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The Role of Digital Media in Modern Classrooms

Posted by Michael M.K. Monday, March 25, 2013 0 comments

The Role of Digital Media in Modern Classrooms - Since social networks and websites are quickly saturating college education, students need to learn to adapt and properly utilize digital media to maximize their educational experiences.

It is not uncommon to see people tweeting, blogging or performing any other kind of electronic task related to the online world during classes across campus. Education today has been completely infiltrated by social media and all it has to offer in terms of communication and the efficient spread of information. Students are frequently asked to archive their classwork on some sort of online platform such as WordPress or Tumblr and stay informed through Twitter. Newspapers and other reliable sources of information have also joined the social media world, causing professors to integrate these forms of communication into their teaching methods. Pinterest was mentioned as a tool for outreach and making a presence in social media in a Feb. 15 Forbes article.

The way today’s college student is learning is steadily changing while the heightening of the digital world may seem overwhelming. This is not a bad thing at all. The most important thing students need to realize is how to effectively utilize these digital tools so they can get the most out of their higher education experience (see HERE).

College education is no longer largely lecture and skills based but rather a more self-exploratory experience because of the presence of social media, according to a March 1 LinkedIn article. Students are not expected only to share in the experiences of tweeting, blogging and sharing information. Faculty members expect students to excel at it in all the right ways.

Some faculty speak about the evils associated with social media as a regular occurrence, and students need to realize it is a real issue. It is important to realize paying attention to the actions and consequences of words in terms of the online and offline realms is a very serious thing. Faculty make it clear Facebook should not just be used for friends anymore but networking as well. Twitter is not just about micro-blogging your life. It can be a way of gathering quick knowledge and building up a professional presence. It is constantly drilled into students’ minds to be cautious of their online presences.

It may be high time for students who are immersed in social media to start looking further into whether or not they are using these online tools in professional ways. Students who do not really care for blogging and tweeting should seriously consider taking a chance by opening a Twitter account or popping into an online writing platform every so often. There are opportunities for many different kinds of minds and interests, and these types of online skills are becoming relevant for a number of degree plans (see HERE). One day, constant interaction with the digital world could be a reality for every avenue of education.

It is exciting for education to evolve and become more relatable for this generation. It is very important for students to become aware of, active in and professional with social media and the Internet as a whole now more than ever.
Source : star.txstate.edu

Quality Of The Best Online Education Institutions 2013

Posted by Michael M.K. Wednesday, March 13, 2013 0 comments

Quality Of The Best Online Education Institutions 2013 - Thanks to the development in Internet technology and increasing use of Internet by the users worldwide that has led to explosion of online colleges/online universities that award online degrees in different streams such as associate's, bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees. The goal of providing education by one of the accredited online schools or online colleges/universities is to ensure that programs provided by these institutions of higher education to all potential students are quality and meet the exact demand of student's character's and personality development. However, considering the abundance of online schools/colleges, students should avoid the fake ones and make sure that the online education institutes are accredited and recognized by a state government.

The importance of getting online master degree or online bachelors' degree from an accredited online school is that students of different kinds can get the utmost benefits out of it. It ensures accredited higher learning for students, who are physically challenged, soldiers and those students living abroad and busy working class people just to mention a few. There is basically a slight difference between physically attending a lecture class by sitting an auditorium and watching a webcast video of your professor online. The first option requires you to be physically present there while the second option lets you enjoy the lecture of your professor from the comfort zone of your home.

More so, there is a difference between accreditation of the quality of the online degrees and on-campus degrees. Most of the top-notch online colleges or schools are regionally accredited. However, a variation in public perception about these accredited online colleges is a common occurrence.

Considering the importance of getting online masters degree from an accredited university seems much more cost-effective way of realizing your dream of higher education. Since, offline education institutes are not suitable for physically disabled or busy working class people or those staying in foreign land, the online college or university is really a one-stop destination for them to achieve higher accredited education. There are considerably a large number of online universities or colleges in the world offering their quality education to all those students/business executives/employees who seek a comfortable way of getting higher education without any hassle of attending class. From getting quality online degrees to enjoying comforts at home, online colleges or schools or universities are ideal choice in this regard.

While you are thinking about pursuing higher education through online colleges, you should consider some vital points beforehand in this regard. Considering abundance of online colleges/universities, it is important to make sure whether the college you chose to study is accredited. This will ensure that the online degree you have earned is a genuine academic record of your study in the college. More so, you should get all essential information about the online college from students or online reviews to finally deduce the reputation of the college. The Internet is fraught with such resources that will guide you which online degree or school will be an ideal choice for your academic purpose.

Will Online Education Make Us Smarter?

Posted by Michael M.K. Monday, March 11, 2013 0 comments

Will Online Education Make Us Smarter? - Predictions are 1/2 of higher Ed will be online in the next 10 years. K-12 will follow by 2019. How do we assess quality with all of the online education providers that are out there? Small start ups and giant MOOCS. Think a lot about how to get personalized support to individuals. Think about scaling content while not losing the focus on the individual.

Adult learning space, higher Ed, and K-12 all have different needs so they create different markets. All of the panelists are from companies that connect teachers directly to students. InstaEdu - even split between high school and college with about 10% adult learners. Students come at first for immediate need and then wind up staying because they build a relationship with the tutor. Teachers are students at high end universities.

Course Hero - 80% higher Ed students. Building learning content that students can access on their own. Building quality content from students and teachers takers time. Requires feedback from students.

Udemy - 80% male because focuses on tech space. Adult learners adding to skill sets or learning about hobbies. Students like the on demand aspects of the learning. Teachers are industry experts, half of whom have some sort of previous education experience. Motivated by reach they have and ability to share their passion. A few instructors have earned $100,000.

Important to get feedback from students through surveys to assess quality of teaching and content. Make sure reviews are available to future students. Can base revenue sharing on popularity/effectiveness of teacher.

Also important to support course developers/teachers with instructional design training since many may not come from education backgrounds.

Certification: In some cases, must have gone to a particular school (top colleges) and have prior experience in tutoring. See very few problems after getting through the initial screening process for tutors.

How do you know it is working? Re-engagement is huge. If students are willing to pay more for more tutoring, that's a good sign. Comments and reviews from students are also important. Survey students to see if they feel they have improved in their understanding or have gotten other benefits such as job advancement or career change.

What is the motivation for online learners? Often it's increasing a grade or obtaining a certification.

What is on the horizon for building the online learning space? We are still in the early days - 1st or 2nd inning. To get more mainstream: build quality content in multiple languages, bring down costs, provide more certificates/certifications. Mobile devices will help integrate online learning into people's busy lives. Need to watch for over-regulation and under-regulation.

Q From audience: How do you scale giving rich feedback to thousands of students with budget constraints for hiring staff?

A: Peer to peer tutors or peer grading can help. One to one teaching will never be free. It is a tough problem.

Q: Any unexpected gains from online tutoring?

A: Learning is on demand any time you need it. Can take courses in subjects not available locally. Badges make it fun for students to learn beyond basic requirements.

Q: How can online learning help students that traditional schooling fails?

A: More diverse set of teachers to choose from so more chance of connecting. Online learning in conjunction with in person can help support students. Finding niche content that engages students in ways that in-person only schools with more limited offerings can't. Offer practical, job-focused and passion focused content to students.

Q: Are any courses accepted by colleges?

A: Udemy has a few professors who use their online courses as part of blended learning. Not transferable to just any institution though. People are willing to pay for high quality content even without a degree plan.

Q: What about copyright?

A: Instructor is responsible for content copyright. If company receives a DMCA notice they remove the content. Course Hero runs a filter to detect content that might be a copyright violation and works with instructor to verify.

Q: How do you avoid mistakes in growing your company?

A: There will be mistakes. And it takes time to build success. You can't do everything overnight but you can do a lot over a longer period of time.

Q: How do you deal with communication problems from students?

A: Try having visual elements with text. And don't forget in person tutoring might be the best if there are communication/language barriers.

Best Distance Learning Mathematics Degree 2013

Posted by Michael M.K. Monday, March 4, 2013 0 comments

Best Distance Learning Mathematics Degree 2013 - The following universities are offering distance learning programs in the field of Mathematics/Statistics:

The Open University (UK)

It offers a number of Maths degrees including the BA/BSc (Honours) Mathematics; BA/BSc (Honours) Mathematics and Statistics; BA/BSc (Honours) Computing and Mathematical Sciences; BA/BSc (Honours) Economics and Mathematical Sciences; etc.
It also offers the MSc in Mathematics for mathematicians, scientists and engineers. Options include calculus of variations, functional analysis, number theory, fractal geometry, and coding and approximation theory.
The University achieved the second largest climb in UK research rankings in the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise.

Sheffield Hallam University

It offers the MSc/PgDip/PgCert in Applied Statistics for statisticians or those employed in related areas such as planning, operational research, business intelligence, marketing.
The course is delivered by distance learning, with tutorial support.
It is one of the UK's most progressive universities, ranked top among all new universities in the RAE 2001.

University of London

The BSc in Mathematics and Economics degree programme has been developed by academics at The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE).
The programme is designed for those who want to pursue a career in economics and need a firm foundation in mathematics.

University of Southern Queensland (Australia)

It offers the Graduate Diploma of Mathematics by distance education.
This program gives graduates from a non-mathematical area the opportunity to gain knowledge and skills in areas of mathematics. Applicants whose degree or equivalent qualifications includes a major in mathematics or statistics will not normally be eligible for admission.

Texas A&M University (USA)

It offers the Masters of Mathematics with a Teaching or Computational Math Option.
The degree program is fully online. All courses will be taught over the Internet. M.S. students will be quired to complete a final examination after completing all program requirements.
The University is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.

Some of The Most Common Myths of Online Education

Posted by Michael M.K. Sunday, March 3, 2013 0 comments

Some of The Most Common Myths of Education - Despite profound popularity, the concept of online education has not been able to gain complete acceptance. This is because of the myths regarding the concept education.

Some of the most common myths of education are:

courses are identical: It is generally assumed that the content and the results of all online courses is the same but this is not true. While some courses deliver only the crest of a particular concept, others provide an in-depth knowledge about the course. Some recognized courses offer a lot of dynamism and versatility.
It doesn't require faculty: It is sometimes believed that online education will reduce the need for faculty and qualified instructors. But, this is not the truth. It has been observed that the greatest reason for a student's success is a motivating instructor. In an online class, the size of the class might be small or large, but there always faculty members to support all the students. Qualified faculty is also required for writing and creating new courses.
Online courses are less worthy: Many a times it is believed that courses don't hold the same worth in the eyes of the employers as a regular course. But this is not so. The correct blend of online and offline education and appropriate professional experience can do wonders to your career.
You have to be tech savvy: Many people think that an e-learning class requires one to be highly tech-savvy and requires you to possess high level of technical know-how. But in reality, online courses are designed in a very user friendly manner. They are especially designed to cater to the needs of the common man.

It takes lesser efforts: People believe that online learning takes less time and is an easy way to take a degree. If you are taking up an online course just because you want to take a short cut in your career, then online education isn't certainly the right option.

These are the most common myths that are associated with online learning. Students are sometimes skeptical about adopting online education because of these myths. There is a need to realize that online education is much more than what it is thought to be. It isn't a shortcut route but a catalytic factor which will help you to enhance your career.
One such measure to promote online mode of education has been taken by EduKart. EduKart provides certificate courses in Digital Marketing certified courses, Retail Management (certified by RAI), Financial Management (Wealth Management certified by AIWMI), Programming Language (certified by CSI), Project management and in Skill Development. It also provides some UGC-DEC-AICTE UG and PG degree courses like BBA, B.Sc.IT, MBA and M.Sc. IT.