There are many reasons to pursue your education as an adult. You might feel motivated to do so for the simple desire to continue learning throughout your life. Perhaps you never went to college, or you started college and weren’t able to finish. Maybe you are required to receive additional training for your current job, or you are looking for additional training and education in order to get a promotion or another job altogether.

As an adult, there are many reasons to continue your education, and there are just as many issues and obstacles that might arise in striving to do so. In continuing your education as an adult, you might consider taking courses online in order to offset some of those issues.

Going through the process of earning a college degree can be a long-term commitment of 4 or more years. If you are employed and/or have a family, this commitment can be very stressful. But, continuing your education as an adult might be necessary for you to advance in your career. If this is the case, you will need to have a plan of attack before you begin your new adventure in college. First and foremost is communicating with those important to you in your life. This includes family, friends, and even your employer. Make sure that they understand the time commitment that returning to school will require, both in class and out. Make sure you speak to your employer regarding work issues, as well. Discuss flexible work hours or working from home so that you are able to meet both the needs of school and work.
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When it comes to gaining a higher education, online opportunities are quickly becoming one of the most popular options around. If it’s not the user friendly features of online learning, then it’s the cost effective aspects that appeal to the average working adult. This is the person who is greatly interested in the benefits that come from a higher education, just not the rigid schedules and the pricey tuitions that tend to go with it.

The benefits of online learning go beyond time and cost to offer a sense of accomplishment once the new Associate’s, Bachelor’s or Master’s degree is in hand.

With technology consistently changing the shape of the landscape of nearly everything, the history of e-Learning has evolved and continues to evolve into great legitimacy in the world of education. While conventional classrooms still have their place, the virtual classroom is seeing more and more students each year. With the accreditation of online schools offering not only a number of degrees and qualifications, the opportunity for financial aid also makes online venues even more attractive. For some, there is just no beating the practical experience one receives in online degree programs. This is especially true when career advancement hangs in the balance.
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One of the greatest benefits of online degree programs is that you can work at your own pace at any time of the day and on any day at home or on your laptop somewhere. Working on your online degree at home enables you to control the expenses and learn in your own style and will allow you to decide how quickly you want to earn your degree.

At one time one survey found that 55 percent of employers preferred traditional degrees over online degrees but that has all been changing in recent years. People are becoming more aware of saving money and saving the environment by not traveling to on-campus settings and that is becoming much more accepted now with the focus on global warming.

One study found that public institutions were much more likely to offer online degrees than were private institutions. The term online degrees usually refers to college degrees (sometimes including high school diplomas and non-degree certificate programs) that can be earned primarily or entirely through the use of a computer that is connected to the Internet, rather than attending college in a traditional on-campus setting. Today, you can earn a bachelor’s degree, master’s degree or even graduate degree online from a major university without ever having been to or in one of their classrooms.
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The prospect of entering (or returning) to college can be a daunting challenge for most any adult, bringing anxiety and nervousness. From personal experience, I can attest that these feelings are compounded based on a fear of unknown circumstances and unfamiliar surroundings associated with online degree programs. Committing to the pursuit or completion of a degree via an online program is a significant first-step, but there are several preparations you can take that can increase the chances for success and alleviate the preparatory anxiety.

First, if you have not already done so, begin familiarizing yourself with key productivity and online applications. Most of the schools offering online degree programs require the use of software currently in use (and accepted as “standard” in the personal and business computing environment). Microsoft Office applications are some of the most common applications in use, though compatibility improvements between applications will allow the use other software products if you so desire. Access to an Internet Service Provider (ISP) is also an essential tool; I would suggest that you use a high-speed Internet connection if at all possible, as this will improve connectivity and minimize the time spent in downloading course materials and uploading assignments.
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Six sigma is gaining in popularity as one of the most business improvement initiatives. Major corporations such as GE and Motorola implemented six sigma principles for many years. However, in recent years, the six sigma methodology has gained widespread use in hospitals, banks, department store chains, call centers, and many other non-manufacturing businesses.

Healthcare companies of various types are using six sigma projects as change management tools to improve the business.

To those people outside the six sigma knowledge circle, it is somewhat of a mystery. The perception is different than that of lean manufacturing, which the very words at least enable a guess regarding the objectives, although normally incorrect.

Six sigma, at it’s core, is about the reduction of variation. It started out as primarily a set of tools to improve quality. However, these tools have evolved to be used to increase revenue, cut costs, improve flow and cycle times. In fact, six sigma tools can be utilized to assist in solving many business issues. (more…)

TOKYO (AP) - Japanese already use cell phones to shop, read novels, exchange e-mail, search for restaurants and take video clips. Now, they can take a university course. Cyber University, the nation’s only university to offer all classes only on the Internet, began offering a class on mobile phones Wednesday on the mysteries of the pyramids.

For classes for personal computers, the lecture downloads play on the monitor as text and images in the middle, and a smaller video of the lecturer shows in the corner, complete with sound.

The cell phone version, which pops up as streaming video on the handset’s tiny screen, plays just the Power Point images.

In a demonstration Wednesday at a Tokyo hotel, an image of the pyramids popped up on the screen and changed to a text image as a professor’s voice played from the handset speakers.

Cyber University, which opened in April with government approval to give bachelor’s degrees, has 1,850 students. (more…)

Imagine earning a college degree - listening to lectures, taking exams and trading ideas with professors and classmates - without ever stepping into a classroom. As many as 20 percent of college students have traded in campus classes for computer connections.

A fledgling concept a decade ago, online education has become a hefty chunk of America’s higher education system.

More than two-thirds of all colleges and universities are now offering classes over the Internet. In the fall of 2006, about 3.5 million students were taking at least one college course online, more than twice the number in 2002, according to a report by the Sloan Consortium, an online-education advocacy group.

As defined by the Sloan report, online courses are classes in which at least 80 percent of the content is delivered online with no face-to-face meetings. They use computer software through which students can access lectures, assignments and other course materials, communicate with teachers and other students, and take tests. (more…)

More and more young people are choosing non-traditional education to start and advance in their careers while completing and furthering their formal education. “Typical distance learners are those who don’t have access to programs, employees who work during scheduled class hours, homebound individuals,self-motivated individualswho want to take courses for

self-knowledge or advancement, or those who are unable or unwilling to attend class” (Charp, 2000, p. 10). Three key elements surround the online learner: technology, curriculum, and instructor (Bedore, Bedore, & Bedore, 1997). These elements must be keenly integrated into one smoothly and operationally functional delivery tool.

While an online method of education can be a highly effective alternative medium of education for the mature, self-disciplined student, it is an inappropriate learning environment for more dependent learners. Online asynchronous education gives students control over their learning experience, and allows for flexibility of study schedules for non traditional students; however, this places a greater responsibility on the student. In order to successfully participate in an online program, student must be well organized, self-motivated, and possess a high degree of time management skills in order to keep up with the pace of the course. For these reasons, online education or e-learning is not appropriate for younger students (i.e. elementary or secondary school age), and other students who are dependent learners and have difficulty assuming responsibilities required by the online paradigm. (more…)

An educator puts his twist on an idea for a national celebration. It all began with a soft pretzel. Ken Hartman was reading the newspaper when a small blurb - an advertisement for National Pretzel Day - grabbed his attention.Hartman, who is both academic director of Drexel e-Learning and a member of the Cherry Hill school board, was thunderstruck.

“If someone could celebrate Pretzel Day, why isn’t there a day to celebrate the tremendous growth in education in online learning?” Hartman said.

Hartman, an enthusiastic dynamo who has written books about and appeared on television programs discussing the intersection of education and the Web, got to work quickly.

Forget National Online Learning Day. Hartman, who’s worked as a university professor and administrator for 25 years, conceived, coordinated, and got National Distance Learning Week on the map. The nonprofit United States Distance Learning Association even named him chairman of the celebration.

Beginning Monday, schools and universities around the country will mark the occasion with virtual open houses, awards and a series of free “webinars” - seminars available on the Web.

It’s a chance to highlight a fast-growing part of the education sector. (more…)

Online Nation: Five Years of Growth in Online Learning represents the fifth annual report on the state of online learning in U.S. higher education. This year’s study, like those for the previous four years, is aimed at answering some of the fundamental questions about the nature and extent of online education. Supported by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and based on responses from more than 2,500 colleges and universities, the study addresses the following key questions:

How Many Students are Learning Online?
Background: For the past several years, online enrollments have been growing substantially faster than overall higher education enrollments. The expectation of academic leaders has been that these enrollments would continue their substantial growth for at least another year. Do the measured enrollments match these lofty expectations?
The evidence: Online enrollments have continued to grow at rates far in excess of the total higher education student population, albeit at slower rates than for previous years.

Almost 3.5 million students were taking at least one online course during the fall 2006 term; a nearly 10 percent increase over the number reported the previous year.
The 9.7 percent growth rate for online enrollments far exceeds the 1.5 percent growth of the overall higher education student population. Nearly twenty percent of all U.S. higher education students were taking at least one online course in the fall of 2006.

Where has the Growth in Online Learning Occurred? (more…)