Saturday, March 29, 2008

Picking Up the Tab for University - Online

I was bored with all the dumb stuff everybody wanted me to do after class, so I thought about some better way to spend my time and energy. All that money we hear about being spent online - how does that work? Here's one way to look at this.

What's with all these profits I'm hearing about from a couple off campus friends and their e-commerce ventures, considering how they seem so thoroughly involved and passionate with what they're doing? They warned me that some of the online success stories are totally bogus. Some are filled with hype and flash and it's useful to be skeptical of those.

But some stories - telling of legitimately making hundreds of dollars a day - within the first few months online - some of these are true. Some determined entrepreneurs, starting from scratch, now bring in even a thousand dollars some days - and sometimes within their first few months. These are special cases, admittedly. But it is do-able.

Even if you have no prior experience marketing online, but just your personal determination and vision, along with a clear sense that SOMEBODY is making that money (it might as well be you) then with a little willingness, you can begin working toward a piece of that same success yourself.

With billions being spent online every year, and real online growth expected to continue expanding for at least the next five years, I'm convinced this is worth giving a careful look and consideration.

First, as a grad student, give yourself some real credit:

To have come this far with your studies is a powerful tribute to your perseverance and self discipline. These qualities of character can be precious touchstones as you begin creating and building your business online. Or in any venture life brings.

All the decisions to keep on, to persist with your studies when you see so many fall away, having to move on; this shows a willingness to be true to your personal vision, to keep believing in a future worth working for, even amidst a culture that's changing and re-patterning itself almost daily all around. That this determination still holds somehow even as you see the vision might need to be revised along the way, there's wisdom in knowing this, in giving yourself proper credit.

Second, develop your personal vision, give it a full life and wings.

Give this some real juice - so the dream can have some passion. Take time with this. Write the vision down, in the most active terms you can. You'll want to re-read and re-write this magical vision as it becomes more detailed and rich for you. What would it be like if you could afford the life you want? Imagine being unencumbered by debt, able to take on any new project you like. Shaping, massaging and cultivating your personal vision can be central in supporting any meaningful success in life. There's an old saying, "Where there is no vision, the people perish." A well tended, written vision can lead to your heart's desire.

Third, be willing to explore opportunities - outside the box - beyond the obvious.

You can create your own personalized sense of what a new online business might look like, writing your own version of what the specific opportunity can mean for you, in terms of paying for school, covering regular bills, extra cash for weekends and travel, enjoying that special date on occasion, imagining even more to come. The specifics, well detailed, will draw you to them as they unfold more precisely in the future. Set your course directionally.

Again, let me remind you, there are billions of dollars paid for products online every year, with many well known merchants depending on outside advertisers - that's potentially you and me - helping bring customers to their sites. Everything from dating services to computers to vacation packages, to credit card offers, cell phone services, on and on and on. There are connecting sites where you can search for businesses compatible with your vision, ready to help set up links, at no cost to anyone but the end merchant. They track your clickthroughs and when there's a sale, you get part of it. The payoff can add up quickly - a couple hours daily of honest, disciplined work, with a fair measure of persistence - and within a few months you can begin seeing hundred dollar days yourself, provided you stick with it. It can happen even sooner if you really go at it.

Finally - realize, know, understand, believe, consider again - that you are absolutely worth making this extra effort, putting in the extra couple hours a day to create your own real business, nurturing your dreams, watching money flow into your accounts, first a trickle, then a stream, then a reliable source for paying your way to the life you want and deserve. But you have to keep your focus - that's why the personal vision is so important - make it as clear and flexible as you can.

So, take a friendly pass on the chatfest down the hall, back off some on the YouTube sessions reviewing the latest hot videos, do the rain check thing with the next party at some friend's place back home - if these folks are true friends, then they have to want you to succeed, regardless. If not, why are you wasting your time?

Maybe one day you'll be telling them how they too might build a successful website, creating their own satisfying piece of this e-pie.

Imagine your life a year from now, where might you be? Three years from now? Five years? If you had the means to accelerate your progress today, to evolve with confidence into your personal vision, might that be worth some serious consideration?

Many of these businesses are in fact started and sustained with little more than a hundred dollars, wisely managed - a modest amount that can be repaid in the first couple months by carefully working the penny pinching strategies which are detailed for you online.

Many decent people, with every imaginable vision, are giving this a second look. You can succeed here as well. There's room online for all of us, as we each have something unique to offer.

My personal vision has me graduating debt free, with a financial freedom ready for whatever life has to offer. How about you?

Jess Freer is planning to finish his schooling and move into a new home sometime next year. He's envisioning his studies completely paid for at the time of his graduation. http://mypieceofthe-e-pie.com

Friday, March 21, 2008

What is Your Career Future With An Online Psychology Degree?

Career opportunities in psychology continue to grow rapidly to meet the demand of today's stressful living environment. Specialties in psychology fields such as organizational psychology, forensic psychology and sports psychology will bring you greater future than ever. If you are interested to start a professional career that related to cognitive, emotional & developmental potential and pathologies of the human experience, than getting yourself a bachelor or graduate degree in psychology is required to help you enter this challenging and financially rewarding career.

The traditional campus-based psychology degree program is not the only option for you to earn a psychology degree; you can choose to pursue a psychology degree online. The advantages of online psychology degree in term of flexibility of study at any time and from any place can benefit you if you prefer to follow your own pace of study progress and have a learning environment at your preference location such as your comfort home. Many highly reputable universities have made their psychology degree program available for online students. You can choose one that best inline with your career goal. With the available of internet communication, getting the online degree information is easy, you could even request free but details information regarding the degree from the universities.

With a psychology degree, you have choices to enter many psychology professions. Among the popular psychology careers that aimed by most students are:

1. Clinical & Counseling Psychology

Clinical & Counseling psychology is one of the largest and most popular fields in psychology. A psychologist in this field deals with the causes, prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of individuals with psychological problems. You could work on individual practices or be employed in schools, colleges, universities, hospitals, and other mental health facilities.

2. Forensic Psychology

A psychologist specialized in forensic uses the knowledge of psychology in various form such as consulting with attorneys, treating mentally ill offenders and analyzing a criminal's intent mindset. A degree holder in forensic psychology can also choose to focus on his/her career in research of human mind and behavior, ranging anywhere from examination of eyewitness testimony to learning how to improve interrogation methods.

3. Sport Psychology

If you like to analyze how the psychological and mental factors influence the performance in sport, exercise and physical activity, choosing sport psychology career is a right choice for you. As a sport psychologist, you may also need to involve in assisting coaches to work with athletes to improve their motivation.

4. Careers That Out of Psychology Fields

However, with a psychology degree, your career is not limited to only psychology professions. In fact, many psychology graduates started their employment in related to health and social welfare such as health service management, human resource management, health education, teaching and public relations.

Summary

The career opportunities for a psychology degree holder are huge as the market demand for psychology expertise keeps increasing. With a psychology degree, you could find yourself a challenging and financial reward career in your area of interest. If you are interest in psychology field, don't worry about your future career, you just need to focus on completing your degree program.

Jullie Harvard is an author who writes on various education related topics. To find Online Psychology Degree, Health Care Degree Programs and other online education information, visit http://www.your-online-degree.info.

Friday, March 14, 2008

Learn All About Bachelor Degree Programs

It is a well known fact that people who have graduated from one of the top degree programs will have a great professional advantage when seeking employment. The bachelor's degree is considered the mark of a well-educated person who has the right skills and training for thousands of respected occupations, and you can easily find many good degree programs to choose from.

College degree programs are commonly found in four-year colleges and universities; while not all vocational schools, trade schools or community colleges offer BA degrees, many do. Bachelor's degrees fall in the category of undergraduate studies, and take about one or two years of additional study beyond a two-year associate's degree.

It usually requires a minimum of 120 to 150 semester credit hours to complete a bachelor's, and degree programs are often divided into two main types - Bachelor of Arts (B.A. or A.B.) and Bachelor of Science (B.S. or B.Sc.). Generally, the difference between Associate Degrees and Bachelor Degrees is the time involved and depth of the course of study.

These days, there are a number of good colleges and universities also offering bachelor degrees online. An online degree program allows the student a great deal of flexibility in the amount of time it takes to get to graduation. Students who give 30-40 hours a week to online studies can accelerate the learning process; others may wish to devote less than 20 hours weekly and take a number of years to get to graduation.

DISCLAIMER: Above is a GENERAL OVERVIEW and may or may not reflect specific practices, courses and/or services associated with ANY ONE particular school(s) that is or is not advertised on our website.

Copyright 2008 - All rights reserved by Media Positive Communications, Inc.

Notice: Publishers are free to use this article on an ezine or website, provided the article is reprinted in its entirety, including copyright and disclaimer, and ALL links remain intact and active.

Please visit SchoolsGalore.com where you can research vocational schools, colleges and universities offering some of the best degree programs in the US and Canada.

Michael Bustamante is a staff writer for Media Positive Communications, Inc. Find Bachelor's Degree Programs, and research accredited Colleges, Universities, Vocational Schools, and Online Schools at SchoolsGalore.com, your educational resource to locate schools.

Friday, March 07, 2008

Top 30 Ranked Best Buys - Online MBAs - AACSB Accredited

In 1989, when I began surveying online MBA degrees, there were only 5 accredited options in the USA.

Today, as of February 2008, according to data collected by my distance ed research firm, there are 168 distance MBA options: 62 of these offered by graduate business schools accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB).

The good news: if you seek a quality business degree online you need not attend a no-name school. About 30% of online graduate business school programs I surveyed in 2008 hold AACSB accreditation. This ratio is about the same for brick and mortar B-Schools.

AACSB accreditation is considered by many the gold standard of business school accreditation. The fact that escalating numbers of universities are delivering through distance methods helps confirm elearning as a respectable choice for learners across America.

Elite B-Schools on my personal list of distance MBAs include Babson College's F. W. Olin Graduate School of Business, Indiana University's Kelley School of Business, Duke University's Fuqua School of Business, and Thunderbird Graduate School's Garvin School of International Management.

If you're looking to earn your MBA online, you'll save thousands, perhaps tens of thousands by doing a thorough cost comparison.

My 2008 survey of 62 AACSB options revealed online learners should be prepared to pay as little as $7,848 or as much as $106,400 for an AACSB accredited distance grad degree in business administration (MBA).

In 2008 the number one "most affordable" option is East Carolina University (North Carolina), a public institution with a modest cost of $7,848 for an online MBA degree for state residents. (Non-Residents will pay significantly more ($26,064) for this same degree.)

Duke University, a private Ivy League institution, also in North Carolina, is the most expensive option at an estimated $106,000+ for their Global MBA option.

According to my national data, the average cost you could expect to pay for an AACSB accredited distance MBA is $32,200.

Any best buy option for a distance MBA that is AACSB accredited should cost less than the national average ($25,000 or less).

If the AACSB-accredited distance MBA program you are considering costs more than this you should continue shopping online.

Be careful of schools that seem to pop up everywhere in sponsored searches. Private for-profits (which advertise heavily online) will cost two to three times more on average than your local state university (and more than 80% of state colleges now offer their degrees online!)

Look for your best buys to come from colleges you already know and trust -- backyard brands from publicly supported universities such as the University of Wisconsin, Colorado State University, and the University of Massachusetts.

Vicky Phillips designed and directed the first online counseling center for elearners on AOL in 1989. Today, she is chief education analyst at GetEducated.com, http://www.geteducated.com, America's first online degree clearinghouse. She oversees GetEducated's national surveys, designed to help consumers rate, rank, compare, and analyze the thousands of edegrees available to them today.

Sunday, March 02, 2008

Course Management Systems - Handling Online Assessments for K12 Students

Managing an online course using a course management system can be a daunting task for teachers. One area of concern for teachers is how to handle online tests and other assessments. Teachers using a course management system for assessments have several options and this article will cover tips and suggestions for making an online assessment go smoothly.

Have Clearly Written Instructions for Online Tests and Assessments
When a teacher develops an online test in a course management system, they need to be sure they have provided clear instructions. Students need to know when the test will take place and how long they will have to take the test. If the online assessment has a firm deadline penalties for not meeting that deadline need to be expressed to the students.

Teachers need to inform students as to the format of the test. It is important that online students know whether the test will be multiple choice, short answer, or essay as this helps them better prepare.

Teachers also need to let online students know what materials they can use for the online test. This could include their textbook, notes, formulas or whatever materials they might need to refer to for the online test.

Students Need Timely and Meaningful Feedback in Online Assessments
For a teacher using a course management system there are many ways to provide feedback. Most course management systems have methods built into their systems that allows online assessments to be automatically graded. Those grades distributed to the online students as soon as student complete their test. This sort of prompt feedback loop is important to the online learning process.

The most easily given feedback is simply providing a grade, but students want, and expect, so much more. Providing meaningful feedback in an online course is crucial for online students. Online teachers need to go the extra mile and provide individual comments for students on online assessments. This feedback could take the place through methods provided in the course management system or through email. Most course management systems also have the ability to provide question-by-question feedback. Teachers should use this feature to re-direct students to areas of content they missed on the online test.

With a mastery-based assignment students will need to be able to re-submit their projects several times. Prompt and detailed feedback will help students meet the demands of a mastery-based assignments.

Teachers also need to find ways to accommodate students with disabilities when they take online tests. This could mean providing the online assessment through a certified testing center with a qualified assistance available for these students.

Designing and delivering online tests and assessments can be challenging. Using the built-in tools of a course management system, including an online testing tool and automatic feedback through an online grade book, can make the process easier. Even with the assistance of these tools, the online teacher still needs to provide clear instructions and give their students prompt, personal, and meaningful feedback.

Susan Bond is a part of IQ-ity.com - provider of a top-rated Learning Management System for schools seeking to teach courses online. IQity's LMS includes an online study guide for the Ohio Graduation Test (OGT). Ohio teachers can add a product review of OGT practice tools and help other teachers.