Sherpa Blogs

Making such an impact over the last few months, #BlackLivesMatter protests around the world have sparked a commitment among many individuals and organisations to educate themselves about Black history, heritage and culture this year.     Black History Month 2020 is a time to celebrate past contributions, present influences as well as future possibilities. Lots of institutions will recognise the work and efforts of significant black people across the world, throughout history and alive today.    The work of these pioneers can often go unnoticed or forgotten which is why Black History Month is a very significant time for everyone, regardless of race, to learn about the contributions they’ve made to society. Check out these five fantastic figures who have all contributed to the field of Education and deserve some recognition. Mary Jackson (1921-2005) Mary Jackson at NASA HQ In the 1970s, Mary Jackson helped the youths in the science club at Hampton’s King Street Co...

  In February and March 2020 a global catastrophe affected education around the world in the form of coronavirus. Covid-19 resulted in schools around the world being completely shut down with 1.2 billion children in 186 different countries being left out of the classroom worldwide.  Within the UK in September, one in six secondary schools in the UK have been forced to send students home due to suspected COVID-19 cases, whilst 5% of primary schools are reported to have sent pupils home to prevent the spread of the disease says the Department for Education survey. Gavin Williamson, Education Secretary states that “7.2 million pupils are estimated to be attending schools” in September and many more school children around the world are faced with the same reality. This has led to the global coronavirus pandemic changing how millions of school pupils and university students are being educated. With the front of the change lending itself to online learning . The education sector...

How does Online Tutoring work? Online tutoring works just as face-to-face tutoring does. Tutors work alongside academic institutions and curriculums to help pupils achieve their results and boost confidence. A tutor can review class assignments, discuss study goals and plan work times to assist the pupil in particular topics that are harder to grasp. Everything is the same online as with traditional tuition. The same format that has been used by teachers and mentors for years is unchanged just now accessed through a technological medium. In most cases of online tutoring the tutor and the pupil would virtually arrange a date and time to have their lesson, then on the day they would virtually meet and chat online. Most freelance online tutors hold their lessons with video chat tools such as Skype, Zoom or Microsoft teams. Now these tools have developed there are options to share each other’s screens, therefore the tutor can display various study resources, videos and diagrams to the pup...

News comes from down under about the re-introduction of the Marsupial back into the wild 3,000 years ago the Tasmanian Devils went extinct in the wild of Australia's mainland , conservationists are describing it as a 'historic step' in the life of the Australian eco-system.  Aussie Ark , along with a coalition of other conservation groups, revealed on Monday that they had released 26 of the carnivorous mammals into a 400-hectare (1,000-acre) sanctuary at Barrington Tops, just north of Sydney. Tim Faulkner, president of Aussie Ark, said the "historic" releases in July and September were the first steps in a project akin to the successful move to return wolves to Yellowstone National Park in the United States in the 1990s . After 16 years of work, including the establishment of mainland Australia's largest Tasmanian devil breeding programme, Faulkner said it was "incredible and surreal" to have reached the goal. Having not been on the mainland for so l...

The knighted BBC broadcaster has been the tranquil voice of nature documentary narration since the beginning of, well, nature documentaries! Attenborough set off to explore the globe in his twenties and has travelled over millions of miles to educate and present us the wonders of the natural world ever since. Attenborough is now 94, and throughout his long life, has watched the natural world wither before his eyes.  An ice-free Arctic, a global food production crisis, millions of people rendered homeless. Sir David Attenborough gives his witness statement and future predictions of Life On Our Planet and describes it as "a series of one-way doors bringing irreversible change." The moving documentary issues a stark warning for global extinction, not only for current wildlife but potentially for humans too. The 'documentary of the year' marks each stage of Attenborough’s career with the ever-declining state of the natural world, and the percentage of wildlife remaining. ...

Not yet.  Maybe tomorrow? In a bit… We’ve all tried to lay off some work at some point. So why is it so hard to stay productive and what effect does it have on our wellbeing? Studies have shown that getting started is the biggest barrier to productivity! Before starting, our brain visualises the hardest parts and therefore we tried to avoid real work by focusing on small mindless tasks. Ever heard of ego-depletion? Ego depletion refers to the idea that we have a limited pool of mental resources, that can get used up by our willpower. Our willpower is also considered a limited resource, that operates like a muscle and can be exerted. Therefore, ego depletion happens when people use up their available willpower on one task (often on unrelated tasks). Some researchers suggest that shifts in factors such as motivation, attention and emotion also play a critical role in ego depletion. Explains why we’re sometimes tired from doing ‘nothing’ right? Luckily there’s a constru...

How Airbus Is Revolutionising The Age Of Aviation Through Technology and Education A historic milestone occurred that is set to change the face of the aviation sector as a whole. It is regarded as the “ most important transition this industry has ever seen”, Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury . Airbus has unveiled its new project in the creation of a trinity of the first zero-emission aircraft to reduce aviation's climate impact.  In order to do this, the European aerospace company is using hydrogen as an important technology pathway to achieve an ambition to bring zero-emission commercial aircraft to the market by 2035. Although, the news is faced with adversity by its critics about fulfilling the promises it sets out to complete. The project has been baptised as ZEROe and here’s what you need to know. How The Technology Works: Airbus is set to divert its attention away from traditional jet fuel by using this alternative hydrogen propulsion technology and synthetic fuels. Hydrogen has an ...

Established by the Varkey Foundation,  the Global Teacher Prize , in partnership with Unesco, is now in its sixth year. The 10 finalists are now announced for the prize draw later in the year. Included in those 10 is Jamie Frost, a grammar school maths teacher from Kingston upon Thames. Jamie is the only UK entrant to reach the top 10 out of 12'000 global applicants. Mr Frost has had many jobs in the past but he has always wanted to teach and feels most comfortable in a classroom. This is what Jamie said after his introductory week observing a classroom “Just when I was in the classroom in front of students I realised I absolutely loved it. I resigned within a week from my job, and that was what decided it. “Ten years ago I was developing technology for artificial intelligence and robotics. Now I use technology to help students improve in their learning and to help me become a better teacher. “I just love working with students. When I compare [teaching] to my previous days in inves...