Wednesday, February 29, 2012

New Technology and New Solutions in Education

According to experts, today's education consists of students learning through different softwares used on computers and laptops. Nowadays, teachers and students prefer to learn online rather than attending classrooms to receive degrees. Invention of new technologies and solutions has made it possible for people to think of the unthinkable and do the impossible things as believed at least a couple of years ago.
Social Media
Whenever we talk of new technologies, we instantly think of the various social media websites that are rapidly changing the way we interact and share things. Majority of people around the world are a member of at least one social networking site for personal, professional or for both reasons. Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, LinkedIn, and such similar websites are used to make global audience aware of any new products, service or events. Educational institutes have also started using Cloud-based social media sites to promote their upcoming classes and courses to millions of students located worldwide.
Content is Not Tied to the Classroom
The emergence of the internet has made delivery of learning a worldwide phenomenon. Today, students are no longer entirely dependent on traditional classrooms to receive education. It is easily available online and that too within a few seconds. Online teaching has made the educators easily conduct their classes using a computer with an internet connection. They can instantly upload their course brochures as well as take examinations and provide certificates to students without the need to personally come up and receive the same.
Increases Students Engagement with the Class or Course
Newer technologies and online solutions allow teachers stay in constant touch with their students residing in various far off places. Teachers can keep the students engaged through live discussions on any lesson or project. Learners can also develop a greater attachment with the teacher and other students through real-time connection, interaction, and sharing of thoughts and ideas. Recent addition of mobile devices (smartphones, tablets, iPads, and more) has resulted in anytime delivery of course content directly on the students' handset for easy viewing and registering for a class.

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Seven Benefits of Earning a Bachelors Degree in Nursing Online

A bachelor in nursing surely helps boost your career, opening you to more high paying professions in nursing. But when it comes to earning this degree online, many of us are quite uncertain about taking this step.

It is natural to feel this way because many of us maybe have never studied online before and therefore are a little wary. In truth getting a bachelors degree in nursing online proves to be quite beneficial, and exactly how?

You can get the answer to this question by learning about the 7 benefits of earning a BSN degree online:

Choose When You Want to Start

Online nursing schools offer students the possibility to register into programs at different intervals throughout the year. Therefore you do not have to wait for nearly half the year for enrollment.

Graduate Fast or Take Your Time

Because of the online program of study you can get hold of your bachelor degree in less time than it would take at a traditional school. Also you can expand the time period of your degree as well so that you can meet up with your other commitments.

Save up on Tuition

Yes earning a bachelors degree in nursing online proves to be quite affordable. This is mainly because the school does not have to spend much money on infrastructure and other commodities to facilitate students.

Easy Transfer Options

If you have a thought of switching your study to a different program the credits can be easily transferred as well. The only matter which is taken into consideration is the accreditation of the institute you are enrolled in.

Helps You Build Skills

Most online learners possess strong management and organizational skills. You can acquire such skills as well as it is on these two principles the proper progress of your bachelors degree in nursing online depends upon.

Lets You Study and Work

One of the main reasons why online nursing degrees are popular is because of the convenience they offer everyone. Due to this format of learning it is quite possible to work and study at the same time.

Is More Accessible

You can review classes and lectures whenever you want again and also have a direct relation with the faculty members. These features are not quite found in any traditional nursing program.

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Five Advantages of Online Class Registration

Whenever the time approaches for the start of a new academic session or organizing a class, one may envision the following scenario: How many staff will I need to employ to manage the class registration process? What will be the expenditure on printing hardcopy registration forms? Who will man the Registration Desk and for what period of time? The number of questions that keep bombarding one's mind is endless.

Incorrect utilization of resources and time can make the registration process a nightmare for the educational institutions. Even smaller schools and kindergartens struggle to make the registration process easy and simplified for teachers, students and administrators. Online class registration offers a wonderful opportunity for schools to efficiently create and manage the entire flow of information smoothly. Implementation of such online processes, eliminate, the usage of paper to shift to a centralized creation, publication, and management location.

Let's start discussing about the 5 important advantages of online class registration

It Saves Time!

School administrators can save valuable amount of time by adhering to a Cloud-based class registration system. Conventional paper-based registration requires time in purchasing paper to print the hardcopy forms. Online registration can help avoid wastage of time by allowing creating forms with just a few clicks of a computer mouse!

It Saves Your Hard-earned Money!

Cloud-based sign up process saves money on purchasing papers, postage stamps, and envelopes. Besides, additional expenditures on salary payments can be totally ignored if there is no requirement of employing specialist staff for this purpose. Printing class brochures or catalogs also can be prevented if a web-based process is in operation.

Remote Access to Documents and Information

Anyone, from any location, across the globe can view and access class catalogs, class calendar, and such similar information and course materials over the internet. Online registration gives the convenience of accessing class-related data, 24 hours a day from any remote location.

Students can Log Onto the Registration Website, 24x7

Potential students can at anytime log onto the registration website to access forms, fill up the same, and finally submit it without having to physically travel anywhere. Transportation expenses which were previously a deterrent for students does not pose that threat anymore.

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

E-Learning - The New Process of Learning in the 21st Century

With easy access to the internet in recent years, the concept of e-learning has earned soaring popularity worldwide. E learning offers utmost flexibility and coupled with ease of access, has opened up new avenues of learning, simultaneously widening the boundaries of the knowledge delivery process. With collaborative and interactive aspects developing rapidly in the Learning and Development industry, e-learning has introduced new ways of imparting education.

E-learning refers to a learning process, where knowledge is gained online through a digital interface. The interactive or collaborative environment is created using inputs from texts, audio, video and graphics in a more synchronized and interesting manner. E-learning has made the concept of participative method of learning popular. In this process, a student is no longer bounded by the four walls of a classroom. He or she can take part in a bigger and more dynamic learning environment accessed through the World Wide Web.

The unique feature of "custom development" has made E-learning increasingly popular among students and teachers alike. At present, specific study materials, depending on the requirements of the learner are developed to deliver through the E-learning platform. Nowadays, a large number of people are enrolling for online tutorials, which have been specifically designed to cater to their requirements and interests.

Here, take a look at some of the primary advantages of E-learning.

•When it comes to E-learning, distance is no longer a hindrance in the process of delivering knowledge. You can learn anything and everything from any corner of the world, if you have access to the Internet.

• E-learning helps create flexible learning content as per the requirements and the capacity of the learners. With top-notch technological solutions, content management is always a hassle-free job.

•The fundamental structure of learning courses is the virtual classroom. In this process, you no longer need to go to school and can learn right from the comfort of your home. It is a special learning environment, where training is delivered online as and when required.

•Finally, online tutorials nowadays are offering online educational degree. With enormous study material, interactive sessions between the learner and the tutor, E-learning mode is no less than a conventional classroom session. Moreover, students and teachers can post reviews, comments, and ask questions, which helps to expand the knowledge base.

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Why K-12 Schools Should Be Using Blended Learning

K-12 schools are rapidly introducing online education and blended learning to offer high quality courses by expert teachers. All 50 U.S. states and over half of the school districts have conducted at least one online class for their students. Thus, online learning has, indeed, captured the education industry in a big way. Many U.S. schools, colleges, and universities have started introducing blended learning to offer a unique experience of online and face-to-face teaching to the student community.

Blended learning programs come in various forms and types such as;

1) Teaching through traditional K-12 classrooms and additionally providing access to some learning materials and coursework through emails, thus establishing the system of online learning.

2) Dividing class activities into conventional and online plans through the introduction of Learning Management Systems.

3) Delivering majority of the curriculum online via the Learning Management Systems (Moodle, and more) , with some face-to-face discussions taking place as and when required.

4) Providing online hand-held experimentation due to shortage of teachers.

5) Allowing students to learn online as well as through face-to-face sessions with the teachers.

Instead of completely doing away with conventional classrooms, many educators prefer to conduct K-12 courses through the blended learning process. This process allows teachers to conduct regular classes whilst allowing potential students to register and pay for additional classes over the internet. Moreover, teachers use the popular Learning Management Systems to create classes online. It is a great way of saving up on both time and administrative costs for educational institutions.

Academic administrators don't have to worry about searching for a venue to conduct their K-12 classes, as they can easily use Learning Management Systems free of charge to immediately start a fresh course or a semester. Besides, K-12 schools can use such online platforms to upload all learning materials, course catalogs, assignments, and examination details in real-time. Students can view all course schedules 24x7 as well as download important class-related information, in a hassle-free manner. In case of clarifications sought regarding the classes, they can simply contact the academic staff to clear all doubts. Such is the significance of introducing blended learning in K-12 schools.

Indeed, blended learning has the potential to transform traditional brick and mortar learning to a more dynamic student-based learning experience. It allows teachers to take advantage of a computer-based learning format while occasionally interacting through face-to-face discussions with the students. Academic institutions that can't afford to completely switch over to a modern, digitized learning set-up find this blended form a better way to address the students' demands of giving them free online access to coursework as well as allowing them to give examinations at their convenience.