Thursday 29 October 2015

Online Learning - The Most Affordable Degree

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Online education has brought revolution to the global learning system. The e-learning offered by top rank distance learning universities and colleges is attracting students across the world. Loaded with the most advanced technology professional courses are being offered. The flexibility of time, affordable university degree, and digital study material have generated learning interest among the students. As the demand for e-learning has gone up, world's top universities and colleges are aiming to provide quality study material with practical training. Online learning-what next? The question is already storming the mind of think tanks and the educationists.


Online education booming 
Online Learning
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Loaded with advantages, e-learning is rising as the most favorites form of education structure among the students. According to the National Center for Education Statistics more than five million students, which is 25 percent of the university and college students, have enrolled in various online courses. According to the statistics, 14 percent of the students have enrolled in traditional and distance learning courses whereas 11 percent entirely selected distance course.



Rise in distance learning

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Sensing the trend educational institutions have intensified online offering of education. According to the 2014 Survey of Online Learning schools with five thousand or above enrollments offer web learning. The survey held by the Babson Survey Research Group and co-sponsored by the Pearson, OLC (Online Learning Consortium), and Triton Partners.
Courses offered by educational institutions are adding distance learning program. This ultimately leading to the recognition along with the revenue generation. There are knowledge agencies who aim profit. These education agencies provide support for campaigning of the course and server. In return, they get a share of profit from the schools.



E-learning in curriculum 
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Massive open online courses (MOOC) offers e-learning with extensive divergent courses. It engages top educational institutions and faculty. Since it is free, institutes which for so long has ignored online learning are now integrating into their curriculum. These institutes have realized that online learning shoves off cost pressure with scope to offer varied courses. Most importantly these new age courses with digital study material and affordable university degree fulfill the aspiration of the students who aim to pursue such course at abroad.


Learning support 

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To benefit the students Universities and Colleges have taken technology to a new level. A dedicated app for smartphones and tablets been launched. Students sitting on with PC or laptop can also login to the University and College website to study. Students can interact with faculty via online audio-video mode. It helps the learner to get support from the educator.


Affordable online degree from the UK

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Most students or the employed search for a low-cost online course. As online distance learning is not cost burden, Universities and Colleges offer cheap online learning. The cost affordable courses attract students as it hardly puts the burden on their finance. In England, students and employed search for low cost online course. As online distance learning is not cost burden, Universities and Colleges offer cheap online learning. The cost affordable courses attract students as it hardly puts burden on their finance. Hence, affordable online degrees from UK is attracting students from different parts of the world.


Ascending and growing 


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Online education is an effective and career development oriented. E-learning comprises integrated system of learning with interactive high definition audio-visual graphics making online learning interesting and relevant. Universities and colleges providing professional online distance courses, a student can surely bank upon the new age learning method.


We would like to know from you. Comment below with your thoughts and opinion.


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Wednesday 28 October 2015

How To Evaluate The eLearning Performance?


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It is very important to know whether the investment in your in the training via e-learning is giving you a payback for your money. In order to evaluate the process, here are some quick methods to follow:


Kirkpatrick’s four-level evaluation model

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The tool used to measure the training performance is known as Kirkpatrick’s four-level evaluation model. It comprises of four stages such as


1. Reactions


2. Learning


3. Behavior


4. Results


Among the four steps mentioned above, step1 was easily measurable, but the step2 and beyond were quite difficult to account. Recently few developments have been made to scale the learning process survey.


Step 1: Reactions Of Students: 
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The modern evaluation tools come with the inbuilt analysing provisions that gauge the reaction of the students through few simple steps even if they are conducting their courses online. The feedback received from the students are then divided into varies sectors and evaluated to bring upon an imperative effect on the online training process.



Step 2: Learning of the Students: 
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The most suitable technique to judge the positive impacts of the training module is to conduct a "pre and pro" assessment test. This means before the training conduct a test to gauge the knowledge content of the candidates followed by another test at the end of their training. This will give you a benchmark data regarding the impact of the training and how well it was conducted.


Step 3: Behavior Change: 
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Step 3 comprise the evaluation tools that deal with the behaviour and change in the skill sets of the candidates before and after the training procedure. If the training had made a positive and constructive impact on the candidates if would be easily visible in their work report. In cases where it is difficult to quantify the visual effect of the training, data reports are collected and analysed to make a conclusion. The best way is to appoint a supervisor or manager who would work closely with learners to assess their behavior and capabilities both before and after the training.


Step 4: Effects On The Business: 
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It is the final step of judge that ultimately concludes that whether the online training has made an imperative effect on the business. Sometimes it might be a long-term process as the effects may not be immediately reflected. Whereas in some cases like the sales departments, the effects can easily be noticeable by the changes in the sales figure.



The Final Takeaway:

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As the role of learning inside organizations changes with time and business requirements, so will the evaluation tools need to be modified to imprint the actual data of those e-learning modules on the business.


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Saturday 24 October 2015

UK Schools Adopt Chinese Style Lessons

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A study conducted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development found out that school children in the UK had stagnated in recent years as compared to China and other east Asian countries.


Chinese Schooling System :


Chinese education system believes in evening classes, curtailing the lesson break to indulge more in the key subjects and also to encourage serious measures to stop children from bunking STEM subjects.

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Elizabeth Truss in a speech said, “Teachers need to learn from the Asian tigers to ensure pupils catch up with their peers in top-performing countries.”
International League urges that the UK kids are up to three years behind those in the Far East.

Addressing the Oxford Conference in Education, Mrs Truss said, “We need to be much more ambitious. Our ambition must be to out-educate the rest of the world. Until we agree that doing well is an unequivocally good thing and that it is attainable by all, we will continue to waste talent.”
In order to upgrade the quality of the global students and focus more into education, the government should adopt measures like staging an hour-long after-school classes in place of homework tasks and eliminating time-wasting during the day and converting that into an additional half-hour “enrichment” lesson.


Check out the opinion of various educationists and student counselors on the merit system of China.


The Change :


The UK Government organised a paid trip for a team of leading teachers of UK to China, last year to find out how schools in China have successfully improved the standards of maths and science and indulged the young minds into them.


Depending on the Chinese curriculum, a report had been prepared to reform the UK education system. These are few amendments suggested:


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1. The “slack time” on the day sessions should be cut down. The wasted minutes are cumulatively converted into a 30-minute “enrichment session”.


2. Teachers could utilise the “enrichment session” to squeeze in additional “fast learning activities” for pupils in maths.


3. To utilise the evening timings effectively, schools have to introduced a series of hour-long after-school maths classes – in place of homework.


4. The report also suggested additional changes such as including advanced maths topics for younger primary school pupils, focus on mental arithmetic and also providing in-service training for teachers.

Mrs Truss said, “Our ambition must not just be to catch up with Germany and Poland but to overtake them,” she said. “Not just to learn from the Asian tigers but add to it – do it better, smarter, more creatively.”
UK schools should engage more into running a longer day session and teaching into the evenings and weekends to raise standards. The new rules unveiled last year, get the privilege to purge out the traditional schooling system and offer extended learning modules to all primary and secondary students.


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A Department for Education spokesman said: “In 2010 only a handful of schools were allowed to offer a longer school day. The government is giving all schools the freedom to set the length of the school day and term to meet the needs of their parents and pupils.Teaching children in high-quality lessons after school mean pupils have access to the excellent facilities and teaching available at the school, with clear benefits to children’s attainment.”

The Bottom Line :


The growing IT skill gap among the younger generations in the UK, have raised the eyebrows of many. In order to tackle the further skill gap in the UK economy, the education system needs to re-restructured to bring in the interest of younger minds in science and maths.


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Wednesday 7 October 2015

Is Online The Best Way To Study Business?

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Want to get a business degree? Getting ready to boost your career by studying business? But are you ready to bear the heavy weight of student loans? If not, then you need to consider online business studies. Today you can find numerous quality business management courses online that help you acquire necessary skills and earn an accredited degree. In fact, with growing demand for online courses, opportunities for studying online are increasing exponentially. Take a look..

Why go online

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Many experts believe that eLearning can prove to be an effective tool for college and business education as over 39 per cent of learners in the UNC system pursued at least a single online course during the 2013-14 academic year. Although online learning primarily helps those learners who are unable to pursue traditional classroom based courses due to various reasons like financial and geographical obstacles, still female learners and African-American students are mostly overrepresented in eLearning.

Marty Kotis, chairperson of the Online Education Working Committee and member of the UNC-system Board of Governors, said “It serves people that are trying to balance their lives. They’re trying to balance work and family and going to school. It also serves people that are in rural areas as well.”
He believes that by studying online learners can avoid students debts and other costs like housing and travel expenses costs related with a traditional B-school or university experience.
Kotis added “In online ed, you don’t have all those extra fees sitting in. So if you look at it that way, it’s about half the cost — not to mention the opportunity cost.”

He spoke about a female learner at the Winston-Salem State University, who utilised online courses to earn a recognised degree as her existing job prevented her from studying a traditional course.

He added “I think the flexibility is critical — the asynchronous nature of the education — so they can choose when they’re learning is key.”
So if you are also planning to earn a business degree then accredited online diploma in management courses can be certainly beneficial for you.


Best way to study business

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By studying business online you will be able to understand the core business concepts as well as develop required management and leadership skills in the most flexible and convenient way.

Moreover, you will also develop a thorough understanding of how a business works and will be able to lead your company towards success. By pursuing an online business diploma you will be able to become an effective manager and business leader in a flexible and affordable way. This will allow you to work and study simultaneously and land the next big promotion.


But do online business courses offer you adequate interaction opportunities?
Jenna A. Robinson, president of the Pope Center for Higher Education Policy, said “You can set up online forums or opportunities for chatting online, but it’s not the same as having a Socratic discussion in a classroom together.”

An exciting way to learn

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However, Marty Kotis believes restricted interaction can actually be beneficial for online learners.
He said “Think about in a lecture class how much you actually communicate with other people. You don’t really.”
Moreover, with the utilisation of gamifcation, use of digital games for learning, online business education can reach the next level.

Kotis added “This is really an exciting time for students and the opportunities they’re going to have because of online ed. We are just at the starting point of this.”
What do you think? Feel free to share your thoughts and opinions with us by commenting below.


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Thursday 1 October 2015

The Launch of Kio Kat at The BRCK To Revolutionise Education

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Africa one of the developing continents in the world map , has still been facing a lot of problems. It reached technology yet problem arises when it tries to grasp technology in its fist. These problems still hinder Africa in various ways.


Expensive technology


Africa already witnessed the beginning journey of the mobile technology and it is quite correct to say that the utilisation of it is not seen but applied. The fact that worries is that technology still remained unreachable to many children in the continent because of its expensive quality and it becomes strong obstacle for the children to move it.

The light of hope


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The Lighthouse Grace Academy in Dagoretti, Nairobi, is the part of a superb pilot programme for a new initiative on education. It will provide the glimpse of technology oriented teaching in the emerging market.


The BRCK educational programme was launched in the capital of Kenya highlighting various educational and other problems of the country.


The Kio Kit

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The BRCK Kio Kit is a roughened tablet that can be easily carried ruggedised suitcase where the device is actually wirelessly charged.

When the web-server is turned on then the 'micro-cloud' represents the same educational data which are normally shown in the online mode without the expensive costs of the data. It happens as the tablet has a Raspberry Pi computer attached with it.

It is nothing but the representation of the friendship of technology and education. Educational contents are supplied from Kenya and from educational giants like Pearson.

The Aim of BRCK


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The aim of BRCK is to help the African students with the help which they need from the internet but are unable to get it. Such entrepreneurial spirit of Kenya is praised by the US President Barrack Obama.

BRCK was co-founded in Ushahidi by Reg Orton and Philip Walton in the year 2013. It took a kickstarter of $1,25,000 and then was raised to $1,70,000.
Walton says “Internet access is equally about power; sometimes it’s more about power,”
The fact is that the Kio Kit is physically stout as well as its software is basically superb in its performance.
Walton further says Now we’re moving the computing power from servers in San Francisco to rural communities with all the power of the internet,” says Orton, BRCK’s chief technology officer.

The hope of the light of hope

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According to a UN report, the BRCK hopes to change the educational system of the continent as it is ready to address the education challenges of 410 million African schools under the age of 14 – a number that is anticipated to 800 million schools children by 2050.

What is more to the Kit is that not only learning but also teaching becomes effective and interesting with it.
The CEO of BRCK says “Where everyone saw wireless charging as a luxury item, we saw it as something to serve the ordinary people,”
BRCK education President Nivi Mukherjee says “We need to make the learning process fun and interesting,”
Walton says “We didn’t think of communities that live on boats, or in remote mountains in Europe,” and Orton adds We’ve always seen ourselves as a Kenyan company. But the problems extend past Kenya.”
Principal Jenga thinks “I believe that it has a very big future, a very bright future.”

Education with technology


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Education needs the help of technology in today's world and it will result in the brighter future of the students – especially those of Africa. The Kio Kit is the guide to them towards the path of the brighter future of Africa.






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