Distance learning and elearning are usually linked with
furthering an education. The technology of distance
learning, along with the opportunities provided by
elearning and online courses, are making it easier for
thousands of people to learn something new.

Busy adults can advance their careers by finishing a degree
or gaining some special skills, and young students can earn
college credit well before they graduate high school, often
through distance learning or elearning opportunities.

But do you realize that distance learning and elearning can
be just for fun? Maybe it’s always been a dream - to learn
to paint with watercolors. But there’s no class offered
nearby. Or maybe you’ve had a desire to learn to master a
foreign language, not because of any requirements to do so,
but simply because you want to know how.

Perhaps it’s even more basic than that - your lawnmower
continually breaks down and you just want to be able to
impress your friends by fixing it yourself.

Technology often advances in response to specific needs.
People needed a way to finish a degree online so
businesses, universities and colleges stepped in to create
that opportunity.

But as is often the case, the technology exists in a basic
format and users have some control over what happens next.
That’s probably the reason that some very basic skills,
trades and lessons can be learned online - “elearned.”

The idea of lifelong learning is not new, though some of
the terms generally associated with lifelong learning are
constantly being updated. Distance learning, elearning and
other such words signify the ability for a person to gain
knowledge without sitting in a classroom.

Most adults continue to long for knowledge long after their
days in a classroom are over. Different people set about
gaining that knowledge in different ways. Some choose
topics and just start reading, gathering whatever books and
materials they can find.

Others seek out the professionals and sign up for lessons
or classes. Many people are putting technology to work for
them, seeking out online courses for elearning about a
myriad of topics.

It’s easy to find colleges, universities and businesses
that offer degrees or specific classes as either distance
learning or online courses. Finding those “fun” things
might be a little more difficult, but you can start by
talking to family and friends.

You might find that some of them have even taken some
online courses. Check with local schools, colleges,
universities, community centers and libraries. While these
aren’t clearing houses of information about online classes,
there may be listings of specific classes available.

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Home Study: What Life-enhancing Skill do You Learn?

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You’re already doing unofficial home study when you research a project online. Study in class has its place, but…

Up to date I’ve done many courses in classrooms but only two were very useful. I’ve learned most of the useful stuff from books or the Internet.

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What will help you most in life?

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The most valuable thing you learn at school is to write an essay. Essays help you organise your thoughts. An essay helps you convince people. Your
feedback in a home study course will mostly be essays. This will encourage you to write a good essay.

Many years ago I read about Electronics, and took a correspondence course on the subject, and made electronic gadgets for where I worked.

Then I decided to study Electronics at college. Unfortunately the nearest I could get to it was Physics with Electronics as the main subject, so I qualified in Physics.

The lecturers were shockingly out of date. One of my classmates and I spent a lot of time instructing the lecturers. We’d learned modern stuff from books and practical use.

It has been said “Those who can, do. Those who can’t, teach.” What this means is that lecturers sat through lectures and passed exams. They go on to teach what they learned in these lectures - which is already out of date. That’s the first benefit of home study.

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Three advantages of classroom study

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1. You can get recognised certificates when you
pass exams

2. You can get a useful plan for what to study

3. Facilities for practical work

You’ll have noticed that although I learned more from my home study course, I still did a four-year course at college. I couldn’t get recognised exam certificates from correspondence courses. That was the main benefit.

If you want to study genetics and you don’t even know what a gene is, you obviously don’t know enough to plan a syllabus for your home study.

You get a useful skeleton outline from your lectures. Using my book about exams you will learn how to improve on the skeleton, but you need one
to improve on!

At home you don’t have a chemistry laboratory or a machine shop or volunteers to practice dentistry.

Apprenticeships let you learn about real life from an employer. Schools and colleges have labs and workshops for you to do your practical work.

Lecturers don’t know as much about practical work as an employer would. I hated doing chemical titrations because they took such a long time.

Then I noticed that one of my classmates took about a quarter of the time, with greater accuracy. He worked during his holidays at a chemistry lab. He showed me the tricks and I was soon flying through my titrations too.

Even if you do have a machine shop at home, you’ll be taught safe working procedure in a conventional course. That could save you from being a cripple for the rest of your life.

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Instant Feedback

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When I was about to hold a chunk of metal with a rag wrapped round my hand to give me extra grip, my lecturer yelled a warning. That probably kept me from losing my hand.

Even if you’re learning something safe like oil painting, you can learn faster with instant feedback from a lecturer strolling around behind the students.

Oh, you could take a digital photograph of your oil painting and shoot it down the line to an instructor, but she could be having a meal, or even be asleep if she is on the other side of the world. So you still won’t have instant feedback.

Writing essays works fine.

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Conventional courses for abilities

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It seems that conventional courses win out when you want to develop an ability, unless your parents already have that ability to pass on to you.

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Knowledge courses

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Of course, there are knowledge courses such as English, Philosophy, History, Anthropology where you don’t have a practical syllabus. These are
ideal for home study, and perfect for using an essay as a tool.

More and more Universities offer online courses. You can get recognised certificates with home study. You just need to be good at writing an essay (see my free report) and a few other exam techniques to succeed.

Even technical courses have lots of theory. University extension courses allow you to study the theory online. Then you just go to college for your practical work.

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Distractions

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A friend of mine refused to be distracted by girls or parties or sport until he completed his degree as a dentist.

I don’t think I could have overcome these distractions. If you do home study you don’t have any distractions.

Conclusion:
I prefer home study any time that it is available. However you can’t learn to sing, or karate, or dentistry without a teacher, so conventional study is often needed to supplement home study. Essay writing is particularly useful in home study.

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The opportunities for continuing education are incredibly
diverse, thanks to the technology of distance learning and
elearning. Because of the sheer number of people who are
looking to improve themselves, it was inevitable that a
large number of colleges, universities and businesses set
out to fill that need.

The result is that people are learning new skills, honing
talents and reaching goals, all while going on with their
lives. For many people, furthering education and attending
classes are limited because they are already involved in
their adult lives. Jobs, family obligations and other
responsibilities limit the amount of time many people have
available to devote to their own education.

Distance learning allows thousands of people to achieve
degrees from programs hundreds of miles away. In this day
of convenient travel options, it might be tempting to say
that anyone can attend college or classes anywhere. Despite
our mobile economy, many people simply don’t want to move
and don’t have the time to travel great distances to attend
classes. That means that their opportunities are limited to
the programs that are offered nearby. Until distance
learning and elearning became so widely available.

Briefly, the difference between distance learning and
elearning is a matter of how the course is structured.
Distance learning requires that the student attend classes
at a prearranged time on a regular basis. An instructor who
is actually teaching in another facility (across the state
or across the nation) lectures makes assignments and
teaches just as normal.

The students in the satellite facility have the opportunity
to interact with the teacher through two-way
communications. The major advantage is that students are
attending class right in their own neighborhoods, at
community colleges, universities, schools and even public
facilities instead of traveling to the site where the
teacher is actually conducting class.

Compared to distance learning, elearning is even less
structured. Typically, students work at their own pace
through online courses. There may be pre-recorded lectures,
worksheets, assignments and tests, all viewed and completed
online.

The major advantage here is that students have an even more
flexible attendance policy and can choose to work through
the material as quickly or as slowly as they want, though
some courses do have time limits for completion.

When you add it all up, both distance learning and
elearning offer opportunities that simply wouldn’t be
available any other way. People who would otherwise be
“stuck” with no way to further their educations now have an
option.

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Online distance learning has gained rapid popularity with the advent of the internet, which has proven to offer great supporting facilities and convenience for online education. However, just like everything else with pros and cons, the internet has also opened doors for the widespread sale of bogus online degrees. According a report by USA Today, there were already 400 diploma mills in the year 2003 and the numbers are rising. In fact, many of these unscrupulous operations are run by organizations in an industry that is worth $500 million a year.

However, amidst the negative hype about online education, there are actually many distance learning colleges offering valid degrees and diplomas. These institutions do not sell bogus certificates, but actually aim to provide quality education as alternatives for on-campus higher education. Valid online courses with online video lectures as well as online library facilities and test examinations conducted are often deployed to ensure that students truly qualify in their areas of study and graduate legitimately. Sadly though, many employers only see the negative side of things, and easily brush off online education degrees as equivalent to bogus degrees.
In view of the confusion, the National Education Board of the U.S. government has authorized 6 accreditation agencies to provide institutional accreditation to education institutions, as a measure to differentiate legitimate universities from the crooks. This means that students choosing their universities will be assured that these universities would have met minimum criteria set forth by these agencies for learning institutions.
Additionally, there is also The Distance Education and Training Council (DETC) which provides accreditation specifically for distance learning institutions. The DETC is an accreditation agency that is recognized by the US Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA).
Furthermore, there is also specialized accreditation for specific programs of different areas of specialization. These programs which are found to have attained excellence will be awarded accreditation by various professional accrediting agencies depending on the area of specialization. For instance, the International Association for Management Education (AACSB) gives accreditation to accounting related programs while health programs are accredited by the American Health Information Management Association. It is also important to know that only accreditation agencies recognized by the Department of Education or CHEA are considered accreditation agencies which are acknowledged.
What does accreditation mean to a student? An institutional accreditation agency evaluates the various aspects of universities or colleges against minimum standard criteria to determine if the particular institution meets their list of basic requirements. College accreditation is necessary to ensure that the education, facilities and support provided by a college or university adheres to basic levels. On the other hand, specialized accreditation evaluates excellence in individual program regardless of which institution the program is being delivered within. In this type of accreditation, course content and program curricula is evaluated against pre-set standards of the institution.
All accreditation does is to assure employers, students and parents that the graduates who are awarded degrees from accredited colleges have undergone adequate training in their respective areas of specialization. This also means that colleges that are not accredited by the proper accreditation body would not have met the standards imposed by the agencies. However, courses taken by prospective employees that are accredited by the respective agencies would have met standards imposed on the respective specialized areas.

It is totally up to the judgment and decision of the employers on evaluating the validity of an online or on-campus degree. With the recent hike in bogus degrees, employers can’t help but be stringent in their applicant screenings and consider those with degrees that have been accredited. This may prove tedious and sometimes employers may get confused. Therefore, if your accreditation is provided by an agency recognized by the US Department of Education, then you will need to explain to prospective employers on the background of the accrediting bodies. This way, you can avoid employers from sidelining your application based on something that they may be unclear about and increase your chances of being short listed for a job interview.

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Many of the regulations include parental notification, test scores, professional evaluation of student progress and curriculum approval. Families shouldn’t be scared off by the general requirements for homeschooling. There may be some initial paperwork to handle but as long as the teaching parent can keep good records there shouldn’t be andy fear of the state stepping in and ordering your child back to public school.

The states that have no requirements for homeschooling do not require the parents to initiate any contact. These states include Idaho, Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Connecticut, New Jersey and the territories of Guam and Puerto Rico. Parents are not obligated to contact the school districts to notify them that they will be homeschooling their children.

States that have low general requirements for homeschooling require the parents to notify the school district that they are homeschooling their children and nothing else. These states include California, Nevada, Montana, Wyoming, Arizona, New Mexico, Nebraska, Kansas, Wisconsin, Kentucky, Mississippi, Alabama, Delaware, Washington D.C. and the territory of the Virgin Islands.

Moderately regulated states require parents to send notification, test scores and provide a professional evaluation of the student’s progress. The states in this category include Oregon, Colorado, South Dakota, Iowa, Arkansas, Louisiana, Tennessee, Ohio, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Maryland and the territories of American Samoa and Northern Mariana Islands.

States with the highest regulations may be the most troublesome to parents contemplating homeschooling. These states general requirements for homeschooling stipulate parents have to send notification or achievement test scores, provide professional evaluations of student progress as well as provide a written curriculum that needs to be approved by the state, teacher qualification of the parents and on some occasions visits by state officials to check the student’s progress. These states include Washington, Utah, North Dakota, Minnesota, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, Maine, Rhode Island and Massachusetts. These states have few requirements for the Kindergarten level but the regulations become stricter at each subsequent grade level.

A parent is considered competent to operate a homeschool if they follow the individual state’s regulations; they do not need to have teacher certification. The parents need to file a notice at their local school that they intend to homeschool in the low to highly regulated states. Those that fall within the medium to highly regulated states will also need to keep attendance records, file quarterly reports and a grade narrative for each of the subjects taught. Highly regulated states may require an annual assessment at the end of the school year.

The general requirements for homeschool vary greatly from state to state. The parents should be well versed in the legal aspects of homeschooling before they decide to attempt it. Most parents will find that the red tape at the beginning is well worth it.

To stay abreast of the current trends, information and resources available for homeschool parents, teachers and students subscribe to Homeschool Success News.

If you need an online tutor, courseware or wish to offer your services as a paid online tutor contact our TutorBug website.

Magic Learning Systems also provides excellent products to enhance the homeschool experience for teachers and students. http://magic.homeschooltutorpro.com

Dr. J. Elisha Burke
Editor, Homeschool Success Newsletter

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Obtaining an online bachelors degree can be a swift and easy way to further your career,prospects and life in general. But before you enroll, there are a few important points you need to know get your head around.

Number one, you’ll want to make ensure that the college that offers you a degree online is accredited. School and universities are accredited on a national or state level. This accreditation means that a relevant board of education has researched and approved the schools curriculum and course.

Secondly, you will want to make sure that the school is highly recognized and that the bachelors degree can be transfered. This will help because someday you might need to further enhance your education by completing your masters degree and you might be required to transfer your bachelors credits.

Prerequisite to obtaining your bachelors degree from a university or college, First you must have the minimum of a G.E.D or a high school diploma. It will also help to have some college or previous work experience under your belt. If you have attained previous college credits, then they can be put toward your bachelors degree program and the period of time that you will need to be enrolled in school will be shortened.

If you have not attained previous college credits, The majority of bachelors degree online programs take about thirty six months to finish. This period of time is based on a person that takes a minimum of twenty hours of course work per week. With previous college credits, or by spending a larger amount of time on course work every week, some individuals can finish their bachelors online degree program in as little as twelve months.

To choose which university or college to enroll with, it is best to decide what type of degree program you require. The majority of colleges offer these type of programs but some specialize in man varied fields. For example, an individual who wants a bachelors degree in business might decide to go with Ashworth College, while a person that wants an degree for education would want to go with Penn State University.

When you have chosen a bachelors online degree course, you need to research its class schedule. Most online programs or courses allow you to download the course work and complete it at your own leisure, but some programs insist that you log on to the Internet for virtual class sessions at a designated time a few times a week. Now you know the basics you will see that making up for lost time can be easier than you might have thought and topping up your education is a real possibility. Go on what have you got to lose?

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There are many misconceptions about homeschools. Some people think that children who are homeschooled miss out
on socialization, learning opportunities and that their parents are radicals. More often than not, soccer moms start homeschools. The average homeschooling parent has
a college degree and is simply looking for a better way of education their children.

There are many methods that parents can choose from when starting a homeschool. The methods include eclectic, Charlotte Mason, Christian, classical, Montessori, unit studies, natural learning and Waldorf education. It may take a parent or child a year or more to decide which category they fall into. Many parents find that they take the eclectic method approach because they can combine several methods to teach their children.

The Charlotte Mason method is defined as an applied philosophy, which is individualized by the family to best suit their child. Charlotte Mason stated, “The duty of parents is to sustain a child’s inner life with ideas as they sustain his body with food.” Ideas children have are as important as the lessons found in books. Lessons are kept short and children learn by doing activities and by reciting what they have learned back to the teacher. There is no grading or competition in this type of homeschool. This method also focuses on humanities, unedited literature and a favorite of all children, free afternoons with no homework.

The Christian method is simply teaching children classically but with emphasis on teaching Christian moral values. This method is a favorite among parents that don’t want to send their children to parochial schools but don’t approve of public schools that appear to be anti-Christian.

The Montessori method builds on each previous lesson so that a student masters each aspect of their education before moving onto the next. This is also a form of child-led education. The three principles of a Montessori education are observation, individual liberty and preparation of the environment.

The Unit Studies method used in homeschools integrates all school subjects into one theme or topic. For example, if a child shows particular interest in butterflies then all aspects of schooling could be applied to this unit; math, science, English and history.

The Natural learning method is child-led learning. The child’s interests determine which direction the learning will take. This doesn’t mean that the child designs the curriculum; rather you can expand upon topics of special interest when teaching.

The Waldorf education method is gaining in popularity in homeschools. Its basic tenets are to balance academic subjects with artistic and practical activities. It also teaches that children should enjoy learning and there is no need for competitive testing and grading. Central to the teaching are classes, which are considered expendable by public schools. These include music, art, gardening and foreign languages. Children also learn practical activities such as knitting, toy making and sewing.

Families that are just starting their homeschools are going to have fun deciding which method best suits each individual child. Parents may choose one method for a child and a different method for a second child. Each child learns differently and that is the beauty of homeschooling children.

To stay abreast of the current trends, information and resources available for homeschool parents, teachers and students subscribe to Homeschool Success News.

If you need an online tutor, courseware or wish to offer your services as a paid online tutor contact our TutorBug website

Magic Learning Systems also provides excellent products to enhance the homeschool experience for teachers and students.

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If you have the self-determination and drive to listen well and study harder then you can learn in a live university or an online school. But some people seem better suited than others for distance learning programs. Researchers have found that one of the factors that contributes to an effective distance learner in addition to the ability to work hard is their personality type.

Their studies have discovered that people who have the ability to get their energy from inside sources are generally better candidates for online learning. It’s effective in distance learning because most of your learning time is spent working and studying alone. So if you have trouble with that you may have problems in getting an online degree.

If your personality type will allow you to learn and grow on your own then you are ready to consider distance learning to get a technical certificate or online degree. Your next steps are to consider your purpose for undertaking an online learning program.

Is it to benefit your career growth, are you thinking about changing careers, or do you simply want the fulfillment of your lifelong goal to get a college education. These are the most common goals of successful distance learning participants and if you share these goals then online learning may be right for you.

Okay, you know you have the personality type to learn online and you have goals that will help you to be motivated to succeed. Now what? You get all your paperwork ready so that you can determine whether you have to start from scratch or whether those two years of community college can be applied to your online degree program. Many programs will also give you up to 25f the total credits required for your online degree foe your work and life experience in a related field so update and refine your resume to reflect this experience.

Next you need to find a university or college that offers your program of study. There are hundreds of accredited online degree granting schools in the country, over 750 at last count, to choose from. Contact the school and find out their admissions policy and any regulations that you have to meet. Their response and their website should tell you a lot about how organized their programs are and whether you think it will match your online aspirations.

Then gather up all of the responses and compare them using your own criteria as a guide. Talk to friends and relations that you trust and then make a decision. You will soon find out if the online campus life is for you and hopefully it will be the right step to getting an online degree and creating a better life for yourself and your family.

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If you have not completed any college or university education after high school and are thinking about getting an online degree, one of your best options may to be to consider an online associate degree. These programs are readily available, come in a wide variety of choices, and generally take about half as long to complete as an online bachelors degree. Best of all they are usually half of the cost.

If you are considering moving in this way towards an online degree then look for accredited programs. Accredited programs can be transferred for credit at any college or university and that’s important because you may want to go back and get your bachelors or even masters degree at some point in the future. An unaccredited degree may prove to be worthless, so choose your program carefully.

Here are a few college level programs that you might wish to consider for your online associate degree.

American Intercontinental University is an international university with campuses in Georgia, California, Texas and Florida in the United States, as well as England and the United Arab Emirates. AIU Online offers distance learning programs that grant accredited bachelor, masters, and associate degrees in Business Management, Healthcare Management, Marketing, Criminal Justice, Visual Communications, and Education. AIU Online programs and degrees are accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.

Ashworth College is a nationally accredited distance learning school that promises to provide you with online classes supplemented by authoritative textbooks and study guides that are mailed to your home. They offer online associate degree programs in Criminal Justice, Business Management, Health Care Management, Computer Information Management, Accounting, Paralegal Studies, Early Childhood Education, Human Resource Management, and Psychology.

National American University is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission to grant bachelor and associate degrees online. They offer online associate degree programs in Applied Management, Business Administration and Information Technology as well as an Associate of Science Degree in General Studies.

Crown College offers an online education that combines the traditional arts, sciences and humanities with the professional disciplines related to these fields. Their online Associate of Science degree in Criminal Justice program provides the graduate with the capacity to compete for jobs in Law Enforcement, Community Corrections, Prison/Jail Officer, Private Investigations/Security. Their online Associate of Science in Paralegal Studies degree provides the graduate with the skills to compete for jobs as a Paralegal, Court Clerk, or Judicial Assistant.

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There are a number of benefits to entering a distance learning program to earn your online degree. You get to learn at your own speed in the comfort of your own home and you can work at your kitchen table or on your back porch if you have a long enough extension cord.

But you also get the opportunity to learn again, which for many of us is really a great gift. Some of us are stuck in low-paying jobs and careers that are stifling our creativity and intellect. Others simply want to experience the natural high that comes from pursuing a life-long interest.

With hundreds of schools, universities, and colleges offering accredited online degree programs that opportunity and those benefits are waiting to be picked like low-hanging fruit. Enroll in an online degree program and let distance learning help you harvest your share.

Even though most of your online learning is done in the solitude of your own home there are many resources available to assist you progress towards your online degree. A virtual and real army of teachers, advisors and counselors are waiting to help. Some institutions even provide you with your own academic advisor who will help you navigate through course outlines and curricula in order to select the study program that meets your needs.

One of the major benefits to getting an online degree is almost guaranteed pay raise. Your current employer should be given first chance to reward your efforts by giving you a new job or assignment or by adding to your pay envelope. But if that is not possible then the marketplace will reward you for your specialized training with further opportunities to increase your earning power.

But perhaps the biggest benefits of getting an online degree are actually the intangible ones. The pride and boost to your self-esteem that you will feel from finally graduating is worth any amount of money.

The respect and admiration of your family and friends is also priceless. Even people at work may start to treat you a little different as you become more knowledgeable in your work and you may find that you are sought out for advice and guidance.

To realize your dreams is really the purpose of life and the elation that you feel as a result of achieving yours will last and endure for a long, long time. Enjoy the fruits of your labor.

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