Over the past 10 years, toys made of wood have become much more popular. The reason for this is the naturalness and environmental friendliness of the materials. Natural origin of various products makes the majority of parents to reject a part of the plastic and metal structures. Each child has a wide variety of toys that can be distributed by type, material of manufacture and recommended age. However, the most interesting toys are considered to be made of wood. How to choose wooden toy animal sets ? Wooden toys have incredible energy, they are durable and easy to handle. What are the advantages and benefits of educational toys made of wood and how to choose them correctly? Here is a

STUDENTS Onshape works best when your friends are using it too. Similar to Google Docs, you can share parts, work together simultaneously on them and Onshape saves your work automatically so you can always go back to a previous version. We're very excited about bringing Onshape into schools, but we can't do it alone. We are seeking students passionate about computer aided design to help spread the word. Are you interested in becoming a campus representative for Onshape? TEACHERS Onshape makes teaching computer aided design (CAD) fun and easy. Setup is simple– Onshape is free and requires no install, thereby eliminating the need for help from IT. Because Onshape is a familiar interface, skills gained in your class are transferable to other CAD systems. No matter what CAD tool your students use in their career, they will have gained the skills they need from Onshape. We have recently developed an Instructor Kit to get teachers started with using Onshape in the classroom.

Among the graduates honored at the 2015 Student Recognition Ceremony were (Clockwise from Top Left): Jason Finkelstein, Stefani Feldman, Oscar De Los Santos, Engie Salama, James White, Linda Wang, Luke Bouma, and Roxana Ontiveros (USC Photo/Gus Ruelas) The most prolific among the USC’s Class of 2015 were honored at the Student Recognition Ceremony in Bovard Auditorium on Thursday, May 14. Those distinguished graduates are listed below. Order of the Laurel and the Palm is the highest honor for outstanding scholarship and leadership bestowed by the Division of Student Affairs and one unknown to its recipients prior to the event...

By Brooke Brown Office of Marketing and Communications, University of Maryland University College Europe July 17, 2013 The University of Maryland University College will continue its 64-year tradition of educating U.S. troops overseas after being awarded a new contract by the Department of Defense. The contract calls for UMUC to offer exclusive undergraduate and graduate instruction at military installations across Europe. UMUC first began sending faculty overseas in 1949 and has continuously served the higher education needs of active duty military and their families since. The new contract is renewed annually and extends through academic year 2022-2023. “Serving the needs of the U.S. military is in our DNA. We are extremely pleased and proud to continue our long history of educating troops overseas, ” said Javier Miyares, president of UMUC. “This award affirms the dedication of our faculty and staff abroad and the commitment that is shared throughout the university to providing a quality education to those who sacrifice so much to protect us.” In addition to undergraduate liberal arts programs, active duty military personnel, their families and DoD civilians can earn graduate level degrees in a wide variety of disciplines, including cybersecurity, homeland security, social work and business administration. Under the new contract, UMUC will offer its MBA program for the first time in the European Command, in addition to partnering with two other institutions in the University System of Maryland for first-time overseas programs. Frostburg State University and UMUC will offer an undergraduate teacher education program, while Salisbury University and UMUC will offer undergraduate and graduate (MSW) programs in social work. “Educating our troops is a privilege we take very seriously, ” said Dr. Allan Berg, UMUC senior vice president and overseas director. “Our faculty and staff in Europe will strive to deliver the highest quality programs possible for our students.”

(Reuters/Andrew Biraj) Roughly twelve clothing firms linked to Bangladesh’s Rana Plaza factory, which collapsed two years ago killing over 1, 100 people, are yet to offer a single penny into a fund for the families of victims who lost their lives in the disaster. As the second anniversary of the tragedy draws ever closer, pressure is mounting on the predominantly European and American firms to pay their dues. The eight-story building in Dhaka, home to several clothing factories, collapsed in May 2013. In what has been described as one of the worst industrial disasters in modern history, 1, 138 people lost their lives and 2, 000 were injured. The Donors Trust Fund, supported by the United Nation’s International Labor Organization (ILO), was founded specifically to compensate victims of the catastrophe. Sums offered to people will be dependent on circumstances, such as the number of children they have and the salaries earned by those who lost their lives. Campaigners, who have battled for justice for those impacted by the disaster for almost two years, hoped a total of $30 million could be raised for families of the victims. However, at present the fund consists of just $23 million. The shortfall means as many as 5, 000 individuals entitled to compensation will only receive 70 percent of what they were hoping for. Ineke Zeldenrust, of UK social justice group The Clean Clothes Campaign, said the victims of the Rana Plaza disaster have had their fill of “broken promises” and “false sympathy” from these brands. She called it an outrage that campaigners have been unable to secure a mere $30 million from a group of companies that collectively turn over tens of billions of dollars in profit each year. Zeldenrust stressed the victims would like their compensation to be settled so they can continue with their lives. The human cost of cheap apparel The clothing industry is a highly competitive, labor-intensive and profit-driven sector. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, Western producers chased cheaper labor in Japan. In the twenty years that followed, Western factory owners began to source cut-price labor in the so-called Asian Tiger economies of Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong. In recent decades, garment manufacturing in the West has plummeted. Meanwhile, production in China, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Turkey, Mexico and India has increased dramatically. This shift in production has led to the rise of sweatshop labor; cheap clothes produced against a backdrop of eroded workers’ rights. Amid allegations of an exploitative sweatshop culture in Bangladesh that tramples on workers’ human rights, the Rana Plaza disaster highlighted the human cost of profit-wielding firms’ drive to become ever more competitive. Although certain firms linked to the factories that operated in the complex, such as Primark, offered millions in compensation for the victims and their families soon after the catastrophe, many firms have failed to offer anything at all.

I’m probably supposed to be embarrassed for shopping at Forever 21 as often as I do, considering I’m a 23-year-old woman and their target demographic is still making out with kids with braces. But, um, it’s hard to feel ashamed of the label on your wedges when they cost $12. Forever 21 doesn’t produce the highest quality clothing (you can spot one of their uneven hemlines from a mile away), and if you looked up “fast fashion” in the dictionary, you’d see a picture of one of their two-story buildings filled to the brim with graphic tees and breakable earrings… but that doesn’t mean they’re not great. They’re about quantity over quality, they’re about quick and easy, and they’re about cheap. That’s why I was shocked to hear about F21 Red , the new Forever 21 store with even cheaper products. I know what you’re thinking, because everyone at The Gloss is thinking it too. How can Forever 21 possibly get less expensive? I’ve bought tank tops from there that I could only wear for a week before they completely unraveled. I bought a pair of their $10 jeans one time and had to donate them after only a few wears, since the haphazard stitching made them humungous in the waist and tiny in the legs. This isn’t a high-end brand trying to create a line of off-the-rack clothes for the common people. This is the cheapest of the cheap trying to compete with… what? Thrift stores? Obviously, F21 Red must bring with it a whole slew of ethical issues, because it’s impossible to create clothing at that pace and price without mistreating the people who produce it, and it’s pretty messed up to think of all the resources that get wasted when clothes are made for one-time use. On the other hand, if this store existed in an alternate universe where we could count on human workers and the planet being treated with respect, it might be pretty fun to shop there. Not sure if you have a top to match that skirt? Who cares! It’s three dollars! Oh, those heels are being held together with Scotch tape and imagination? They cost less than a slice of Sbarro, and I bet you can wear them for one whole night! I’m interested to see if F21 Red catches on, and I can’t wait to tell my grandkids about what it was like during the economic recession of the 2010s. In my day, we used to walk fifty blocks, uphill in the snow, just to buy a $2 camisole…

After three short weeks, the Architectural Technology students have made extraordinary progress in Revit. Revit is quickly becoming the industry standard for how buildings are designed and documented. It is the most advanced and widely used BIM system in the world. BIM, which stands for Building Information Modelling, is a major evolution from simple 2d CAD systems. Rather than drawing lines, the building is virtually constructed using parametric 3D elements. Each element contains dozens of parameters from material assemblies to physical dimensions to costs. This allows for a fully dynamic, fully documented building to be created with ease and consistency. Today, BIM models are used to develop the design of buildings by architects, engineers, surveyors and contractors all at the same time. Models are even used to digitally fabricate building elements to make a paperless construction process possible. And it can even be used to create highly accurate forms of visualization. Here are some of the images from Dakota Branham, one of our students, produced after just 3 weeks of working in Revit.

Study skills, reading, time management Student Life Skills classes help you cope with adding the demands of college to your busy life and prepare for your successful future. You learn study skills and time management, as well as a better understanding of how you learn and what types of careers would make you happy. We know from experience that taking Student Life Skills (SLS) classes increase your chances at academic success by up to 50 percent. Even if you don’t need any college prep classes, SLS class can help you with: Managing stress Developing good study skills Selecting a major Exploring careers Balancing school, work and family Learning leadership Increasing Personal Effectiveness See complete course descriptions for the one-credit Student Life Skills courses.

Forever 21 has been hit with a class action lawsuit accusing the popular clothing retailer of failing to provide meal breaks, rest periods and overtime wages. Plaintiffs in the class action lawsuit further claim that requisite bonuses weren’t paid which qualify as overtime, and that the company failed to cover business expenses as required under law. The Forever 21 class action lawsuit was filed in California by lead plaintiff Juana Diaz. Diaz was an hourly, non-exempt employee who, under California law, should have received bonuses or “incentive pay, ” which was to be calculated as part of her rate of pay. However, Diaz claims Forever 21 forced her to stay at the store during meal time and work through breaks, work more than 10 hours per day at a time with no additional meal period, and work over four hours without her 10-minute break. She also had to drive to different Forever 21 locations around the region and was never reimbursed for mileage, according to the class action lawsuit. Diaz doesn’t believe she’s unique or has been singled out by the retailer. She’s on the hunt for other Forever 21 employees like her who weren’t paid what they were due, weren’t given meals and rest periods, or were forced to travel without ever being reimbursed. Under California law, Forever 21 must not only provide a fair hourly wage, but also “non-discretionary bonus pay, ” which Diaz never received. Diaz says she not only worked more than 40 hours per week at times, but also worked more than seven days in a row — which is also illegal. If Diaz and other Forever 21 employees are successful, they may be entitled to up to $4, 000 in penalties as well as any due wages. Diaz further accuses the company of violating wage and hour law by “failing to maintain time records showing hourly compensation, when the employee beings and ends each work period, meal periods, split shift intervals and total daily hours worked by itemizing in wage statements all deductions of payment from wages and accurately reporting all hours.” Diaz is seeking to represent current and former employees who worked for Forever 21 in California between May 24, 2009 and the present.

Loads of new features for both Students and Administrators Equator IT has recently deployed a number of new features in the Student Web Portal. If you are a hosted customer, you have automatically received these features as a part of your annual subscription. They’re live right now, so please go ahead and check them out! The following will provide you with an overview, including screenshots, of the biggest changes that we are delivering with this release. Email notification of updates Ask and you shall receive! One of the most requested features for the Student Portal has been the capability to receive email notifications when students update their details. This can now be activated via the Student Portal Administration Site: When this setting is activated, the Student Portal will email the registered support address each time any student updates their details. Below is an example of what you will be sent when this happens: This allows you to review the changes to ensure no mistakes have been made, as well as synchronise the student data with any other external systems that you may have. Basic student management You can now perform basic student management tasks from right within the Student Portal Administration site. Once you’re logged in as an administrator, clicking on “Students” in the navigation bar will display a list of current and future students, as well as a tickbox showing you if they have registered for access on the Student Portal. You can use the search box to filter students by student number, first name, or last name. If you click on an individual student, their details and enrolment(s) will be displayed. You can edit the student’s email address & phone number, register them for Student Portal access and assign them a new password (created by you or randomly generated). You also have the option to email the student their new password once registration is complete. You can also use this facility to reset and email passwords to students who have already registered for Student Portal access. Efficient support When you receive a support request email from the Student Portal, that email will now contain a link to the Student Portal Administration site, making it faster and easier to handle Student Portal Support Requests.