Google Maps does it again

This makes me happy! 

Interactive maps that are easy to use and compare! Want to see what war, climate change or a forest fire do to a geographical region - Google Maps can show you!

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The LORD is One: Shema Yisrael and Surah Al Ikhlas

The Jewish Shema Yisrael and the Qur'an's surah (chapter) 112 known as Al Ikhlas share quite a few similarities. While in today's world many Muslims seem to believe that it is their duty to kill as many Jews as possible and the two religions don't always get on as well as they could, when one looks to the texts and the teachings of these two religions, one finds a lot of similarities. Of the world's three monotheistic faiths, Judaism came first, Christianity came second and Islam came third. While Christianity believes in a three-in-one package deal, as opposed to the only-one beliefs of the other two religions, the three religions are still considered connected monotheistic religions. While Judaism has remained a religion of roughly 20 million people or less, both Christianity and Islam have become huge religions with adherents numbering in the billions, in most countries of the world. All three religions have gone through many changes and developments since thei...
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Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Systems Theory

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Urie Bronfenbrenner (1917 - 2005) was a Russian American psychologist and professor known for developing the Ecological Systems Theory. He was generally regarded as one of the world's leading scholars in the field of developmental psychology. I learned about theorists such as Bronfenbrenner while studying towards my B.Ed. Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory views the person as developing within a multi-layered system of relationships. Using the example of a child, the systems are: The Microsystem - One's family, classroom The Mesosystem - Two micro-systems in interaction (i.e. family and classroom) The Exosystem - External environments which indirectly influence development The Macrosystem - The larger socio-cultural context. Added later: The Chronosystem - The evolution of the external systems over time. Each system contains roles, norms and rules that can powerfully shape development. (Source: Wikipedia ) The Microsystem: The setting in which the indi...
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Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development

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The Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) is a concept I learnt about while studying to be a teacher. The ZPD describes the learning that a student needs to do to get from where they are now and what they know at present to where they can get to and what they will know with help. I found it an interesting concept and enjoyed learning about it and seeing it happening right in front of my eyes while at job placements.  The 'creator' of the concept, Soviet psychologist Lev Vygotsky (1896–1934), describes it much better than I do:  The zone of proximal development (ZPD) is " the distance between the actual developmental level as determined by independent problem solving and the level of potential development as determined through problem solving under adult guidance, or in collaboration with more capable peers "  Lev Vygotsky, 1978 * In my words, Vygotsky thought that children learn better when inspired / helped / assisted by adults or other (sometimes older) childre...
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