Tag Archives: Book Reviews

Book Reviews, Education, English Literature

Top 5 books to read

1 Comment

There are times when you need an escape from your life and your time frame. Books are the best escape, the best time travel and the best indulgence. The world right now is going through a lot, and it wouldn’t be wrong to say that it is the toughest time for the humanity. From being on the verge of several wars, burning forests and an almost wrecking virus, there are times when you need to get away. 

Here’s a list of top 5 books you should read—

  1. The Bell Jar

One of the most beautifully written novels, The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath emerges as an absolute get-lost-into novel. The stories about confinement and trauma are shocking, the narrative of this book is so indulging that you fall for it being real and forget what’s outside.

2. Looking for Alaska

A young adult fiction, John Green’s books never disappoint you. The descriptive nature of the book portrays a real film in your mind. The book is hard to leave and harder to get over with. You just keep falling in love with it every day.

3. Mrs. Dalloway

Considered as one of the best works of Virginia Woolf, Mrs. Dalloway is a book about a woman in the post-war days in Britain. It covers the day-long schedule in the life of a woman. The realisation of time and society that the book leaves you with is incredible. 

4. War and Peace

Another classic novel by Leo Tolstoy, covers the Russia’s days with Napoleon. It is amazing to read how ordinary people deal with the extraordinary conditions they encounter in their daily lives due to the war. It is worth reading as it teaches how people dealt during a wartime, when the the society was rapidly changing. The book is a thick-read but it is worth the time.

5. The Kite-Runner

The kite-runner by Khaled is a story about a young boy Amir and his friend Hassan. 

The story is based in Afghanistan, a war-torn and landlocked country in Asia. The kite-fight tournaments, the friendship and the betrayal will have all of your heart.

Reach out to me on instagram @ekanika_shah

Advertisement
Book Reviews, Research Paper

Design Thinking for Educators-Unleashing imaginnovation ideas being student Centric

72975712_10158015243753714_5417108247465164800_nBook Title: Design Thinking for Educators

Author Name: D.M. ArvindMallik-

Publisher- Notion Press

ISBN 978-1-64650-692-7

Year of Publication- Oct,2019

Genre- Education

Price- 199

 

  • OVERVIEW

“A teacher is never an ordinary person. Construction and destruction can be produced in his lap.” The above given quotation by Chanakya shows the power of teachers and teaching which considered as a noble profession. Revolution in any idea starts with keeping abreast with following latest trends, understanding cutting edge technology and its impact on our world. It’s imperative that the digital generation of today is affectionately called the millennials and generation Z would learn anything at a faster rate as compared to previous generation and educator finds quite challenging in exceeding their expectations. 

Since every best practices in education were once an innovation by itself which was taught once by educator, teaching for the Future in context of the forth Industrial revolution which has just began will see greater progression in the way we comprehend ourselves as over the next few decades there will be great demand for formal education which must inculcate right employability skills. No wonder, todays educators are getting now more and more intrigued about how innovation in their own teaching can be effectively than glorifying their past accomplishment and faces acute challenges where they have been confronted with real, complex, and varied circumstances and as such, they require new perspectives, new tools, and new approaches for solving these perennial issues. 

The problem is however that education is not promoting Creativity in classrooms and schools where as educator themselves caught up with their own explanation of not allowing the student to experience originality, nor they intend to be communicative nor collaborative in solving any problem creatively and I found D.M.ArvindMallik authored Design Thinking for Educators- Unleashing immaginnovation ideas being student centric in Education, a creative methodology will help in designing meaningful creative solution for defined any issues of that sort which help the educator to reinvent their own teaching smartness. This maiden book of author Consist of two parts and they are- 

  1. Part-A (Chapter 1-4) constitute brief outlying about Innovations and its principles and 
  2. Part-B (Chapter 5-8) explains innovative model which was envisioned by author having 4 stages with 8 sub stages revealing new insights about each stage and this process is iterative in nature and then repeated, producing a new idea for each cycle of the model

  • CHAPTERS INTRODUCTION

Part-A

Chapter-1 identifies and explore a wide range of possibilities of introducing Student-Centric Design Thinking in an education environment which itself is an novel concept for any educator who wishes to apply a creative approach to their teaching practices but aren’t sure how to implement at the classroom  It is a brilliant step initiated by author, Dr.ArvindMallik D.M who himself have applied Design Thinking methodology in his Teaching approach and believes by inculcating confidently that in understanding students mindset any educator can be part of creating a more desirable future, and a process to take action when faced with a difficult challenge and enhances existing skills, behaviors, and techniques. 

Chapter 2 details about understanding on how Creativity and Innovation in any organisation yield successive growth and emphasizes on considerate the basic concept on Managing ideas with innovation. Here author goes one step ahead and expects world to change in some aspect and with change occurring so fast, we humans fail to analyze the intensity of emerging problems and their possible effects. Changing technology leads to change in our connections, thought process and our problem solving skills. Modern issues require modern solutions thus old limits fail and new ones emerge continuously with time. But what next? We want to know how we can make a difference in this changing world and make an impact

Chapter. 3 introduces us about Design Thinking.Like the design itself, design Thinking which according to is a human-centric, a holistic approach to problem-solving that employs empathy, ideation, prototyping, and experimentation to solve real-world issues. Design Thinking is a methodology used by designers to solve complex problems, and find desirable solutions for clients by drawing imagination, intuition, and systemic reasoning to explore possibilities of what could be, and to create desired outcomes that benefit the end-user (the customer). This chapter gives us a brief note on how Design Thinking will impact on our learnings and aftermath which us clearly articulated in this book

Chapter 4 focuses on employing Design Thinking Model for Educators in actual terms as in today’s knowledge economy, education becomes even more important for developing next generation of innovators and creative thinkers. 21st Century Teaching and Learning skills are those skills that will be essential for students to possess to thrive in the increasingly complex life and work environments. In this original model developed by Dr. Arvind Mallik D.M, has proposed entirely new demission on how an educator can implement a novel idea which follows systematic methodology on how to develop groundbreaking philosophies and solve problems creatively. The entire process is iterative in nature by making structured development, review it, make design changes and make refinements in the process carried upon until its finished. The new model combines the best of analytical thinking of Left and Right brain with intuitive thinking that instigates imagination, creativity, and innovation. Which can be conceptualized and implemented by any educators who sees innovation in teaching is a transformational tool and make a positive impact on students learning quotient. It has four-stage Seek, Imagine, Prototype and Share 

Part-B

Chapter-5 highlights each step mentioned in the model (4 stages with 8 sub-stages)in detail as this these Phases in the mentioned model is about finding answers to the problems we’ve yet to uncover. The goal here is to generate a wide range of ideas without being hypercritical and how we can influence the needs of the student whom we’re designing a solution. So that we can ultimately arrive at a possible Solution, seamless. Under Seek stage, It has two sub stages, Define and Empathy

Chapter-6, explains about various challenges faced by an educator in every classroom in drawing student’s attention, and conveying ideas effectively to them which itself is atedious task as students learn best when they feel part of any academic community to which they can actively contribute, when their voice also heard. Leaving positive influences on them profoundly, this section looks at the stage at which information is collected to help & generate new insights around Student-centric. Post defining a problem statement and empathizing to a breakthrough in understanding at a deeper level, educators can optimize the available information to search for inner meaning. Under Imagine stage,it has two sub stages, Research and Select

Chapter-7 draws close our attention in testing various chosen ideas which was being selected and will be dictated towards formalizing in prototype stage which is the third stage in the Design Thinking for educators. Prototyping is an integral part of Design Thinking and is a quick and inexpensive way to make your early idea usable, so you can go back to students and get their feedback on those idea being implemented which gives you evidence as good or bad. Author introduces original Two Design Evaluation methods, P-K-V Cycle (Plan- Know- Verify) and PRATTI Model (Predicting Revolutionary Authentic Technique for Testing Ideas). To validate ideas worthy, educator must utilize and apply these 2 methods, without second thought. Under Prototype stage, it has 2 sub stages, Test and Evaluate

Chapter-8 articulates how prototype makes an impact as turning ideas into actual ideas/products/services that are then tested, iterated, refined & evaluated with chosen evaluation methods. Considering all four stages, final stage of the design thinking for educator’s process is Share, is a stage, educator will be upbeat in sharing their chosen idea and knowledge which now turned into a concrete, fully conceived action plan and acknowledges limitations of learning out of idea being talked through by Storytelling, particularly through multimedia, helps to communicated the solution to a diverse set of stakeholders (Students. Faculties, Authorities, Parents, external Service Providers etc ) Internally and externally of the organization. Share stage has 2 sub stages, learn and collaborate

  • EPILOGUE

Author expresses his intention how every educator who wishes to redefine their own teaching method but have become far too attached to their stereotype way of presentation of teaching thoughts and unable to rise up, evolve from old thinking thought process and venture into new perspective of thinking and manage Innovations in teaching effectively is the need of the 21st century, dare to go beyond present.  Design Thinking for Educators is a holistic creative problem- solving approach that focuses on students and their emotional responses with the aid of an educator by introducing breakthrough new teaching methodology. In this book, author reflected on adding value of envisioning on how design thinking philosophy can positively impact on educator’s creative instinct which can be applied to any class level of students, across any verticals/courses/subjects (K-12, Undergraduate, Post Graduate or professional training) for any Educational Institutes/Universities 

To sum it up, once understood, upon reading this book any educator will be able to demonstrate confidently how to set an example over delivering a ground-breaking ideas introducing the best in the world of teaching more effectively by using a structured outline which entails a systematic process in harnessing innovative teaching and learning method ideas for 21st century education. Design Thinking for Educators- Unleashing Imaginovation ideas being student centric, let this book be a guiding force for you to be aware of your own potential and uplift every educator’s inner confidence in leaving their comfort zone and dare not to fear in implementing new thinking by solving any problems creatively and acknowledge innovation in practice as a continuous process which will not only boost your personal growth, be a change maker in education field which leads economic prosperity to my motherland, India

Book Reviewed by 

Dr. AnanthapadhmanabhaAchar

Professor and Dean Corporate Programmes 

Justice K S Hegde Institute of Management 

Nitte,Karkala Taluk

Udupi – 574110 Karnataka

India

Research Paper

Review of Disclosing the Secret

1 Comment

Book Review by: Shashikant Nishant Sharma

Recently, I read a book by author Vincent Amato which truly brings his A-game with this Sci-Fi Thriller. I could not help but finished the novel in one go and enjoyed it. The author, Amato quickly managed to keep me engaged in the plot of the story from beginning to the end. Within the first few pages, I realized that this is a good book to finish soon because I could not wait. If you and I are anything alike, then you too will become fixated with finding out, what’s “out there.” The story revolves around military man and central character, Jake Marcel. Just know that there’s a back history, he’s got something to prove, and it involves creatures of the creepy interplanetary kind. Full of thrilling incidences and actions of the lead character of the novel. No spoiler, but this is where it all gets good. When the past catches up with science, it brings a climax to the forefront that reaches new heights beyond anything you’ve ever read. I will surely recommend this novel to all science fiction lovers across the world.
Well done Mr. Vincent Amato!

Uncategorized

Book Review Offer

If you are willing to write something that you like about a book then you are going to get the refund of the book price from us and Free Recharge of Rs 50.

Don’t wait this is limited period offer from Edupedia Publications Pvt Ltd

Those interested in getting the books online and willing to post a short review can contact us through

reviews@edupediapublications.org

Contact No. 09557022047 or 09958037887

Terms and Conditions for Reviews

  1. Buy the book and post a review, the refund of the book price and Recharge of Rs 50 will be done through Recharge or bank transfer.
  2. The review should get live only then you will be eligible to get the refund and Recharge.
  3. You can get the Recharge of Book Price + Rs 50.
  4. Or Bank transfer of Book Price+Rs 50
  5. Before buying please contact us through 09557022047
  6. For any further query contact though reviews@edupediapublications.org
  7. This offer expires on 20 October 2015.
  8. Only for reviewers in India.
  9. Visit us for more offers in Future too.
  10. Read more more, enjoy more!
Uncategorized

Book Review of Creation and Evaluation

Dr. Reena Mittal

M.A. (Eng.). Ph.D., M.B.A.,Department of English, DAK Degree College, Moradabad, India

E-mail id: – mittal.reena23@gmail.com

222

The book “Creation and Evaluation” is written and compiled by Dr. Vijay Vishal. It’s published by Popular Book Depot, Jaipur in 2014 with ISBN: 978-81-86098-13-4.

This book celebrates Dr. Vijay Vishal’s creativity and objectivity. The book has two parts and 4 sections: Each part has two sections. Part one is collection of Poems whereas part two is reviews and published research articles on poet’s collection.

          I came across this book “creation and Evaluation” during one of my academic pursuits and get very attracted by its contents and presentation. The poet Dr. Vijay Vishal is really a man of letters who has dedicated his life in reading, writing and creativity. His best thing is that he not only creates but presents his own poetry’s critical analysis with same spontaneity. “Poetry is the spontaneous over flow of powerful feelings”,  I think this live is the base of every literature lover. We all love and praise poetry since time immortal. So, this book naturally draws my attention, when I came across it. The book has two parts, each part is divided in two sections Part I, section I is collection of 46 poems composed by Dr. Vishal, titled “Speechless Messenger”. All the poems have different title, some of them are about the beauty of Nature, birds and some are about realities of life and contemporary issues. Some poems express platonic love of the lovers. The poems are of rich quality written in an ornate style. He conveyed his feelings on different aspects of life. He writes in direct and clear notion, mysticism is totally absent. In Part I section II we have collection of 37 poems under the title “Parting Wish”. These poems are about the change in life, from Ancient to Modern times, from Girl to married women, and other changes that occur in life of a human being. It can be a male or a female. Dr. Vishal is a poet of keeping past traditions alive. He has kept art of English Romanticism alive in his poetry. He expresses human feelings, sufferings, problems and changes in his poetry. To him, life is not a free flow of water but it has hurdles which we have to pass. This is what his poetry gives us in the form of message.

          Second part entitled ‘Evaluation’ has 3 sections. Section I has published reviews of Speechless Messages, Section II has reviews of Parting Wish and section three has published research articles based on both poetic collection. This part containing 3 sections has made the book somewhat different par excellence as it give us criticism of poetic collection too.

          Poetry is a natural overflow of feelings which is loved and liked by all. Dr. Vijay Vishal is this collection of poems has shown his best to attract his reader. His both collection of poems deal with a variety of topics and cover wide range of feelings, emotions and realities of life. In Part I section I “Speechless Messages” the poet, Dr. Vishal has given space to feelings and emotions related to Nature. Role of nature in context to human life has been beautifully presented in the form of poetry. His name as a poet is known to us, but this collection is his debut collection. By this bundle of poems, he want to convey a message of hope, aspiration and optimism as he sees expectations in the objects of Nature. His belief in the social norms and family are also positive if we analyse his poetry. The unborn foetus also shows rays of hope. The collection has 46 poems and the wide variety of subjects shows poets command over feelings, thought and Goddess Muse seems to be giving him divine blessings.

          Part I Section II parting wish contains 37 poems which were actually written to keep poet Dr. Vijay Vishal’s bereaved wife’s soul and memory alive forever. She left poet alone in a very young age which perturbed him very much. The poet has mentioned reality and facts of life in the poems of this collection. The book shows reflection of Swimsburne in all the poems. The poems are really good and suggestive in readings. They can be categorised as autobiographical poems as they are the outburst of his own loss at a very age of life. Due to that he has lost interest in world and life. He wished to God to grant him courage to bear all this. The deep sorrow, suffering and pain which he expressed seem to be really pathetic. He is so original and his use of language is so commendable that we feel like as reading them again and again.

          Part II has three sections which really have par excellence book reviews and research papers. The poet is lucky enough that nearly all stalwarts of contemporary era have given reviews on his books. They are really a gem of collection. The reviews again show that Dr. Vishal has really worked hard, original and poured feeling of his heart through pen. The area of subject he covered is wide in ‘Speechless Messanger’ but the collective give an optimistic note. In second collection ‘Parting wish’ the poet is Superb, original and an ardent lover who lost his beloved untimely, unrealistically. He is preparing himself mentally to bear the loss and to continue life even without her, keeping her alive forever in his memories. One aspect of his poetry which is left untouched was covered in the Part II, section three, where we have a published research paper titled “Anguish in the poems of Dr. Vishal.” The paper shows that Dr. Vishal  saw poetry as a notion to unleash social outrage. To him, it can awaken the dormant psyche of all people. He wants to uplift Indian tradition of poetry writing to a far end. All the critics who wrote on Dr. Vishal’s poetry, have one same opinion that he is a budding promising poet. who carved an eminent position in present day Indian English poetry. His poetry is a search of best verses of the present times and we can hope high with him and his pen. We can really hope that his bouquet of poems will enliven Indian English poetry.