Thursday, September 27, 2012

Here's Why You Need Good Technical Analysis Education For Trading Stocks

Technical analysis education is the key to successful stock trading. While a number of long-term investors focus primarily on fundamentals, as traders we know that the price movement reflects most accurately what the market thinks of the stock, so we make our decisions based on the technical analysis of price movement. Technical analysis is critical. Without it, you don't stand a chance at trading profitably.
So it should go without saying that good technical analysis education is the foundation of a profit-producing trader. Some fundamentals of good technical analysis are pivot points, volume shifting and stochastics, moving averages, and trends. Here today, I'd like to focus on trends. I'm sure you've heard it before, but I'm going to say it again, "The Trend is Your Friend".
If you ignore trends, they'll smack you on the side of the head with as many losses as it takes to get your attention. But if you take the time to get to know the trend, understanding its movements, its strengths and weaknesses, you can use its leverage to your advantage. Get to know the market trend.
Before going any further, I'd like to point out the difference between the market trend and current price movement. Pretty basic stuff, but it's important and so foundational to successful trading. Here's the distinction:
A trend can be moving in one direction, while the current price movement fluctuates up and down. For example, the trend can be moving up, but that price at any given moment may be moving down. The price might be going down for a short time, but the overall trend is still pointing up.
So what does that mean to us as traders? Well, think of the trend as a magnet that's pulling the stock in a certain direction. Sure, the stock price is untamed, moving up and down, seemingly at whim. But the larger trend is clearly pulling the stock in a certain direction. So the probability of the stock going with the trend is always greater than the stock moving against the trend. This means that if a stock is moving in a downward trend, it's always a safer bet to open a position as the price movement also trends down.
Therefore, in technical analysis education, the first rule of the trend is to open trading positions when trend and price movement match.
And how do we recognize trends? Well, there are a number of stock trading tools to identify trends, such as moving averages and trend lines, but I'd like to focus on size: bigger usually carries the most weight.
What I mean is that if you're looking to enter and exit a trade in one day, you should take a step back so you can see several days or a couple weeks of action on that stock. Or if you're looking to enter a position for a few days or couple weeks, look back at the past month or two to spot a larger trend.
The bigger the trend, the more weight it carries. If you see a three-month trend reaching its boundary, be very careful to trust a single day's trend heading in the other direction. Large trends get to push around small trends and price movements, so always give them the most respect.
That sounds pretty simple, but can we always trust trends? Well, put your technical analysis education to good use and watch out for these:
1) News- Know that if news on a company or major stock market news are due to come out, this may cause the trend to be completely ignored, at least temporarily. So watch out for the news.
2) Seasonal or time fluctuations- The volume of stock trading can change drastically with certain seasons or days of the week, weakening a trend. It's important to learn the rhythm of the market.
3) Trend boundaries- I mentioned this a little bit before, but it's worth mentioning again. If a trend is reaching some point where the market has shown to be stubborn, the trend may bounce back and reverse trend for a while. It's important to use trend lines and other analytics to know where these points are.
4) And last but not least, the Unknown- the market is always allowed to do something completely unexpected and irrational. That's why it's absolutely critical to have a good stock trading plan and money management strategy with risk vs. reward ratios firmly in place.
Spotting trends and moving with price movements takes a good deal of practice and quality technical analysis education. So don't skimp on your learning. Spend the time, and when necessary the money, to prepare yourself to be a successful trader. Below are a few great sources that will educate you via. demo trading and back testing.
Here's to profitable trading.

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

YouTube Skills Equals Opportunity For Educators

To many in the 30-something and beyond generations, YouTube is a strange phenomenon and a somewhat confusing business concept. Older generations do not fully understand what YouTube is about and generally avoid it. 'Kids' spending hour after hour on the computer making & sending silly video clips to each other: "What is that all about? In my day..."
Well, YouTube (and other video sharing web sites) are here to stay and that is that. And if they are here to stay, can they be used in the field of education?
Or more accurately
1. Can the skills 'kids' are picking up in using video creation and sharing be used in education?
2. Can the making of educational videos by students be used in the classroom and how beneficial might this be in improving student understand a topic?
3. Would a 'hands-on' approach to make a video essay allow students to better retain what they are learning?
This article will argue that the short answer to each of these questions is 'yes'. The key is how is it to be done and what resources are out there to help.
Kids today love making videos and sharing them via YouTube (and other video sharing web-sites). Surely these interests and skills could (and should) be harnessed? After all, what is the traditional (boring?) approach to education?
You are given an essay to write/a project to complete. To write the essay, you need to do some research; read a little; take notes; produce a 1000 word essay. Hand it in. Your teacher reads it. You get your mark. You move on and apart from revision, you never see the essay again.
What about if the end product was not a written report but one you produced as a video documentary?
Everything is the same until you get to the 'writing' stage. Tell the story you would previously have written down using visuals. Make a commentary using your notes. Tell the story. Find some suitable video clips. Go and make your own video clips. Bring in your own photographs. Make a video essay/documentary. Hand in the finished masterpiece. The teacher can then watch it or share is with the class. Promote discussion. Compare approaches to the project. Finally upload the video to the school/college web site or YouTube. In other words, the video approach opens more opportunities to learn then the written word.
So in a sentence:
Don't Write An Essay See An Essay
But what is the current state of video use (and the use of YouTube) in education?
Even in 2009, simply using YouTube as a tool for education is seen as quite radical: in a popular web site and forum for history teachers in the UK , a recent talking point was a short segment on the BBC news channel where this 'radical' idea was aired (search 'Roy Huggins school history' on YouTube). What is most interesting about this interview and the general comments on the forum afterward is the thought that these videos have to be made by the teacher community. 'Lets make videos for students and share them', is the current thinking. No discussion of letting the students make the video.
The BBC introduced an annual 'School Report' project whereby school students spend a day making new reports for broadcast on television (although mainly aimed at school web sites). The main point here is that students are encouraged to think about what goes into a news broadcast as well as the technical aspects of making the news report.
Another development is the development of a new degree course based on YouTube: "YouTube for Educators" through the Boise State University Department of Educational Technology.
A short introduction to the course is shown here, 'This is an academic course for students in an advanced educational technology program. It is my belief that YouTube, and video-sharing in general, cannot be ignored within a field of emergent technologies for learning. YouTube is having an impact on society, politics, and the lives of individuals from all walks of life.' (Search YouTube for 'csnelsonbsu ').
But this course is still a step behind giving video clips to students to create mini video documentaries.
In summary, the use of video as an educating tool is slowing creeping along the corridors of the educational establishments. But it is still dominated by a teacher-centered approach.
It is the teacher who creates.
It is the teacher who uses his/her imagination.
It is the student that watches.
To turn this around and make better use of the medium of video, students need to be given control. Students should be allowed to use their imagination and create, not teachers.
Clearly there are hurdles to be overcome to give teachers the opportunity to move into video essays. In order for students to create mini video documentaries they need access to computers, the raw video material and teachers need skills to manage it.
Other questions to add to the mix:
1. How would they physically make these videos: in the classroom? At home? Both?
2. How would schools and colleges go about using this approach to education? Group projects? And which subjects? History? Sociology? Geography? Politics? All the above and more?
3. Do schools and colleges have the staff proficient and confident enough with this new communication medium to teach the youth of today? The Future?
This article asks more questions then it answers; It has merely scratched the surface of the video in education topic.
What is important to note and cannot be over stressed, is the importance of taking advantage of the inherent new skills that the young people of today have developed in using YouTube. Putting them to an educational use is a must.
And after all, when as a student of the late 1980's, this author used the now ancient skill called 'hand writing' in submitting essays and reports; A word processor (pre-Windows, Apple, PC's and the 'net'), was some sort of alien contraption only found in classrooms belonging to strange long-haired hippie types. Today, primary school students use computers as a matter of course.
Will video use in education become the norm in the next 10 years?

Thursday, September 13, 2012

Continuing Traffic Education (CTE)

In absence of formal training & traffic Driving Knowledge, A license to drive is actually a license to kill or get killed on the deadly metro road .Do we have proper driving laws & Formal Training school to curb the menace and the mayhem on the metro road? India is fast emerging as the most favoured nation of all the Motor manufacturing company who is coming every now and then to set up their base because India is a big market and Indian customer's base is huge and have the Buying potential for these vehicles. But it is really a very sad issue that Neither the govt. of India nor any Vehicle manufacturing Company are coming forward to set up the base for the Driving school of international standard and giving emphasis on the quality education to the traffic laws and rules for each & every individual seeking license To drive on the roads .
One of the most bizarre facts of our Traffic system is that in Delhi - which has the maximum no. of motor vehicles plying on its road - we have only one or two Government Run Traffic education & Driving training school and that too is not easily accessible by majority of delhites because of its remote Locations. In this case almost 98% of delhites do get their formal and basic driving training either from Their Relatives , friends or the Local non-recognized and private institutions whose main focus is to earn money as soon as possible rather than giving the formal Quality Traffic and driving Education . One can better understand that if this is the situation In Our national capital Delhi, what is the situation in Other Small metro cities? God knows!
So , If we can make traffic laws and awareness programme a mandatory lesson from the High school syllabus so that From the Beginning when a Child starts to have urge to learn driving , he or she must understand and practice the smaller finer points of driving . This is the right way to make the awareness programme among the future drivers successful as its result will come at later stage but it is sure it will achieve its objective. Hence Traffic laws & awareness Lesson to be introduced in the Syllabus right from the beginning.
Again, we find the need for the continuing traffic education mandatory for all the old and budding drivers. As on every alternate day, some new technology in motor Dynamics or traffic control system is added to the traffic Rules and driving Canvas. So, it ought to be Must for all those driving on the road to aware themselves with the finer points of those technical advancements for better result on the road. Hence, continuing has to be mandatory in every metropolis even the educated drivers must come forward spontaneously to learn the new basics of driving which will in-fact horn their driving Skill.
So, let's come together for bigger cause, better case and for Taking care of your life and other's life on the road for our better tomorrow. We must ensure that what we think, what we speak and what we do must have the co-relation and must practice the same in reality. So, let's come together and take a vow to make the continuous education on learning of better Driving skill and new traffic rules for our own safety and help our Country to become Really Developing in all Sense and in true color.

Thursday, September 6, 2012

Online Broadcasting Education Opportunities

The world of communication opens various avenues to pursue for an education. Online education opportunities are making it easier for individuals who need more flexibility to obtain a degree. A broadcasting degree can be obtained from many online accredited colleges, and can prepare students to enter the workforce by teaching them how to be a vital member of the communications industry. There are a number of things to learn prior to enrolling in an educational program.
1. Most online colleges offer degree distinctions for dedicated individuals from an associate's to a bachelor's degree. Some schools go a step further and give the option for students to attend a graduate program. Many of the graduate programs allow students to obtain a master's degree in broadcast journalism. Through each level of education students will learn the ins and outs of news dissemination using audio and video to relay information to an audience.
2. Many of the online distance learning programs provide students with a thorough curriculum. Online broadcasting programs specifically focus their courses to teach students the foundations of the industry, and allow them to experience the fast paced world of technology as it relates to communication through broadcasting. Many of the courses will help students by training them in media issues, production of audio, entertainment, production of video, videography, editing, and more. These skills will help a degree holding individual in the job market because the broadcasting side of communications centers on the knowledge of technology to present news. The ability to use technology to present media in an interesting way is an important factor that online colleges teach in their programs.
3. Students can gain a bachelor's degree in broadcasting from a wide range of online schools. Some colleges specifically focus on the broadcasting degree making each class incredibly focused on the subject. In programs where the main focus is on the broadcasting side of communication courses may be longer, but the program will consist of fewer courses. A student may enroll in a program like this that has 14 courses. These courses can include radio and TV operations, broadcast journalism and news, public relation strategies, and more. Many bachelor's degree programs take four years to complete. However, online courses are taken at an individual pace and some students could finish the program in less time.
4. A four-year program or bachelors' program will prepare students in a variety of ways. In the first year, students will learn about the history, organization, TV, radio, and Internet technologies that make up the industry. This basis is essential for students to understand how all media works together to create broadcasting. The second year of education will have students diving into writing, production, sound design, and more. These aspects will be crucial to show students what it is they will be doing in their chosen career. In the remaining two years students will work in a variety of ways to create examples of their work to be used in a professional portfolio. A portfolio is important because it provides samples of your work to potential employers.
Gaining an accredited online education in broadcasting leaves multiple career options open. Broadcasting includes a wide range of jobs like TV reporting, sports reporting, camera work, audio work, and much more. Accreditation is provided to schools and colleges that meet certain criteria. Full accreditation can provide proof that a quality education is available. Agencies like The Accrediting Council for Continuing Education and Training (www.accet.org) and other agencies are approved to accredit educational training programs. Don't let your passion of technology or news pass you by. Search online colleges for a program that fits your career goals.