echnology tricks to help kids think reading is fun

More than a quarter of American adults did not read a single book in the last year. That stunning statistic from a recent report from the Pew Research Centermade me sad.

I am an admitted bibliophile. At all times, I have one or two audiobooks downloaded on my phone to listen to in the car, three or four print books on my nightstand, and more e-books on my phone for when I have a few quick moments to read.

I’m not expecting others to be as obsessive as I am about the written word, but I would hope all of us could at least read one book in an entire year.

While adults aren’t required to read as most children are in school, it made me wonder if parents are simply raising kids who are uninterested in reading, and allowing them to become non-reading adults. If that is the case, what can moms and dads do to inspire a love of reading in their children?

Get techie — While the majority of people prefer to read print books, the biggest age group reading electronic books are — unsurprisingly — millennials. So, it would be logical to think even younger readers may also be drawn to e-books. Take advantage of the apps most public libraries use that allow readers to download books and audiobooks on their phones and tablets.

My local library — as well 30,000 others around the country — uses the Overdrive app. Depending on the limitations of each library, users can have several books and audiobooks downloaded at the same time, with others on hold to wait for their availability. You need an active library account, but the app automatically returns books on their due date, so no late fees, ever. My kids have loved listening to audiobooks as they fall asleep, or listening as a family on road trips. Hint: the Harry Potter audiobook series is fantastic.

Give them an incentive — The main reason my kids agreed to listen to the Harry Potter audiobooks is that is was a prerequisite for our trip to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Florida. Sure, we could have just watched the movies and headed on our merry way, but our amazing theme park experience was much richer because of the details we absorbed listening to the books in their entirety.

The incentive doesn’t have to be as grand as a trip to Orlando. One easy way to nudge your kids into more literature is to read books before they show up in theaters. Check the lists of upcoming movies based on books and make a plan. It’s great to have all your kids read the same book, if possible. Then, it turns into a friendly competition with each child pushing the others to read, instead of parents having to nag.

Use apps — Tons of reading apps are just waiting for kids of all ages to try them out. For younger readers, try MeeGenius, which has more than 700 interactive e-books for $5 per month. Kids can read along with the narration while the words are highlighted, or read it by themselves. Disney Storytime is similar, but parents purchase credits — there are three free titles — and then kids choose which books to buy individually. It will likely end up being more expensive with many of the same features, but kids can also record themselves reading the book. And don’t forget about that pre-loaded iBooks app on your Apple device. It has lots of free titles for when kids are desperate for something to read, but are out of money.

For older children who can read but need a fun way to brush up on grammar skills, it’s Mad Libs to the rescue. We all loved this word game as kids, and now the free app comes with dozens of stories just waiting for your children to fill in the crazy nouns, adjectives and adverbs.

Buy them a gift — Sometimes the simplest thing can give kids just enough motivation to keep turning the page. The Mark My Time digital bookmark is around $10 and keeps track of reading time for kids. They push a button to start a timer that goes off when their required reading time is up. The bookmark can also add up all their reading time over months until it hits 100 hours in case a child is shooting for a bigger goal.

Research has shown us time and time again that reading benefits children in everything from language skills to emotional stability. Use these tricks and tips to give your children — and yourself — an extra incentive to dive into a good book today.

Source:http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865666440/Technology-tricks-to-help-kids-think-reading-is-fun.html?pg=all

 

JEE Main 2017

• Welcome to JEE Main 2017

  (Last Update :26/11/2016)
  
  
  The Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India has notified following two changes in the JEE pattern for 2017:

  1.     There shall be no weightage for the 12th class marks in calculating the ranks in the JEE (Main) examination,

  2.     For the candidates to qualify for the admission in the IITs/NITs/IIITs and such other CFTIs whose admissions are based on the JEE (Advanced)/JEE(Main) ranks, they should have secured at least 75% marks in the 12th class examination, or be in the top 20 percentile in the 12th class examination conducted by the respective Boards. For SC/ST students the qualifying marks would be 65% in the 12th class examination. 

  The States of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Uttrakhand, Nagaland, Odisha & some other institutions have joined JEE (Main) system, however, their admission criteria will be notified by the concerned authorities. Therefore, the candidates seeking admission to the institutions in these states, which were earlier admitting based on their State level examination, are also advised to fill in the JEE (Main)–2017  application form online. The Paper-1 (B. E./B. Tech.) of JEE (Main) will also be an eligibility test for the JEE (Advanced), which the candidate has to take if he/she is aspiring for admission to the undergraduate programmes offered by the IITs.

   i) All the Indian citizen candidates should possess AADHAAR card issued by UIDAI. At the time of filling application form of JEE (Main)–2017, the candidates will have to enter their AADHAAR number, name, date of birth & gender which will be validated with the UIDAI’s data.  In case, these particulars do not match, the candidates will not be able to fill the application form for JEE (Main)–2017. Therefore, the candidates are advised to ensure that their AADHAAR card has correct details of their name, date of birth & gender as per school records. If there is some mismatch in these details, the candidates should immediately get it corrected in AADHAAR data or school records, as the case may be.

  ii) Applicants not yet enrolled for Aadhaar, are hereby required to make application for Aadhaar enrolment in case he/she is entitled to obtain Aadhaar as per section 3 of Aadhaar Act.  Such applicant may visit any Aadhaar enrolment center (list available at www.uidai.gov.in) to get enrolled for Aadhaar. 

  iii) In order to facilitiate such applicants who are not having Aadhaar, the CBSE has specially set up facilitation centres in each city of examination for the purpose of Aadhaar enrolment. The applicants can approach such facilitation centres who will not charge any amount from any applicant for Aadhaar enrolment. The list of the facilitation centre is available onwww.jeemain.nic.in. These applicants who have enrolled for Aadhaar and have not received Aadhaar  should enter 28 digit Aadhaar Enrolment ID printed on the Aadhaar enrolment slip at the time of filling online application form for JEE(Main) 2017. 

  iv) In case Aadhaar enrolment facility is not available at the facilitation centres, the applicants should submit a request for Aadhaar enrolment. The facilitation centre will issue a registration number to such applicants. This registration number should be entered by the applicants at the time of filling online application form for JEE(Main) 2017.

  v) The above provisions shall be applicable in all states except J&K, Assam & Meghalaya.

  vi) The applicants who have passed or appearing in Class XII examination from the states of J&K, Assam & Meghalaya need to enter the passport number, ration card number, bank account number or any other valid Govt. identity number provided they should select the city of examination in these states only.

  The online application process will start from 01st December, 2016 onwards. The last date for application is 02nd January, 2017 and fee can be paid upto 03rd January 2017.
  Question Papers 2016
• Question Paper 2015
• Question Paper 2014
• Information Bulletin

SOURCE:http://jeemain.nic.in/webinfo/Public/Home.aspx

ADMISSION NOTICE JEE (MAIN) – 2017

In pursuance of Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India, Notification, the 5th Joint Entrance Examination (Main) - 2017 will be conducted on 02/04/2017 (Sunday) by the JEE Apex Board for admission to Undergraduate Engineering Programmes in NITs, IIITs and other Centrally Funded Technical Institutions etc. The States of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Uttrakhand, Nagaland & Odisha have joined JEE (Main) system. Therefore, the candidates seeking admission to the institutions in these states, which were earlier admitting based on their State level examination, are also advised to fill in the JEE (Main) -2017 application form online. The JEE (Main) will also be an eligibility test for the JEE (Advanced), which the candidate has to take if he/she is aspiring for admission to the undergraduate programmes offered by the IITs/ISM Dhanbad. The candidates are advised to see the JEE (Advanced) website www.jeeadv.ac.in for information related to JEE (Advanced). The detailed information bulletin containing details of examination, syllabus, eligibility criteria to appear, examination fee, cities of examination, State code of eligibility, age relaxation, eligibility for admission, reservation policies and important dates will be available on JEE (Main) website www.jeemain.nic.in on 01/12/2016. The aspiring candidates are requested to download the information bulletin from above mentioned website only and read the same carefully before applying. The eligibility criteria for JEE (Main) & JEE (Advanced) are different. The candidates are requested to read the information bulletin carefully and ensure their eligibility as per the criteria laid down for JEE (Main) and JEE (Advanced). All the Indian citizen candidates should possess AADHAAR card issued by UIDAI with their correct details. At the time of filling application form of JEE (Main) – 2017, the candidates will have to enter their AADHAAR number, name, date of birth & gender which will be validated with the UIDAI’s data. In case, these particulars do not match, the candidate will not be able to fill the application form of JEE (Main) - 2017. Therefore, the candidates are advised to ensure that their AADHAAR card has correct details of their name, date of birth & gender as per school records. If there is some mismatch in these details, the candidates should immediately get it corrected in AADHAAR data or school records, as the case may be. The aspiring candidates have to apply online only through JEE (Main) website www.jeemain.nic.in. The online application process will start from 01st December, 2016 onwards. The last date for application is 02nd January, 2017 and fee can be paid upto 03rd January 2017. Executive Director (JAB)
Source:http://jeemain.nic.in/WebInfo/Handler/FileHandler.ashx?i=File&ii=55&iii=Y

CBSE begins review of CCE, optional Class X board exam

HIGHLIGHTS

• CBSE chairman R K Chaturvedi said on Tuesday that the board was consulting stakeholders on the issue
• The review comes after many schools and state governments voiced opinion in favour of making the exam compulsory again
• NEW DELHI: The CBSE has begun a review of the optional board exams for Class X as well as the Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE) followed in affiliated schools.
  
  CBSE chairman R K Chaturvedi said on Tuesday that the board was consulting stakeholders on the issue. "A majority say that a dual system for the Class X exams is confusing. The exams are linked with CCE, and there again most stakeholders feel redundant elements can be removed," he said. The review comes after many schools and state governments voiced opinion in favour of making the exam compulsory again.
  
  Chaturvedi also an nounced a slew of reforms. He said a committee had been set up to recommend changes in examination bylaws and affiliation rules. Besides, student-friendly initiatives, such allowing them to apply for certificates from any regional office, were in the pipeline.
  
  "These (bylaws) have been written long ago. Though there have been amendments from time to time, many things are not very clear.Education is dynamic and needs reform. We have constituted a committee headed by Pavnesh Kumar, former controller of examinations, to do away with the ambiguities.The idea is to give more teeth for punitive action against affiliation violations and also improve the examination system," said R K Chaturvedi, chairman, CBSE.
  
  The board has over 18,000 schools under its fold and is planning to digitise all data related to these schools.
  
  "Tracking all schools is a big task. We have devised a system for which the schools have to make some mandatory disclosures. Unless the board has all the data, it can't improve its planning. Also, the parents and students need to know about their schools and the facilities," Chaturvedi said.
  
  "The bylaws say fees should be commensurate with the facilities offered by schools. The schools will also have to put up such data on their websites," the chairman added.
  
  In order to fast-track the affiliation process, the board is also undertaking an e-affiliation initiative and is planning to set up a separate wing for affiliation and examination.
• he board is also taking up a major task of sanitising the data before going for the final print of certificates to avoid errors. "These certificates are primary documents for everything and therefore the system needs to be sanitized. After schools fill up the forms, these will be sent to parents for checking and signatures," Chaturvedi said.
  
  
  
  Apart from that, a student will now be able to download his or her certificate from a digital locker. Also, any institution registered with CBSE will be able to get certificates submitted to it authenticated online.
• The board is digitising all its certificates, starting with those from 2015 onwards, and any candidate in need of his her certificate can get it from any of the regional offices. In the past, these certificates were available only in the specific region from where the board exam was taken.
  
  
  
  Information on examination centres is also being made available online. This would enable candidates to locate a centre on GIS maps in their mobile phones and to view its facilities.
• Source:http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/education/news/cbse-begins-review-of-cce-optional-class-x-board-exam/articleshow/54686916.cms

HRD to soon take call on compulsory CBSE class X board exam, says Prakash Javadekar

PTI | Updated: Oct 25, 2016, 22:49 IST

NEW DELHI: The Union HRD ministry will soon take a call on whether the Class X board examination should be made compulsory for students of CBSE schools.

Speaking to reporters after the 64th CABE meeting on Tuesday, HRD minister Prakash Javadekar said that many state boards are already conducting Class X exams.

"Since the matter relates to Class X exams for CBSE, which comes under the HRD ministry, we will soon take a decision in this regard separately," Javadekar said when asked if any decision related to Class X board exams was taken today.

There were reports that a decision regarding the compulsory CBSE Class X board examinations, which was scrapped in 2010 in order to reduce pressure on students, is likely to be reintroduced.

Javadekar, however, suggested that the Board exams, if they are introduced may be brought in only from the next session.

In the education sector, changes are generally made with regard to the upcoming session, he said.Sources suggested while there is a view in the ministry in favour of making the CBSE class X examination compulsory, a final decision may be taken in consultation with the CBSE.

A press release issued by the HRD ministry after the CABE meeting also mentioned that a presentation on Compulsory Board examination in class X was also made.

Class 5 and 8 students likely to face annual exams, says govt

NEW DELHI: With a survey indicating the need for significant improvement in their learning levels, the government on Thursday indicated that students of Classes 5 and 8 may have to appear for annual examinations.

"According to an annual survey by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) on the learning achievement of children in Classes 3, 5, 8 and 10, there is a need for significant improvement in learning levels," Minister of State for Human Resource Development Upendra Kushwaha told the Rajya Sabha.

"The survey also noted that the learning level of children depends on several factors, including socio-economic, socio-geographic, the educational background of the students, availability of basic infrastructure/amenities in schools, availability of trained and competent teachers in the schools and so on," the Minister said in a written reply.

Citing section 29 of the Right to Education (RTE) Act 2009, Kushwaha said the schools and respective governments are free to conduct periodic examinations for children of all levels.

Section 29 stipulates that there should be Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE) of every child to assess their learning levels and provide additional instruction accordingly.

"Under the CCE framework, schools and respective governments are free to conduct periodic examinations for children of all levels," said the minister.

Earlier in October, the Central Advisory Board of Education (CABE) had agreed for amending the 'no detention policy' under the RTE Act and allow the state governments to decide on introducing annual examinations for students of Classes 5 and 8.

Under the 'no detention policy', students up to Class 8 are automatically promoted to the next class without being held back even if they do not get a passing grade.

Union HRD minister Prakash Javadekar, earlier in the month had said that the government will reintroduce compulsory Class 10 board examination for CBSE schools from the 2017-18 academic year.

Source:http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/education/news/Class-5-and-8-students-likely-to-face-annual-exams-says-govt/articleshow/55607343.cms

Who wrote the Indian Constitution? How were they selected to do the job?

India constitution was written by Drafting Committee of Indian Constitution. It was headed by Ambedkar but the persons were selected on their qualifications, experience etc like IAS officers, Advocates, Judges of those times, intellects, social workers etc I can name some persons from which you can ascertain the quality of people selected for this job.The committee members were:

Dr B. R. Ambedkar - Chairman

K M Munshi (Ex- Home Minister, Bombay)

Alladi Krishnaswamy Iyer (Ex- Advocate General, Madras State)

N Gopalaswami Ayengar (Ex-Prime Minister, J&K, member of Nehru Cabinet)

B L Mitter (Ex-Advocate General, India)

Md. Saadullah (Ex- Chief Minister of Assam, Muslim League member)

D P Khaitan (lawyer).

Sir Benegal Narsing Rau was appinted as the constitutional advisor.He later became First Indian Judge in International Court of Justice in 1950.

Other Committee members:

B L Mitter resigned from the committee. He was replaced by Madhav Rao (Legal Advisor of Maharaja of Vadodara).

D P Khaitan passed away and was replaced by T T Krishnamachar.

I just copied from Members of the Drafting Committee of the Constitution

upscguide.com

further reading Constituent Assembly of India

THE CONSTITUTION OF INDIA

THE CONSTITUTION OF NDIA PREAMBLE	PARTS	SCHEDULES
APPENDICES	INDEX	AMENDMENT ACTS

---

PARTS

PART I	THE UNION AND ITS TERRITORY	Art.( 1-4 )
PART II	CITIZENSHIP	Art.( 5-11 )
PART III	FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS	Art.( 12-35 )
PART IV	DIRECTIVE PRINCIPLES OF STATE POLICY	Art.( 36-51 )
PART IVA	FUNDAMENTAL DUTIES	Art.( 51A )
PART V	THE UNION	Art.( 52-151 )
PART VI	THE STATES	Art.( 152-237 )
PART VII	THE STATES IN PART B OF THE FIRST SCHEDULE	Art.( 238 )
PART VIII	THE UNION TERRITORIES	Art.( 239-243 )
PART IX	PANCHAYATS	Art.( 243-243zg )
PART IXA	MUNICIPALITIES	Art.( 243-243zg )
PART X	THE SCHEDULED AND TRIBAL AREAS	Art.( 244-244A )
PART XI	RELATIONS BETWEEN THE UNION AND THE STATES	Art.( 245-263 )
PART XII	FINANCE, PROPERTY, CONTRACTS AND SUITS	Art.( 264-300A )
PART XIII	TRADE,COMMERCE AND INTERCOURSE WITHIN THE TERRITORY OF INDIA	Art.( 301-307 )
PART XIV	SERVICES UNDER THE UNION AND THE STATES	Art.( 308-323 )
PART XIVA	TRIBUNALS	Art.( 323A-323B )
PART XV	ELECTIONS	Art.( 324-329A )
PART XVI	SPECIAL PROVISIONS RELATING TO CERTAIN CLASSES	Art.( 330-342 )
PART XVII	OFFICIAL LANGUAGE	Art.( 343-351 )
PART XVIII	EMERGENCY PROVISIONS	Art.( 352-360 )
PART XIX	MISCELLANEOUS	Art.( 361-367 )
PART XX	AMENDMENT OF THE CONSTITUTION	Art.( 368 )
PART XXI	TEMPORARY, TRANSITIONAL AND SPECIAL PROVISIONS	Art.( 369-392 )
PART XXII	SHORT TITLE,COMMENCEMENT,AUTHORITATIVE TEXT IN HINDI AND REPEALS	Art.( 393-395 )

Source: http://www.constitution.org/cons/india/const.html