Posts Tagged ‘colleges and universities’
Health Tips for Distance Learners
Thursday, December 11th, 2008
Believe it or not, distance learners require health tips to achieve optimum performance in their studies. Below are some health tips that may be useful.
Schedule regular check-ups. Avoid waiting until you have annoying symptoms before visiting the doctor. Scheduling check-ups with your family physician, dentist, and chiropractor is an important step in preventing illness and injury.
Add vitamins to your diet. A busy schedule may leave you eating in a rush and making poor food choices. Now is a good time to get into the habit of taking vitamins and minerals to supplement your nutritional needs.
Medicate early. Uh oh, is a cold coming on? You know that feeling…the scratchy throat, plugged up nose and just all around feeling of being out of it. Act now and don’t wait for it to get worse. Try sucking on a zinc lozenge or some other stop-that-illness-in-its-tracks remedy like Airborne. You may be pleasantly surprised to find that you wake up feeling great and ready to tackle another day.
Hand wash regularly. Nothing wards off germs more than good hand washing with soap and water. Hand washing is the single, most effective way to stop the spread of germs and infections. Antibacterial gels can help in a pinch, but nothing beats scrubbing up and washing those germs down the drain.
To properly wash your hands:
- Wet your hands with warm, running water and apply liquid or clean bar soap. Lather well.
- Rub your hands vigorously together for at least 15 seconds.
- Scrub all surfaces, including the backs of your hands, wrists, between your fingers and under your fingernails.
- Rinse well.
- Dry your hands with a clean or disposable towel.
- Use a towel to turn off the faucet.
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Making a Stellar Online Essay
Tuesday, December 9th, 2008
Writing an entrance essay is one of the most important things that applicants must do in order to be admitted to the online college of their choice. Writing a stellar college admissions essay takes time. By following these basic steps, you’ll be able to craft a piece to be proud of.
Emphasize your strengths. The application essay is the perfect opportunity for you to demonstrate your strengths and explain any blemishes on your record. Many colleges ask students to write a separate essay that explains what sets them apart from the crowd. If you have an assignment like that, don’t be shy. Describe your many talents in a confident, non-boastful manner. If you have blemishes on your academic record such as poor grades or an expulsion, now is the time to own up to these issues. Explain any extenuating circumstances (such as dropping out due to a family tragedy). If there is no good excuse, explain what you’ve learned from your mistakes and why you’ll never make them again. Even if you are not assigned an essay about your strengths, you can demonstrate your talents in just about any assignment. “Show” the reader what your strengths are by setting up a scene. For example: In an essay about a defining moment in your life, you may want to “show” the reader how you’ve demonstrated leadership under stress. Don’t brag about it, just set the scene.
Edit your work. Once you’ve completed the application essay, let it set for a few days. Then, go back and edit your work. Taking a break will help you look at it with fresh eyes. Ask yourself: “Is there is anything I can change to make the essay more powerful?” Be sure to run spell check and analyze every sentence for grammatical mistakes. If your online school does not prohibit second party help, ask a former teacher or essay editing service for additional assistance.
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Synchronous Technology in Distance Education
Sunday, December 7th, 2008
One type of available technology used in distance education is synchronous technology. This type of technology is a mode of online delivery where all participants are “present” at the same time. It requires a timetable to be organized. Here are some sample items of synchronous technology:
Telephone - The telephone is a telecommunications device that is used to transmit and receive sound (most commonly speech), usually two people conversing but occasionally three or more. It is one of the most common household appliances in the world today. Most telephones operate through transmission of electric signals over a complex telephone network which allows almost any phone user to communicate with almost anyone.
Videoconferencing - A videoconference (also known as a videoteleconference) is a set of interactive telecommunication technologies which allow two or more locations to interact via two-way video and audio transmissions simultaneously. It has also been called visual collaboration and is a type of groupware. It differs from videophone in that it is designed to serve a conference rather than individuals.
Web conferencing - Web conferencing is used to conduct live meetings or presentations over the Internet. In a web conference, each participant sits at his or her own computer and is connected to other participants via the internet. This can be either a downloaded application on each of the attendees computers or a web-based application where the attendees will simply enter a URL (website address) to enter the conference.
There are many other types of synchronous technology used in distance education. It would be great if you could maximize the use of these items and make sure that you are receiving the proper quality education that you need.
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What is Distance Education?
Sunday, December 7th, 2008
The beginnings of distance education dates back all the way from the year 1728. It sprung from a newspaper advertisement, in which Caleb Phillips, teacher of the new method of shorthand was looking for students to be sent weekly school lessons. Since then, more educators added to the demand of learning via correspondence. By the 19th century, commercial correspondence colleges became wide-spread all through out the different nations because of the development of the postal service. Distance education, or distance learning, is a field of education that focuses on the strategies of instruction, learning strategies, technology, and instructional systems design that aim to deliver education to students who are not physically “on site”. Rather than attending courses in person, teachers and students may communicate at times of their own choosing by exchanging printed or electronic media, or through technology that allows them to communicate in real time and through other online ways. Distance education courses that require a physical on-site presence for any reason including the taking of examinations is considered to be a hybrid or blended course of study.
There are many private and public, non-profit and for-profit institutions offering courses and degree programs through distance education. Levels of accreditation vary; some institutions offering distance education in the United States have received little outside oversight, and some may be fraudulent diploma mills. In many other jurisdictions, an institution may not use the term “University” without accreditation and authorization, normally by the national government. Online education is rapidly increasing among mainstream universities in the United States, where online doctoral programs have even developed at prestigious research institutions.
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A Happier College Degree Online
Sunday, December 7th, 2008
Being particular with the right kind of on-line school that fits your preferences and lifestyle is one of the surefire ways in which you’ll gain happiness and contentment from the time you will be spending studying.
Be sure you understand whether a certificate or degree can be completed entirely online or whether on site projects, class meetings, or residency periods will be required. If you are having monetary problems and worried that you might not be able to afford such education, investigate your financial aid options. You may be pleasantly surprised by the financial aid, the loans, and the scholarships available to you. In addition, many colleges and universities offer tuition installment plans which help make college more affordable. Ask about such programs. You’ll never know how much assistance these programs can reach out to you.
Don’t settle for less than you want. Perhaps this is the most important point to consider for selecting an online college degree program. Unlike ten years ago, when online degree options were severely limited, it is now possible for most people willing to invest a little time gathering information to find almost exactly the degree program that meets their needs. Do your homework, make a lot of research, ask other people you know who may have experiences with online education. You can start your search on http://collegematchingservice.com/find_a_college or http://collegematchingservice.com/education/c/online-education/online-degrees where you can quickly and easily request information from nearly 100 online colleges and universities. Don’t be lazy. Request information from at least 5 or 6 colleges or universities which appear to meet your requirements. Ultimately, all your inquiries will help you gain a better understanding and a bigger picture of what you want and will eventually lead you at an advantage in your on-line studying experience.
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