The Online Degree Dorm Room

Engineering Degree Online | Stanford’s Online Masters Program

Posted by bposton on November 24th, 2006 — Posted in engineering degree online

I just read about Stanford’s online master’s degree program.

The program is call the Honors Cooperative Program. It’s a degree that you can earn over 5 years by completing 15 courses - and it’s offered as both an on campus or online program. It’s open to 250 students, most of which live in the Bay Area, but quite a few of them live all over the U.S. and overseas.

Students hail from as far away as China and India. All foriegn students are required to hold a valid student or visitor U.S. visa, and they must be proficient in English.

The online students that are admitted to Stanford are held to the same academic standards as on-campus students. This degree which is offered through Stanford Online, established in 1996, is identical to those of other students.

Ben

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Engineering Degree Online | Let’s get personal…

Posted by bposton on November 14th, 2006 — Posted in engineering degree online

I got an interesting note stuck to the online degree dorm room door last night.

It read ‘ “Can you tell us a little more about yourself, Ben?”

Hummm. well, I kinda like my privacy. Actually that’s one reason I’m here promoting the online degree programs. In my opinion, you can keep things a little more private with an online class than one in a traditional classroom.

You don’t have sit in a 200 seat lecture hall, and you don’t have to worry about how you look (not that I worry much about that anyway )

And you can keep a lower profile - if you want to. Just make sure that you are responsive in your online classes and discussions. You can’t hide in the back in an online class - the prof can see how much you’re contributing in the online chats and discussions that class is having. So make sure you speak out, and speak your mind. But you don’t have to tell them what shampoo you used last night, either.

But in the event that you really MUST know a little more about me. I’ll give you these juicy details:

1. I live in North Carolina (if you’ve been reading the posts you already know that)

2. I have a family. A wife and 3 daughters (I’m blessed!!!)

3. I’m re-living my college days through my daughters OK not true…well kinda true…

4. One daughter in college, another one starting next fall, and another the fall after that!

(OWE is me!!)

I’m pretty convinced that an online degree is NOT the right thing for them. But I will be talking to the oldest about attending a graduate school online. That’s where the biggest bang for the buck is right now. But who knows? In a couple of years my youngest could be sitting at home attending a online class…as long as she cleans her room first

Enough about me - let’s talk about YOU - and how YOU can get a degree online that’s right for you and your goals!

Ben 

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Engineering Degree Online | A Three Part Primer about Online Degrees - Part 1

Posted by bposton on November 8th, 2006 — Posted in engineering degree online

Someone stuck their head in the online degree dorm room last night and asked:

So, Ben - can you give me a quick primer on taking online courses or getting a
degree online?

Well, it’s going to take a few posts to complete it but here’s the first part:

Part One - Make sure your program is legit:

Ok, so I hope you know by now that taking courses online is a great way to further your
education while keeping your day job.

But how do you separate the reputable programs from the diploma mills that are just out there  to
make a profit from giving you a worthless peice of paper?

If you’re considering getting an online degree, the most important point to research
is the school’s reputation. The first thing I’d do it I were looking in to an online program is its accreditation:
If the school has not been properly reviewed, your diploma could be meaningless in the eyes of potential employers.

Here’s the thing - Online colleges and graduate programs are expected to meet the same standards
as traditional institutions. so they should be reviewed by one of the six regional associations that are
recognized by the U.S. Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation.

You’ll probably see this accreditation somewhere on the home page of the programs’ website.
If you can’t find it, here’s what you need to do:
Locate the school’s physical headquarters through its website, and
then check with the accreditation association that covers that region.
You also can search the Department of Education’s list.

The next thing you should do is find out how long the college or university has been offering online
courses and/or degree programs.

Even if it’s an established and reputable traditional colleges or grad schools, if they’re first starting
out with online programs then they might not have their act together just yet, and their fumbles can hamper
your learning. I mean, who wants to have to deal the technical difficulties when you’ve got a paper to write?

OK, that’s about it for part 1. In my next post I’ll discuss the type of PC skills you need
Ben

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Engineering Degree Online | Jamacia invests in E-Learning

Posted by bposton on November 5th, 2006 — Posted in engineering degree online

Here’s a recent news story that I thought was pretty interesting enough to post in the online degree dorm room.

The Jamacian government is getting ready to invest $50 million in an an e-learning project, which they hope will
increase the quality of their secondary teaching and learning process.

It’s supposed to be a 3 year program involving 150 schools and 100 public libraries. The money will provide them with
computers and software and internet access, as well as a comprehensive set of standard ICT-based instructional materials
for teachers and students

This effort is to help Jamaica keep up with the rest of the world in e-learning, but a big problem there is the demand
for Internet access, which is low compared to developed countries. To address this the strategy is to increase the use
of the Internet in schools, which will increased the internets exposure to students and their parents.

Way to go, Jamacia, fire up that internet, ‘Mon’

Ben

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