Online Education News

The Most Flexible Option for Adults Returning to School

August, 12, 2009

Online education is the best option for adults interested in returning to school. For adult students going back to colleges or universities, distance learning is the most flexible choice for adults with full time jobs or busy schedules.

Continuing education For adult learners faced with competing priorities and demands on their time, distance education has its advantages. For many, the best alternative is an independent study program, which permits the learner to have control over where and when they study.

Two keys to the successful completion of an independent, distance study program are the ability to plan and the discipline to complete the course assignments in a timely manner. As an added benefit, learning at a distance can also help develop important time management skills that can be utilized after graduation and lead to greater professional success.

The educators at the Independent Learning Centre (ILC.org), Ontario’s designated provider of distance education, offer this list of suggestions to help distance education students develop time-management skills:

• Plan: At the beginning of every week take a few minutes and plan your week. Be sure to include as much detail as possible. Colour coding a schedule can help you identify family time, appointments, and study time.

• Be flexible: Remember, plans may need to change. Be prepared for changes and learn how to work around them.

• Learn as you go: As part of your weekly planning session, review the week before and incorporate changes in your plans going forward.

• Take time for yourself: When living with a busy schedule it’s important to re-charge your batteries once in a while, even if it is just a short break. Enjoy a cup of tea or, take a short walk or read a magazine. By doing this, you’ll feel rested, relaxed and ready to take on the next assignment.

• Be creative: If you have a 45 minute commute on public transportation bring along your required reading.

• Finally: If you have children, plan to do your homework while they are doing theirs.

Source:

"News Canada. School again, on your time 12 August 2009. 21 August 2009.

Available Federal Student Aid

July 11, 2009

$83 billion in federal aid has been granted to nearly 14 million post secondary students and their families. A federal site, www.FederalStudentAid.ed.gov is website with instructions on how to qualify for federal student aid. The detailed information at www.FederalStudentAid.ed.gov includes all types of federal student aid including grants and work study. Also highlighted is how to avoid scholarship scams and information about borrower’s rights and repayment information.

Major Study Finds Online Learners Perform Better

In a ninety three page study, the US Department of Education has found that online students performed better than their traditional peers. The study mainly compared continuing education adults who were receiving some or all of their instruction online to those who only had face to face instruction. In standardized tests, online students were in the 59th percentile while their traditional peers were in the 50th, a statistically significant difference.

What does this mean for online education? Online education will continue to grow. With its individualized programs and “learn by doing” methods of teaching, distance learning has many advantages. More students will continue to go online and the amount of programs should also increase bringing learning communities out of the classroom and into the online world.

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