Data currently informs so much of what we do. Amazon.com tells us what books we’ll enjoy based on what we purchased in the past. Netflix does very much the same thing with movies. Facebook suggests friends algorithmically and now, as of last week, Twitter does too.

The process of formally educating one’s self and/or one’s children has been slow to adjust to the internet. The reasons are understandable: The acquisition of knowledge is one of the single most important things we do during our lifetimes, a responsibility we do not want to delegate to a passing fad. Additionally, many believe there is something Romantic about education; it is a remnant of the French Revolution that must be done in person with a gentle, supportive hand on the shoulder.

Well of course it turns out that the internet is not a passing a fad, and is becoming a bigger part of our lives daily. And as for the Rousseaueans who still believe our teachers must be in the room, we can point to a little industry called online dating as a counterpoint.

The benefits of online learning are quite clear, which explains the spike in the number of people earning online degrees:

-The best teachers can be broadcast to a much larger audience.
-Without books or physical spaces to rent, online learning is almost always less expensive than traditional learning.
-There is no need to commute and/or waste gas.
-You can learn whenever and wherever it is convenient for you.

We also cannot forget the data. Some day very soon the internet will give us succinct, crystallized data w/r/t what we do and do not know. Learning items will be tagged at very specific levels and as we go through our experiences — scholastically or recreationally — and the internet will help us home in on exactly what we want to learn. This process will be aided by historical data. The day is not far off when an internet service will be able to factually assert “It seems like you cannot remember the year the Bill of Rights was signed — but those who answered the following review question correctly were able to retain that knowledge for an average of 7.2 years.”

This future is on the horizon, and it’s exciting for many of us who care deeply about using technology to improve education.

Starting in the fall of 2007, the University of North Carolina will begin offering all of their online degree programs through one unified system. According to NBC17.com:
The website is a one-stop shop. It offers more than 130 online degrees, certificates, and licenses offered by the 16 UNC campuses.
It also offers special sections with information tailored for community college students and military personnel and their dependents based in North Carolina.
This collection of online degree programs is one of the largest in the United States.
More that 1,000 online courses will be available this fall to qualified students.
Initially, the website will offer more than 90 online degree programs, 35 bachelor’s degrees, 55 master’s, 2 doctoral, more than 40 online certificate and licensure programs.
UNC hopes to compete with big-name … | Read the rest of this entry »

Many students that are considering earning their degree through an online college wonder whether, upon graduation, their degree will hinder their chances of getting the job that they want. However, as the number of institutions that offer online degree options continues to rise, so does the way that employers view potential online-degree holding job candidates. Consider this information from CNN Money:
More often than not, employers are fine with online degrees from either for-profit or nonprofit schools, agrees Forrester Research analyst Claire Schooley.
“In most cases, they’re more concerned about being comfortable with the skill level of a person after they complete a degree online,” she said.
Schooley says a lot of how well a person’s academic background registers with employers depends on perspectives of human-resources … | Read the rest of this entry »

Unfortunately, just like in every other business, there are colleges out there that begin with one goal in mind: offer a mediocre education and charge high fees. These “diploma mills” will give you a diploma, for a heavy fee, and confirm your diploma with potential employers. However, the learning you’ll receive will be sup-par at best, and you may find that you’re horribly unprepared to enter the workforce in your field.
In order to avoid diploma mills, consider this advice from CNNMoney.com:
Experts and program administrators at some of the most well-known and largest online programs say you should check to make sure a school is properly accredited. That means credits can be transferred fairly easily between most major higher-education systems.
One way of double checking a … | Read the rest of this entry »

As the baby boomer generation had aged, the demand for qualified healthcare providers has compounded. The result has been a boom in healthcare jobs as well as those interested in the field of healthcare. Colleges that offer online degrees have noted this phenomenon with the high enrollment numbers in their online healthcare programs. According to USPRwire:
With the continuing shortage of qualified professionals in the news, health care programs remain at the top of the list for students seeking an online education. The government estimates that medical careers will continue to mushroom in popularity for decades in order to fill a very real need.
Stan Banks, president of Virginia College Online, notes, “We offer two-year associate degrees in some of the most important medical careers. For … | Read the rest of this entry »

After raising the number of online degrees they offered and becoming accredited by a nationally-recognized accrediting institution, the University of Minnesota at Crookston has recently seen a huge hike in enrollment numbers. As students flock to earn their degrees online, the colleges that are catering to this demographic are those that are getting the students. According to the Crookston Daily Times:
Online credit hours at the University of Minnesota, Crookston are up 41 percent over summer semester 2006. The increase is being attributed to the U of M, Crookston accreditation by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC), along with two additional bachelor’s degrees available entirely online.
“As a working adult, I knew that the traditional on campus college degree was not an option for me,” said Tony Decembrini, … | Read the rest of this entry »

As online schools have risen in popularity, so has the integration of technology in the workplace. The result is that certain online Internet courses prepare graduates more fully for their post-graduation jobs than traditional college courses. According to HotJobs.com, the following fields of study have taken on new significance since the advent of online education:

Forensic Nursing
Game Art and Design
Holistic Health and Nutrition
Natural Resource Management
Digital and Graphic Design
Criminal Justice
IT Networking and System Management
Homeland Security
Information Technology Security
Executive Coaching

Students interested in entering any of these fields should seriously consider training for them in an online environment. An online degree in these fields of study can earn you the technological abilities that you’ll need to score the job after graduation.

Every year, U.S. News and World Report ranks the top jobs in the country. In 2007, the following jobs came out on top:

Actuary
Architect
Audiologist
Clergy
Dentist
Editor
Engineer
Fundraiser
Higher Education Administrator
Landscape Architect
Librarian
Management Consultant
Medical Scientist
Occupational Therapist
Optometrist
Pharmacist
Physician
Physician Assistant
Politician
Professor
Registered Nurse
School Psychologist
Speech-Language Therapist
Systems Analyst
Urban Planner

Many things were considered to determine which professions to deem the best careers, including the rise of Internet use and the aging baby boomer generation. Each job was also ranked based on the median pay, the position’s attainability, the quality of life of a person in the profession, the job market outlook, and the degree required to get a job in the profession.

If you’re currently earning your education degree online or even just thinking about enrolling in an online education degree program, then you’re probably interested in knowing what types of places hire employees that earned their education degree online. The real answer: they all do. However, there are some places that hire those with online degrees more frequently. According to eLearners.com, he following places are the best to work with an online education degree:

Alternative Schools
Camps (day camp, summer camp, etc.)
Churches
Colleges and Universities
Community Recreation Centers
Consulting Firms
Correctional Institutions
Day Care Centers
Educational Publishers
Hospitals
International Language Schools
Libraries
Middle and Junior High Schools
Museums
Non-profit Organizations
Preschools and Nursery Schools
Public and Private Schools
Secondary (High) Schools
State and Federal Government
Test … | Read the rest of this entry »

Seven years ago, a study was released in which 70% of employers said that they felt online degrees were less worthwhile than those that come from traditional schools. However, in the seven years since then, online degrees have become more mainstream and widely-recognized, and now most employers agree that they are just as worthwhile as traditional degrees. Consider this information from Encarta:
When asked directly, well-known Fortune 500 companies such as Intel and Wal-Mart said they’d accept online degrees, provided they come from regionally accredited programs.
Of course there will always be people–recruiters included–who are have reservations about new kinds of learning. But, for some perspective, consider a survey by the Distance Education and Training Council (DETC) that found that almost 70 percent of corporate supervisors rated … | Read the rest of this entry »