Wednesday, June 29, 2011

YoBloCo Awards: Write a blog on youth and agriculture and win up to 3,000 Euros!

The Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation ACP-EU (CTA), in collaboration with FARA, Yam-Pukri, CAFAN, AYF, ANAFE, SPC/PAFPNET is organizing the Youth in Agriculture Blog Competition (YoBloCo Awards). This contest is launched in the framework of the ARDYIS initiative which aims to raise youth awareness and improve their capacity on agricultural and rural development issues in ACP countries using Information Technology.

This blog competition aims to:

  • Put into limelight issues, successes and challenges faced by youth engaged in: agriculture in urban and rural areas;
  • Encourage the production of information and the use of new information technologies by young farmers’ groups and organizations interested in the “youth in agriculture” question;
  • Promote the sharing of information on the issues of agriculture and rural development in African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries.

This competition is also being launched in the framework of the commemoration of the United Nations International Year of Youth. For more information on who is eligible and how to participate, follow this link http://ardyis.cta.int/en/blog-competition

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Regional PhD Programme in Dryland Resource Management - 2011/2012 Academic Year

Admission to the regional PhD programme (Dryland Resource Management) hosted by the University of Nairobi, Kenya for the 2011/2012 academic year is on. Application deadline set on 30th September 2011.

Applicants should be: a) holders of a Master of Science degree in agricultural related disciplines, biological sciences, environmental sciences or natural resource management, b) holders of Masters Degree in relevant social sciences recommended by the Faculty Board and approved by Senate or an equivalent qualification from an institution recognized by Senate.  The programme consists of course work and examinations during the first year, followed by research and thesis during the second and third year. The programme shall take a minimum of 3 years and a maximum of 5 years.

For more information on the programme, please contact: Dean, Faculty of Agriculture, College of Agriculture and Veterinary Sciences, University of Nairobi, Box 30197 -00100 Nairobi, Kenya; Tel: +254.20.2181354; Email: deanagric@uonbi.ac.ke; or Chairman, Department of Land Resource Management and Agricultural Technology, email: larmat@uonbi.ac.ke

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

8 Reasons Students Should Not be friends with their Teachers on Facebook

People are becoming Facebook friends with old classmates, long lost cousins and the neighbour across the street. Teens especially seem to have a tendency to add almost everyone to their friends list that asks. So, if one of their teachers should send them a friend request, they’re likely to accept it. If they randomly came across a teacher’s profile on Facebook, they might also send a friend request too, without thinking much about it. A teacher, however, should give the situation some consideration.

There are some very good reasons why a teacher should NOT be Facebook friends with their students.
  1. Privacy – The teacher’s privacy and the student’s privacy are compromised when they become Facebook friends. A student (and that student’s friends) may learn things about their teacher that they otherwise wouldn’t have access to. This could be detrimental in the class setting.
  2. Harassment – Again, this can go both ways. If the relationship between the teacher and the student is not a positive one, or deteriorates in the classroom, Facebook connections could be used to harass one another outside the confines of the school building.
  3. Favoritism – Since teachers have many different students each day, if they were Facebook friends with some of their students and not others, they would likely be accused of showing favoritism to those students they had befriended on Facebook.
  4. Intimidation – Some students might see a teacher’s Facebook friendship intimidating. They may be hesitant to accept the friendship because of not wanting their teacher to be privy to their conversations with friends. At the same time, they may fear saying no to a friend request from a teacher, for fear that they will offend the teacher and negatively affect the teacher’s treatment of them.
  5. Age appropriate – Since a teacher would be an adult, there may be postings from friends on their Facebook page, which would not be age appropriate content for their students to be reading or viewing..
  6. Prejudice – As much as teachers try not to allow outside knowledge affect their treatment of their students, it still can have a subliminal effect. A Facebook friendship may cause a teacher to see the student in a whole different light than they did in the classroom previously.
  7. Misunderstandings – Online communications are often filled with misunderstandings about what a person meant by something they typed or did online. A teacher/student friendship on Facebook could create more opportunities for these types of misunderstandings.
  8. Expectations – A student who has a teacher as a Facebook friend may expect special treatment from that teacher. The student may also expect the teacher to answer questions regarding assignments and homework via their Facebook friendship, that should be reserved for the classroom.
If you’re a teacher and haven’t given this situation any thought, now is the time to do so. The easiest solution is to simply make it a matter of personal policy to not be Facebook friends with any student at your school. That way, no one can be offended by your rejecting their friend request, and you can’t be put in a position that you may later regret. If you like social networking, you can also choose platforms that allows you to group your friends according to your relationship, like Diaspora*Alpha or Google+. Grouping is not automatically possible on Facebook, and anything posted on your Wall is available to all your 'Friends'. (Post Courtesy of Jide Ogunsanya).