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 : No Child Left Behind…in College?? - Part 2

Posted by bposton on October 21st, 2006 — Posted in engineering degree online

Here’s part 2 of the quote from Eugene Hickok about how the government is trying to making colleges more accountable in how they educate their students.
“The Intercollegiate Studies Institute recently released a report from the National Civics Literacy Board, on which I serve, showing what sort of information the public needs and why it is so important that it be available. The study tracked student knowledge of American history and civics at select colleges and universities, with the goal of determining how much students learn in these subjects over four years of college. They measured the change in knowledge by evaluating freshmen and seniors.

And the results were appalling: college seniors failed the civic literacy assessment with an
average score of 53.2 percent.

This sort of information is important for tuition payers, policy makers and institutional leaders to have when trying to determine the difference a college education can make. Institutions of higher education need to report an academic bottom line.

While they’re at it, colleges and universities must make it a priority that their students graduate. While most tuition payers assume a baccalaureate degree takes four years to complete, the truth is it takes typically more than six years. In 2003, only 34 percent of graduating students had completed their degree in four years or less.

There are reasons for this, some of them understandable. But in far too many institutions, the emphasis is on enrolling students, not on graduating them. And far too often, that includes enrolling students who are not adequately prepared for higher education, and who therefore drop out after one or two semesters of struggling, or else spend most of their time in remedial or developmental courses that are not really college-level. Behind the impressive numbers of low-income and minority students enrolled in higher education are grim statistics regarding completion for a degree.”

Eugene Hickok, a fellow at the Heritage Foundation, was a deputy secretary of education during President Bush’s first term.

The final part 3 of this quote is coming later today…

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