Is Online Education Suitable For You?
Posted by este in Online Education, Reference and Education on September 25, 2011
Online education gives students not only convenience but also freedom and it comes with a lower price. Although this form of education sounds fun, not everyone prefers this mode of study. Since the situation is as such, it is best to write down the pros and cons of this education system. Then, look at your list to see which you prefer, traditional education or online education.
Most people like studying online because it is convenient. Education is about reaching out to students from every place and every age. Employees still can work and get a degree at the same time. Parents can also do the same without having to put their children in a daycare but on top of all that, nothing can stop you from having a degree.
Steps in deciding an online school
Before taking an online course, ask yourself what good it will do for you? What can you benefit from it? The first step is to choose the institution that is accredited so that it is easier for you to further your studies or get a good job opportunity. Check the school to make sure it is not a fraud as this problem has been going on for a while. Make sure that the degree you get online is a standard degree. Everything should be the same with the degree based on campus.
The good & bad of online education
Like it is said earlier, not everyone prefers distance learning. This is because some people do better in a face-to-face learning environment. They prefer an active discussion between lecturers and students, attending workshops and seminars. That way, it is more interesting than sitting at home and facing the computer. Since that it is interesting, students absorbs information better, which means that it help with their result. Although online education is good due to the convenience, at times it is intended for a better and higher education.
Social life is important in everyone’s life and when you study online, there is not much memory of social life compare to studying in campus. Most students enjoyed their campus life because they are interacting with peers and lecturers instead of facing the computer. Yes, getting educated via cyberspace is cheaper but it does not offer a life time experience compare to studying in campus.
At the end of your degree years, you only get a degree…nothing more. Compared to students who studied in campus, they went through more life experiences and became more knowledgeable on both life and the course. Some people might regret this opportunity but then again, we are free to choose.
The Future of Online Education
Posted by este in Online Education, Reference and Education on September 21, 2011
In the current economic climate, jobs are scarce and people without college degrees can find it difficult to obtain employment and advance in their careers. Getting a college degree, however, is no simple feat; it requires a considerable investment in terms of time, money, and effort, and not everyone can make that investment. People with families, mortgages, jobs, disabilities, etc. may not be able to attend college on a daily basis. However, due to advancements in technology, educators are coming up with innovative ways to contend with this problem, and distance education programs are sprouting up all over the country at a rapid rate, allowing more and more people to pursue a degree without having to put their lives on hold until its completion.
Online colleges function much in the same way as traditional colleges-generally students attend lectures, complete assignments, participate in discussions, take exams, and receive grades just the way they would in a brick and mortar institution.However, there are a few variations.
With online colleges, you do not have to be physically present at the lectures: they are transmitted online and, depending on your program, you can view them in real time or choose to view the recorded lesson later. You do not need to deliver hard copies of assignments or exams to your professors-assignments and grades are submitted and graded via email or other online tools. Class discussions are not carried out in an actual classroom, but from the comfort of your own home via video chat, instant messaging, forums, discussion boards, blogs, etc. With the advent of technology, distance learning programs are becoming more and more adept at simulating the classroom experience.
Due to the aforementioned methods of instruction, an online degree can give you the flexibility and freedom to pursue other interests, keep your job, and give your family the attention they need, all while you complete the degree.
Distance education programs also make sense economically because you save on the commuting expenses, on-campus housing costs, and infrastructure fees that you would incur if you pursued a traditional degree. Furthermore, you are more likely to be able to work while you complete your degree. Distance learning programs work especially well for individuals who find it hard to participate in class discussions because they are not as vocal or vociferous about their ideas and opinions as others. Often, in a traditional classroom, a few aggressive voices monopolize the entire discussion, but in an online program, everyone can express opinions and ask questions through the mediums of forums, blogs, and discussion boards, because they feel less self-conscious.
A common concern is the validity of an online degree. It is important to note that the value of any degree, online or traditional, depends on the school’s reputation, the student’s individual effort and dedication, the faculty, the teaching methods, and of course the school’s accreditation. Employers are just as open to hiring candidates with degrees from accredited, well-rated, reputable distance learning programs as they are to employing candidates with degrees from brick and mortar institutions. In fact, successfully completing an online degree speaks to many positive qualities, such as a sense of motivation, a drive to succeed, and a great deal of self discipline. However, your degree will be meaningless if you get it from an unaccredited college, so make sure you do a lot of research and ascertain if your shortlisted distance education school has adequate accreditation before making a decision.
Though there are many advantages to distance learning, before you enroll in an online program you should decide if an online degree is the right fit for your temperament and expectations.Different people respond to different instructional methods. If you need physical human interaction, a rigid schedule of classes, or want the conventional college experience, you may want to look at a traditional college. A distance-learning program is ideal for someone who is disciplined, someone who is focused on the actual education, instruction, and knowledge received,or someone who wants to save money and needs a flexible academic schedule.
Online degree programs will continue to rise in popularity and credence, because they provide opportunities for intellectual fulfillment to numerous people who would otherwise never have been able to pursue higher education. With the rapid, continuous development of technology and the growing ease in transmitting information across the World Wide Web, we will see an increasingly high quality of interactive, engaging, effective learning tools being utilized by distance learning programs. Hence the future is bound to see more people enrolling in online degrees.
What Has Education Lost?
Posted by este in K 12, Reference and Education on September 17, 2011
Do you remember when you were little? We eagerly anticipated being “big enough” to attend school. Sometimes it was because there were few other children around, but mostly because we wanted to learn, to be like those who were older and knew the mysteries of reading, writing and math. In the days before preschools being for everyone, we entered kindergarten for half days. We played house or store or with blocks, slathered paint on paper to create out masterpieces, mashed clay into ropes and blobs that became something to us, listened to music and danced if there was space, had a “rest” (but I think that was for the teacher instead of us), and the teacher read to us. Eventually, we began to learn to read toward the end of the year.
Schools still offer the magnet to the young of being able to be with others their own ages, to play in safe areas, and to learn. They still play with others, but most of their days are sitting at desks. They begin to learn to read and write at the beginning of kindergarten which they often attend for full days. But what has been lost?
I no longer see the “magic” of what schools could offer: using their creativity and imagination in play or art. To some extent, there is joy of learning, but the pressures of test scores makes it more work than joy because many students are not developmentally ready for what is presented to them. We used to desire to achieve, but now the expectations are so high that many give up before the end of third grade.
This push for educational “excellence” is supposedly to develop opportunities for individuals’ futures in the workforce. The actual result is that many are averse to and resist any form of school. Their poor grades and/or drop-out status make them ineligible for advanced training or higher education. In the logic of legislators who control education, everyone should go to college. The result is “watered-down” college preparation classes (which are actually useless in preparing students for college) and an absence of vocational exploration opportunities. Everyone used to take shop and/or home economics courses in high school where we prepared for independent living (taking care of feeding and clothing the family and learning how to safely use tools to repair things around the house). Those classes are rapidly disappearing, only to resurface in different forms at the vocational or technical college level. That is where many attend because they are forced to because they can get government assistance as long as they are in school.
The problem with the current goals for education is that it has lots a humanness that allowed everyone to be successful in areas of their interests, talents and skills. What is there for the artistically or musically inclined individuals? What is there for those who think multi-dimensionally and can create or envision structures, packaging, or machines?
Education teaches to the “average” – do you know anyone who is consistently “average” in anything? Education is not a product on an assembly line, so the quality control measures cannot be the same for everyone. The raw materials (student entering school) at any given point are not uniform and “perfect”, because we all develop at different rates and at different times.