Follow Your Dreams - Chinese Students Enjoy Their Lives in Sydney

At many university campuses in Sydney, it is easy to spot students from China.

The number of Chinese students at universities across Australia has increased dramatically. Officials say there are now more than 130,000 students studying in Australia, 45% of them are living in Sydney. In such a situation, it is worth to ask about:

Why so many Chinese are choosing to study abroad? How their lives in Sydney? What will happen to them in the future?

The gate of dreams

Yiren Ding treats her oversea experiences as a dream, sometimes sweet, sometimes bitter. This 24 years old Chinese girl, came to Sydney in 2006(then she was 18) as part of an explosion of Chinese education immigration. She said her dream of studying abroad was derived from her father. In her father-centered family, she recalled almost every decision was proposed and made by her father, including dropping out in Hangzhou, China and continuing her last year of high school in Sydney. "My dad is a successful businessman; he can easily bear an economic burden sending me to study abroad. For reasons, I guessed hum... my dad feared that I would not enter top uni of China because my academic achievements were kind of poor," Yiren said with a shy little smile, " and I was specialized in painting, my dad believed that there are more opportunities for little artists in western countries than mainland China."

Yiren became clouded and then froze when she was asked with "Do you think that your unsatisfactory academic performance stimulating you study abroad, avoiding participating in the college entrance examination of China, is a kind of escape behavior?" She hesitated long enough that her close friend, chipping in the conversation with "she is pursuing her dream", to attempt to respond to the awkward silence.

Allen Liu, however, was straightforward to say his intention for coming to Australia to study, avoiding the college entrance examination in China. Same with Yiren, Allen came to Adelaide to complete his high school period. In 2010, he admitted to the University of New South Wales (UNSW) by in top 10 percent of HSC scores of South Australia.

"I was in the middle of my Chinese high school class; maybe Chinese cramming system is not suite for me. But I found my passion on physics when I came into Australian creative educational pattern. I adapt to the English language environment soon after and became one of top students, restoring my self-confidence." Allen said with a complacent smile, insisting on showing his prom photos off.

Allen would be happy to deeply analyze reasons for such a great amount of Chinese students studying in Australia. The growth rate is due, in large part, to an increasing middle class in China. Parents hope their children to be better educated, in a multicultural environment. Australia, furthermore, provides migratory opportunities for students to live here permanently. "Compared to China's large population, work stresses and environment pollution, more and more Chinese students are choosing to stay here after graduation, starting a family, plan to pick their parents up from China in the future." He emphasized again and again he can represent a number of Chinese students, "Chinese always keep on the rails". The above is his life planning, also his dream.

The road of dreams

"I came from a middle class family, the speed of my parents earn money is six times as the speed that I spend money." Anna Wang loves to tell this joke about the exchange rate between Chinese Yuan and Australian Dollars (appr 6.5:1), with a trace of frustrated and helpless laughter. She came to UNSW for a two-year Master program of IT, yet when she first attended into a lecture, she was surprised that almost everyone has an Asian face, including the lecturer. After a further chat she found that 90% of students are from China. "I cannot believe my eyes; I thought I was in a Chinese classroom." Anna recalled the primary impression of her first class in UNSW.

In her imagination, she would live in a colorful life in Sydney, hanging out with a group of friends from different cultural background, dancing at parties, enjoying the sunshine at beach, yet the truth is, alone. "You know lots of Chinese are shy, traditional, and not good at making friends especially with foreigners", Anna said while walking in Randwick Coles, shopping food and necessities for next week, "if my parents have enough money, maybe I would be here to start a bachelor degree, then I might make friends with local people. Occasionally I was invited to some parties, but I rejected because I hum... kind of fear the Australian-style party, a little bit crazy with excessive drinking. So I prefer spending my parents' money on food, for me, myself. " She picked up this one, and then took another one, carefully comparing the price and weight, calculating that which more worth buying is.

The most attractive thing, for Anna, might be traveling, with her Chinese friends. She spent all of her money by selling dim sum in a Cantonese restaurant, "actually I am an illegal worker and I know the Australian government prohibits work positions with salaries less than $16 per hour. I only earn $9.5 hourly. In my Chinese students circle this is very common, we call it 'Black Work'. "

The government banning, the restaurateur lacking conscience, most of Chinese students working illegally, yet who has the heart to blame her and the group of international students? They left their native place, landing here and try to find resting place for the sole of feet.

The light of dreams

Chinese students often say, studying in Australia, doing in a part-time job, cooking themselves, traveling... all of these things, is a process of following your dream.

When it comes to the future, many students confused, so did Annie Sun. She has been to Sydney for one year, as a postgraduate student major in Human Resource in the University of Sydney (UNSD). "This subject (HR) in China is extremely different with Australia. My mum works in the human resource office, but her real work is to build relationship with other staff, filing documents, and other little things like a secretary did", Annie complained, "I worries about I might not suitable in Chinese circumstances when I go back." Soon afterwards, however, a smile resurfaced on her face, "I know human resource is still a burgeoning thing in my country, but I have confidence to take practice using what I learned."

Next month Annie will be back to her hometown, Jinan, a mid-size city in North-eastern China. She is preparing the national civil service examination, "My parents hope me work for the government because they consider it is decent and respectable. I also look forward to because I want to change the situation of China's human resource. That is my dream, even it is fantastic but I keep going on it."

Different with Annie, Monica Li plan to move Australia permanently. Monica has qualified to be called the "old" Chinese Australian student. She has been to Sydney for 5 years, completing her bachelor degree of Linguistics and a master degree of Early Education, both in UNSD. This vivid girl has a large group of local friends, so she always busy on organizing parities and group activities, even though she has three part-time jobs at the same time, "I am a super woman, huh?"

Conduct Effective Training Sessions for Employees With Secured Online Private Community

Organizations are often into conducting online training programs for their employees and executives, for boosting up their performance level and improving skills sets. For making the training programs effective and efficient, it is very essential to increase the communication standards and make the sessions interactive, which will benefit both the company and the employees. The cloud-based online training management solution offering secured private community network can easily be utilized by the training organizers or trainers for creating groups or communities, to connect with the trainers or employees, more personally.

Why use secured private community?

The secured private community offered by the online solution offers a number of benefits that makes it very popular. As it can be created and accessed easily, training organizers can avail the benefits of this particular feature, for conducting successful training sessions.

For improving the performance of trainees and professionals within an organization, it is very important to work on the communication level. Most training organizers often ignore this aspect. Constant communication between the trainers and the trainees will encourage positive relationships and increased development. However, marketing and promoting plays a very vital role in popularizing your training session, adding brand recognition to your company.

Offer access to training materials online:

Offering the training materials online for the trainees and the employees, who have failed to attend the program, will encourage them to participate in future sessions. Organizers can also add photos, videos and informative contents, handouts and slide presentations, so that trainees can access important documents and information, anytime.

Empowers you to control the trainee database:

Training organizers as well as administrators always need to have access to information on a regular basis for enhancing their network and maintaining efficiency. However, it becomes a challenging task to maintain a database of all the trainees, if you are conducting programs, frequently. In addition to this, you might have to spent additional expenses for maintaining database manually, hiring additional staffs. The web-based community allows you to maintain the database of each and every trainee or employee, online. You can automatically update your online database on a daily basis and can track information online, whenever required.

With the increasing recognition of social networking, the task of promotion has become much easier and simpler. An integrated private community will help you to promote your sessions in real time for reaching out to millions of people.

Thus, managing trainee members or employees using scalable private community will help organizations in carrying out training programs in an effective way.

Impacts on Humanity Through the Law of Attraction

Technically speaking, the Age of Aquarius is simply an astrological term, and not a precise one at that. Astrological (i.e. Zodiac) "Ages" refer to a period of time, approximately 2,150 years in length, and are measured by the location of the sun as it transits through one of the twelve zodiac constellations at the moment of the annual vernal equinox. The vernal equinox occurs when the sun rises above the celestial equator, which marks the start of spring in the Northern hemisphere. The sun's precessional rotation through the twelve zodiacs takes approximately 25,800 years, thus leading to the approximate 2,150-year period for each of the twelve astrological ages.

However, measuring the beginning and end point of the astrological ages is an imprecise science. This is because each of the twelve zodiac constellations varies in size and position, so astrologers do not universally agree on the delimitating point between each of the constellations, including the sun's current status between the constellations of Pisces and Aquarius.

Added to this scientific confusion is the underlying mystical meanings attributed to each of the zodiac signs and the period of time each rises in prominence. This encourages mystics and spiritualists to add their own opinions concerning the transition period between the Ages. Further, the inexact borders between the constellations have encouraged some to proclaim the transition between the Ages is not a point in time, but rather an extended period, rising slowly like a periodic tidal force. For example, Yogi Bhajan argued mystical influences of the Age of Aquarius began on 11 November 1991 and the new Age fully transitioned from the Age of Pisces on 20 November 2011.

During this period of transition, aspects and characteristics of each Age will be present, vying for dominance and slowly giving way to the characteristics of the incoming Age. Following the mystical example, the Age of Pisces could be equated with the rise of organized Western religions, Christianity and Islam, and the major impact each had on their respective and neighboring societies. Many have argued the Age of Aquarius will be defined by the rise of scientific knowledge, and with it, will transform concepts of religion to a more knowledge- and logic-based form of spirituality. Through this transformation, mankind will become more empathetic, benevolent and altruistic, and less dependent on illogical, faith-based religions or the controlling mandates of their self-appointed leaders.

Given that we are upon the period of transition between the Age of Pisces and the Age of Aquarius, the year 2012 brings with it an interesting addition to the mix. There are various eschatological beliefs concerning supposed cataclysmic events thought to be foreordained by the end-date of the 5,125-year-long cycle Mayan Long Count calendar on 21 December 2012. "Eschatology' concerns the philosophy and theology of End Times as purported by most of the world's organized religions. 21 December 2012 corresponds with the conclusion of the 13th b'ak'tun, or the end of the Mayan Long Count calendar, attributed by some theorists to have applicability to End Times' prophesies.

However, a spiritual interpretation of this confluence of events is that the period will result in a positive spiritual transformation from which 2012 will merely mark the beginning of a new, more benevolent era.

Following the principles of the Law of Attraction, one would realize humanity is in the midst of a societal tug-of-war as we approach the end of 2012. A significant portion of humanity either assumes or is worried that the end of the Mayan calendar's 13th b'ak'tun will result in cataclysmic events marking the End Times while another portion of humanity fully expects this period will result in a more spiritual-minded people on earth, though the question of "how" that transformation will occur is not addressed by this expectation. Since the Law of Attraction works more efficiently when more people share a common belief, then the potential for violent events on earth -- whether earthquakes, volcanoes, war, or the like -- increases. Since two significantly large groups of people on earth have very different expectations of the meaning of the significance of the winter solstice in December 2012, it is difficult to dismiss either camp as having no basis in probability.

However, I think it is far fetched to consider the end of humanity will occur on 21 December 2012. Even if a disaster should occur on a localized basis on the winter solstice, as occurs almost daily somewhere in the world, it is safe to assume that life will go on. Thereby, the camp of believers who expect that humanity will slowly transform and become more spiritual have the upper hand in the tug-of-war concerning the import of the end of the Mayan calendar. This is simply because the End Times believers assume an action must be initiated and completed by 21 December 2012, while the New Age believers assume the 21st of December marks a new beginning and has the next 2,150 years to reach a climax.

Promoting Technology-Based Learning With Online Class Management Solution

Given the multitude of technology devices and solutions available today, it is no wonder that technology based learning is being explored in a big way by both online educators and students. From smart mobile applications to data collection and storage tools, students are enjoying access to a lot more things than they ever did to learn new things on their own. Although brick-and-mortar schools are now joining the league of tech-friendly institutions, the trend is more rampant in online classes. They are switching to the online class management solutions to make their teaching-learning procedures even more interesting and effective.

If you are an online educator or in some way associated with online learning, do follow these tips to promote technology based learning in your virtual classroom:

Create back channels for "Need to Know"

There are many learning management systems (LMS) that comes integrated with the online class management solution, which has the feature to create various back channels. Use the facility to come up with a "Need to know" back channel that allows them to create a list of queries. Revisit the list from time to time and help your students with their assignments by responding to their questions. Another great way to create a back channel list is to use Twitter or a similar social networking site. Simply use the hash tag to create a list of "Need to Knows." This will encourage students to interact with their teachers in a more inhibition-free manner.

Make the most of the LMS social tools

Take the help of the Moodle LMS Connector that comes embedded with the online class management solution and allow your students to gain access to interesting social tools therein. There are wikis, blogs, chat room facilities, and discussion forums in the LMS. Encourage your students to participate in the activities using these features to gather valuable, collaborative learning experience.

Collaborate with smart mobile applications

Staying in touch with your students via email using the email messaging tool of the class registration software is a prompt way to communicate; but you can try using mobile applications too. Nowadays, every student has a mobile device and they keep texting classmates on a regular basis. So, it would be a great idea to use this mode to keep your students updated about their classes as well as to facilitate easy sharing of course modules amongst themselves.

Create quizzes and polls

School kids today are mature individuals who have an opinion of their own on most issues. Value their views and opinions and utilize them to improve your classroom teaching standards. Create questionnaires using powerful productivity tools of the class registration software to conduct quizzes during extra class times, or conduct polls and surveys to collect their honest feedback. Both ways, your class will be immensely benefited.

Give out reward points

With the present day online class management solutions, it is so much easier to accredit your students for their good work. Give out reward points in the form of free classes or award them with certificates on the successful completion of the programs.

Online class management solution enhances the teaching-learning standard of a virtual classroom by providing a host of features and facilities.

Top 5 Tips to Make Your Enterprise Training Program a Success

The need for enterprise training programs is being felt across industries today. With the technological innovations advancing with stellar speed, companies are giving enhanced importance to the issue and investing in the latest software solutions to make the training sessions even more effective. If you are assigned with the duty to organize a similar training program at your workplace and you are in the lookout for the most competent solution within best prices, then opt for the enterprise training solution.

However, investing in a technology based solution though makes your administrative work a lot simpler. However, that does not guarantee you a full round success for your training program; in order to ensure that, you need to follow certain steps. Here are the top five tips that you can implement to make your enterprise training program a sure-shot success:

Automate your back-end processes:

Automating the back-end processes of training management makes your work a lot easier and enables you to focus on tasks that are crucial for program designing. On availing the enterprise training registration software, you can do this in the most effective manner. The solution is Cloud based; so it is reasonably priced. It handles registrations, payment management, email communications, waitlist management, online promotions, and database maintenance- all from a centralized platform. As this entire workflow procedure gets streamlined, you save substantially on manual labor and time. However, the most important benefit of availing this software is that it makes the process more systematic, scalable, error-free, and eventually more productive.

Implement an online induction training program

The ultimate motto for any enterprise wide training program is to make all your employees- new and old, along with stakeholders receive high-quality orientation about your business and organization. You can use an online induction training program to execute that effectively. Such programs provide a prolific range of tools and resources, which makes the entire learning experience much more fulfilling.

Create an environment of positive learning

If you seriously want to deliver the best training to your employees and make them thorough professionals, it is critical that an environment is created within the organization that is conducive to learning. Invest in a feature-rich, premiere learning management system (LMS) such as Moodle or get an enterprise training management solution which has an integrated LMS in it. Allow your employees and partners to access these systems and they will invariably start taking an interest in the training programs.

Include your managers and administrators in your enterprise training

If you think it is only your employees who need training, then you are mistaken. Even your managers and top professionals need to undergo refresher training programs from time to time to stay abreast with the latest technology advancements. Implement enterprise training designed exclusively for them and invite them to enroll for the program via online training registration forms.

Make your training program interactive

While designing the training modules, assign top priority to the content covered, and make sure it is delivered in an interactive manner. Facilitate improved student-instructor interactions, upload session hand-outs on your portal, and conduct polls and surveys to make the training program highly productive.

New Concept - Label Clouds With Lasers

You may not realize this but currently we can use light waves and spectrum analysis to determine the exact consistency of a gas cloud. Yes, that means any cloud of gas including water vapor, and that would include the thunderclouds we see rolling across the landscape, or even smog and pollution clouds. We now have satellites which can look down on a city, and tell exactly which types of gases or pollution are coming from which properties. This means no one will be immune in the future for their pollution contributions to greenhouse gases for instance. Okay so let's talk because I have a new idea.

Perhaps in the future we can take this information and use lasers to actually sculpt the clouds and put words on them for all to see. Let me give you an example and for instance;

"This Cloud contains 3% CO2, 1% sulfur dioxide, 54% water vapor - Today's Air Pollution Moderate"

That would be quite interesting wouldn't it? Interestingly enough, we have all the technology to do this already. Using satellites and satellite imagery communicating with the ground, we can easily determine what is in a specific cloud, relay that information to the ground, and have the lasers write that information and message into the cloud.

With this technology we will know what pollution is coming out of every single smokestack regardless of the type of business. No one will be able to claim that they are not polluting if they are, or forge paperwork stating that they are not.

Bob Hope once said; "why would I want to breathe air that I couldn't see?" He was speaking about Los Angeles and the pollution back in the 70s and that smog, well, it was quite toxic, mostly due to the lead gasoline in the cars. Although he was just joking around when he said it, it certainly stops and makes you think. If you can see the smog, wouldn't it be nice to know what's in it, and if it would hurt you, or if you should go out jogging that day?

With this new laser system we could also put other messages in the clouds such as; "fire hazard today; extreme." It might also be a good way to alert citizens of what is going on in case the power goes out, and in case they can't get on the Internet, or all the cell towers are down.

In October of 2012 there was a serious hurricane (later downgraded and then re-upgraded to a super storm) in New York City and New Jersey which took out all the power. If they have this laser system they could simply use an old technique the Indians used to use; smoke signals. Only in this case they would take the existing clouds and put the message right on them. Please consider all this and think on it.

How An RTO System Can Revive Your Enterprise

The most important element that makes a business function at its highest potential is its workforce. A Registered Training Organization or RTO system can help you come up with the most competent staff to revive your enterprise. This article discusses the things you need to know about this strategy.

What can it offer? 

1. RTO can build a powerhouse staff for your company.

2. They provide lessons and structured training sessions that allow your human resources to acquire the necessary skills and abilities needed to perform at the most competent state.

3. The courses and instruction they offer are all designed to meet the qualifications set by the government and occupational industry.

4. The types of lessons differ from person to person. Your employees will first be given an initial examination and assessment to determine their existing capacities and what level of coaching would fit their needs.

5. As soon as a worker finishes a course, he is given certificates and diplomas that qualify him to work anywhere in the country at the vocational level.

How can your business pick from different systems of RTOs? 

1. The kind of system you have to choose will depend on the needs and the functions of your enterprise.

2. Meet with representatives from the different RTOs to communicate the kind of instruction you expect. This will allow you to find out what plans and packages they may provide.

3. As soon as you have chosen one that suits you, their representatives would perform a preliminary assessment of all your employees to draft necessary action plans. This would also help them in giving an accurate estimate of their charges.

4. See to it that they present you with a contract that clarifies all terms and conditions in detail prior to sealing the deal.

What benefits can it give you? 

1. Statistics show that one of the major factors that determine entrepreneurial success is employee performance. Your workers will be able to work with more confidence because of the coaching they have received.

2. Having RTOs is more convenient since entrepreneurs no longer have to do the staff development programs on their own. It is easier to keep track of workers' performance, update their knowledge and skills, and perform assessments as a basis for their evaluation.