Higher education

Three Tips for Online Learning Beginners

Are you starting your very first online learning class? Congratulations– you’re taking full control of your higher education. Be forewarned that online learning classes put you in the pilot seat. You’ll need a higher discipline and self-motivation than you would in a traditional online learning class. Here are some tips for beginner students.

Research Your Professor.
Although there isn’t as much face-to-face interaction with your professor as you would find in a traditional class, your professor can make or break your class. Ask any classmates who they’d recommend for a particular class. Don’t know anyone? Get the insider scoop at review sites like RateMyProfessor.
Know Your Syllabus Like the Back of Your Hand.
The syllabus is your contract with the professor. You won’t have a professor to stand in front of the class and go over it. Know your syllabus. It will often contain day-by-day instructions or assignments as well as classroom policies and rules. Those due dates are much more likely to creep up on you in an online class. Set reminders for one week ahead for minor projects, two or three weeks ahead for major projects. If there’s anything you’re unclear about in the syllabus, email the professor right away.
Never Procrastinate.
Online courses don’t allow for it. If you’re not keeping up with the workload, you’ll drown. Cramfests and last-minute work sessions do not work for online courses. You’re the only one responsible for understanding the material and a large part of your online course will be spent teaching yourself. You can’t learn an entire semester in one night, so make sure you’re keeping up with the syllabus.

Online Learning is Here to Stay

Online learning includes all types of teaching and learning. There are communication and information systems that serve as the media needed in order to implement this type of learning. The term “online learning” basically refers to classroom education that is acquired through the use of technology.

This type of learning where the network-enabled and computer transfer of knowledge and skills is utilized, processes and applications include digital collaboration, opportunities of virtual classroom, computer-based learning and Web-based learning. The content of the materials to be learned is sent through the Internet, satellite TV, video or audio tape, and extranet/intranet. This type of learning can be customized at the students own pace or it can be instructor led with media elements to include audio, animation, text, video streaming, and image.

By the year 2006 in the U.S., there were around 3.5 million students taking some type of online-learning within an institute of higher education. The Slogan Foundation reports state that the rise of participation in online learning was an average of 12 to 14% between the years of 2004 to 2009. By 2008, there were more that 25% of all post-secondary education students taking some type of online courses which increased in 2009 to 44%. The number of students taking online courses is expected to rise as much as 81 percent by the year 2014. There are many for-profit institutes of higher education that now offer online classes and the general consensus is that students are just as satisfied with this form of education as with the traditional classroom style.

Cost of Postsecondary Education

Once you’ve decided to continue your education, the next logical step is determining what your education budget will be. The first step is to ask yourself some critical questions:

Will I need to continue to work while I go to school?
Is the school of choice within commuting distance or will I need to move?
How long does the educational program last and do I have enough resources to complete the program?

Once you have the answers to those questions you can begin to look at different types of postsecondary educational programs and the costs associated with each institution.

Online Colleges

Online colleges offer the student the greatest flexibility of scheduling. So if you are juggling a job, a family, and school, this might be the perfect solution. Tuition for online colleges is about $252 a credit hour.

Two-Year Colleges

Community colleges, technical schools, and trade schools, all fall within the category of two-year colleges. Tuition for these institutions begins at around $239 per credit hour. However, tuition costs vary greatly depending on the program. The more specialized the program, the higher the tuition. In addition, you’ll need to factor in the cost of commuting to class. Many two-year colleges offer evening and weekend classes that allow you to keep your full or part-time job while attending school.

Four-Year Colleges

If you live within commuting distance, a four-year public college is usually the most cost effective choice. Yearly resident tuition for a four-year public school runs between $5000 and $10000 per year. However, if you need to live on campus, the cost of dorms and food can easily run another $15,000.

Non-resident tuition at four-year public colleges average between $15,000 and $25,000.

Knowing what college options you have to meet your career goal is the first step in developing an educational plan for your future. The second step is to manage your financial resources effectively to get the most education for the fewest dollars.

Three Reasons to Consider an Online Education

More and more employers are requiring a college education for entry-level jobs. If you are one of the millions of Americans that are looking for work, you’ve run up against this door time and time again. Getting past that closed door requires a college education. Yet, the entrance competition for local and national colleges and universities is stiffer than ever and rising tuition is often out of reach for many students. One alternative to education at a brick and mortar institution is attending an on-line college or university.

Here are three reasons to consider:

Cost. Tuition at on-line colleges and universities is often less expensive than traditional institutions. This is due, largely, to a huge reduction in over-head. On-line universities don’t have dorms, grounds, sporting facilities, etc., to maintain, thus they can pass the savings on to the students in the form of lower tuition. In addition, students save the cost of commuting.
Flexibility and Pacing. On-line programs allow the student to flex their schedule around their other commitments, such as work and family. Many programs are self-paced, which means the student progresses as fast or as slow as needed to complete the program. For some students, this means they will be able to complete the coursework for their degree in less time than if they had attended a conventional program.
Networking. On-line programs connect students from around the country and around the world. In addition, on-line programs can and do facilitate guest lecturers and professors to enhance the student learning experience.

A college education is now within the reach of most Americans, particularly when you factor in the availability of on-line colleges and universities. On-line programs offer both, pay-as-you go and financial aid packages.

Benefits Of Education

There are countless benefits to having a good education, and many of them come in the form of great job opportunities. This seems to be the most appealing to students that are entering college and daydreaming of the jobs that they will one day have. The other benefits to have an education is simply that, to say that you are educated is a proud thing. Finally the other benefit to having a good and solid education is the fact that during the process you were able to grow as a person, as an independent thinker, as a member of society. This is by far the most rewarding aspect of education as this changes who you are as a person, and your ideologies. This means that who you were when you began college is not the same as who you are when you leave. For many, they are able to experience what is called a paradigm shift. This is when a persons thinking and belief systems change to accommodate a new process. This can be very exciting.

The phrase that was made popular by professors says that more you learn, the more you realize you don’t know. This is essentially what a major mental shift can do to a person. They realize through opening their eyes, and realizing certain facts that they really did not know much to begin with, and now they know even less. This can be an exhilarating realization, and for some help drive them to continue on with their education to fully indulge in all that there is to learn in life. While it is impossible to learn everything, many find the task to be a challenge, and therefore become life long learners. This is a fantastic state to be in, and aside from the employment benefits of being educated, many people find the personal development to be the greatest benefit of education.

Disadvantages Of Higher Education

We are all under the impression that the more education that we have, the better off we are, the more employable we are, and the more valuable we are. However, there are some career paths where having too much education can actually make getting a job harder to do. This is usually because employers are not ready to pay higher salary for higher education level for a college graduate that is still considered inexperienced. The cost involved in the training for a new graduate can be a lot for a company and combined with a high salary, it is not fiscally sound for the company. So here is what many college graduates and post-graduates do to avoid the problem.

This might not sound like what you want to hear, but may be necessary in a bad economy like the Great Recession. Many graduates do not include all of their education. This is especially true of teachers who have finished college with a Bachelors and Masters degree, but have never taught. Schools are always looking to save money, and teachers are paid on a scale that combines their education and years of experience. Schools know that new teachers have a lot to learn, and therefore are not willing to spend more for a teacher that has high education when they know the training for a new teacher with a regular Bachelors degree is going to require the same amount of attention. What many of these new employees do is keep quiet about the amount of education, and then about a year to two into their job, reveal the education. This would allow a candidate to be considered for higher pay, they would have established themselves, and also make them eligible for promotions based on higher education. While this is not the choice for many, students are not wanting to sacrifice their higher educational goals, and therefore are needing to find creative ways to have the job and the degree at the same time.

Options for Students after High School

Not too long ago, the only way to get an advanced degree was to go to a traditional brick-and-mortar university. Although this worked for the majority of students, it wasn’t for everyone. Because some students had already started a family or needed to work to pay their own bills, attending classes on a schedule could be difficult, if not impossible. Let’s take a look at how technology has made it possible for many students to attend college.

The Ultimate Convenience

If you have to work to support yourself after you graduate from high school, college can seem like a pipe dream. With a full-time job, who has time to go to school and sit behind a desk? If you enter an online degree program, this is no longer a problem. You’ll be able to attend classes whenever and wherever you want! If you have access to a computer during breaks at work, you could even put in a little time then. With online degrees, you won’t have to worry about your work schedule, daycare, or any other issues with family responsibilities.

Decreased Cost

For many recent high-school graduates, they would love to attend college if they could afford it. Luckily, it’s easy to earn one of the many online degrees at a fraction of the cost of attending a traditional university. Not only do you save on tuition, but you also save on room, board, and transportation costs! This is one of the primary reasons that online degree programs allow many high school students to attend college when they would not otherwise be able to even consider higher education.

If you’ve chosen to give up your dream of a higher education because of money or other responsibilities, don’t make any hasty decisions! An online degree program may be your answer. The key to a bright future is often a good education. Don’t give up on yours!

Popularity of Online Colleges

We live in a busy world. Life is always go, go, going, and it feels like there is never enough time to do everything that a person wants or needs to do on a regular basis. Because of this, it can be difficult to get in the schooling that you want to do. By the time that you are ready for college, you may find that you are already working a full time job, or possibly even multiple jobs. This can leave little time for taking the classes that you want to take.

Luckily, with the popularity of the Internet, another resource has come about. That resource in online colleges. In fact, there are a large number of colleges today that focus on online learning. These schools allow busy students the flexibility and the freedom that the so desperately need.

With an online college, you generally don’t have to worry about being in class at a certain time each day or each week. Instead, you will be able to watch or listen to lectures each week, and you will get your assignments. These will be “handed in” over the Internet.

The biggest advantage for most people that take online courses is that your schedule is not tied down. This is extremely important for parents, workers, and anyone who has a busy lifestyle. You can “attend” class, and do your school work any time you want, even if it is in the middle of the night.

Some feel that there are downsides to these schools. The biggest downside that is seen is that it can be difficult to get your questions answered, or have any sort of teacher/student relationship. This is a definite negative for many students, but others feel that this is not as much of a problem as timing is for traditional schools.