Done better in your A-levels than you were expecting? We'd like to hear from you!
With top quality well-recognised degrees, the University of Liverpool still has course vacancies available for you to study in this fantastic city.
Limited places are available on courses during Clearing to study starting in September 2007.
Welcome to the University of Oxford. Oxford is the oldest university in the English-speaking world and lays claim to nine centuries of continuous existence. As an internationally renowned centre for teaching and research, Oxford attracts students and scholars from across the globe, with almost a quarter of our students from overseas. More than 130 nationalities are represented among a student population of over 18,000.
Oxford is a collegiate university, with 39 self-governing colleges related to the University in a type of federal system. There are also seven Permanent Private Halls, founded by different Christian denominations. Thirty colleges and all halls admit students for both undergraduate and graduate degrees. Seven other colleges are for graduates only; one has Fellows only, and one specializes in part-time and continuing education.
Cisco and the Cisco Learning Institute have created the PLAN-IT toolkits for all audiences, particularly Academy instructors, students, Gender Initiative participants, and LDC Initiative participants. They support student and Academy success throughout the developing world.
As the IT industry in your country grows, so do the needs for qualified job candidates. The PLAN-IT Workforce Development Toolkit helps Academies connect students and graduates with employment opportunities. Tools are available for use by instructors, students, and private-sector partners.
The toolkit includes the following resources:
The Workforce Development Toolkit is available as a CD-ROM. For information on how to obtain a PLAN-IT CD-ROM, contact your AAM.
After assessing the employment needs of students, several Academy instructors in Uganda created a Workforce Development Toolkit with assistance from the United Nations Volunteers. The goal of this project was to link Academy students and graduates with opportunities in Uganda's growing IT sector. Through partnerships within the private sector, government, and civil society, the workforce development project in Uganda has helped prepare Academy students and graduates to meet the demands of the IT labor market. Due to its success in facilitating employment, the toolkit was selected to serve as the model for the PLAN-IT Workforce Development Toolkit to be piloted throughout the Cisco Networking Academy Program.
We appreciate your comments and suggestions for improving the PLAN-IT toolkits. Please share your successes and best practices as you integrate PLAN-IT at your Academies.
For additional questions regarding the PLAN-IT Toolkits, contact your Area Academy Manager (AAM).
One of my newsletter subscribers recently sent me a copy of blogging advise someone had given her. She has an online store and has started blogging but would like to make her blog more effective. Being unsure, what to do she came to me for a second opinion. Here’s some bits of what she was told. There are other bits of pro arguments too and overall pretty balanced but I would like to highlight two points that jumped up.
Here’s what I think:
Database speed is a valid concern of course but a good web host will be able to handle multiple database queries at once without a hitch. Many a times if you look at the execution time of the scripts, including shopping carts, many of them are done in 10ths or 100’s of a second. It’s not something an average shopper will notice.
Despite it all, a blog is usually pretty lean and run with minimal of resources. Out of the many blogs I’ve helped people set up, I have not encountered a problem with this and one of the sites I run is a hosted shopping cart. If your database or script is slow, it’s more likely something you’d take up with your host. That said, to optimize things, it’s always better to have the shopping cart on one database and any other scripts like a blog on another database. This cuts down the queries on one database. Alternatively, you can always use Blogger to publish your blog to your site. Blogger does not use any database but rather builds regular HTML pages and copies it over to your site.
The biggest reason you want the blog on your site is because you will be building traffic for your site. If you build a blog on blogstream, blogspot or any place where you don’t own the domain, you’re building traffic for other people’s site, not yours. If that company decides not to offer that service anymore or you outgrow it, you’ll lose all that hard earned traffic immediately.
That same rule applies to link backs you have built. The links people use to link back to you doesn’t belong to you if you don’t own the domain. Besides, you can build a blogroll on a blog that’s hosted on your site. The key thing here is building for long term. When we’re in business, we’re in it for the long term, so why build a blog for the short term?
If you’re hoping to get traffic from a network of blogs who are using the same blogging system, you need to consider, how valuable that kind of traffic is. I would rather have 100 people who are really interested in my niche, who I have a better chance to convert into a lead or customer than 1000 people who are just blog hopping. Wouldn’t you?
Students gain knowledge and skills through campus group involvement
Does your daughter enjoy bocce ball, horseshoes, or beanbags? The Lawn Sports Club is for her. Or perhaps creating and spreading silliness is your son’s way of life. Then it’s The Loose Association of Very Silly People for him. Or maybe a vigorous ride on two wheels over Iowa’s countryside is more your student’s speed? Encourage him or her to join the Cycling Club.
And, if none of these groups fits the bill, there are more than 400 other organizations at the University for students to investigate and potentially join.Michael Brafford, a sophomore from Johnston, Iowa, majoring in secondary education and English, took a ballroom dancing course at the University and discovered his love of swing dancing. He revived the Swing Dance Club in January.
“Swing dancing gives us an outlet to escape from school, lighten up, and boogie down,” says Brafford. “We let go of our academic identities for a few hours and let loose with fellow rug cutters.”
The club, comprised of students and nonstudents, meets for lessons on Monday nights at the Field House.
“As a secondary education major, teaching swing dance to the club’s members has helped me understand how I can be a better teacher after I graduate,” says Brafford. “I have learned to communicate more clearly and have figured out what I need to say to get members to understand. I’ve realized that not all people learn in the same way.”
Kelly Soukup, an assistant director in the Office of Student Life (OSL), says students learn professional skills that are not taught in the classroom through their group activities.
“Club participation helps to prepare students in a practical sense for the job market,” Soukup says. “Their involvement often comes up during job interviews.”
Membership in cocurricular organizations and clubs also can help students to develop a sense of community and establish a real connection with other students at the University.
Brafford agrees. “Involvement in student organizations is a great way to meet others, stay active, and find yourself.”
Whatever a student’s interest or aim, the breadth of organizations at Iowa is tremendous.
Many organizations are solely focused on academic interests—for example, the Actuarial Science Club, or Students in Design for graphic designers. There are cultural, humanitarian, religious, and philosophical groups, including the African Student Association, Students Against Sweatshops, the Campus Christian Fellowship, and I-RENEW—a group that promotes the use of renewable energy and the practice of sustainable living. Athletic organizations always are popular among students. Individuals with interests in badminton, bass fishing, running, and Ultimate Frisbee can find a place to spend their free time.Michael R. Schmidt, a senior political science major from Clive, Iowa, joined the University chapter of Habitat for Humanity, one of several groups on campus that reach out to the community.
“Getting involved in a student organization is an excellent way to take a leadership role and interact with peers. It enriches your learning experience by extending it beyond academics,” Schmidt says.
The Habitat for Humanity chapter, which has nearly 200 student members, schedules a variety of activities throughout the year, the most well-known being home building for low-income families. The organization is affiliated with the Iowa Valley Habitat for Humanity, which serves Johnson, Cedar, and Iowa counties, and together they began constructing a home on Iowa City’s north side in October. Students worked diligently alongside the home’s future owners, connecting pieces of precut wood to create the skeleton of the three-bedroom, one-bath home.
“I believe deeply in the mission,” says Schmidt. “Any support, encouragement, or growth that I can provide to the program is rewarding. The local affiliate has done a wonderful job finding diverse families in need, and showing that to students can help to instill a lifelong commitment to service.”
Schmidt says he joined the campus chapter after he became a member of the Iowa Valley affiliate. At the time, very few students were involved and he didn’t know if there was student interest to support a chapter. When he found out one had started, he thought joining it would be the best way to encourage involvement by other students.
“It’s been so much fun and such a wonderful time,” says Schmidt. “I’ve met people I wouldn’t have otherwise met. I’ll be disappointed to leave the group when I graduate.”
Student organizations have been on the Iowa campus for more than 150 years. Many groups, such as those listed below, clearly contribute to the University’s reputation of excellence, while at the same time building campus spirit and pride. Homecoming Week events, the Bijou Theater, and Dance Marathon—an annual fund-raiser in its 12th year that has raised more than $4 million for the Children’s Miracle Network—all are student-run organizations. These groups, along with others on a long list, play a significant role in campus life and add to the overall student experience.
Bill Nelson, director of OSL, says, “Students join organizations for a variety of reasons—perhaps they have an academic interest, or it’s an opportunity to meet friends and build relationships.”
If students have interests that are not represented by a group already established on campus, they can start their own.
“All they need are five like-minded, interested individuals who are willing to abide by University policies and procedures,” says Nelson.
OSL staff members support or serve as a contact for each student organization. They offer assistance with program planning, budget review, event evaluation, and development of organizational and leadership skills. Each campus organization receives funding from UI Student Government.
“The neat part is that students get the opportunity to run a small company, improve their management skills, and learn how to work within a budget,” Nelson says.
