FUTURE OF EDUCATION

Education is a fundamental right of every child in the society.  We all are today in a position to earn a decent living because of the Education.  My intention is not to write about the Education System but the way it is shaping up and how technology is playing a major role in the way education is going to be imparted.

Children today are extremely comfortable with hand held Digital Devices and Computers.  The Education System is slowly evolving and adapting itself into the New Age Technology.

Teachers have taught lessons in the class room with 30 or 40 or 50 students.  With the new age technology the teacher can actually teach millions of children at the same time.  This is exactly what is done by Khan Academy.  Very simple explanations on various complex subjects with a 10 minute video.  Salman Khan the creator of the Khan Academy decided to provide simple, elementary explanation to maths, physics and related concepts.  The mission is to provide "a free world-class education for anyone anywhere".

Please see this below report what Khan Academy has done to revolutionize and shape the future of education in this world:



Technology is playing a major role in our lives over the last couple of decades particularly after the advent of Internet.  Technology is embedded into almost everything that we do and the convergence of technology and its amazing results are already seen in the evolution of the Mobile Devices.  The future is not just Education but Technology oriented Education which is now termed as "EdTech".

Sal Khan himself explains the why, how and what of the Khan Academy videos in his speech in the Good Live Experience Conference:



This extraordinary man who has studied at world class institutions like MIT and Harvard is now helping millions around the wrold to get world class education at their fingertips.

The academy teaches subjects like Maths, Science, History and Finance and is a great resource for anyone and everyone.

Khan Academy is just the beginning of this revolutionary EdTech and we will see many more such initiatives over the next decade which will get into various other parts of the real life learning.  We may not be able to go back to school but we can certainly go back to a virtual class room and learn whatever we want to learn as there are no boundaries for the virtual class room and hence no entry barriers.  "Learning stops at the Grave" and EdTech is the future of education.

T.P.Anand
Dubai, U.A.E.
28th October 2013

BEST RELAXATION

Relaxation is very essential in the day to day when we are in an ever-changing fast paced life.  Any method or process or procedure or activity that gives us the requisite calmness and reduces the anxiety or stress or anger is a good Relaxation.

There are several methods of relaxing and relieving ourselves from the daily stress.  Listening to Music, reading a nice book, going for a long walk, driving on an empty road, watching a good movie, watching comedy show, prayer, sleeping, meditation, and the list goes on and on and on...................

The objective is to improve health and the only way to improve health is to stay relaxed and calm atleast for some part of the day.  I feel it is important for every individual to relax atleast for 2 hours a day particularly after a eventful, stressful day.

The best relaxation to improve health and to remove stress and strain from the mind is watching Cartoon.  It is real fun, creative, hilarious, innovative and above all very very relaxing.  I have been watching cartoon for the last 30 years and I have never felt bored of watching a cartoon.  Of all the cartoon that I have watched I must say, Tom and Jerry is the most preferred for the amount of fun and relaxation it gives.  Watching Tom and Jerry Cartoon gives the mind the requisite calmness, relaxation and peace.  You will tend to forget everything including where you are when you watch this great creation - Tom and Jerry.

See the below video as a sample of Tom and Jerry:



While we have all learnt to do so many things in life and have mastered the chosen craft to make a living, it is equally important that we learn to relax.

Relax and Enjoy Life.

T.P.Anand
Dubai, U.A.E.
17th October 2013

LIVE IN PRESENT

We have to cherish and live in the Present.  Is is important to remember some of the events from the Past and it is also equally important to plan for the Future.  However it is important to stay focused on the Present as this is what we have to live on.

Past experiences and thoughts will pull us into a hole and will make it difficult for us to think rationally on the Present.  Future thinking will take us into a dream world and the ideas and aspirations for future is always very pleasant.  That is a fantasy and will make us float into the dream world.

The Past teaches us a lot of lessons and hence it is important to learn from those lessons of the Past and Live in the Present so that the Future will be comfortable.

I have come across people who keep digging into the Past all the time and are always in a remorseful mood. Whilst they live in the Past they also have a tendency to pull others around them into a Depression.  This is completely avoidable as we will not gain anything by stirring the past events again and again.  By digging and stirring the past events we are actually wasting the Present moments.  The Present is where we Live and we cannot waste it or throw it away by allowing our thoughts to drift into the Past.

A Plan for the Future which is just on paper is worthless but Planning for Future is Priceless.  It is important to Plan for the Future but at the same time we should not end up wasting too much time dreaming about the Future.

Past is depressing, Future is a Dream and only Present will give us the required Peace and Happiness.

Watch this wonderful video on how to live in the present by following 5 simple steps:


There are 60,000 thoughts that occur to us in a day of 24 hours.  Out of these more than 70% are repetitive and useless thoughts.  It is important for us to condition the mind and ensure that we stay calm and composed and Live the Present by cherishing every moment of it.

Leave the Past and Let the Future be unknown, Love others and Live in the Present.

Regards,
T.P.Anand
Dubai, U.A.E.
13th October 2013

108

In general, I am very fond of numbers.  I read a very interesting article on the significance of 108 recently and thought I should write about this unique number.

In mathematics the number 108 is an abundant number and a semi-perfect number.  108 is also known as Harshad Number as it is an integer which is divisible by the sum of its digits.  1 to the power 1 and 2 to the power 2 and 3 to the power 3 is equal to 108.  The pentagon is formed with interior angles of 108 degrees each.

In Religion, the number 108 is considered very sacred by the Eastern Religions like Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism.  The individual digits in the number 108 represents One thing (1); Nothing (0) and Infinity (8). 1 stands for God (higher truth); 0 stands for emptiness or completeness in spiritual practice and 8 stands for infinity or eternity.

There are 54 letters in Sanskrit and each letter can be mentioned as Masculine and Feminine aspect, totalling to 108.  The powerful Sri Chakra Yantra intersects at 54 points each with a masculine and feminine quality, thus totalling to 108.

There are 108 Divya Desams which are considered very sacred in the Hindu Religion.  These are the 108 Divya Kshetrams of Lord Vishnu.

Japa Mala has 108 beads as Hindus believe that the mantra has to be repeated 108 times.  108 signifies the wholeness of the divinity and perfect totality.

As a human being we are said to have 108 Desires; 108 Delusions and we tell 108 lies.  There are 108 earthly temptations a person must overcome to achieve Nirvana.  We also get 108 different feelings during the day, 36 related to past, 36 related to present and 36 related to future.  Atman, the human soul, goes through 108 stages on the journey.  There are 108 qualities of praiseworthy souls.

 In Astrology, there are 12 constellations and 9 arc segments and thus 9 times 12 is 108.  The diameter of the Sun is 108 times the diameter of Earth.  The distance from the Sun to the Earth is 108 times the diameter of the Sun.

The pre-historic monument "Stonehenge" is 108 feet in diameter.  At 108 degrees farenheit, the human body's vital organs begin to fail from overheating.  This could be reason why in India the Emergency number is 108 (toll free number to call Ambulance, Police, Fire Service).

T.P.Anand
Dubai, U.A.E.
4th October 2013