20 June 2012 Last updated at 19:00 ET By Bill Wilson Business reporter, BBC News

World champion cyclist Mark Cavendish - who justifiably describes himself as "the fastest man on two wheels'"- has a strenuous summer ahead of him.

The 27-year-old defends the green jersey he won in the 2011 Tour de France, while also looking to win gold in the London 2012 cycling road race.

Before competing in the Olympics, he will have cycled some 3,500km (2,175 miles) in the Tour de France, which gets under way in Belgium on 30 June.

The Manxman is a winner of 20 stages in the last four Tours.

Six days after the end of the 99th staging of the Tour, he will then line up in London on 28 July for the Olympic road race, the climax of which ends in the Mall.

"It is not easy but it is possible," says the sprint specialist, speaking at a Sport Industry Group event in London.

"I am doing both for different reasons.

"There are some guys missing out the Tour de France to concentrate on the Olympics.

"But the Tour de France is the biggest cycling race in the world, commercially. For any sponsor putting money into cycling, the race is a big factor in any deal."

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Cavendish sprints for cycling success

Thursday, 21 June 2012 10:39

RECORDER REPORT

KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has allowed banks/Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) to assign clean credit card and personal loan limits up to Rs5 million to their "prime customers".

The higher clean limit facility has been provided to banks/DFIs with a view to providing flexible treatment to their prime customers. However, aggregate exposure of banks/DFIs in respect of prime customers, has been capped at up to 20 percent of the total exposure on account of credit cards and personal loans, says a circular issued to the Presidents/Chief Executive Officers of all banks and DFIs on Wednesday.

In view of this facility to prime customers, the following paragraph has been added after paragraph 3 of Regulation R-7 of Prudential Regulations for Consumer Financing:

"Banks/DFIs may assign clean credit card and personal loan limits up to Rs 5,000,000 (aggregate from all banks/DFIs) to their prime customers subject to the condition that the aggregate clean limit assigned to one prime customer on account of personal loan should not exceed Rs2,000,000. The banks/DFIs shall put in place comprehensive criteria defining "Prime Customer" on the basis of, inter alia, track record, credit worthiness and financial position, duly approved by their Board of Directors. The banks/DFIs are also encouraged to set internal limits for such clean financing to prime customers keeping in view their risk appetite and other factors. However, aggregate exposure on prime customers should not exceed 20 percent of the total exposure of the respective portfolio i.e 80 percent exposure on account of credit cards and personal loans (separately) should comply with the limits prescribed for regular customers. Further, robust mechanism for risk profiling and risk mitigation should also be adopted for this purpose."

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Banks/DFIs allowed to assign up to Rs5mn limit

Do you ever find yourself staring at web comics or news sites (or even blogs on personal development) when youre supposed to be working? Sure. We all do, right?

We all lack focus at times especially if were struggling with a hard or boring task. And with computers / tablets / phones close to hand, weve got a world of distractions at our fingertips.

Dont feel bad if you dont always concentrate as well as youd like. Staying focused takes effort, and practice but by following these steps, you can hugely increase your chances of having a productive day.

Step #1: Get Clear About Your Immediate Goal Whatever youre working on, you should have some sort of end goal: you need to know once youre done with your current task.

All too often, though, we work a bit aimlessly perhaps checking emails, then filing some papers, then typing a few words on that dull report, then answering a couple of emails, and so on.

Each time you switch to a new task, write down in a few words what youre aiming to accomplish. For instance:

and so on. This is an efficient way of working: instead of splitting your focus between a bunch of different things, youll be concentrating on one task at a time. Youll also have a clear end point in sight which is great for motivation.

Step #2: Close Down Any Distractions There are two types of event that throw you off-task when youre working: interruptions and distractions.

You cant always do much about interruptions. These are external events, like your phone ringing, or a colleague dropping by to ask a question. (You might want to let your phone go to voicemail, though, or put on headphones to prevent people striking up a casual conversation.)

Distractions, though, are under your control even if it doesnt always feel that way! A distraction is the urge to check your email, or to see whether your favorite web comic has been updated and so on.

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How To Stay Focused When You’re Tempted To Slack Off – In 3 Simple Steps

Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2M7hQC8-jEc

19-06-2012 09:32 Streamed live from the 21st edACCESS annual conference Learn more about this participant-driven conference at Online Learning is Good for Independent Schools Presenter: Brad Rathgeber Online learning has grown rapidly at independent schools over the last few years. More than 3 million high school students and more than 5 million college students took online courses this year, with the vast majority of them (~90%) taking them to supplement face-to-face course opportunities. And yet, even with this growth, few independent schools have thought much about online learning or started to develop a plan for using this evolving learning platform. You can expect this keynote session to acclimate you to the possibilities and pitfalls of online learning, address the options that independent schools have for moving into this field, and offer an example approach that some independent schools have taken. More importantly, you will also have the chance to explore an independent school approach to online learning through exploration of an online classroom. Brad Rathgeber is the Director of the Online School for Girls, a non-profit consortium of independent schools, which he helped found in 2009. Brad has worked to create an independent school model for online education, one that favors dynamic relationships between teachers and students, a collaborative approach to learning, and student-centered approaches. Instead of relying on curriculum already created, the Online ...

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edACCESS 2012 Brad Rathgeber Keynote - Video

Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqXrI2BBkIw

19-06-2012 20:22 Secretary of Education Arne Duncan briefs reporters and editors of sites that reach parents, students, and educators across the country at the first ever White House Online Summit on Education.

Link:
Secretary Arne Duncan Speaks at the White House Online Summit on Education - Video

Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=El__BCHR4bU

20-06-2012 15:08 See how easy online Hebrew can be. Learn how you can add up to five levels of digital Hebrew to your curriculum—from letter recognition through prayer literacy —and boost decoding skills and retention. Learn about the benefits of switching from CD-based Hebrew exercises to ones that live 'in the cloud.' This webinar will teach you the nuts and bolts of using Hebrew in the Online Learning Center, including where to find it, how to purchase it for your school, how to add it to your classes, how to use it in class and assign it as homework to extend class time, and how to assess your students online. This coming fall, the Jewish holiday calendar could mean a big gap in instruction time for your school. Find out how Hebrew in the Online Learning Center can help you bridge that gap. (Hosted by Terry Kaye on June 14th, 2012)

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Webinar: Teaching Hebrew with the Online Learning Center - Video

A new leaf: Online MBA spins a web Online programmes are increasingly being preferred, as there is flexibility in timings and people from diverse backgrounds can join M Saraswathy & Kalpana Pathak / Mumbai Jun 21, 2012, 00:02 IST

Online management programmes have gained momentum among companies. While more and more companies want their executives to take up an online MBA because of the time factor, many institutes such as Glion Institute of Higher Education, Switzerland; Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta (IIM-C); UNC Kenan Flagler Business School and U21 Global, have found this market attractive.

Take the Taj Hotels for example. A few months ago, they joined hands with Swiss hospitality institute Glion Institute of Higher Education for online education of their managerial employees. Twenty-five middle and senior level managers were part of the online MBA programme in hospitality management. The cost of $34,000 (Rs 19 lakh approximately) per student for the course was fully sponsored by Taj.

Anouk Tenten, Glion Online partnership manager, explained that companies prefer online courses to traditional classroom-based courses because the institutes 100 per cent online programme combines core management theory with applied industry knowledge, to deliver everything one would expect from a challenging on-campus programme in a flexible, yet interactive, online format.

The diverse student body enrolled in Glion online programmes boasts of representatives from over 60 countries. This provides students a fantastic opportunity to develop a global perspective in an interactive learning environment, which allows peer-to-peer, as well as instructor-led education, she said.

There are also several individuals from Indian service sector firms pursuing the online MBA programme with Glion. However, this was Glions first corporate partnership with an Indian firm.

IIM-C offers satellite-based, long duration certificate programmes through the Hughes and NIIT Imperia platforms. Ashok Banerjee, dean of new initiatives and external relations at IIM-C, said, This mode of executive education has attracted a large number of participants, mainly due to the flexibility that it offers. Over the years, there has been a steady increase in the number of these programmes and in the number of participants. Our revenue from these long duration programmes has been to the tune of 20 per cent of the total revenue.

Most of these long-duration satellite-based programmes at IIM-C are open programmes where participants from various companies can join. Organisations either nominate participants for the open programmes or request IIM-C for customised programmes specific to the needs of their organisations. The programme duration ranges from six months to one year. Participants login for the classes from various locations (Hughes and NIIT Imperia centers) across the country. Hughes has some international centres, too.

Tenten informs that online education has increased within the last couple of years, and one can see many campus-based institutions providing online programmes at an accredited level. Most important is that these online courses are now at the same standards of a campus-based programme, and, therefore, have become increasingly popular with individuals who are unable to study full time on a campus, she added. She said their most popular online programme was the New England Association of Schools and Colleges, Inc (NEASC) accredited MBA in international hospitality and services industries Management. Glion in the last year has expanded the online portfolio to not only include the MBA qualification but also provide certificate and diploma programmes.

Glion grew from a student body of 178 to 300 on a year-on-year basis. As we are also currently developing programmes to meet the needs of the market, we do expect growth in our business-to-business efforts, said Tenten.

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A new leaf: Online MBA spins a web

PHILADELPHIA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

The University of Pennsylvanias Graduate School of Education (Penn GSE) and the Milken Family Foundation have announced the winners of the 2012 Milken-Penn GSE Education Business Plan Competition (EBPC) with five winners earning a total of $120,000 in prize funding.

Now in its third year, the EBPC is designed to stimulate cutting-edge ideas that serve the worlds educational needs, from Pre-K to adult learning. Of over 200 submissions, ten worldwide finalists were selected to gather in Philadelphia to compete in a live competition judged by a panel of industry leaders. Sponsored by the Networking Education Entrepreneurs for Social Transformation (NEST), the EBPC, and the NEST Summit that follows it, were developed to create a forum for education entrepreneurs, whether focused locally or globally, public or private, to catalyze innovation in education.

The EBPC grew substantially in 2012 with the launch of a series of new prizes, including The American Public University System Prize for Innovation in Online Education, The Educational Services of America Prize for Innovation in the fields of Special Education and At-Risk Students, The Erudient Education Prize for Innovation in Borderless Education and The Startl Prize for Open Educational Resources. The 5 winning plans, showcasing the best and most promising new ventures, range from an effort to leverage mobile technology to educate in Africa (and beyond) to a powerful text-to-audio application that is revolutionary for the visually impaired and illiterate around the world.

Launched in 2010 as a partnership between Penn GSE and the Milken Family Foundation, the EBPC culminates with a live competition, judged by a panel of industry experts; this year, it was held on the Penn campus June 19, 2012. More information can be found at: http://nestcentral.org. The $120,000 in total funding was awarded through the following six prizes (Citelighter received two prizes):

Judges included Jeanne Allen of The Center for Education Reform; Dr. Wallace E. Boston president & CEO of the American Public University System, and a Penn GSE graduate; Mark Claypool of Educational Services of America; Gregory Milken of AltEgo and the Milken Family Foundation; Elizabeth Neal of School Leaders Network; Madan Padaki of Erudient and MeritTrac; Laurie Racine of Startl; Alan Todd of Corporate University eXchange; and Victor Vuchac of the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. The event was emceed by David S. Pottruck of Red Eagle Ventures, Inc.

Today, June 20, the NEST Summit has gathered industry leaders to provide a one-of-a-kind opportunity to gauge the pulse of entrepreneurship in education, and to explore new ways of fostering a culture of continuous innovation in the field.

The NEST Summit

A worldwide leader in education practice, policy, and philosophy, Penn GSE is consistently at the forefront of education innovation. As part of the schools expanding entrepreneurial effort, each summer Penn GSE invites the best, brightest, and most influential professional educators, education entrepreneurs, business leaders, and venture capitalists to the campus of the University of Pennsylvania for the annual NEST Summit. The Summit is a unique way to generate new ideas, debate policy, forge new collaborations, discover investment opportunities, and conduct social networking and research.

The Milken Family Foundation

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University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Education and the Milken Family Foundation Select 2012 Education ...

Weekly News Digest June 21, 2012 In addition to this week's NewsBreak(s), the editors have compiled the Weekly News Digest, featuring stories from the week just past that you should know about. Watch for additional coverage to appear in the next print issue of Information Today.

CLICK HERE to view all of this week's Weekly News Digest items.

Gale Brings Online Education Program to Public Libraries

The ed2go for public libraries program, developed as a result of Cengage Learnings unique position within the library, classroom, and adult learning markets, will offer patrons access to hundreds of instructor-led online courses covering everything from health and wellness to digital photography, computer programming, GED test preparation, and much more. ed2go courses are developed by expert instructors, many currently working at universities around the country, and use Cengage Learnings proven pedagogy to ensure classes are engaging and informative. Each individual course is offered online for 6 weeks and features 12 lessons with online discussions, homework, quizzes, and a final exam. Though these are not college equivalent courses, certificate programs are available for careers in the medical field, project management, and computer networking.

ed2go for public libraries features a subscription model designed specifically for librarieslibrarians purchase access to a catalog of ed2go courses which are then offered free to patrons, who can select specific courses to enroll in. Libraries in turn get robust product administration and usage reporting capabilities enabling the easy tracking of successful patron outcomes.

The Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System recently piloted the ed2go program as part of its eCampus initiative to address lifelong learning in its community and deliver workforce development resources, programs, and services. The results have been highly successful.

Source: Gale

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Gale Brings Online Education Program to Public Libraries

When Bilal Shah got his doctorate in computer science from the University of Southern California back in 2010, the job market wasn't exactly welcoming. "I graduated into the Great Recession. Nothing would test my mettle more," says Shah.

Around that time, he heard about a free massive online open course (MOOC) on machine learning -- a branch of artificial intelligence related to the design of certain computer algorithms -- taught by Stanford's Andrew Ng. Since Shah had plenty of spare time, he gave it a try. Every morning for three months, he sat in Peet's Coffee & Tea in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Brentwood, drinking coffee and watching lectures on his laptop. He took pop quizzes, did programming assignments and checked his work on the course's online discussion board. "It was an easy, convenient way to learn something new," notes Shah, who is in his early 30s.

Soon after getting certification from the class, he landed a job interview with ID Analytics, the San Diego-based identity fraud and credit risk modeling company. "They prodded my knowledge [of machine learning] and they could tell I knew the material well," he says. "I got the job. It was a great feeling."

Amid a sputtering recovery that has shone a spotlight on the dearth of qualified workers in particular segments of the economy, many in the business community view MOOCs as a key part of the solution. And at a time when rising college costs and growing income inequality occupy the national debate, some say the platforms that offer MOOCs could potentially transform higher education. Giving millions of students around the world access to high quality classes could help shrink the gap between the haves and the have-nots.

A number of start-ups and prominent colleges have recently gotten in on the game. Coursera, an online learning system created by Ng and Daphne Koller, both Stanford computer scientists, has partnerships with four universities: Stanford, the University of Michigan, the University of Pennsylvania and Princeton. Coursera delivers MOOCs in math, science and the humanities. Udacity, another online education company, launched in February by Sebastian Thrun, a former Stanford professor, offers MOOCs mainly in computer programming and software design. Harvard and MIT recently announced edX, a joint online education partnership, which begins classes this fall.

"Higher education will change; the system is unstable," says Kevin Werbach, a Wharton legal studies and business ethics professor, who is teaching a MOOC on Coursera this summer. "It's an industry that will be in severe turmoil in the next decade. There are so many schools in distress, and the student loan burden is [huge]. In that environment, online platforms like Coursera are an interesting opportunity."

But while Coursera and others hold out the promise of bringing higher education to the masses and leveling the playing field between rich schools and those with fewer resources, some ask whether these platforms have rigorous enough curriculum standards. They question whether the credentials issued for course completion are meaningful in the job market. There is also skepticism around the sustainability of their business models since, for now at least, the classes offered by these platforms are free.

'It's a Facebook World'

Over the years, many schools have attempted online education. Fathom, Columbia University's for-profit online learning venture, shut down in 2003 just a few years after its launch. AllLearn, a similar effort backed by Yale, Princeton and Stanford, was founded in 2000 and closed in 2006.

Why might Coursera or another of the new enterprises succeed where others have failed? For one, the technology has evolved. Video and audio are crisper. Desktop sharing tools and discussion boards are easier to navigate. There is greater access to Internet libraries. Course developers also have a more nuanced understanding of how people learn online and the best ways to present information in that format. Coursera, for example, slices lectures into digestible 10- or 15-minute segments and provides online quizzes as part of each section. Professors answer questions from students in online forums. This is a vast improvement from previous online education ventures that offered a less dynamic learning model where students watched canned lectures, with no interaction.

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Can Free Online Courses Transform the Higher Education Industry?