- Posted by maedstudent on May 5, 2008
Jones International University Online- Courses are divided up into instructional units to be completed weekly. JIU offers classes in an asynchronous format meaning that you as the student can log into a non-real time environment and send and receive message postings from other classmates at your own leisure. There a lot of different schools that I have researched that have this similar format so really what to look at when choosing one over the other is check tuition price and of course, accreditation.
I like Jones, because they have certificate programs that allow students to take certificate programs that will later transfer to a comparable degree program at their college. Some of the certificate programs include corporate financial management, healthcare administration and project management. So really JIU is a multi-purpose university where you as the student can do professional education while also receiving credits to later transfer to degree granting programs.
The curriculum at JIU allows students to incorporate discussions and problems into real life situations that can be used in the work place and vice versa. The best part about online is the diversity that can be brought to the classroom from all over the world. This is the beauty of Online the students get view points from all ends of the globe at all times of the day.
- Posted by maedstudent on May 1, 2008
Profiling of online schools
Starting today I am trying to give readers a choice when it comes to online schools and today I will talk about Western International University’s Interactive online school. This school has the best of both worlds; now with their online classes WIU is using cutting edge technology to bring students live online or virtual classes. This is incredible. Students’ can hear and speak to instructors in a live virtual format, or play back the live class session at their leisure.
I hope that this interactive learning style becomes main stream and then maybe more students that were hesitant on taking online class will embrace what online classes can do for them. The requirements for the interactive class are a bit more then normal. Users that want to participate in the live experience need to have a web cam, microphone and a sound card on the computer whereas, other online classes do not require users to have these other extra tools in order to take the classes. Of course, if students’ do not want to do the interactive live program then the standard online format is also still available for them too.
Each posting in May I am going to attempt to profile a different school so as to give readers options when choosing which online university to attend.
- Posted by maedstudent on April 29, 2008
Online schooling takes a special discipline
These days doing multiple tasks at the same time is very main stream so why not incorporate college into those many things? Well, some people can be on the Internet and stay disciplined and not stray. I find my self wandering from time to time on the Internet and getting off task. If you cannot separate myspace from your actual college life then maybe online education is not for you. Online classes take a lot of focus and discipline and attention to detail. About the discipline some may think that this is not the case, but think about it. You lose structure; you are not attending classes at a certain time on a certain day for a certain amount of time. Your time is yours to manage and if not managed properly one can fail big time. Without structure one may tend to stray and not want to do school work on a certain night, and then one thing leads to another and then the week is over and no homework or postings got done for class and now you are behind. What ever you do don’t take these classes lightly they are hard and have the same level of difficulty as that of the traditional classroom, the only difference is you get to attend when you want to not when the college wants you to attend. Before taking online classes ask yourself if you can stay focused and not surf the Internet when you should be attending class. I tell you this was my biggest challenge to overcome because I have a mild case of ADD. I will start something and then do something else then some thing again and it really is annoying and takes a lot of focus for me to get back on track.
- Posted by maedstudent on April 27, 2008
Technical requirements in an online environment
Most online classes that I have reviewed pretty much use the same, or a similar format.
Most of the schools have both a web based way to attend class, or a software based way to attend class. In this posting I will discuss both. One school I have attended uses both formats and has been doing online classes for the last ten or so years. This school uses Microsoft outlook express for the newsgroup classroom environment.
So basically, users have to have a computer with the minimum specs of Windows 98 or above, and a DSL or Cable type connection. Believe me when I say as a former tech support rep with this said University a lot of customers do not have high-speed internet and expect to do online classes. Really I must beg of you not to make that mistake. The main reason I say this is because it is not fair to your other classmates that you as a team member are delaying your postings because you can’t or won’t get high-speed Internet. Again, online schooling is great, but please do me a favor and if you do not have high speed internet do not attend classes online please. Now, back to the format of the class, Outlook Express allows users to use HTML or plain text to write posting and this allows users to put personality and flair in the postings that are sent to the classrooms.
For those that have access to the Internet but are not at their home computer can access the same classroom via a web-based Microsoft exchange server. The format is very similar to that of the software based except that the user really can’t do anything fancy with the postings. Also, I have not forgotten about MAC users. The school profiled here does have a MAC compatible software. Besides, most newer MACS have boot camp which allows users to boot using Windows XP if needed, and also most programs these days are cross compatible from Windows to MAC.
- Posted by maedstudent on April 20, 2008
More of what to expect in an online class
By now, you got a little teaser of what to expect in an online class, but let’s go back a step or two and talk about the computer environment for a minute.
Most online schools use some sort of newsgroups environment for the classes. A
newsgroup is an asynchronous environment where one can post information. The school that I will be talking about has four-sub folders that require postings either daily, or weekly, or some time during the week.
Chat room- this is self-explanatory. Basically, this newsgroup is used to display any information that is non-class related. The chat room is basically a place to get to know your worldly classmates. The student has read/write access to this folder.
Assignments write only folder- Generally, this is where one would send any classroom related assignments that only require feedback from the instructor and this is a write only folder meaning that the instructor is the only one with read and write access so as to retrieve and evaluate your assignments.
Group folder- In an online class there are depending on the school approximately 8-15 students’ between three to four groups each class. In the specific group folder one will posts ones assignment and reply to others postings related to group work and group projects. The student has read/write access to this folder.
Main folder- This is where the biographies are posted and anything that the student wants to share with the class about an experience that may be relevant to the current or past assignments, or other postings etc. Also, the ends of week discussion questions are usually posted here so as to generate discussion for future weeks. Lastly, all other assignments that require feedback would be posted here for other classmates to respond to. The student has read/write access to this folder.
- Posted by maedstudent on April 20, 2008
A week in the life of an online student
Most schools that I have looked into have a 7 day school week and for the most part, the student can select when to attend as long as assignments are posted in a timely fashion.
Monday- week one- introductions. Write a short bio explaining who you are and why you are there and what your likes are etc. Mostly, the online Universities are global so there are chances that you as the student will find students from all walks of life and several different age groups. A typical online student is approximately, 34 years old.
In my encounters with online classes I have been in a global management class that had 14 students and 10 of them were from 8 different countries so the learning experience is very diverse and global and far better then any education you could get at a traditional University at least that is my opinion.
Tuesday – week one review syllabus and start discussing the class topics.
Wednesday – week one start replying to others biography postings By now, hopefully, you have gotten to know everyone and now it is time to get assigned into work groups. Most instructors that I had allowed the students to collaborate with each other and pick the teams, however, if by the end of the week a team mate is not picked you can count on the instructor assigning a team for you to be in.
Thursday – week one post about real-world topics and how the topic is relevant in your life or your work environment. Continue to post experiences relevant to the class.
Friday- week one- discussion type questions relevant to reading assignment. Continue to post experiences relevant to the class
Saturday –week one- reply to others discussion questions. Continue to post experiences relevant to the class
Sunday – what you learned for the week and how you will that knowledge in the work environment.
Basically, this is what to expect in an online environment at least for the first week. As the weeks go on, there is typical structure that one has to follow based on the instructors’ syllabus. Tomorrow: More about online and the environment and what to expect.
- Posted by maedstudent on April 16, 2008
What to look for in an online university
It is important to ensure that the college you choose has credits that can be transferred to other colleges should you need them to. I attended a college which will remain nameless that had several programs that were only available at that schools online campus. Not only were the programs only online, but a majority of the credits did not transfer to any other school, or in some cases not even to the same colleges ground campus. Online classes can be used to take your time finishing classes, or to get back into the swing of classes for those that have not been to school in such a long time. When going for the whole degree solely online one needs to know that most Universities have a residency requirement in order to get your degree with them.
In most cases, one can’t expect to be 9 credits short in humanities and take those credits online only to think that he or she can then transfer those credits back and graduate, at the other college rarely does this happen. As a former counselor at a University I have seen this happen with the accounting major classes. I had a former student enroll in the accounting program and then in checking with his former college they advised him that he could in fact, take 3 classes and finish his degree from NAU. Needless to say, he quickly became a non-degree student instead of a degree seeking student.
Another thing about non-degree seeking students is that they seem to pay more for classes. At least at the university that I am talking about this is the case. Lastly, it is important to mention that the cost for the same class is less expensive if taken traditionally versus online and I think this is mainly because the online classes have so many more class dates and more instructors to pay therefore the over head is higher adn you pay the price.
- Posted by maedstudent on April 5, 2008
Traditional versus accelerated college courses.
Many universities are adding to their already traditional twelve to sixteen semesters some classes that can be completed online and in about half the time. I think that accelerated classes are becoming main stream as more and more students are enrolling. I am a big advocate of accelerated classes as I do not think one would need to spend 12-16 weeks on some subjects that could be accomplished in half of the time. Besides, accelerated classes means completion of program sooner. So, before looking at traditional classes only check with the student services center at your school and see what cases are accelerated if any and then this way you can reach your goal of completion even faster. Or better yet, if you want assurance that classes will be less than 8 weeks long look for schools that only have the non traditional format. Beware though many Universities that have the accelerated classes charge more than a traditional college and I think for some reason these schools think that they have more over head then the brick and mortar type college. I am not sure how they figure this since there is no renting or buying of classroom space and no electrical or water to pay, except for the building that houses the support staff. Maybe that is what it is, the staff is paid well, or the teachers make more money then a traditional profess would at a traditional school. Anyways, my 2 cents for the day- have a great Sunday tomorrow.
- Posted by maedstudent on April 4, 2008
http://www.pps.k12.or.us/entry/students.php
This web site has a lot of information about different things related to schools. Some of my favorite links are
www.Libraryspot.com On this site one can find many additional links that can be used for research.
www.Homeworkspot.com One of the best sites for working on homework projects.
Other things on this site include links for younger and older kids.
Lastly, have a look at all the College information including an alphabetical list of American college and universities.
www.embark.com allows users to apply to 600 major Universities throughout the country.
Check out all that can be done on this site as I feel that it is very informative and lots of fun for all ages.
- Posted by maedstudent on March 31, 2008
Baby boomers-Now is the time to get back to school. Many baby boomers are getting ready to retire- and well not really. A lot of baby boomers are finding that it is hard to compete with the younger crowds when trying to get a job. Most boomers cannot afford to retire so they find themselves needing to get back to school in order to compete in this workforce. As I have said before with updated technology these days many current workers, including baby boomers, need to now brush up on skills that many of them have mastered for years. Who would have thought that someone with 20 plus years of lets say - appliance repair has to suddenly get back to school just to compete for his or her own job. Where is the fairness in this? Now is the time to get back to school, before things get worse with repairs and new computers ETC. Again, try an online environment and maybe you can attend classes in your spare time. Also, ask your employer if they will let you re-hone your current skills, and I am sure that they will be receptive to you doing this. Remember do not get stuck in a rut and get used to your current work position because of the invention of some technologies many people lost jobs. Look at the grocery stores most of them have self checkouts and right there, four people lost their jobs in order to make way for such technology.