Engineering Degree Online | A Three Part Primer about Online Degrees - Part 2

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

Here’s part deux of my quick primer on taking online courses or getting a
degree online

So how much PC skill do you need?

Well, if you’re reading this I’m gonna assume you have some skills with a PC  :-)

Here’s the skinny on how much skill and PC power you need to take an online degree program.

First of all, Universities and colleges hire companies to help them develop their E-learning programs,
at least from the technical end of things. In doing so, they try to make sure that those technical details
of “going to class” online are so easy enough that anyone who has surfed the Web can do it.

What kind of comupter do you need?

Well, I’ve taked about this in an earlier post, but bascially any Internet-ready laptop or PC
should be enough to tackle the class. However, it’s still a good idea to check with the school
you’re thinking about attending and finding out what their requirements or recommendations are.
 
You should also try to find out what hours their tech support staff are working during the week
and if their support is just via email, or if you can talk to a live human body on the phone.

Oh, and if you are still living in the dail-up world, you’re in trouble. Taking classes online
will require that you upgrade to a broadband Internet connection of some kind (DSL, Cable Satellite)
so you’ll moste definitely hae to bite the bullet and do that before starting a class.

So much for part duex. Next post will be about what to expect when taking an online class.

Ben

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engineering degree online : A Professor comments on distance learning

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

Here’s an interesting quote from George Gollin, a physics professor at the University of Illinois.

Gollin has studied distance learning, and he says that many online programs are reputable and are a good way for some people to get a degree.

Here’s what he had to say:

“I think it can be a very good way for someone who’s been out of school for a while, has a family, has a job and can’t put down their obligations to increase their education.

For many classes, there’s no reason they couldn’t be taught online, though there are some areas of study that would be difficult to teach from a distance. It’s hard to imagine where you can teach someone to be a modern dancer via distance learning. Physics also may be difficult to arrange, especially with complicated lab work.”

But Gollin said he wouldn’t rule out those types of classes completely.

“I think there are ways to get around some of the things you might think are too hard,” he said.

So here’s a college professor who beleives as I do that getting an online degree is becoming easier and easier. Maybe even to the point of calling it “mainstream”?

OK, not yet, but maybe soon…

Ben

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