Wish you a blessed Ramadan Kareem

Free Online Courses in the Middle East a first

Paramount California University (PCU) recently became the first online university in the region to introduce the largest, state of the art e-library that offers free courses for individuals across the Middle East. 

Rapid advancements in the information technology sector have revolutionized the concept of learning across the world and as a result, traditional libraries have come across new challenges and competitors. On the contrary, a digital or e-library offers individuals ease and ready accessibility where they can logon to a computer or a tablet from anywhere and access thousands of informative articles and courses at the click of a button. Digital libraries have already begun attracting a lot of attention from users in the Middle East.

Through the Paramount California University e-library, learners in the Middle East can now get access to various free courses, e-journals and other informative materials. Mainly targeted at students and working adults, PCU has aimed to provide these individuals with a convenient and one of a kind learning experience. The e-library is already becoming a popular informational hub for students, and working adults in Middle East.

The PCU e-library currently offers courses on more than 10,000 topics related to over 100 fields of study. Students can search for in depth information on various subjects including business management, engineering, computer science, education, law and legal studies, psychology and arts. 

The digital library has a user friendly interface which makes it convenient for new and casual users to access the relevant information. Working adults can search for courses related to their respective profession. The courses can be searched through subject matter which makes it easier for users to finding related information. The e- library is set to revolutionize the way information is accessed by students, working adults and faculties.

“We believe in transforming the society at large by developing future leaders through education and enhance their leadership skills. We also aim to eliminate the gap between academic and professional world. Students will be able to actively participate and contribute in enhancing the economy through real world knowledge and applications” stated Dr. David Rivkin, the University President.

He further added “The digital library will also have a positive impact on the teaching methodology and it will also facilitate students in acquiring new information. For students who are looking to carry out research they can easily access the digital library and they can get access to relevant content and courses instantly.” 

Students pursuing higher education in Middle East can take advantage of the e-library launched by Paramount California University and achieve their academic and professional goals. Moreover, it is a gateway for working adults to take their careers to the next level.

As one of the largest digital course materials provider, PCU has a rapidly growing digital library of core graduation, post graduation and doctorate courses that are available absolutely free of cost to students across the Middle East.

The PCU e-library website can be accessed at http://courses.pcu.edu

source: http://www.pressreleasenetwork.com/newsroom/news_view.phtml?news_id=4345 

Dibaj at SLA' AGC 2014

We'll be at the SLA AGC in Doha this year.
Will you?

We're excited to participate for a second year in a row in the biggest exhibition and conference for Academic and Specialist Librarians in the Middle East!

Last year at SLA we launched Dibaj, an aggregator portal for academic eBooks and Journals and received an immensely positive response.

This year we are back with New Content from More Publishers with New Resources for your academic needs and are thrilled to share this with you.

Visit our stand to also get a peak of the following among st others:

Interactive courses from Global Finance School

New 2014 titles from Joint Commission International

We look forward to having a chat with you. To set up appointments email tei@dibaj.org

Also follow us on:

     

Springer digitizes Book Archives and adds Altmetric to Springer Link

Springer has entered the New Year with two major projects accomplished. It completed its four year long project of digitizing every book published from 1840 to 2004 covering 110,000 titles.

Springer has also added a new feature to its SpringerLink (link.springer.com) by including altmetric information to every article available on the platform.  The data collected from this feature will track and analyze online activity around access of the articles to measure impact of research.

Sources:

http://www.subscription-agents.org/springer-book-archives-completed

http://www.subscription-agents.org/springer-now-sharing-data-altmetric-springerlink

Why You Need To Type Faster in 2014

Typing is one of the most important and invaluable skills that anyone can learn. It should be taught young, but in many cases it isn't, and many people are happy with the slow but steady hunt and peck typing skills that they have relied on all these years. There are a number of reasons that you should learn to type faster than average in 2014. 

1. The world is immersed in technology. There are many jobs that are not even possible without having at least some computer knowledge and skills. Even a basic cashiering position can require some basic typing skills to be able to manage the cash register. Learning to type faster than the average words per minute speed can increase your chances of landing a better job. 

2. It can make both work and school easier. Long gone are the days of the handwritten essays and assignments. Even as young as elementary school, students are being required to type and print out their assignments, and this will progress through college and beyond. 

3. Anyone can sit in front of a computer and knock out a few words per minute as a hunt and peck typist. It takes weeks of practice to learn to become a functional touch typist, but it is easily the most invaluable skill that you can learn.

4. The average words per minute speed is 41.1. Most employers are going to want touch typists that can type accurately at least 60 words per minute. The faster you type, the better you look to potential employers.

Learning to touch type doesn't happen immediately. It does take days or weeks of constant practice, and even more than that to increase your speed above the average. Time spent practicing to improve touch typing skills is never time wasted, however. It is easily the best and most important skill that anyone can learn.

Infographic source: http://www.ratatype.com/learn/average-typing-speed/

Enriched eBooks - The next big thing in education?

With tablets booming in the consumer market over the last couple of years, a lot of the companies are marketing the device as multi-touch, media enriched and so on. A device that gives revolutionary reading experience sounds all very attractive but are publishers rising up to the opportunity?

A number of eBook creation platform are providing the chance to add more media to your simple text layout. And although the technology isn’t perfected, we as consumers are already accepting this as the norm and applying it to use in our knowledge consumption.

Whether it’s a magazine with additional links and embedded videos or a school textbook with animated characters, we are expecting it all from a purchased eBook. Then why hasn’t this taken off yet?

According to DBW media rich eBooks aren’t compelling enough yet to get the readers…well reading.

On the other hand, more articles are talking about kids between 6 and 17 taking to interactive content on tablets like fish to water.  

It is evident that kids and academic institutes stand to benefit the most from use of these new innovative ways of learning, keeping their target engaged. However, from a quick look around the internet it is obvious that the support material transforming an ebook into a media enriched book is lacking leaving a gaping market to be as yet fulfilled.

DHA trains medical professionals from private schools

Dubai Health Authority has organized a series of mandatory training courses to ensure health education standards are maintained in schools and colleges in Dubai.

The Health Regulation department met with 160 representatives from private schools to discuss school health policies and latest standards for school clinics. The mandatory courses for medical professionals in school clinics include first aid and emergency care as well as ‘Paediatric-up-to-date programme’.

Speaking to Gulf News, Amal Ali Al Mehrezi, Head of School Health at the Authority, said, “Children are the most receptive, yet vulnerable section of society. By ensuring their health, we are ensuring our future. In the programme, we are going to train medical staff on basic life support, first aid, and on how to handle health conditions like food or insect allergy reactions, asthma, diabetes, etc. The training will look into different kinds of care required in a school setting.”

To ensure only licensed professionals can provide health education in schools, DHA has ensured providers have to first get the correct requisitions from the Authority.