Online Learning - The Future of Higher Education

Online education programs have changed the college landscape, allowing students to work from anywhere in the world to obtain accredited college degrees. According to The Washington Post, some groups are predicting that one in 10 college students will be enrolled in online degree programs by 2008. And fortunately, it's easier than ever to get funding for online education programs. The advantages of online learning continue to stack up.
Attend Class on Your Schedule without Putting Your Life on Hold
For adult learners, an online education can mean the freedom to keep a job and get a degree at the same time.
Many adult learners have families or other responsibilities, and a strict work schedule that doesn't lend itself to a traditional education that requires traveling to campus and attending classes at specific times. One of the advantages of online learning is the flexibility to attend classes on a schedule that works for you. For adult learners, returning to school shouldn't have to mean putting a busy life on hold.
Discover the Online Advantage for Continuing Education and Certification
Another great advantage for adult learners is the ability to take continuing education courses online. Many times jobs require employees to continue their education for certification, job requirements, or to allow employees to gain added knowledge and skill within their area of the organization. Online learning is perfectly suited to fulfill these types of requirements. You can continue to meet your everyday responsibilities while upgrading your credentials and skills with an online certification.
Find out about Federal Aid for Funding Your Future
Recently, it has become easier to get federal aid for online education. Now, filling out a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) determines how much money in grants and loans you can get from the government. If you're thinking of continuing your education, but you're worried about funding it, the government just might have you covered.
Online education programs are growing more popular among young and adult learners alike. Online courses don't interfere with your life, and it's easier than ever to pay for your education. The online campus is as large as your imagination, and it's growing.

Pros And Cons Of Distance Education

Previously, it was possible to practice distance learning only through the mail. However, in recent times, with the help of technological advancements, these programs are also available online. Distance learning is beneficial to those students who not only wish to complete higher studies but also need to earn a living at the same time. It is also ideal for those who can study only part-time, as they may be busy with other activities. Distance learning programs are offered for education at any level, but are more popular with university studies.
Distance education, as the name suggests, is a method of implementing education to students living in distant places and cannot access further education. Using this approach, the student is not required to attend classes like in a regular school or college. Education is imparted through correspondence and communication between the institution and the pupil.
Procedure
In order to gain knowledge and complete higher studies, a student does not have to attend regular educational institutions. Distance learning makes the task of achieving the desired course of education easier while sitting in the comfort of your home. In distance learning, you do not have the advantage of receiving personal attention and guidance of a teacher or a professor as in a regular school. Instead you need to study on your own.
The educational institution supplies all the required educational material, resources and references. This correspondence will help you to stay in touch and move in pace with the activities and course of studies of other students attending regular schools and colleges. The institution usually provides an entire range of books, audio and visual aids such as tapes and CDs where you have enrolled.
Requirements
In order to implement distance-learning programs effectively, you need to correspond and communicate with the instructors regularly. To enable efficient and quick communication, it may be necessary for you to install a computer. To clear your doubts and answer your queries, you may also have to download certain programs and suggested websites or interact with the professor through videoconferences.
Advantages
Distance learning provides you the convenience of studying in the comfort of your home and saves you from the daily grind of commuting. You have the liberty of performing other chores and completing studies at the same time. These programs offer immense flexibility of pace, especially to those who are involved in other occupational activities.
Disadvantages
You will be entirely by yourself and can receive help only through the resources supplied by the institution. If you are not good at grasping and learning without the supervision and guidance of an instructor, the program may prove to be quite a challenging task. If you cannot adhere to deadlines and have a habit of procrastinating, distance learning is not a very good idea.
A simple guide to make the task of distance learning easier is to follow basic rules and management techniques. Prepare a timetable and allocate appropriate hours to studies and other activities. Dedicate the required time and attention to learning. Stay in regular contact with your teachers and other students so that you don't lag behind. Do not hesitate to ask questions and clear your doubts. Put in all the hard work and effort as you would in a regular school.
Before you finally decide to enroll as a student of distance education, remember to consider the positive and negative aspects so that the program proves to be beneficial.

Choosing the Right Educational Video Games for Your Children

Video games are among the most popular toys today. Children of all ages spend a lot of time engrossed in the latest action-packed video console or computer game. For this reason, it is important to choose video games that are educational, rather than those that contain violence or other content not suitable for children. There is a host of video games on the market perfect for children. These games incorporate education into the fun of video games, giving both parents and children lots of safe, educational options to choose from.
Though there have been serious concerns over the past few years surrounding the adverse affects of frequent video game playing on children, playing video games can have some positive effects as well. First, games can provide children a fun and social form of entertainment, especially when played in pairs or even teams. This allows children who share similar interests the opportunity to learn from each other while having fun in a pressure-free environment. This also helps to encourage teamwork and cooperation, two attributes that are essential to a child's social education.
Video games can also make children feel more comfortable with technology. This may not be as much of an issue as it used to be, as many children are now learning basic computer skills at a young age, but it is still an important factor since technology changes so frequently. It also gives them the opportunity to share their knowledge with other children, and to learn from their experiences in a particular game or format.
Playing educational video games can also help build a child's self-esteem as he or she masters more and more different levels in a particular game. More importantly, it can also teach children to feel good about having fun in a non-competitive environment.
However, the main goal of educational video games is, of course, to help educate. Educational video games can improve the development of math, reading, and problem-solving skills. This kind of practice --practice that your children will want to take part in-- can help them with their schoolwork, as well as help them to catch onto particular subjects more quickly.
Video games can also help the improvement and development of eye-hand coordination, as well as fine motor skills. This will be very important to any child's future, and can be instrumental in developing a child's interests and special skills. This is also a good way to encourage your child to use different parts of his or her brain.
No matter which educational video games you choose, be sure they do not contain any features that would not be suitable for your children. Since the objective is to learn, they should help build useful skills and be thought-provoking. These games will also provide your child with hours of fun, while helping to build some of the most essential basic skills.

Alternative Healing Education

Find Alternative Healing Education in the United States and Canada. Students who are drawn to natural healing medicine and are interested in attaining an alternative healing education will find that enrolling in any number of alternative healing schools will enable candidates to enter professional careers in alternative and holistic health, hypnotherapy, bodywork and massage therapy, life coaching, Neuro-linguistic programming, Chinese medicine, acupuncture and Oriental medicine, and a vast assortment of other related fields of study.

Alternative healing education provides courses to students that may lead to certificates, diplomas and degrees in the healing arts. In many instances, alternative healing education classes can encompass broad spectrums of noninvasive healing modalities such as aromatherapy, Ayurveda, energy healing therapies, herbology and herbal medicine, chiropractic, acupressure, and naturopathy – to mention just a few.

Some fine examples of alternative healing education degrees may include natural health degrees such as Associates, Bachelors, Masters and Ph.D.s in acupuncture and Oriental medicine, Ayurveda medicine, natural health, holistic nutrition, natural health studies, naturopathy, holistic wellness, metaphysics, and other holistic studies.

Some alternative healing education programs enable students to sit for local and national licensure exams; as in the cases of massage therapy, acupuncture, and chiropractic. Additionally, a number of alternative healing education programs include certificate courses that help students to become certified in a wide variety of healing arts. Of those alternative healing education certificates, reflexology is a popular massage technique offered through many massage therapy schools as a certificate program. Other alternative healing education certification programs are comprised of classes in Reiki, color therapy, natural health, herbal consulting, iridology, homeopathy and countless others.

For students and practitioners who want to update their skills and knowledge and are in search of continuing alternative healing education classes, a large number of holistic schools provide these academic courses as well.

If you (or someone you know) are interested in enrolling in one of several alternative healing schools to help find your dream job, let education within fast-growing industries like massage therapy, cosmetology, acupuncture, oriental medicine, Reiki, and others get you started!

Top 10 Books on Online Education, Diploma Mills and More

Let's face it - as potential online students, it is not uncommon for us to turn to our favorite online site for research and news. A quick search in Google or Yahoo will almost immediately bring up information on what we are looking for without us having to do too much work. The speed and convenience of the internet is what has revolutionized business and eduction today.
However, despite the overwhelming use of the internet today, many people still enjoy researching and gathering information from more traditional, off-line sources. The ability to sit with a book and a cup of coffee is something that many enjoy on a daily basis.
With that in mind, listed below are our top 10 list of books discussing distance education and online degrees. This list comes from a search of Amazon.com and includes books that have been rated highly with their popular "star" system. Although these books do not provide an exhaustive overview of the online education system, we hope to provide a glimpse of what information is available in the "off-line" world.

1. Virtual Education: Cases in Learning & Teaching Technologies by Fawzi Albalooshi
2. Dollars, Distance, And Online Education: The New Economics of College Teaching And Learning (American Council on Education Oryx Press Series on Higher Education) by Martin J. Finkelstein, Carol Frances, Frank I. Jewett, and Bernhard W. Scholz
3. Bears' Guide to Earning Degrees by Distance Learning by John Bear, Mariah Bear M.A., Mariah P. Bear, and Tom C. Head
4. Bears' Guide to College Degrees by Mail & Internet: 100 Accredited Schools That Offer Bachelor's, Master's, Doctorates, and Law Degrees by Distance Learning (College Degrees by Mail and Internet) by John Bear and Mariah P. Bear
5. Earn Your Degree Online and Get Good Grades: Tips For Success in Online Courses from an Online Education Faculty Expert by Russell C Kick
6. The Complete Idiot's Guide To Getting Your MBA Online by George Lorenzo
7. Declining by Degrees: Higher Education at Risk by Richard H. Hersh, John Merrow, and Tom Wolfe
8. How To Be a Successful Online Student by Sara Dulaney Gilbert
9. A Classroom of One: How Online Learning is Changing our Schools and Colleges by Gene I. Maeroff
10. Degree Mills: The Billion-dollar Industry That Has Sold Over A Million Fake Diplomas by Allen Ezell and John Bear

While most of the books that made our list are focused on higher education, it is important to note that online education is beginning to make a significant impact on high school and home school education as well. In fact, there are already full-time, diploma-granting online public high schools in existence today such as Insight School of Washington State.
As the internet and technology continues to change the face of our education system, it will be imperative that students and parents alike learn the intricacies of online education. Whether you prefer to do research online or off-line, one thing is clear. There is an abundance of information available to you today. You must learn learn to use it to your advantage.