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If you’re new to online learning, you’ll quickly find it’s essential to know the ins and outs of using the educational software, in particular, the discussion board feature. If you don’t, you might alienate yourself from fellow classmates, irritate your professor, or worse—miss an important assignment. As I’ve worked on my master’s degree online, I’ve encountered several discussion-board snafus committed by fellow students, and made some goofs myself. To save yourself from facing the same fate, check out the following tips. They’re based on Blackboard, one of the more popular discussion-board programs used in online courses across the country. 1....
As online education technology advances, more nurses are turning to the Web to meet their continuing education requirements. The rise in demand has led to a greater variety of options for classes, which range from high-tech interactive variations to those that are decidedly more basic—essentially web-based takes on the old-school magazines that include tests to fill out and mail in. Here’s a look at three quick and affordable ways to brush up on your nursing skills online, whether you’re a tech whiz or still figuring out this whole “Internet” thing: 1. Just the facts, ma’am Since being founded in 1999,...
There’s a reason nursing programs are rigorous. Our health care system would be in serious trouble without the broadly skilled, around-the-clock support that nurses provide daily in hospitals, clinics, nursing homes and public health centers. Whether you’re just starting out as a licensed practical nurse (LPN) or rising up the ranks to become a nurse practitioner (NP), you’ll likely have continuing education classes throughout your career, including every time you renew your license. Continuing education 101 Licensing laws vary by state, but many require 20 to 30 contact hours every two years. Here is some basic but important continuing education...
Seth Godin is a marketing guru who’s known for the Technicolor ties and shirts he wears during conference panels and press appearances. He’s also a very colorful writer adept at promoting his books—and he’s written 12 bestsellers, including “Linchpin: Are You Indispensible?” and “Tribes.” Most of his latest manifesto, “Stop Stealing Dreams,” rips the American K-12 education system, saying it’s failed to evolve from its roots—when it was “invented to create a constant stream of compliant factory workers to the growing businesses of the 1900s.” He doesn’t think much of the traditional higher-education system, either–saying too many colleges don’t amount...
Ah, those dreaded prerequisites. So you’ve made the big decision to go back to school. But before you can dive into the really cool courses at the heart of the degree you’re pursuing, you need to brush up on your math skills or get some biology credits. There’s a push to get more introductory classes available cheaply online. The Open Learning Initiative Candace Thille heads up the Open Learning Initiative at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. Founded in 2002, OLI offers web-based courses in biology, chemistry, anatomy and physiology, engineering statics and a handful of other subjects—those so-called “weed-out” courses...
Early data from some groundbreaking research reveal some surprising findings about full-time and part-time course loads for online college students. Turns out that at-risk students fare better in their studies if they take fewer classes at first, Inside Higher Ed reports. Trouble is, if you’re a low-income student and you need as much Pell Grant money as possible, there’s a strong incentive to take at least 12 credit hours per semester. “So the question becomes, is the current federal financial aid structure actually setting these individuals up for failure?” Phil Ice, vice president of research and development for the American...
Imagine if all students had to take an online course to earn a high school diploma. It’s already the law of the land in Alabama, Florida, and Michigan, and Idaho—and more than a dozen other states are working on plans to advance online education. Tom Vander Ark, director of the International Association for K-12 Online Learning and author of “Getting Smart: How Digital Learning is Changing the World,” says it’s a no-brainer. In a Huffington Post opinion piece, he argues that requiring online learning would especially benefit low-income, minority and struggling students. “Setting minimum education requirements promotes equity and participation,”...
One University of Phoenix student’s moment of truth hit him as his shift as a video store clerk was winding down. It just wasn’t what he wanted to be doing at age 30. So T.J. decided it was time to chart a career path that would take him places. In a YouTube video produced by his soon-to-be alma mater, he breaks down how he made one of the biggest decisions about his education: whether to study online or on campus. It all boiled down to one thing. “It was an easy decision for me, because I needed that personal interaction....
Imagine being in your 20s and making quite a nice living at real estate. You don’t have a college degree, and don’t think you need one. Then doors start closing when job interviews hit the dreaded “Yeah, but …” snag. “Yeah, you have some great skills and experience, but why no degree?” That was Esther, a working mom who wondered how on earth she could possibly go back to school. In a traditional on-campus setting, she’d have to skip classes to keep up with her kids, job, choir and drama practice, etc. That’s when she started thinking about online programs....
Enrollment in online schools has soared to more than 6 million in recent years—a growth rate that’s 10 times faster than for higher education as a whole, according to a 2011 report by the Babson Survey Research Group, which is affiliated with Babson College in Wellesley Hills, Mass. Last summer, U.S. News & World Report embarked on its first-ever survey of online degree programs … and managed to stoke controversy months before the highly anticipated rankings were released. Critics complained the survey questions focused too much on “inputs”—that is, the caliber of incoming students—and not enough on the quality of...
A few months ago, Stanford University joined the open-education movement by offering a few free online computer science courses to the public at large. A staggering 94,000 students enrolled in one class alone. Since then, a healthy debate has ensued about the “flipped classroom,” which inverts the traditional teaching format by presenting most material through online video lectures, while limiting face time with a professor to optional weekly class meetings. Flipped classroom fans say it’s great to give more people access to high-quality courses, not just those who can afford the all-too-often high price of tuition. Critics bemoan the isolating...
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The All Allied Health Schools blog covers what you need to know about preparing for a career in health care today, whether you’re just starting to think about your new career or you’re ready to enroll in school.
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