Tag: 21st century skills

MOST VALUABLE SKILLS TO HONE .

With the world rapidly developing and the internet and technological department , growing at a really fast rate , there are a lot of new skills each individuals should master so as to become a valuable asset , and be at par with the developing world . For us students it is almost indispensable to have these skill sets , here are a few that you must start mastering .

COMMUNICATION – As basic and primary as it sounds , don’t let it fool you to undermine the value of this skill . Mastering how to communicate effectively can take you ANYWHERE . The billionaire Warren Buffet himself advices young people to master this skill . If you have a brilliant idea , but fail to articulate it to other , you unfortunately fall under a lot of disadvantage , this is where knowing how to communicate will help.

PUBLIC SPEAKING – A lot of us dread this , i know i do . But this is a really important skill to master . If you are good at public speaking and grasping the attention of others , it will be helpful in communicating your ideas . Public speaking also boosts your level of self confidence and self esteem , as well as helps you get networking opportunities . So , getting past your fear of public speaking and mastering it will take you a long way .

BASIC INVESTING – Knowing how to manage your finance is obviously very important , but very few know how to do it . Budgeting and saving money is the first step , and investing money is the second. Investing is not as complicated as it might seem , but sure is something we should be doing .

DATA SCIENCE – Data science is by far the most valuable skill to know in the 21st century . Data scientists play a huge role in companies regarding decision making as they interpret data . It will be one of the most demanding jobs by 2022. So , if you are looking for any skills to master , start with this one , it will be worth giving a shot .

SPEED READING – Speed reading is a very practical and helpful skill to master . Knowing how to speed read will allow an individual to skim through reading materials and understand it faster. It will save you a lot of while reading research papers , books or even emails , and make your very time efficient . Not only this , but speed reading also improves memory , helps you focus more and also boost your confidence .

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Good and Bad effects of competition in Life

Winner Winner Confidence booster!

Get set go!! What do you make of that? If you think its competition, you are absolutely right! In Today’s fast moving life,this phrase makes sense most of the time in every field. Yes, competition,the act of trying tobwin or gain something by defeating others, is the policy we bear in mind in completing any task how much ever minute it may be.

One of the main advantages of competition is, it provides purpose and firmness to the mind. It gives us an impetus to pursue our goal, despite the difficulties that comes along the way. Here, ego also plays a major part as losing means one is inferior to the other. This might help in increasing confidence level. If its a challenge, why not gain the pleasure by surmounting it?

Even for a trifle task, one thinks that he must be the first one to finish it, thereby forcing each one to give their level best into it, yielding a better result altogether. This trait can be observed in children too. They try to compete in any task given to them and feel very good about themselves once they finish it. This simple instance shows the infuence of competition.

Now-a-days, children are very witty, which increases the level of competition.With numerous opportunities and resources come greater competition. This can be observed in various competitive exams. The cut off marks are such that, by a point difference people lose.This induces more stress in people which might be positive or negative, depending on each individual and circumtances.

Competition provides the opportunity to select the best among the bests. It is the best way to analyze ourselves and keep a track of where we stand among our peers. It also gives us chance to improve ourselves and achieve better when the next opportunity knocks our doors.

The monthly or annual exams students face is a trailor to the future competitions we might encounter. Many children as well as adults bear the opinion that exams are unnecessary and irrelevant. On the contrary, without a definite reason, it is highly unlikely that people learn what is to be learnt.

The importance of competition is such that we must always engage in improving ourselves to be on par with the bustling world. Only when we compare and compete with people, our areas of strength and weakness is revealed to us. This is help in finding direction to move forward in life.

Coming to the disadvantages, it depends on one’s mentality and view point. If one is pessimistic, the idea of competition might be discouraging to him. Whereas, if he is optimistic and ready to take on challenges, it might actually help in pushing oneself to improvise on all levels. The reality stands that competition is everywhere. One can either moan about or make the best out of it.

In conclusion, one musy always try to have healty competition in mind. Especially in this competitive world, competition is a must and the one conpeting with full determination will be the winner of the competition called life.

How to write Advertisement Scripts?

For every business to prosper it is important that people are aware about the product existing. For this the advertisement becomes very important, but there are also thousands and millions of advertisement existing in the market. Thus it becomes very crucial for the company to produce an advertisement which stands out among these thousands and also attract the audience towards the product. This then comes to the hiring of Advertisement Script Writer. But how can we learn to write out-of-the-box script? Here are a few things to be learnt for the same:

First, let us understand what are the basics of Advertisement writing:

Primarily written for visual mediums:

While writing the advertisement script we must keep in my mind that it is been written for the visual medium. People don’t read something which doesn’t attract them at once. And for the primary attention of the people the visual portrayal must be outstanding.

Brevity is the key:

Because of the short time, it becomes a crucial task for the writer to use simple and exact words which also captivate the eye of the reader.

Needs planning and creativity:

Writer must be aware of the lack of time and thus plan the advertisement in a manner which outsources everything regarding the product in a minimal time. For this author must generate his creative cells in the brain.

Recognize the Target audience:

It is really important to plan the advertisement according to the target audience. If the advertisement is about a tractor then it becomes necessary to create an advertisement which suits their needs.

good Appeal:

For the best appeal a writer can use the cultural sentiments of the targeted audience or may even use multiple daily routine slangs of the audience. This will draw the audience towards the product.

Duration:

We all have seen various new advertisements on the television. One thing to notice among those advertisements is that with time the duration of same advertisement gets short with the passage of time. Thus it is necessary that writer employs his writing skills in a manner that even the duration is reduced, the essence of the advertisement must remain exact.

Composition:

Last but not the least is the composition of the advertisement. After taking care of all the above elements, The composition is the element which is the most important one. If the composition of advertisement is not good enough then the advertisement will lack audience’s attention. It is the job of the writer to thoroughly look at the composition of the advertisement. For this he even might consider taking help of Script Doctors.

Let us now look at the stages to write an advertisement script.

The FORMAT of an advertisement script is as follows:

  1. Font: Preferred font is courier, but there is nothing specific about fonts in Advertisement Scripts as it is in the Scripts for Movies, Plays, Web etc.
  2. Structure: Usually two columns are used for the advertisement script, rarely three. The first is about the video, the second describing the dialogues and the third is about the duration (if the column exists)
  3. Size: The script must never exceed the length of a page because the advertisements are just a minute long.
Here is an example of the advertisement script:

Some of the KEY POINTS to remember while writing an advertisement script are:

  1. Understand the Product: The writer must be aware about the Features and the Unique Selling Point (USP) of the product.
  2. Understand the Target Audience: Who is this product for? Young or Old? Men or Women? Rich or Middle working class?
  3. Do research: Understand the product and your competition. Mention the key features of the product which are different from others.
  4. Think out of the box: Emotion is the hook. Humour adds an extra punch to the script, thus cleverly employ them for the task.
  5. Writing: Don’t write to impress, write to communicate the core message clearly. Also focus on the language which is used by the target audience.
  6. Emphasize the need: Allow your audience to realize the worth of the product and also why do they need it.

9 Profitable Skills that you can Learn Online

The pandemic has made us stay at home and we all know that staying at home is boring. We can kill this time productively by learning new skills online. 

 Coding

Technology is vast and there are plenty of job opportunities available if you know how to code. Programmers are high in demand all over the world. Learning and doing programming is an exercise for your brain that eventually improves your problem solving and logical ability. There are many apps and websites which teach coding for free.

 SEO 

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization, which is the practice of increasing the quantity and quality of traffic to your website through organic search engine results. SEO is the best way to market and it can boost your public visibility. If you are a Freelancer or a business owner then you really can’t conduct online business without knowing about SEO.

 Microsoft Excel

Microsoft Excel is a software program included in the Microsoft Office suite. It is used to create spreadsheets, which are documents in which data is laid out in rows and columns like a big table. Excel training just doesn’t help you get things done quicker and more efficiently it also increases the effectiveness of the reports and analysis that you do.

 Languages

Learning a foreign language, even as little as a handful of phrases, will make your travel experiences better. It also boosts the confidence of an individual and improves the probability of getting employed in a company. Learning a new language helps us to discover a new culture and this is an immensely enriching experience for us. 

 Photography

You can capture a beautiful moment by learning photography. It also increases your creativity. Moreover, photography provides an enjoyable hobby. Earning a certificate online shows that you’ve had formal training, practical experience and critical assessments. This can open doors to a broader range of job opportunities where a degree is a minimum requirement.

 PhotoShop

Adobe Photoshop is one of the most famous and all-round image editing software existing in the market today. Photoshop skills are often listed in a lot of job descriptions these days. Learning Photoshop gives you an added advantage over other applicants who are not skilled in Photoshop. Using Photoshop one can transform pictures to unimaginable heights of creativity. 

 Public Speaking

Public speaking is not just standing on a stage and speaking into a microphone to an audience. Public speaking includes speaking at meetings, with potential clients, colleagues, and customers. Mastery of public speaking will empower numerous other skills, abilities and personal enhancements will be the result.

 Video Editing

Video is the best marketing and promotional tool ever in the modern market. Videos attract the people to watch. They stop for a movement and see the video.  In this technological age, people watch videos as they are easily accessible. So if you want something across, pushing out your message or promotion to the people, make videos.  

 Digital Marketing

Digital marketing is the promotion of products or brands using electronic devices or the internet. It also includes text messaging, instant messaging, video, apps, podcasts, electronic billboards, digital television and radio channels, etc. Digital marketing gives a huge scope and multitude of job options. Digital marketing will also help you to promote your startup at very low cost.

Importance of Vocational Skills

The new Education Policy of India also focuses on vocational training of the students. But what are vocational skills? And why are they important? Let us find out.

What are Vocational skills?

Vocational skills are empirical skills that individuals acquire in a specific area of interest. These are the practical skills that one requires to learn in order to choose a career option. Vocational skills are more practical than theoretical skills and are equally important for a student. Individuals learn vocational skills from hands-on experience.The training takes place outside the traditional classroom setting. Students are placed in manual labor intern positions that coincide with their vocational career choice. It trains a student in training for his career and it is related to the theory part. Vocational skills are those which allow a person to master a particular subject or procedure that is applicable to a career. Vocational skills are also known as content skills.

Importance of Vocational training

When a student receives vocational education in college or an educational institution, they are not getting prepared just to study and pass the college. But they are also being prepared to get a job in the future.

Vocational training is very important. It develops many skills. Here are the types of skills that are developed by it-

  1.  Domain knowledge in fields such as carpentry, plumbing, electrical works, automobile service
  2.  Mechanical aptitude 
  3.  Problem solving skills
  4.  Creative skills

These skills are acquired by the students and help them immensely. Skills create various job opportunities. In today’s world, almost every job providing company or organization wants people to work for them who have proper skills that will benefit their company and organization. And these skills can not be obtained by only theoretical training.

Skill is the most valuable asset in an individual’s life. Vocational education gives people a new learning experience. It increases your level of expertise in a particular field. This makes it easier to choose a career in future.

Learning a skill takes less time than a traditional four-year university, and can be learned in a few months.. Due to its short period of learning it is very flexible and cost-effective for the students. The students even get time to do their other important work by training  part time from the teacher.

After learning, they do not become dependent on machines or someone else because it is their skills which are helping them to work. They become more efficient and self dependent. Also, they realise their capabilities and use their potential to achieve heights of success. 

Career options from vocational skills

We are exposed to various job opportunities by vocational training. Some career options are listed below –

Car mechanic, Car body repair technician, Car electrician, Quality test engineer, Firefighter, Paramedic, Police officer, Search and rescue officer, CPR and first-aid responder, Coastguard officer, Vocational nurse, Surgical prep technician, Medical technician, Dental hygienist, Dental assistant, Phlebotomist, Sonographer, Radiologist, Pharmacy technician, Mammographer, Laboratory technician, Veterinary assistant, Veterinary technician, Chef, Caterer, Food service manager, Bartender, Mixologist, Quality assurance specialist, Welder, Electrician, Plumber, Web designer, Carpenter, Construction manager, Pipe-fitter, Machining, Computer-aided drafting, Network administration, Civil engineering technician, Court reporter, Hair stylist. 

By choosing a subject that interests you, you can shape your career and create your own success.

Job is lost, not the mastership!

Get the ‘tasks’ of your own!

You’ve lost your job but you are still in the possession of your skills.

“Unemployed, what to do now?”
“From where to start?”
“I can’t find anything else to do!”
It’s better to ponder over the strategies to get a job instead of spoiling the mood following such qualms.
Stop worrying, start learning something new. Because it’s just the scepticisms talking!

Many fundamental tasks at home must have been hung back, caused by unemployment. But it does not mean that all the portals are closed.
You have got time to think something raw, something fresh and to do something new as well. Then why not to do the enhancement of your skills?
First and foremost, start making a plan to control the expenditures and start executing it at your earliest convenience.
You can do anything you want to do. Just think ahead about what to do.

Think of ahead, what do you want to do


It happens many times that we stay in a job despite the fact that it is bearing no interest. Or say that we never really wanted to do.

Co-founder of a career assessment – ‘Map My Talent’, Rohit Sehgal says, “About 80% of employees believe that they are stuck in their jobs which actually is not for them.”


So you seek such a job that interests you.
For that, if you need to do any course or get enrolled in any program of two or three months, just go for it.
Can do work from home or would like to start something of your own, considering all these aspects, search for a new job.

“Don’t Worry About Job Burn-Out. Worry About Job Boredom.” -Darius Foroux

Learn something new

HR consultant, Nirmala Menon says, “You’ve to remember one thing that whether the company has fired you or you’ve left the job, no matter what’s the case with you, your skills are still lodging in there!”
Instead of being disappointed, think about the ways in which you can reinforce your skills.
Due to lockdown, you’ve got enough time to train yourself to be a multitasker. If you want to learn something new, then choose the hi-tech way! Choose your desired online course from a list of choices and join online programs. (‘Modern problems require modern solutions!’)

Don’t flatten the graph of evolution

Networking is constructive


A survey of Yale University claims that 70% of jobs are available through the networks only.
So you need to find a new networking strategy.
You need to be active on social media platforms. Keep your revamped profile on job providers or search engines, particularly for jobs like LinkedIn and other job sites.
If you are looking for a job in marketing, then you can join the space of global marketing and communication professionals on LinkedIn.
Stay connected to your seniors and ex-colleagues. Discuss and swap viewpoints, seek pieces of advice.
Thrive the flexibility of decision-making as per the requirement of time.
Don’t think twice about challenging yourself otherwise you’d stop evolving.

Most Sought-after Skills at this very second

Article: Is Skill Development the Right Choice? — People Matters

There was a time when the only choice the Indian teenagers had when it came down to an engineer or a doctor. Anything else was looked down on. The parents picked one of two options right when a child was born and made sure that he or she got into the field of their choice at any cost. It was a difficult time, no doubts but the good news is that time is over now. Most teenagers pick their own fields and profession and what they want to learn is their choice. 

There is a huge variety of fields that can be picked by an individual and having a government job isn’t the basic necessity anymore. People join corporates, do freelancing and start their own businesses everyday. Everything starts on a small scale and everything has the potential to shoot up and become a global success. The stories of self made people become an inspiration to many who are yet to enter the field of their choice.

New technologies are introduced that make our lives better and these technologies also bring with them an array of new skills that need to be learnt to support the new technology. Learning these skills can fetch you a good job and you can also make your place as a popular freelancer. These skills could also become your USP and make you stand out from the crowd.

Read about Personal USP here.

Given below is a list of skills that have high demand in the market as of now.

  • Project Management

It is time to hone your leadership skills. Courses in project management can last from a year to six months and once you become certified, you can lead a team of people through a project. The main challenge of a project manager is to achieve the goals in specific time.

Read about Virtual Teams here.

  • Coding

New and more efficient computers are getting developed everyday and the demand of people who can speak the language of computers is ever so high. The job of a coder is to tell a computer what task it needs to perform. Coders also play an important role in the development of beautiful websites and interesting apps that we come across in daily life.

  • Copywriting

All the advertising and the marketing efforts that makes you buy a product or service has been done by a copywriter. He is the creative mastermind and can make or break a brand. As long as there will be selling, there will also be a requirement of a copywriter.

  • Public Speaking

You have to have the skill of public speaking, regardless of your profession, in order to rise to heights. This skill is tested when you are a speaker in a conference, you have to present your work in front of your bosses or when you want to convince a group of investors into funding your startup. 

  • SEO and Google Analytics

Search Engine Optimization or SEO is important because what is the point of having a beautiful website if it doesn’t get viewed by potential customers. SEO makes your site more visible when a person looks up keywords that are relevant to your sites, on search engines like Google. With the knowledge of Google Analytics, one can use the data about the audience of the site and make important decisions accordingly.

Read about IoT and Big Data here.

  • Digital Marketing

Social media has become the new playground for businesses to aggressively advertise their offerings at. Most people use Facebook and Instagram, instant messaging apps like Whatsapp, email and browse through internet pages for both work and fun. Using these mediums for selling has become very important.

  • Excel Knowledge

Excel is something that almost all of us have already come across in school when we learnt its basic functions. With exceptional Excel skills one can get hired as financial analyst, sales manager, accountant and information clerk. Even things like data entry in spreadsheets require people with knowledge of Excel.

  • Web Development

Almost all organisations, from government to private, have a web page that has been developed by a professional web developer but that’s not his only job. A web developer makes all kinds of sites like social networking and e-commerce sites for both the internet or the intranet.

Universal Skills for Learners: Increasing School Relevancy

Kids are learning – but for way too many it occurs outside of the school environment rather than during school. Given today’s technologies, it makes sense and is exciting that learning occurs after schools hours, but for exciting, engaging, and profound learning not to occur during school hours is, simply put, a travesty.

I contend that school, especially in the latter part of the 20th century, had a high degree of irrelevancy but in today’s highly connected world, it is absurd, verging, in my perspective, as unethical practices. We are asking today’s students to spend so much of their school lives doing tasks that are unconnected to the the skills that need now and in their future lives.

. . . and the kids agree as studies have indicated.

Gallup has conducted more than 5 million surveys with students in grades five through 12 over the past several years. These students have come from every state and from a range of rural, suburban and urban school settings. Almost half of students who responded to the survey are engaged with school (47%), with approximately one-fourth “not engaged” (29%) and the remainder “actively disengaged” (24%). A closer look at the data by grade level reveals a disturbing trend. Engagement is strong at the end of elementary school, with nearly three-quarters of fifth-graders (74%) reporting high levels of engagement. But similar surveys have shown a gradual and steady decline in engagement from fifth grade through about 10th grade, with approximately half of students in middle school reporting high levels of engagement and about one-third of high school students reporting the same (School Engagement Is More Than Just Talk).

Just 54 percent of middle schoolers and 46 percent of high schoolers think their studies are relevant, according to new data from the nonprofit YouthTruth. Relevance was rated lowest on the survey of various measures of student engagement: if students take pride in their work, if they enjoy going to school, if their schoolwork is relevant, if they try to do their best, and if their teachers’ expectations help them with that goal (Only Half of Students Think What They’re Learning in School Is Relevant to the Real World, Survey Says).

Over five years ago, I wrote a post entitled Universal Skills All Learners Should Know How to Do in order to discuss those skills I believe are important for learners during this era. For this post, I revisited it. I revised it to now include financial literacy and civics.

  • How to be a self-directed learner – finding and using resources (both face-to-face and online) to learn and improve personal interests
  • How to do effective online searches
  • How to develop one’s own Personal Learning Network (PLN)
  • How to post on social media while managing one’s digital footprint
  • How to evaluate websites and online tools for credibility
  • How to orally communicate with others both face-to-face and online (e.g., Facetime, Skype, Google Handouts)
  • How to write effectively
  • How to ask questions
  • How to effectively ask for what one wants or needs
  • How to set and achieve goals
  • How to work collaboratively with others
  • How to manage one’s own time
  • How to be healthy – physically and emotionally
  • How to care for others
  • How to Enjoy and Engage in the Arts
  • How to identify and solve problems
  • How to make sound financial decisions
  • How to understand and engage in civics
  • How to take professional looking photos; make professional looking videos
  • How to learn and use emerging technologies
  • How to make and invent stuff
  • How to code

I think most administrators and educators (and learners) would agree with the importance of most of the skills on this list to assist learners to be successful now and in their futures. Sadly, though, too few of these skills are directly and intentionally taught to learners: writing, speaking, and for more progressive schools, engaging in the arts and the computer science related skills. Is the current school system model really the best we can do?

The Benefits of the Copy Stage of Making

In Learning in the Making: How to Plan, Execute, and Assess Powerful Makerspace Lessons, I propose a model for the stages of making.

I believe that the heart of making is creating new and unique things. I also realize that in order for this type of making to occur, there needs to be some scaffolding so that maker learners can develop a foundation of knowledge and skills. This post focuses on the Copy Stage of this model.

  • Copy – make something almost exactly as someone else has done.

In this age of information abundance, there really is an unlimited number of DIY resources, tutorials, Youtube videos, online instructors and instructions on making all kind of things. These resources provide a good beginning for acquiring some solid foundational skills and knowledge for learning how a make something one has never made before.

For a recent classroom activity, I wanted students to learn about and use Adafruit’s Circuit Playground. Some students made a Circuit Playground Dreidel (they learned about dreidels from an Orthodox Jewish student who was in my class and they loved it!) using the directions found at https://learn.adafruit.com/CPX-Mystery-Dreidel, and others made the Circuit Playground Scratch game with the directions found at https://learn.adafruit.com/adabot-operation-game/overview. I provided them with these directions and the expectation that the learners follow them pretty much on their own with me acting as an explainer and coach when they ran into difficulties. Here is a video of my learners enjoying their newly made dreidels.

The benefits of beginning maker activities with the Copy Stage includes:

  • Basic Skill Development and Acquisition
  • Foundational Skills for More Advanced and Creative Projects
  • Following Step-By-Step Directions
  • Positive Problem-Solving When Obstacles Occur
  • Asking for Help From Peers
  • A Sense of Accomplishment About Finishing a Project
  • Enjoying the Use of Finished Products They Made

There has been a fair amount of criticism leveraged against “paint-by-numbers” types of STEM and maker kits. This criticism revolves around the stifling of the creativity of learners. I contend that learners need foundational skills so that they can be freed up to be creative. Think about learning how to cook or play an instrument. The basic and foundational skills need to be there in order for the makers to go in directions that are new and creative for them. For example, I spent several decades as a ceramic artist, making wheel thrown and altered pottery. I needed to know how to throw a decent bowl before I could go in that direction (and yes, my pottery in this image began as wheel thrown cylinders).