Is this life?

Paul woke up disgruntled, plonked in the middle of a cart with few necessities thrown in moving across a railroad at nominal speed. He looked around for familiar faces but but no one was in sight. The day had just commenced. The sky was in hues of black and some shimmer of orange streaming through. The cart was moving through a meadow and there was greenery all around with huge trees blossomed with buds of flowers and fruits. Animals were busy grazing the grass or standing by the lake splashing water on themselves. The sight was so beautiful and welcoming. As he passed by, all looked at him with love and waved him off.

Source: https://animals.desktopnexus.com/wallpaper/325119/

Hours later, the cart appeared to pass through rich forests. Here, the trees appeared huge and bulky cutting the sunlight. He heard sounds of animals and expected the same welcome and peered out. Close to him, he saw a herd of deer looking at him with terrified eyes, running frantically to save themselves from a tiger that was close upon them. The tiger then glanced upon him and fear so deep struck his spine. He felt powerless and scrambled for something in the cart to protect himself from the assault. He came across a dagger and with shaking hands rose to face the ferocious tiger. Suddenly, the cart jerked and moved at very fast pace and in a few minutes he was on a low bridge overlooking the sea.

Source: https://www.mangalorean.com/mysuru-photojournalist-s-r-madhusudan-captures-first-slot-in-contest-held-by-zoo/

He saw ships and boats with people greeting him and wishing him a happy journey. The cart was now moving very slowly and he had ample time to connect with everyone at peace. The sea initially very calm, within a few hours showed a promise of a storm. The tides had increased and the waves were lashing fiercely at the boats. The weather had become very cold suddenly. He started shivering. The whole day events had taken a toll on his body and he was now feeling exhausted. As the turbulence in the sea rose, his cart started shaking violently, the balance was lacking and he felt tossed from one end to the other. Within a few seconds, the cart once gained huge momentum and he felt exported to an altogether new place.

This new place seemed very uncertain. There was sun and the darkness coexisting together. All types of animals whether sea, land or air animals appeared to be living in harmony in rich, luxurious foliage. Everything seemed to be at a standstill and still there was movement. "Where am I?" thought Paul. He pinched himself hard to come out of this surreal place but felt no feeling.  Immediately reality dawned and he gladly accepted his fate.

Teachers - It's time to develop your own Personal Learning Network

Education is dynamic and ever evolving. To keep pace with the rapid changes, teachers need to be a lifelong learner. A school endeavours to provide regular hands on training to teachers but many a times it is not able to do complete justice. The day school reopens, the constant flux of students attending range of academic and non-academic classes, parents entering and leaving with doubts and concerns resolved, the magnitude of co-curricular events, regular assessments, remedial help, school excursions, community reach out leaves one with less time to devote themselves to CPD [Continuous professional development]. In such cases, having a Personal Learning Network or PLN is extremely useful.

Video link : https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=91&v=hLLpWqp-owo

Source: https://hacklibraryschool.com/2014/01/29/pln/

As per Dori Digenti, 'The PLN consists of relationships between individuals where the goal is enhancement of mutual learning. The currency of the PLN is learning in the form of feedback, insights, documentation, new contacts, or new business opportunities. It is based on reciprocity and a level of trust that each party is actively seeking value-added information for the other'. 

Sources to build PLN?

1. The net offers various links to educational forums like https://schoolsonline.britishcouncil.org/partner-school/teacher-forums, https://educationinnovations.org/program/subject-teacher-forum, https://community.tes.com/ and so on. 

2. LinkedIn allows you to be part of many like minded groups wherein you can share latest updates and concerns. https://in.linkedin.com/

3. Online learning courses  https://education.microsoft.com/, http://www.scientix.eu/, https://teachercenter.withgoogle.com/, http://www.eun.org/, and many more communities allows one to access free courses for self enhancement. 

4. Social media apps like Facebook, WhatsApp, Telegram, Twitter, Instagram and many more helps you get connected to other educators and share resources freely with each other. 

5. Your personal connections with teachers, educators, peers and friends. My personal network of global friends helps me get connected to all that education has to offer. 

Benefits of PLN

1. You are resourceful, knowledgeable and connected and that builds your confidence.

2. Your lessons are more connected to the present, are interdisciplinary and you prepare students to be future ready. 

3. You are a lifelong learner and therefore more connected to your students as you understand their learning journey implicitly. 

4. You have a choice to connect with people with whom you are comfortable and therefore more at ease with the learning process.

5. The learning is spaced at your own convenience and you are the master of your learning process. You may choose to accept or decline the learning material.

6. You develop a growth mindset as different people offer different views and perspectives and make you look at a problem or issue with varied lens and aspects. Thus, your horizon broadens. 

7. The networks and relationships are more goal oriented or process oriented and thus it allows one to focus more on positive thinking and focused direction. 

It is time to develop your PLN's soon as with the advent of the 4th Industrial revolution, with new technologies and new revolutions, one needs to be prepared for rapid changes and immense upheavals. Thus, a group of networks and groups will offer concrete directions and meaningful resources for one to adapt themselves to a bright future which is unknown and mysterious. 

Resources:

https://teacherchallenge.edublogs.org/pln-define/

''Understand me'' said Student to Teacher

'Do your work again, it's pathetic. How can you be so careless? ' said Mala to her student, Rishi of Grade 9 in front of the entire class. Rishi mocked her and that angered Mala even more. Immediately she took Rishi to the Principal's office and demanded that the Principal threaten him or else see her gone. The Principal looked at the boy and at the teacher. Rishi was regularly reprimanded by his teachers and felt it could be his fault again. Soon, he was punished in front of the entire school.

Rishi's friends on the way home came up to Rishi and gave him a high five. He had the guts to give back and he was not scared. He had become a local hero for them. Rishi's ego instead of taking a beating was now even more inflated. 'Who cared what these dumb teachers felt"? thought Rishi.

The situation worsened every week. First it was one teacher, now all the subject teachers felt exasperated by his behaviour. 'How do we manage him? How do we control him?'

Rishi's parents were called but to the dismay of the school, they too put up their hands and said that they could not control him. They sounded even more helpless than the teachers.

A long weekend was coming up and all the teachers were excited. Finally a break from the routine. Over the weekend, Mala had made many plans to socialize and watch few pending films on her list. She bought a ticket to watch 'Mission Impossible 6' and sat down to watch it when she heard a 'good evening Miss' next to her. She turned to her right and saw Rishi. Immediately she felt her blood pressure rising and got up from the seat to move to a vacant seat and in the darkness slipped. She let out a scream and saw Rishi rushing to help her. All the other movie goers in a minute moved back to their seats but Rishi came with her all the way to the doctor to help her. He rushed to bring her medicines, connected with her family to see her reach home safely and messaged her 'GET WELL SOON'. Suddenly she felt miserable, all the time she saw the black dot but why didn't she ever see the white canvas.

The next week Rishi was back to his pranks but Mala decided to ignore it. This time her only focus was looking beyond the facade and finding the person underneath. Rishi wasn't going to give in easily but Mala was even more firm with her mission to understand him. She was going to win him over and with the support of the entire staff within 3 months she could see the walls crumbling. Some students are easy, some tough but at the core, all are beautiful and wonderful.

At the end 'LOVE CONQUERS ALL'

Oh*. The Balancing Forties

Forties - suddenly you feel wheels churning from every corner demanding a pound of flesh of you. The age where your child is attempting board exams, at crossroads of choosing a career line and he/she insists on your time, your body cycle reminding you of upcoming menopause, your parents ageing, their body weakening and signalling that your vital presence is needed and your career at its peak time waiting to spiral forward. Obviously in the midst of all pressures, your spouse tolerantly awaiting his turn. 

How do you manage and what do you sacrifice for whom?

Some would say it is a subtle art of balancing and I have been attempting but unsuccessfully. Either the balance shifts to the left or the right side but equilibrium is hardly achieved. Guess these balancing tips need to be shared step by step for beginners like us by stalwarts. 

Making a choice of which priority should take precedence is also challenging. I remember two years back in the month of January, my father was in surgery and was in the hospital for 9 days, every day moving from school to hospital to home and at the end exhausted. The day he got discharged, my mother in law fell down and had a fracture.  January and February are crucial months in school as all Annual Events are usually held round at that time and somewhere trying to spread myself thin I must have hurt my staff many a times through my temper outburst triggered by small things. On retrospect, I now feel terrible but at that time the focus was getting the task done by all means.  

Many have advised, it is time to give yourself more 'Me' time, it will help one to calm down. Every day I have been isolating myself from all, talking to myself but now I feel more of a loner than before. Guess, I am more of a people's person and I need to move out more. 

Well, advices and solutions keep pouring in and I am listening. Some say patiently wait for the 50's. Miraculously every problem will vanish. Well, I will need to work on developing 'PATIENCE'. A virtue which is difficult to achieve. At this juncture, add ‘YOGA’ to your list too. But let me ask on a scientific note, how is being in 50’s supposed to solve all issues? Beats me.  

Thus, I am currently working towards experimenting with varied solutions till I find the right mix. With that achieved, you all will be the first people to know as one thing I have learned over time is that writing what I have learned helps me become a better person and I do wish to grow more and more. Sure, you will support me on that.

Till further notice, goodbye and have a great 40’s day.

Till we meet again

John was fiddling through his work, waiting for the day to end. He had a lot on his mind and the constant pinging of the pending files on his computer was not helping. He looked out of the window hoping a miracle could beam through the glass and provide him with renewed power and visions. He stood transfixed till his receptionist knocked and beckoned him back to reality.

Enroute to his home, he kept on thinking multitude of reasons to back out of a social commitment later in the day but the minute he stepped home, looking at his beautiful wife, Amelia eager to socialize, he gave in. Reluctantly, he dressed, plastered a smile on his face and moved out to meet his old friends and relatives. At the social dinner, John seemed preoccupied and restless, he kept counting the minutes till the final pleasant farewell greeting. His closest friends felt there was something was amiss in his behaviour but John dismissed the concerns as weariness and exhaustion.

The next morning, Amelia was in the kitchen hurrying up to pack their lunches. Normally John was around to help her in the kitchen but today it seemed the late night had really worn him off. She completed the chores and called out loudly to wake him up but John seemed deep in slumber. She went close by and began nudging him but received no response, she felt an odd pang as his skin felt cold to her touch. A deep sense of fear engulfed her and she called the doctor. Within few minutes John was declared dead. 

Hours turned to days and Amelia found it difficult to accept reality that John had left for the heavenly abode. She began clearing his belongings and came across a medical report dated 6 weeks back. John had been diagnosed with a tumour in the last stages and had never shared the details with anyone. Amelia looked back at the past 10 years of her marriage and felt cheated. Was their bond so shallow that it had invited no trust?

A year down the line, Amelia had an unexpected visitor. A beautiful lady introduced herself as John's counsellor and she had been requested by John to meet his wife. Empathetically she held Amelia's hand and expressed her that John had struggled to share the truth with her, his treatment was highly expensive and the success rate was only 40%. He knew Amelia would put up everything for sale for the treatment happily, not worrying about the future and he could not live with that. He wanted her to be happy and comfortable. He also mentioned to her not to meet Amelia earlier as the pain would be deeper. 

Amelia looked at the sky after the counsellor’s departure and hugged herself tightly. She had been loved profoundly and fondly and remembered John with immense longing. Silently she said to herself, "Till we meet again".

Love truly acts in mysterious ways, people love you but the expression may not be always what you hoped for.  

The future of Life Sciences

Life Sciences is undergoing such transformations that our perception of our ourselves and our take on our health and services will change radically. As per mobi health news remote patient monitoring grew by 44% in 2016. Swedish market research firm Berg Insight mentions “Bring-your-own-device connectivity will be preferred by select patient's groups and will be used for the monitoring of 22.9 million patients in 2021."

THE CONNECTED PATIENT - 

We are going to be a part of a world where every article comes with sensors which will detect our every movement. Ex: A pillbox has sensors and will relay information informing our near and dear ones of medicines taken or forgotten and subsequently further steps will be taken. 

                                    Source : https://www.gemalto.com/review/Pages/the-connected-patient.aspx

Health care delivery systems in 2020 - 

Most of the medical care will be at home and no longer need to be confined to clinics or hospitals. Many doctor – patient contacts will now be virtual.

Specialist hospital treatment may be reserved for trauma and emergency surgery; local day care organisations will deal with most elective surgery, while chronic and long term will be maintained in the community.

3D Printing and life sciences

At the University of Melbourne, engineers and doctors have worked together to model and 3D print the heart arteries of patients. These models allow doctors to see the twists and blood flow in the vessels and accordingly construct an accurate heart stent, a mesh tube to support weak arteries.  

In collaboration with researchers at the University of Wollongong’s ARC Centre of Excellence in Electromaterials Science, the team is able to print a patient’s artery within a day.

According to 3D Printing Progress, the 3D printing industry is estimated to grow to approximately $6 billion by 2024. Prosthetics, knee and hip replacements, implants, hearing aids, tissue and medicines are expected to drive 3D-printed biotech products.

Prosthetics - an artificial device that replaces a missing part of a body will be one of the major choices for 3D printing. Ex: printing of limbs

Implants will be another area with multiple applications. These can range from knee and hip replacements to dental and oral implants to bone — again, enhancing quality of life at a lower cost.

Tissue, organs, bones, muscle and skin 3D will be printed to match samples taken from a patient in order to decrease rejection of surgeries is been researched and will soon be a norm.

Medicines produced via 3D printing, will be tailored to each patient to provide a more personalized treatment.

Adoption of Iot and wearables - 

Ubiquitous presence of smartphone and Internet of things will help to reduce gap between patients and pharmaceutical industries. It will facilitate at home diagnostic testing, self-management of chronic diseases and remote patient health care.

Wearables will track recovery from cardiac arrests, replace physical interaction with digital intervention and lower cost of treatment.

Source: https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/global/Documents/Life-Sciences-Health-Care/gx-lshc-healthcare-and-life-sciences-predictions-2020.pdf

Genomics and the future-

Do you remember watching the movies Elysium (2013) and Gattaca (1997)? They had spoken about the future of medicine. Well, Genomics plays a huge role in that. It is the study of understanding the structure of the genome, which contains all genetic instructions for developing and directing the activities within an organism in the form of DNA. 

Personal genomics

By sequencing individual genomes, researchers can uncover large amounts of information concerning all aspects of an individual's physiology, from their susceptibility to certain diseases to the way they respond to specific drugs. A single strand of DNA will speak of our entire life processes. Amazing, isn't it? 

Artificial Intelligence and Life sciences -

The promise of AI is to extend it in three crucial areas, complex computations, algorithmic assessments and making meaning from loose associations.

AI could add value by reducing time in the analysis of a bacterial swab or increasing accuracy in subsequent antibiotic prescription thereby giving doctors more time for clinical assessment. 

The future thus tells us we will be masters of our own bodies controlling every aspect ranging from better health diagnosis to receiving timely treatment to maintenance available at our terms, ease and comfort.  So gear up and cheer up because long lives need to be balanced with happy dispositions and strong relationships. 

Bibliography

http://www.dhl.com/en/about_us/logistics_insights/studies_research/the_future_of_life_sciences_and_healthcare_logistics.html#.WsXKgohuY2w

https://www2.deloitte.com/uk/en/pages/life-sciences-and-healthcare/articles/healthcare-and-life-sciences-predictions.html

https://www.infosys.com/industries/life-sciences/white-papers/Documents/life-sciences-industry.pdf

https://insidebigdata.com/2016/11/08/the-impact-of-iot-on-heatlcare-and-life-sciences/

https://www.eisneramper.com/3d-printing-biotech-cat-0318/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihqUosVDw-E

https://www.businesstoday.in/magazine/features/genomics-and-future-of-medicine/story/243003.html

https://www.nature.com/articles/nature01626

https://www.techemergence.com/understanding-the-third-wave-of-ai-in-healthcare-and-life-sciences/

https://www.europeanpharmaceuticalreview.com/news/61031/drug-safety-automation/

http://www.mobihealthnews.com/content/remote-patient-monitoring-market-grew-44-percent-2016-report-says

Short story - Why me?

Jennifer sat in her balcony appearing to enjoy her cup of coffee but inside her, a storm of emotions seems to be gushing through her. She had held immense power in her professional circles as CEO of a leading multinational. Her calendar was full, she was always travelling, meeting people, signing deals and thinking of new horizons but suddenly overnight she was a nobody. One deal went sour and the company stating that she was close at retirement age sent her off with flowers and gifts. Her entire life, her association had been with a single company and now there was a huge void. 

Source of image : https://in.pinterest.com/pin/374432156502373193/?lp=true

A week after her farewell party, she decided to go back to the company to meet her old friends, her only friends, she remembered how they used to connect, gossip and have great fun together. Maybe they could get back again. On her arrival, she was informed that all were busy and was taken to a waiting lounge. For the first time, she sat with other people waiting to be called. As people started moving in, she realized her waiting would be longer and started exploring the area. Things she had never noticed, she started seeing. All the magazines with her photos had been removed, everything highlighting the new Head was visible. Housekeeping staff who were at her beck and call were politely asking her if she needed anything. An hour later, she went inside, her colleagues wished her and asked about her life but all seemed preoccupied. Within minutes, they seemed to find excuses to get back to work. Within 15 minutes, she was once again out of the office. 

On her way home, she broke down. Everything she had worked towards, every bond that she had created and believed had crumbled. Her faith in life was shattered. "Why me? she cried".  

Over the next few days, a feeling of isolation engulfed her. She was thrust into whorls of depression and could not bring herself to see any light. She disconnected from everything and the world disconnected with her.

Few months later, she found herself reading the newspaper and an article picked her attention. The article spoke of large percentage of people affected by depression and how it was a huge cause of concern. There was a forum created by young people to have people come, talk, share and find ways to battle depression. Jennifer connected reluctantly with the forum and was requested to come for the first meeting. She was in a dilemma, she wanted to go but at the same time, embarrassed to let the world know that she was weak. Susie from the forum, kept calling, landed up at her doorstep and eventually Jennifer relented. Her first meeting, she met so many people and their experiences so varied, their journey so painful that she counted her blessings. With every meeting, she connected with people on deeper wavelengths and found that life was full of twists and turns and one had to learn to make the best of each situation. She found people with amazing creativity in the forum but not able to harness it. Her business mind took off from there and she began planning and executing.

With growing confidence, she started her own small company allowing creative people to display their products and over time she had built a brand. Once again, she was flooded with calls, invitation and friends wishing to connect but this time, she had learned her lesson. Change is constant, connect with all but love only who those who will stand by you through thick and thin.  

What careers advice will you give your students entering the workforce in 2030?

We live in a dynamic, ever changing world. With the 4^th Industrial revolution bringing in artificial Intelligence, virtual reality and 3D printers we will witness radical shift in the career industry within 10 years where people with high skills will be easily absorbed and unskilled jobs will be soon replaced by automation. The World Economic Forum mentions that 65% of students entering primary school will land in completely new jobs in the future.

So what career advices could we give our students for their future?

Well, observe the top emerging industries for the future. These industries are going to provide your new jobs.

1.    Artificial Intelligence - The industry projected to be worth an eye-watering $70 billion by 2020.

2.     Drones - PwC says “In Australia, drones are already being used in various capacities like undertaking mining survey work. They are being trialled for parcel delivery.

3.    Virtual reality – Expected to disrupt today’s current entertainment ecosystem.
Goldman Sachs predicts that the whole augmented reality market will be worth $80 billion by 2025.

4.    Wearables – We have seen a rise of wearable technology, from fitness trackers to Apple Watch to Google Glass and Microsoft’s HoloLens. In future, it is predicted that normal-looking earrings will track your heart rate, body temperature and blood oxygen levels, providing you with vital health statistics.

5.    Mobile payments – Amazon recently opened a store ‘Amazon go’ where you all you need to do is tap to enter the store, grab what you need and your Amazon account automatically gets charged. 

6.    Cryptocurrencies – We have all heard of ‘bitcoin’. The virtual currency has the potential to blow things wide open.

7.    Genomics - Study of the entire set of genes found in living things, including humans, plants, animals and even viruses. Break pathing research is going to be conducted in this field for human enhancements. https://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/primer/genomicresearch/nextsteps

8.    Internet of things – Industry according to Mckinsey Global Institute could generate up to $11 trillion. So, if there’s ice on the bridge, the same sensors in the concrete will detect it and communicate the information via the wireless internet to your car. Your car will instruct the driver to slow down, and if the driver doesn’t, then the car will slow down for him.

9.    Robotics – Already around but now soon to be every home phenomenon.

10. 3D printing - From printing live tissues for testing to complete airplane wings that are lighter and more aerodynamic – 3D printing will continue to push industries to new heights.

11. Service Industries –Thriving as service sector jobs requiring social interaction skills and emotional intelligence will become increasingly important like counsellors, psychotherapists, teaching etc.

12. Space tourism - with the appearance of Virgin Galactic, shortage of rare earth elements on Earth (www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-17357863) we may in future need space miners, if we develop colonies on the moon and Mars, exobiologists needed to develop food plants.

13. Social network organisers and developers - Personal image and branding will gain prominence as society is more commercialised.

14. Personal fitness trainers, dieticians and image consultants will be required to help people look good and healthy.

15. Entertainment Industry –Will always have high demand and more diverse streams will be added like on- line publishing, multiformat journalists, book digitisers.

16. Business and Law - Reducing financial costs will become more and more important. Financial technologists trained to analyse financial trading will help investors reduce risks and costs.

A wide array of new careers is open for today’s generation. All they need to do is invest heavily into development of 21^st century skills and STEAM learning so that the future shapes up as per their beckoning.