The Online Degree Dorm Room

Engineering Degree Online | What, no High School Diploma??

Posted by bposton on November 12th, 2006 — Posted in engineering degree online

I got a question one of my online degree dorm room buddies who asked:

“I’ve got a friend who never finished high school, what are his chances at a good career?”

My answer - not very good

Folks who don’t have a high school diploma will earn $200,000 less during their lifetimes than those who
graduate from high school, and at least $800,000 less than those who have a college degree.

That’s according to stats published by the Educational Resource Information Center.

But here’s the good news…

Nowadays, if you never finished high school you have a huge variety of options to help you earn that diploma.

Here’s one example; The Liberty High School Diploma Program gives you a way to get a high school diploma by way of
distance learning. 

This program is offered by a company called Careertel, and it’s approved by the Vermont State Board of Education.

It’s pretty convenient for folks who are busy and can’t take time away from work.

Exams are submitted by mail, faculty advisers offer help by phone and course
material is provided with each class.

So what about the GED?

Well, studies have shown that a student with a standard high school diploma, as opposed to an equivalency
certificate, has a better shot at getting a job, all other things being equal. They also stand a better chance
of getting through college.

For more information about the Liberty program, call Careertel at (800) 820-4202.

Ben

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Engineering Degree Online | Community College Student Leaders Drop POA

Posted by bposton on November 11th, 2006 — Posted in engineering degree online

I just heard that the student trustees of the Orange Coast Community College in Costa Mesa, CA voted the other day to drop the Pledge of Allegiance from their meetings.

The vote came after an intense meeting during which one POA supporter called the leaders anti-American radicals.

3 of the 5 trustee board members voted for the pledge to be dropped from their meetings.

One of those voting for dropping the pledge argued that the pledge inspires nationalism, violates the separation between church and state with the phrase “under God,” and is irrelevant to the business of student government.

He used a evidence for his claim a 2002 San Francisco federal appeals court ruling that the pledge is unconstitutional when recited in public schools.

Sorry my friend, but that ruling was dismissed by the Supreme Court.

There were several students attending the meeting to support keeping the pledge. One of them waved an American flag and accused the board of “radical views and anti-Americanism.”

I guess that’s just another topic that doesn’t come up in my online classes

Ben

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Engineering Degree Online | Housing Bust creates online learning Opportunity

Posted by bposton on November 11th, 2006 — Posted in engineering degree online

OK, I guess I shouldn’t call it a Bust…:-)

But the fact is that housing sales are down. Ah, but there’s a silver lining…

Why am I taling about housing sales and what does that have to do with an online degree?

Well, just hear me out my door room buddy, especially if you’re a Realtor…

The fact is that sales are down pretty much everywhere. According to the October 2006 Freddie Mac Economic & Housing Outlook, home sales for this year are expected to fall 9 percent from 2005 figure.

And projected sales for next year are even worse. To prove the point, sales of existing and new homes in August were down 12 and 15 percent, respectively, from 2005.

So what’s a Real Estate agent to do?

Try going back to school for that degree!

If you’re an agent who wants to remain competitive, then you should think about these points made by the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics:
 
1. As real estate transactions have become more legally complex, many firms have turned to college graduates to fill positions.

2. A large number of agents and brokers have some college training.

3. College courses in real estate, finance, business administration, statistics, economics, law, and English are helpful.

4. For those who intend to start their own company, business courses such as marketing and accounting are as significant as courses in real estate or finance.

Here’s some more facts and figures:

According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR) Member Profile, back in 2001 about 26 percent of Realtors had bachelor’s degrees and they earned 30 percent more than Realtors without degrees.

The 2005 NAR Member Profile now shows that 20 percent more Realtors (46%) now have at least a bachelor’s degree.

So if the market is slowing and your workload is decreasing, maybe now’s a good time to consider getting that online degree.

Ben

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Engineering Degree Onilne | The IGeneration prefers online education

Posted by bposton on November 11th, 2006 — Posted in engineering degree online

I had another note on my online dorm room door last night, asking:

“Can you define the Internet Generation?”

Well, I’ve always wondered myself, so I began a search to find out.

What I found was that, officially, it’s anyone born between the years of 1985 abd 1999. It’s also called the IGeneration, which directly followed the MTV Generation.

This iGeneration has grown up with the rise of the Internet, most of whom do not remember pre-Internet times. More than 85 percent of this generation uses the Internet to check and/or send email every day, reports Greensberg Quinlan Rosner, a research and strategic consulting firm.

And here’s another important fact. Studies indicated that 66 percent of them have an interest in online education. Due to thier knowledge of technology, it only makes sense that these upcoming college studens will have an increased interest in online degree programs.

On a side note, it was also found that more than 65 percent prefer to be contacted by email over other methods.

In fact, nearly two thirds (64 percent), of this group agreed with the statement that “I don’t know how I would keep up with my friends or family if I didn’t have the Internet.”

More than 32 percent use email as their primary source to conduct business, communicate with friends, make purchases, and have exchanges with family members.

Ben

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Engineering Degree Online | The college textbook ripoff - one student’s campaign

Posted by bposton on November 10th, 2006 — Posted in engineering degree online

OK so here’s a little good news. Looks like we’re starting to win some of the battles in the textbook wars.

And online degree programs are in the front lines…

With the advent of computers in the classroom, the greedy textbook publishers started to add digital tools-video clips, interactive lessons, databases, DVDs etc packaged with the books. Of course, that drove the costs up.
So students (and even some professors) turned to the Internet to look for the best bargains.

And with online education technology, we’re finding out that with these new cyberteaching tools on the Web that maybe, just maybe, they don’t need that old-fashioned textbook at all.

HA - take that you greed publishers!

In fact, one Northwestern student took matters into his own hands. After hearing other students echo his frustration, he started a website called textbookrevolution.org, which links visitors to a variety of free college-level, digital textbooks on the Web.

Little by little, we’re winning the war on high textbook costs…

Ben

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Engineering Degree Online | The college textbook ripoff - continued

Posted by bposton on November 10th, 2006 — Posted in engineering degree online

OK, I’m rested now and ready to finish my expose on the college textbook scam…

Again, to recap - it’s a 6.5 billion dollar business. The costs have risen 186% since 1986. The average student book bill is 900 per year…

ahrgggg….

Here’s another thing. Publishers are saying they have to include more and more material to serve as many people as possible, and that’s why they costs keep going up.

Of course, that also means that the darn books get stuffed with so much “stuff” that it’s impossible to go thru it all during the course!!!

double ahrgggg!!!

Here’s another thing. since these publishers are bundling disks, workbooks, and website access into a textbook, they’re not playing fair with the textbook resellers. That’s because once these type of bundles are opened, like courses with DVDs inside, they can’t be resold. So these publishers are doing everything they can to end the used book market

Yeah, I know. theres alot of reselling options on the Internet. For example there’s the every popular ebay, half.com and even independent outfits like varsitybooks.com and ecampus.com. But you know what? their slice of the business is a small fraction of the total textbook market. A 2006 report by the NACS found that 23 percent of students buy their books online and of those online sales, a third are from the websites of existing campus bookstores.

So what’s a student to do?

Write your congressman…

Seventeen states have recently proposed legislation to help curb the rising costs of books, including the requirement that schools post the international barcode number of each of the required texts so that students can shop for them online. The new Connecticut law also even require publishers to tell professors what the books cost before the professors assign their students to buy them. I guess that might make a different.

In my next post, I’ll tell you about a student who took matters into his own hands…

Ben

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Engineering Degree Online | The college textbook scam

Posted by bposton on November 10th, 2006 — Posted in engineering degree online

OK, it’s time for me to jump up on my soap box again…

No, it’s not about diploma mills (but don’t get me started on that one…)

This tirad I’m about to start is about the ripoff regarding college textbooks.

Ripoff? Absolutely…

Get this - the basic introductory physics textbook for college students has remained pretty much the same in the past 100 years, or longer. So it really bugs me when a freshman physics student has to buy a new textbook that’s about $160., even though the one he used in high school probably has the very same material.

Students all over the US are struggling as it is. So add to that whammy of college costs increasing, now they have to beg, borrow and steal to afford the textbook that the good ‘ol professor tells then they need, and then NEVER uses it in class!!!

:-(   In fact, double

Here are the facts, my dorm room buddy…

There are thousands of textbooks published each and every year, and add them all up and it’s a $6.5 billion dollar a year business.

That’s “Billion” with a B

Don’t take my word for it. That figure comes from the National Association of College Stores.

Fact - The cost of the average college textbook increased 186 percent between 1986 and 2004, according to a study by the Government Accountability Office.

And why, pray tell did the costs go up so mucn? well, according to the GAO, it was “explained” that expenses of developing and bundling additional materials like CDs, DVDs, and websites that supplement the traditional pages kept going up.

Gimme a break…

So now, the sad fact is that the average book bill for the typical student is about $900 a year.

Of course it’s even more if you’re enrolled in like sciences or art history, which use required reading that is particularly expensive to produce.

Boy. these tirads make me tired…

More in my next post
Ben

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Engineering Degree Online | Online Museums engage the Xbox Generation and beyond

Posted by bposton on November 9th, 2006 — Posted in engineering degree online

Talk about starting them off when they’re young…

I read an article that suggested that parents concerned about their kids spending too much time in front of the Xbox should consider that a lot of these games take place in ancient lands that the kids could learn more about and therefore make the gaming experience a learning experience.

So I turned off my Xbox and read the rest of the article…

It mentioned that one of the best ways to engage Xbox kid in the learning process was to have them log into the Web sites of the larger science and natural history museums.

It appears that today’s museums are using their online presence more and more to appeal to kids at a sensory level. They are putting together collections and bringing them to life for online viewers by setting up online stories, games and activities, which help parent who are looking for an educational way to keep their you Xboxer’s entertained.

And going to a museum online has a few advantages, including:

 - It’s free (my favorite) and ready when you are. No driving or parking required.

 - You can get their from anywhere. And you don’t have to wait in line.
So think about this for a moment. Where do you think today’s little Xboxers will taking college classes? In a stuffy old classroom, or in front of their trusty computer in a online environment that they’ve grown up with?

Ben

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Engineering Degree Online | Library Scholarships awarded at ECU

Posted by bposton on November 9th, 2006 — Posted in engineering degree online

Here’s an interesting news story I can across. East Carolina University (in my home state of North Carolina) just awarded eight scholarships to recruit students who were seeking careers in libraries.

EDU’s Department of Library Science and Instructional Technology presented the scholarships, the first for Library Science majors, to eight (and very happy) bookworms in NC.

The scholarship provides full tuition in ECU’s master’s in library science, which is a completely online degree program. Over the next 3 years the plan is to award a total of 45 scholarships.

The mulaa for the scholarships came from a grant from the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services. The goal of the grant is to allow existing librarians to continue working in their local communities while going to school to become licensed media specialists. This in turn allows school districts in rural areas to have licensed media specialists on staff that they may not otherwise be able to recruit.

Pretty Cool, huh?

Ben

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Engineering Degree Online | A Three Part Primer about Online Degrees - Part 3

Posted by bposton on November 9th, 2006 — Posted in engineering degree online

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

So, what’s it really like taking an online class?

OK, here’s the deal.

There are basically two types of online classes. The first kind of class taking is call
asynchronous - a techie term that means the class is not actually scheduled. The professor
will set a particular deadline for assignments and tests, but then you work on your own through
the lessons, anytime you want to - day or night, just so long as you get the assignments and tests
done by the time they are due.

Then there’s the other kind of class-taking which is labled synchronous. This is when both the students and
the professor log in to a website at regular, preset times for online discussion about what the subject matter might be.

Either way, this is way different from going to an actual classroom. No desks with bubble gum under them
no way to raise your hand. And no heavy book bags (that’s my favorite).

However, since most classes use technology like instant messaging, online video lectures, etc an online
class can be every just as interesting and engaging.

Think you’ll miss the classroom environment? Well, if you enroll in an online degree program offered by
a school near where you live, you might be able to attend some of the classroom lectures.

But my guess is you won’t miss a thing.

Actually, a lot of students have said that taking a course online is more challenging than a traditional class.

That’s because it requires more disipline to log in regularly to complete your assignment than getting to a traditional
class, especially where the workload is often bunched around tests and writing assignments.

And you can’t hide quietly in the back of the classroom when you haven’t done the assignment. The comments made in the online chats and posts on the website will tell the professor actively engaged you are.

So it is different, but in a very good way.

Think about it this way - where else can you show up for class in your pajamas and unwashed hair and not worry what
your classmates think of you?

Ben

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