Education Assistant » Higher Education

Career Education

admin — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 15:36:57 +0000

A competitive world motivates people to seek a higher education that can mold their future. Career education is a systematic program designed for students. It is a basic and increasingly relevant component of student and adult learning. It includes activities and experiences designed to increase knowledge of self, occupations, training paths, job searching skills and decision-making strategies.

Many schools and colleges provide courses as well as counseling on career education that helps in nurturing the “”whole person”". Career education programs are designed to enable students discover their potential. These programs focus primarily on three interconnected areas, learner, interpersonal and career development. Within these three areas, students acquire an understanding of their critical and analytical skills.

A comprehensive career education program enlightens students on the relevance of their school experience. It is designed to give students a jump-start in their career through exploration of a variety of career opportunities. It is also intended to ensure that each student receives a quality education to prepare for higher education and their first job in a competitive market.

The strategies of career education programs include career contextual learning, which emphasizes the application of academics in areas beyond the classroom.

The programs help students develop learning skills and strategies that they could use in the workplace. It makes them manage and become responsible for their own learning.

Online career education has grown in popularity. More and more people choose online classes over traditional education in the classroom. Universities and colleges are responding to this growing need by offering a wide variety of online programs, classes, and degrees.

Career education programs have proved to be very beneficial for students. They encompass educational plans that define their aptitudes, abilities and values. Students relate their abilities to specific careers and prepare a research project on an occupation, which matches their goals and abilities.

By: Marcus Peterson

E-Communities – The Advanced Phase of Online Education

admin — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 18:09:06 +0000

Community means integrated body of individuals. Therefore learning communities could be defined as a unified body of individuals whose purpose is focused on learning. Learning communities can be brought together in a variety of ways. Schools, colleges and universities are a good example of communities. But there are some communities slightly different from the traditional communities which we see in colleges or university, and are called virtual or e-communities (electronic) or online education communities.

Here the question of address is what makes up an e-community, the theories that help those communities boom, the strong effect that those communities have on the participants, and the issues involved in developing an online community.

E-communities: There is an important difference between diverse types of online education and online learning communities. E-communities or virtual communities are not physically seen but exists in the cloud of internet. E-communities that meet mainly in cyberspace are emerging. Online education cannot be stated plainly by the use of technology since there is usage of different degrees of technology during education. An online course could be web-based, flexible of 1 to 29% of learning taking place online, blended/hybrid, comprising of 30 to 79% online education, or purely online where 80% or more learning takes place online. A recent study on online education shows that 11% of all U.S. higher education students, over 1.6 million people, registered in at least one of their courses online. Today, 57% of academic leaders understand that the learning result for online courses is equal to or better than face-to-face instruction.

With these online communities there is a significant difference because e-communities can grow in any of these circumstances, but internet is a tool and just having the tool would not help in sustaining relationships needed in making a community. The being community-ness of e-communities develop when there is interaction – sharing collective wisdom. This switch-over of ideas, knowledge, and imagination takes place between the learners and facilitators and makes up a mutually entertained experience rather than an experience that is just shared. This exchange of ideas takes place from learner-to-learner or learner-to-facilitator.

E-communities can be successful if there applies the constructivism and adult learning theory. The other element of its success is technology. Constructivism means learners must share knowledge actively and build new ways through which the real experienced based knowledge is shared. In addition, the role of the educator is also a key that will be act as a developing an environment that will promote real life experiences that lead to learning. Besides, educators have also placed an emphasis on the social aspects of constructivism, the collaboration of learners during knowledge acquisition and problem solving. Whereas adult learning theory is an important hypothetical reflection of study since people go for online education mainly after the completion of high schooling.

An obstacle to promoting e-community-based learning there is the complete absence of face-to-face instruction which is practically non-existent. The other obstacle may be the geographical and time-zone differences that hinder the learners from being communicative to other individuals of the e-community.

Technology and instructional design are the other two critical elements of designing an e-community based education. Technology based learning and communication is composed of video, audio, and text programs which could be of synchronous or asynchronous type. There should be some on the lookout consideration that explains which medium for this learning is suitable, when it will be used, and how it should be used be supposed to be included into the instructional design process. Other issues that should be considered in the instructional design process include how constructivism and adult learning theory contribute to making significant the function of the instructor and how they contribute to the sustainability of the e-community.

In conclusion it is obvious that the future of e-communities is certain. In simple words the medium used today for teaching will transform into another form whereas theoretical basis will remain comparatively the same. When there is more data on the effectiveness of various mediums as they connect to learning theories, the design of instruction for e-community learning will become a more precise science. Learner will get the rights to use the best instruction available, irrespective of geographical or time constraints and this will become more of a reality. Students will also be able to make choice of instructors/facilitators that they believe will fit with their learning styles and thus creating a more focused and dynamic model for instruction and learning.

By: Ismail Ahmed Alhashmi

Elementary Education Online – It is Possible to Do This Today

admin — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 08:01:29 +0000

There are a lot of people who want to teach at elementary school. Traditionally, you will need to pursue your education offline at some colleges or universities. Nowadays, due to work or family commitments, some of these people can choose to get this elementary education online. This is now possible because a lot of the colleges and universities understand how popular this is becoming nowadays. They are now making it possible for you to get the elementary education on the internet.

When you get an elementary education online you will be qualified to have a career in teaching elementary and high school students. Getting your elementary education degree online is also known as distance learning. By getting your degree online you are able to obtain the education that you need at your own convenient pace and from the comfort of your own home. You can also continue to work at your current place of employment while you do this.

In order to be able to teach at the elementary or high school level you will need to have a Bachelor’s degree that has an emphasis on elementary education. This is the minimum requirement necessary in order for you to be able to teach. One of the first things that you will need to do is to get an Associate of Arts or an Associate of Science Degree. This is the first step that you need to take. Once you have done this you will need to continue your education to get the Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education.

Once you have the Bachelor’s degree for elementary education, you can go a step further and advance your career by getting a Master’s degree or a Doctorate (PhD) degree that has an emphasis on Elementary Education. With the Master’s degree or the Doctorate degree you will be eligible for a career in elementary schools as well as being qualified to work in higher education institutions.

There may be some extra classes that you may have to take at a college or university but this is something that you will have to check up with the relevant authorities. With most of the elementary education online it is very possible to accumulate one hundred percent of the required credits that you need for your elementary education degree.

There will always be a need for teachers at the elementary level and the high school level. So you need to make sure that you check into all of your options when getting your degree. An elementary education online may be just what you want to do. It is very possible to get your elementary education degree online if that is what you choose to do. You just need to make sure that you check into everything before you decide what to do.

By: Lester Lee

Distance Learning Classes – Why Online Education Is Becoming Popular

admin — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 13:42:28 +0000

Distance learning classes have emerged as an alternative method of getting a required degree. After completing high school, most of the students are not sure about their future. Instead of compromising for a local job at an ice cream parlor, you can clinch better job opportunities by becoming a distance learning graduate. Even if you are looking to get higher education, you can fulfill your desire with the help of distance learning training.

Internet Has Changed The Way We Live

Since its introduction, Internet has improved a lot and now helping people in every corner of the world to improve their lives. Distance learning classes are one such feature of modern technology that has made getting education remarkably convenient. Online schools are one of the most impressive attributes of cyber world.

Now, you can attain a degree from an institute that is many miles away without moving out of your home. Once you do some research in this regard, you will soon realize that this facility is no longer a daydream now and has become a reality. You can learn desired skills from the institute of your liking. The only thing you need to do so is a personal computer connected with high speed Internet.

Many people take distance learning classes very lightly. However, you should avoid any such mistake to be successful in this endeavor. Bear in mind that there is no one to watch your progress every day and you yourself have to make sincere efforts to attain your goal. You have to forsake the habit of depending on tutors while studying.

By: Rishabh Sogani

America’s Declining Education And Its Impact On Society

admin — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 00:59:32 +0000

What does education mean to you? Let’s turn our attention to solving one of the nation’s most important problems, education. Education is one of the most important, if the not the most important foundation that needs to be instilled in today’s children. The fact is that it’s every parents dream to see their children choose and eventually accomplish a higher level of education. Are we being surpassed by other countries, are they quickly becoming the world’s leading authority and provider of higher education?

Its clear that we have a need of higher education. We are in an economy that is based on education, we have doctors, lawyers, engineers, scientists and the list goes on. If we can’t hire the workers with the training and skills we require, major companies will find it necessary to move to those countries where the talent resides. To simply state the position simply as possible, we must hire the best work force in the world to stay competitive. We are outsourcing our needs because we don’t have the level of expertise that is required to maintain our own economy.

The need to outsource is only considered as a last resort because we can’t keep up with the rest of the world. Many times we don’t have much of a choice; we need raw materials and advanced technology to compete and that only comes with an advanced education.

So, how do we maintain our education and not sacrifice our economy? First we must develop self discipline and give out teachers the tools needed so they can make a positive impact. We must do more to ensure teachers have the training to teach the subjects they’re presenting with a deeper understanding of the curriculum. The fact remains “the U.S. has the lowest high school graduation rate in the world”. If we are going to compete in a knowledge based economy we must devote more resources to our teachers. Teachers must reflect an increased focus on science and math to better prepare students and allow them to compete on a global based level.

While other countries are graduating scientists and engineers at an impressive rate our students are straying away from these fields. We have many students that are looking for a quick fix. They are not willing to put in the time and effort to really understand the curriculum. I witnessed this first hand when I was in high school and college. Many students that did their homework the night before, no research or real effort was put into their work. I remember many students that had a great memory and were able to retain just enough to get by.

Understanding is the key to success in anything you do, if we complete our work without a thorough understanding; we will not be prepared for higher “University” based education.
Our education level will play a major role, on whether or not our future will succeed in today’s competitive marketplace. If performance and test scores are declining, who needs to step in and take charge? Should it be our parents, our schools, our government, or a combination? The debate and dilemma will continue, until this growing problem is addressed.

By: Dr. Paul Singh Sran