Online Learning Research

One of the hardest things about being a new mom is deciding when to go back to work. Some moms stay at home for a few years, and some moms go back to work as soon as their maternity leave is up. There‘s no right answer, because it depends on the particular family situation a mom is in. One thing is certain though, moms everywhere want to have a good balance of work and family time, without sacrificing too much for either one.

While a lot of moms love working a regular weekday job, it’s not always the best thing for mothers who need something more flexible. There’s a good chance that some moms who are thinking about returning to work want something that gives them enough freedom to accommodate family time, baseball games, vacations, and work. For them, returning to school to get an education degree may be the answer they are looking for.

If flexibility is something a mom needs, being a teacher may be just the right job. When you’re a teacher, you will largely have the same kind of year-round schedule your child does. Even though Mondays through Fridays are school days, there are many more days off from work in a teacher’s calendar than with an office worker. As a general rule, the days that a teacher has off are largely the same as the days that kids have off, too. Of course, there are some exceptions, like teacher workdays or in service days when teachers go to work but kids don’t go to school.

Trying to scrounge up child care during school breaks will be something you can forget about, because most of the time they are home, you will be, too. You’ll have the same summer break, except for the teacher workdays just before and after the beginning and end of the school year. The cost of childcare will drop dramatically during school breaks, because for the most part you can be home with your kids.

There are a wide variety of education degrees that you can get, depending on what age children you want to teach. If you want to teach younger children at the pre-K level, you can go to school to get an associate degree in early childhood education in about two years. In many associate degree programs for early childhood education, the state certification process is included in the degree itself.

For teaching at the elementary level or higher, a bachelor’s degree is required. Students who have degrees in subjects like history or English will also need to complete an education certificate to teach those subjects, in addition to the degree requirements for their major. Many people who want to teach get their bachelor’s degree in education that has a concentration. For example, there are education degrees for age groups, subjects, or types of students. It just depends on what you want to do. Your academic advisor can help guide you; you can also look on your state’s department of education website for requirements.

Additionally, there are many grants and scholarships available to help pay for school for people who want to receive high levels of teaching accreditation in preparation for their teaching career. The TEACH grant is a federal program that awards money to students enrolled in teaching programs and requires graduates to teach at schools that are identified as having students from primarily low income families. TEACH recipients are required to teach for four years at one of the schools identified in the Department of Education’s Low Income Directory. For teachers who are interested in making a big difference, a TEACH grant may be an ideal tool to help pay for school and giving teachers an opportunity to make a big impact.

Moms who want to have time with their kids, a flexible schedule, and the chance for a fulfilling career can have all of those things with their early childhood education degree. If you need to change careers to something that will give you a better chance at employment, with a good salary and a schedule that meets the needs of you and your kids, you should look into an education degree. The skills you gain through your accredited distance learning degree program might give you the chance to alter the future of a child who’s waiting for just the right teacher to come along.

It’s the kind of news that could give a potential student pause. The Federal Reserve just announced total outstanding debt for college loans is $830 billion. What makes this so newsworthy is it just became the #1 form of debt, beating credit cards by $3 billion. Now couple this with the cost of tuition going up faster than the rate of inflation, and it’s no wonder college students are thinking twice before matriculating. Luckily, there might be a very surprising solution to all this. Colleges are now starting to offer some of their classes…for free.

Yes, you read that right. A number of online universities have already or are starting to offer some of their classes at no charge to the student. Mind you, this is not a full degree by any standard, but it seems to be working so well that many online universities are increasing the number of classes they offer. The reason is simple, if they provide a positive experience to the student, he or she will enroll for a full program…with the free classes counting as part of their degree program no less.

The first thing one should do obviously, is shop around. Not all colleges are doing this. Further, the ones that are just want to give a student just enough information that they end up going for a degree program. That’s the idea of this campaign, anyway. At the same time, they do offer a potential student a chance to, for lack of a better term, test the water before jumping in.

There’s even a more basic question answered than which courses to take. That is what kind of college a student would want to attend. Free online classes may help decide whether to continue learning online or commute to a brick-and-mortar campus. They can even realize whether they are ready to devote time to this endeavor.

The classic example is the working student who might decide to only take a class or two while they hold down their job. This is a strategy that could keep their academic capabilities sharp until they are ready to take on a full-time course load.

Another way they will look good to their employer is they have now proven they can both multitask and go the extra mile to help not only them, but the company. After all, an employee who is willing to voluntarily do extra hours certainly looks good in these tough times. Before one knows it, one could end up getting more responsibilities, and if they parlay it right, a bigger paycheck.

Now if the student manages to prove all this, the company also might be willing to go the extra mile by helping pay some – or even all of the tuition – for the degree program, particularly if their work output doesn’t suffer. If not, one could consult with the college financial aid officer about various programs out there. They do exist, and some are actually grants and scholarships to boot.

The on line degree programs benefit, too. These courses reduce a student’s fear about college courses, thus increasing the number of students who obtain an online degree. For everyone involved, online college programs are a win-win situation.

In today’s workforce, technology plays a more important role than ever before. Many professionals and students could not thrive without computers, and growing numbers of individuals are reliant on the capabilities of smart phones to work remotely or complete online courses. These innovations have made the modern worker more accessible than ever before, and – in many industries – become integral to the workplace. The technologies available to a student are essential to learning the skills needed for today’s workforce.

As a result, individuals who have technical skill sets are becoming highly coveted by hiring managers. Job seekers who are able to adapt to emerging technology can demonstrate their ability to be efficient and constantly available to their employers, which could make them ideal candidates for a position.

For the people that need to learn these skills, online schools might just be the perfect way for them to learn how to use mobile devices. As most schools are starting to provide online classes, workers might learn skills that should allow them to become far more mobile. The things that a worker can learn while taking online classes may be helpful to a person that needs to learn how to use these new technology skills.

Even so, there are companies that are creating programs that will be beneficial to students. A company like Amazon with it’s digital book reading device the Kindle is currently looking to integrate college textbooks to allow students to have an easier access to assignments. Students that do not want to carry or be weighed down by multiple books might find this technology extremely helpful.

Apple is engaged in similar negotiations for its forthcoming iPad device, which may allow students to take notes, record lectures and search through texts. Application developers have also discussed ways to integrate interactive quizzes and video into iPad-based digital books. The iPad has the ability to overwhelmingly change the way a person works and learns while at school.

People that take advantage of these mobile technologies to finish an online degree might be some of the foremost people in learning. Once graduated, some people might find that their employers take notice of their technological abilities as it provides a clear view of their work ability. Being able to use these skills may be how a worker is able to be taken notice of. Many who graduated college more than ten years ago, may want to go back to school online just to learn these new technologies and put them in a better position by their employers.

Those who are currently at a job may be able to keep moving up as they learn new skills. People who take advantage of all the devices and software that is currently out there may become recession proof by knowing just how to use these technologies to their advantage. As more and more online college programs require the use of new technology, the students who participate in courses at online education may enter the workforce at a distinct advantage.

There’s a wide array of technology and devices available to today’s students. Students these days might access information and communicate with smartphones, Blackberries or iPads. Some contend that offerings such as these expand the possibilities for online learning.

Students participating in online degree and certificate programs for the most part access their coursework and participate in studies through the Internet. Many online college and university programs are flexible in that students can schedule time for studies when they’re not working or tending to family responsibilities. There are other methods of online learning as well.

Second Life, according to the DailyCollegian.com, might become the next virtual classroom. Through Second Life, participants utilize “avatars” to represent themselves in a virtual reality world. They create the avatars with distinct appearances and can have them walk or fly the globe and travel between teleports. Some aspects of Second Life are free, while others might be purchased. Several colleges and universities reportedly maintain campuses on Second Life’s 3-dimensional islands.

It’s been called the “classroom of the future,” according to what a 2006 CNN report suggested and one where Science Daily in 2007 cited that attending class was “otherworldly.” Second Life’s education community was growing as early as then, according to a 2007 New York Times article. The site at that time had more than 1,000 education listserv subscribers; library groups were running public islands, and universities opened their islands to others for sharing ideas. On Second Life, students were able to participate in chat discussions and devise multimedia presentations, The Times article noted.

Unveiled as a social network in 2003, Second Life might allow students in childcare, teaching or psychology programs to benefit via structured scenarios, the DailyCollegian.com noted. The site’s potential for collaboration, immersion, aesthetics, creativity and social interaction appealed to at least one computer science and engineering professor from a Florida university, according to the Science Daily article. This particular instructor guided students on a Second Life tour and discussion of digital objects, the article noted.

A professional association of educators working to improve instruction through technology also has a Second Life presence. The group is known as the Association for Educational Communications and Technology. One of the drawbacks of Second Life: When avatars fly above students trying to focus on a class discussion, it can be distracting, according to what an Ivy league student told CNN.

Students enrolled in online degree and online certificate programs do have other options for interacting as well. They can communicate via an internet program known as Skype, which is like a video telephone. So long as their computers are equipped with web cams, students on Skype can see and collaborate with others in real time regardless of their physical distance.

Facebook and MySpace also provide opportunities for students to collaborate on different projects. Those who are studying from the same textbook might chat or establish groups or forums on one of these social networking sites. Through the forums, they would be able to post information, thoughts and ideas.

Learning in the future is going to be amazing, with what seems to be almost an unlimited potential. What’s so exciting is that so much of this type of learning is available right now. There are online school programs for any goal, from certification to associate to PhD. Degree programs from accredited online schools offer everything the on-campus counterparts do, just faster and more conveniently.

Students who want to study for an area where jobs are expected to open might consider vocational training. Vocational training is intended to provide students the skills they need to land jobs. Recent reports suggest that some of these jobs can be secure and provide attractive salaries.

Over the next 10 years, nearly half of all job openings are expected to be in fields such as construction supervision, machinists, dental hygienists and paralegals, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics forecasts cited in an Inside Higher Education article. Professionals throughout the world have also suggested high school to workforce training transitions that include training for “green” jobs, or those related to the environment.

Professionals throughout the world have also reportedly suggested smooth transitions from high school to workforce training that’s aligned with employer needs and that includes “green” jobs. A speaker at an April Going Global education conference in London said that vocational education specifically has for 10 years played an important role in Europe, according to a Chronicle of Higher Education report. More foreign students in Australia enrolled in vocational programs in 2009 than those who signed up for university degree programs, a Chronicle news item noted.

Studies consistently show that college-educated employees earn more than their non-degree counterparts. The average worker with an associate degree in 2006 earned nearly 33 percent more than the worker with a high school diploma, according to a Brookings Institution policy brief mentioned in an Inside Higher Education report. The average worker with a bachelor’s degree earned about 62 percent more than a high school graduate, this same report noted.

Completing vocational training within two years or less can result in a certificate or an associate’s degree. Information in a “32 Trends Affecting Distance Learning” report suggests that some employers might view certificates, along with hands-on experience, extremely desirable. Those who want to advance existing credentials might find vocational programs offered also into the doctorate degree level.

The Department of Education has recommended that students interested in continuing their studies seek out institutions that are accredited by nationally or regionally recognized agencies. When a campus or online college, university or career and technical school is accredited, it meets standards set by those agencies. Students are more likely able to transfer credits and obtain tuition assistance, according to information from the Department of Education.

Students interested in online degree programs and vocational training can apply for vocational-specific scholarships from organizations such as The Home Depot and the Automotive Hall of Fame, according to a Bankrate.com article. The Department of Labor offers grants to help young and dislocated workers transition into “green” jobs, the Bankrate.com article noted. American workers who have lost their jobs to overseas competition might consider a Trade Adjustment Assistance program that provides paid training for technical colleges and four-year institutions, according to the Bankrate.com report.

Large corporations, non-profit organizations and community and civic groups also offer grants, scholarships and fellowships to help pay tuition for traditional and college distance learning programs. These forms of tuition assistance typically don’t have to be repaid and are accepted by most online college classes. Students can also apply for loans after other types of financial assistance are considered.