PODIUMS – The Victory Platform

Podium is a kind of platform which is basically used for raising the short distance from the surrounding. The word podium has come from a greek word which means foot. Podium is also meant for where the speaker can be put up and important paper or books can also be placed and correct term for it is Lectern only. Both the terms are not identical to each other because one stands on a podium and another behind a lectern.

Podiums are basically used for the honor of top contestants in any of the events. It is to be seen in the events like Olympics, Commonwealth Games or other events similar to that.  In Olympics basically a three level podium is to be used in which the highest level is at the centre holds the space for gold medalist and to their right which is somewhat lower than the middle is for the silver medalist and the third one is which is on the left of middle is lowest platform and provide space for the bronze medalist. 

Infact in many of the sports the top three contestants are often referred to as podiums only and in some of the individual sports podium in which it is an official statistic are referred as the number of top three results which a participant or athlete has achieved in the course of a season or his/her career. According to the professor E.R.K.Barney who is a founding director at University of Western Ontario was the one who gave the idea of Podium to honor the athletes while they receive their medals which is now used almost everywhere all over the world to honor the same.

Podiums are used in different forms of motorsport but the function is similar and that is to present the trophies to the top-placed drivers. In an international series, the national anthem of the winning driver, and the winning team or constructor may be played and the flags of the drivers' countries are hoisted above them. Infact now the term has become a parlance in media and that is where a driver is said to be “be heading for a podium finish” or “just missing out on a podium”.

 In NASCAR Sprint Cup Series which is the highest level of stock car racing in the United States do not have three-person podium instead of that the winning driver and its team celebrates in the victory lane only. The IRLIndyCar Series does not use a podium at theIndianapolis 500 or the Bombardier Learjet 550 but has a long tradition of the winning driver and team celebrating in victory lane, while Texas Motor Speedway president Eddie Gossage has stated that victory lane should be reserved for the winner of the race. However, the series does use a podium at all other races.

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Interactive Whiteboard: Future Of Classroom Learning

Interactive Whiteboard: Future of Classroom Learning

Are Interactive Whiteboards really helpful in Classroom Education, Corporate Systems and Broadcasting Studios? A lot more questions are puzzling our minds. So, let just try to find it out….

An interactive display which connects a computer to the projector is widely known as an interactive whiteboard (IWB). An interactive whiteboard is a combination of computer and projector where projector projects the desktop over the board’s surface where operator controls it by the help of pen, finger, or other device. This is just a kind of board which is required to be mounted over a wall or floor stand. It is widely used in classrooms for running software which is to be loaded onto the connected PC such as web browsers or proprietary software, capturing notes written on a graphic tablet connected to the whiteboard, OCR software to translate cursive writing on a graphics tablet into text, audience response system so that presenters can poll, conduct quizzes, capturing feedback onto the whiteboard.

According to market research by Future source Consultancy it was confirmed that interactive whiteboard industry was expected to reach sales of US$ 1 Billion worldwide by 2008 and by 2011; one of every seven classroom in world will feature interactive whiteboard.

This device is basically connected to a computer via USB or port cable or Bluetooth or even via 2.4 GHz wireless. Interactive whiteboard act as a Human Input Device (HID), like a mouse when it is to be attached to the computer.  The video output is needed to be connected to a digital projector so that images can appear over the whiteboard surface. Now the user can calibrates the whiteboard image via pointer and this is the device which is to be required for the activation of programs, buttons and menus from the whiteboard itself. 

All over the Globe there are four common types of operations which used by the users. These are the operations which develops interaction between the user and the content projected on the whiteboard. These are an infrared scan technology, an electromagnetic pen, a resistive touch-based board, a portable ultrasonic pen, and wiimote.

Today, interactive whiteboards are replacing the traditional whiteboards or flipcharts or even media systems. The software supplied with the interactive whiteboard will usually allow the teacher to keep notes and annotations as an electronic file for later distribution either on paper or through a number of electronic formats. Many companies and projects now focus on creating supplemental instructional materials specifically designed for interactive whiteboards. Electro kite out of Boston, MA, for example, will have the first complete curriculum for schools and districts.

But, According to Larry Cuban, education professor emeritus at Stanford University, "There is hardly any research that will show clearly that any interactive whiteboards will improve academic achievement.

Today also interactive whiteboards are still a question mark. Undoubtedly, they are helpful but not everywhere and needs to be discussed some more.  

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