HERE ARE SOME TIPS TO HELP YOU GET STARTED:
1. CREATE COMPLEX PASSWORDS
We know you’ve heard it before, but creating strong, unique passwords for all your critical accounts really is the best way to keep your personal and financial information safe. This is especially true in the era of widespread corporate hacks, where one database breach can reveal tens of thousands of user passwords. If you reuse your passwords, a hacker can take the leaked data from one attack and use it to login to your other accounts.
2. BOOST YOUR NETWORK SECURITY
Now that your logins are safer, make sure that your connections are secure. When at home or work, you probably use a password-protected router that encrypts your data. But, when you’re on the road, you might be tempted to use free, public Wi-Fi.The problem with public Wi-Fi is that it is often unsecured. This means it’s relatively easy for a hacker to access your device or information. That’s why you should consider investing in a Virtual Private Network (VPN). A VPN is a piece of software that creates a secure connection over the internet, so you can safely connect from anywhere.
3. KEEP UP TO DATE
Keep all your software updated so you have the latest security patches. Turn on automatic updates so you don’t have to think about it, and make sure that your security software is set to run regular scans.
FIVE WAYS TO USE INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY FOR EDUCATION:
1. Take a holistic approach towards the development of ICT in education plans and policies. This includes support for ICT at both the national and individual school level. This includes measures such as involving education stakeholders in how to integrate ICT skills in the curriculum, or tap teachers to help develop policy plans.
2. Build the capacity of teachers, administrators and other education leaders to use and integrate ICT in education systems. Education leaders should be provided with professional development opportunities so they can engage teachers and together demonstrate a shared commitment to ICT in education.
3. Share best practices and lessons learned among countries in Asia, and among schools within the country. This accumulated knowledge can then be used to inform the development of blueprints and tools to better support ICT in education practices.
4. Forge public-private partnerships (PPPs) and collaboration with tertiary institutions to bring in additional technical and management expertise, as well as financial resources. ‘Education PPPs’ combine the strengths and capabilities of both sides to ensure the sustainability and scalability of ICT in education initiatives. Governments should drive and facilitate partnerships that include attracting private sector investments on a sustained basis, and tap upon the expertise and resources of both private sector and tertiary institutions, with an emphasis on equal access to quality, ICT-enabled education.
5. Mobilize resources for research and evaluation of ICT in education to spur innovation and scale up its use. This includes working with tertiary institutions to act as research centers. Governments can create incentives for R&D on innovative uses of ICT in education, including for instance making software and hardware more affordable and relevant for students. Rigorous evaluation studies on ICT effectiveness can provide evidence-based justification for transforming the education sector to embrace ICT.
THESE ARE THE SIX WAYS TO DEPLOY QUALITY EDUCATION:
In the last few decades, developing countries have witnessed remarkable improvements in physical access to schools, particularly in Asia. The net primary education enrollment rate in this region in 2016 was over 90%.The problem is not access to education but rather its quality and relevance, as well as students’ capacity for lifelong learning. These all remain significant challenges in developing Asia. The good news is that information and communication technology (ICT) has enormous potential to address those challenges.
ICT can enable students to manage and monitor their studies and promote lifelong learning. Many ICT-enabled courses help students to develop soft skills, such as creativity, discipline, decision-making, and cognitive flexibility, among others, that will matter greatly for future jobs in the era of automation and artificial intelligence.Both teachers and students need more opportunities for quality teaching and learning. ICT’s impact is greater in remote and rural areas. Thanks to mobile internet connectivity, teachers and students in hard-to-reach villages can now access quality education materials such as massive open online courses.
1. COORDINATION
-There are multiple stakeholders involved for ICT in education, many of them in silos. Effective use of ICT in education requires intra and inter-ministry coordination. Developing national ICT in education master plans can provide a framework for better coordination. All stakeholders (planning, finance, teacher professional development and curriculum development in the ministry of education as well as ICT ministry and development partners) need to work together under strong leadership with a clear vision, as observed in countries with a robust ICT in education plan such as the People’s Republic of China, Malaysia and the Republic of Korea.
2. TECHNICAL SUPPORT FOR TEACHERS
- Teachers sometimes stop using ICT due to lack of technical support. ICT support staff at schools is crucial to not only install but maintain both hardware and software. They can provide an enabling environment for teachers to focus on teaching by minimizing their technical tasks. This may be done in partnership with technical and vocational institutions. In the city of Cavite in the Philippines, students from technical institutions provide schools with technical support (maintenance of ICT infrastructure, hardware and software) as part of their vocational training.
3. DIFFERENTIATED AND JUST-IN-TIME PROGRAMS FOR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
- Teacher training for ICT in education is often outdated and ad hoc. Professional development programs should be based on the learning needs of each teacher identified through a sound assessment process. Just-in-time professional development can allow teachers to receive training when needed. It provides a more meaningful experience for teachers as they learn by doing when using ICT in their schools.
4. PEDAGOGICAL SUPPORT FOR TEACHERS
- Teachers are overloaded with multiple tasks and often see ICT in education as extra work rather than a new opportunity. To remedy this, short-term strategies are needed to develop their capacity for implementing ICT-enabled lessons. Personalized support from an off-site helpdesk can be provided via SMS and mobile communication applications.
5. INTELLIGENT TUTORING SYSTEM (ITS)
- ITS can provide students with explanations, learning paths, and resource materials to help them reach goals at their own pace. They can also provide teachers with pedagogical and content support when professional development opportunities are lacking. MathCloud, developed in Korea and piloted in Sri Lanka and Nepal by ADB, shows how ITS can enhance personalized learning. It monitors student progress, identifies strengths and limitations and assigns different tasks to different students based on this diagnosis. Course content should reflect the curriculum of each country and ITS may also require good quality internet.
6. SYSTEMATIC MONITORING AND EVALUATION OF ICT USE IN SCHOOLS
- The use of ICT in schools should be evaluated to determine whether methods and tools are having the expected impact. This also allows for critical adjustments of ICT infrastructure, hardware, and digital resources for education.
USE OF ICT FOR BUSINESS
A lack of productivity indicates lost time. Time lost indicates money wasted. This is the only thing you ever really need to remember when thinking about your ICT processes. So many organizations struggle at one basic task: as time goes by, improving their IT processes. Thanks to a lack of productivity in their computer-based work, we have seen countless businesses losing profits from our ICT consulting work. The times are constantly evolving, ensuring that work environments should be continually updated to take advantage of the technology of gifts that just keeps giving. Here are 5 ways to boost your setup if you are worried that your IT systems aren't up to scratch.
1) EMPLOYEE THE USE OF DATA CABLING
As a way for their machines to connect, most businesses use WiFi. The norm seems to be, right? The same procedure is practiced when considering all households. The issue is, workplaces aren't like private residences. You have a lot of people, a lot of data being used, a huge amount of files being transferred. WiFi is not the safest and most reliable way of building a computer network in this situation: data cabling is. Data cabling links the hardware of all your business computers together in a single wired device. Cables have a far higher network connectivity speed than wireless networks, allowing for effortless data sharing and significantly speeding up the processes
2) SET UP YOUR OWN BUSINESS SERVERS
All your business information has to be stored somewhere. Your invoice papers, your guides for training, your customer records, your discount scheme for staff, your website code. Anything on a computer that is a file needs to be housed somewhere.Computer storage is enough for personal users, but for organizations, you need something even bigger. You're having servers.
3) KEEP HARDWARE UPDATED
It is important that hardware is modified on a regular basis. We all know that computers are developing faster at a pace than any of us can really keep up with, but that doesn't mean that you can only run on hardware created in 2010.When machines age, they slow down. This could be attributable to insufficient servicing, but it could also be due simply to parts beginning to wear out and being inefficient in their role. A slower system suggests slower operating skills. As time goes by, you will also find that more of your machines need software, which means that obsolete hardware simply does not cope with the demands of your fancy new programs.
4) KEEP SOFTWARE UPDATED
You need to keep your software updated to optimize your IT processes. The improvement in productivity that you need to keep your company running like clockwork comes with new tech. Design developments also mean that new software is much more intuitive and easy to use, whereas new features built around technical advances will never end up improving the business processes.
5) UTILISE THE CLOUD
Any team can access files on the cloud, anywhere in the world. Users in various locations can also work on, share and edit them. If you have workers who work remotely often, or you work with other organizations on a daily basis and exchange essential documents and data, then the cloud is a critical tool in your business arsenal.You can send over-links to live files instead of emailing Word documents. It is easier, more open and, of course, improves the degree of productivity we are trying to improve.
TIPS TO OVERCOME INTERNET ADDICTION:
Internet addiction affects most of us. What is internet addiction and how can you avoid it to study better and stay productive?
Internet addiction happens when you get dependant on the use of internet whether it is texting, constantly peeking, or using social media. Professionals have compared this addiction to drug addiction because it impacts your health, work performance, daily life, engagement with others, and mental process the same way drugs do.
Throughout 2014, around 420 million people were addicted to the internet. The American Psychiatric Association has also stated that kids of age 13-17 are almost online constantly. Such statistics show that internet addiction is getting more common and real day by day. If you find yourself or your loved one suffering with this, there are a few things that can be done to overcome it. Such as:
1. ADMIT IT
The first step to solve any sort of problem is to step out of the denial phase and accept that you have a problem. This is you first victory towards becoming better. By verbalising that you have a problem, you become honest with yourself and it brings clarity to the whole situation. Also, it makes you realise how unhealthy the use of internet is for you.
2.TIME YOUR USE
One of the ways to prevent forming a habit is to engage less in an activity. So naturally, the easiest way to prevent Internet addiction is to not engage in it in the first place. You need to have off hours where you use the Internet very little or not at all. That way, your brain will be able to recharge. One of the easiest ways to limit your use is to get an Internet blocker.
3. ENGAGE OFFLINE
The best way to not develop a habit is to lessen engagement or not engage in the first place. When you do “offline” activities, you take away time that would normally be used for Internet browsing. Contrary to what many people think, there’s many things that you can do offline that are much better than doing them online. There’s just so much stuff out there to do. Finding an engaging hobby and becoming better at it just might be the thing that breaks your Internet addiction. Find something that speaks to you and throw yourself into it.
4. SELF CONTROL
Block out distracting websites for a set amount of time. If you find yourself slipping into a Twitter sinkhole when you should be updating your business plan, Self-Control may be the app you need. Set it for four hours, for instance, and your browser will behave as if its offline for that period of time. No amount of browser restarts or computer reboots will stop it. Before you have heart palpitations, know that you can whitelist or blacklist certain sites. So, rather than completely disabling the entire Internet, you can selectively decide which sites are OK, or not OK, to visit during your focus period.
5. TIME OUT
Remind yourself to take regular breaks to keep your focus sharp.
For optimal focus, we need to take regular time-outs to relax and rebuild our energy. Time Out is a super-simple application that runs in the background while you work. At set intervals (say, every 90 minutes), it fades in and gently reminds you to take a 5-10 minute break. You can also use it to remind you to take 1-minute “micro-breaks” to avoid eye strain from staring at your computer like a zombie for hours on end.
In order to beat, overcome, or prevent an Internet addiction you need a custom combination of time away from the Internet, blocks of time where you do not use the Internet at all, and removing similar bad habits that coincide with Internet use. That will give you the best shot to use the Internet responsibly and make it your servant rather than your master.
RESOURCES:
S. Ra, B. Chin, and C.P. Lim. 2016. A Holistic Approach towards Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for Addressing Education Challenges in Asia and the Pacific.(link is external) Educational Media International. 53 (2). pp. 69-84.
https://www.netcom92.com/2017/04/ict-consultancy-5-ways-improve-business-setup
https://www.mcafee.com/blogs/consumer/consumer-threat-notices/10-tips-stay-safe-online/
https://theinternationalpsychologyclinic.com/10-tips-to-overcome-internet-addiction
https://www.americanexpress.com/en-us/business/trends-and-insights/articles/8-ways-to-control-your-internet-addiction-1
https://www.readersdigest.ca/health/healthy-living/5-ways-avoid-technology-addiction
https://m.economictimes.com/magazines/panache/five-ways-to-reduce-gadget-addiction/articleshow/45529867.cms
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