REGISTER FOR FREE ONLINE COURSES

Do you have internet access? And you don't know what to do with it? You can easily do some free online courses. in which you could get a certificate for each course you offer. so far you finish it. Also, these courses cut across all discipline.

These courses are being handled  by renown institutions like Harvard and University of California; Berkeley and they are absolutely Free of Charge.

The requirements are just a laptop and an internet connection + your interest; either to submit your assignments before they are due or for you to see the course through.

Even if ASUU or ASUP strike has been called off, you can still continue with the course. You only have to go through the course outline and receive lectures only once in a week. Except, your assignment has deadline.

Videos, free e-books and links for other educational materials are provided. There are discussion where you could relate with other students like you and their works. The most amazing part is that you get to experience being taught by a Professor!

Just go to www.edx.org to view the courses available and the time span so as to register for anyone you desire.

Do not forget that Knowledge is power.


Akunpelu, Sherif Lanre

Pearson Writer

Have you heard about the Pearson writer? if you have not, please do read this article and know what it does:

Students around the country are raving about Pearson Writer - a new mobile and online solution that makes writing and research easier, faster and more effective!

Writing Review: Polish your writing by automatically evaluating it for grammar and style issues.
"The Writing Review tool was a great option for proofreading and grammar checks. It helped me with the overall mechanics of grammar and prose of my writing. I was able to achieve maximum points on assignments because of the lack of grammatical errors." -Bree, a student at Southern New Hampshire University

My Projects: Keep track of all your writing assignments for all your courses in one electronic place, and organize them by due dates.
"The tab that contains all my projects is genuis. Procrastination was my largest setback until I started adding all my assignments in Pearson Writer. It reminds me when everything is due, in one place." -Katie, a student at East central College

Cite Sources: Manage and create bibliographies with tools for citing any kind of source in a variety of styles, including MLA, APA, and CMS. Use your device camera to scan barcodes of books and automatically cite them.
"The bibliography portion is my favorite because it takes me so long to cite my sources properly on my own. With Pearson writer, I can complete my bibliography faster and focus on the actual content of my project." -Elizabeth, a student at Colorado Mesa University


SOURCE: http://www.pearsoncustom.com/ca/ucberkeley_writing/

Grabbing Attention with Your Cover Letter's Opening Line

Learn to write openings that fire up the reader and move the reader along without wasting tons of time. Interviewers are overloaded — whole days are a blur for them, and they have no spare minutes to decipher what it is you can do for them.

Consider the harried interviewer pouring over an arcane or boring cover letter: "Why am I wading through this slush? I'm not. Let's sail this sucker right into the trash with the other gibberish."

If your cover letter starts off with tired blood, your reader will likely be too bored to keep on reading.

Two tips to open your letter

The best information to put into your opening line is a name: the name of the letter's recipient or of a mutual friend. Name dropping virtually guarantees that your letter will be read. To get attention, nothing beats the coattails of someone the letter's recipient likes or respects.

Even if the gatekeeping clerical staff doesn't know the names you drop from Adam's house cat, you'll increase your letter's chances of landing on the right desk.

The second-best information to put into the opening line is a clear statement of what you want, followed by the benefits you offer — qualifications you have that directly relate to the qualities the hiring company seeks.

Don't waste space in your opening lines by citing the source of a job opening notice — "I saw your ad in the KoKoMo Express last Sunday." Handle that in the "RE:" line in the upper, right-hand quadrant.

A sampling of sizzling sells

Having trouble launching your first letter? The following are some of the best opening lines — from real cover letters — and present them here to inspire you.

• "During your visit to UCSB last fall, I had the pleasure of hearing you address the issue of FuelCO oil rigs off the coast of Santa Barbara."

• "We acknowledged and discussed my diverse background when I assisted you through the Internet; I enclose my resume for your consideration. "     

• "Since you will soon be working on photo sessions for the Spring catalog, I have enclosed my resume and portfolio to show just how ideal my background in photography and design is for your marketing strategies."

• "Juliette Nagy mentioned your company has opened a division of sporting goods and suggested I contact you."

• "Your speech was inspiring, Miss Rogers. Soon I will have completed my master's in physical therapy, just in time for your entry-level openings in the PT ward."

• "Chaim Isenberg of the Grenwich and Co. accounting firm suggested I contact you regarding opportunities in your warehouse division in Champagne."

What makes these opening lines so great? Some mention names. Some connect to a common experience. Some reveal in-depth knowledge of the company involved. All show the letter writer as a person who cares enough to give time and attention to the presentation made in this self-marketing tool.

Source: http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/grabbing-attention-with-your-cover-letters-opening.html

Writing a Good Blog

Blogs, or Web logs, are online journals that are updated frequently, sometimes even daily. An update, (also called an entry or a post) is usually quite short, perhaps just a few sentences, and readers can often respond to an entry online. People who write blogs are commonly called bloggers. Bloggers, tongue in cheek, call themselves and their blogs the blogosphere.
Blogs are a great way to keep everyone in a family abreast of the latest family news without running up the phone bill — you can simply read back over important updates to find out the latest news. In addition, many blogs are being used to host photographs, and their chronological structure can be a great way to keep track of a baby's growth, a trip, or the process of planning a wedding.
Professional writers often look down on bloggers, because their informal online writing rarely benefits from a good editor. Blogs are known for their casual writing and unpredictable subject material, but the best blogs have proven that — regardless of punctuation and spelling — even "novice" writers can be entertaining enough to attract a broad audience.
Bloggers with an especially engaging subject, such as chronicling a trip around the world, have the advantage of inherently interesting material, but even mundane material can attract an audience if you have an engaging style and voice.
Here are three guiding principles to writing a successful blog:

• Develop a writing style and tone appropriate to your subject material.

• Post often, even if your posts are short.

• Allow your readers to comment on your posts.

Develop a writing style and voice

A great site design and technical gimmicks are no replacement for developing an interesting, readable writing style. Most of us don't do much personal writing in our everyday lives or even keep a diary. Writing about yourself is never easy, and you may find yourself freezing up in front of the computer screen or becoming stilted and unnecessarily verbose.
Here are a few suggestions you can use to develop your own voice and style for your blog. First, remember that a blog is a conversation. Try to write the way you speak. Avoid jargon and clichés and don't overuse the thesaurus. It may be helpful to speak your entry out loud before trying to type it or to read it aloud after you've written it. If you find yourself struggling as you read aloud or speaking unnaturally, think about what you might have said if you were talking to a friend rather than writing.
Second, write your blog with a specific friend or family member in mind. Thinking of someone you know well and who might want to read your blog will help you relax your writing style. That's why it's become popular for many people to start personal journal entries with Dear Diary. The goal is to get your writing to sound more like you and less like a lofty essay.
Always consider your audience. If you're writing for only close friends and family, you don't need to explain that Sarah is your 8-year-old daughter every time you mention her. But if your blog attracts a wider audience, you may want to create references or glossaries to help new readers follow along.
Finally, before you start blogging, spend some time visiting other blogs that are like the one you're thinking of starting. Read one or two for a few weeks and pay attention to things like the length of posts, frequency, writing style, and subject material. You can get some great ideas for your own blog by noting what you find interesting and compelling in other people's blogs.

Update, update, update

The blogs that attract the most readers are the ones with frequent updates. If you start a blog, be prepared to spend some time working on it every day or two. If you're going to be a blogger, you have to blog! It takes discipline for most of us to write, even conversationally, every day. If you find yourself dreading posting to your blog, maybe a blog isn't for you.
As you go about your day, keep the blog in the back of your mind. You may even want to carry a notebook where you can jot down reminders for topics you want to blog about later. Start paying attention to the parts of your life that are most interesting to you; those will likely be the areas your friends and family are most interested in as well. Don't be afraid to write about everyday activities — parking tickets and car repairs — but don't neglect to talk about what you're thinking and feeling. All these areas will make it possible for you to update frequently.
Having a co-blogger can take some of the pressure off, especially if all authors contribute regularly. If you're going to be working with several people on one blog, talk over how often you expect each other to post so that you can keep some focus and cohesion to your blog.
If you will be updating your blog on a weekly, biweekly, or monthly basis, try to be consistent about when you add new posts so that your readers know when to catch up. For example, you may choose to update your site every Sunday evening.

Invite comments

An important aspect of blogs is that they feature the writing of the blogger as well as the comments of readers. When you visit a blog, you often find a comment link under the text of each blog posting. Clicking that link enables you to read comments from other people and submit your own. Usually bloggers make their own comments in the posts on their site, but sometimes a blogger adds a response in the comment section because it's a more direct way to address someone else's comment.
Not all bloggers choose to implement the comment feature, but if you want to develop a dialogue with your audience, comments are the best way to do so. The comment feature is an easy way to involve your audience and get valuable feedback about what you're doing with your blog.

If you do decide to allow comments on your blog, be sure to keep an eye on them. The comment feature makes it possible for anyone to add comments to your blog and you may not always like what they have to say. For example, spammers sometimes take advantage of inattentive bloggers to do some marketing that you may not want on your blog. All good blogging software makes it easy for the author to remove comments.

By Janine Warner from Creating Family Web Sites For Dummies

Hypnotizing Yourself

When you think of hypnosis, two images probably come to mind. The first is from a B-grade movie where you see some Svengali-like doctor — usually deranged — dangling a pocket watch in the face of some innocent victim. The second is of some hypnotist on a stage with a dozen or so audience volunteers who are either dancing with brooms or are clucking like chickens. Fortunately, neither image is accurate.
Actually, hypnosis is less mysterious and far more mundane than you may think. Hypnosis is very safe, but, more importantly, it can be a very effective way of helping you relax and cope with stress.

No, you will not be turned into a clucking chicken

Probably no other psychological technique for stress reduction is as misunderstood as hypnosis. Take a look at some things you need to know:

• You are not asleep.

• You are not unconscious.

• You won't lose control or be under someone's spell.

• You won't do anything that you do not want to do.

Hypnosis is simply a deeply focused state that makes you more acutely aware of suggestions and allows you to be more receptive to those suggestions.

Some people are more susceptible to hypnotic suggestion. For hypnosis to be as effective for you as possible, try to adopt a receptive, non-critical attitude. Don't fight the process. Just go with it. If you remain totally skeptical and resistant, not much is going to happen. Have an open mind.

Surprise! You've already been hypnotized

You may not realize it, but chances are you've been in a hypnotic trance many times before. We slip in and out of hypnotic states all the time. For example,

• You've been driving on the highway and it scarily dawns on you that you haven't been paying attention to the road or your driving for the past five minutes.

• You've left the movie theater and realize that your attention was so glued to the screen that you had no idea who was sitting next to you or what was going on around you.

• You've been daydreaming or just lost in thought. You suddenly look at the clock and think with surprise, "Where did the time go?!"

In each case, you were in a hypnotic trance.

The power of a trance

When you're in a trance, you're in a different mental state. You are still awake and in control, but your attention becomes narrow and incredibly focused. In this mental state, you're more receptive to any suggestions you may give yourself, or that a hynotherapist may offer. You give yourself a shortcut to your subconscious. These suggestions can take many forms: cigarettes taste lousy, I'm growing taller day by day, I'm getting smarter, whatever. (Clearly, some suggestions are more realistic than others.)

Inducing a light trance

You can induce a hypnotic trance in many ways (even the dangling watch can work). Here is one of the simpler induction techniques to reduce tension and stress.

1. Find a comfortable position in a quiet, dimly lit room where you won't be interrupted.

Relax as much as possible. If you want, take off your shoes and loosen any tight clothing.

2. Focus on an object across the room.

The object can be anything — a smudge on the wall, the corner of a picture, it really doesn't matter. Just choose an object that is above your normal line of sight so that you have to strain your eyeballs a wee bit looking up to see your spot.

3. As you look at your spot, silently say to yourself:

"My eyelids are becoming heavier and heavier."

"My eyelids feel as if heavy weights are pulling them down."

"Soon they will be so heavy they will close."

Repeat these sentences to yourself about every 30 seconds.

4. Focus on your eyelids.

Soon you will notice that, indeed, your eyelids are beginning to feel heavier. Feel this heaviness deepen with time. Don't fight these sensations, just let them happen. Let your eyes close when you feel they want to close themselves.

5. As your eyes begin to close, say to yourself: "Relax, and let go."

6. When your eyes close, take in a deep breath through your nostrils and hold that breath for about 10 seconds.

7. Slowly exhale through your slightly parted lips, making a "swooshing" sound.

At the same time, let your jaw drop and feel a wave of warmth and heaviness spread from the top of your head, down your body, all the way to your toes. Continue to breathe slowly and smoothly. As you exhale, silently say the word "calm," or some other relaxing word, to yourself. As you breathe, let the feelings of relaxation deepen for another few moments.

Going a little deeper

After you induce a light trance, you're ready to move into a deeper state of hypnosis.

1. Take a deep breath and hold it for about 10 seconds.

Exhale slowly through your lips while saying the word "deeper" to yourself. Continue this process for several breaths more, saying the word "deeper" to yourself with every exhalation.

2. Imagine that you're stepping onto a descending escalator, a long, slow escalator that will take you into a state of deeper relaxation.

As you begin your descent, silently say to yourself,

"I am sinking slowly into a deeper state of relaxation."

3. As you descend, count backwards on each exhalation, from 10 to 1.

When you reach the bottom of the escalator, imagine that you are stepping off this escalator and are stepping onto a second descending escalator. As you imagine your descent, deepen your trance with each breath, again counting backwards from 10 to 1.

4. Continue to deepen your trance until you feel you have reached a comfortable level of relaxation.

You may need only one escalator ride, or you may need several. With practice, a deeper trance will come more easily and more quickly.

Get me out of this trance

Alright, you are now in a trance. You are feeling quite relaxed, and your mind is totally at peace. You can choose to remain in this relaxed state, and simply enjoy the benefits of relaxation and calm. You can also give yourself a suggestion that can extend this relaxation beyond the trance state. Here's what to do:
Simply count slowly backwards from five to one. Say to yourself beforehand,

"When I reach one, my eyes will open and I will feel totally awake and refreshed."

As you count, notice your eyes beginning to flutter and begin to partially open as you approach one.

For more information, you can consult a certified hypnotherapist who can show you how to use self-hypnosis to achieve benefits other than relaxation. Hypnosis has been shown to be effective in helping individuals overcome insomnia, smoking, overeating, and a variety of other problems and disorders.

SOURCE: http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/hypnotizing-yourself.navId-323315.html