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Effective SEO Comes Cheap

November 14, 2011 By Leave a Comment

f_01310568137_spring030.jpgSearch engine optimization or SEO is the hottest way to drive targeted traffic to your website. Maximizing the benefits of a well-SEO’ed website will yield lots of earnings for the marketer. However, SEO-ing your site might cost you thousands of dollars if you are such a newbie on this field.

But to tell you the truth, you can essentially get information on low cost SEO anywhere in the Internet. But only several really show you how to work out an affordable search engine optimization endeavor. And those few that really inform include this article.

1. Link exchanges

One cheap SEO method that can get you best results is through link exchanges or linking to and from other web sites. Depending on the websites that you would like to exchange links with, this tool could even cost you nothing at all. Contact the author or owner of the web site you want to have a link exchange with. You will be surprised with the eventual spiking up of your page ranking using this means of getting your website optimized.

2. Write or acquire key word rich articles

Writing truly informative and keyword-rich articles is one surefire way to make your Internet business more visible than ever. It’s either you write your own articles or you get them from article directories that allow you to post these articles on your website as long as you keep the resource box or the author’s byline in tact. Just don’t stuff your articles with keywords that even idiots would get bore of reading them. The readability and freshness of your articles will still be the basis of whether your writers will keep on coming back to your website or not.

3. Catchy Domain Name

What better will make your target visitors remember your website but with a very easy-to-recall domain name. Something sweet and short will prove to be very invaluable. Registering your domain name is not for free. But creativity is.

4. Organize your site navigation

Providing easy steps in navigating your site is one way to make your visitors become at ease with your site. This, in turn, will improve the flow of traffic to your website.

Low cost SEO is always evolving like any other approach in information technology. There are many methods that can very well land you on the top ten rankings of Google or on any other search engines. Some may cost a lot but there are methods that can give you the same results at a low price or you can even do on your own such as those mentioned above.

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Teach Your Child The Alphabet

November 14, 2011 By Leave a Comment

f_11311105688_tupling-0061bw.jpgOne of the first steps in becoming a successful reader is to learn to recognize the letters of the alphabet. The alphabetic principle teaches that spoken language is represented by written words that are made up of varying combinations of letters, and that these letters and combinations of them make up all of the sounds in spoken language. Attaching sounds to these letters and learning to write them paves the way to successful reading and writing.

Learning to say their ABCs is a great start for any preschooler, but it is just as important for your child to learn the sounds of the letters. Preschoolers, who know the sounds of the letters of the alphabet, have an easier time learning to read.

In order to read, every child must know the sounds of the letters as well as the shapes and order. More than that he must be able to recall them quickly. When he sees the letter he should be able to say the letter or vocalize its sound without hesitation. This should happen whether he hears the letters in order or not.

While the alphabet song can be a fun way to start learning the ABCs it is not enough because children also need to be able to identify each individual letter. In fact, this skill is much more important than knowing where it falls in the alphabet as it is the key in learning to read.

Research shows it is important for young children to be able to:

~ Recognize and name letters
~ Recognize beginning letters in familiar words (especially their own name)
~ Recognize both capital and lowercase letters
~ Relate letters to the specific sounds they represent

Knowledge of the alphabet is the foundation to your child’s literacy development and you shouldn’t assume your child will learn this skill in kindergarten. Waiting until kindergarten to learn the ABCs will put your child behind many other students and may cause added stress.

Children who can read independently “translate” alphabet shapes accurately back into sounds. If we want our children to be able to read independently, we needed to teach them:

~ The shapes of the alphabet letters;
~ The various sounds of each letter;
~ The sounds made by combined letters.

You can start teaching the alphabet when your child is young. My son mastered his letters by his second birthday and I helped him do that without flashcards and without whining! He loves working with his “letters” and even now as he approaches his fourth birthday requests a particular game or activity. He doesn’t know he’s learning-he just thinks he’s having fun with his Mommy.

There are many ways that you can help your preschooler learn the sounds and names of the letters of the alphabet.

You don’t need expensive tools and programs and in fact many of those can be counterproductive as they make learning work. My greatest success was simply to work on letters in context with the world whenever he seemed open to the opportunity. The alphabet became simply a part of our daily life including errands and play time.

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The Special Education IEP and the Parent Underdog

November 12, 2011 By Leave a Comment

f_21310567979_games.jpgAre you a parent of a child with a learning disability? The deck is stacked against you for achieving a quality, special education IEP. Learn how to get the best possible program for your child.

What is an IEP ?
The special education IEP (Individualized Education Program) process was created by the Federal law called IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) to ensure that students with learning disabilities would receive an appropriate education. The IEP process can be confusing, stressful, and sometimes terrifying to parents. The process comes to a head at the IEP meeting, so this is often the most stressful part of the IEP process.

Why is this process so difficult for parents? Through a series of 3 articles, we’ll look at the IEP process, why the deck is stacked against parents, steps to take to even the odds, the IEP success method to follow for an effective IEP meeting, and how to prepare for IEP 911.

What are the IEP Process Steps?
Identify that a problem exists and it cannot be solved
Educate yourself about the IEP process
Assess and test the student
Analyze the test results
Prepare for the meeting / get and give input in advance
Meet to review information and create (or deny) an IEP
Evaluate the plan and alternatives
Execute the plan or alternative
Negotiate changes
Monitor progress
Manage transitions
Repeat the process, at least annually

The IEP – Why are Parents at a disadvantage?
1. You are usually outnumbered.
2. The other attendees are speaking a language that is difficult for you to understand-educationese, legalese, and medicalese.
3. Your child is one of many students. This is their job, but your child. This sets you up for emotional reactions.
4. Because you are emotionally involved, it is harder to be objective. You feel you have more to lose; it’s easy to become defensive or lose your temper.
5. The people sitting across from you are people you learned to respect, obey, and / or fear as a child. Principals, medical people, teachers. You may not see yourself as an equal.
6. You are asking for something. It is implied that anything you ask for will take away from another student.
7. Some of these people attend dozens of IEP meetings every month. You may go to one or two a year. They have experience on their side.
8. The school personnel earn a salary while they attend these meetings. You may give up some salary to attend.
9. The school district has an attorney. You may know of an attorney!
10. You may not be sure what is “wrong- with your child.
11. You have no way of judging if the school’s recommendations will help your child or not.
12. If your child attends the meeting, hearing certain things may upset your child, then you.
13. If the school rejects the IEP, you may feel as if you have just lost your lifeline.
14. If you have argued before, threatened legal action, complained about an IEP and on and on, the relationship inside the room might have moved over to confrontational or adversarial. The above are true even if you are in a cooperative, collaborative meeting and all working together. You can continue the list from here if you have moved over to an adversarial meeting!

How do you even the odds?
1. You need to prepare for the IEP meeting and review test results before the meeting.
2. You need to study negotiating before the meeting.
3. You need to be organized and to have everything written down.
4. You need to bring a short list of topics you want to discuss such as a particular teacher / problem, etc.
5. You need to come ready with a written plan (See Part II and III).
6. You need to cite or quote the evidence and experts as proof of the validity or correctness of your plan and follow the IEP Success Method in Part II.
7. You need to understand the legal basis for what you are asking for.
8. If the meeting focuses on negatives, you need to redirect the meeting by pointing out your child’s strengths. Discuss successes your child had outside of school.
9. You need to stay calm and bring someone with you to take notes so you can focus on the meeting.
10. If necessary, you need to bring an advocate or a relative with you who can be less emotional but is acquainted with your child.
11. If you are confused or not happy with the entire IEP, you need to remain calm and state that you need time to review the IEP before you sign.
12. If there is any area you are unsure of, you need to postpone decisions you are unsure of until you do the research.

Next: Part II will discuss the special education IEP Success Method and IEP Meeting Mottos.

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