Canva Review Create Graphics From Your Web Browser for Free

Creating high-quality images for your WordPress site – such as informative graphics for how-to guides and  featured images for your blog posts – can be tricky without a photo editing or graphic design solution. As this  Canva review will show, access to such tools create new opportunities to improve your site.With custom graphics and images, you can take your website to the next level and impress your visitors with your professional design. While tools such as Photoshop and Illustrator can get expensive, Canva offers a low-cost solution capable of creating high-quality photos and graphics.In our Canva review, well explore Canva’s features, services, and pricing to help give you an idea of how it can give your site’s images a little extra something. Let’s get started! Photoshop and Illustrator programs. Canva enables you to accomplish many of the design tasks you would want to use Illustrator for, such as creating infographics, logos, and other v isual aids for your posts and brand:It also tackles some basic photo editing needs. If youre not using many of Photoshops advanced tools, Canva can very easily take over and help you crop, straighten, and add effects to your photos.Canva review: Four key featuresBy providing a variety of graphic design and photo editing features, Canva makes it easy to spruce up your site. Whether you need to share important data or just want a visual element to break up your written content, the features below will help you out.1. Create graphs to share dataStatistics and data can go a long way when it comes to your sites users. While they may value your opinion, being able to back it up with numbers shows youve done your research and have authority on the topic. The problem is, stuffing large amounts of data into tables isnt very visually appealing, and doesnt always display information clearly.On the other hand, graphs and charts can communicate your data effectively while appealing visually in y our social media or blog posts. With Canva, you can select from a variety of graphs and charts to display data attractively. You can choose from more than two dozen chart types, including Venn diagrams, flow charts, bar graphs, and pie charts:Theyre easily customizable through either direct editing, or by inputting your data and letting Canva build the graph for you. Once your graph or chart is complete, you can embed it in another Canva design for use in your social media posts or blog graphics. You could even use a variety of charts to create detailed infographics.2. Edit photos to improve their qualityPhotos play many roles on websites. They can be featured images for your blog posts, personal photos that add authenticity to your brand, or pieces for your portfolio. Regardless of their function, you want them looking their best. Sometimes this means your photos need a little editing.At ThemeIsle, we use Canva to create all of the featured images for our blog posts. Canva is capab le of handling many of our basic photo editing tasks, such as straightening and cropping images. It can also help with a few more advanced techniques. For example, you can use it to apply transparencies and filters:These can help adjust the mood of your photos to fit the context of your posts or highlight certain elements in the photo. Youll also have control over aspects such as brightness, contrast, and saturation to prime your images for their debut on your site.3. Design graphics to enhance your postsTheres a wide variety of reasons you may want to add a graphic to your a post or page. You may want to share an infographic to explain your research. A photo collage could add visual interest to long blog posts. Or you may even want to create your own memes to throw in a bit of humor (no Canva review would be complete without a meme!).Whatever your design needs, Canva probably has a template or a tool to help you create it. The simple drag and drop editor is easy to use. You can cho ose from Canvas free library of images, graphics, and icons, or upload your own:Canva also includes dozens of free backgrounds you can use, as well as several fonts. If youre ever feeling stuck, the platform provides resources to help. You can check out their color wheel, design size guide, and font combinations for inspiration.4. Use layouts and templates to simplify the design processCanva includes a host of design layouts and templates to streamline your design process. While many of them can be useful for some of the situations weve already mentioned – such as graphs and photo collages – they can also help with other brand aspects you may want to implement.For example, Canva includes logo templates you can use to create a logo for your site or business. You could also use their book cover template to create an e-book, or their newsletter templates to add your custom branding to your marketing emails:Using templates can speed up the design process while still enabli ng you to make each element your own. With Canva, you can grow your brand quickly by tackling all your design needs with one easy-to-use platform.Pricing for CanvaYou can use Canvas basic tools at no cost. Creating a free account grants you access to the main features listed above, as well as two folders and one gigabyte of storage space to upload your own photos and graphics. Plus, you can utilize Canvas libraries of free stock photos, graphics, backgrounds, and templates.Additionally, there are millions of other elements you can use with a free account for just $1 per photo or graphic. If you use Canva to create brand elements such as posters or business cards, you can also pay to print these items. Canva offers a variety of finishes and delivers your designs right to your door.If youd like to access the full scope of Canvas features – which includes unlimited storage, exclusive free design elements, set brand color palettes, GIF creation, and custom resizing – you c an sign up for a paid plan. This option is still remarkably affordable at just $12.95 per month.Optimizing your Canva designs for the webCanva enables you to resize your designs to meet your needs. However, youll still want to optimize your image files before adding them to your website. This will prevent any large media files from slowing down your page load times and discouraging users from staying on your website.The easiest way to handle this is by installing an image optimization plugin like  Optimole on your WordPress site to automate media file optimization. Optimole will not only prevent your new Canva designs from weighing your site down, but will also optimize all of the images already on your site and speed up delivery with a CDN: Image optimization Lazy Load by Optimole Author(s): OptimoleCurrent Version: 2.1.2Last Updated: September 25, 2019optimole-wp.zip 96%Ratings 211,971Downloads WP 4.7+Requires Optimizing your images is a best practice that can improve y our overall site performance, as well as your Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and bounce rate. By combining Canva and Optimole, youll be able to create eye-catching graphics and photos that enhance your site without slowing it down.Canva review summaryPhoto-editing and graphic design solutions such as Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator can get expensive. However, theyre also useful for creating high-quality images for your site. An affordable alternative can make a big difference in the quality of your sites images as well as your budget.Weve covered a lot of ground in this Canva review, including some of its key features. We also explored the pricing options available with this platform, and discussed the importance of optimizing your Canva-made images with a plugin such as Optimole. our tutorial on how to create blog images with Canva.Do you have any questions about using Canva to transform your sites images? Ask them in the comments section below!Free guide5 Essential Tips to Speed Up Your WordPress SiteReduce your loading time by even 50-80% just by following simple tips.

The Basics of Back-Formation

The Basics of Back-Formation The Basics of Back-Formation The Basics of Back-Formation By Mark Nichol A back-formation is a new word produced by excising an affix, such as producing the verb secrete from the noun secretion. Many back-formations, like that one, acquire respectability, but others, especially more recent coinages, are considered nonstandard, so use them with caution. Back-formation can be seen as a form of clipping, though the distinction between one category and the other is that clipped forms (ad in place of advertisement, for example) are the same part of speech as the original form, whereas most back-formations are verbs formed from nouns. (Many back-formations are formed from words ending in -tion, such as automate and deconstruct.) Most back-formations eventually take their place among other standard terms, though they are often initially met with skepticism. For example, curate and donate, now accepted without question (and associated with the high pursuits of art and philanthropy, respectively), were once considered abominations. Newer back-formations that careful writers are wise to avoid include attrit, conversate, enthuse, incent, liaise, spectate, and surveil. These buzzwords are convenient hence their creation but they are widely considered inelegant, and in the case of at least a couple of them, concise synonyms are already available. (To spectate is to watch, and to surveil is to observe.) Sometimes, a back-formation is derived from a noun describing an action, as with attendee from attendance, or from a noun describing an actor, as with mentee from mentor. Many people consider such terms aberrant, and they are also ill advised in formal writing. Other back-formations derive from confusion about a base word. Cherry and pea both developed from the assumption that the original terms cherise and pease are plurals. More recently, biceps (and triceps) and kudos have been misunderstood as plurals, resulting in bicep, tricep, and kudo. Although cherry and pea were accepted without reservations into English long ago, bicep, tricep, and kudo are still considered nonstandard. Another class of back-formations are those shorn of their prefixes for humorous effect, such as gruntled from disgruntled and kempt from unkempt; rarely do such truncations enter the general lexicon. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Spelling category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:75 Synonyms for â€Å"Angry†How to Punctuate Descriptions of ColorsWords That Begin with Q

American history Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 3

American history - Essay Example The Progressive Era witnessed the appearance of reformers known by the name progressives whose objective was to knock down the devils of inequalities in the nation (Roosevelt). With the target of highlighting democratic principles and social justice, the progressives made efforts to lay the pillar for a â€Å"new† America with liberty, equality and power (Roosevelt). These progressives emerging from a tradition of middle-class elites possessed a great sense of social responsibility for the underprivileged class (Roosevelt). In the view of Eleanor Roosevelt who belonged to this social class, â€Å"In that society you were kind to the poor, you did not neglect your philanthropic duties, you assisted the hospitals and did something for the needy.† (Roosevelt). The demand put forward by the progressives started gaining recognition from farmers to politicians as it went on expanding from social service to journalism (Roosevelt). Such was the outcome of the endeavors that even president, Theodore Roosevelt mentioned: â€Å"No hard-and-fast rule can be laid down as to the way in which such work [reform] must be done; but most certainly every man, whatever his position, should strive to do it in some way and to some degree.† (Roosevelt). This was supported with Roosevelt’s resolution to discourage the laissez-faire approach and to hold up labor of 1902’s Anthracite Coal Strike settlement (Roosevelt). In the Progressive Era, ladies such as Jane Addams and Lillian Wald shouldered the social duties of updating the immigrant sections and steering them towards the right ways of life and moral values (Roosevelt). This had some influence on the woman and child labor laws, welfare benefits and factory inspection legislation (Roosevelt). However, the exertions of these female reformers simply added to the bosses’ recognition (Roosevelt). Another group of progressives were â€Å"muckraking† journalists like Jacob Riis, whose work How

Buffron Needle Problem Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Buffron Needle Problem - Essay Example The assumption would be that the lines are parallel to the x-axis. Two variables exist in this scenario; the angle with which the needle would be tilted to the lines, ÆŸ, and the distance between the closest line and the center, which would never exceed half the distance between the equidistant lines (See fig. 2 below) The assumption is that the needle would land at a random point between the lines and the angle of inclination would be another random variable. It should further be assumed that the random variables are a result of uniform distribution. This picture depicts the needle missing the line and the needle could only be on the line if the distance closest to a line, D would be less than or equal to  ½SinÆŸ, that is D ≠¤  ½SinÆŸ. This could be illustrated better using figure 3 below. From this, the values representing a hit would occur below or on the curve, D ≠¤ 1/2SinÆŸ. The probability of hitting the line would be computed as a ratio of the shaded curve to the area of the entire rectangle. The area under the curve would be computed using integrals between zero and Ï€. This will give a result of 1. The rectangle would have an area of  ½Ãâ‚¬. The probability of hitting the line would therefore be 1/ ( ½Ãâ‚¬) = 2/Ï€, which is approximately 0.6366. To work out Ï€, the number of needle drops, say N would be multiplied by two and then divided by the number of hits, N’. That is: This would be a situation where the needle is long and its length, l, would be greater than the distance between the equidistant lines. Hence, x = l/d > l. The probability that the needle would intersect a line would be computed using the expression below: Consider the size parameter x = l/d. Taking N as the number of crossings and n as the tosses made by a short needle of size parameter x, then N would have a binomial distribution as a function of n and 2x/Ï€. The point estimator with regard to

The national curriculum of Indonesia

The national curriculum of Indonesia In the course of history since 1945 (Independence Year), the national curriculum of Indonesia had undergone change several times, namely in 1947, 1952, 1964, 1968, 1975, 1984, 1994, 2004 and the latest curriculum of KTSP 2006 (best understood as School Based Currriculum), those amendments are logically consequences of political issue, government system, social cultural, economic, science and technology change in the living of state community (Soekisno, 2007,). Therefore, the curriculum as a set of educational plans should be developed dynamically in accordance with the demands and changes that occur in society. All Indonesias national curricula were designed based on the same foundation, namely Pancasila (Philosophical foundation of the Indonesian Republic) and the 1945 constitution; the principal differences among those curriculums were only on emphasizing of educational goals and approaches to realize it. Continuing to improve the quality of education in order commensurate with other developing countries, the Indonesian government has made various changes, and continues to review the implementation of education in Indonesia. The National Education Standards of Indonesia (BSNP) had regulated through Government Regulation (PP) No. 19 Year 2005 and set eight contents of the Standards of Education, specifically Content Standard, Standard Process, Graduates Competency Standards, Educators Standards and Education Workforce, Infrastructure Standards , Management Standards, Financial Standards and Evaluation Standards. Simultaneously the Government Regulation No.19 year 2005 affected the direction of Indonesian curriculum development policies to implement its Content Standard (SK) and Graduate Competency Standard (SKL) as established through the Regulation of The Minister of National Education: Number 22, 23, 24 year 2006. These three regulations then further elaborated KTSP (School Based Curriculum) which is built and developed by each educational unit or school in Indonesia. According to Azumardi Azra (2006), explained that the changes in education in Indonesia means that there are two new paradigms emerged in education, shifting the orientation of the policy where previously being centralized to decentralized, then national education is more oriented to the learning process rather than results. Decentralized system means to implement the new breakthrough School-Based Curriculum known as KTSP in Indonesia. Change of curriculum had affected the national education system of Indonesia; it had not only affected the learning climate in the classroom, but the readiness of the principal and subject teachers in efforts to understand and apply the curriculum in practice. In addition, Sutrisno and Nuryanto (2008) viewed that the implementation has not been optimally practiced as educational practitioners think KTSP differs with KBK. Meanwhile Suhadi (2006) argued that such an assumption was due to a prior attitudes and psychological resistance against the changes. The changes enhanced the operational practice of curriculum which are developed and implemented by each school consisting of their own respective goals, local content perspectives, educational calendar and syllabus. KTSP which was being mandated by the Ministry of National Education Indonesia (MoNE) through The National Education Standard Institution (BSNP) means to reinforce the implementation of its predecessor (read: KBK), it implies that KTSP still put pressure on developing students competencies. According to Fasli and Bachruddin (2007) said that KTSP implementation will not be undergoing a public test, because this curriculum had been tested through KBK which was being applied by several schools in a pilot project before the birth of KTSP. This is then a following-up toward curriculum change in the context of regional autonomy and decentralization of education programmed by the government of Indonesia. The implementation of this curriculum is focused on three dimensions of students enrichment of knowledge (cognitive), attitude formation (affective) and behavior (psychomotor). Under KTSP the school and teacher have the authority to decide the educational goals based on their own schools perspective, in other words, teacher have duties on: (1) constructing and formulating the proper goal, (2) choosing and constructing the right lesson material according to the needs, interest and childrens development phase, (3) using various methods and teaching media, (4) and constructing the program and the right evaluation. A curriculum should be made systematically and detail, which will help the teachers in its implementation. However, KTSP faces major challenges related to integration of local information, national, and international. Combining these integrations may only be solved by having resources which are prepared ahead of time, not by the teachers who prepared instantly through a variety of curriculum development assistance programs. It is more dangerous if the schools eventually just offered cheat or trace the guidelines offered by National Education Standard (BSNP). If so, KTSP will create the instant schools and result in stunted creativity, contrary to the mandate of the KTSP. Some of the reasons behind the needs for this research include (a) KTSP implementation needs to be evaluated simultaneously in qualitative and quantitative terms; and (b) the results of that evaluation can be made as the basic information for all policy decisions related to educational elements in Riau Province especially at Indragiri Hilir Regency. Research Problem However, having been launched on 2006, there were many issues discussed by experts and parties whose responsible for education, particularly in the implementation of School Based Curriculum (KTSP) which has inadequate human resources whose capable to interpret even elaborate it into the practice of educational unit , incompleteness of the supporting facilities of its implementation, the teachers do not understand KTSP as a whole, both in terms of concept and its implementation in schools and even still busy using the previous theory in the process of teaching and learning in classroom. In accordance with the principal of KTSP, all levels and types of education in Indonesia must develop their own curriculum based on their potential areas and students. This is supported by Minister of National Education Regulation No. 22 of 2006 on the Content Standards, as well as Minister of National Education Regulation No. 23 of 2006 on Graduates Competency Standards (SKL); these regulations mandate to the schools in order being required to prepare their own curriculum. However, this policy is not accompanied by teachers readiness or even understanding. These generate confusion among them while applying the KTSP. As informed by Curriculum Center 2010, the monitoring noticed the implementation of KTSP has been conducted mostly in large areas, although majority of them still adopting from existing model of curriculum. Hopefully, with technical assistances undertaken by various parties will ensure the success of its development and help improve understanding of the concept and philosophy, and encourage them to develop the curriculum based on their respective conditions. Various obstacles occurred during realizing the empowerment of schools and KTSP. First, lack of ability is the main construct, developing of staffs members capabilities while providing technical assistance to particular regions could lead them to learn by doing. The instability of funding for the dissemination and socialization of KTSP causes the Curriculum Center to experience substantial cost-cutting measures; it impacts the perfect planning that has been initially organized became severely hampered in its implementation and also creates distrust between local education authorities and Curriculum Center. But the best spirit in welcoming this new curriculum to be highly efficacious for the Curriculum Center to do the best in accordance with the appropriate quality needs, potentials and regional particularities. Therefore, any problems arise due to the implementation of KTSP supposed to comprise more serious concern of Indonesian Government, especially Indonesian Ministry of National Education. The aspects to be considered include the following: Improving teachers quality and understanding toward relevant concepts of KTSP implementation. Providing such of facilities and infrastructure that can support the successful of KTSP implementation. Simultaneously help every educational unit in developing KTSP. Evaluating its process at provincial level to local district and regions. Whatever the responses from the concerning person/social in regard to the implementation of KTSP, school and teacher are the central to implement this school based curriculum; they themselves have the potential to overcome any weaknesses occurring, if not it will be in vain. As suggested by Nana (2001) no matter on how good the curriculum, the results are highly dependent on what is being done by teachers and pupils in the classroom. It means the success of education through curriculum reformation will ultimately be determined by the teacher as an executor of the curriculum, and school as a learning provider. Research Objectives This study aims to see how the implementation of School-Based Curriculum (KTSP) is carried out in Junior High Schools and Senior High Schools as well as Madrasah at Riau province Indonesia. Specifically it will be conducted in one part of Riau Province namely Indragiri Hilir Regency. Particularly the objective of this study is to assess the status of KTSP implementation in the dimensions of context, input, process and product (CIPP model by Daniel Stufflebeam). To figure out the extent to which KTSP has been implemented in High Schools and Madrasah To investigate the complexities of its implementation during 4 years running To find out the supporting facilities provided by national and local government in its implementation Overall purpose of this study is to see the implementation of the KTSP in terms of context, input, process and product. Significance of the Study The result of this study will give some of practical benefits as follows: The policy recommendations to Indonesian Ministry of Education (especially for Indragiri Hilir Ministry of Education) based on the objectives data that will be resulted at the end of the study. Information to the public (stakeholder and parents) For basic development of relevant curriculum materials accordance with local potentials and teacher competency standard. As reference to the theoretical basis for the development of KTSP paradigm based on schools potential needs on respect to its planning, implementation, and evaluation. Research Questions In overall objectives, this study will formulate the research questions based on the evaluation model of curriculum developed by Stufflebeam (1972); those are Context, Input, Process and Product. Thus the research questions are formulated as the following: Dimension of Context How do the English teachers at Indragiri Hilir Regency develop their own curriculum based on schools desires, students needs and local needs? How do they implement and integrate all aspects of KTSP into their lesson plan and teaching? Dimension of Input How does the Indragiri Hilir Education Ministry assist the schools in developing their teachers capability in implementing KTSP? Dimension of Process How is the implementation of KTSP in Junior High School, Senior High Schools and Madrasah at Indragiri Hilir Regency Riau? How do they (Schools and teachers) evaluate its implementation? Dimension of Product How are the results of KTSP implementation? What is the effect of KTSP implementation on students competence in English (Impact of teachers creativities in designing their own curriculum development) CHAPTER II THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK Literature Review As the latest curriculum on 2006 which is derived from KBK (CBC-Competence-Based Curriculum, 2004), KTSP becomes a new breakthrough in the history of Indonesian education curriculum, which to progress its development to down-top approach. Contextually, KTSP develop by any groups or committees of the education unit or school/madrasah those under coordination and supervision of the National Indonesian Education Ministry and Local Indonesian Education Ministry. It emphasizes on developing the ability to perform competences and tasks with specific standards, so the results affect the students on mastery of a set of specific knowledge competencies, and values used in many fields of life. Indeed, KTSP is the curriculum that reflects the knowledge, skills and attitudes and also refers to the concept of education in turning to improve students potentialities. Moreover, according to historical records, following the independence of the Republic of Indonesia, the Dutch language was replaced by English as the first foreign language, and has been recognized as such in Indonesia since 1955 (Alisjabana, 1976; de Han, 2003 as cited in Mochtar Marhum, n.d.). Since the 1980s, English has been considered to be the most important foreign language in Indonesia. The governments and communitys interest in English has been growing since the early 1990s (Alwasilah, 1997). This position of English can be traced from government documents on the results of Parliaments meetings. In the GBHN (The Guidelines of the State Policy) 1983 and 1988, foreign language policy was not incorporated. However, in the GBHN 1993, the policy on foreign languages, particularly English, was clearly stipulated. The policy related to the use and mastery of English. In 1988, Government Regulation No. 55, 56 and 57/1988 changing Government Regulation No. 28, 29/990 was introduced. It confirmed the use of English in schools. Moreover, Government Regulation of No 57/1957/1988 confirmed the use of English as a foreign language and as a means of communication in the university. Subsequently, it was incorporated into Government Regulation No 60/1999 on the use of English in all higher education. Alwasilah (1997) suggested that the need for mastery of English in the globalization era was absolutely necessary. In addition, it would be ideal if the mastery of English became the mastery of second language (p. 89). Yet, the uniqueness of this KTSP hopefully brings the new education model to the success of Indonesian education. The development of a KTSP is a new phenomenon for the school community in Indonesia, consequently, in the early stage of its implementation some obstacles were found in a number of schools. The freedom of schools to create their own curriculum which is relevant with the needs of students cannot be fully implemented (Harry Burhanudin, 2008). The general model of it which is being developed as a model and fully adopted by a number of schools has tended to cause a similar curriculum among schools as to what was being implemented in the centralistic era. The change in the role of schools from curriculum implementer to curriculum developer has made the school community confused. The capacity of school community to analyze the conditions and needs of the students and implement them in school curriculum needs to be further improved. Therefore, school assistance through professional development programs provided for the head teachers and teachers in the context of this kind of school based curriculum is still considered important for several years to come. In line with the school assistance, capacity building of the educational management in autonomous regions (regency/municipality) managing the curriculum development still remains to be completed A number of studies have been carried out to investigate KTSP implementation; a study conducted in 2008 in Jambi province of Indonesia revealed (Sutrisno Nuryanto, 2008) that KTSP to all levels (Elementary Schools, Junior and Senior High Schools) having less applicable in term of (a) KTSP developmental preparation, (b) syllabus development, (c) teachers self development, (d) integrated learning, (e) local content development, (f) outcomes assessment, and (g) report process (p. 27). As such the issue above, implementation in this context leads to the true readiness of Jambi province in anticipating of changes toward educational paradigm from a previously centralized to decentralized model. For example, KTSP which was launched in late 2006 gave more emphasis on school autonomy through developing their own curriculum according to local needs and wisdom. This means Indonesian curricula is no longer centralized nationally and it is mandated under Indonesian Regulation No. 22 legislated in 1999 by the republic of Indonesia (R.I). Regarding local government, decentralization implies that the authority to implement and manage education shall be transferred from the national government to local districts or municipal government levels. At this point Sutrisno and Nuryanto (1998) also asserted that the teachers rules as facilitator in KTSP elements have not been working as the schools and committees expectations. Furthermore, on different angle was reported as in the following: The real condition shows that the paradigm shift is not necessarily accompanied by better result. A number of problems still advance in Jambi while on level of provinces, cities and countries. First, not all sectors which are directed to educational policy have human resources competent to formulate the technical policy and its implementation. Second, the increasingly of dominant political intervention in determining of policy and implementation, contextually in line with the trend of autonomy, bureaucratic chain is very closely possible to having dominantly power to education. (Sutrisno Nuryanto, 1998 p. 24). In a sense, it is important to consider the argument rose on where the KTSP developed, Endo viewed from this perspective that KTSP is similar to the concept of School-Based Curriculum Development (SBCD) in Australia which had begun to set on the mid-1970s, the discourse was in essence of giving more freedom in determining the curricula by the schools members (Endo, 1997). SBCD has several characteristics that are generally similar to SBC development in Indonesia, proved on through the participation of teachers, participation of the whole or part of school staffs; range of activities including selection (choice of a number of alternative curriculum), adaptation (modification of existing curriculum), and creation (designing a new curriculum); responsibilities transformation from centralist to decentralist (not terminating of responsibilities) and a continuation process among the community and stake-holders (to assist teachers and schools). Other studies have indicated, however, Indonesian KTSP is not derived from SBCD in Australia. Wachyu (2009) argued KTSP is having the differentials factors from SBCD in Australia, KTSP is an integrated curriculum combining between the Top-Down and Bottom-Up approach that was being confirmed in USPN (Legislation of Indonesian National Education Standard) on chapter X, article 36 and 37. USPN revealed that Indonesian curriculum development is based on National Education Standard (SNP) and considerately pay attention on learners potential diversities, schools diversities and local needs. Chapter 38 also states that the structure and framework of the curriculum of primary and secondary schools are determined by the government. Therefore, KTSP was divided into core (subjects tested nationally) and local subjects that are developed by each educational unit based on the assessment of its potential, including the content to develop learners personality and potential based on his interest in the form of extra-curricular activities. While SBCD in Australia tend to apply bottom-up approach, the entire process and the stages of curriculum based on the potential school. As confirmed by Skillbeck (1991) that School based curriculum is a process when some or all members of a school take part on planning, implementation, and evaluation on the aspects or elements of the curriculum (Sklill beck, 1991, as cited in Wachyu, 2009, p. 2). Decentralized curriculum; such of designing, implementing and controlling (evaluation and improvement) carried out through locally by each educational unit, teachers who design its curriculum working together with experts, schools committee/madrasah and others part of society. KTSP development could include all components of the curriculum or some only, instead of compilation can be done by a group or all teachers with regard to the needs of each school in accordance with the conditions in each educational unit or its surrounding communities. KTSP will be more meaningful because of the different situations in a certain local condition that lead to the fulfillment of needs, demands and local development. It will produce a variety of design but is easier to understand, master and implement by teachers by virtue of their involvement in expanding KTSP. Particularly the center of curriculum by Indonesian Education Ministry (2007) has pointed out also the advantages and its shortcomings, the advantages are taking on (a) KTSP is accordance with the needs, conditions, and on diversities which every local communities have, auto assist in developing society, (b) easier to carry out due to the designs that have been prepared by teachers considering the local factors that really support to develop. Instead, it has also several shortcomings, (a) not all teachers have the expertise or skills in curriculum development then, not every local schools have the teachers or an expert that proficiently in developing such of it, (b) with content being localized, the graduate can have lack of ability to participate in national competitiveness, (c) various designs that lead to the complexity of monitoring and evaluating in term of national learning outcomes, (d) transferring students from certain schools to another schools can cause difficulties (Cente r for the Development of Curriculum, 2007). Listen Read phonetically Recent reports have noted, 60 English teachers from junior and senior high schools spread of 24 regencies and cities in West Java Indonesia were being selected, most teachers who participated in this study had trained and socialized about KTSP (Wachyu Sundayana, 2009). Wachyu explored the research questions on (a) How are English teachers understanding about KTSP, (b) How are their perceptions on the development of KTSP, (c) What complexities were raising during implementing and developing its curriculum. This study showed the development of KTSP in every unit of education especially junior high schools and MTs (Madrasah) in West Java is still not in line with the stages of development as suggested in the guidelines of BSNP (Institution of National Education Standard). Data collection showed most teachers (74%) know what KTSP was, but they were not clear to what function they have in practice, implement and develop KTSP; for the same reason Faizah and Ismono investigated the readiness of chemistry teachers in Bangkalan district of Madura and found that Chemistry teachers from five schools were not ready to apply, the percentage just reached on 60% (Faizah Ismono, 2008, as cited in Yuli Eko Siswono, n.d). Simultaneously with the finding of Wachyu Sundayana study, the complexities on its implementation concluded as follows: (a) lack of supporting facilities of the schools, (b) incompleteness of KTSP guidance received by teachers, (c) KTSP guideline was not detailed and clear, (d) teachers understanding on KTSP documents. These data are consistent with the finding of research conducted by Miftahul Jannah (2008) showing teachers abilities are low in developing syllabus and lesson plan; most of respondents (75%) stated about their inabilities in developing syllabus but just copying and duplicating the examples from BSNP without having a preliminary investigation throughout students potentials and schools needs. Most of interviewing respondents admit to their complexities in making a good syllabus and lesson plan lines with the students and schools needs. This fact showed that teachers having many difficulties in developing varieties stages on KTSP (Miftahul Jannah, 2008, as cited in Wachy u Sundayana, 2009. p. 7). Regarding Riau province, whole schools on current educational year 2009/2010 are progressing to adapt KTSP, such socialization have always done, it felt as complexity because the entire process of transforming from being centralize to decentralized was not much understand by some teachers, referring to the function of teachers on KTSP, teachers are together with schools members to develop KTSP based on students potential and local needs (UUD No. 20 year 2003/article 37). In fact, it is of utmost importance to examine what we could learn from prior and present efforts to bring about the strategies that are currently progressed by BSNP to help every educational unit in developing its curriculum. Harianti (2008) explained although the authority of national curriculum development has changed, it is not making a sense for curriculum center to lose their jobs, the task change progressively to assist schools to prepare their own respective curricula. Furthermore, Harianti pointed out the job responsibility does not seem to be easy where there are a large number of schools in Indonesia contains 43.461 (elementary schools), 12.731 (junior high schools), 4.499 (senior high school) and 2.655 (vocational high schools), yet, not including Early Childhood education, Extraordinary Schools and Madrasah (Harianti, 2008). It does not allow for curriculum center helps one by one, there should be a strategy then schools can develop their own curricula. The expectation is that they can develop a curriculum, becoming true backbone in improving local human resources through education in national or even in international competitiveness. Empowering the schools and community in developing KTSP done through a technical assistance, both at the provincial level as well as at the level of district/city, at the provincial level expected to present a TPK (Curriculum Development Team) whose responsibility to provide the information and give assistance on the development of KTSP to TPK at the district level. Empowering at the provincial level such as Riau is concentrated in the area of curriculum development till the teams performing evaluation and monitoring its implementation based on their own respective regions, beside at the district level is concentrated on the ability of the team to perform in school curriculum development assistance. KTSP where commonly known as school based curriculum gone to be discussed for a long, the broad study of Marsh Collin (1990) on their final finding of School based curriculum development had suggested through sub of specifics SBCD issues: The key actors involved in political decisions about schooling in their respective countries tend to use several terms to describe or promote their efforts. Such term include quality of schooling, school-improvement, school-focused improvement, self-managing school, and many others. Be that as it may, there are a number of interesting issues about SBCD and (its synonyms) which are currently of considerable interest and are likely to remain so in the immediate future. They include: The role of parents and students in decision making Financial management by schools Professional development for teachers Teacher appraisal School evaluation Pressure of tightening central control (Marsh Colin, 1990, pp. 206-207) The Curriculum center in its official website released about the uniqueness of KTSP implementation in term of diversity of schools needs, although the two junior high schools are located in the adjacent neighborhood both were very much different in term of pupils conditions. The A school whose current learners come from upper and middle class of socio-economic level had high academic achievement; all of them want to continue on to university. On the other hand, the B school where the majority of learners come from disadvantaged of socio-economic groups planned to graduate soon and earning money is a primary goal of schooling. Both of these two schools will develop a very different curriculum. School A will focus on studies with higher order thinking that enables learners to have high academic thinking in leading them to continue university, while school B will enrich the subjects with several activities that cultivate the skills to work so that learners feel a sense of great benefici al skills after graduating from school B. Many researchers have investigated KTSP, Specifically on its implementation, based on the reviewing above some researchers had focused on the effectiveness on its evaluation based on the real phenomenon which occurred in the real situation of the schools, the writer although cannot find the way of their investigation by using several methods of curriculum evaluation models, where known on several studies like Glatthorn Allan, Floyd Bruce (2006) studied in their books that curriculum evaluation should be concerned with assessing the value of a program studies, a field of studies, and a course of study, furthermore, they argued of all these three levels of curriculum work are important. Hereafter, the evaluation models of curriculum as best known are practical such as: Tylers Objectives-Centered Model, Stufflebeams Context-Input-Process-Product Model, Scrivens Goal-Free Model, Stakes Responsive Model and Eisners Connoisseurship Model (Glatthorn, Floyd Bruce, 2006 pp. 302-306). For further study, the writer will focus on the evaluation model developed by Stufflebeams on Context-Input-Process-Product Model 1971. The context-input-process-product (abbreviated as CIPP) model, has several attractive features, namely: its emphasis on decision making seems appropriate for administrators concerned with improving curricula, its concern for the formative evaluation remedies. However the CIPP model has some associated drawbacks; its main weaknesses seems to be its failure to recognize the complexity of the decision making process in organizations. It assumes more rationality than exists in such situations and ignores the political factors that play a large part in these decisions (Glatthorn et al., 2006). Definition of the Terms Several operational definitions used by the researcher to conduct and focus on this study are as follows: Curriculum The original derivation of the word curriculum is from the Latin verb currere, to run; curriculum, a diminutive form, came to mean a racing chariot or race track (David Pratt, 1994, p. 5). Curriculum also can be defined as prescriptive, descriptive, or both. Ellis explained that Prescriptive definitions provide us with what ought to happen, and they more often than not to take the form of plan, an intended program, or some kind of expert opinion about what needs to take place in the course of study (Glatthorn et al., 2006, pp . 3-5). According to the Indonesian Institution of National Education Standards (2006) curriculum is a set of plans and rules about the goals, content, teaching materials, and the methods used to guide the implementation of instructional activities on achieving certain educational goals, its certain goals include the national education goals in accordance with the local potential

Cold Sassy

Death is spread all throughout Cold Sassy Tree, a novel that begins with the passing of Mattie Lou and ends with the passing of Rocker Blakeley. While the book focuses on mainly on religion and the restrictions of the town Cold Sassy, the Grim Reaper seems to be floating around every corner. Cold Sassy Tree by Olive Ann Burns. Is a book that revolves around death, and the main character Will Tweedy seems to know lust how to handle himself from the very start. Will Tweedy Is fourteen years old when his grandmother, Mattie Lou Toy Blakeley, dies three weeks before the novel begins.There Is no real explanation as to why she died, since the author did not specify her sickness, so It was most likely due to natural causes. This might have made It somewhat easier on Mattie Loll's family and the rest of Cold Sassy, who were very close to her, but It does not keep them all from grieving and mourning to Kingdom Come. They linger on her death and restrict themselves from doing anything they fin d pleasurable. This Is understandable as well as common in their time, seeing that they could be judged for coming out of mourning too quickly.However, young Will sees that there is something wrong with tying upset for such a long period of time: â€Å"l just didn't think I could stand anymore mourning. For three whole weeks†¦ They hadn't let me play baseball or go fishing or anything. † (Burns 14). This shows that Will is somewhat ahead of others when it comes to dealing with the demise of close friends and relatives, though he deals with it in a very different way from others. Will Is puzzled by the conformity that is offered from Cold Sassy.He does not see why it is wrong for his grandfather, Mr.. Blakeley, to love both his dead wife and his new wife, Miss Love. He knows that it is strange for his grandfather to be marrying a unsung milliner shortly after Mattie Lou dies, yet sees the positive side and recognizes the fact that his grandfather will need help around the house. If Mattie Lou is dead, how can she help Mr.. Blakeley? Will has also almost been killed by a train; this occurred not long after Mattie Loll's death.The event was very surreal to him, and he was extremely scared when he found that he could very well be dead: â€Å"And as knowledge of what could have happened hit me, I started shaking and crying. † (Burns 78). In addition to this, Will's friend Bluffed Jackson died the previous year due to cocoas. Will grieves for him during the camping trip with his friends, but he covers it up with humor. That is the revelation; Will deals with death through comedy so that he can deal with the emotions he does not understand.However, after he himself almost dies, Will begins to see that he should be more appreciative of life, and It makes him want to understand God and death more than ever. This brings us to Will's spiritual mentor, which would be his grandfather, Rocker Blakeley. Rocker helps Will mature In many ways through the nov el, never lecturing UT sharing his thoughts with young Tweedy. Rocker makes It clear that he Cold Sassy By mahogany seems to be floating around every corner. Cold Sassy Tree by Olive Ann Burns. S a Will Tweedy is fourteen years old when his grandmother, Mattie Lou Toy Blakeley, dies three weeks before the novel begins. There is no real explanation as to why she died, since the author did not specify her sickness, so it was most likely due to natural causes. This might have made it somewhat easier on Mattie Loll's family and the rest of Cold Sassy, who were very close to her, but it does not keep them all from homeless from doing anything they find pleasurable.This is understandable as well as common in their time, seeing that they could be Judged for coming out of staying upset for such a long period of time: â€Å"l Just didn't think I could stand Will is puzzled by the conformity that is offered from Cold Sassy. He does not see almost dies, Will begins to see that he should be mo re appreciative of life, and it Blakeley. Rocker helps Will mature in many ways through the novel, never lecturing but sharing his thoughts with young Tweedy. Rocker makes it clear that he

Preparation For Early Christianity Essay

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  The name of Christ (from the Septuagint word â€Å"Anointed One† or â€Å"Messiah†) can not be treated like just a symbol, it’s the name of our soul.   Christianity, in its turn, has become not only the one of numerous crucial periods in the history of humanity but the most blessed period in our history.   But as any historical and ideological period Christianity and the main stages of its development has always been an object of great quantity of works and discussions. And it   could not   be in other way as speaking about Christianity we mean the historical phenomena of global importance, we mean the Faith whose followers are millions of people in the contemporary world.   Justo Gonzales is one of few who managed to present a very clear and detailed picture of the preparation for Early Christianity. In the â€Å"The Story of Christianity† by Gonzales the preparation for Early Christianity is not only highlighted in strict connection with the history of those times but is given without any personal judgments of the author. The first chapter of â€Å"The Story of Christianity† is called â€Å"The fullness of time† and that is a very suitable name. The birth of Christianity took place in the times when the ideological and geographical situation was really â€Å"full†.   Gonzalez does not judge any doctrines or events- he just gives a detailed analytical synthesis of Early Christianity development starting from the first years of existence of Christianity up to the end of Reformation area.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  The birth of Christianity has become the most out standing period in the history of this religious current of millions.   The ancient science of Rome gave to the first roots of Christianity which got powerful development after coming of Christ.   The genius minds of Roman Empire had already proclaimed partially   what Christ brought with him then, just in their pagan interpretation it was not well finished and explained.   Socrates and Plato already had spoken in their works about the life after death and Socrates proved in his believe in life after death by accepting death voluntarily. â€Å"Plato’s teacher, Socrates, had been condemned to death as an incredulous corruptor of youth. †¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Gonzalez 1984, 16) – that was his punishment for declaring philosophy which was claimed as destructive. The further development was unavoidable. The borders of Roman Empire have not become an insuperable obstacle for Christianity. And that is quite reasonable:  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"†¦ Since trade flourished, travel was constant; thus Christianity often reached a new region, not through the work of missionaries or preachers, but rather through traveling traders, slaves†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Gonzalez 1984, 14). With the development of empires new and news areas got under influence of Christianity.   Nevertheless, we must point out the one of the main sources which helped Christianity to overcome the field of the Roman Empire – Judaism has become a cradle of Christianity, it has become a launching platform for its early period: â€Å"The Early Church Diaspora Judaism For centuries before the birth of Jesus, the number of Jews living away from Palestine had been increasing† (Gonzalez 1984, 12). In his book Gonzalez pays special attention to Judaism. There were many different establishments among Judaism (the Zealots, the Essenes, etc.), some of these currents of Judaism being the synthesis of ancient pagan faith and Hellenistic culture. But precisely these initial roots were awaiting for the Holy Word of Christ to grow up and overcome the boards of long-suffering Palestine.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Bibliography Gonzalez, Justo. The Story of Christianity: Volume One: The Early Church to the Reformation. New York: HarperOne, 1984.