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Biology is a fascinating subject, however in order to get the students interested in this subject, you can make use of some simple home biology experiments. Usually, practical curriculum appeals more to students rather than boring extensive theory, which might seem difficult to understand. Science projects or science experiments are a great way to kindle a child’s interest in biology. In case, you are looking for some simple biology experiment ideas for kids at school or even at home, here are some suggestions to help you with the task:

Simple Biology Experiment Ideas for Kids

Biology experiments for kids need to be simple, in terms of the apparatus used as well as the concepts explained. Generally, you can start with experiments that deal with plants, flowers or observation of insects, soil samples, food samples and so on. Here are two simple biology experiment ideas for kids:

Biology Experiment #1 - Colored Flowers

This is a very simple and fun biology experiment, which will serve to teach the children about water absorption systems in plants.

Things you will need:

• A cup of water
• Food color
• A flower with an intact stalk
• Empty clean flask

Procedure:

• First of all, mix the food color in the water. Make sure there are no lumps and the color dissolves completely in the water.
• Now pour the colored water into the flask. Make sure that the flask is clean and doesn’t have any impurities on the surface.
• Now, take the flowers (with intact stalks) and place them in the flask, so that half of the stalk is submerged under water.
• Place the flask in the window, or any other place, which will provide sufficient sunlight for the plant.
• Tell the children to observe the color of the flowers over a period of time.

What the children get to learn?

Plants need water for sustenance; this simple experiment demonstrates how water is absorbed through the stalks of the plants into the different parts like leaves as well as flowers.

Biology Experiment #2 - Observing Bacteria

Well, although the title might give a notion that the experiment is too advanced - it is not! It is a simple and easy experiment to introduce the children to some species of bacteria.

Things you will need:

• A compound microscope
• Yogurt
• Clean empty cup
• Water
• Unused ink dropper
• Glass slide
• Cover slip

Procedure:

• First of all, take a small quantity of yogurt (half a teaspoon) in the cup and add two teaspoons of water to it.
• Mix the yogurt and water with a spoon, so as to create a homogenous suspension.
• Using the ink dropper, place a drop of this yogurt suspension on a clean, sterilized glass slide. Make sure you don’t take more than a drop.
• Place the cover slip on the drop of suspension. Now, the slide is ready to be observed under the microscope.
• Now simply allow the children to observe the sample under the microscope.

What the children get to learn?

Usually the commercially manufactured yogurts include Streptococcus thermophilus and Lactobacillus bulgaricus. You can tell the children about different types of bacteria and let them know that not all bacteria are harmful.

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The process of thinking involving an analytical evaluation of a situation is known as critical thinking. It consists of a delicate discrimination between different points of view associated with a situation, followed by an analysis of every possibility of solving the problem. Critical thinking skills refer to an ability of weighing substantial and insubstantial as well as concrete and abstract factors governing a situation, in order to derive the best possible solution to a problem. How can you develop critical thinking skills? Are there any exercises that can help you improve on critical thinking? Let us find out.

Developing Critical Thinking Skills

Critical thinking refers to a process of judgment taken after an analytical evaluation of a problem. It can be developed through the practice of intentional analyzing of every situation in life. Critical thinking skills can be developed by inculcating a habit of analytical and strategic thinking. If you can get yourself into the habit of analyzing every situation critically, you will gradually acquire critical thinking skills.

Your educational background plays a major role in the development of your thinking skills. Education that requires you to think analytically, the education that instills in you the principles of analytical thinking and reasoning leads you to become a critical thinker. The development of problem solving and reasoning skills since an early age is an excellent way of developing critical thinking skills. Fields that require you to acquire and evaluate information before reaching a conclusion indeed help in the development of critical thinking skills. Exposing yourself to questions that stimulate thinking can develop critical thinking skills.

Critical thinking is of great importance in many professions. Analytical thinking is many a time an attribute sought for, in a number of different professions. Certain jobs require a person to be a critical thinker. Engineers, information and system analysts, researchers, editors and critics should possess an ability of critical thinking to execute their jobs efficiently.

Are there any exercises that can help one develop critical thinking abilities? Yes, why not? Exercise is not always about physical fitness! There are a number of mind games and thinking exercises that can help you enhance your thinking abilities. Let us look at some of the critical thinking exercises.

Text Analysis: For this activity, the students are given a textual passage that can be in the form of a set of occurrences or a story. They are asked to explain the logical connection between the events of the story. They are also asked to suggest a title of a sign-off line for the passage and add to it a little content of their own. This activity requires the students to think logically and reason every possible occurrence that can connect with the story. A slight variation to this exercise is to ask the students to extend the story by adding to it characters and incidents that can be linked with it.

Socratic Thinking: It is a process of disciplined questioning that triggers thinking. It can be implemented by challenging the students with questions on complex issues and hypothetical problems. The students are asked to analyze the concepts, distinguish between facts and assumptions and devise optimal solutions.

Think Out-of-the-Box: Puzzles and questions that encourage the students to think creatively are sure to help them enhance their thinking skills and develop critical thinking. A simple example can be to ask the students to draw a certain number of dots in a certain predefined manner and then ask them to connect the dots with minimum number of straight lines. You can vary this critical thinking exercise by introducing different dot patterns or by devising other such games and aptitude tests that require them to think out of the box!

Giving the students hypothetical situations and asking them how they would react to them is an excellent exercise that helps them develop critical thinking. It is important for the questioner to apply creativity in devising questions of this type.

Critical thinking is not only about thinking analytically but also about thinking differently. It is about coming up with a variety of ways to solve a problem. Critical analysis not only dissects a problem, but also helps finds a way to go the root of the matter. It is always important to understand the problem in order to overcome it.

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College students are always looking for ways to fund their education and be self-sufficient. If you are a college student looking for some good work experience, which will fetch you some quick bucks for sustenance, here are some suggestions about temporary jobs for college students:

Temporary Jobs for College Students

College students are looking for work opportunities that will help them to get a good working experience as well as earn good money. While picking a temporary job, do not underestimate any job. Every job has its own set of challenges that will enrich you and help you grow. Here are some of the job options that you can consider:

Grader/Teaching Assistant: There are several professors in the college departments who are looking for college students who can work with them as graders and teaching assistants for undergraduate students. Being a grader or a teaching assistant is a very useful temporary job, since it will not only help you earn some money but also brush up your basics since you have to teach and assess undergraduate coursework. In addition to this, you tend to interact with the professors in the college, which would help you in the long run.

Library Jobs: College libraries are usually looking for students who can work part-time for the administrative and data processing activities in the college library. A job at the library can also include library shelving and arranging and organizing the books in the library.

Recreation Center Jobs: Most of the colleges have a well-equipped recreation center which has a gym, swimming pool, jogging tracks and playing courts for sports like badminton, tennis, basketball, squash and so on. Several recreation centers also hire people for teaching aerobics or yoga. There are several jobs that a recreation center has to offer - administrative jobs or job profiles like gym instructor, yoga instructor, aerobics instructor and so on.

Campus Café Jobs: A job at the campus café or a local eatery can teach you several things like importance of hygiene, communication skills, management skills and probably some culinary skills as well! A college is usually surrounded by a lot of eateries, which are frequented by the students as well as others. Taking up a job at the campus café might be a great idea since it will help you earn some money as well as get some free food too! Working in a café or a local eatery could also be a learning experience for college students.

Retail Store Jobs: The local supermarkets as well as retail stores usually have plenty of temporary job opportunities for students. They need people to manage the cash counters as well as people to look after the overall administrative work. Stores like Wal-Mart, Target, and Dollar Tree are always hiring students for several job positions.

Marketing Jobs: Several small and big companies are always on the lookout for young girls and boys to be a part of their marketing campaigns. Marketing can be door-to-door marketing, online marketing or even telemarketing. These jobs pay well and pay fixed amounts or are incentive-based projects for a fixed time period. Marketing jobs provide you with a learning experience in communication skills and also help you develop good marketing skills, which will help you in the long run.

Internships: Internships are temporary working opportunities, which you can find in big and small companies from your area of interest. Several companies hire college students as interns for a fixed time period. The smart way is to take advantage of such internship opportunities, which are a great way to get hands-on experience in the area of your interest. Internship experiences make a great difference later while applying for jobs.

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Kindergarten is a fun learning experience for the toddlers where they are taught about the basic learning skills, that are required for the statutory education ahead. Kindergartens are also known as preschools, play schools or nursery schools. Usually children who are between ages two to five are included in the Kindergarten. The kind of activities and games that are included in kindergarten usually include activities that improve the eye co-ordination, introduction to alphabets and number and basic communication skills.

Things to Keep in Mind While Planning Kindergarten Activities

Education: Any activity that you are planning to include in the kindergarten curriculum has to have an element of education. Education at this level can mean the simplest of things and should not be confused with academics. This could be done by teaching a child how to speak, teaching a child how to paint or how to recognize colors and the names of flowers, plants and animals. Nowadays many kindergarten activities also include computer-learning activities, which are useful for introducing the children to the new technology and increasing the hand-eye co-ordination.

Good Values: Kindergarten is the first time when a toddler gets to interact with other toddlers of his age. These interactions and observations have a great impact on the child’s mind. Make sure that the kindergarten activity focuses on teaching important things like the joy of sharing or the importance of helping others or the ways to communicate with people. Many kindergarten schools also teach the toddlers the basic etiquette like saying thank you, sorry or excuse-me. The children should be able to understand the importance of certain virtues and useful qualities in kindergarten that will help them in their overall development.

Creativity: Creativity is a very important element that should be a part of every activity or game that is designed for kindergarteners. Make sure that the activities that you plan or the games that you conduct do not limit the creativity of the child but instead give him complete creative freedom to express his/her thoughts and ideas. For example, during an art class if a child wants to make the sun pink or even green instead of yellow, don’t tell him that he is wrong but instead appreciate him for his innovative ideas.

Innovation: Instead of sticking with the same kindergarten activities, you can always try and make the old activities a bit more interesting. Make use of technology to help you create interesting activities. For example, instead of just reciting the rhymes, how about playing a nursery rhyme DVD with visuals which is not only great to look at but will also help the children to relate better and have a visual picture of the things that they are singing about in the rhymes.

Fun and Entertainment: Last and most important point is that you need to get the children to enjoy all the activities and games that you plan in the kindergarten. Create activities, which the children will enjoy. Try and incorporate songs, dance, rhythm and color to simple activities. For example, instead of teaching the children about types of colors from a a typical, dull chart, you can create a song about colors and give children different props of different colors which will not only be a learning process, but also a fun activity for the kids!

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The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go. ~ Dr. Seuss

Elixir for a bad mood, lifesaver while completing school assignments and a loyal companion by the bedside - books are a wonderful influence in your life. Be it your copy of the Cat in the Hat, your reference books in the university library or novels that you curl up in the night - books enrich our lives and help us become the people that we are. People who are fond of reading will agree with the fact that a library is perhaps the most peaceful place on earth! If you are contemplating the thought of having a library in your home, here are some reasons, which will convince you that your decision is completely right! Here are some points about the importance of libraries:

Inculcating the Habit of Reading

Reading is regarded as one of the most enriching habits for the simple reason that it is not just a hobby or a pass time that entertains you, but it is also an educational activity and hence brings to you a vast reservoir of knowledge. Reading increases the drive for knowledge and inspires people to gain more information. Thus a library is a treasure of valuable books for the people to use and gain from it.

Learning Experience for the Children

A library is a very important aspect in the learning process of your child. The extensive genre of children’s literature is an essential part of the growing up process. In case you have enough resources, it is always advisable to have an in-house library. If you think you cannot afford a library at home, you can always visit a public library. Most of the public libraries are keeping with the times and equipped with facilities like CDs and even computers.

Reference for School/Colleges

The quintessential library is a boon for the students in schools and colleges. There exist a large number of reference books that provide information about wide ranging subjects are a must for students to understand the concepts in their curriculum. The reference books often provide in depth information about various subjects and thus help in the process of education.

Advice on Important Subjects

There are large number of books that provide advice about various topics like business, health, travel, food and careers. These books serve as a great source of advice. Many people make it a point to read and go through these books before taking important decisions in their life. Thus libraries are also helpful for people who are looking for information about specific subjects. For example a person who is planning to travel to a particular place would like to read about that destination.

Wholesome Information

A library usually has a good collection of encyclopedias, dictionaries and maps, which are a source of extensive information and references for people. The encyclopedias are a vast source of information about all the topics under the sky. There also exist specialized dictionaries like medical dictionaries, literature dictionaries or business dictionaries, which provide information about specific terms used in specialized fields.

Entertainment and Fun

In addition to the above mentioned points, libraries are also a host to large number of books that are a source of entertainment for us. Fiction books, which include various genres like comedy, thriller, suspense, horror or drama, are tremendously popular within readers of varying age groups.

Libraries are thus a source of entertainment and education for youngsters as well as adults. A library not only helps to inculcate the habit of reading but inculcates a thirst for knowledge, which is makes a person humble and open to new ideas throughout his/her life.

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The thirteen colonies of North America were known as British America as they were the British overseas colonies. These thirteen colonies rebelled against the rule of Great Britain and gained independence in 1775. After gaining independence, provisional government was formed to proclaim the independence of America. A treaty known as the Treaty of Paris was signed on September 3, 1783, to officially end the rule of the Great Britain in North America and to recognize United States as an independent country. The Treaty of Paris was signed by John Adams, Benjamin Franklin and John Ray (representatives of the United States) and also by the representative of the British Monarch, David Hartley, at the Hôtel de York.

The United States of America was formed on March 1, 1781, under the Articles of Confederation. John Hanson became the first President of United States under the Articles of Confederation. George Washington was the first president under the Constitution of United States of America.

What are the Thirteen Original States

The thirteen original states that initially formed the United States of America were New England, Middle Colonies and Southern Colonies. Read the history of America.

New England: The provinces which were under New England are listed below.

• New Hampshire was founded by John Mason in the year 1623 and became a royal colony in 1629.
• Connecticut was founded by Thomas Hooker in the year 1635.
• Rhode Island was founded in the year 1636 by Roger Williams.
• Massachusetts was founded by the Puritans in the year 1620 and it became a royal colony in the year 1691.

Middle Colonies: The provinces of middle colonies that became royal colonies are given below.

• New York was founded by the Duke of York in the year 1664 and it became one of the thirteen royal colonies in 1685.
• New Jersey was established in the same year as New York and it was founded by Sir George Carteret and Lord Berkeley. It became a royal colony in 1702.
• William Penn founded Pennsylvania in 1682.
• Delaware was founded in 1638 by Peter Minuit and New Sweden Company.

Southern Colonies: The provinces classified as southern colonies also became royal colonies.

• Maryland was founded by Lord Baltimore in the year 1634.
• Colony and Dominion of Virginia (included West Virginia and Kentucky). After gaining independence, it was known as Virginia. Virginia was founded by London Company in 1607 and it became a royal colony in 1679.
• In 1653, North Carolina was founded by the Virginians. In 1729, it also became a royal colony.
• In 1663, eight nobles with a Royal Charter from Charles II founded South Carolina and it became a royal colony in the year 1729.
• James Edward Oglethorpe, founded Georgia in 1732, and twenty years later, it became a royal colony.

To sum up, the Thirteen Original Colonies were founded between 1607 and 1733 and were under the thumb rule of the Crown of Great Britain.

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In the 1950s, with the United States still recovering from the effects of World War II, American girls were routinely instructed in the value of women working in the home and nurturing a family. Twenty years later, home economics programs began to branch out into more specialized topics such as marriage counseling, child development, and nutritional sciences. Many such niche topics became separate programs at many schools and led to various college degrees that were derivative of those basic issues. During the past decade, that trend has increased, and some schools are now offering specialized degrees in specific “home ec” related topics such as nutrition and fitness, property management, and family dynamics. These specialized programs have helped to attract a more even mix of both women and men.

Five years ago, only about 10% of the students in the University of Georgia’s College of Family and Consumer Sciences were men. Last year, however, nearly 1/3 of the college’s 1,700 students were men. Changes such as these are occurring all across the country as the stereotypes traditionally acquainted with home economics programs are beginning to crumble.

Educators and school administrators say that even the term “home economics” is becoming outdated. Many schools have changed home economics program titles to terms such as “human sciences” or “consumer sciences” to reflect the broader acceptance and appeal to students regardless of their gender. “Our students graduate to become lawyers, loan counselors, directors of day care, or dietitians,” said Sharon Nickols, dean of UGA’s College of Family and Consumer Sciences. “We just don’t know their major because they don’t say, ‘I’m a family and consumer scientist.”‘

Instead of learning about laundry essentials, students are taught tips for budgeting, and basic information about the laws of supply and demand. Instead of the classes in dressmaking and cookie-baking that were the staple of high school home economics classes in junior high decades ago, courses are now geared toward what educators term “life skills.” Changes to home economics programs to make their approach a broader one have begun to draw in more male students, says Dan Bower. Bower is president of the American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences, a group that was once called the American Home Economics Association.

Dennis Savaiana, the dean of Purdue University’s College of Consumer and Family Sciences, explains that today is “the golden age of home ec.” According to Savaianao, “We’re directing all the same issues—family, food and finance—in a much broader, societal way. These are issues that transcend the home and reflect society in every way.” But although home ec programs are beginning to include more non-gender-related topics such as athletic training programs, schools are still working to open up the appeal of traditionally female-friendly programs to males.

Schools are welcoming and embracing the opportunity to broaden the concept of home economics. One way of making home ec programs appeal to male students is to focus on nutrition and how it affects the entire body in a holistic way. Taking a nutritional approach to food education rather than a recipe approach shifts the focus to health rather than palatability and efficiency, making the subject matter appeal to a wider audience of both males and females.

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As one knows the era of training has been around for a long time. For many years firms would contact a reputable firm, who would then provide training for their customers. These worked on the basis of word of mouth.

However with the advent of the technology notable computers, the ability to assign one’s reputation for credible training house has often fallen to the few that have the budgets to afford incorporating such technologies.

Some areas of training do not fall into this category where technology can guide the training house to the customer e.g. culinary, fishing, general labor .

However a vast majority of training houses have turned to technology in their attempt to offer courses that offer tangible results. Prior students would sit hand written tests at the end of a course and that would be good enough to verify they had passed the course. Some training houses just pass a certificate on completion of the day’s training.

Well during time accountability was sought by both firms sending their staff to courses and customers who wanted certificates that others would recognize. This is particularly the case with I.T ,customer service, and sales.

To get participants to such courses many firms from the industries teamed up with certain partners to offer courses that were certified by the industry leader. For example Microsoft created a Gold, Silver etc partner program.

The benefits of such programs would be that the training firms would get more customers to their courses as they were recognized by the industry leaders. The fees associated with such partnerships were outside the budget of small to medium sized training houses which often had to rely on other methods to keep business flowing, usually word of mouth.

What should be noted is that although these high fledge partners offered the courses such as Executrain, Learning Tree, Horizons and a host of smaller firms with (big budgets to be a partner). They did not actually allow students to sit their actual certification tests which were done with another firm.

For example for Microsoft exams , one needs to go to a Prometric center where they are charged to sit a test. On completion, they are told that they have passed or failed. The actual certification process never actually takes place in the original training center, which beg to reason why they charge such fees for their services.

So in essence going to a partner was nothing more then a paper saying that if you go to this course then you are going to one of our preferred suppliers of courses, simply because they paid the firm a big fee to become a partner. I am sure others will disagree but you only look to their backgrounds to see that they will be part of this “monopoly style” setup.

The poorer, smaller firms often lost out they did not have the money to create such associations. This often meant that by recommendation, cold calling, heavy advertising was the only key to their success.

Well with the introduction of Supercandidate software things could well change for the fortune of this sector. This lies in its technology which is easy to use and cost effective to deploy for even a one person training firm.

Technology has come a long way with the likes of the internet bringing down the operating costs of any computer setup. This is also the case when it comes to the training markets.

As earlier discussed most courses are created with no real tangible result at the training house level. This is obtained for certified courses only when you do the test at an additional cost and/or other location.

With the foray of technologies out there, the aim of the smaller training houses is to look at how technology can give them an inroad, to the same benefits of partnerships without actually becoming a partner. The answer is in “TANGIBLITY”.

Now for that, the training firm has to offer solid evidence that there is a valid end result when going to their courses, such as guaranteed passing of certification or credible tracking results as is the case of sales training completion.

How could this be realized. The following would be needed for this to work:

1) The course being taught has to have alignment to a certification which can be mimicked.
2) The company would need to have access to the internet for their students
3) The company would be willing to allow for retests to ensure credible passing.
4) The course would need to offer these tests at a price confidence level.

Let us examine these how these areas would allow you to access to more customers to your training courses.

First of all the aim is to “Guarantee” passing a certified exam. This can only be achieved if the training house is training on an area where certification exists. Under current conditions mentioned above, most training houses just provide training with respect to a few day courses and training material. The actual test takes place elsewhere.

Here, the company would utilize their own course content and set up questions which mimic the certified test. This was not possible to the majority of smaller training houses because to do so would require a lot of cost based on license fees associated with firms like Prometric. Now with Supercandidate, this problem is removed as its cost is minimal and will allow the training house to offer such tests within their own facilities.

The second reason is self explanatory as the cost associated of building something with a firm limits the resources offered by scaled products found online. With the internet in virtually every training house, this is really something they already have.

The third point really stems from the word “Guarantee”. If you recollect, earlier we described the traditional approach where a student does not actually sit any tests until the arrive at the testing firm. These testing firms are in the business to make money so they charge a fee for the test. The student will sit the test but will only be notified if they pass or fail. This is not very helpful but is a great way of making students retest, to get that retest fee.

Now if the training house could offer a guarantee that if the customer took their course, they could guarantee that the customer would pass first time, it would drive many more customers to the training house door.

This is the clever part. Remember we said that the tests need to mimic the actual exams for certification. Well once a test is built like that by the training house using simple typing skills using Supercandidate, every time a test is taken, a result is gained. Now unlike the conventional testing firm, the training house will be able to view automatically generated reports on the test. This they can relay onto the customer who can keep working on failed areas and retest, until they are 100% on the ball. With Supercandidate the reporting and testing is all automated and allows repeat tests with no additional costs.
This is how the training house can now guarantee the pass of any customer that uses their training firm.

Finally the area of costs. I think I have already explained the reason why scaling reduces costs and that utilizing cutting edge technology that is simple to use and administer is an essential ingredient to the success of the testing technique. If a training house offers guaranteed passing, they can actually increase their pricing but it is important to keep the pricing down to an area where you do not readily offer the same costing offered by the testing firm, otherwise it will not be seen as beneficial. The best approach is to take the little cost associated with the product mentioned above and offer the service for free to ensure that you have the breakthrough that you need.

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Prof. A.C. Grayling, in a review of ‘A History of Reading by Alberto Manguel’ that was published in Financial Times had said, “To read is to fly: it is to soar to a point of vantage which gives a view over wide terrains of history, human variety, ideas, shared experience and the fruits of many inquiries.” So true! Reading is really like taking a flight to high altitudes in pursuit of information and knowledge. It is a journey in search of enlightenment.

Have you asked yourself the question, “Why is reading important?” What was the answer that you got? I am sure your heart must have answered in favor of reading. Reading is like providing the mind with nourishment. Knowledge is the food for the mind and soul. Apart from giving us the basic information about the world around us, it also provides us with the food for thought. It encourages us to think. It increases our hunger for knowledge and our thirst to learn more.

During the ancient times, reading was limited to books. But today, it encompasses reading on the web. We have some very good sites providing their readers with authentic information. Reading from the Internet is an easy option for one and all. Reading from the web does not undermine the pleasure one can get from reading books.

We are introduced to the concept of reading at a very early age. It remains with us in different forms throughout our life. School-life begins with books. Books are our close companions in the youth. Reading continues to remain the favorite pastime of a large number of people even during their old age. For voracious readers, books are their lifelong companions.

It is very important to inculcate the habit of reading right from childhood. You can put in children the habit of reading bedtime stories. Reading during the early years helps the child in improving his/her language skills. The child learns to recognize written words. Reading when young helps you in your later life. Studies say that reading before going to bed helps the child feel secure and comfortable while sleeping. Emotions can be best understood through the characters in stories.

A child who grows up reading is definitely enriched as a young person. He/she automatically takes to reading. If the habit of reading is formed during an early age, reading soon becomes the person’s hobby. Teenage years are the growing and developing years of one’s life. This is the period of one’s mental growth as well. So it is nice to read good books during these years. Youngsters often relate to the story of heroes and try to emulate their behaviors. They idealize their favorite authors. They dream about their future and plan for it. Feeding the brain with loads of information from all around the world during this phase of life helps a person base his ideals on positivities. Reading helps the person shape his/her life.

Reading is an activity that keeps us occupied. Reading results in the fruitful usage of time. It helps us get rid of our anxieties. It diverts our mind from monotony and boredom. It is one of the best ways of relaxation. Reading novels or stories takes us to a new world where we forget our sorrows and fears. Books make very good friends.

Books and the web are the richest sources of information. They cover a wide range of topics and store an enormous amount of information. Numerous websites covering different areas of information or innumerable books that flood the libraries tell us of the vastness of knowledge. Reading leads us only to read more in the never-ending pursuit of knowledge.

Research has shown that avid readers stand out from the rest because of improved cognitive abilities. They can think creatively. It improves their grasping power. It makes them better analyzers and problem solvers. Reading helps a person be successful in life.

I hope you have read all about ‘reading’ and are convinced about why reading is so important. Keep reading …

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The Encyclopedia Britannica 2009 (established in 1768), both in its Ultimate (now also called “Student and Home”) and Deluxe versions, builds on the success of its completely revamped previous editions in 2006-8. The rate of innovation in the last three versions was impressive and welcome. It continues apace in this rendition with Britannica Biographies (Great Minds and Leaders), Classical Music (500 audio files arranged by composer), and a great Workspace for Project Management (a kind of friendly digital den). Generous 6-12 months of free access to the myriad riches of the Britannica Online complete the package.

The Britannica comes bundled with an atlas (close to 1800 maps linked to articles and 287 World Data Profiles of individual countries and territories); the Merriam-Webster Dictionary and Thesaurus, augmented by a Spanish-English translation dictionary; classic articles from previous editions; eleven yearbooks; an Interactive Timeline with 4000+ indexed timeline entries; a Research Organizer; and a Knowledge Navigator (called The Brain or BrainStormer). All told, it offers a directory of more than 166,000 reviewed and vetted links to online content.

In its new form, the Britannica is as user-friendly as the Encarta. With a new A to Z Quick Search feature, monthly updates and the aforementioned 6-12 months of free access to its impressive powerhouse online Web site, it is bound to give the former tough competition.

The Britannica’s newest interface is even more intuitive and uncluttered than previously and is great fun to use. It offers morsels of knowledge, some of it date-specific, appetizingly presented through a ticker tape of visuals that leisurely scrolls across the bottom of the screen plus highly edifying interactive tours of articles and attendant media.

When you enter even the first few letters of a term in the search box, it offers various options and is persistent: no need to click on the toolbar’s “search” button every time you want to find something in this vast storehouse of knowledge. Moreover, the user can save search results onto handy “Virtual Notecards”. Whole articles can be copied onto the seemingly inexhaustible Workspace.

The new Britannica’s display is tab-based, avoiding the erstwhile confusing proliferation of windows with every move. Most importantly, articles appear in full, not in sections. This major improvement facilitates the finding of relevant keywords in and the printing of entire texts. These are only a few of the numerous alterations and enhancements.

Perhaps the most refreshing change is the Britannica’s Update Center. Dozens of monthly updates and new, timely articles are made available online (subject to free registration). A special button alerts the user when an entry in the base product has been updated.

Regrettably, unlike in the Encarta, the updates cannot be downloaded to the user’s computer or otherwise incorporated into the vast encyclopedia. Moreover, the product does not alert its user to the existence of completely new articles, only to updated ones. It takes a manual scan of the monthly lists to reveal newly added content.

Speaking of updates, one must not forget to dwell on the Britannica’s unequalled yearbooks. Each annual volume contains the year in events, scientific developments, and everything you wanted to know about the latest in any and every conceivable field of human endeavor or nature. About 10,500 articles culled from the last 11 editions buttress and update the Encyclopedia’s anyhow impressive offerings.

The Britannica provides considerably more text than any other extant encyclopedia, print or digital. But it has noticeably enhanced its non-textual content over the years (the 1994-7 editions had nothing or very little but words, words, and more words): it now boasts in excess of 22-30,000 images and illustrations (depending on the version) and 900 video and audio clips. This is not to mention the Britannica Classics: articles from Britannica’s most famous contributors-from Sigmund Freud to Harry Houdini, Marie Curie to Orville Wright.

The Britannica fully supports serious research. It is a sober assemblage of first-rate essays, up to date bibliographies, and relevant multimedia. It is a desktop university library: thorough, well-researched, comprehensive, trustworthy.

The Britannica’s 84-103,000 articles (depending on the version) are long and thorough, supported by impressive bibliographies, and written by the best scholars in their respective fields. The company’s Editorial Board of Advisors reads like the who’s who of the global intellectual and scientific community.

The Britannica is an embarrassment of riches. Users often find the wealth and breadth of information daunting and data mining is fast becoming an art form. This is why the Britannica incorporated the BrainStormer to cope with this predicament. But an informal poll I conducted online shows that few know how to deploy it effectively.

The Britannica also sports Student and Elementary versions of its venerable flagship product, replete with a Homework Helpdesk and interactive tutorials, but it is far better geared to tackle the information needs of adults and, even more so, professionals. It provides unequalled coverage of its topics. Ironically, this is precisely why the market positioning of the Britannica’s Elementary and Student Encyclopedias is problematic: with Wikipedia and even the Encarta around, the Britannica’s brand is distinctly adult and scholarly.

Still, the 2009 editions of both the Student and Elementary encyclopedias improve on the past in terms of both coverage and facilities: the Homework Helpdesk is a collection of useful homework resources including a video subject browse, online learning games and activities, online subject spotlights, and how-to documents on topics such as writing a book review. There are also Learning Games and Activities: hundreds of fun and interactive games and activities to help students with subjects like Math, Science, and Social Studies.

The current edition is fully integrated with the Internet. Apart from the updates, it offers additional and timely content and revisions on a dedicated Web site. The digital product includes a staggering number of links (165,808!) to third party content and articles on the Web. The GeoAnalyzer, which compares national statistical data and generates charts and graphs, is now Web-based and greatly enhanced.

The Britannica would do well to offer a browser add-on search bar and to integrate with desktop search tools from Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, and others. Currently it offers search results through Google but this requires the user to install add-ons or plug-ins and to go through a convoluted rite of passage. A seamless experience is in the cards. Users must and will be able to ferret content from all over - their desktop, their encyclopedias, and the Web - using a single, intuitive interface.

Some minor gripes:

The atlas, dictionary, and thesaurus incorporated in the Britannica are still surprisingly outdated. Why not use a more current - and dynamically updated - offering? What about dictionaries for specialty terms (medical or computer glossaries, for instance)?

Despite considerable improvement over the previous edition, the Britannica still consumes (not to say hogs) computer resource far in excess of the official specifications. This makes it less suitable for installation on older PCs and on many laptops. If you own a machine with anything earlier than Pentium 3 and less than 4 Gb of really free space - forget it!

The Britannica uses a new graphic and text renderer. On some systems, the user needs to modify his or her desktop settings to get rid of jagged fonts and blurry photos. The software also seriously conflicts with security applications (especially anti-virus and firewall products). This edition, though, is finally compatible with the latest QuickTime.

But that’s it. Don’t think twice. Run to the closest retail outlet (or surf to the Britannica’s Web site) and purchase the 2009 edition now. It offers excellent value for money (less than $40, with a rebate) and significantly enhances you access to knowledge and wisdom accumulated over centuries all over the world.

Tags: Education by Virgogirl
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