDoOFfNJbiK3pw3oRPsi8/s1600-h/image80.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjjotBqU7oEAPZO5TzOaZmAgxsf1ekJI5gmRKkOW82SVRGnoP_crsGuK0GjXPTZzjSbWlEz76DocwxGEAQURV3C2TOpVyRIfBESDDuBgq1z9MpHA3RA0cbnNnfuHJ79KUfl0_mSL_yrMI/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But, let me start at the beginning. I left for East London in the wee hours of the morning and arrived at 8am all set to spend the morning at Stirling Primary School. I had arranged to trail their new technology integration specialist, Mary Lou Berndt as she went about her newly-created position. This is definitely the type of job that Education Departments need to introduce at all public schools to get teachers on board with technology. At Stirling the teachers in a grade are free at the same time and Mary Lou schedules a session with them. These are lively and constructive times with the aim of improving the skills of each individual teacher while also pointing the way forward for introducing technology into the daily classroom routine. I thoroughly enjoyed every session and really admire the progressive stance taken by Stirling Primary. </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br /><table border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" style="width: 400px;"> <tbody><tr> <td valign="top" width="200"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1SHxxfCMYKyjhEQGqxypWViheonzSNmHI0a5Gyb9zNZY29g0ZpB-UsEJWxJEHkpsyUQAosSIVO9_G_9ZOHTf2opyJki2CH47OPD4jHLoCiNE26WDcF2WuhvLxv14Az96rjkpV_Jhh4q8/s1600-h/image1.png"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="166" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwn2aXq_FIu6izXAj-sMN80U5qnD2oM_y6wUwJkBHYatEpxZGYALGa8Qdv6ao-o80uFfs0tMmQA2fn0jzZd2fnu_428KN9376OWRcXqck8uGRDoWeh0F2fEV3Qe4UZY-EBs_qjkNZbMc0/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="215" /></span></a></td> <td valign="top" width="200"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3SGipJEoDqDMVAsqMP8qTh1fIX9eS7tniImxANfyn6-qeoLgjg3vtZRcDrEOjPJB2-qnlC2BgBxwFjhAymsmIpM90BR0XfsBa_kjR9KZ2fUU_Oy3jnhDtPFALhWC0qZbKjUvD6cME8Eo/s1600-h/image2.png"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="165" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3Vua5olSLJ0v6_mx3hVWZUPNPTiGNW9BJk3qMMpyrSJ2IAn_xtC9wiPz1AMIqKdYVUF-wF0GOzMrAAsYDrRDDRiw8aryl3sudD5kKc4UCKL4QzO3T3I0y7uURcI7OMiJfX4JbpdgAkSs/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="214" /></span></a></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In the afternoon after school we made our way to Clarendon Primary for the TeachMeet which was to be held from 3pm – 5pm. The two organisers, Sharon and Claire opened the TeachMeet and Pam King, principal of Clarendon Primary, welcomed everyone. </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Who were the presenters?</b></span><br /><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghfzA283_ZfNfL4-VKNVh33sgtS8Www9QjqhMB3Kz0wqxgBouwtwo-oQoPAEomRpkKc9JlCafIDT4LPstlwL41NnaEFU2DNLeMpX-16eX-9nCZmu-nMlF-Tarj2Kz0MpTPYd29Y9pn3kQ/s1600/qvc9fq.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghfzA283_ZfNfL4-VKNVh33sgtS8Www9QjqhMB3Kz0wqxgBouwtwo-oQoPAEomRpkKc9JlCafIDT4LPstlwL41NnaEFU2DNLeMpX-16eX-9nCZmu-nMlF-Tarj2Kz0MpTPYd29Y9pn3kQ/s400/qvc9fq.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">What was shared at the TeachMeet? </span></b><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong><br /></strong></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>1) Claire Dean: Tweetchat</strong><br />Claire made a start by showing everyone how to use Tweetchat (<a href="http://tweetchat.com/">http://tweetchat.com/</a>) to follow the Twitter hashtag #ELTeachmeet and contribute more easily. A Twitter hashtag at a TeachMeet allows people to give feedback as the event progresses and enables others to follow virually.     Tweetchat is a marvelous way to follow twitter hashtags. All it takes is a set date, a topic, and a hashtag. Then you carry on a conversation at the set time with anyone using that hashtag. At the end of this post I will add the tweet archive of the afternoon.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJxoJSHeylJ4ILHICwlst9FbMvQcpAXJMA-63Pn2J2QbF3IbfmaR1K3n6kLMGA3RDFdeQIf58Kmj1a76nnWloXNT2szElueXW5OGvyQlV2ZSpioMW3uItVM8OKeGDKj4gjiLHHODWUEy8/?imgmax=800" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="204" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJxoJSHeylJ4ILHICwlst9FbMvQcpAXJMA-63Pn2J2QbF3IbfmaR1K3n6kLMGA3RDFdeQIf58Kmj1a76nnWloXNT2szElueXW5OGvyQlV2ZSpioMW3uItVM8OKeGDKj4gjiLHHODWUEy8/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="clear: right; float: right; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>2) Lorraine Richter – Aurasma app for the iPad</strong><br />Aurasma is an iPad app that allows you to connect digital content with real-world objects. This is amazing! When the Aurasma app “sees” a picture you have selected and created an ‘aura’ with,  it triggers a video, an animation, a photo, a sound file or whatever you have connected to it.  This would be amazing to use on a classroom board display to make certain items come alive with more details; or you could use it on a worksheet to lead to further information.  </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwA-iNiCCqtRRlk2BuXRBWNmYWi9CYt3j0Mehcg6RznPTu6tL9KM6JFRaqntS1XjgEYYQXxme2MOJHE6NPXV7kFVQR90SRnAp5Bz_BuvjczjF6CvyYBr2-6OUrndbnic7mLfBKjQERqwE/s1600-h/image67.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="299" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdhk-PT1WEDTkobr7r-qAuzcE_ytUzEJAomy4DimHgbW1NKWhD5JTOwowbR-H6MD3OgeQT2-VrT15lvNkztD7vSatYgGa7tUhpydNX_i2RiZlxJtNXJhV9d6LuVJWh75KT_DdeId-sduo/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCgc4epu-rFRVaw9fB9k4cwrTvctvolPUYlz4DeGTFZMB5gryOUeWGsaJnzqR4dfxTpQjbRV3MNr967GG18j-1Cx1chthfaOJKfMFFWhuNEd6-hn7cfsuUJamAIFY0ElwTwrcJrYXQzm0/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="400" /></span></div><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Lorraine used a video by Taylor Swift to demonstrate how this works. </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/nhPpGLZi7OI" width="420"></iframe></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong><br /></strong></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>3) Leana Bassett – Jib Jab</strong></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Leana got us laughing hysterically with the video she showed featuring her principal, Mr Johnson and other members of the school management, using Jib Jab. In Jib Jab you can choose one of their music videos and add a photo of a character. </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></span></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitKEB-YNRJd6Le_JNsXCgS_AsyR5RpUilSHgvXsukRncrPidtAa3fVU2V78YVM5metbytlKtv3PqdxYnwpQTbwekwF4XLEKLf01vLqafCkaf5YFhJ5toJM5UFfMXfrqocLYemsPJ5z-Ho/?imgmax=800" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitKEB-YNRJd6Le_JNsXCgS_AsyR5RpUilSHgvXsukRncrPidtAa3fVU2V78YVM5metbytlKtv3PqdxYnwpQTbwekwF4XLEKLf01vLqafCkaf5YFhJ5toJM5UFfMXfrqocLYemsPJ5z-Ho/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; margin-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">STEP ONE: Open </span><a href="http://www.jibjab.com/"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">http://www.jibjab.com/</span></a>. <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Become a member – it’s cheaper! Or at least persuade someone else to pay your membership fee…</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">STEP TWO: Sign up – It’s easy as pie!<br />STEP THREE: Now sign in<br />STEP FOUR: Choose your format, occasion, video… whatever floats your boat!</span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikIQciHg4q0__nZGkTJC5Rtx4BNov0Z_KHznvKA_GacCcLje7Qo_cnCtCaWMIokrLshuzHhDsQFeLx4BlZ03DXNImOioipLjz9psXPgINX98d6NY2xoma6tz540Uk9PcvmUVnf6_q46cI/?imgmax=800" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikIQciHg4q0__nZGkTJC5Rtx4BNov0Z_KHznvKA_GacCcLje7Qo_cnCtCaWMIokrLshuzHhDsQFeLx4BlZ03DXNImOioipLjz9psXPgINX98d6NY2xoma6tz540Uk9PcvmUVnf6_q46cI/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">STEP FIVE: Choose your 'victims' wisely!</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">STEP SIX: To add more faces – just upload<br />STEP SEVEN: Edit your victims! (Removing wrinkles and double chins are at the discretion of the editor ;)<br />STEP EIGHT: Preview your masterpiece<br />STEP NINE: Now pay and download<br />STEP TEN: Hit the ‘forward’ button and enjoy!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>4) Fiona Beal – Exciting Times ahead with Microsoft and SchoolNet</strong></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Fiona from SchoolNet showed how the <a href="http://e-blogschool.blogspot.com/2013/04/join-partners-in-learning-network.html">Partners in Learning Network</a> works and encouraged teachers to join the network to find really rich resources of all kinds. The current <a href="http://e-blogschool.blogspot.com/2013/04/join-one-of-microsoft-innovation.html">Partners in Learning Forum competition</a> is open and teachers are encouraged to upload an activity to the PILNetwork to stand a chance of being selected as one of the 20 finalists for South Africa. </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnRjFmU8-Xw55PqDz076apBDTZFVKTSc7YBFuR7ED2P8OG6vewEuGvECQb_-Ft5Ku3DRv5mec7QexmJEi4q5QyADacSEDutusoUtum6fhuDGLnvKmriGyBAPl68LLsb4YII9CsYequMvI/s1600-h/image75.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="301" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQTgUoBEmy8cZgAaexqCyjJJOaieSl59hhpRMPKwFVh1HfvYnAI3zj-2ZvlPs153GpjI3vkXmz1oTWoL1f6Bs8Cfz_TW2Nf_Ca-AOc6ooBlNPXZxW7ammGsQoIOGla0TYayQ1B_t8QM4o/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="400" /></a></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaYnHQ-EeixqolOUFoLEdyO48r3mXobvlia5joeYiAxn4XBONTWO1Vqbnk_sobKkTjgPkuISpy2W0pS2FWiKGaMYgiMrbqBLf8clQwWUmKQ4fP9WA1Typs1Kmm3w9qzLIm6hUNLCubbQU/s1600-h/image12.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="301" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtxwQ4cGqMj0Xyssz3af625Rfmw5mPeZz1a-_WpoJhKSKMEq7oUG4TNUhSnMoHgNYR0u0ICciRZw7oWHGcZahJG3cyl0KlBhqq9IVo7D-ZWQVh5gPsSnTlQKq3LpkqCAylDJZEFs7q89g/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The second part of her talk centred around the offerings of SchoolNet which you can be regularly updated on by becoming a member (free membership). <a href="http://schoolnet.org.za/conference_2013/">The SchoolNet Conference</a> is taking place in July in Bloemfontein and teachers were encouraged to register on the conference page of the SchoolNet website.</span><br /><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS49M7LJpNPNbBN-KW2QWeF-ijT9nw1EJDSbVFnJgopjwXky8EUi7EYKnaHqx9ckQUIImxNhLA-jONJsjZUb5BiPCY3RyM_nztw7_5dXnefprOzI_b-bLcCeMAu4vPYBTIwudsu59RILc/s1600-h/image16.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMJ-a8aknZI0I03HZZqey5L1WgaIPO0jg8QjbUX_wO8vpwESBeh9x2JSh6dksaS-_NOsJlWGCr5mnD9mNk8GGF__EkrEML_hL-TtPaNWDmjsFwYwWV6ULPoQeVCptTNOm0QR-FVXaIjRc/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>5) Fiona Beal – African Storybook Project</strong></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is a wonderful Literacy project that is being funded by Britain and piloted in three African countries starting this year. The aim is to build up a wonderful website of stories for the Grade 1-3 children of Africa. The project is looking for stories and offers teachers <a href="http://e-blogschool.blogspot.com/2013/04/our-short-free-online-course-digital.html">a free digital storytelling and writing course</a> starting on the 15th April. </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYmP0WTTdCs5qU8j-kD3Pb_VMcfTbf5DoEAAAhOOeryFEgTsrUeICQej8MCgb14uKNxwMiRraQGwFBFXWOJnueyz-tPnN069bx_j6tBDCFEC22i5Z6gmfUFAwyc0o5Ett7pxmVATcVtOM/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="400" /></span></div><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong><br /></strong></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>6) Liesel Kuger – use Google Forms for assessment</strong><br /><a href="http://support.google.com/drive/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=87809">Google forms</a> are a wonderful way of creating quizzes, surveys, polls and assessments that can make a teacher’s life much easier. The form does the work. Liesel showed how using Flubaroo with these forms for more advanced grading.  You go to Tools - Script Gallery – search for and install Flubarroo. It creates a Grades tab in your spreadsheet. </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhoo6_9bwAvbtZBYKhIjyB4azelUJjr0DUtZEpw1GGbKm9AbrO3gto4GNAUjqfA6avwijGJ0phbl0OmEFr0OY_dC3Wtz8stqdnaZZJ08mTvU2Wjs0Z6IX_y3J0DZL0tr-8LvlQPR1dSNw/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="400" /></span></div><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong><br /></strong></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>7) Jenna Vorster – Khan Academy</strong></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Jenna spoke about using the acclaimed free Khan Academy to supplement Maths lessons in the classroom. <a href="http://www.khanacademy.org/">www.khanacademy.org</a> This can be used as a website or as an app on the Ipad. The Khan Academy can be accessed on <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/khanacademy/about">YouTube</a>. Jenna demonstrated a fractions video and how useful it can be in the classroom. Jenna finds the students learn better with visuals like this. You can download the videos to you computer if necessary. </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaog-3G3jnYVN2eiz0CVzmIQUTmrvpLd62aipRBtQdDgCMkAUVGnQX1di_AHDSPA4zTLD2Cm16sc8HbUnLmrzRbTA6_TEGDNjmrL6HYkhwt8uuItWFV4yKl3l3rt3ASCoNPhmbb7rdJoQ/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="400" /></span></div><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>8) Sharon Cox – Class Tools</b><br />Sharon spoke about the marvelous site known as Class Tools (<a href="http://www.classtools.net/">http://www.classtools.net/</a>). It allows you to create free games, quizzes, activities and diagrams in seconds!  Sharon gave examples of the <a href="http://www.activehistory.co.uk/plagiarizr/">plagiarism checker</a> and the mindmap and brainstorm tools on Class Tools. </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="301" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjph8lXKBYa0PXf504Nh3r6LhUzjEEuJUXPKN5wcdF88AAsNlsdwMyXCiPQ9SVSqd-tcy01Jh4FjDmBM4TNFoU7QEFG21Nhkwyf8g2YwIFlZBIG3xdPEcsmvtl7FEJC5NlcahgBkiqUxrc/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="400" /></span></div><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong><br /></strong></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>9) Sharon Cox – Todays Meet</strong><br />TodaysMeet (<a href="http://todaysmeet.com/">http://todaysmeet.com/</a>)  is a backchannel tool that helps you and your learners to connect with others in realtime. It is almost like having a private twitter account for an activity you are doing. Students can add comments and give feedback during the lesson. You can set a time limit for the information to be available. This site is great for brainstorming. Sharon demonstrated how it all works during her presentation. </span><br /><span style="clear: right; float: right; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVD8PBApusEeCp2BYuyR-pS12riqRCwEXQ_KaJ7U47irqyr4UZf4YbqBCzBDbRYsgw6MeU2xEO5jnC69LCGd0Jh4SSAivfrdx4rxCEGEPhTMZ5x-k2nIgUzKjx7EfLugENDv_3qB7I9Us/?imgmax=800" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVD8PBApusEeCp2BYuyR-pS12riqRCwEXQ_KaJ7U47irqyr4UZf4YbqBCzBDbRYsgw6MeU2xEO5jnC69LCGd0Jh4SSAivfrdx4rxCEGEPhTMZ5x-k2nIgUzKjx7EfLugENDv_3qB7I9Us/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; margin-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong><br /></strong></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong><br /></strong></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>10) Rod Harris shared his Interactive Mark Book in Excel</strong><br />This can save a teacher hours! He showed us how to create it and how it all works. He has aligned his markbook with the current CAPS for Intermediate Phase.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq5SfrjBtsAGftO4B5JpJ9THtzXaO4QTDKaWhif14Hap4f5AxmldH_j6NrzZHNuLwlefsqnhrgBEMCBRAU8ZQRFNjTgUrC5M9PKcJGwn5pMWzPfqPPNp91XfpfCCDhlf4IaKDGgxP4vp0/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="383" /></span></div><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong><br /></strong></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>11) Sam Botcher - Audacity</strong></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Audacity is a free audio recording and editing programme that can be downloaded free from the Internet. It is very easy to use for making audio podcasts. Sam demonstrated radio adverts for chocolate made in groups using Audacity.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="301" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_rOD4tbpts0DLG9CHADhzVgI45OSQkVQ4e8wIYx2VCexrxqgM2dQAig2T6j1XXm4puZivwWJmYrUfJlzWg4M-jqsKfmm-WAUGhDDMW9MX7Z5lmWrx1dLcSnU2JnyldazuGxeBpPsipXU/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="400" /></span></div><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sam added some sites where she found free sound effects.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="301" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ2umjjIIZ7cKwyvPtM9mapsudCM0do9zHk_XljKpegxV9bXhs2yIU8pWK7yYBrv1nYNal2P2pJbEO81yVZdwMipmdNpKIrGom8JMtpyiYc_13fqV83BKCyPHzi1M0DVpW7XtpCXFDq5s/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="400" /></span></div><br /><strong><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></strong><strong><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">11) Sam Botcher – Pixntell for the iPad</span></strong><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sam showing an IPad app Pixntell for creating narrated picture stories.The free version only allows five photos. She gave lovely examples using five pictures that have added effects and voice overs. These can be uploaded to YouTube if desired.  This app is great for explaining recipes. Sam gave a step by step demonstration on how user-friendly it is. The link Sam gave to an article on how to use five photos in the classroom can be found <a href="http://maps.playingwithmedia.com/story-in-5-photos/">here</a>. </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="303" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNRFh6Dk9XQ45k1cZlHZV_nMJSVgPudo9rC9fMTiBKniQgmLyWV8yu7HEoriyuSRiTZ-A5ang_YI6hqDkB5ayKKLTVf9pF_ijqKlEFSIX0ogqCD6J5AMcty0Pt3lvCaF9ohDhv8p8g8d0/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="400" /></span></div><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>12) Mary Lou Berndt – Pinterest</strong><br />Mary Lou demonstrated using Pinterest which is one of the most popular applications available currently. Teachers can use Pinterest to create different boards according to different subjects.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSxSMYQILp3vn2MHC1KUQx9u_v1AP2De0EcIvOPtJhzn16OCNbDuqN0jwNWHXoLIGwhfnRYU3znFyEuSviYGMqjAKrhpdhLb4PxMJ3ZkgO_HoSkYbIEUxsTkCKV7ghu2iWucd3lsHdPDw/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="400" /></span></div><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>13) Mary Lou Berndt – Flipped Classroom</strong></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mary Lou spoke of the different role that is required by the teacher when using the flipped classroom approach. Teacher changes from a sage on the stage to a guide on the side. Mary Lou used a <a href="http://prezi.com/oboi0gkggmnk/the-flipped-classroom/">prezi</a> to demonstrate the flipped classroom. She showed the various applications one can use for the flipped classroom. </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5sMm-9qYlSQJA3Mi_lZepfWK1a1lQeUcwr2wGF6VxGRlhlXYbmSHMjJs0L1oxneVUElm1-RVtB72b3PVsVhdcj68KAncdxbsoQTVE_qHDDrVFCv5pv6xxXQh1KiWKQG_Oa53IsInlVtU/s1600-h/image100.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="303" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8RQWNpf8_4WQKdnjdPCAeOJPb9meThyphenhyphenvb5-4F6ybcEkij3VVCOXlsBEX-OYzFVVx0AWcpJgQu_vGhy4ZlJ_ov3UykZz1N1HIvfqhIsiypJcdPFE12lx28PSFgX5H2IsQ32nct0h21b54/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mary Lou’s principal, Mr Johnson, was very impressed with this idea and sent a tweet saying:</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="105" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNwk69ob3Lmp0ml9yGRQ3u_9g9MP4ltmJAsigmvg7SG5C8uhxkHTch2AQFC0PNUybEJnP9Lbe2BBsrnRCJiin0rB_E6qQsPnvAfAj-YIa3s6Y6xwiRWZJZTWwbTlzMC7nFpVO0pA7U_0k/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="400" /></span></div><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>14) Shailey Lucas – Talking Friends app on the iPad</strong><br />Shailey Lucas showing an app called Talking Friends. You can use this app to record lessons. The little creatures that you select will repeat it. This is very cute. Shailley had us giggling as we watched her demonstration of this. </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLYsV66D-wUlM5_FBfNVvb-maQa7_Wldab-o7T9qgjpCQ_Usb1JZV2IwR_USdOHrbHY8DOCKTTmBgAaoRXOQIkVS2qElRH7pTZuRwFRwlT81Kg0cBdxOs2cRAYGs8wP5TLoyFR5S6lCE4/s1600/EL+TeachMeet_Shailey+Lucas_Talking+Friends1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLYsV66D-wUlM5_FBfNVvb-maQa7_Wldab-o7T9qgjpCQ_Usb1JZV2IwR_USdOHrbHY8DOCKTTmBgAaoRXOQIkVS2qElRH7pTZuRwFRwlT81Kg0cBdxOs2cRAYGs8wP5TLoyFR5S6lCE4/s320/EL+TeachMeet_Shailey+Lucas_Talking+Friends1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipPeC5BASFkPxLgnUvsVXpNJb4BeboRCvCHegk3yL5aVj7UMJ92eCuQtvnO1WiJWLM-FX9nHb1icG99TUBLzYwI5TwxKGt9j9NoW0ykEhz4KImKcmuThgbnw6BVQxRljE25SwkqtXupaM/s1600/EL+TeachMeet_Shailey+Lucas_Talking+Friends2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipPeC5BASFkPxLgnUvsVXpNJb4BeboRCvCHegk3yL5aVj7UMJ92eCuQtvnO1WiJWLM-FX9nHb1icG99TUBLzYwI5TwxKGt9j9NoW0ykEhz4KImKcmuThgbnw6BVQxRljE25SwkqtXupaM/s320/EL+TeachMeet_Shailey+Lucas_Talking+Friends2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>15) Drik Greef – Free degrees</b><br />Drik Greef is the Chief Education Specialist of the Eastern Cape for e-Learning. He spoke about free degrees that one can do online overseas. This hasn't reached South Africa yet. These degrees are offered by the best universities in the world. <a href="http://lifehacker.com/5875092/plan-your-free-online-education-at-lifehacker-u-spring-semester-2012">Lifehacker University</a> is a search engine that gives the list of free degrees. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Drik gave other examples of places to find free degrees.</span><br /><div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSJF2AVq5kSr0GuIqicaXGOwo1hIUDw5lzscu7u1UACtlWNUFskiPgNwXYnBXF_bIol4CjUmjpvwY3iCrXiwt8KPVzizl_NeSZq_ouLDtzh_1D8ADJoOxVTugGLIQxCU-T_CQcLNkPolk/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="400" /></span></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="295" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixLBTVselKSXKE7aHiuYmE3Bt2fxKZowcCsMThwXEfIj6SCTupEV1WBeubSadya8IVwXE59eI5WvrzBpot1xlPn8aTDH-uiUM85fAtI4xO08C5GG7vG_WC5eWyvuXPurpqPhVun0J3RXc/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="400" /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZz4lW7CH99qJ67IEBpPy3p1b5fJZ9uvuzQjLpfnA2kMsxNiOJY-ar9fZpmO_4KMRKup_bASvoKzEWynsKC_RXnMrL2Vik38iwioREOa3C6ZA_gg7y8aQkT0ZjWxr5Do4U8nf5KJZfpFQ/?imgmax=800" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="293" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZz4lW7CH99qJ67IEBpPy3p1b5fJZ9uvuzQjLpfnA2kMsxNiOJY-ar9fZpmO_4KMRKup_bASvoKzEWynsKC_RXnMrL2Vik38iwioREOa3C6ZA_gg7y8aQkT0ZjWxr5Do4U8nf5KJZfpFQ/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; margin-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><strong style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">16) Drik Greef – Codes for Teachers</strong><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Drik also spoke on using QR codes on worksheets. This is useful for homework. If the students scan the code on a phone they can immediately get further information relating to the task. In a Grade 1 homework worksheet they could scan and then listen to a song or say the poem for example. Drik gave some great ideas. </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="183" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaVCPBQbZbUjwe6uxQ7AGm7cgv26T_flqd1ivknFyjRymf1hMQ7WsKCRO9pEE3jl4Hy8tpiUY1sG0iMEgqh_6PSKXJ7bc-KlDttLTJJybAZbr9lrZtjWeucBBlQi9a6EQstIcBC_Gzl2c/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="244" /></span></div><br /><strong><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Spot prizes</span></strong><br /><strong><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></strong> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There were a lot of spot prizes from sponsors such as Microsoft and the local PC shop – in fact there were enough for all the presenters and quite a number of people that attended. Sharon and Claire used the <a href="http://www.classtools.net/education-games-php/fruit_machine">Random Name Picker</a> to select the spot prizes winners.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <br /><table border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" style="width: 400px;"> <tbody><tr> <td valign="top" width="133"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnkT2dJE7IGQvPu9faFwU5JPnz1cF6ie0OWNfTdWv9gxEEqgfXcovRnIJVBF2POti8BVzLn_jTkBeBMYyCOW1-0-6LObFsiX5ULCjqULTUQo8CIchmwxoTH3XYOmhEVcfxfCduIr9FE28/s1600-h/image45.png"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="101" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIxmtnf8JgYCcPzMiOwuL_qgXcGvPQQNR6HrsH9cWwE-xIrKmWZfTzWQbn5s9XD9CagSEWXY1tqsHsVUQLYI6uu20WVU8l9iIloz6QdFLVqZu43gDRVfzoEkF6koPvVqLga5MIKhOfjRw/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="130" /></span></a></td> <td valign="top" width="133"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFte4FOoOaxfNtteKaqG0ZgbZ8lhdQx_GgGtP-OkxnLfLqIZtBZ6uIJG7WzSQ4-6-dLLpEdw4tQipBG2XaRMH8haFhTsVskazyrzA8PwsGzgfcX1UQ-3RWnOBaMLCj8WF1eGTVP71CheY/s1600-h/image49.png"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="106" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5N9s6dTrQFBqIbTqnGoIhGcAVKbCmk4oVJC-5vgiJUDLXuwCoYhQ_JGD8m_Q18m_99UXMR-KVKVEpFgTckQgGEMzNVU7sGKDgmoX4MKulDBZ9yziaF1H71hmDoNtoqH4ouadRsCF4yTU/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="138" /></span></a></td> <td valign="top" width="133"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwo7hr0dMjVCCmW4WwCpFFxYeG4hb1-LIcCXCl1SnN8Xtj3Z_kiqoxT9-I-hia0sRJ1-MJGEfPfp8ixgvNlh0MA-x2QPYWq2vaM7Rm9zX0B60CJZ183VSbGHoYz0-0AbFKF1EHKor4vCM/s1600-h/image53.png"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="107" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5pmFVfQRYy9M0Zxv6WtcDNhGYAkzXb9lNMEekn7hq_49-dWrD-jtaWngKttTFfd_9IsyetRpaoQS601Q83ETHJ2fnskcn8EDmQ6cK9zgJ7z6Xixgxwq_WDkCwvl40041EkfcgT9ZZThA/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="137" /></span></a></td></tr></tbody></table><strong><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></strong><strong><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Twitterstream</span></strong><br /><strong><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></strong> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Twitter hashtag  #ELTeachMeet, used for the event, was summarised using Storify if you would like to view it. <br /><a href="http://storify.com/fibeal/tweet-archive-for-east-london-teachmeet-on-12-03-2">http://storify.com/fibeal/tweet-archive-for-east-london-teachmeet-on-12-03-2</a></span><br /><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><strong><br /></strong></span><strong><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Final comment</span></strong><br /><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This was a superb afternoon, in fact a superb day. If you live in the East London area you won’t want to miss the next TeachMeet which will be held in September at Stirling Primary.  Watch the <a href="http://teachmeet-southafrica/" target="_blank">TeachMeet-South Africa</a> wiki for details. Thank you for organising this wonderful professional development event, Claire and Sharon. </span></div></div>

teachmeets Report back on the East London TeachMeet 12th March

Submitted by Fiona Beal Every time I attend a TeachMeet I come away feeling inspired and encouraged after experiencing the fantastic atmosph...

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Holistic Review — Shaping the Medical Profession One Applicant at a Time — NEJM

<base href="data:"><div style="color: black; text-align: left; " class=""><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 15px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.4em; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); position: static; z-index: auto; " class=""><font class="Apple-style-span" face="'Helvetica Neue'">Modern medicine has been characterized by rapid and accelerating progress in biomedical sciences as the foundation for clinical practice. In 1910, the Flexner Report established these sciences as the core of medical education.<span style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; " class="ref"><a href="http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp1300411#ref1" rel="#refLayer" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(0, 104, 146); text-decoration: none; position: relative; top: -0.4em; line-height: 0; " class="showRefLayer">1</a></span> Admissions committees at U.S. medical schools have, for the past century, focused their attention largely on predictors of success in the foundational science curriculum, relying heavily on academic performance in the biologic and physical sciences and scores on the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) in selecting applicants for medical school.</font></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 15px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.4em; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); " class=""><font class="Apple-style-span" face="'Helvetica Neue'">Abundant data support the contention that performance in the medical school science curriculum and on the U.S. Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) Step 1 are predicted by performance on the MCAT and in the undergraduate science coursework required of medical school applicants.<span style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; " class="ref"><a href="http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp1300411#ref2" rel="#refLayer" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(0, 104, 146); text-decoration: none; position: relative; top: -0.4em; line-height: 0; " class="showRefLayer">2</a></span>Key aspects of behavior, character, and performance that are essential for the practice of medicine, however, cannot be predicted from these measures. In addition, performance on standardized tests and in undergraduate sciences is influenced by myriad social, demographic, and economic factors that limit the utility of these measures in large segments of the potential applicant pool for medical school.</font></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 15px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.4em; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); " class=""><font class="Apple-style-span" face="'Helvetica Neue'">Over the past decade, individual medical schools, supported by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), have been working to expand the frame of reference for evaluating applicants for medical school. These efforts have come together under the "holistic review" rubric endorsed by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2003: "highly individualized, holistic review of each applicant's file, giving serious consideration to all the ways an applicant might contribute to a diverse educational environment." Under such an approach, a school "seriously considers each `applicant's promise of making a notable contribution to the class by way of a particular strength, attainment, or characteristic — e.g., an unusual intellectual achievement, employment experience, nonacademic performance, or personal background.'"<span style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; " class="ref"><a href="http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp1300411#ref3" rel="#refLayer" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(0, 104, 146); text-decoration: none; position: relative; top: -0.4em; line-height: 0; " class="showRefLayer">3</a></span></font></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 15px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.4em; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); " class=""><font class="Apple-style-span" face="'Helvetica Neue'">The AAMC Holistic Review Project has defined holistic review in medical school admissions as "a flexible, individualized way of assessing an applicant's capabilities by which balanced consideration is given to experiences, attributes, and academic metrics . . . and, when considered in combination, how the individual might contribute value as a medical student and future physician."<span style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; " class="ref"><a href="http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp1300411#ref4" rel="#refLayer" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(0, 104, 146); text-decoration: none; position: relative; top: -0.4em; line-height: 0; " class="showRefLayer">4</a></span></font></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 15px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.4em; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); " class=""><font class="Apple-style-span" face="'Helvetica Neue'">A holistic review process therefore emphasizes attributes, including learning ability, that are associated with excellence in physicians. Applicants are evaluated according to criteria that are institution-specific, mission-driven, broad-based, and applied consistently across the entire applicant pool at a given school. Holistic review does not abandon the assessment of aptitude in science. Rather, it places such measures in the broader context of the applicant's life experiences, with a particular focus on adversities overcome, challenges faced, advantages and opportunities encountered, and the applicant's demonstrated resilience in the face of difficult circumstances. Each factor, be it the undergraduate grade-point average (GPA), the MCAT score, or the leadership roles assumed in volunteer service organizations, is evaluated in the context of the complete portfolio of information available about the applicant. That is, a given level of accomplishment for one applicant may look very different in the context of another applicant with a different life story. Medical schools have many more qualified applicants than they can realistically interview, so holistic principles must be applied from the initial screening through the entire admissions process for their desired effect to be realized.</font></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 15px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.4em; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); " class=""><font class="Apple-style-span" face="'Helvetica Neue'">The imperative for a diverse physician workforce in an increasingly diverse society is one important driver of the move to take a more expansive view of excellence in medical student selection. This more comprehensive approach to considering a multitude of factors in evaluating all applicants provides a context for the inclusion of race, ethnic background, language, culture, and heritage, among other factors, in a way that is educationally sound and legally viable. The AAMC's Experience–Attributes–Metrics Model includes consideration of many dimensions of applicants, broadening the context in which their development, accomplishments, and potential can be evaluated. The metrics include grade trends in addition to the usual GPA and MCAT scores; attributes range from fields of interest, intellectual curiosity, and maturity to languages spoken, gender identity, and family status; and experiences may include everything from education and research to general life experiences.</font></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 15px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.4em; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); position: static; z-index: auto; " class=""><font class="Apple-style-span" face="'Helvetica Neue'">In 2003, the Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) became one of a number of U.S. medical schools to launch a systematic transition from a traditional admissions model based largely on the review of academic metrics to a comprehensive, holistic review process. It was a slow and deliberative transition, but by 2008, changes in the BUSM admissions program were clear and substantial, and the effects were evident in the entering class of 2009.</font></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 15px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.4em; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); position: static; z-index: auto; " class=""><font class="Apple-style-span" face="'Helvetica Neue'">The BUSM Committee on Admissions first developed a mission statement for itself that reflected the concepts in the institutional mission statement and then created a set of decision-support tools using performance metrics, characteristics, and behaviors that are identified in that mission and used in a clearly defined and universally applied manner. The <a href="http://www.nejm.org/action/showImage?doi=10.1056%2FNEJMp1300411&iid=t01" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(0, 104, 146); text-decoration: none; " class="viewType-Layer viewClass-ImageViewerLayer">table</a> shows one such tool: a list of desirable traits for physicians matched with the elements of applicant data that reveal or predict those traits. Direct measures of these traits are often unavailable, so proxies are used. Holistic review is an information-hungry process; electronic processing greatly facilitates both the application and the evaluation of the program. Experiences, attributes, and academic metrics are evaluated and scored in a systematic and consistent manner across the entire applicant pool, with due consideration to the demonstrated validity of various criteria in predicting success in both medical school and medical practice. The BUSM program uses structured interviewing, rigorous training of participating faculty and staff, and systematic evaluation of data elements, all of which minimize the influence of conscious and unconscious bias.</font></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 15px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.4em; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); position: static; z-index: auto; " class=""><font class="Apple-style-span" face="'Helvetica Neue'">Since BUSM became engaged in holistic review, the profile of its entering class has changed dramatically. Other factors, including changes both at the school and within society at large, have certainly influenced the school's ability to select and recruit strong students, but holistic review is at the core of the process. Students are culturally, linguistically, racially, ethnically, and demographically more diverse than previous classes, and according to the standard measures of undergraduate GPA and MCAT score, they are at least as well prepared academically (the average GPA and average MCAT score were 3.66 and 33.62 for the entering class of 2012, as compared with 3.57 and 31.68 for the entering class of 2008). Students from groups underrepresented in medicine now make up approximately 20% of the entering class, as compared with 11 to 12% before the adoption of holistic review. We observe that students are more frequently engaged in our campus community and in outside activities, and graduating students pursue a broad range of specialties and career paths. The general sense of the faculty, particularly those who teach our small-group problem seminars, is that the students are more collegial, more supportive of one another, more engaged in the curriculum, and more open to new ideas and to perspectives different from their own. Some of these observations are subjective and difficult to quantify, but there is a striking, and uncoached, consensus among the experienced faculty members.</font></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 15px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.4em; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); position: static; z-index: auto; " class=""><font class="Apple-style-span" face="'Helvetica Neue'">More ...</font></div></div><a href="http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp1300411" class=""><font class="Apple-style-span" face="'Helvetica Neue'">http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp1300411</font></a><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; color: black; text-align: left; " class=""><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div>

Holistic Review — Shaping the Medical Profession One Applicant at a Time — NEJM

Modern medicine has been characterized by rapid and accelerating progress in biomedical sciences as the foundation for clinical practice. In...

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