Online Learning: The “Any” Factor, Education Obtained With Ease

Image Courtesy: goo.gl/axLgXP

Online learning is not the old chapter in the history of education. In reality, within less span of time, e-learning has become one essential tool for acquiring education. In last few years, online education has earned a good reputation with top colleges and universities offering e-learning courses. This added substance of value to the online courses. Accreditation from the recognised body have increased the essence of digital degree. Students having recognised online degree or diploma can apply for further studies. As most of the world universities are accepting the online qualification, there is more option to learning at the digital platform. Besides, the accredited digital qualifications are also accepted by the companies around the globe. As a matter of fact, many companies give importance to the online courses as it gives the impression that likewise individual is more committed towards the goal. Thus the importance of online programmes has increased in the contemporary time. Another thing that has made it special is one can engage in any learning at any time and from any place. Read on.

Online courses in digital world

Image Courtesy: goo.gl/Zeiogx

There are many online education communities which offer e-learning courses. They provide well-designed contents and learning resources to their students. Hundreds and thousands of students enrol in online courses to enrich and enhance their knowledge offered by online communities. One such is Cornell Online Learning Community (COLC) which has decided to offer to learn via online. There are different online learning programmes offered by the COLC. Ranging from hospitality management to data exploration and Systems Engineering to introduction to Macroeconomics and many more. Similar to many other online learning communities offering e-learning courses, COLC extends learning support to students. Online learning communities have increased the presence of education the into the digital domain.

Technology into e-learning

Image Courtesy: goo.gl/NyZrk2

Technology no doubt has made tremendous advancement. And new tech tools in the form of learning apps and software have evolved being greatly preferred by the online learning facilitators. There are many online learning vendors (providers) which assist schools and institute in rendering online learning support to their students. This is provided via cloud technology. For which schools or institutes do not require to install software or applications. All the infrastructure is provided and maintained by the online learning providers. Abreast, cloud techs, apps mobile learning technology has transformed the old style of learning. With mobile devices like smartphones, tablets etc. taking learning was never that simple before. Today, students with smartphone and internet access easily enter to digital classroom from any time and from any location. With technology on the side of the learning, many schools have adopted blended learning into their learning system. The mix of classroom and online learning has worked in the favour of the students and teachers and hence is increasingly preferred by the schools. Find out how technological advancement can help the online students.

Aid Your IT Career With Online Diploma In Information Technology

More presentations from Phillip Morgan

Trend will increase

Online learning is the concept which allows learning from the remote location. Besides, the liberty of learning with an option to select time is something which in traditional education was not there. As the quality of the learning is high, so, there should not be any reason to be sceptical about it. Many have taken digital learning whereas millions are in the mid of their learning. All these factors are together is the reason more students are enrolling to the online learning courses.

Image Courtesy: goo.gl/M11MXw

How online learning is more convenient to traditional education format? Share your valuable thought or experience and post comment.

Article Source: goo.gl/O20AMg

Women Students Are Ruling The Online Learning World

Image Source: bit.ly/1UQcnu5

Online education has become the need of the hour for many aspiring learners and professional who want to earn a higher education qualification and gain relevant skills for career development. Today, you can find a wide range online programmes and courses offered by various universities and online platforms. By expanding the reach of education, online learning has increased the accessibility of education and enabled millions across the world to build their careers by gaining required skills. However, experts have observed that globally there are more female online learners as compared to men.

Why do women dominate the Online Learning Scene?

Image Source: bit.ly/1NC5Qid

Amanda Tutlewski wanted to finish her master's degree in nursing, but as she has 2 small kids and regularly travels a long distance for work, pursuing a traditional course simply did not seem feasible to her. Hence, she decided to study online and began looking for suitable courses offered by online platforms and universities. Eventually, she opted for the online master's programme offered by Simmons College in Boston, Massachusetts. After Amanda moved to Key West, Florida from Indiana with her family after a few months for her husband's career commitments, the move seemed smooth and seamless. After completing more than half of her programme, she claims that she would opt for an online course again without a second thought.

Amanda said “It's convenient and it's flexible.”

The fact is, female learners like Amanda Tutlewski are currently dominating the online learning sphere on a global scale. In spring 2015, more than 70 per cent of online undergraduate level learners were women as per a recent study. At the graduate level, over 72 per cent of learners were women.

Growing volume of Female Online Students

Image Source: bit.ly/1HTdXlr

Latest data from the U.S. News reveals that some online courses at bachelor's level comprise of almost only women. During 2013-14, many online institutions across the US like D'Youville College, Sacred Heart University, @stephenscollege , Dakota Wesleyan University, St. Mary-of-the-Woods College, University of Missouri-St. Louis, saw the highest percentages of undergraduate students who were women. This was observed from the 224 ranked courses from which data were collected, excluding programmes that are female-only. Academic experts believe that there are a number of probable reasons for this evident gender inequality in online education. One of the most feasible reasons is that more women are now keen on earning higher education qualifications in general. A new report released by the National Center for Education Statistics in May 2015 reveled that girls comprised around 56 per cent of undergraduate students and over 59 per cent of graduate learners in fall 2013.

Empowering Women Professionals

Image Source: bit.ly/1Li4MTn

Carol Aslanian, senior vice president of Aslanian Market Research and author of the new research of online learners, believes that another probable reason for the growing number of women in online learning courses may be related to the type of career they have.

She said “Women tend to enter professions where continuous education is needed and degrees and certificates are valued and even required. Education, the social services, the health professions - all have requirements for further education to move up the career ladder.”

Linda L. Strong, associate professor of nursing at Sacred Heart University, Connecticut, supports this claim and believes it is one of the primary reasons why 94 per cent of online undergraduates at the institute are women. Another prominent reason for this trend is the fact that online education allows women to effectively balance their jobs, studies and family commitments, irrespective of their career type.

Even the education consultants agree with this fact. 

Women’s Domination In Online Education. More Women In Virtual Education! http://t.co/jaPJ3XfBLW

— Mark William (@UKMarkWilliam) August 14, 2015

What do you think? Feel free to share your own thoughts, opinions and experiences with us by commenting below.

Source: bit.ly/1JelLDG

How Online Education Can Help Your School Provide Better Learning Opportunities?

In the last few years online education has become an integral part of the learning experience as more and more students from around the world are now pursuing online programmes. However, there is still some scepticism remaining among a segment of education experts and institutions. Some educators believe that online learning provides valuable education and significant teacher-student interaction. On the other hand, some teachers think that online education is inferior to traditional classroom learning and contest associations with external for-profit providers.

Implementing Online Learning

For instance, most of the faculty at the School of International Service at American University were apprehensive about collaborating with an external provider to deliver online graduate education. Most of the teachers wondered how learners could benefit by not attending face-to-face interaction with professors. However, as the online programmes were implemented, the educators discovered that digital learning has its own set of benefits and could actually help students learn better.

But a huge investment of innovation and resources is required to achieve success and to make sure that institutes meet their objectives. This is important as administrators and faculty are committed to teach those learners who are unable attend on-campus classes for different reasons like location problems, family or professional responsibilities etc.

TheSchool of International Service introduced an online master's degree course in International Relations (MAIR) in May 2013. Now over 100 students have already taken part in real-time online classes from more than 13 nations and 26 states. Around 33 per cent of the students are either retired or active duty retired U.S. military. The school manages the admissions, offers curriculum and course content and organises with the university to determine different policies regarding the online programme.

Offering The Right Platform

The educators and faculty take around 7 to 9 months to prepare for the online course, which includes developing study materials so that the learners can study at their own pace by watching videos, lectures, simulations and presentations.

The institute has also collaborated with 2U, which offers online platforms and allows educators to provide live and pre-prepared coursework. Both students and teachers have said the online programmes offer high levels of satisfaction. A recent survey in the school found that around 94 per cent students claimed that the online master's programme is highly recommendable and they would surely suggest it to a friend.

Merging On-Campus And Online Learning

The school eventually invited online learners to the campus for an immersion programme in September. For the first time, students met with their fellow learners in person, whom they have met via their online programmes. The students also interacted with the faculty face-to-face and participated in academic and career advising sessions.

Although there are many challenges in developing and delivering an effective online master's degree programme, but with the right technological platform and trained professors and faculty, any institution can achieve its goals.

Simple Steps That Will Help You to Find the Right Online Programme

Are you thinking about pursuing an online degree programme? But confused about which programme to choose? Well...I can assure you that you are not alone? Most students I encounter ask me how can they determine which online degree programme will be right for them.

Apparently there are numerous online programmes offered by innumerable online colleges and universities from around the world. Many institutes even offer the same programmes but with different course and credit structures.

So How Do You Choose the Right One?

The only effective way is to invest some time and do proper research. In case of brick and mortar colleges, you can easily visit the campus, read the guidebooks and brochures and even consult with the alumni. But in case of online degree programmes there is no such established path that will help you to find and choose the right programme and school.

In fact, it can be even more challenging as most online schools introduce new courses and programmes almost every week. If you search the internet for an online advanced diploma in business, you will find an abundance of websites that will guarantee to offer the best online courses and programmes.

Assistant Dean (for Graduate and Online Programs) at the Washington State University College of Business, Cheryl Oliver, says “There is so much static out there...It's really hard for people to know what is a legitimate degree and what programs are just going to take their money and put them through the motions.”

So what do you do? Simply follow these steps that experts believe will help you to filter information and find the most appropriate online institute and programme-

Check Individual School Websites and Reliable Sources

It is imperative that you check the websites of all relevant institutes in order to find the required information. An official website will provide you with detailed information about the institute and the programmes they offer. Websites that simply rank different schools and online programmes cannot provide you with comprehensive information. In fact, some websites will even ask you to pay money to get the information. Moreover, as some schools pay different portals to get featured, they get more online exposure. Hence the reliability of such information sources becomes doubtful.

Oliver says, “Some schools are paying to be on every one of those sites and now they are prolific. So students are going to continue to see that school when maybe the best bet for them is in their own backyard.”

If you want to get unbiased information and balanced statistics then simply visit the College Navigator tool of the U.S. Department of Education. It can provide you information about graduation rates, tuition fees and other valuable data.

Find Out If Your School is Accredited or Not

According to the Senior Vice President of OnlineSolutions at Pearson, Todd Hitchcock, accreditation is extremely important. The first thing you need to do is to check if your school is regionally accredited and recognised. You should also find out if the degree you want to pursue has programmatic accreditation (if eligible). You can check out the Council for Higher Education Accreditation which maintains a list of all approved accrediting organisations.

Executive Director of Online Learning at Regent University, Todd Marshall, says “Accredited schools tend to mention their accreditation in a prominent place...If you really have to dig to find it, or worse yet, can’t find it at all, that is not a good sign.”

Get Advice from Professionals in Your Field

It is often a great idea to speak with established professionals in your desired field and industry. You can call up HR professionals in your field and ask for their opinions about the institutes that you are currently considering. This will add to your initial research as you will get real-time feedback from industry professionals about your online programme and school. It will give you confidence about your qualification and you will be able to plan ahead for your future.

Speak to the Faculty and Students at Your School

The experts believe that after you have filtered your search to a handful of programs and institutes, you need to contact the staff, faculty and students at the schools. The officials at the schools will be pleased to respond to your queries and provide you clarifications about their services. They can also help you understand if the programme you are considering will be suitable for you or not. Moreover, you should also speak with the officials at the student service and find out about remediation and tutoring services.

Apart from these, the experts also suggest that you get in touch with the faculty members as this will give you an idea about the involvement of the teachers in the class. Bobbie Harris, Online Instructor at West Virginia University, says “You really want to vet the type of professor they are using because a lot of them are adjunct and the quality of those professors can range.”

However, the most important part is that you contact the recent or current students to find out the relevant information. According to Assistant Clinical Professor at Northern Arizona University, Corrine Gordon, “I don't think all programs are going to be 100 percent honest. Have that peer-to-peer conversation. That's something we think is very important.”

Check Tuition Fees of Different Institutes

Apart from the steps mentioned above, you also need to find out about the tuition fees as it may vary greatly depending upon the institute and programme. If you want to get enrolled in a reputed online International Business School, then find out about the tuition fees charged by different online business schools for your desired programme. This will not only help you to get a better idea about the fees, but you will also find the most affordable programme that will meet your requirements.

These steps will guide to find the most suitable online institute and programme and make the selection process simple and more effective.