The increasing popularity of distance degrees has resulted in the creation of many new words. Both learners and educators have coined new terms to communicate new concepts and ideas that are completely unique to online degree programs. How well can you speak the distance learning lingo?

Are you familiar with audiographics? This is an audio technology that utilizes phone lines to relay information contained in graphs and charts. Of course, you’ll need a line that can deliver information at a high enough rate of bauds per second to do this. (The standard dial-up modem offers about 56,000 bauds per second.)

Compressed video can also be sent over a phone line; unnecessary information is removed so that the information is transmitted more quickly. Don’t be surprised, though, if you experience lag while watching. (Lag is the time delay that often occurs when these images are being transmitted, making it look as though people in the video are stuttering or taking long pauses between words.)

Even if your online degree program doesn’t involve computer science or networking, you probably are familiar with the Internet and your modem, but you may not be aware that many modern machines operate through mechatronics. (This is the use of software and computer hardware to control a machine’s mechanical functions.)

Other terms you may encounter while working to earn a degree online include twinning, parallel-time coop, or audioconferencing. Does your online degree university use other terms to explain concepts used in its distance education degree program? Share them with our readers today!

Online degree programs sound attractive, convenient, and exciting. But how do you know whether you can make the grade? What kind of student does it take to succeed in distance learning degree programs?

Are you a stay at home mom? Do you have plenty of free time while the children are in preschool or taking their naps? If you’d like to advance your career with an online university degree program, you’re probably an ideal student. Of course, you have to stay motivated to succeed.

Military spouses often make excellent distance degree students. Furthermore, the challenges of moving from place to place with each new tour of duty can make traditional college degree programs difficult, which might give you even more motivation and determination to excel at an online degree university.

Do you have a choice? If you have no transportation, or cannot afford the additional costs of travel and childcare, you may find that distance education degree programs offer you your best chance to earn a college degree. If you don’t see any other alternatives, make the decision to make this option work for you.

If you’re a busy professiona with too little extra time for commuting to class, consider distance learning. But remember: even online degree programs require time and energy. If you don’t set aside some time to learn, you aren’t going to get your degree!

If you’ve decided to go back to school and earn a college degree at home, you may experience a brief culture shock at first. Students who get a degree online often find studying and exams more convenient, but there are challenges unique to distance learning degree programs as well. If you have decided to finish your college degree program through an online university, you should be aware of the unique challenges you may face.

You may often find that deadlines are more flexible than in traditional degree programs. However, you have little recourse if you miss a fixed deadline, such as an online submission or post. Although you can argue that your internet service was down (which can and does occasionally happen), you aren’t going to be able to get away with this excuse very often. So, although the program is flexible, you are expected to take responsibility for your own education.

Furthermore, you are expected to be able to use a computer and email, as well as to take responsibility for learning any other computer applications used by the online degree courses you have chosen. While this may sometimes mean a large learning curve, you must be motivated and determined enough to meet this small challenge, or distance education degree programs aren’t right for you.

Some students also argue that nontraditional education offered by online degree university programs doesn’t offer the “full college experience.” While you can’t play college sports, pledge to a sorority, or go to a homecoming dance, distance learning certainly offers a full range of educational opportunities. Only you can decide which is more important for you; education or socialization.

When you thought about becoming a nurse, did you imagine wearing a white uniform, a stethoscope draped jauntily around your neck, racing down a hospital hallway to rescue a patient from himself? Did you picture yourself standing gravely at a hospital bedside, waiting to see whether your patient would make it through the night? While bedside nurses are indeed very valuable, both traditional and online degree university programs offer many other options to people with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing (BSN).

Online college degree programs offer both undergraduate and graduate degrees in nursing. Many other online degree courses and continuing education programs are available as well. For example, some top online schools offer certificate programs in forensic nursing. Forensic nurses are specially trained to help victims of assault and to collect physical evidence that will help policemen and attorneys catch a victim’s assailant.

Others decide to become legal nurse consultants, and offer their expert testimony on a wide variety of issues. Like forensic nursing, this is not a graduate degree program, but rather a post-baccalaureate certification program. These certifications can be obtained either through distance degree programs, by attending continuing education seminars, or at a traditional college campus.

Often, nurses become tired of working at the bedside after five to ten years of caregiving. Through nontraditional distant learning programs such as these, however, nurses can seek new interests and challenges in their profession. Rather than relinquish their skills for another career, they find new ways to use these skills within their chosen profession.

Believe it or not, online degree universities  struggle with certain ethical issues that are uniqe to online college degree programs. The ethical concerns voiced by both students and professors alike involve issues related to cheating, privacy, and the publication of educational materials online. Furthermore, top online schools have made the admirable commitment to making their distance education degrees universally accessible to all individuals, including those who are physically or cognitively challenged.

Cheating is often rampant among college students attending a traditional college or university. Students are so anxious to earn their college degrees that they often stoop to plagiarism or cheating on tests. Some online universities have attempted to address this problem through the use of open book testing, while others require students to be monitored. While neither of these suggestions is optimal, a more effective solution remains to be found.

Another difficulty faced by students taking online degree courses is the issue of privacy. Most distance learning degree programs use software that makes course content, such as outlines, student postings, and discussions private. Occasionally, however, information is made available to anyone searching. One of the problems with this is that many employers have taken to searching the internet to “dig up dirt” about prospective employees, and an unfortunate comment made while taking an online course could come back to haunt a student.

One other problem with online learning is the publication of education materials on the Internet. This can lead to copyright issues and disagreements between universities, professors, and students concerning who owns the rights to the information produced during an online degree course. While the Digital Millenium Copyright Act, which became law in 1998, has offered some protection, this remains a concern.

Students who plan to earn a college degree at home need to be aware of these issues and be cautious about their use of the internet for sending and receiving information. Academic integrity is still important, and it may fall primarily upon the student to maintain this difficult standard. While universities work to extend their course offerings to meet the needs of a wide variety of challenged students, the students themselves should remain aware of these current ethical issues in distance learning.

Free to Earn a College Degree

Less than 150 years ago, more than half of the American population lacked the freedom to attend a university or get a Bachelor’s or Master’s Degree. African-Americans couldn’t even apply to enter a college degree program. Although this supposedly ended with the Civil War, they continued to experience educational obstacles for the next 100 years.

Women also have encountered significant resistance to achieving dreams of a higher education. The first woman to become a doctor graduated from medical school less than 100 years ago. Today, medical college degree programs go above and beyond to enroll female and minority students.

Education has come so far in the last 40 years, and it is exciting to watch the trend continue as more students turn to online degree programs to earn a degree at home. Today, more students are choosing distance learning than ever before. Part of this is a reflection of the rising cost of travel.

A larger, perhaps more significant part, however, is that distance degree students want the freedom to control their own learning. They want to learn at their own pace, using learning styles that best suit them, rather than hearing lectures from professors who have taught the same classes for forty years without adding any new material.

Today’s students continue to seek new freedom in education. Those freedoms are waiting for them at online degree universities nationwide. Isn’t it time to earn your freedom – and take control of your learning?

Distance Learning Online: Educational Degree Programs that Benefit You

Did you get a degree in education, sure that the most important goal was getting your Bachelor’s Degree and finding a teaching job? Were you aware when you began that many school systems and states that allows undergraduates to get teaching certificates often require you to complete Master’s Degree programs within a certain amount of time? Before you get discouraged, consider the advantages of getting an online Master’s Degree after you begin your new job.

If you are already responsible for one classroom, daily attendance in another traditional classroom to earn an advanced degree can be exhausting and time-consuming. For this reason, many advanced education degree students choose distance learning opportunities offered by online degree university schools.  Accredited online graduate schools offer students flexibility and freedom without compromising their academic credibility or quality.  

Students who are highly motivated can complete a Master Degree in Education in as little as fourteen months. For others, who also have family commitments or other work-related activities, such as coaching, the process can take a little longer. This is another of the advantages of online education. You can earn a college degree at home in as much or as little a time as you require!

If you still need to complete your Master’s Degree in Education, don’t subject yourself to the rigorous demands of a traditional classroom. Allow yourself the freedom to complete your degree at home, in your spare time. Study when your students are studying for exams, and take time off when you have major projects to grade. Start browsing the list of top online college programs now and find the one that suits you best!

The Bologna Process: Will American Universities Follow Suit?

Picture starting college without being required to take core courses in English, Psychology, or the Humanities. From the first day of postsecondary education, your courses are designed to focus specifically on the professional path you have chosen. In three years, students obtain a Bachelor’s Degree. After only two more years, students earn a Master’s Degree in the career field of their choice. Five years after graduating from high school, students can take a licensing exam to become medical doctors.

Does this sound far-fetched? If it does, then just look across the Atlantic Ocean. This system of education, known as the Bologna Process, is designed to streamline academic educations and degrees throughout Europe. More than forty countries, from Ireland to Turkey, have signed the Bologna Declaration. These countries have chosen to strive to universalize the number of credits required to gain a degree in a given field. This allows students to attend university in one country or another, without losing academic status or standing as a result of the number of years attended or credits earned.

At first glance, this system seems irrelevant here in the United States. Consider, however, the number of students who obtain scholarships to travel to Europe as college exchange students, or even to complete graduate or doctoral research fellowships. Students who desire to attend Cambridge or Oxford, or any other prestigious university in Europe, would have their transcripts compared to those of European students. Furthermore, how this will affect distance learning or online degree university programs remains essentially unknown.

Students who fail to “measure up” might have difficulty achieving their educational goals in European countries as a result of the Bologna Process. Of course, the fate of the Bologna Process in Europe remains in question. As with any educational endeavor, there are growing pains and learning curves.

The student protests in Europe last month is an indicator of these growing pains. Before the United States actually decides to follow suit, perhaps we are better off waiting and watching - and evaluating the outcome of this intended reform to Europe’s educational system. If it works, we can use it. If not, we can keep what we already have.

For more information about the Bologna Process, please visit: http://www.ond.vlaanderen.be/hogeronderwijs/bologna/.

Valuable courses such as reading programs for adults or English as a second language offer much more than interesting volunteer opportunities. Teaching adults can be a fascinating experience. Adult learners are much different from traditional college or high school students because of the wealth of personal experience they bring to the educational setting. If you enjoy working with adults, you may find an adult education degree well-suited to your tastes.

If you already have an education degree, or have a Bachelor’s Degree in another field, you may be interested in working toward a Master Degree by distance education. If you do not yet have a degree, consider getting a distance learning university degree. Getting an education degree means you get paid for doing what you love - teaching.

Several of the top twenty-five online degree university programs in the United States allow education majors to earn a degree online. The majority of people, however, who have Master’s Degrees in Education often choose Walden University. This is because the Walden University online graduate degree program includes one of the most popular PhD programs online. 

Are you interested in beginning your college education, or finishing your PhD? Are you interested in working with people working toward an adult education degree? All of those schools that provide distance learning offer opportunities to people who otherwise would be too busy working to get an education.  Are you ready for your chance?