Online Essay Writing Assignment English Writing Online Tutorpace

Online Essay Writing Assignment English Writing Online Tutorpace Essay writing assignment is the assignment given in almost every English class be it school or college. Every essay writing assignment is different and has its own requirements. Usually the essay writing assignment is given with a topic, format in which the essay needs to be presented and guidelines such as the minimum number of words required. The student needs to keep in mind all the given requirements and make sure the essay writing assignment is submitted before the deadline. Meeting the deadline is as crucial as presenting a good essay for the given assignment. The topic of the essay writing assignment can be of different kinds. For example descriptive, narration or argument. For any given discipline the student needs to follow the instructions to finish the assignment. Some examples of essay writing assignment are as follows. Favorite holiday destination. The importance of recycling. The necessity of protecting the plants and animals in the nature. The effect of Global warming. Embracing cultural differences in the society. In any essay writing assignment the student needs to analyze the given topic and form an appropriate thesis statement. The student needs to use reliable sources to construct the following paragraphs and explain in detail the given topics. In the main paragraphs the students need to use their thoughts and ideas on the topic and present a meaningful essay. Then the last step is the conclusion of the essay. In the conclusion the student needs to conclude the given topic.

Cooking for Students

Cooking for Students How Can You Combine a Student Lifestyle and Cooking? ChaptersThe Most Popular Student RecipesThe Best 15-Minute RecipesWhy Should Students Cook at Home?How to Cook on a Student’s Budget“Food, to me, is always about cooking and eating with those you love and care for.” - David ChangSweet potatoes, broccoli, peppers, chickpeas, goat’s cheese, capers, when it comes to ideas for recipes, there’s no lack of ingredients available. However, most of us rarely put together a simple, quick, or gourmet recipe.Students, be it through their lifestyle, budget, or equipment, are the first to stop cooking properly. Most students are happy to order a takeaway since it saves them time.However, cooking can become a real pleasure and cost less. You just need to know how to make a good flan, bechamel sauce, or carpaccio like the pros. We’ll explain everything here.In this article, we're going to look at the most popular student recipes, quick 15-minute recipes, why students should cook for themselves, and how you can cook on a student's budget. Ready? GiovanniCooking Teacher 4.83 (12) £25/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors HalimaCooking Teacher £12/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors HakimCooking Teacher 5.00 (5) £50/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors VincenzoCooking Teacher £30/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors GinellaCooking Teacher £30/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors ArronCooking Teacher 5.00 (2) £9/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors JoshuaCooking Teacher 5.00 (5) £30/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors FlickCooking Teacher 5.00 (1) £50/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutorsThe Most Popular Student RecipesWhen you’re a student, you tend to opt for quick and easy recipes that don’t need a lot of equipment or cost a lot. You’ve got to find easy recipes that are tastier and won’t break the bank.Getting a cookbook or going online is a great way for students to discover new recipes. (Source: Bru-nO)Sweet potato fries are a great fit for this criteria. In fact , you just need to cut sweet potatoes into fries, put them on a dish, a bit of olive oil, salt, pepper, 35 minutes at 200 °C, and you’re done.The same is true for traditional recipes, which can be made with ingredients found in the fridge and add a bit of spice to your diet.A cheese and ham toasty or croque-monsieur?You can replace the ham with salmon and the cheese slices with cream cheese and there you have it, a dish that’s healthier, original, and just as good as the original.When it comes to the top student recipes, there are also desserts like the famous chocolate mug cake. This is more or less melted chocolate that can be made in a mug in three minutes thanks to a microwave.How is that possible?You’ll see.Put 40g of chocolate and 40g of butter into the bottom of a mug and melt it all in 30 seconds in the microwave. Mix it and add 30g of sugar and an egg, then add 20g of flour. Cook this for 40 seconds in the microwave, and you’re good to go! Here’s a chocolate cake that’s delicious and perfect for students.The Best 15-Minute Recipes“One of the most meditative times of my day is when I'm cooking.” - Gabrielle BernsteinAs a student, you’ll be busy. Coming home after a few lessons, a short lunch break, or having to make your meals early in the morning all mean that you need simple and quick recipes.Avocado toast is a quick and easy recipe that anyone can do. (Source: Einladung_zum_Essen)So why not set a time limit and make recipes in less than 15 minutes?Challenge accepted!You’re probably familiar with avocado toast, the new trendy dish. With good reason! It’s tasty, healthy, and easy to make. To make two slices of avocado toast, you’ll need:BreadAn avocadoSalt and pepperAnd that’s it!You need to cut half an avocado or spread it on a slice of toast, season it, and you’re ready to go. This recipe can be improved with a poached egg or some lemon juice to stop the avocado darkening. Far from some dishes that can take an hour to pre pare!Matcha tartlets are quick and easy to make. Matcha is also a trendy ingredient because it’s full of nutrients and antioxidants.To make 20 tartlets, you’ll need:80 grams of almonds30 grams of pistachios30 grams of grated coconut15 pitted dates2 tablespoons of matcha tea powder1 tablespoon of coconut oil150 grams of 0% yoghurt20 raspberriesAll you have to do is mix the dates, matcha, pistachios, coconut oil, and grated coconut together and make small moulds out of the resulting mixture. Put these into the fridge and then remove the cases from the mould and garnish with yoghurt. You can do this in ten minutes and it’s much better than a crumble!You can also make a grilled cheese sandwich in a frying pan, one-pot pasta, or tomato and mozzarella omelette!What do you need takeaway for?Why Should Students Cook at Home?We tend to forget that when we’re students, we still need to eat right. It can be tempting to get a takeaway.You can get food delivered by bike now, too. (Source : Couleur)While a cheap takeaway may seem like a bargain, it’s actually more costly than just making your own food. When you cook at home, you pay much less for ingredients, can make much more food, and eat better. Additionally, when you get a takeaway, you don’t really know what they’re putting into your food or the nutritional value (or lack thereof).  That said, the food is good, comforting, and convenient. This is probably down to the great amounts of oil, butter, and salt that are often found in takeaways.These ingredients in large quantities aren’t great for your health or your figure. That’s why you should make the most of cooking at home since you can make whatever you want in accordance with what you want to eat. It’s not that easy finding a good takeaway if you have any dietary requirements, but at home, you can easily manage what goes into your food. More pepper, fewer green beans, lots of spinach, whatever you fancy!Let’s not forget that cooking can be a gr eat way to relax and share meals with the people you love, whether you’re on a student’s budget or not!How to Cook on a Student’s BudgetIt’s a fact that cooking on a student’s budget can be difficult. However, there are a few useful techniques that you can use to make cooking much cheaper.Whatever your budget is, you can still make some good food. (Source: JESHOOTS-com)For example, cooking large quantities allows you to reduce the cost per meal.Don’t feel like eating the same thing for every meal?You can also freeze meals to eat later on, which means you won’t have to run to the supermarket after class.It might be worth heading to the market before it closes as vendors will be looking to get rid of the stuff they haven’t been able to sell.Markets are good as they usually have seasonal produce that costs a lot less than mass-produced products that have been imported. Peppers in summer, squash in winter, doesn’t everything taste better when it’s in season. This is because:Seasonal products have more flavourSeasonal products correspond to our bodies needsSeasonal products are cheaperSeasonal products are ecologicalTo get the most out of these ingredients, there are plenty of recipes that can work with a student’s budget. For example, one-pot pasta is great for students. You just need to throw all the ingredients into the same pan.For example, for two servings of vegetable pasta, put 1.5 cups of pasta in 3 cups of water, then add all the ingredients you want (cherry tomatoes, seasonal vegetables, bacon bits) and let the boiling water do the rest. Once there’s no water left, you’re done!Lookup for a cooking class London on Superprof and start cheffing.The same is true for avocado toast, ham and boiled egg, gazpacho, etc.  Cooking as a student is very feasible. With the right techniques and ingredients, everything is possible.If you still need help with cooking, then you should consider getting help from a private tutor. On Superprof, there are tutors offering classes in a variety of subjects and skills.When it comes to tutorials, there are three main types: face-to-face tutorials, online tutorials, and group tutorials.When you get face-to-face tutorials, you can expect to pay more per hour than the other two types. That said, you'll get tailored tuition from them in accordance with your abilities, learning objectives, and budget.Online tutorials are similar but the tutor isn't in the same place as you. Your tutor will teach you remotely using a webcam and a programme like Skype.Group tutorials involve several students being taught at once. Since you're one of several students, the cost of the tutorials is shared amongst the students in attendance, making them much cheaper. You can always get a few friends together and learn to cook together.At the end of the day, since each type of tutorial has its advantages and disadvantages, it's up to you to pick the tutor and tutorials that work with your learning objectives and budget.So are you ready to start learning how to cook?

More than a Signal Deconstructing the Value of an MBA Degree

More than a Signal Deconstructing the Value of an MBA Degree GMAT MBA Admissions Blog I have an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. This is a top program and I’m proud of having been accepted to and graduating from it, but it did cost me almost $150,000 in direct tuition. So, do I think it was worth it? I think so, but I’m not always sure. It’s perhaps a more complex question that requires consideration along multiple dimensions. In this article, I’ll explore the value of an MBA. In general, on average, how much is an MBA degree worth? That seems like a specific question to which there should be some specific answers. This article by Balance Careersfocuses on applying a financial lens to the question. Here, you’d try to weigh two years of forgone salary and the direct cost of the MBA program against the increase in salary you’d earn after you have an MBA. So, let’s assume you make $75K per year, and the MBA itself will cost you $50K per year. It’s a two-year program. This means you are giving up $150K in salary over the two years. And the degree itself will cost you $100K. Obtaining your MBA just cost you $250K, and you now need to compare that to the increase in salary you’ll experience from having the degree. The article above provides example differences between pre-and post-MBA salaries and it seems like the difference is about $12,500 on average. Now, let’s use a little GMAT math. How long will it take you to pay back your MBA in this scenario? $12,500 per year * 20 years = $250,000. It will take you 20 years. That is a long time. You might argue that a $12,500 increase in salary is less than you’d expect. But I’d point out that many MBA programs cost much more than $50,000 per year. I think pursuing an MBA based on a pure, realistic quantitative financial analysis can often be a tough sell. To convince yourself pursuing an MBA makes sense, you need to believe the degree will create opportunities that you can’t necessarily build into a financial model, but which represent substantial upside for your career. But before we explore this idea further, I think it’s important to understand the fundamental nature of an MBA degree. What does an MBA provide? Obviously, an MBA is a master’s degree in the administration of business. But an MBA degree is not like a veterinary, medical, or nursing license that functions as a very real barrier to entry into a career. You cannot be a vet, a doctor, or a nurse without having a VMD, MD, or RN degree. Acceptance rates into vet and medical school programsare low, from 10 to 30%. Pass rates for the licensing exams (medical boards, NCLEX, etc.) that come after these academic programs reflect yet another barrier to entry into these careers. But if you aren’t concerned about the rankings or prestige of the program from which you graduate, you can get an MBA. Some MBA programs have acceptance rates near 100%. In other words, if you have a VMD, an MD, or a RN, that without a doubt means something very specific and will create new career opportunities for you. An MBA is very different. Having an MBA does not, generally, automatically mean you can do any specific job that someone without an MBA can’t do. This is because an MBA doesn’t always provide very specialized business skills. Although it’s an advanced degree in the study of business, some students enter MBA programs from completely different professions (e.g., teachers) and are as much being introduced to various business topics as they are building advanced knowledge about those topics. Yes - others do have lots of previous business experience, and they pursue more advanced knowledge in targeted areas. Either approach to an MBA can make a ton of sense, but it’s important to recognize the difference between the two and understand your unique situation. The value of an MBA depends very much on your personal situation and how you plan to use the degree. The degree itself doesn’t necessarily offer any new career opportunity to you. Should you get an MBA? This is a personal question. It really depends on your situation. I think individuals generally pursue an MBA for one or more of the following reasons (though I’m sure I might be missing one or two): To “signal” that they are accomplished and intelligent professionals by associating themselves with an MBA brand To explore switching careers and take a break from your current one To obtain specific new positions at their current employer or in related industries To create “option value” and in a general sense, make themselves more marketable because they have “advanced” business skills To build a network of like-minded, successful peers To work on a specific business or project idea To build management, communication, and leadership skills To build specific more technical business skills (e.g., marketing, finance, product management, search engine optimization, etc.) Some of these are, I think, more dangerous than others to rely on in understanding whether an MBA would be of value to you. For example, I would argue that, because anyone can get the letters “MBA” next to their name if they want to (i.e., by applying to and attending an unranked GMAT-optional MBA program, for example), just having an MBA doesn’t signal all that much. But, if you’ve attended a Top 10 MBA program, that’s a clear signal. An MBA from a top 10 program clearly tells future employers and business partners that you are credible, competent and talented (on some level). The same goes, maybe, for the top 20, or even 30 schools. But at some point, if you go to say, Michigan State for your MBA (~$50K per year tuition) because you are hoping to send a clear signal that you are talented, that is simply not as valuable a signal as spending $55K to get an MBA from UCLA. It’s important to be realistic about the brand you are buying into and the signal you think you are se nding. How can one get the most value out of a decision to pursue an MBA? I think a better reason to obtain an MBA is because you have specific plans you would like to test. You want to start a project or a business in the process of building new more general business skills. In this Poet’s and Quants article on the value of an MBA, a self-made millionaire who doesn’t have an MBA offers valuable advice on getting an MBA. Brian Wong, CEO and Co-founder of Kiip, a mobile advertising company, says “if you’re pursuing an MBA for a “safety net” or in hopes that it will give you “direction,” you’re doing it all wrong….my whole point is, I don’t want you to take an MBA for all the wrong reasons…don’t do something for some weird backup plan… Do something for an intention and I think you’ll get way more out of it.” I think that’s good advice. I would recommend not forgetting about the value of the brand and the signal when choosing where to get an MBA. Try to identify a school that helps you learn new things, where you can work on or build something or explore a specific new career, and that signals to others you are a valuable potential employee or business partner. One way to increase the value of your MBA is to reduce its direct and indirect cost. One of the biggest “costs” is foregone salary of stopping your career for two years. If you consider an online MBA, you don’t have to stop working.10 years ago, when perhaps the first few online MBA programs were being launched, the schools offering them where generally not very reputable, and you might be in danger of wasting a lot of money and time. But in 2018, many very reputable MBA programs are offering online programs taught by the same professors. They provide the same MBA degree and same brand recognition. For example, Indiana University’s online MBAis ranked #2 by US News, and its full-time program is in the top 30. In this article, the Mason business school at William and Mary makes the point that in 2018 university reputation outweighs any stigma associated with choosing to do your MBA online.I agree. In sum, the value of an MBA is highly dependent on your personal situation, why you are going and what you do when you are there, and of course, also on where you go to obtain your MBA. About the Author Mark Skoskiewicz is the founder of MyGuru. For more information on our GMAT tutoring options, click here.

A Recipe for GMAT Reading Comprehension Practice

A Recipe for GMAT Reading Comprehension Practice GMAT MBA Admissions Blog When we’re helping students prepare for the GMAT, we tend to find that the most stressed out students are those that are really struggling with the quant section. But paradoxically, those that are truly lacking math skills can be the easiest students to help. Why? It’s because the quantitative portion of the GMAT is much easier to teach. You can document what concepts must be understood, facts and formulas to know, question types that are used, techniques to use to speed up calculations, etc., and methodically teach what needs to be taught. Progress can actually be made quite quickly, as long as the student lets go of any “I’m just not a math person” misconceptions that might be causing a mental block. If this seems like you, check out our article on adopting a growth mindset. However, reading comprehension is a different animal. Being good at reading comprehension requires a strong command of the English language and how to reason with it. Skills or scenarios that help a person do well on GMAT reading comprehension questions include: being a native English speaker, having a reasonably large vocabulary, strong logical reasoning skills, flexible, critical thinking capabilities, creativity, sense for the “tone” of the author, intuition for what parts of a passage are irrelevant vs. what is going to be used to support an argument or make a point, and more generally, a passion and interest in reading. Tutors often describe the futility of trying to help someone build these types of skills in short amounts of time. Reading comprehension and verbal reasoning skills are built slowly over time. They depend, in large part, on the amount, complexity, and nature of the reading and writing you’ve done since middle school. As Senior MyGuru tutor and founder of Jedi Prep John Easter, whose thinking significantly informed this blog article, writes â€" “Reading and comprehending are as fundamental as it gets. Math is a skill you acquired through education. Someone taught you how to count, add, subtract, multiply, divide…verbal skills on the other hand just appeared out of thin air between 12 and 18 months after you were born. Or course, you had to learn to read, but this can and does happen incredible fast. Soon after you learn basic phonics you can “sound out” new words and build your vocabulary without any assistance…in all probability, you were reading books with extended, complex plots and multiple characters at about the same time you were struggling to learn a 12x12 multiplication table… …we can teach you any math you once learned and have not forgotten. We can even teach you a lot of math that you never learned in the first place. Unfortunately, we cannot re-teach you how to read and comprehend.” John Easter, 770 GMAT scorer, senior MyGuru GMAT tutor, and founder of Jedi Prep However, this doesn’t mean you can’t build your reading comprehension skills to improve your performance on the GMAT reading comprehension section. It just means that, unlike other portions of the GMAT, it may be very difficult for a class or tutor to “teach” you these skills. You are best positioned to build your reading comprehension ability through self-study and practice. So, how do you go about doing this? You engage in what we call focused GMAT reading comprehension practice. Our reading comprehension improvement receipt calls for a healthy dose of focused practice, which includes the following steps, applied to reading comprehension practice problems in the official guide to the GMAT. hbspt.cta._relativeUrls=true;hbspt.cta.load(215486, 'bf46d217-5b9f-4f98-95c7-313890a45df6', {}); 1. Don’t worry about the time, and don’t underline. Read at a normal pace. Underlining has, perhaps surprisingly, been shown to offer little to no benefit in helping students comprehend and remember information. Plus, on the GMAT CAT, you can’t underline the computer screen 2. Read one paragraph at a time, and then pause and write a 1 sentence summary. In time, as your skills build, you can stop writing the summary, and do it in your head Make the summary as short as you possible can. Get to the essence of the paragraph. 3. Repeat this process with each paragraph, and then attempt to summarize the summaries, and summarize the entire passage in one sentence. This is hard to do. Some passage have just one paragraph, and then you’re lucky; steps 2-3 collapse into one step 4. Read the question, pre-phrase an answer, and then use process of elimination Read and decide if the question is general or specific Then, based on your summaries, try to answer the question without focusing on the actual answers â€" this is called pre-phrasing an answer Finally, use process of elimination on the actual answer choices, eliminating clearly incorrect answers, to hone in on the correct answer Keep practicing, documenting missed questions, until it becomes automatic. Review what you’ve missed, identify patterns, and invest more time working on types of questions (i.e., questions that ask about general themes vs. specific facts, etc.) you miss more often. hbspt.cta._relativeUrls=true;hbspt.cta.load(215486, 'bf46d217-5b9f-4f98-95c7-313890a45df6', {}); About the Authors Mark Skoskiewicz is MyGuru’s founder. He holds an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management and earned his B.S. in Finance from Indiana University in Bloomington, where he was an economics tutor. He’s been studying effective test prep and, more generally, learning strategies for the past several years, and has completed “growth mindset” training as well as the course Learning How to Learn: Powerful mental tools to help you master tough subjects, a Coursera course offered by the University of California â€" San Diego. John Easter is a senior MyGuru GMAT tutor in Chicago. He holds a B.A. in English and a B.A. in Math from Indiana University, and scored in the 99th percentile on the ACT, SAT, GRE, and GMAT. He’s worked for many test prep companies, was a high school math teacher, and earned a M.A. in Mathematics from UIC while enrolled in the PhD program in Mathematics for several years. He founded Jedi Prep, which is developing online programming for building math skills specifically for the ACT, SAT, GRE, and GMAT.

Engineer Alert ASCO Numatics Industrial Automation Engineering Scholarships

Engineer Alert ASCO Numatics Industrial Automation Engineering Scholarships Photo by McLaren Photographic LLC via Flickr Other than majoring in engineering, students are also considered for the scholarship based on their potential for leadership and for making a significant contribution to the industrial automation engineering profession particularly as it relates to the application of fluid control and fluid power technologies, as stated on the ASCO Numatics Engineering Scholarship website. In addition to the $5,000 scholarship award, ASCO Numatics will also provide $1,000 grants to the engineering departments in which the recipients are enrolled. As another added bonus, this years recipients will attend, like Whitten, the PACK EXPO International, this time in the Windy City: Chicago. Megan Borz, another 2013 recipient of the scholarship from Buena, NJ, said in the 2014  press release that the scholarship paved the way for opportunities she may not have otherwise had due to finances. I have been able to focus more time on my coursework, athletics, applying to graduate schools, and applying for future career opportunities because I did not have the financial stress I had in previous semesters, Borz said. The ASCO Numatics scholarship program has, according to Robert W. Kemple, Jr., executive vice president, sales and marketing at ASCO Numatics, in the 2014 press release, awarded $60,000 in scholarships to 12 students and another $12,000 in grants to 10 U.S schools engineering departments. Engineers apply creativity and skills to transform innovation into reality, Kemple said. The ASCO Numatics scholarship program applies that same spirit by helping support leading students in their education to become the next generation leaders in industry and technology.” Whitten agreed that the ASCO representatives were, all really nice, friendly and welcoming, and placed a lot of emphasis on getting to know and wanting to support the next generation of students. He recalled the experience of the scholarship and the PACK EXPO as extremely educating and noted that it piqued his interest of the industrial automation technology field, which he hadnt been entirely  immersed in before receiving the scholarship. The deadline for applications is March 31, 2014, and Whitten encourages anyone who believes they may meet the criteria, even if they arent sure if industrial automation is for them, to apply. because, as I said, I didnt really expect that I would win. I think its a good opportunity to not only win some money, which is great, but to also learn about a pretty cool industry, Whitten said. Touching upon industries, I mentioned to Whitten at the end of our conversation that he was, indeed, on the right path to making money, whereas I, as a writer, may have a less certain monetary future. He merely chuckled and reminded me that as long as, were doing something we both love, its good. The truth within this statement cannot be touched on enough, and for all the engineering students out there, the ASCO Numatics Scholarship may just be the stepping stone you need on your journey toward pursuing what you love.

Principles of Evolution

Principles of Evolution In science classes at most educational levels, it's difficult to avoid the theory of evolution formulated by Charles Darwin. In his famous book, On the Origin of Species, Darwin outlines his theory of evolution based upon the singular idea of natural selection. Natural selection suggests that the strongest traits, whether physical or psychological, will be passed down from generation to generation. Evolution occurs as a result of natural selection, which can also be described as a gradual loss of weaker traits. In a nutshell, Darwin's theory of evolution involves three key principles: variability, differential fitness, and heritability. 1. Variability This principle involves differences in genetic makeup among communities. Darwin noted unique physical and behavioural qualities among human groups that resulted out of pure chance. Alterations in genetics occur over time, as the traits that encourage survival are passed on to subsequent generations. These changes happen naturally, as new combinations of genes are created with each new generation. Reproduction causes genetic components from both parties to create an entirely new makeup of DNA in the offspring. As Darwin noted in the 19th century, variety in the DNA of people will always exist. 2. Differential Fitness This principle involves the differentiation that will naturally occur within the makeup of one species to the next. Several unique factors affect the genetic composition of a society over time. For example, the environment in which a people finds itself living results in various traits being passed on or withheld from the next generation. Adaptation occurs as a direct result of where people and animals live. Traits that spur survival and thriving in a given society and environment will carry on, allowing for differential fitness in future generations. 3. Heritability This third and final principle of evolution highlights the need for variation in societies in order for them to successfully proliferate themselves. Even early scientists theorising evolution noticed that a variety of genetic traits coming together produce a more dynamic, survivable creature. This is the reason why humans that share DNA should not procreate, as their offspring might be plagued by physical and mental mutations. Survival of the fittest is one of the key theories of Darwinian evolution and natural selection. It involves the strongest heritable traits being passed down from generation to generation. Though evolution is a hotly debated topic in many circles, there is much scientific evidence that makes a case for its existence. Every species physically adapts and changes over time; this is an observable truth. Just how and why these adaptations occur is where the mystery sometimes lies. If you're interested in learning more about the theory of evolution, check out Darwin's On the Origin of Species.

Emojis could soon be appearing on certificates - Tutor Hunt Blog

Emojis could soon be appearing on certificates Forget a* grades beaming emojis could soon be appearing on certificates Forget a* grades beaming emojis could soon be appearing on certificatesSchoolsA secondary school in Kent has been censured for using emojis to display pupils` GCSE scores. St John Fisher Catholic School in Chatham displayed the GCSE results of all year 11 pupils on a colour coded board, with emoji faces representing their grades. The decision to display the results in such a way was not a popular one: less than a week after the array of faces had been put up vociferous opposition from a number of parents led to their removal, and a more traditional - numerical - method being employed. Once would assume that the highest grade would be represented by a yellow face positively beaning with happiness; while the lowest grade would be indicated by as much sadness and grief a little graphical countenance can show. The headteacher explained that the emojis actually correlated with each pupil`s personal targets - so the pictograms are an indication of a positive or negative outcome; `Although the display board was not intended to cause any upset, we have taken the decision to remove it as three pupils in total have asked for their details to be taken down and a small number of parents have been in touch with us. ; The focus must be on improving students` life chances and we will continue to support each pupil and help them work towards their targets.` Emojis have become all the rage recently - only a few years ago it was impossible to send much more than a crudely constructed face, with deft arrangement of a bracket, a colon and perhaps a hyphen if you were really feeling artistic. Now mobile phone users can chose from hundreds of different faces, all clearly showing a variety of emotional states. The old maxim that a picture says a thousand words certainly feels true when you add an emoji to a concise text message. They do feel rather playful and sophomoric though - their inclusion would certainly not be appropriate in a business email, and it is unlikely that emojis will feature prominently in the next booker prize winning novel. Maybe this is the reason that there were complains when they were used to depict the GCSE grades at the John Fisher School. There are many academics who take the whole business of emoji`s very seriously though. Vyvyan Evans, former professor of linguistics at Bangor university, says their use is considerably altering the way in which we communicate. His latest book `The Emojo Code` opposes the view that their usage leads to lazy communication. `The naysayers, the doom-mongers, the self-appointed grammar police in the popular press and so on argue without any evidence that things like emoji are basically the equivalent of an adolescent grunt,` Professor Evans has said. His theories seem to imply that that human communication actually has more to do with posture and tone of voice - the pitch itself - rather than the purely linguistic content. Emojis are just another way that human embodiment is creeping into technological use. A trivial example of this is how the telephone replaced the letter (or telegram) as the primary method of long distance communication. We can learn more information about someone - how they are feeling, their attitudes and state of mind - through a brief telephone conversation, where we hear not just their words, but (critically) their tone of voice too, than we can from a lengthy letter or email. Whether smiling or frowning faces are a good way to convey how a student has performed in an exam is another matter of course. In my opinion a simple percentage is the best option, not just for clarity, but because it offers a such a high resolution of grading. A student who just scrapes a C grade will have performed considerably worse than a pupil who barely misses a B grade - though this detail will be masked by the final mark they both receive. At university of course things are even worse: a student who just manages to attain a 2:1 could be many marks behind another student who just misses out on a first. Displaying pupil`s results in order of their grade could help to motivate them - and it should be pointed out that the John Fisher School was displaying the pupils` progress in emoji`s - these weren`t final, or even predicted marks. Do Emoji`s have a happy future in the education sector - it seems doubtful to me, but only time will tell. 2 years ago0Add a Comment