What does it mean to be truly successful as a college student? Does it mean that you have earned the highest grades, completed every assignment with ease, and never received negative feedback from your instructors? It is unlikely that you will ever meet all of these conditions because the process of learning is evolutionary. And [...]
As a student, it is almost certain that you know how to quickly find information for your assignments. But the question is: do you know how to find the right type of information needed and, more importantly, do you know how to effectively process it? If your instructor tells you to “demonstrate critical thinking and [...]
When you decide to invest in the cost of a college education, you are making a significant financial decision and one that should be carefully thought out. Due to the rising costs of obtaining a college degree, along with the record level of student loan debt, a new requirement called the net price calculator has [...]
American workers waste approximately 2.09 hours each day — and that’s not including scheduled lunch breaks. So where’s that time going, and how much is it costing?
Making a transition from high school to college can be a daunting task for some students. One method of making this transition easier is to become a dual enrolled student, which means you take college courses while you are still in high school. If you have thought about going to college after high school, this [...]
A recent article in the Wall Street Journal proclaimed that “across the country, schools are rushing to introduce entrepreneurship classes,” and “self-help books for business founders are topping the best-seller lists.” This may be a sign of economic growth or a matter of necessity as many people try to find gainful employment during an [...]
Not for nothing is chess known as “the game of kings.” No doubt the rulers of empires and kingdoms saw in the game fitting practice for the strategizing and forecasting they themselves were required to do when dealing with other monarchs and challengers. As we learn more about the brain, some are beginning to push [...]
The Occupy Movement aimed at Wall Street is now similarly focused on higher education and, more specifically, student loan debt. Current estimates place the nation’s student loan debt at $1 trillion dollars, which exceeds credit card debt according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Building on the attention gained by Occupy Wall Street, [...]
The Millennials now represent the largest generation with an estimated 101 million adults in this category. This presents a significant need for career and educational opportunities. However, is the higher education system prepared to meet their academic needs, which ultimately influences their career options? Can generalizations about the Millennials, such as a “can do attitude” [...]
Most people would agree that every student has a right to receive a college education. The problem for low income students is that they have more than a financial challenge to overcome; they also have fewer options with regards to their access for higher education or the schools that may consider their application. And the [...]
TED (Technology, Entertainment, and Design) represents the best things about the Internet … and sometimes the world, for that matter. With the click of a button you can be inspired, educated, encouraged, wowed, or entertained by speakers from all walks of life. If you've been thinking of cancelling your cable, TED Talks would be a [...]
The classroom lecture has critics proclaiming its death. In a recent article on Chronicle.com, Lecture Fail? Students and Professors Sound Off on the State of the College Lecture, the clips presented student perspectives on ineffective lectures. One professor responded indicating that students are responsible for being engaged and present in class. My previous post Replacing [...]
Find out what speed reading can and can’t do for your reading abilities.
Students have access to a large volume of information through the Internet and online library databases, and many new or inexperienced students believe that as long as they are using the information for their school work they are exempt from copyright rules. This is not the case because copyrighted work is still protected; however, allowances [...]
Even ardent anti-bibliophiles can still love and appreciate what libraries contribute to the human race. They peacefully preserve the integrity of documents with academic, creative, technical, scientific, and historical significance, without which mankind could never move forward. So losing any of them in horrible ways – whether through natural or other disasters – means leaving [...]
When you hear The Donald’s name you may think of real estate investment, self-promotion, presidential discussions, and of course, The Apprentice. Do any of those topics seem like something you could learn from as a student? It may surprise you to realize that Donald Trump can teach all of us something about education – instructors [...]
You’ve thought about taking an online class but perhaps you aren’t certain if this is an effective way to learn. Maybe you aren’t familiar with the methods that instructors are using now to create an interactive learning environment or you believe that your involvement in an online class is nothing more than reading a textbook, [...]
There is little doubt that we are part of a video-based generation now. Recent YouTube stats indicate that there are “2 billion views a day (on YouTube), 24 hours of video uploaded every minute, and the average person spends 15 minutes a day” watching videos. You will likely find videos are gaining popularity within online [...]
Follow these 40 tips to make the most of the new Timeline while striking a healthy balance between privacy and professionalism.
Developments with mobile learning, along with emerging technologies such as augmented reality, game-based learning and gesture-based computing are adding new and futuristic sounding enhancements for potential use in the online classroom. Now you can add emotion-sensing software and avatars to the list of possibilities for online learning with the introduction of AutoTutor, described as “emotion-sensing [...]
We wish you good luck if you’re trying to make it into one of these super popular classes.
Students beware!! Your actions and interactions outside of the classroom are leaving behind a digital footprint that is accessible by employers or anyone who wants to learn more about you. A recent New York Times blog post, The Growing Business of Online Reputation Management, summed it up best: “As quickly as images, blog posts, commentary, [...]
While TV can be a great educational tool, it can also adversely affect their health, behavior, and family life. Find out what really happens when your child is hooked on the tube.
Creativity keeps humanity moving forward and also stands as notoriously difficult to fully define.
Amidst the many articles and reports about the current state of the economy, another trend is emerging that may have a direct bearing on the degree program that you are pursuing. It’s called a skills gap and is related to the reality recent graduates face as they enter the job market and search for employment. [...]
Threaded online student discussions are challenging. It is easy to simply state “I agree” as a reply to another classmate and then provide an additional sentence that adds little to the conversation. It is very likely that particular discussion will go no further, which means a learning opportunity was missed. What can you do to [...]
What is ethical behavior in an online class? When I ask online students this question, the answer that frequently comes up is centered on issues about cheating. Many students relate ethics to “doing the right thing” and describe how they are guided by an internalized sense of right and wrong. But that is only one [...]
Here are 44 common ways your body may be talking behind your back.
Students interested in online learning are highly sought after by both traditional institutions and online (for-profit) institutions. Cal State Online is one of the latest initiatives developed by a traditional school and it has a potential to attract online students. California State University will soon launch a new Internet portal that will help accomplish the [...]
When you consider the many characteristics and skills you’ll need for success as an online student the one that can have the greatest impact on your performance is self-discipline. It may be easy to simplify this term and equate it to getting your work done; however, it’s not only when you get your work done, [...]
Check out this list to find some of the best book chats you should be checking out.
We can’t escape it. Technology is integrated into many aspects of our lives. College students, especially those attending online schools, will likely have a greater use of technology than the general public, especially if social media use is factored in. Is it possible that you can become too dependent on technology? The term Internet addiction [...]
If you see the phrase “OpenCourseWare” you may associate it with free classes and that’s a starting definition. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) launched an OpenCourseWare (OCW) initiative ten years ago and since that time numerous institutions have implemented a similar program by offering their courses online. And there’s no indication that the increased [...]
The demographic make-up of the United States population is changing. A Pew Research Center report concluded that “racial and ethnic minorities accounted for 91.7 percent of the nation’s population growth over the past 10 years.” As a result of this general population shift, there will also be an equivalent change in the nature of students [...]