World Ozone Day - Kavita Devda

On 16th of September, every year is celebrated as International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer. This event commemorates the date of the signing of the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer in 1987.

World Ozone Day is important because it is a day that is used for spreading awareness regarding the Ozone Layer’s depletion, as well as the search for solutions in order to preserve it.  

Ozone is a gas in the atmosphere that protects everything living on the Earth from harmful ultraviolet (UV) rays from the Sun. Without the layer of ozone in the atmosphere, it would be very difficult for anything to survive on the surface. Plants cannot live and grow in heavy ultraviolet radiation. The ozone layer acts as a shield to absorb the UV rays, and keep them from doing damage at the Earth's surface.

The ozone layer is very important for life on earth. It protects us from harmful UV rays that can have serious effects on biodiversity, animals and people’s health, including skin cancer and eye cataract.

The Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, also known simply as the Montreal Protocol, is an international treaty designed to protect the ozone layer by phasing out the production of numerous substances that are responsible for ozone depletion.

Aside from learning more about the ozone layer on this date, another way that you can honour and observe World Ozone Day is by spreading awareness on the subject. A lot of people are not aware of the damaging impact that they are having on the ozone layer. This is why it is important to spread awareness about this, and World Ozone Day provides you with the perfect opportunity to do this.  The ozone layer protects the Earth from the sun’s harmful rays. It is essentially a fragile shield of gas. Because of this, it plays a massive role in helping to preserve life on our planet.

Kavitha Devda -The Fabindia School <kda4fab@gmail.com>

How teachers can leverage themselves using technology

What is good learning? That may be a prejudiced question. But it’s likely that many educators would give answers that fall in the same ballpark… …students collaborating and discussing ideas, possible solutions… …project-based learning, designed around real world contexts… …connecting with other students around the world, on topics of study… …immersing students in a learning experience that allow them to grapple with a problem, gaining higher-order thinking skills from pursuing the solution… To many educators, these notions are music to their ears. Would it seem terribly strange then hear that students indeed are doing these things regularly outside of their classrooms? While Timmy or Susie may not be running home from school saying, “What fun, deeply engaging learning experience can we do today?”, they are engaging with new technologies that provide them with the same opportunities. 

Every day, many students are spending countless hours immersed in popular technologies—such as Facebook or MySpace, World of Warcraft, or Sim City—which at first glance may seem like a waste of time and brain cells. But these genres of technologies—Social Networking, Digital Gaming, and Simulations—deserve a second, deeper, look at what’s actually going on. ~~~ When you hear “MySpace” or “World of Warcraft,” what do they bring to mind for you? What emotions do you associate with them? Have you heard of them before? Your students have, and they almost certainly have strong opinions about them. You don’t need to be a teenager to use or understand these technologies or to use them in your classroom. Market research data indicates that many a normal, middle-aged adult1 uses these technologies with frequency. The fact is, you can be 17, 35, or 60, and when you begin to engage with them and observe what’s really going on, you can begin to see that these technologies are more than just entertainment.