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=PracTutor Summer learning Program for Math and English=

21st May, 2015 - Louisville, KY. PracTutor, the awesome personalized learning platform for K-8 students has announced the launch of its [|summer learning program]. Implausibly, they are offering their complete program for FREE for summer 2015. Children can use the PracTutor Math and ELA modules worth $29.95/month FREE for 2 months.


 * Why to launch a summer program?**

Extended summer break is found to create a learning loss for nearly all the students. As per the research, students lose up to two and a half months of Math skills and two months of English reading skills during this period. This creates a learning gap that is hard to mitigate.

Considering this, PracTutor Team decided to give its program for free for two months, so that all the students can benefit from the fabulous online learning environment.

Children can use PracTutor to revise what they have already learned, complete concepts that they missed during the school year, and explore concepts for the coming year.

They can prevent the summer slide easily by using PracTutor for just thirty-minutes, twice a week.

Being an online learning program, adds to its advantages, as children can practice from any digital and mobile device that has an Internet connection.
 * Coupon Code: Summer15**

You can explore the FREE PracTutor Summer Program at [] and use the coupon code to avail the benefit of two months free-access.

To summarize, PracTutor and its fun-filled personalized environment should be an ideal tool to engage children with their summer study sessions, while they master the concepts.


 * PracTutor Overview**

PracTutor is an online adaptive education portal for the K-8 students to practice math and English with the curriculum that is aligned to the Common Core Standards. Apart from integrated math and English practice, the PARCC and SBAC aligned assessments and interventions as per RTI are the core features of PracTutor.

PracTutor is a comprehensive math and English education system. It brings parents, teachers, school administrators and mentors together to ensure that no child is left behind.

PracTutor is cloud-based. There is no need to install, update, or maintain any software. It works on Mac, Windows, Chrome books, iPads - any system, any browser, and any device. It is accessible from anywhere and at any hour.

Join PracTutor [|www.practutor.com] **[|PARCC Overview For Teachers and Parents] **

 What is the need to introduce a fresh set of high-stake assessments- tests that are difficult, and time-consuming? As the testing season progresses, parents and teachers are continuously raising these questions, and desire to understand the need to introduce new standards that necessitate a novel style of instruction and learning. In this article, we answer these questions, and explain why the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and standards-based assessments score over the present-day “teaching for the test” environment. **The Common Core State Standards** In 2009, a teacher’s consortium, with states-wide representation released an innovative set of academic standards. These standards act as an achievement guide for school districts, school management and teachers. Instead of telling teachers what students should be taught, [|Common Core] defines what students should learn in their respective grade. In brief, CCSS defines the learning-expectations for grade 1 to 12 in Math and English. The new standards attempt to enhance the quality of K12 education, and provide our high-school graduates with skills essential for career and college. This aims at addressing the skill-gap haunting the dismal job-market and providing students with skills needed for the new-age work-environment.

Enter your CCSS defines the learning-expectations for grade 1 to 12 in Math and English. CLICK TO TWEET

**Key advances of Common Core**
The __ [|standards build upon the current-day state standards] __, and incorporate various advances based on the learning standards employed across the globe. These advances anchor themselves in the concept of __ [|Career and college readiness] __, or CCR.

**Key advances in CCSS Math**
> For each grade, CCSS defines a certain number of important topics. And suggests a model that ensures coherent progress of each student.
 * 1) The new standards pay more attention on clarity, coherence and focus on concepts.
 * 1) Common Core Standards pay attention on enhancing procedural fluency, and basic understanding of concepts and skills.
 * 2) They pay more attention on increasing rigor in grade level mathematics, so that students develop procedural fluency based on reasoning and understanding of concepts across the grades.
 * 3) Teach mathematics at high school as per conceptual categories.

** Key advances in CCSS English **

 * 1) Most important of shifts in CCSS English is emphasizing compulsory attention on real-life texts and informational-texts.
 * 2) They pay greater attention on preparing students for higher text complexity;
 * 3) More emphasis on argument, informative/explanatory writing and research;
 * 4) Speaking and listening skills;
 * 5) It clarifies literary standards for history, science, and technical subjects.

**Standardized Testing**
Adopting new standards also necessitates modern assessments. Standardized testing measures student-growth and achievement, and informs teachers regarding instruction.

**The PARCC Assessments**
Schools administering [|PARCC assessments] will have five assessments on their table. These assessments will have either a summative or a non-summative component or both. Administrable at different intervals, these assessments will provide the schools, teachers and parents with data to improve student performance.

Information from formative assessments help teachers under the effectiveness of their instruction,… CLICK TO TWEET

**Purpose of PARCC Assessments**

 * 1) Inform whether students are on-track for success;
 * 2) Assess students for the full range of Common Core Standards;
 * 3) Provide student performance data during the academic year;
 * 4) Provide useable data to inform instruction, interventions and professional development;
 * 5) Provide data for accountability.

1. Summative Assessment Components
It evaluates student learning of an instructional unit by comparing their performance against some standard or benchmark. These are often high-stake, which means that they have a high point value. Information from summative assessments is formative; and help teachers and students to guide their efforts and activities in subsequent courses.

2. Non-Summative Assessment Components
It is a collection of standards-based, non-summative assessment practices. These assessments provide a model of how to build standard mastery through the school year. They also provide opportunities for students to have opportunities to experience more challenging tasks by the end of the school year. PARCC assessments provide deep evidence that teachers can analyze whether students are on-track at applying CCSS expectations.

**5 Components of PARCC Assessment**
> Schools and teachers can tailor instruction, student-supports and professional-development programs to meet student’s needs. > These are non-summative and optional assessments. > After study, individual states may consider including as a summative component. > They too are non-summative and optional assessments. > ELA/literacy PBA will focus on writing effectively when analyzing text; while mathematics PBA focuses on applying skills, concepts, and understandings to solve multi-step problems requiring abstract reasoning, precision, perseverance, and strategic use of tools. > The ELA/literacy EOY focuses on reading comprehension; and math EOY comprises of innovative, machine-scorable items. > They will measures how well students absorb information by listening, and how skillfully they communicate that knowledge orally. > Teachers will score students based on student-produced content based on what they present or what they hear.
 * 1) Diagnostic assessments report student’s knowledge and skills.
 * 1) Mid-year assessments comprise of performance-based items and tasks, with an emphasis on hard-to-measure standards.
 * 1) Performance-based assessments (PBA) are compulsory assessments, administered close to the end of the school year as possible.
 * 1) End-of-Year assessments (EOY) are summative and compulsory assessments, and administered after approx. 90% of the school year.
 * 1) Speaking and listening assessments are optional assessments.

**Major shift in ELA/L expectations**

 * 1) Read sufficiently complex texts independently;
 * 2) Write effectively to source;
 * 3) Build and present knowledge through research.

**Major shift in Math expectations**

 * 1) Solve problems: content and mathematical practice;
 * 2) Reason mathematically;
 * 3) Model real-world problems;
 * 4) Have fluency with mathematics.

** Goals of the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) **
PARCC assessment measures students’ fluency, conceptual understanding and application of concepts. Students need to display their skills critical-thinking skills and problem-solving skills. PARCC uses summative and non-summative components of testing to provide teachers and students with precise state of student learning and help teachers identify student-strengths and weaknesses.
 * 1) ====<span style="color: inherit; font-family: Merriweather,serif; font-size: 17.5px;">** Create high-quality assessments ** ====
 * 1) ====<span style="color: inherit; font-family: Merriweather,serif; font-size: 17.5px;">** Build a well guided pathway for high-school students to succeed with college ** ====

PARCC ensures that teachers have precise information all throughout the Grade school to enable them to provide proper intervention and ensure effective student [|support]. Regular testing generates reliable student-achievement data, and ensures that students are on their way to career and college readiness. In high-school students take tests that generate a college-readiness score to identify students who are ready to handle college-level coursework and those who need intensive instruction. PARCC reports allow teachers to provide targeted intervention and timely intervention. Furthermore, teachers get the opportunity to administer bridge-courses to ensure that students have a smoother and successful first year in college.
 * 1) ====<span style="color: inherit; font-family: Merriweather,serif; font-size: 17.5px;">** Support educators in the classroom ** ====

The advantages of a PARCC assessment are many folds. They report student’s strengths and weaknesses; help teachers understand the effects of current pedagogy, and adopt changes to improve student performance.
 * 1) ====<span style="color: inherit; font-family: Merriweather,serif; font-size: 17.5px;">** Develop 21 st century technology-based assessment ** ====

PARCC is a computer-based assessment. A compulsory test leverages the effective use of technology in classrooms. Furthermore, the accommodations provided by PARCC and SBAC ensure that even the students of SWD and ELL group get an equal opportunity to progress at the same rate.
 * 1) ====<span style="color: inherit; font-family: Merriweather,serif; font-size: 17.5px;">** Increase accountability at all levels ** ====

PARCC also attempts to improve accountability at all levels. The reliable and timely data generated by the assessments:
 * 1) Ensure that schools and districts maintain effectiveness;
 * 2) Highlight educator effectiveness;
 * 3) Help map student performance in placement tests.
 * 4) Allow comparison with other state level and international benchmarks.

<span style="color: #00376f; font-family: Merriweather,serif; font-size: 24.5px;">**PARCC ELA/literacy assessments:**
The most important quality that any assessment should have is that they should not distract the class from the learning process and should become natural inheritance to classroom instruction. PARCC designs are evidently easy and exciting.

PARCC provides an opportunity to students of experiencing challenging, real-life tasks by the end… <span style="color: #999999; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-decoration: none;">CLICK TO TWEET

<span style="color: #00376f; font-family: Merriweather,serif; font-size: 24.5px;">**What to expect with PARCC assessments?**
> Students will have to develop skills for close and careful reading; moreover, the skill of identifying words that pervade the provided text.
 * 1) More complex texts: Students need to prepare for more real-life problems, and should be comfortable with the embedded academic language.
 * 1) Evidence based tasks: Student will have to prepare to answer questions based on evidence, derived from the provided text; be ready to cite evidence rigorously; and generate more evidence-based responses.

For success, students will have to develop skills of accuracy and precision. <span style="color: #999999; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-decoration: none;">CLICK TO TWEET

> Questions test students for their critical and problem-solving skills, so students must develop their skill of comparing texts, and synthesizing ideas.
 * 1) Build Knowledge through provided-text: Student must learn to build knowledge base based on the provided text.

<span style="color: #00376f; font-family: Merriweather,serif; font-size: 24.5px;">**PARCC Math assessments:**
> As the standards define what a student should know by a specific grade. > Students who expand their math base to achieve mastery of standard of their particular standard have higher chances of success. > They may have to connect more than one concept and create solutions > They must develop skills of fluency and conceptual understanding; learn procedural skills and concept-application; and be ready to solve questions based on real-world problems.
 * 1) More focus on core-standards: For success, students need to master the subject to meet a pre-defined standard.
 * 1) Coherence: students need to focus on their skills of being able to connect two or more concepts to solve a problem.
 * 1) Rigor: Just like ELA/Literacy standards, students will have to pay attention on mastery of standards.

<span style="color: #00376f; font-family: Merriweather,serif; font-size: 24.5px;">**Benefits of PARCC Assessments:**
> > __ [|Understand the PARCC Field Test Report] __ Understanding the PARCC Field-Test Report The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) makes [|testing of student a compulsory task] for our school districts. Unfortunately, the present-day testing, famously known as the bubble tests call for no skill other than memorization and its application. Testing has become an annual exercise of collecting test scores; of labeling students as a success or failure. In contrast, PARCC assesses students with innovative test items, better accommodations, reliable scoring and timely feedback. This provides our education system an opportunity to look beyond collection of accountability data and pay attention on student development.
 * 1) PARCC will help build a pathway to College and Career Readiness for all students;
 * 2) It will improve student’s engagement in assessments with innovative tasks and giving access to accommodations;
 * 3) Increased access to and provision of accommodations for SWDs and ELLs;
 * 4) Efficient scoring by combining human and automated approaches;
 * 5)  Valid, reliable and timely reports through-out the year to inform instruction, intervention and professional development.

=PracTutor to Attend ISTE EXPO, 2014 in Atlanta=


 * Louisville, KY – June 03, 2014** **-** PracTutor is an on-line personalized and fun way to master Math and English for Grades 1 to 8. Our team is participating in [|ISTE EXPO] 2014, scheduled in Atlanta.

ISTE EXPO 2014 is the premier forum to learn, exchange ideas and survey the field of education technology. This year it will convene about 500 exhibits and 4,500 industry representatives. About 13000 educators will attend the event; so mark our presence in booth # 648from Saturday, June 28 till Tuesday, July 1.

"PracTutor is an online tool to master Math and English. It utilizes a game based environment to boost students' interest in learning. We provide exciting features like //PracCash, Badges and a Virtual City// to ensure that students enjoy the process of learning." said Hardik Parikh, PracTutor's co-founder.

Its adaptive systems customize content as per students' unique learning needs. The curriculum of PracTutor is in sync with the [|Common Core Standards]. The assessments are aligned with [|PARCC] and SBAC.

PracTutor confirms with the unique needs of schools and districts. We connect students, teachers, parents and administrators on the same platform. We highlight the strengths and areas of concern for each student, outlining steps to guide them attain their full potential. Our partnership with teachers, schools and school districts enables them to enhance performance of the individual classrooms and entire school by detailed reporting.

In a period of one year, we have added 20,000 new registration, Students have solved more than 2.2 million problems in all 50 states.

At PracTutor booth, teachers and experts will be close –at-hand to discuss our learning solutions and respond to your queries. To learn about PracTutor, visit our booth at ISTE 2014 or at [|www.PracTutor.com]


 * Top 10 Education Policies To Make American Schools Unbeatable**

With almost the entire nation getting ready to implement the [|Common Core State Standards], is a thorough revolution that the educators are going through. The school administrations have not remained static either. With the latest outcome of PISA results and unfolding of [|The Condition of College & Career Readiness 2013] it is very clear that American school administrations have an excellent opportunity to implement the best international educational policies. Here is a list of the top 10 best educational policies across the globe. American schools can comply with these policies to showcase their unbeatable valor on international platforms.

The constant average performance of the American students in the Program for International [|Student Assessment] over the past ten years clearly indicates the stagnancy that has set in our education system. While China dominates the results in all three categories of Math, science and reading, the results of the American teens continue to remain gloomy. If we want the American students to be globally competitive, it is high time that we look at the best educational practices being observed by other top-performing nations. We bring to you the top 10 education practices that the best-ranked nations employ to deliver the most effective results. Let us gear up and be the unbeatable educators that the entire world would look up to. Finally, the most important thing that the overall education system of America including the education administrators and government needs to understand is that “We need to value education and educators from the core and not just common core.” <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #858585; display: block; font-size: 11px; text-align: right; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #858585; display: block; font-size: 11px; text-align: right; vertical-align: baseline;">
 * 1) **Educating Core Value And Application**: Are we making Dumbies who know the price of everything and the value of nothing? Of all ACT tested high school graduates, 56 percent of the students failed to touch the mathematics standard. College Readiness Benchmark data is based on [|the ACT Profile Report—National: Graduating Class 2013]. As per Andreas Schleicher, the special OECD advisor for education policy at CNN, simply 2 percent of the American students can infer the use of math creatively. The same ratio for Shanghai, China is over 30 percent. We need to make our students learn to conceptualize and to apply advance math and science to practical use. They need to learn to be creative with math and science to be globally competitive citizens.
 * 2) **Research, Prepare, And Give Kids A Break:** In the US, the number of hours a student is educated is 1080 hours per year while in Finland (the nation that tops the education quality assessment by Pearson) the students are taught for just 600 hours in a year. Do the schools not function for the remaining days? – The remaining hours are given to the teachers to prepare the lesson plans, do further research work and enhance and get better.
 * 3) While the US students are entitled to just two breaks per year, the students of New Zealand get two-week break in four terms per year. They also take 40 days break during summer. By classifying the breaks as per student’s needs they give a balanced opportunity to the students to retain the information that is taught, to relax, and even to organize their knowledge that they acquire.
 * 4) **Valuing Education:** While the US devotes just 2 percent of its national earnings towards betterment of education - China, (the second best scorer of PISA results) devotes 20 percent of its national revenue for betterment of education. This surplus amount even enables them to pay the educators better than what the engineers and lawyers are paid. We need to understand that we **//must//** cultivate a culture of valuing education as well as the educators.
 * 5) **The Classroom Atmosphere:** Every year the child gets new teachers and a few new classmates too. In Finland, one of the unwavering top-performing nation on the list of PISA test results, the students get promoted along with the teacher. Thus, the same set of students educate with the same teacher year on year. Child psychologists believe that the same atmosphere gives students a more secured atmosphere. This helps them feel at home and concentrate better. On the other hand, the teacher too is familiar with all the strong and weak points of each student and can draft strategies to make them understand in a far more efficient manner.
 * 6) **The Pay scales:** The efficiently skilled professionals choose professions that would pay them their worth. When the educators are paid an average starting annual salary of $ 39,000 the message is clear for all the efficient people to look for some other profession and not be a teacher in the US. South Korea, Finland, and Singapore all have much better salary structure and graders for teachers than the US does. With the right amount of income, the teachers remain dedicated to their profession for a long duration and take their profession seriously.
 * 7) **Team up and progress:** The stronger and better performers should help the schools that are not doing so well. Though the school district formula does its job yet, there are schools that perform better than the school districts. Shouldn’t performance be the selection criterion than the size? Shanghai has an initiative know as “empowered administration”. Under this theme, the better performing schools pair up with the less-performing schools to help them do better. The experienced administrators share their experiences and line up the best strategies that deliver the required results.
 * 8) **Nurturing the Core Senses:** In a survey where 84 percent of the Japanese students declared that they had faith that they have what it takes to succeed and were willing to do whatever it takes to be achievers, just fifty percent of the US students felt the same. The core sense of determination and dedication for achieving whatever is desired needs to be nurtured in American students. The common US belief that intelligence is in your DNA needs alteration.
 * 9) **Capping The Class:** There are no restrictions on the number of students in the US classroom, and even 40 students can be placed in a class with a particular teacher, it most certainly is not a healthy practice. The more the number of the students, the lesser would be the amount of individual attention each student gets from the teacher. The Nova Scotia recently declared a cap of 25 students per class w.e.f. 2014.
 * 10) **Parents & Quality Education:** The parents too need to be involved in the education of the child in true sense. The parents need to be educated about how they must construct the learning abilities of their children. The emphasis has to be on the effort that the child makes and not on his capability. The parents must nurture the dedication and determination of the child as well. All the Asian nations including China ensure that that the focus is on child’s efforts and not on his ability.
 * 11) **Developing A Healthy Relationship:** The parents and teachers both hold an equal amount of importance in a child’s overall development. There should be an effortless positivism between the teacher and student. The overall school attendance of an average American student is 92 percent while that of a Japanese student is 99.98 percent. As the parents need to be more actively involved in the education of the child, the teacher too needs to be a part of the overall development of the child and must be more involved in their personal lives. This would bring them closer and would help develop an absolute positive relationship between the teacher, the student, and the parents.
 * PracTutor The Only Adaptive Learning Platform That Is Aligned With RTI And Offers Test Based On Principals Of PARCC And SBAC **

Schools use PracTutor for all three tiers of Response to Intervention (RTI) framework. PracTutor identifies students at-risk in the initial phase itself and accelerates their learning with instruction and practice that is intensive, balanced, and personalized. **Tier 1 - Core [|Instructional Interventions]** All students in the Tier 1 phase receive high quality and scientifically segregated set of instruction. They are differentiated to meet their needs and are screened on a periodic basis to identify struggling learners who need additional support. PracTutor takes a pre-test for each of the common core domains to ensure that each student has a unique learning path based on his/her skill set. The students then choose and learn from the educational and entertaining videos. Each video corresponds to one of the learning styles as per VARK (Video, Audio, Reading, and Kinesthetic). Students learn, practice, and take tests for each standard to ensure continuous progress. A student can take up the same lesson again and again with various resources until he receives desired grades. The score and progress records help identify the struggling students. When teachers monitor students’ progress and get immediate alerts related to the struggling students, they provide instant remediation and help them on the individual basis. **Tier 2 - Targeted Group Interventions** In Tier 2 phase, the students identified as not “making adequate progress in the core curriculum” are provided with progressive intensive instruction that match their needs. As stated earlier these needs are identified based on the individual levels of performance and progress. PracTutor ensures that the students who are identified as the struggling students in the core curriculum receive sufficient instructions. These instructions are in the form of videos, a step-by-step guide, along with explanations for each concept to ensure they grasp and relate to the basics thoroughly before they proceed ahead. Teachers can group the students as per their skills and can assign the core standards to individual groups or to the whole class as per the needs of attention and intervention. The detailed reports help the school administrators and teachers to stay on the top of their assignments and progress. **Tier 3 – Intensive And Individual Interventions** In phase 3, students receive individualized, intensive interventions that target the students' skill deficits for the remediation of the existing problems. This level assists in prevention of more severe and deep-rooted issues. PracTutor links each common core standards to the previous pre-requisite standard; this helps introduce intensive intervention by inserting the missing skills in the student’s personalized learning path. The student can learn the missing skills through the set of videos and practice (with hints and step-by-step explanations) to ensure the existing problems are resolved before proceeding to the next standard. [|NCTM recommends a set of in the process of creating intervention program] and PracTutor is the only program that satisfies all the criteria. **PracTutor For [|Enrichment]** PracTutor is equally well suited for talented, proficient, dedicated, or gifted students as it is for the students that lag behind. PracTutor takes a pre-test for each of the common core domains to ensure that each student has a unique learning path based on his/her skill set. The advanced students start with challenging core standards and are not required to complete the standards that they are already familiar with. This engages them more and helps them stay motivated.

Each core standard in PracTutor has a critical thinking practice and tests to challenge the advanced level students. These tests are application-based and concept building questions that are aligned with the[|PARCC and the Smarter Balanced Assessments]. **PracTutor For Career And College Readiness** With the growing complexity of the world and the increasing demands of the 21st-century workforce, there is little doubt that all students must graduate from high school fully prepared for college AND careers. PracTutor’s differentiated instructions through videos practice and tests relevant to real world problems help ensure the students are prepared for healthy career options and competitive college. **About PracTutor**

PracTutor is a customized learning and practice environment to help students in Grades 1 to 8 master Math and English. We provide 1-to-1 mentoring for each student. We make the learning fun by introducing gamification and help parents and teachers track progress and get alerts whenever they need help. For More Visit [|http://www.practutor.com]

<span style="background-color: #f8f8f8; color: #313131; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline;">With the temperature waning to as low as minus 23 degrees or shrink beyond 25 degrees below the average temperatures, it is time to cuddle your children and spend some good quality time with them. In Oklahoma, the schools were closed and even some of the businesses closed their offices considering the safety of their employees. While you survive one of the coldest winters, something that has not been experienced over past 10 years, would it be advisable to drive your children to the activity centers or the nearby learning centers?

<span style="background-color: #f8f8f8; color: #313131; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline;">If you feel that your child’s future is your top most concern, well, here is a God sent opportunity that you can actually convert into a once in a lifetime experience. Wondering how would you do that?

<span style="background-color: #f8f8f8; color: #313131; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline;">Why go out and risk your lives when PracTutor brings a real awesome adaptive <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #29a3eb; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">[|learning platform] to you.

<span style="background-color: #f8f8f8; color: #313131; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline;">All you need to do is just enroll and prepare your children to get ahead.

<span style="background-color: #f8f8f8; color: #313131; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline;">** Here are a few key facts about learning math and how <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #29a3eb; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">[|learning math] online is more practical than the traditional classroom math education: **
 * <span style="background-color: #f8f8f8; background-color: transparent; color: #313131; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; vertical-align: baseline;">The present day global standardized test scores prove that American students are not ready to compete on the global platform and one of the main reasons for the same is the lack of math skills.
 * <span style="background-color: #f8f8f8; background-color: transparent; color: #313131; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; vertical-align: baseline;">There is a fundamental lack of math teachers all across the nation.
 * <span style="background-color: #f8f8f8; background-color: transparent; color: #313131; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; vertical-align: baseline;">The adults competing for their careers find lack of math skills as a top most hindrance factor.
 * <span style="background-color: #f8f8f8; background-color: transparent; color: #313131; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; vertical-align: baseline;">Math education is facing absolute crisis on multiple levels in teaching as well as learning segments.
 * <span style="background-color: #f8f8f8; background-color: transparent; color: #313131; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; vertical-align: baseline;">Basic math fundamentals cannot and will not change, however, the traditional methods to teach math must change if we have to provide better understanding and skills to our students.
 * <span style="background-color: #f8f8f8; background-color: transparent; color: #313131; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; vertical-align: baseline;">The universities that implement math learning online attract more students who are adults and struggling for brighter career opportunities.
 * <span style="background-color: #f8f8f8; background-color: transparent; color: #313131; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; vertical-align: baseline;">Almost all technology critics agree that online learning is shaping the future of teaching and learning for good.
 * <span style="background-color: #f8f8f8; background-color: transparent; color: #313131; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; vertical-align: baseline;">With experiments conducted using traditional learning and online learning, conclusions are that online learning imparts better perspective and gives deeper and clear understanding of the concepts.
 * <span style="background-color: #f8f8f8; background-color: transparent; color: #313131; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; vertical-align: baseline;">As online math involves real time dynamic examples, (change of shapes, figures, variables, angles, etc) students find it to be fun while they actually learn. The little challenges that adaptive learning platforms bring in between the tutorials, challenge the students’ minds for deeper contemplation.
 * <span style="background-color: #f8f8f8; background-color: transparent; color: #313131; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; vertical-align: baseline;">Another experiment was conducted to observe if learning math online did improve the skill set of the students. It was concluded that the students from traditional learning class and online learners both groups did equally well with easy math problems. However, when the students were given more complex and tough problems, the group of online math learners performed extensively better than the students who were taught in a traditional classroom.
 * <span style="background-color: #f8f8f8; background-color: transparent; color: #313131; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; vertical-align: baseline;">The visual evidence that provides more scope to find how concepts work is practically impossible in a traditional classroom.
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #313131; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline;">A few more advantages that interactive learning has over traditional learning are:
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; vertical-align: baseline;">It is based on student’s individual capability
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; vertical-align: baseline;">It gives student the authority to pace his learning
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; vertical-align: baseline;">It does not get frustrated while explaining the same concept over and over till the student feels perfectly conversant with it (is virtually unlimited)
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; vertical-align: baseline;">It keeps students attentive, curious and interested in math
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; vertical-align: baseline;">It gives instant and personalized feedbacks and encouragements

<span style="background-color: #f8f8f8; color: #313131; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline;">Apart from the advantages mentioned above, we are certain that though the traditional methods has been developed after years of hard work and research, they do not match up the present day challenges.

<span style="background-color: #f8f8f8; color: #313131; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline;">The world has become a global village that has abundance of resources available right at your fingertips.

<span style="background-color: #f8f8f8; color: #313131; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline;">Can you possibly do justice to your children by depriving them the whole bunch of goodness that adaptive learning provides?

<span style="background-color: #f8f8f8; color: #313131; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline;">Can you afford to keep your children acquainted to the only traditional coaching when the rest of the world marches ahead towards a glorious tomorrow by embracing the blessings of the modern day technology?

<span style="background-color: #f8f8f8; color: #313131; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline;">Of course, you must spend some quality time with your children having fun while they learn. Will it not be kind of awesome to cuddle him, hold his hand, and lead him to learn (while you can still smell his hair)?

<span style="background-color: #f8f8f8; color: #313131; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline;">** Yes, with such fabulous advantages of learning Math online, who knows you might just encourage your child to fall in love with Math and be a mathematician, Amen! **

=Top 10 Ways to Nurture the Great Readers of Next Generation= Being a good reader has always been important. With arrival of the “Information Technology” age, the importance of reading has elevated to a next level altogether.

Why should we nurture our child’s reading skills?

 * 1) We cannot access, analyze, collect, and/or utilize information without reading.
 * 2) A good reader is a better judge of character and a thoughtful critique.
 * 3) Reading improves memory skills and is important for graceful brain development.
 * 4) It improves vocabulary, communication skills and influences overall personality of a person.
 * 5) Above all: //It is an important segment for Academic Achievements//.

How can we [|help our child] be a better reader?
Every child is unique and so is each parent. As a parent, we always tend to know what works best for our child. Here are top 10 tips to choose from and find out what works best for our little genius. Keep motivating and influencing the child in a positive manner. Never miss an opportunity to praise him for his good work. It is one habit that will blossom to reap many awesome benefits and is totally worth the effort.
 * 1) **The bedtime stories:** Read aloud the bedtime stories to preschoolers. It enhances their vocabulary and comprehension skills. If a child is in elementary school or is in his teens, ask the child to read aloud while listening to his stories. What is important is that we spend sometime with our child reading together.
 * 2) **Parental influence:** Kids often tend to observe and learn from elders. They are best at imitating us. We can //choose to read our own stuff// when our child reads or does homework sitting besides us.
 * 3) **The interesting stuff:** We tend to choose our reading stuff as per our age, maturity, and interest. We need to find out what our kid prefers to read. Provide the same at places that he can easily grab it from: such as center-table of living room, by the pool, in the car, and near his bed, etc.
 * 4) **The reading room:** If possible, dedicate a separate space as library or reading room. Walk him to the nearby library or reward him for spending time at school library. Appreciate the child whenever he uses the library to read or research. Encourage the child to be the best of friends with books and inform him of the benefits of being an avid reader.
 * 5) **The variety of material:** We can download e-book readers in our teen’s cell phone or ipad. Provide audio books to our young kids. Encourage them to read from good websites. For younger kids we can provide printouts of reading material. This will keep them in tune with modern technology and will provide wider reading scope.
 * 6) **Fun with words:** Words and reading can be a lot more fun when the kid reads menus, road signs, and names of places as we drive. Make them participate in quiz, help them make their own puzzles, play rhyming words, and various other word games available on websites, etc.
 * 7) **Group studies:** Invite his friends over for reading. Make for them a comfortable space and organize a contest for the group. Award the one who wins this reading competition. Include speed-reading with the contextual reference, word games, and interpretation as per their age.
 * 8) **The mentoring:** Apart from having fun with the child, we also need to watch him carefully for reading skills and difficulties. There are certain difficulties such as, not being able to recognize sound of words, use the words in right context, relate the word to its right meaning, and grasp what he reads, etc. If asked a few questions from the material that we read together, with careful observation, we can underline it, if the child needs help.
 * 9) **In case of reading issues:** Seek guidance from school as well as from professionals. We can get help from online resources as well as from tutors.
 * 10) **Taking reading to next level:** Make kids write their own journal or diary.


 * How a Parent and Teacher Can Associate To Help the Child Manage Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder. **

"Lack of Focus or Attention deficiency" is one of the biggest issues that most parents experience when it comes to learning problems. On the other hand, it also is the most commonly misdiagnosed issue.

An attention deficiency that might actually be an issue is Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

ADHD or (referred in the ICD-10 as similar to hyperkinetic disorder) is a disorder that is observed in children between age of 6 to 12.

ADHD is a common behavioral disorder that affects an estimated 8% to 10% of school-age children. Boys are about three times more likely to be diagnosed with ADHD than girls are likely to be diagnosed with it.

Parenting has nothing to do with Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder and it is very much manageable. In case your family doctor, or his pediatrician, or neurologists diagnose him for ADHD, you must help him/her manage it successfully. He will need medication along with behavior management.


 * Parent Teacher Alliance**

The lack of focus can affect all aspects of life. It is a serious issue and must be deal with sincerity. As the child spends a good amount of time at school, it is advisable to talk to his teachers regarding his behavior. An amicable and regular communication can help both the parent as well as the teacher to benefit from each other’s observations and expertise. They can share their perspectives, expertise, as well as observations. Finally, the association of parent and teacher works best to benefit the child and help him manage his focus attentively.


 * What are the points that you should discuss with his teacher?**

As a parent, in order to help your child, you should communicate to his teacher with serenity and openness. Parents often tend to either be shy or refuse to accept other’s opinion about their child.
 * To begin with preparing a “What to Look out for” list and enlisting the same for his teachers observation can be of good help.
 * Ensure that you share information about other issues such as memory or language issues. ADHD often tends to mask other learning problems such as dyslexia.
 * Make a conscious effort to find out areas of his interest. Mark the activity that he tends to involve in more and likes to remain engrossed. It is possible that in his present schedule or list of activities there is nothing that you find him being attentively involved with. You can choose a few different things to try differently. Some of these can be tried at home while some others activities can be practiced at school.
 * You will have to undertake the child monitor his own alertness span collectively.
 * Persistently, help him increase his attention span in various innovative ways that he is comfortable with. Play games such as Musical chair (request to pay attention to music) or “Statue” (ash him to remain steady in sleeping position/ sitting position until you cast magic spell to and free him).
 * Notice if he responds better when spoken to with eye contact or by holding hands (physical contact).
 * Once you find what works and what does not work, make a progress plan for your child that should help him grow further and be competitive.

Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) can make the child very irritated. The lack of attention makes him lack the grip that is required to be successful. He can learn to manage ADHD successfully with medication and help. It shall take a bit of extra effort and adjustment but in the end, it is all **//__very much worth it__//** and together you can do it.

PracTutor 12806 Townepark Way Louisville, KY 40243-2311 [|http://www.practutor.com] News Media Contact : press@practutor.com

= = =**What can a parent do to help the child with Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)?**=


 * PracTutor - The Personalized, Fun Way to Master Math and English**


 * // We crossed 15,000 active users this school year who use PracTutor to learn and practice Grade 1 to 8 core Curriculum standards for Math and English. //**


 * PracTutor **
 * is an online [|Math and English learning and practice] solution
 * designed to help students in Grades 1 to 8
 * master every concept of Common Core Curriculum

More than 15,000 students, teachers and parents are using PracTutor since the start of the current school year.

Each student is unique and we strive to make the PracTutor experience personal for each one of them.

We customize content for each student based on the student’s skills by taking a pre-test from past, current and higher grade and then provide detailed learning and practice. This helps the teacher identify the strength and weakness of students and focus on those to reach their full potential.

With infinite questions in Math generated from 4200+ unique question elements and 40, 000+ questions in English, PracTutor covers every standard of the core curriculum. Common core curriculum trained teachers have developed the content of PracTutor.

It connects students, teachers, parents and administrators on the same platform.

PracTutor was developed to ensure the student enjoys learning in an exciting and rewarding game based environment to make practice fun. Various Themes and PracCash (rewards) keep the student involved and motivated.

If students needs help at any point, **they can** learn through PracTutor’s videos available for each standard. Each video is carefully chosen and is of a different pedagogy to suit the unique learning needs of every child.

A trial-free version of PracTutor gives you a chance experience PracTutor and join the network.

Join [|http://www.practutor.com] as a parent, teacher or student today!

PracTutor <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 1.5; text-align: justify;">mike@practutor.com <span style="color: #222222; display: block; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 1.5; text-align: justify;">12806 Townepark Way <span style="color: #222222; display: block; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 1.5; text-align: justify;">Louisville, KY 40243-2311 <span style="color: #222222; display: block; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 1.5; text-align: justify;">(502) 400-9374


 * Practutor v1.2 - The Gen-Next Buzz Word in World of Blended Learning **

Kentucky, October 29, 2013 A few good teaching and learning online tools deliver satisfactory results and the world of blended learning is yet evolving. One such blended learning tool that is being highly appreciated by teachers as well as students and parents is PracTutor.

PracTutor, the online tool for Math and English tutorials has been making waves among the teaching industry for a while now. It was initially launched in Jun2013 with the exclusive purpose of providing quality education to all who desire to learn with zest. PracTutor is serving the teaching industry with constant research and innovation.

With [|PracTutor’s latest verson 1.2], students and parents get additional benefit of watching educational videos and participate in certain practice tests even without registering onsite. However, the registration has an entire bouquet of benefits attached to it. This blended learning tool is super handy and now parents can even check and the grade of their kids as and when required.

An additional feature that teachers find handy is that they can upload the present record of students via various simple. Some simple and standard methods such as uploading a present excel sheet with student data makes task of teachers a cake walk for continues track of each students progress.

Teachers appreciate that they can print the student roster and can even generate ‘parent permission letter’ with a few clicks. Students have been demanding more application based questions and the latest [|PracTutor v1.2] fulfills that demand too.

The lessons and practice as well as tests of PracTutor have been carefully crafted after through research. PracTutor is a result of many experts, professionals working in educational institutes and child psychology connoisseurs and it is obvious from its present innovative form. A few more exciting aspects of the latest PracTutor v1.2 American teachers and tutors as well as students and parents is that each one of them can review the answers of the tests taken by the student. The repots of student/s can be printed in tabular format along with the original graphical format too. Do check the new revamped sign up process at [|PracTutor.com] and enjoy the trial version absolutely free!

To find out about the more emerging features such as iPhone/Galaxy app version of PracTutor, school administrator facilities, correlation of assessment with PARCC, SAT and ACT, etc, get in touch with Hardik Parikh, the Co-founder of PracTutor.com

You can read more of Hardik Parikh’s views on his blog at

**PracTutor** hardik@practutor.com 12806 Townepark Way Louisville, KY 40243-2311 (502) 400-9374 =How to enhance the student potential through online resources?=

If we want each child to have the chance for sharing his full and equal part in citizenship and shaping his destiny himself, we can make it happen only through correct education. Of course, education is not limited to the knowledge gained at schools or colleges; still academic education has got high level of just significance in our society. It helps an individual in choosing a fulfilling job; shaping the society and enriching the inner life. Almost everyone accepts the value of education and Governments of all the major countries treat education department in a respected approach. It gets all kind of support from funding to encouraging system reformations with changing needs. Still many challenges are being faced and lot many parents admit that educational cultivation of their child has become a challenging task for them. According to a report [**//Problems Facing American Education//**, Focus on colleges, universities and schools Volume 2, number 2, 2008] prepared by Ashley Boyer and Burnette Wolf Hamil, PhD [Associate Professor at Mississippi State University] states that the following are the major challenges faced by the American education. Many intellectuals will consider that these challenges are not only limited to America. Many other countries face same or similar kind of issues that really need to be worked on. Highly qualified individuals and teams including educationists carry on continuous research work to sort such issues. Alternative education supplement options kind of products or services are also popular i.e. personal tuitions, online educational portals. Parents prefer to keep possible efforts so that their child can achieve desirable educational goals. Our society is always in need of an additional system that develops interest for education among students. Sometimes; due to tender age, they don’t like to study more. What they need is personal care, special attention and structured practice. Structured Practice matters a lot because too much repetition leads to over confidence and loses of interest. Structured practice covers varieties of topics with easy explanations; questions – answers. PracTutor was mainly launched as an initiative to help students, parents and teachers in handling such challenges and providing the best support during school days and holidays. Attrition Rate of Teachers is something that is not in control of any individual or an organization. There are many factors affecting this issue. Apart from that, PracTutor is considered as an ideal solution by its users. Following are the special features of Practutor: As a result of quality focused approach, Practutor is one the fastest growing services in the USA that really makes difference in a career of a student. Parents, teachers and schools also can actively participate and monitor the performance of students. Please visit following links to explore more about the revolutionary concept and know how to utilize it for betterment. [|http://www.practutor.com] = Practutor helps students practice to achieve excellence =
 * Attrition Rate of Teachers
 * Lack of Parental Involvement
 * Reading Epidemic [Students don’t like or they don’t prefer to read at grade level]
 * Structured Curriculum
 * Personalize Learning
 * Unlimited Math online practice
 * Unlimited English online practice
 * Unlimited [|Math and English offline practice]
 * Training Videos
 * Detailed student analysis, Periodic progress report
 * Game based environment
 * 1-to-1 mentoring (Parents and Students)
 * Platform to connect with teachers and school

On June 2, 2013, inspired computer science graduate Hardik Parikh and team launched the first version of [|PracTutor.com]. This was the fruition of sixteen months of discussion, planning and execution. After noticing the lack of online resources and poor offline options and the problems students face in Math and English especially during the initial years, the PracTutor team chose to offer this amazing program. PracTutor mentors students to excellence. As this is the first edition of PracTutor.com, Mr. Parikh encourages new users to email and call him personally with any and all feedback, comments and suggestions that will help Practutor develop and grow. PracTutor seems to be off to a wonderful start thus far. The website gained 5,219 registered users just 19 hours after it launched. PracTutor was developed from much research and a genuine need to help students grow into their fullest potential. Teachers and child psychologists were consulted. It was concluded that this modern world poses many obstacles for the young, growing student. There are many distractions and much pressure on children. To create PracTutor, a math program was developed with the help of the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IITB). Many children struggle with math. The math program of PracTutor, backed by IITB strives to remedy that problem. It is fun-based to keep the students engaged and customized to meet each student’s need. Many students struggle with English as well. Teachers in the Common Core Curriculum in the United States were consulted to develop a program for that. PracTutor's English program focuses on helping children with reading comprehension. PracTutor was developed by parents with concerns about their children's education, just like any other. The company is devoted to helping children succeed and giving back to the community. PracTutor donates a part of each subscription fee to a variety of charitable organizations. It allows the user to choose which organization receives their donation. PracTutor firmly believes that each and every student has the innate ability for success. No matter their learning level, every student can exceed expectations in Math and English. PracTutor can help them on their way to greatness. PracTutor mentors students to excellence. The team and staff is devoted to helping each and every student succeed. No matter where your child is at in his or her education, PracTutor can help. **About PracTutor** PracTutor is a customized learning and practice environment to help students in Grades 1 to 8 master Math and English. PracTutor is trying to solve the challenge of how can we make any student love, learn and enjoy Math and English.

= = PracTutor = = 12806 Townepark Way = = Louisville, KY 40243-2311 = = [|http://www.practutor.com] = = News Media Contact : press@practutor.com = = = Practutor: Unique learning tool launched =

Math and English has always been problem subjects for the students. Some children dread the subject so much that they fall ill at the time of exams. At times even dedicated efforts of the teachers fail to make children come out of this fear. Understanding this plight, on June 2, 19.32 hours Practutor was opened for registration. Since then, more than 5000 people have registered on the site. **The main idea behind Practutor** The main idea took roots during a coffee table discussion almost one and half a year back. The intention was to make available for the kids in the elementary and middle school an effective solution so that the problems they faced in English and Math was addressed properly. The product took shape after long discussion, ideations, fine-tuning and research. The focus is only one-excellence of students in English and Math irrespective of the place they belong to and the level of schooling they receive. **Help where it is needed the most** Each student has his own strong points and shortcomings. Some are good at grammar while some in numbering. Practutor’s algorithm tracks down the weak areas of the students and provides intensified help in these areas. It also challenges the strong areas of the students so that they can develop the skill to its full potential. Briefly, the idea is to make learning adaptive to the need of each student. **How do we go about it?** We have formed a core curriculum, which comprise of more than 4200 individual questions in Math and 40,000 English questions that cover all the aspects of the studies. These questions are mostly targeted at testing the basic and critical thinking of the children. The students can print it offline, work on them and email back its answers. The core curriculum inhabits myriad learning videos, materials and learning options. Teaching through gaming is an integral part of this curriculum, which makes the learning process exciting, and reward based. **First version of PracTutor** The first version of PracTutor –www.practutor.com is designed to reduce the rift between the teachers and students making it easier on the part of both of them to teach and understand respectively the subject in the most simplified manner. It also gives the parents the power to involve themselves in this teaching and learning effort and contribute in any way possible to help their child come out of fear for a particular subject or topic. **How can parents participate?** The program allows the parents to monitor the progress of the child and the teacher can identify the various strengths and skills of the students distinctly. This helps both parents and the teachers to focus on the shortcomings and encourage the students to do better in that particular arena of studies. Practutor being a bespoke tool mentors the students on one to one basis and immediately darts an alert if his performance comes down. Our staff includes qualified mentors who are mathematics and English geniuses, professionals who are parents themselves and dedicated teachers. These mentors regularly keep in touch with the parents and support the teacher and the parent to help student overcome the hurdles in studies. All the efforts are diverted to make each student achieve the highest level as per his potential.

**Pre-registration to end soon** The pre-registrations for the students, parents and the teachers will close soon. It is free for the teachers and if you invite your friends and relatives, you can get $10 credit on your monthly subscription. You can start right now by signing up @ www.practutor.com/preregister/UWwHrngx. Periodic forms of comments will be duly sent to you every month after you start using **Help it grow better and more** Although PracTutor is still in its juvenile, stage learning to grab the ropes consistent efforts are being made to make it overcome the initial hurdles and grow more wider by diversifying its spectrum. To make the magic of PracTutor touch the lives of every student, contribution from parents and teachers is very much expected. Continuous feedback and comments will ensure that the product comes out according to what it should be like for the learners and the teachers. Sharing it with your friends and colleagues will help the product shape up in the way every parent wants. More the inputs better will be the output. For more information, suggestions, questions, feedback and concerns you can call (502-400-9374) or send a mail to: (hardik@practutor.com). **About PracTutor** PracTutor is a customized learning and practice environment to help students in Grades 1 to 8 master Math and English. PracTutor is trying to solve the challenge of how can we make any student love, learn and enjoy Math and English.

=The Future of Teaching and Learning Will Always Need the Humanities=

Study of humanities was relevant in the past and is equally relevant in the present. The study of humanities is the unavoidable discipline and it is beyond any argument that study of humanities will remain equally important in the future too. The fact is our world is shrinking day by day due to the prominence of scientific inventions and the dominance of information technology. But there is no science in this world which is not for humanity or which does not remain inclined to the needs of humanity.


 * The term ‘humanities’ has been derived from the Latin word ‘Humanus’.** In Latin the word signifies human, who also means “cultured’ and “refined’ too. Irrespective of any linguistic assertion human beings do possess tenderness, kindness and rationality. All these latent qualities bring forth different connotations being carried by the vehicles of beliefs, values, environments and experiences.

All these qualities contribute to the refinement of the basic qualities of a human being. So the thought and belief about the study of humanities has the power of “walking an extra mile in some other’s moccasins”. The illustration of this quotation is, if you are literate in ‘humanities’ you can market your product more than those who are not. No body will deny that cross-cultural understanding will be powerful booty to make use of it in this global village. That is why [|teaching and learning] will always need the humanities//,// in a substantial way.


 * Humanities constitute many variables.** By studying humanities we become closer to many horizons that our life can offer through the profoundness of literature, philosophy, art, music and history. So, any solid grounding to any / many of these studies followed by its perseverance enriches our existence. Any nation can be politically liberal or conservative, independent studies of humanities can lead the people towards better thought processes. It also enables one to catapult the general synthesis of rational of happenings of things.

The need of teaching and learning humanities is more prevalent in this virtual world. The more you are exposed to the world, the more you need to learn many languages and foreign cultures. Every country is expanding its business throughout the world. The product may be a simple “pin” or the “powerful medicinal or defense product”, hence knowing or not knowing the local language or local culture will make the difference. Since the vendors are many, the aptness of marketing will be seen through the deal. There are many countries that do not use a single language as the medium of correspondence, rather they oblige and prefer those who come under their language or cultural folds. Japanese audience will love the Japanese speaking vendors. Spanish speaking countries compel the English speaking businessmen to become closer in the language they prefer to. Many such examples can be sited when, albeit many resources, the business world need the support of humanities. Even if there is no obligatory part involved as above, your business can only grow in this global environment if you can communicate freely and frankly with your business partners across thee world. Here comes the benevolence of humanities.
 * Business world is grateful to** **teaching and learning humanities**

Other than business world, scholars / scientists / researchers and such luminaries do not want to be called as ‘awkward social geek’ due to their linguistic problems. They feel relieved if and when they can communicate their ideas to the wider audience. A few may contradict the idea and argue that why the luminaries need the orientations of humanities? The answer is simple, teaching and learning humanitieswill introduce us to the ideas and thoughts to the specialist and outside world where we can enjoy our relevance, attain new directions and also increase our creativity. If a society is to be successful, it has to be assorted with the refined integration of generosity, compassion, civility, charity, altruisms where the characteristics of emphasized and evaluated humanities make its presence felt.
 * Education and Research world is grateful to** **teaching and learning humanities**


 * Read on: How can you establish the relevance of studying humanities for today and also for future**


 * About PracTutor**

Started in April -2012, PracTutor ([|www.practutor.com]) is an adaptive learning platform to help students excel in Math and English. PracTutor is part of emPower Training Solutions (www.empowerbpo.com) that has been providing online compliance solutions to 100+ healthcare practices and hospitals since the last 4 years.

To learn more about PracTutor follow us at:

[]

= = = Digital Learning Day aims to change education’s direction =

**Program organizers launch 'Project 24,' which gives districts a customized digital learning plan; a Massive Open Online Course for educators to learn about ed tech; and more**

Throughout the rest of February, educators are encouraged to capture digital learning in action.

With an overwhelming 25,000 educators participating in Digital [|**eLearning**] Day on Feb. 6, ed-tech supporters used technology-based projects, lessons, and enthusiasm to mark what they called a perfect time to launch a national digital learning campaign.

“Every day should be Digital Learning Day,” said Karen Cator, director of the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Educational Technology. “Access to technology has become as important to learning as access to a library, yet teachers remain the critical link between students and the content.”

Cator said teachers are setting expectations for multiple “revision cycles” of student productions, made possible with “professional tools for writing, composing music, creating video documentaries, and design.”

“They are learning along with their students and modeling good questioning and internet research strategies, assigning more complex and challenging projects, and facilitating communication and collaboration even across borders,” she said.

“The president and I are convinced that with technology, we have an extraordinary opportunity to expand educational excellence and equity, and personalize the experience for students,” said Education Secretary Arne Duncan, who attended Digital Learning Day in Washington, D.C.

Mr. Donovan’s class at Jamestown Elementary in Arlington, Va., presented their favorite apps during Discovery Education’s webinar celebrating Digital Learning Day.

Along with teachers, students, and parents representing all 50 states, Digital Learning Day garnered support from nearly 50 national partners and 25 corporate partners.

**Efforts included:**

• Facebook worked with a range of stakeholders to develop resources and tools to help educators understand how to use social media inside and outside of the classroom.

• KnowledgeWorks’ World of Learning blog featured essays about the benefits and opportunities of digital and blended learning. Throughout the year, Principal Erin Frew of Cleveland’s West New Tech High School (who also works for KnowledgeWork’s New Tech Network) will be an expert resource for Digital Learning Day’s toolkit to help teachers in specific subject areas.

• The National Council of Teachers of English released a Framework for 21st-Century Curriculum and Assessment that recognizes that to be 21st-century literate, students must become proficient with the technology tools and use them to create and manage information, build meaningful relationships with others so they can inquire and work together, reflect on their own work processes and products, critically evaluate the multimedia sources and tools they use, and use these sources and tools ethically.

• American Graduate: Let’s Make It Happen, a multi-year initiative of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, featured its Classroom Resources on the Digital Learning Day website. Classroom Resources connects teachers, parents, and students with easy navigation to the best of public media’s educational resources targeted to middle and high school youth.

• The National School Boards Association will be hosting its annual series of Technology Site Visits this spring to provide school leaders and educators with an in-depth look at the policies and practices that support digital learning.

• Global Kids, an in-school and after-school New York City youth program, had high school students learn about game design skills and global issues using the online platform Gamestar Mechanic. These students became expert mentors and will lead workshops across the city and enroll youth in the National STEM Video Game Design Challenge.

• The Alliance for Excellent Education (AEE), which hosts Digital Learning Day, is offering Digital Learning: Lessons in Action, which incorporates multiple strategies with digital learning, such as collaboration, personalized learning, project-based learning, flipped classrooms, virtual access to experts, and simulations.

Perhaps most noteworthy, AEE has more than 250 school districts, representing approximately 2.5 million students across 42 states, participating in its groundbreaking new initiative, called Project 24, which will help school districts plan for, and effectively use, technology and digital learning.

The “24” in Project 24 represents the next 24 months, a time during which the nation’s education landscape will change greatly as states and districts face numerous challenges—including the need to implement college- and career-ready standards for all students; use online assessments to gauge comprehension and learning; push for greater system and classroom innovation; deal with shrinking budgets; and contend with demands of states’ waivers from key provisions of the No Child Left Behind Act.

To participate, a school district must (1) sign up at www.all4ed.org/project24; (2) assemble a team composed of the district superintendent or a representative, a district curriculum leader, the district technology director, and a district professional development leader; and (3) take the free self-assessment. Upon completion of the self-assessment, a confidential, customized report will be generated for each district.

“With Project 24’s self-assessment tool, district leaders can frame their vision for student learning, begin to recognize the various aspects of the system that need to be addressed, and specify how technology can help align these efforts to achieve higher college- and career-ready standards,” said Bob Wise, AEE president and former governor of West Virginia. “It will help district leaders move beyond counting computers and internet connections to analyzing how they can integrate technology into their instructional plans.”

Partnering with other national membership organizations, the Alliance has identified a framework with seven major components that will provide education leaders in states and school districts with tools to make good decisions about how technology aligns with the goals and visions for their students. The framework will provide assistance to districts on (1) academic supports, (2) budget and resources, (3) curriculum and instruction, (4) data and assessments, (5) professional learning, (6) technology and infrastructure, and (7) use of time.

In conjunction with the Friday Institute for Educational Innovation at North Carolina State University, AEE has developed a Massive Online Open Course for Educators (MOOC-E), called “The Digital Learning Transition in [|**K–12 Schools**]: A Planning MOOC for Educators.” The six-week course is designed to provide a new type of learning experience for education leaders, one that will help them identify the potential of technology-enabled learning opportunities for the district, including its leaders, teachers, and students. The course will kick off on April 8.

More information on Project 24 is available at www.all4ed.org/project24.

Want to get even more involved? Throughout the rest of February, educators are encouraged to capture digital learning in action. Enhance and share your photo using the Instagram photo app, and tag it using #DLDay and @digitallearningday. Remember to review Instagram’s policies, and be sure that any students included in your photo have necessary waivers. Digital Learning Day will post the best photos on its website, and there might even be prizes for the best photos at the end of the month. Learn more here. =Three Useful Tips for Integrating Videos in e-Learning Courses=

//There is a need for an interactive model in e-learning courses. By integrating videos in the e-learning courses students can not only grasp the things easily but it also makes the content visually attractive.//

There is a very famous quote which goes, “Show, don’t tell”. Taking this principle into account, there is a need for an **[|interactive learning model]** wherein students can learn through videos and images. **[|E-learning] courses** try to follow this principle so that students can learn in an unconventional manner but retain major part of the learning. E-learning developers are circumspect to use videos/images in the e-learning courses. But if the tips given in this article are taken seriously, then you can create amazing content with the help of videos in e-learning courses. Let us look at these tips: Started in April -2012, PracTutor ([|www.practutor.com]) is an adaptive learning platform to help students excel in Math and English. PracTutor is part of emPower Training Solutions (www.empowerbpo.com) that has been providing online compliance solutions to 100+ healthcare practices and hospitals since the last 4 years. To learn more about PracTutor follow us at: []
 * **Videos should be used to depict behavioral skills:** There are times when it is very difficult to explain things to students especially when you want to teach them about body language and other soft skills. In such scenarios, videos can be best option. These skills need to be seen to understand rather than reading them. Moreover; videos make the content very attractive and visually appealing especially if the course requires practice to master.
 * **Videos should be short and to the point:** Always bear in mind that your target audience does not have the patience to see a full length feature film. It is always advisable to break the length of the video to less than 3 minutes. Try to keep the introductory video short, so that it captures viewer’s attention. If you wish to integrate audio podcasts to the content it usually can be of a maximum 10 minutes. But it has been observed that viewers normally tune off from the content after initial couple of minutes. Hence, the success formula for integrating videos is shorter is better.
 * **Videos should integrate different social media tools to make it interactive:** Give an option to the audience to offer feedback or post a comment on your videos. This will make them think about various suggestions and questions that they have on that particular video. You can also add questions and quizzes on the basis of the video content. If you integrate various social media tools to the video it will make it easier for the viewers to post the questions to their colleagues and get relevant answers to the questions. They can even taken the help of experts to learn more about that subject.
 * About PracTutor**
 * PracTutor**

12806 Townepark Way

Louisville, KY 40243-2311

[|http://www.practutor.com]
 * Contact:**

Hardik Parikh, Co-founder and CEO

12806 Townepark Way,

Louisville, KY 40243-2311

Direct (502) 400-9374

Email: hardik@practutor.com

Twitter: @hardikvparikh

Blog: [|http://hardik.practutor.com] =3 Activities That Boosts the Working Memory in Children=

//Children are the future of human mankind. Hence; it is very important to boost the working memory, which is an integral part of brain development process for children. In this article; we look at different activities which can boost the working memory in children.// A well known scholar once said “A good memory is like a bagful of gold.” Therefore it is very important to build the + memory of children in their formative years. Working memory stores crucial information, while other material which is taught in schools forms the foundation for complex skills and knowledge. Children are very innocent in their early days. Hence, they can retain lot of information in their brains. A child who has poor working memory will find it extremely difficult to take on activities and face problems in learning. A recent research claims that memory deficits, if not found in early childhood can lead to extreme conditions; that can affect the academic performance of the child. Let us now see different activities that can boost the working memory in children: Started in April -2012, PracTutor ([|www.practutor.com]) is an adaptive learning platform to help students excel in Math and English. PracTutor is part of emPower Training Solutions (www.empowerbpo.com) that has been providing online compliance solutions to 100+ healthcare practices and hospitals since the last 4 years. To learn more about PracTutor follow us at: []
 * **Kim’s game:** This is a very popular game played by young kids that provides memory building exercises for them. It contains various selections of objects and number of words. These things are displayed to the child and then the objects are covered up. Kids then have to determine which item has been removed. This game can be played with different sets of objects.
 * **Repetition:** This activity ensures that children retain information for both short term and long term memories. It consists of reciting times tables, test questions and regularly viewing vocabulary cards. Study shows that with regular retrieval practice the child’s memory can be increased substantially.
 * **Number and letter sequences:** If you want to teach your child a foreign language then number and letter sequences is a very probable answer. It comprises of short number sequence and then gradually builds up digit by digit. The child then gets a minute to revise it after which the number sequence is removed completely. The child then has to recall as much of the sequence as they can. This process is repeated for letters.
 * About PracTutor**

PracTutor 12806 Townepark Way Louisville, KY 40243-2311 [|http://www.practutor.com]]

Hardik Parikh, Co-founder and CEO 12806 Townepark Way, Louisville, KY 40243-2311 Direct (502) 400-9374 Email: hardik@practutor.com Twitter: @hardikvparikh Blog: [|http://hardik.practutor.com] =PRACTUTOR - BREAKING THE THRESHOLD OF E-LEARNING EXPERIENCE= //emPower has developed PracTutor, an inspired e-learning web application which// transforms education //to another level. With this **[|enchanted learning] mechanism**; students can get the learning in a fun-filled environment.// With so many e-learning courses available in the market recently, it becomes very difficult for the parents to choose the most comprehending e-learning package for their children. Lots of companies are either going for practice tests or tutorials but they are not making it interactive and interesting for children. Creativity and logic are some of the basic criteria required for creating an amazing e-learning experience for children. The courses should be designed in such a manner that alongwith learning children should have an enjoyable experience. Parents are often concerned about Maths and English being two primary subjects which can make or break the academic career of their child. Taking this into consideration, emPower, a part of Mediscribes INC has developed PracTutor, an ingenious web-based application which not only takes care of the academic progress of the child through **[|online learning math and English]**; but also provides interactive support to the children through one-on-one counseling from Maths and English expert teachers.
 * Contact:**
 * PROCESS FOLLOWED BY PRACTUTOR**
 * **Registration and Online Pre-assessment Test:** Sign-up on PracTutor. The system will prompt the student to take online test which will take approximately 45 minutes to complete. It is usually based on the grade level of the student. For lower grades i.e., from Grade 1 to 5, there will be lots of images and practice test which will evaluate the understanding level of the child.
 * **Creation of Custom Learning Path:** After accessing the knowledge of the student on the subject matter our intelligent algorithm devises a learning plan for the student for each topic in sync with common core curriculum and state boards.
 * **Detailed Explanation of Topics:** Once the learning plan has been devised for the student a detailed explanation of each topic relevant to the curriculum is provided with **2-3 videos** and **resources** in accordance with the needs of the student.
 * **Practice Management:** The student then practices basic problems to understand the topic. Then we provide word/story based problems to master the topic. This can specially be helpful for preparing CogAT, NNAT, Math Olympiad and other gifted student’s examinations.
 * **Thorough Guidance from Experts:** Our Maths and English expert teachers provide regular inputs to the students and teach them on any topic that they are facing difficulties. One tutor is assigned to one student which makes it easier for the student to get undivided attention from the tutors.

PracTutor has given a new dimension to the e-learning process. With the help of this 21st Century Learning mechanism you can expect enchanted learning which will open up a new chapter in the **[|e-learning]** business. It will not only transform education to another level but it will also make it more fun-loving and entertaining for students. Started in April -2012, PracTutor ([|www.practutor.com]) is an adaptive learning platform to help students excel in Math and English. PracTutor is part of emPower Training Solutions (www.empowerbpo.com) that has been providing online compliance solutions to 100+ healthcare practices and hospitals since the last 4 years. To learn more about PracTutor follow us at:
 * DISTINCTIVENESS OF PRACTUTOR IN COMPARISON TO OTHER E-LEARNING COURSES**
 * Exclusive combination of online practice, videos and tutorials which makes the learning process exciting
 * Compliance with common core standards which have been adopted by 45 of the 50 U.S. states
 * With every paid subscription on PracTutor we sponsor 1 child in India which includes tutoring, learning material, stationery, school uniform, shoes, socks, belts and bags, nutrition supplements, health care services and educational tours
 * Undivided attention from Maths and English experts gives utmost satisfaction to the student and solves their concern
 * //Behold all the parents the answer to your problems is here!//**
 * About PracTutor**

[] PracTutor

12806 Townepark Way

Louisville, KY 40243-2311

[]

[]

**PracTutor launches the pre-registration to help students learn Math and English in an adaptive innovative way**
//Louisville, KY. September 08, 2012// – PracTutor ([|www.practutor.com]) is an adaptive learning platform to help students excel in Math and English. PracTutor was established with just one focus – THE STUDENT. PracTutor is trying to solve the challenge of how can we make any student love, learn and enjoy Math and English.

There are 39 million students in US in K-8 in public and private schools. Only 69% students make it to a high school and less than 70% to a college. Most of them falter at one of the numerous high school or college admission tests. In college, majority of the students need to take remedial courses in Math and English. About 40% of the students take some form of Math and English training program to prepare for high school and more than 75% to prepare for college admission tests. The students get frustrated with the narrow focus of such trainings or possible interventions not available when needed. PracTutor experience is personalized and it understands the student’s strengths to challenge them more on their strengths and it understands their weaknesses to eliminate them.

PracTutor is virtually effortless and very intuitive for the student to use. It applies intelligent algorithms to understand the student’s abilities in Math and English and provide practice and training to strengthen their skills. This training is mapped to each and every standard of the common core curriculum. PracTutor involves the parents and the school teacher in the student’s progress and provides all the elements required for the success of the student. A private tutor can help the student whenever they need any help.

“I created PracTutor because I was frustrated after using quite a few after-school Math and English programs for my two sons in Grades 3 and 5, I felt there had to be a better way, a better product and not seeing one, decided to create one.”, said Vatsal Ghiya, co-founder, PracTutor.

“I have seen a lot of my cousins and sons and daughters on my friends struggle with Math and English with numerous programs they work on. All of the training programs seem to be missing one or several elements. We wanted to provide the entire ecosystem – a complete solution. That is what PracTutor is.”, said Hardik Parikh, co-founder and CEO, PracTutor. PracTutor’s team comprises experts on Math and English from common core team, web designers, software developers, child psychologists, parents and school administrators. PracTutor is in development right now and we would like to invite users for beta testing as soon as we have it out.

Watch what we do at []

Take a tour of the product at –[]

Pre-register using this link - []
 * About PracTutor**

Started in April -2012, PracTutor ([|www.practutor.com]) is an adaptive learning platform to help students excel in Math and English. PracTutor is part of emPower Training Solutions (www.empowerbpo.com) that has been providing online compliance solutions to 100+ healthcare practices and hospitals since the last 4 years.

To learn more about PracTutor follow us at: []

PracTutor 12806 Townepark Way Louisville, KY 40243-2311 [|http://www.practutor.com]

Hardik Parikh, Co-founder and CEO 12806 Townepark Way, Louisville, KY 40243-2311 Direct (502) 400-9374 Email: hardik@practutor.com Twitter: @hardikvparikh Blog: [|http://hardik.practutor.com]
 * Contact:**

= = =**4 Classic Way to Study Without Being Distracted**=

In this age of **21st Century Learning**; students often find it difficult to concentrate on studies due to various external factors. But when it comes to tests students have to start preparing for it as soon as possible. They have to avoid being distracted and concentrate on their studies. Let us look at various ways through which students can study without being distracted:
 * **Study outdoors:** Take the necessary study material and go outside. Do not take the computer with you. I find it extremely convenient to read, write and study outside without any difference of TV, music or internet.
 * **Make use of paper:** Paper is far less distracting than computers. If you wish to study typed it is advisable to print them and then study avoiding the computer. This will help you to study without any deviation that comes from pop-ups in the computer.
 * **Keep a check-list ready and write things down:** When you get distracted the best thing to do is to write things down so that it gets registered in your brain. This will help in getting a focused approach on the priority tasks so that it is not left out to be completed.
 * **Take some free time out:** Sometimes it is better to take out some leisure time. It helps in getting things sorted out and increases the concentration when you go back to study. You can concentrate a bit harder once you have had some fun time.
 * Enchanted learning** has become of prime importance in recent times. We are already seeing students striving to get their best while attempting a quiz or test. Hence; it becomes very important for teachers and parents to see that students are not distracted from the studies.
 * Enchanted learning** has become of prime importance in recent times. We are already seeing students striving to get their best while attempting a quiz or test. Hence; it becomes very important for teachers and parents to see that students are not distracted from the studies.

To learn more about PracTutor follow us at: [], [] = = =**5 Commandable Reasons Signifying Digital Learning Success for Present and Next Generation**=

//Digital learning has become one of the trending topics in the education sector. In this article; we look at some of the reasons signifying digital learning success for present and future generation.// Digital learning is an upcoming technology. It provides revolutionary changes to the learning pattern. There are various digital devices which provide a great learning platform for students to study the selected subjects at their own convenience. Recently we have already seen teachers giving projects to students through computers. The students can then work on these projects on computers and send the projects in electronic format to the teachers. This is known as **[|Digital Learning]**. As technology up gradations continue to flourish, we will see a significant increase in digital learning in near future. Let us look at some of the reasons signifying digital learning success for present and future generation: To learn more about PracTutor follow us at: [], [] =Four Illuminating Guidelines For Successful Online Teachers= //Online learning has become a trend in recent times. With that the importance of online teaching has increased. In this article; we look at various guidelines which will be helpful for successful online teaching.// [|Online education] has become a holy grail for many K-12 educators. With the advancement in technology, e-learning has become 21st century learning tool which not only provides enchanted learning but it also transforms education to another level. Hence; online teaching has become one of the most important jobs in recent times. There are special sets of skill and attitude required for online teachers. Let us look at some of the key criteria required to become a successful online teacher: Online teaching is a specialized job. It not only caters to providing innovative education solutions to the students instantly; but it also takes the sphere of 21st century learning to another level. To learn more about PracTutor follow us at: [], [|http://www.practutor.com]
 * **Focused on providing quality content to the students:** Traditional education system puts lot of stress on the need to get good marks in exams rather than making students understand the subject thoroughly. E-learning differs in this regards. It not only provides quality content but also gives freedom to the students to learn their selected subjects at their own pace and time. With the practice quizzes and evaluation process students can regularly check their progress and continue to work hard thereby achieving excellence by devoting quality time. Teachers can provide instant support to the students by being there with them through chat system. It also makes it easier for the student to get their queries and concerns resolved instantly without wasting much time. Hence; **[|Digital Learning]** has given a tremendous impetus to **online education**.
 * **Focused on providing future learning mechanism:** Digital learning is the future of education. It will provide a great impetus to **online education**. By starting the learning process through digital media at a very young age students can prepare themselves to join the 21st century workforce and academic world.
 * **Focused on providing competitive education to students:** As the number of families continue to grow in USA the number of online courses will increase. The families can select the relevant courses that are best fit for the child. **E-learning programs** also continue to improve gradually so that competitive education can be provided to the students.
 * **Focused on providing higher level of accountability for students: [|E-learning]** courses in USA provide higher level of accountability in comparison to traditional courses. For example; by law every student enrolled in an online public school has a written student learning plan that outlines the success steps for him or her. If the **[|online learning]** course does not fit a particular student they are shifted to another school. Schools are accountable for the students and parents.
 * **Focused on providing ubiquitous access to the students:** Online education is not restricted to location, socio-economic status, learning level etc. The only thing required is an internet connection. Online learning helps students to access a world-class education. Rural students can also take full advantage of e-learning courses and can also offer multiple foreign languages.
 * **Personalized contact:** Classroom teaching and [|online teaching] are totally different from each other. In classroom teaching there is a huge opportunity for the students to have one-on-one interaction with their teachers. But in case of online teaching, the only way to make your message personalized is through email. Online teachers need to have a far greater confidence and emotional security in terms of their professional competency. Online teachers need to work hard to personalize their message as far as possible so that students do not think of it as a robotic interaction.
 * **Know thy students:** It is always advisable for the online teachers to know the strengths and weaknesses of each of their students individually by communicating effectively with the students. This will help them to have clear and to the point communication with the students. They can even track the performance of the student at an individual level.
 * **Lose complete control:** Classroom teaching enables teachers to gain complete control over the students and get the task done beautifully. However; in case of online teaching, there is no control over the teaching pattern. The students have the choice of selecting independently when to study and take quizzes. Even in traditional classroom teaching there are chances of cheating more so in case of online teaching. But if the online teachers are able to convey their message to the students about the satisfaction and benefits derived from the courses then there is a tremendous potential for them. But if coercive techniques are used to extract information from the students then it becomes very difficult for the online teachers to get the desired results.
 * **24 x 7 support:** **Online teaching** is more of a lifestyle than a job. It is very difficult for online teachers to set reasonable boundaries on their workday. If a student runs into trouble the basic instinct is to help them as soon as possible. Majority of times online support is asked by the student from 10 pm to midnight.
 * PracTutor**

12806 Townepark Way

Louisville, KY 40243-2311

United States

[|http://www.practutor.com]

[|http://hardik.practutor.com]