Wednesday, March 25, 2020

How to Tutor in Pasadena

How to Tutor in PasadenaTutoring in Pasadena is not only for children. A tutor can also be used by adults to improve their communication skills, help them in studying and even improve their job skills. Tutoring in Pasadena is a great option to improve students' academic performance and also to learn the techniques of communication.In the classroom, teachers mostly teach at grade levels. They prefer to focus on only the academic areas of the students. Many teachers forget about the communication side of education. As a result, a lot of students will suffer from problems like failure to understand what is being said in class or asking the teacher a question that he/she does not understand.These basic needs can be solved easily with tutoring in Pasadena. A professional tutor will help students understand what they are supposed to do in class, what they should be thinking about, what questions to ask the teacher and other problems that they might face. These tutors can be used at any gra de level and any subject area.Students should also learn how to express themselves in their studies. They need help in this aspect too. This is where a professional tutor comes in handy.Most teachers and college instructors spend more time in their classes than they spend in the class environment. They are often busy teaching to many students or having time for many students. They should be able to manage this process and so that their overall productivity can be improved.The new age of internet and satellite TV have given people a way to interact with each other as well as with teachers. Students now have the facility to communicate with their teachers through emails, SMS and phone calls. This has completely changed the way students learn how to speak.You can also train your students online for free. This can be an alternative to paying for tutoring in Pasadena and will make your students' lives easier.

Friday, March 6, 2020

What are the new features on the Virtual Writing Tutor

What are the new features on the Virtual Writing Tutor Hooray! The BRAND NEW version of the (now) award-winning Virtual Writing Tutor is finally here. It has taken almost a year to add new features and update the code, but it is finally ready. It is a whole lot faster, and there are some very cool new features, too. So, what’s new? Self-scoring IELTS Academic Writing Tasks 1. Try each of the 5 self-scoring academic writing test tasks. The VWT automatically scores your essay on the IELTS 9-band scale. It’s experimental, but it represents a breakthrough in the provision of formative feedback and the use of artificial intelligence for the VWT. It employs what I call Latent Essay Feature Analysis (LEFA) and Model Essay Proximity Scoring (MEPS). Simply put, it uses high-scoring model essays to evaluate a students essay. How? First we extract and measure a range of latent features from a model essay,: the organization, cohesion devices, vocabulary choice, and writing quality. Those measurements are stored in the database as a series of targets. When a student submits an essay on the same topic, it measures those same features and generates a proximity score. How close is the submitted essay to the ideal essay? The feedback and band scores tell you how close you are to the ideal. Self-Scoring Pen Pal Exchange 2. You can set up a pen pal exchange so that students can get meaningful practice developing their basic interpersonal communication skills (BICS) while communicating with pen pals in the same class, in the next class, in another college, or at a university on the other side of the planet. Tasks are self-scoring, and it’s 100% secure because the teacher decides who can join the exchange. Learn how to set up your own pen pal exchange. Hypertext Narrative Creator 3. The Hypertext Narrative Creator has been completely updated with Node.js. It is super-fast now! Students can create a Choose Your Own Adventure interactive story and export it to a blog using HTML, JQuery, or an iFrame. Students who create a hypertext narrative for their ESL course benefit from the automatic summary of field-related vocabulary use, target structure use, error count, and count of the number of sections and images in the HTN. Teachers can use the automatically generated feedback to inform their evaluation of students hypertext narratives. Essay Outliner 4. The VWT Essay Outliner guides students through the essay outlining process of opinion, argument, and prioritized list essays. By answering questions and filling the blanks, the student can learn to outline as a skill. The system generates and stores essay outlines for the student to print or modify. The Virtual Writing Tutor Blog 5. Visit the blog for free stuff and ideas. I announce new features, discuss research that interests me, and give away English Second Language learning materials that I have created, share glossaries, and IELTS and TOEFL resources. Check out the free board games and card games. Essay Exchange Forum 6. Post essays to the forum to get feedback from the community. When I have time, I give feedback on the essays posted there. Active community members also give feedback. Feedback and Texts 7. Review your feedback and links and recover the texts you checked in the past. When logged-in members check their writing for errors, the system keeps a copy of their text and their feedback from the grammar checker. Error Correction Games 8. Play a correction game with errors from your own essays. The ultimate review activity! When you check your text, the system isolates and saves sentences with errors to your profile. Then, you can practice correcting your sentences at random. In fact, there is a second error correction game you can play with over 1000 random sentences I have collected. Word Counter 9. Count your words. It is not complicated. The system counts your words, sentences and paragraphs. You can get encouraging messages from Voot, our friendly little robot, too. Just turn up your volume and click on him. Grammar Check 10. Check your grammar. I keep adding rules to detect common errors that I find in my students writing and in forum posts. People seem to like what it can do. Check out these grammar checker testimonials. Check Sentence 11. Check your sentence length, variability, and the strength of your claims. Varying sentence length makes writing seem more dynamic. Punctuation Checker 12. Check only your punctuation. Sometimes, you just want to know if your commas are in the right place, if you have avoided run-on sentences, and if you have a comma splice that needs fixing, right? Use the punctuation checker for that. Essay Checker 13. Essays need to be checked carefully for a range of potential essay writing problems. There is a lot to learn about good essay writing. Here is some step-by-step essay writing advice if your are interested. In the meantime, the system will check your essay for the following: · Sophistication Vocabulary profileAcademic vocabulary profileLexical density · Writing skill CohesionSentence length and varianceEmotional engagementArgument strength · Tone check Cliché checkConversational vocabulary checkExclamation check · Grammar check Grammar, spelling and punctuation checkError analysis · Length Paragraph count250-word minimum350-word minimum450-word minimum700-word minimum · Task success IELTS Academic Writing Task-2 Rubric TOEFL Independent Writing Rubric 14. Check your writing for the following: · Vocabulary profile · Cohesion · Sentence length and variability · Grammatical errors Essay Scoring Rubrics 15. Use rubrics to score and a voice recorder to score and comment on a student’s or a peer’s essay. The system allows you to coach instead of just correct. Vocabulary Checker 16. Check the sophistication of your general vocabulary and academic vocabulary. Paraphrase Checker 17. Avoid plagiarism by checking your paraphrase against the original. The system scores your paraphrase and lets you know if you need to paraphrase some more. Target Structure Checker 18. Check a text to see if it contains a list of target structures. Three settings allow for case-sensitive, case-insensitive, and lemmatized target structure checks (which means any conjugated or derivations of base forms). Cohesion Check 19. Check your text for cohesion words: coordinators, subordinators, and transition words. Checking for these words will help to determine how cohesive the text is. Transition words are organized into functional categories. Bar graphs show which transitions you are using the most and which you have neglected to use. Dictionary 20. Look up words in the Cambridge dictionary. Samples 21. Test the system with a sample of a first-person text. 22. Test the system with a sample academic opinion essay text. Spell Checker 23. Check your spelling. Speech Recognition 24. Use speech recognition instead of typing. Text to Speech 25. Hear the text-to-speech pronunciation of your text. This useful when preparing for orals, especially when your oral has words with silent letters in them. There is no reason for students to mispronounce a word again. Text-to-Speech MP3 Download 26. Download an MP3 of the text-to-speech pronunciation of your text. Use it to rehearse for an oral. Download the DOC file 27. Download your text as an MS Word document. Please follow and like us:

Tips From an Irvine SAT and ACT Tutor - TutorNerds

Tips From an Irvine SAT and ACT Tutor - TutorNerds The SAT and ACT Study Plan: What to Use and Who to Trust The SAT and ACT Study Plan: What to Use and Who to Trust Standardized testing has evolved to become a significant factor in determining students’ options for their educations after high school. The SAT and ACT are at the forefront of these tests that can have an impact on what schools a student gets accepted into and what scholarships they may receive for their education book your private Irvine SAT tutor today. Since the SAT and ACT have become so important, many companies have developed books, classes, guides, and other forms of study material to help you get a better score on the tests. With many options available to you at varying levels of cost and commitment, what are your best options? This study plan will briefly discuss what the focus should be on when preparing for these tests to help you optimize your time, avoid being taken advantage of by greedy companies, and (most importantly) maximize your score. Study with practice tests First, let’s discuss the best way to begin preparing: practice tests. This cannot be stressed enough. If you are going to be taking a standardized test, you need to familiarize yourself with the exam: the layout, the time limits, the question types, the directions, etc. The first test that students take is almost always their worst because they ran out of time, went to fast, didn’t understand some sections, or got overwhelmed or burnt out by the length of the test. Do not make your first test an official one. Make it a practice one and give yourself time to get used to the test. Use official resources first That leads us to who you should trust. You now know that you need to prioritize practice tests to study, but whose practice tests should you use? You’ll find a dozen different practice tests and practice books in the test prep section of the library or bookstore. Some are better than others, and some are outright trying to deceive you. So, who should you use? The official materials. This cannot be stressed enough. This is a mistake that most students make when they’re preparing for these exams. If you had a test coming up in your science class, would you instead use the textbook your teacher gave you to study or a different one that you found at the store? If your teacher gives you a study guide, do you ignore it and find a different teacher’s study guide from a different class? The people who make the test know and understand what is on the test, and they provide the best resources to study. The College Board administers the SAT. They offer several printable practice tests for free on their website collegeboard.org in the SAT section. They also offer online tests and prep partnered with Khan Academy, an app for daily practice, and a yearly study book with more practice tests. The practice tests also have answer keys, explanations, and can be scored. For the SAT, use the College Board before going to any third parties. ACT Inc administers the ACT. They offer free practice multiple choice and writing tests. You can find their website at act.org and specifically their prep material at act.org/the-act/testprep . They also offer an official prep guide, ACT Academy, and online prep. Again, you can find explanations, answers, and scores with the official ACT material. For the ACT, use ACT Inc before going to any third parties. Third party test prep companies cannot always be trusted. Over the years, I have tutored many students who have come to me with books they have already purchased asking for help. Every time I have done this, I have found questions or material that would never be on an actual SAT/ACT. Someone experienced with the tests should be able to spot these poorly chosen questions quickly, but a confused student would just be wasting their time studying them. These companies crank out huge numbers of new questions and practice tests every year, but they are not the official test makers. They are not held to the same standard as the College Board or ACT Inc, and they always have some percentage of faulty or unrealistic questions. Finally, a common tactic these companies employ is to make the material too hard. They make diagnostic tests, sample questions, or the first practice tests harder than they should be (or they score them more harshly than they should). This way, you get a lower score than you expected, and you feel the need to use their material to get better. Then, when you take the real test, you get a higher score than you did on their overly difficult material. Your score went up, so the test prep must have worked, right? Never trust a score from a third party’s test unless you have also taken an official practice test and received similar results. Just last year I had a student hire me for tutoring the day after he took an SAT practice test and received a score of around 1000. I had him take an official practice test and he “miraculously” scored in the 1200s. I was able to help him improve more from there, but it was not my work that gave him that substantial initial bump. The first score was a lie. Trust experienced tutors If you are seeking outside help for your test preparation, you can have great results with someone experienced with the tests and helping students prepare for them book your private Irvine ACT tutor today. An experienced tutor should have a studying system that is based around a core of taking practice tests regularly (official practice tests ideally) and is tailored to suit your individual needs. There should be an evaluation period where they find your specific problem areas and help you focus on what can be improved. Every student is unique and no secret strategy will be optimal for every student. Having someone who knows the tests inside and out can accelerate your studying and help you achieve the highest score you’re capable of. Michael C. is currently a private math, science, and standardized test tutor with TutorNerds in Irvine and Anaheim. All blog entries, with the exception of guest bloggers, are written by Tutor Nerds. Are you an education professional? If so, email us at pr@tutornerds.com for guest blogging and collaborations. We want to make this the best free education resource in SoCal, so feel free to suggest what you would like to see us write.

Thursday, March 5, 2020

This Aspiring Astronomer is Shooting for the Stars

This Aspiring Astronomer is Shooting for the Stars This Aspiring Astronomer is Shooting for the Stars Arushi, 12-years-old, Level K Math 12-year-old Arushi has her sights set on space, in hopes to one day become an astronomer. She knows that in order to accomplish that dream, she’ll need strong math skills. Something that she has been perfecting in the Kumon Math Program for the past four years. She’s currently studying quadratic equationsâ€"concepts that high schoolers normally tackleâ€"and is determined to complete the entire Kumon Math Program. Arushi credits Kumon for making her a stronger individual, and for motivating her to continually make personal improvements and set goals for herself. She has been in the Gifted and Talented Program at her school since the fourth grade, and has been flourishing ever since. She even took her math skills to the next level at The Calgary Elementary School Math Contest sponsored by Mount Royal University. Arushi has excelled at balancing her academics and busy extracurricular activity schedule. With a natural talent for the performing arts, you can find her on stage playing the clarinet with the school band. She even played the lead in the school opera when she was in the fifth grade. Because of her accomplishments, she was one of 56  Kumon Students from the United States, Canada and Mexico to attend the  2018 Kumon Student Conference. Arushi tells us how Kumon plays a critical role in her life. What keeps you motivated in Kumon? Arushi shakes hands with Kumon North America President Mino Tanabe My main motivation in Kumon is academic success. Kumon has laid a strong foundation down for me in math. This foundation has made my math work easier and has allowed me to devote my time to other academics, as well as my passion for debate. I feel that I have great potential and believe that Kumon will help me live up to that potential. Being a self-directed learner, I am self-motivated to do Kumon because I would like to make a positive contribution globally through my education. How has Kumon helped you outside of the classroom? Kumon has instilled a permanent love for learning in me. I developed many skills including perseverance, time management, and determination. Kumon has taught me that hard work is always intrinsically virtuous or worthy of reward. I know that these skills will help me succeed in future endeavors. How has Kumon helped you in the classroom? Kumon has contributed to my academic success as well as boost my areas of weakness. Describe an “a-ha” moment at Kumon when you got it? Every level in Kumon has brought a new challenge for me. Through my years of Kumon, I have learned that there is nearly a limitless array of methods that can be applied to solving a problem or concept. I often find myself making my own preferred method. For example, I recently have been working with quadratic equations in Kumon. I struggled with memorizing the formulas and how to alter them to easily answer the questions. Through practice, I noticed a pattern between their values, and I am now able to apply the strategy to efficiently answer the questions. What did it mean to you to be invited to the 2018 Kumon Student Conference? I was very excited to have this opportunity because it’s once in a lifetime. What advice do you have for other Kumon Students? Never give up and look at the long-term benefits, rather than how you’re currently feeling in the moment. In the end, the hard work you put into Kumon is always worth the reward! Discover even more student success stories. You might also be interested in: Aspiring Gold Medalists Motivation Keeps Him on Top of His Game This Reading Program Completer is Shooting for the Moon This Aspiring Diplomat Learned to Never Give Up Aspiring Architect Reminds Himself To Never Give Up This Aspiring Astronomer is Shooting for the Stars This Aspiring Astronomer is Shooting for the Stars Arushi, 12-years-old, Level K Math 12-year-old Arushi has her sights set on space, in hopes to one day become an astronomer. She knows that in order to accomplish that dream, she’ll need strong math skills. Something that she has been perfecting in the Kumon Math Program for the past four years. She’s currently studying quadratic equationsâ€"concepts that high schoolers normally tackleâ€"and is determined to complete the entire Kumon Math Program. Arushi credits Kumon for making her a stronger individual, and for motivating her to continually make personal improvements and set goals for herself. She has been in the Gifted and Talented Program at her school since the fourth grade, and has been flourishing ever since. She even took her math skills to the next level at The Calgary Elementary School Math Contest sponsored by Mount Royal University. Arushi has excelled at balancing her academics and busy extracurricular activity schedule. With a natural talent for the performing arts, you can find her on stage playing the clarinet with the school band. She even played the lead in the school opera when she was in the fifth grade. Because of her accomplishments, she was one of 56  Kumon Students from the United States, Canada and Mexico to attend the  2018 Kumon Student Conference. Arushi tells us how Kumon plays a critical role in her life. What keeps you motivated in Kumon? Arushi shakes hands with Kumon North America President Mino Tanabe My main motivation in Kumon is academic success. Kumon has laid a strong foundation down for me in math. This foundation has made my math work easier and has allowed me to devote my time to other academics, as well as my passion for debate. I feel that I have great potential and believe that Kumon will help me live up to that potential. Being a self-directed learner, I am self-motivated to do Kumon because I would like to make a positive contribution globally through my education. How has Kumon helped you outside of the classroom? Kumon has instilled a permanent love for learning in me. I developed many skills including perseverance, time management, and determination. Kumon has taught me that hard work is always intrinsically virtuous or worthy of reward. I know that these skills will help me succeed in future endeavors. How has Kumon helped you in the classroom? Kumon has contributed to my academic success as well as boost my areas of weakness. Describe an “a-ha” moment at Kumon when you got it? Every level in Kumon has brought a new challenge for me. Through my years of Kumon, I have learned that there is nearly a limitless array of methods that can be applied to solving a problem or concept. I often find myself making my own preferred method. For example, I recently have been working with quadratic equations in Kumon. I struggled with memorizing the formulas and how to alter them to easily answer the questions. Through practice, I noticed a pattern between their values, and I am now able to apply the strategy to efficiently answer the questions. What did it mean to you to be invited to the 2018 Kumon Student Conference? I was very excited to have this opportunity because it’s once in a lifetime. What advice do you have for other Kumon Students? Never give up and look at the long-term benefits, rather than how you’re currently feeling in the moment. In the end, the hard work you put into Kumon is always worth the reward! Discover even more student success stories. You might also be interested in: Aspiring Gold Medalists Motivation Keeps Him on Top of His Game This Reading Program Completer is Shooting for the Moon This Aspiring Diplomat Learned to Never Give Up Aspiring Architect Reminds Himself To Never Give Up

Involve me and I learn

Involve me and I learn Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn. A quote by Benjamin Franklin 1706-1790 Benjamin Franklin is perhaps best known as one of the Founding Fathers who drafted the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States. But Franklin has also been pioneering advances in science, letting us see with bifocals and famously discovered electricity by flying a kite on a wire during storm. Franklin mapped the Gulf Stream, invented swim fins, and musical instruments and established colleges. His self-education earned him honorary degrees from Harvard, Yale, and the Oxford University in England. Benjamin Franklin had a strong moral compass and an unflagging commitment to civic duty, and an overall wit, good humor and integrity. Franklin illumined corners of American life that still have the lingering glow of his attention. He was a true polymath and entrepreneur, which is no doubt why he is often called the First American.

Gamers Turn to Crowdfunding for Financial Support

Gamers Turn to Crowdfunding for Financial Support Crowdfunding is becoming popular among gamers. Crowdfunding is a steady evolving and effective way for entrepreneurs to raise money for just about any endeavor. More creative types, who typically don’t have access to bank loans or angel investments, are taking advantage of crowdfunding. According to Time Magazine,  arts-oriented projects received $3 billion from crowdfunding platforms.   Four strategies you must remember in order to make your campaign a success is to first, build a strong social network. Next, you must make a video to show people that you are genuine about what you are trying to accomplish. Plan perks people want. Additionally, create multiple entry points.   People always want to feel like they are apart of something that is cool, big, and popular. Project Eternity was a crowd-funded event that raised $4.3 million in just one month.   The holder of this project was Obsidian Entertainment, located in Irvine California. Obsidian Entertainment used Kickstarter and PayPal donations as a crowdfunding platform.   Kickstarter is, of course, the world’s largest funding platform for creative projects.   The central idea for Project Eternity was to get enough funding to create the ultimate gameplay experience. The game is said to feature an epic hero with unforgettable friends.   In the game, they will explore unique locations around the world. Users will engage in dialogues that are deep, and offer many choices to determine a fate.  With the wonderful success of crowdfunding for this game, a tremendous amount of work is being put toward completing by its launch date in April 2014. Star Citizen surpassed the Project Eternity mark this past October, bringing in over $7 million in funding.   Star Citizen is a deep space action game that was created by Chris Roberts in Los Angeles. It’s a complete universe where any number of stories can take place. Players will decide their own game experience.  This game has a huge sandbox with a complex and deep lore that allows the players to explore in whatever capacity they want. Crowdfunding platforms for this project included Kickstarter and IgnitionDeck.  Crowdfunding is becoming more and more popular among game creators. Sources: Time thesoholoft.com eternity.obsidian.net

Current Topics in Medicinal Chemistry

Current Topics in Medicinal ChemistryThe current topics in medicinal chemistry include the application of it for human health care. Current developments in this field have made it possible to produce important drugs, medicines and chemicals. However, it is also possible to determine the composition of these drugs, medicines and chemicals. These compounds are vital to the human health and well being.These medicines and chemicals are categorized in the following manner. Medicines are produced from natural sources. It is produced through extraction, purification and crystallization. Among all the classes of drugs, they are produced from herbs and plants.Chemotherapy is a series of chemotherapy drugs that are used to treat cancer. Its application is very important to human health care.Therapeutic agents are chemicals that act as a remedy for various disorders. Therapeutic agents can be divided into those that are ingested and those that are injected. There are some therapeutic agents tha t can act directly on the body, through absorption through the skin. When the treatment is done orally, the main objective is to decrease the production of these poisonous agents.There are other types of drug chemistry which are also relevant for human health care. Current topics in medicinal chemistry include the toxicology. This field is concerned with the study of toxic agents. It also includes forensic science, epidemiology, toxicology, pathogenicity, pharmacokinetics, as well as others. You can find a lot of ways to become successful in this field.If you want to become a doctor in forensic science, you can enroll in clinical trials or research. Clinical trials are conducted to test different drugs on different populations. This provides you with the chance to make you ready for the job of a forensic scientist. If you decide to enroll in clinical trials, you will not be given an idea about the results of the trial. It will be very important for you to understand the results. It is important for you to analyze the results after the completion of the clinical trials. This way, you will be able to gain the correct perspective about your work.