Google offers financial advisor training

Google is offering free training and support for international financial advisors (IFAs) to help boost their online presence and capitalise on the growing demand for financial advice on the Internet, according to MoneyMarketing.

The Internet search engine giant has produced a white paper called 'IFAs in the digital space' which highlights the extent to which IFAs are missing out on the online demand for financial advice in the UK.

IFA Life founder Philip Calvert says: “IFAs are missing out on a wealth of opportunity online, and risk becoming increasingly sidelined in the online world if consumers cannot find them in searches”.

An agreement between the Ministry of Education and Omantel has been reached to allow Omani schools to get the recently introduced high-speed Internet connections at a greatly reduced rate, states Zawya.

In comments to the Observer, education minister Yahya bin Saud al Sulaimi said: "The ministry is committed to ensuring that advances in information technology are reflected in the education system in general and in the teaching and learning process in particular."

The ministry has also developed an educational portal system with the aim of bridging the digital gap and spreading e-culture in the wider community. The portal includes facilities for interactive e-learning and e-curriculum and it is hoped the portal will be able to support virtual classrooms.

The number of schools using plagiarism-detecting computer software to catch A-level students cheating in their coursework has rocketed, amid warnings that children as young as 11 need to be taught not to copy and paste from the Internet, writes The Guardian.

Nearly 90 schools and more than 130 colleges now use the Turnitin database to cross-check pupils' work with material found online - double the numbers two years ago.

The figures come at the beginning of a three-day international conference into plagiarism at Northumbria University, where attendees will hear new research suggesting half of university students would be prepared to submit essays bought off the Internet.