Posts Tagged ‘distance learning’
The PROs And CONs Of Securing An Online Degree
October 3, 2010
You feel like you’re being left behind by the times. You’re basically stuck in your position and though you know you’re a good worker, you feel that you’re missing out on things. As much as you want to continue studying, you know you can’t afford to leave your job. Think about an online degree, and while you’re considering it, read these following points to help you decide.
PRO: An Online Degree is not Limited by Geography
You know that the internet has truly changed how people do business, why not how people study? If you know that the best program for your specialization is on the other side of the world, check if they have an online program. You may also discover that your tuition fees will be significantly lower because there is no classroom or other facilities for which you have to pay.
CON: Getting a Online Degree from Anywhere Doesn’t Necessarily Bode Well
The most dangerous thing about the internet is its propensity towards anonymity. So if you’re not careful, you can get fooled into paying for a sub par education from a questionable organization. One good rule of thumb is consider checking out the schools or universities you already know about to see if they have online programs. Also consider doing research and even making calls to the organizations. Be sure to check if they are accredited by reputable institutions if you’d like your employer to recognize your degree.
PRO:An Online Degree can be Achieved on Your Own Time
An online degree program is targeted towards those who are already working so flexibility is highly valued. Instruction, research, testing, paper and projects are ordered so that you can fulfill them within a reasonable time period. With flexibility though comes the need for self-discipline and self-motivation, you answer to yourself here not to an exacting teacher.
CON: No Classrooms in the Online Degree Programs
As classrooms have been eliminated in the online university, you may miss out valuable networking and collaborative work that you can expect from a regular university setting. So make the effort to make a connection with your teachers and fellow students, albeit virtually through the forums, message boards or other social networks. You never know how knowing the right person may aid you. Though if you’re expecting it to be a party, you’re probably going to be sorely disappointed.
Getting an online degree requires a real commitment on your part, but there are some key advantages and rewards that are definitely worth working toward. What do you think? Are you interested in getting an online degree? Join in the discussion below. If you’re currently taking courses with an online university, share your stories in the comments section below.
Are your employees interested in getting an online university degree? Read what people think about online university degrees through our poll. Curious about what the world thinks on things that matter to you, visit us at Qwanz..
Tips On How You Can Easily Graduate From University With A Degree In Social Work
October 1, 2010
A lot of people have an interest in gathering more information about obtaining a social work degree. Individuals in the field are employed in various divergent settings. They could work with those who are victims of domestic discord, victims of crime, homeless people, the developmentally and/or psychologically challenged, and more. A good number of entry level jobs in the field require that position seekers achieve a bachelor’s degree in the subject.
Those considering a degree in social work should first think hard about what the field requires. These professionals work in very difficult situations, and the work can be emotionally draining. Potential degree seekers need to ask themselves if they could handle such a job and the stress that comes along with it.
Moving along, someone who wishes to be a social worker needs to take a lot of general classes which will support his or her major including sociology, psychology, the development of human beings, and more. The students are then required to take classes directly relevant to their major.
Once the above actions are taken, prospective workers in the field have to obtain supervised field experience. Most social work programs dictate that students have to secure an internship. Schools, social service units, and hospitals provide a sampling of places that students can look into for internship opportunities. Guidance counselors of students can provide all involved about how many hours students need to put in where an internship is concerned.
The Internet is a great resource for those looking into a degree in the field. Schools as well as places of employment for social workers can be found online.
In conclusion, those looking to obtain a degree in social work have to take a variety of steps. These include thinking about what goes into the field, taking general education classes and then more specific ones after that, and obtaining an internship. The Internet is also a great source for finding colleges and jobs in the field.
For the latest up-to-date information about the best social work degrees, check out site and read more articles. We can also tell you about schools of social work.
Be A Better Employee: Enroll In An Online University
September 26, 2010
If you want to gain better prospects and increase your chances of gaining employment with a higher wage then perhaps you need to study with an online university. These have gained in popularity immensely over the past few years as a very popular alternative to the more traditional study channels.
If financial worries were the main reason why you thought you couldn’t study due to having to stop work to commence the degree, this does not need to be the case anymore. One of the main benefits for home study is the fact you can keep your full time job and still do a university course.
As well as being able to hold down your normal employment and live in your own home and town, you won’t have the upheaval of having to move and find lodgings and a job to support you whilst you learn. For older back to study people this can be a god send.
By taking on home study you will expand your horizons and become more knowledgeable in general, some people like to study subjects they feel they either messed up at school or to the opposite extreme a subject they were interested or good at but never pursued.
If you work part time you may find you have more time to study, depending on your other commitments, if you work full time this may be somewhat harder. But be strict with yourself and avoid the temptation to put it off to another day as work will just start falling behind with no chance of catching up realistically.
The amount of work you have to do naturally increases as it heads towards exam time, with all the revision you will need to do needs to be worked into your everyday schedule.
With access to pretty much every subject you can think of the world is your oyster! There are a fair few specialties that you will not be able to study online namely medical training for doctors and veterinary surgeon and others where practical training is essential to the role you intend to fulfill.
You can sometimes swap courses or find them interchangeable if you decide one particular course is not for you, lots of universities will do a points system for every part of the degree that you do, which all count towards the final qualification. Although you will need to have similar elements in the courses for an overall pass.
The fees for studying by distance learning vary greatly from provider to provider so it pays to look around.
Looking for a career boost? Consider securing a degree with an online university. See what others are saying about online universities through one of our polls. Take your opinion to the world on anything from sports to politics, go to Qwanz.
The High Cost Of Higher Education And How America Is Paying
September 24, 2010
The Sallie Mae and Gallup Corporation conducted a national study, How America Saves for College.” The study concluded that even during a lagging economy and economic uncertainty, parents are still willing to pay for college. Both students and their parents tapped out of scholarships, personal funds, grants and loans to pay for the soaring cost of college. However, while the majority of institutions have stopped giving out loans, Sallie Mae continues to offer loan money to qualified candidates in the form ofprivate student loans. Parents and Sallie Mae strongly believe that education is an investment in the future.
Currently, parents are still paying almost half of their children’s college costs in the form of savings or income. In addition, they find themselves cutting cash from household expenses and have working longer hours at their jobs. The rising cost of tuition has forced families to come up with new ways of footing the college bills.
Some kids have opted to live at home and save the thousands per year on housing costs. Estimates upward of 58% are living at home up from 54% that was reported in a 2008 National Retail Federation Study (NFR).
We hear it on the news and from the government that education is the only sure path to success. The Sallie Mae Corporation is named by Business Ethics magazine one of the best 100 Corporate Citizens and one of the top 30 companies for executive woman by the National Association of Female Executives. Sallie’s awards can be read at: https://www.salliemae.com/about/careers_sm/award_winning_company.htm.
The Sallie Mae Corporation began in 1972 as a government sponsored company. In 1997, Sallie began the privatization of their operations. In 2004, Sallie was fully privatized and had no ties with the government. To date, the Sallie Mae Corporation is privately held with a board of shareholders.
Sallie Mae is currently the national leader in saving, lending and paying for education. Sallie Mae and Gallup (a company that has studied human behavior for more than 70 years) conducted a study that showed how American were digging deeper to make up for the rising cost of college. The study clearly states that parents feel that college is now more important than ever. Even in economic downturn, most families are trying to reduce household costs to pay for the rising price of a higher education.
During this, the third year of this lagging economy, American families have tapped out more scholarships and grants and have borrowed more to pay for the rising cost of college tuition. It’s mostly parents paying the bill through the use of 529 college savings plans to make up for the 17 percent increase in college expenses for this year.
The study was conducted from March through May of 2010 and showed that parents paid 47 percent of the college costs for the 2009-10 academic year and the students paid around one quarter through income, savings and loans. The study also found that no improvement in the percent of families filling out the FAFSA: approximately 28 percent didn’t even fill out the financial aid form. How America Pays for College is the third annual study of students and parents. The full report is the nationally representative survey of 1,624 undergraduates, ages 18-24, and parents are available at www.SallieMae.com/howAmericapays.
About the author: Natalie Raven can assist you in choosing an online degree. For help choosing online degrees
categories: Online Degree,online education,online school,College Online,Distance Education,Distance Learning,University Education,College Education,Online Classes,University Online,College Degree,Online Degrees,Degree Programs,Online Course
AlterEgos Makes Telestream ScreenFlow Tutorials Come To Life.
September 21, 2010
It a well known fact that adding Virtual Teachers, Virtual Representatives or Animated Avatars to presentations and tutorials dramatically improves memory retention, impact and effectiveness of your media, recording a personal video to be your compare is something many people are not comfortable with. Telestream ScreenFlow combined with AlterEgos revolutionary approach to fully automated talking avatars promises a great deal for very little money and simplicity itself.
Many products allow you to import industry standard media files and Telestream ScreenFlow excels in this area. AlterEgos offers many video outputs within their simple desktop solution offering an almost perfect partnership.
AlterEgos was specifically designed to make the production and integration of Virtual representatives or Avatars into third part media solutions such as Telestream ScreenFlow a simple and effective solution.
With a simple wizard driven interface AlterEgos desktop solution holds your hand along the way. With fifty-three male and female virtual characters, Text-to-speech or the ability to process your own voice recording, AlterEgos produces a stand-alone media file with full lip-synching in a number of industry standard formats including; Flash FLV, Flash SWF and AVI compressed or with the Alpha channel intact so you can overlay it on your own background media.
In five minutes using the wizard driven interface your AlterEgos virtual teacher is sitting on your desk ready to import directly into Telestream ScreenFlow, a simple and effective workflow.
Importing into Telestream ScreenFlow is done with just a few clicks. The process couldn’t be more simple.
The end result is a compelling web or CD ready tutorial, presentation or training module with a fully embedded virtual trainer.
Professional quality presentation and Computer Based Training production now has a perfect partnership with AlterEgos and Telestream ScreenFlow.
AlterEgos can even produce custom character to make your content even more unique. Compelling and memorable content has never been so simple to produce.
Test integrating AlterEgos with Telestream ScreenFlow, download your free trial edition here. Click for AlterEgos
Integrate AlterEgos With Lectora For Better Training!
September 20, 2010
Improving the impact of presentations and CBT projects by including a virtual representative or virtual teachers is a well known method of improving memorability, impact and retention of information, consequently improving dramatically the effectiveness of training media, there has always been a drawback however, “the need to create a personal video of a suitable representative”. The combination of Lectora and the revolutionary AlterEgos.com approach promises and even better training and CBT solution, for just a few dollars.
Lectora offers an effective import feature to enable you to integrate external video compositions, but how many people are comfortable integrating their own image? AlterEgos.com may have the answer in a simple to use concise desktop package.
AlterEgos was specifically designed to make the production and integration of Virtual representatives or Avatars into third part media solutions such as Lectora a simple and effective solution.
With fifty-three male and female virtual characters in the box, The ability to use the your own voice recordings or the integrated Text To Speech, hundreds of backgrounds and clothing items, AlterEgos gives masses of flexibility. AlterEgos produces industry standard media files including; Flash SWF, Flash FLV and AVI. Lip-syncing is fully automated and the whole production process takes just a few minutes.
The workflow process of Lectora and AlterEgos allows you to script, tailor, generated and import your virtual tutor in a matter of minutes.
Lectora makes it a few clicks process using their effective media import process. All you have to do is; Generate your AlterEgos composition and import, it couldn’t be simpler or more effective.
The final productions for deployment on web or CD is compelling and effective with a fully integrated virtual, fully animated, talking teacher.
AlterEgos and Lectora offers you a perfect partnership. With ease of use, industry standard compliance and simple workflow, professional impact and effectiveness is available to all.
If you want the ultimate in “unique” AlterEgos will for a small fee create your own custom character. It’s never been easier to create effective, memorable content with ease and simplicity.
Test integrating AlterEgos with Lectora, download your free trial edition here. Click for AlterEgos
AlterEgos And OpenOffice Impress.
September 19, 2010
It a well known fact that adding Virtual Teachers, Virtual Representatives or Animated Avatars to presentations and tutorials dramatically improves memory retention, impact and effectiveness of your media, recording a personal video to be your compare is something many people are not comfortable with. OpenOffice Impress combined with AlterEgos revolutionary approach to fully automated talking avatars promises a great deal for very little money and simplicity itself.
Importing external media is common place in any media solutions and OpenOffice Impress also offers a flexible approach to this function. AlterEgos provides the virtual representative in numerous video formats, a perfect synergy.
AlterEgos was specifically designed to make the production and integration of Virtual representatives or Avatars into third part media solutions such as OpenOffice Impress a simple and effective solution.
With a simple wizard driven interface AlterEgos desktop solution holds your hand along the way. With fifty-three male and female virtual characters, Text-to-speech or the ability to process your own voice recording, AlterEgos produces a stand-alone media file with full lip-synching in a number of industry standard formats including; Flash FLV, Flash SWF and AVI compressed or with the Alpha channel intact so you can overlay it on your own background media.
The workflow process of OpenOffice Impress and AlterEgos allows you to script, tailor, generated and import your virtual tutor in a matter of minutes.
Importing into OpenOffice Impress is done with just a few clicks. The process couldn’t be more simple.
Your final composition has the ultimate in flexibility, deploy directly to the web, CD, DVD or internal server based. Everything is industry standard formats from start to finish.
AlterEgos and OpenOffice Impress offers you a perfect partnership. With ease of use, industry standard compliance and simple workflow, professional impact and effectiveness is available to all.
For the ultimate in customisation AlterEgos.com will even create you your very own AlterEgos for a small fee. If could even be a virtual “you”, full circle, it’s a funny old world.
Go to here for AlterEgos and get a free trial to try with OpenOffice Impress.
AlterEgos The Ideal Computer Based Training Aide.
September 19, 2010
The Center of the study of Language and Information from Sanford University compiled a research paper entitled “The Benefits of Interactive Online Characters”, even though they centered on “online” the content of the research aptly shows that introducing Virtual Representatives or Animated Avatars into visual media has a definitive positive effect.
I quote: Automated characters take advantage of social responses that are natural reactions to interactive media. They can be perceived as realistic and well- liked social partners in conversations that simulate real-world interactions. Characters can express social roles, emotions, and organized personalities that match learning goals, company brands, and transaction needs. Characters can increase the trust that users place in online experiences, in part because they make online experiences easier.
It’s no accident that many e-learning providers incorporate visual stimulation, why? “because it works”! The media platform is of little consequence as long as the content is accessible and many software solutions exist to make the production of compelling tutorials and e-learning solutions a simple task, including: PowerPoint, Camtasia Studio, Articulate, Keynote, Lectora, Adobe Captivate, iSprint Presenter, OpenOffice Impress and Dryfork to name but a few. Virtual Tutors or Avatars software solutions that are compatible with these products on the other hand are harder to find.
AlterEgos is an Avatar solution specifically designed for the e-learning . AlterEgos was developed with e-learning and virtual education in mind, allowing educational content creators to be creative without getting bogged down by technology. AlterEgos comes ready with 53 female and male characters that automatically lip-sync and maintain convincing ambient and natural animations, all the creator has to do is provide a narration audio file or indeed use the in-built Text to speech and you are all but done.
AlterEgos offers a number of easily imported video formats including Flash FLV, Flash SWF and dear old AVI.
Costs of all Avatar or Virtual Representatives vary dramatically, beware however of Pay-For-View type models, not only can they work out expensive if your site is popular, but many lack the ability to embed the Avatar media directly within your presentation, tutorial or e-learning course, which is a major problem if you host within a school or distribute via CD/DVD.
Irrespective of whether you are a Commercial or education sector e-learning solution provider, effective content delivery in these cases is paramount, together with flexibility, cost and quality. Not only does AlterEgos give you a perfect partner, but now you have the benefit of Stanford Universities findings.
Why not embrace the facts and consider what a virtual teaching avatar could do for your e-learning content.
A complete copy of the Stanford University research article by Byron Reeves, ” The Benefits of Interactive Online Characters”, is available by visiting www.alteregos.com
Don’t just buy the first Virtual Character solution to work with your e-learning project that you come across, check out the competition. Here is an example of AlterEgos latest. AlterEgos Free to trial .
AlterEgos And PowerPoint The Ideal Virtual Tutor.
September 19, 2010
Improving the impact of presentations and CBT projects by including a virtual representative or virtual teachers is a well known method of improving memorability, impact and retention of information, consequently improving dramatically the effectiveness of training media, there has always been a drawback however, “the need to create a personal video of a suitable representative”. The combination of PowerPoint and the revolutionary AlterEgos.com approach promises and even better training and CBT solution, for just a few dollars.
Importing external media is common place in any media solutions and PowerPoint also offers a flexible approach to this function. AlterEgos provides the virtual representative in numerous video formats, a perfect synergy.
AlterEgos was specifically designed to make the production and integration of Virtual representatives or Avatars into third part media solutions such as PowerPoint a simple and effective solution.
With fifty-three male and female virtual characters in the box, The ability to use the your own voice recordings or the integrated Text To Speech, hundreds of backgrounds and clothing items, AlterEgos gives masses of flexibility. AlterEgos produces industry standard media files including; Flash SWF, Flash FLV and AVI. Lip-syncing is fully automated and the whole production process takes just a few minutes.
In less than five minutes you can script, design, generate and integrate your own virtual representative or virtual tutor dramatically directly into PowerPoint improving your productivity and streamlining your workflow.
With just a few clicks your AlterEgos fully animated composition can be imported into PowerPoint, no special techniques or conversions are necessary. Simplicity itself
Your final composition has the ultimate in flexibility, deploy directly to the web, CD, DVD or internal server based. Everything is industry standard formats from start to finish.
Professional quality presentation and Computer Based Training production now has a perfect partnership with AlterEgos and PowerPoint.
If you want the ultimate in “unique” AlterEgos will for a small fee create your own custom character. It’s never been easier to create effective, memorable content with ease and simplicity.
Test integrating AlterEgos with PowerPoint, download your free trial edition here. Click for AlterEgos
Top Ten Online Degree Programs
September 19, 2010
Acquiring a lucrative position in today’s job market requires a college or university education. Getting an education has never been made more convenient than pursuing a degree online. An online education degree can lead to success in a variety of fields. For example, a degree in business administration is the number one most popular of the online degrees. Completing a bachelor’s (BA or BS) or master’s degree (MBA) in business administration could land you a job as a financial analyst or an investment banker.
Business Administration is by far the most popular and desired online degree. A business administration degree prepares you for many types of management positions. You can get an online bachelors degree in business administration (BA), a masters degree in business administration (MBA), or even a certificate in business administration for the most basic of business concepts and practices just to name a few.
Engineering online degrees are the number 2 most popular of the online programs available. Engineering has 17 main divisions and there are 1.2 million jobs that are currently held by engineers in the United States. A master’s degree in engineering is highly sought after by employers in today’s marketplace. A bachelors in engineering will secure employment for an individual in an entry level engineering position.
Computer Science online degrees have, and will continue to be in high demand with today’s employers. The digital revolution provides many, many opportunities for today’s graduates in computer science. After completing on online degree in computers science some of the jobs available are: programming, design interface, and hardware development.
Nursing and other careers in the healthcare arena continue to be one of the fastest growing professions. A registered nurse (RN) typically receives a online bachelor’s degree (BSN), however, nurses can continue to specialize and receive their master’s degrees (MSN).
Education is one of the more popular online degrees to get. Education majors receiving a bachelor’s degree (BA) is typically what is needed for an entry level education position. Teachers that are interested in counseling or administration should complete online master’s degrees in education (MA or MS).
Criminal Justice students prepare themselves for careers in upholding state and federal law. An entry level position in criminal justice usually requires an associates degree. Online criminal justice majors interested in higher paying jobs should complete a bachelor’s degree. Some highly motivated lawyers will get an undergraduate degree in criminal justice before pursuing a law degree (JD).
Accounting jobs are constantly in demand. Every single business needs an accountant so it is definitely a job with a future. If you like to crunch numbers, an online accounting degree is the position for you. If you want to jump start your career and secure an entry level position you can receive an associates degree. To secure higher paying positions in the accounting field you will need online bachelors (BA or BS) or master’s degree in accounting. The highest level jobs in accounting will probably require you to be a certified public accountant (CPA).
Online Psychology degrees continue to be in the top ten online degrees that are perused. Psychology majors examine the human and animal mind how it affects behavior. If you want your own practice with patients, you must at least have a master’s degree if not even a PhD in psychology. To start your career as soon as possible, you can get an online bachelor’s degree in psychology (BA or BS) and become a Psychologist’s assistant.
Graphic Design is another growing profession that requires a bachelor’s degree to design computer based images, websites and computer software programs. This field is for creative people with a technical background. Folks with just an online associates degree in graphic design can peruse a position to assist a graphic designer.
Healthcare Administration is health related field that continues to have a very high demand for workers. More job opportunities and higher salaries are awarded to online bachelors (BA) or online masters degrees (MHA) in healthcare administration.
About the author: Natalie Raven can assist you in choosing an online degree. For help choosing online degrees