Good marks have always been perceived as critical to the future success of a child. Most of us remember our parents telling us that to achieve something in life, it is necessary to get a good education.

Private tutoring is a rapidly expanding industry around the world, including countries such as U.S. spending heavily on tutoring.

Korean parents are no different where education goes, in fact their children are said to spend twelve hours a day at school and even a 3-year old has English language tutors.

You would understand the extent of interest that Koreans show in children’s education by the fact that the Korean Air Force is said to ground its planes, during the college entrance exams so as not to disturb the students.

The pride of most Korean families hinges on what universities their children attend, which is the reason why Koreans shell out more for schooling of kids aged 5 to 21 years of age, than any other country in the OECD.

OECD, which is the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development is an international organization that consists of thirty countries that follow the principles of free market economy and representative democracy. Countries such as Australia, Canada, France, Denmark, Sweden, Spain, Switzerland, Greece, United States, United Kingdom, Italy, Japan and others are all part of this organization. (more…)

Putting a child through school washes away all the savings and then comes college, where parents end up at the hawk-like lenders’ doors. There certainly are loans for students, but when was a student loan ever enough for college? Families often have to lean towards private loans to help them cover the huge gap between the college education cost and the federally backed student loans.

What this means, with the current credit crunch, is the inability to get loans except for the most creditworthy of all and for the ones that do secure a loan, it means higher interest rates.

It is very important for families to consider various alternatives before taking a private loan. The variable interest rates and the fees are much higher now, making private student loans far more expensive than the student loans, which carry a low fixed interest rate. There are some states that offer bargain-rates on loans to those children that live or attend college within their borders.

According to Kalman Chany, author of Paying for College Without Going Broke, “Private loans should be a last resort.”

In spite of knowing the issues associated with such loans, many families still go in for private loans. There are other students that do not qualify for the federal loans, either because they are foreign students of because they have less grade points. These students have no other alternative available but to approach the private lenders.

According to experts, there are certain things to keep in mind while looking for a lender. One should not go by the lower rates being advertised. Interest rates depend on the borrower’s credit score and the percentage varies from person to person. Even those students that have good credit usually take the help of either family or relatives with a better credit history to be co-signers. This means, the co-signer is accepting the responsibility of repaying the loan if the student does not pay back. (more…)

Wireless technology that eliminates the need for wires and cables, and facilitates access to information in the easiest manner possible, is here to stay. It is being used in mobile phones, video games, home networks. Every personal computer operating system and game console supports Wi-Fi.

With so many advantages that it affords, it is no surprise that people overlook any drawbacks it may have, such as the security issues. Wi-Fi networks that are unencrypted or open can be easily monitored by others and used to view all the personal information transmitted over the network, unless some sort of security, such as a VPN or a secure web page is used.

In order to protect people’s interests and make them aware of the security aspect of Wi-Fi networks, the FBI has recently issued a warning that the Wi-Fi hotspots or the wireless internet networks are easy prey to hackers.

These wireless internet networks are found at airports, book stores, malls, supermarkets, school campuses, coffee shops and several such places. These networks are installed for the use of residents of different localities; however, security at these places is very low, with no registration or passwords required to use the service. Even emails and instant messages are not encrypted.

This sort of a setting is like a full-fledged feast to a hacker, who can access and steal this private information from anywhere in the world. (more…)

Children often complain that their parents do not allow them to play video games as often as they would like and that they do not understand how much fun playing video games can be.

There is good news for the kids. Parents may just let them get their way if this obsession proves to be good for their health, and they themselves may start playing alongside their children.

Health researchers in the U.S., who are always searching for ways of find good in everything, are at it again and are looking at the positive influence video games might prove to be.

The Robert Wood Foundation announced that it will give about a dozen research teams, up to $200,000 each, to conduct studies for a couple of years. The aim of the projects will be to measure the effects of playing video games, on the young as well as the old.

Researchers at Cornell University will study how a game played on a mobile phone, which rewards exercise and healthy eating, will influence the behavior of children. University of Florida research team will monitor how playing Crazy Taxi with Play station II will affect the perception in the elderly. University of South Carolina will look into how video games such as EyeToy and Wii can affect people who suffered a stroke, by helping them recover their motor skills.

The idea behind conducting these various studies is the feeling that video games have the potential to teach through reinforcement. Researchers wish to encourage healthy behaviors from obsessions such as video games. (more…)

Wireless technology has changed the face of communication and with the creation of Bluetooth; people felt they have seen it all.

However, the quintessential mobile has just become more endearing and turned our savior. From now on, it will also call the doctor in case of an emergency and its owner is unwell.

Latest research shows that the mobile technology has been given the capability to call the doctor when the owner of the phone is in danger. This works for patients with chronic health problems, such as people who are at risk for a diabetic collapse or a heart attack. With sensors implanted inside the bodies of such people, doctors will be able to monitor them remotely.

If the “in-body network” of sensors recorded that the person had suddenly collapsed, then an alert would be automatically sent to a surgery or a hospital nearby. These network sensors monitor the patients’ moves and pick up health signs that can prove to be dangerous, such as high blood sugar levels or an attack of asthma, and send an alert via a portable monitor or a home hub.

This research is being carried out at Portsmouth as well as many universities in the UK.

They say that these networks may use a spectrum that is allotted to be used by these sensor networks. The main belief behind this technology is that radio spectrum can be used in many ways to help people. (more…)