Bill Gates recently predicted that online learning will make place-based colleges less significant, and five years from now, students will be able to find the best lectures in the world online. I applaud Mr. Gates. But what's taking us so long?

    As early as 1997, MIT (麻省理工) decided to post videos of all university lectures online, for free, for all people. But today, how many students have you met who mastered advanced mathematics or nuclear physics from an MIT online video? Unfortunately, the answer is not many.

    The problem is the poor quality of online education websites and the experience they provide to students. Those who go to the MIT website and watch courses online are surely very smart people, but it's not like playing a video game such as World of Warcraft. Only the most ardent students, those who are highly motivated, will devote themselves to studying these boring online videos.

    The real question is why we aren't spending more to develop better online education platforms. Where is the Avatar of education? Think about this. The market for Hollywood films per year is worth around 30 billion USD. Education in the world is a trillion-dollar-a-year market, hundreds of times bigger than Hollywood movies. Yet the most expensive digital learning system ever built cost well under 100 million dollars.

    Bill Gates' prediction is going to happen. There is no doubt about it. But it will only happen when we create high level educational content and experiences that engage and excite more than has ever been possible in the real world.

Guide to Stockholm University Library

    Our library offers different types of studying places and provides a good studying environment.

Zones

    The library is divided into different zones. The upper floor is a quiet zone with over a thousand places for silent reading, and places where you can sit and work with your own computer. The reading places consist mostly of tables and chairs. The ground floor is the zone where you can talk. Here you can find sofas and armchairs for group work.

Computers

    You can use your own computer to connect to the wi-fi specially prepared for notebook computers; your can also use library computers, which contain the most commonly used applications, such as Microsoft Office. They are situated in the area known as the Experimental Field on the ground floor.

Group-study places

    If you want to discuss freely without disturbing others, you can book a study room or sit at a table on the ground floor. Some study rooms are for 2-3 people and others can hold up to 6-8 people. All rooms are marked on the library maps.

    There are 40 group-study rooms that must be booked via the website. To book, you need an active University account and a valid University card. You can use a room three hours per day, nine hours at most per week.

Storage of Study Material

    The library has lockers for students to store course literature. When you have obtained at least 40 credits(学分), you may rent a locker and pay 400 SEK for a year's rental period.

Rules to be Followed

    Mobile phone conversations are not permitted anywhere in the library. Keep your phone on silent as if you were in a lecture and exit the library if you need to receive calls.

    Please note that food and fruit are forbidden in the library, but you are allowed to have drinks and sweets with you.

    YOUTR KIDS ARE AMAZING -especially compared with everybody else s (who seem to cry all the time). How do you show your love for your kids this holiday season? With toys that are smooth and colorful, interactive and exciting. And with ones that have educational value - because you are the boss.

FLAX ART HOSPITAL PUZZLE AND PLAY SET

    Here is a toy that doesn't need power, and the kids have to put it together themselves. This 50*piece-puzzle set is made of soft-edged hardwood and makes a complete hospital, with an X-ray room. It also includes eight patients, a car and a driver. $135; flaxart.com.

    TINY LOVE ACTIVITY BALL

    Sure, it's cool, but this colorful baby toy also develops problem solving and motor skills. It has a head and legs, a magnetic (磁铁) hand and a tail. Suitable for little ones from 6-36 months. $19.95; tiny-love.com.

    ROBOSAPIEN

    This small, remote-control robot is really powerful. It performs 67 preprogrammed functions, including throwing, kicking, picking up and dancing. You can even program your own function - which, sadly, does not include doing windows. $ 99; robosapienonline.com.

    MINI PEDAL CAR

    Want a mini Cooper but can't fit the family inside? Get one for the kids. They can jump into this mini car, which comes in hot orange with a single adjustable seat, and ride away. But it could spoil them for that used car they'll be driving when they turn 16. For ages 3 to 5. $ 189; mlnicar.com (click on “gear up” then “mini motoring gear”）

    There are many reasons why people can't get a good night's sleep and as with any other health conditions, things are not likely to improve until you find a way to break the cycle.

    These are some of the main factors that need to be addressed.

    Worry and stress

    We have all been kept awake by many factors that cause worry and stress in our lives. Money problems, relationship issues and work stresses can have you sitting up all night. A useful habit is to download your thoughts at the end of the day. Keep a pen and paper next to your bed and before you go to sleep, write down your thought and worries, create a to-do list for the following day or set down solutions and ideas that relate to work.

    Diet and eating patterns

    What and when you eat can have a major impact on your ability to sleep. Eating too late or indulging in a rich or spicy meal can keep you awake. These foods take a long while to digest and the after effects of indigestion and heartburn are not going to set you up well for a good quality sleep.

    A research suggests that both calcium and magnesium may be linked to poor sleep. Even low intakes of magnesium found in green vegetables, beans, nuts and seeds have been shown to make it harder to stay asleep. Calcium is found in dairy foods, soybeans and green vegetables and low levels have also been shown to make it more difficult to nod off.

    Alcohol and caffeine

    Tea, coffee and energy drinks contain caffeine that helps to stimulate the nervous system and make you more alert, which is great if you need a pick-me-up. Dosing up on caffeine during the day can affect your ability to sleep later on in the evening. Try limiting your intake of caffeine to the morning and switch to decaffeinated options such as herbal teas. Alcohol is a double-edged sword when it comes to sleep. While a little may help to induce slumber, even in small amounts it can cause fragmented sleep patterns.

    Bedroom environment

    “Your bedroom should be dark once the lights are switched off because melatonin, a sleep-regulating hormone, is very light-sensitive. Maintaining the right temperature can also help with sleep as a room that is too hot may prevent your core temperature from going down, which is essential for switching on the sleep mechanism within the body.

    It was when I was walking to my office, trailed by three young people whose ages ranged from 16 to 25, flowing down the corridor behind me like the tail of a kite, that I thought of it for the first time.

    This could be because I am not actually a mother. Until recently, I was not a "real" stepmother either. But I have been living with the man who is now my husband, Bernardo for 10 years and in those 10 years, not only have his younger daughters spent every other weekend and half of their school holiday with us but also his son has lived with us full-time. In fact, when Bernardo asked me to move in, he asked his son for permission first.

    Being a step mum is hard enough but being a sort-of-step-mother is about the most awkward position a mature woman can find herself in. With my sort-of-steppies, I have occupied a place of influence, power and sometimes extreme anger by turns. I have stepped on a delicate path between being a grown-up friend, a bridge of influence with their father, the woman of the house, and a figure of authority – but not too much.

    Love the kids or hate them, you must always remember that no matter how much you cook, clean, hug, comfort and discipline, you will never actually count.

    To survive, I trained myself to love the stepkids as hard as I could, but not to care. It's a handy piece of good mental health trickery I recommend to anyone in my position. I can help with homework, yes, but not bother about the results of that homework. I can teach them good manners, but not care about the bad habits they learn at home. Semi-detached is the position.

    For thousands of years, people thought of glass as something beautiful to look at. Only in large glass windows. Glass bottles and jars that hold food and drink allow us to see the contents. Glass is used to make eyeglasses, microscopes, telescopes, and many other extremely useful and necessary things.

    Until the Second World War, most of the glass used for optical (光学的) instruments was imported from Europe. However, during the war Americans could not get European glass, and they were forced to make their own. Therefore, new kinds of glass were developed that had been previously unknown. These new effects were achieved by mixing other chemical elements with the sand. Some of the new glass is very strong and can resist many kinds of shocks. Legend (传说) has it that a kind of very hard glass was invented by a Roman who showed his discovery to the Emperor. When the Emperor saw the glass he feared that it would become more valuable than gold and sliver, making his treasure worthless. Therefore, he had the glass-maker killed, and the secret was not discovered again for hundreds of years.

    In the present century, safety glass was invented for use in modem cars and planes. Safety glass is made by placing a layer of plastic between two layers of plate glass. When the outside layer of glass is broken, the pieces do not scatter (散开) and injure people. Some glass of the type is strong enough to resist bullets (子弹).

    Although nowadays plastics have replaced glass under conditions where glass might be easily broken, there are new uses being developed, for the greatest advantage of glass is that its component (组成的) parts are inexpensive and can be found all over the world.