Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Read About Availing Government Grants for Education

Everybody knows the importance of acquiring good education for having a settled future life. But most people who go for higher education courses struggle through their college days for tuition fee and other monetary needs. This has made some of them to drop out of colleges to pursue certain menial jobs. Comforting news for such people is that government is providing a lot of grants and support for those who are going through their studies. Many students are not aware of this opportunity for continuing their education without struggling in life. It would be highly rewarding if you could just search for grants available for the courses you are undertaking or planning to pursue.
Money thus availed from grants can be used for paying tuition fees, buying books, buying study materials, arranging housing facilities etc. Once the money reaches your hands, you can spend it on your education as you like. Not all grants work in the same way. Some of the grants are paid directly to the institution where the student is studying, thus exempting the student from paying the required fee to the institution. There is no restriction on the number of grants that can be availed by a student during their period of education. Therefore it is better to send applications to all available grants by government and other non profit or welfare organizations.
There is no need to be afraid of any kind of money being taken from you or you may need to repay the amount. Grants are very much different from how loans work. Loans given for studies are to be repaid. It is done for the profit of the issuing institution. But grants are special amounts set aside for aiding students in pursuing their studies. It is not to be repaid or there is no bond to be signed. It's just like a gift for supporting you.
There are different kinds of grants provided by the government. Some of them will be given at regular intervals, for a particular student, till he completes the course. But, most of the grants are given as a one time support. Some grants are provided to help certain specific projects during your course. This will require you to provide the details and the work progress at regular intervals. Most of the time, the government grants are more than sufficient for our needs. There are PELL grants which is the alternative form of Federal Grant Programs. It is easier to avail grants if you are having any special talents in your field of study.

Thursday, October 18, 2012

Online Accredited Degrees Save Time and Money

Old and young professionals alike are finding increasingly important to take part in continuing education. Technology changes daily it seems, and with it so does the work place. If you do not keep up with the changing times, you will be left behind. The good news is that you no longer have to quit work or change your hours to fit in time for your college courses. Online accredited degree programs offer quality educational training at your convenience from the comfort of your home.
Even professional fields that have long been regulated to specialty schools, such as teaching and counseling are now available online in the form of masters and doctoral programs. Professionals who are ready to move up in their organizations or are ready to take the next step in their personal careers are well served to pursue these higher education degrees online where they can take classes that are immediately relevant to the work they are doing. These programs are often accelerated, meaning that a degree that may take two to three years on a traditional campus can be completed in just a year or a year and a half in an e-learning environment.
The fields of accounting and finance are also prime candidates for online degree opportunities. Often high school graduates will pursue an associate degree or even if certificate in some area of accounting to get an entry level position. These individuals can continue to work as always but pursue their bachelors degree and possibly even more through a distance education situation. There are many schools and universities that boast outstanding faculty members and offer online accredited programs that will prepare them for careers as CPA's, staff accountants, and cost accountants. They may even become chief financial officers and financial managers.
Adult professionals in the field of information technology are particularly obligated to keep their educations honed and up to date. Information technology changes constantly, as does corporate America's methods of using this technology. There are many different web based programs available by which professionals can earn their diploma in this field, be it bachelors or a PhD, or anything in between. The demand for information technology professionals is rising and will continue to do so for years to come; this is a great career to advance in because as long as your skills are up to par, you will never have trouble staying employed.
The advances in technology have made yet another new degree possible. Many of us find ourselves years into your careers, and while we have no degree, we find that we have more experience and knowledge than many of the graduates around us. If this is an observation you have made about yourself, you will be interested in the new concept of the life experience degree. This is an accredited degree that is available through a variety of sites online, in which your experience and training that you have accumulated throughout your life is examined, and if eligible, you will be granted an accredited, recognized degree based on your life experiences.

Thursday, October 4, 2012

Pursue an Online Medical Education and Become a Healthcare

The healthcare industry in India has witnessed rapid development over the past few decades. As a result of this, the industry is now capable of offering a plethora of employment as well as learning opportunities for aspiring students. The improved quality of medicines and healthcare advisors today, stand as testimony to the massive growth of the industry. For all those who wish to learn about the diverse elements of medicine, but have held back due to a lack of time, there is good news. You can now attain intensive training in the healthcare sector online. This means that you can now accomplish your dream of becoming a healthcare expert despite working fulltime.
Several top healthcare management institutes offer an online medical education these days. In keeping with the diverse needs of the industry of health, the courses offered ensure to cover all the aspects of this vast industry. Be it a diploma in hospital administration or an MBA in hospital management, a student of medicine can pursue an online learning course in any of the subjects of his choice. Post graduate programmes such as a Masters in Healthcare Administration or Masters in Hospital Administration are extremely beneficial for individuals who aspire to apply their honed management skills in the medical industry.
Clinical research as a subject and industry too has grown leaps and bounds over the recent past. It has emerged as a viable career option for individuals interested in studying medicine. Therefore, being a doctor is not the only profession that can be pursued within this discipline; there are several other prospective fields that can be considered as a commercial line of work by medical students. The study of new and old medicines and related treatments is an engaging subject, drawing many interested students to it. Online courses in clinical research offer a holistic approach towards training along with facilitating the accomplishment of a dream career in today's leading Clinical Research Organizations. Courses on drug trials and clinical research are emerging as a popular choice among young students who wish to provide the society with more effective medical treatments and medicines through their perfected skills and profuse knowledge.
Quality management in healthcare is another extremely important skill and there exist several specialized educational courses for the same. However, for those Clinicians who may wish to build a career in a specific segment of healthcare like diabetes or primary care of the heart diseases, training in diabetic courses and cardio courses help cater to their determined objective. Be them not too popular courses for accidents and emergencies or fresh new fields such as Paramedics, the industry of healthcare now offers a wide spectrum of learning opportunities for aspiring medical students.
Online medical education has facilitated the relatively easy attainment of knowledge and professional training in any of the numerous fields of healthcare. Now, even if you are working full time or unable to attend college, you can acquire holistic training in your subject of interest. Enroll with a reputed institute that offers online medical education and accomplish your dream of becoming a healthcare expert!

Thursday, September 27, 2012

The Current State of Mathematics Education In This Country

You probably already know that the current state of mathematics education in this country is very bad. What you may not know is exactly how bad. Harvard recently released to the news media the results of a study about mathematics. Their findings: (1) the US currently ranks 31st out of 56 countries, and (2) only 6% of our high school students take higher level math courses. Another statistic you may not have heard (except from me) is that the failure rate for first year Algebra students is a deplorable 50%. That statistic has direct bearing on the Harvard results; and, as if these statistics aren't bad enough, you need to understand that the 50% failure rate was true in 1972 when I started teaching and it is still true today. Doesn't this just make you want to shout "Why isn't anyone doing anything about this?"
In reality, mathematics educators, education specialists (seems like an oxymoron, doesn't it?), and universities have been trying for over 40 years to make positive changes. During my lifetime I have experienced, to varying degrees, at least six different methodological changes. (1) I grew up using the "skill and drill" of the old days. This method produced temporarily strong basic skills but very weak application or understanding; and without the latter, the former fades quickly. (2) In 1972, I started teaching just after the pendulum swing to "New Math." All math books started with a chapter on set theory, out went rote memory, and in came understanding. In theory, if students understood the why of mathematics, then they would create the skills on their own. Of course, none of that happened, and mathematical understanding actually decreased. It is now universally agreed upon that "New Math" was a miserable failure. Fortunately for me, I was raising a family during most of those years and didn't have to teach it very long; but I often wish that we could apologize to the students of the 70's and early 80's. "New Math" caused you more harm than good. That shouldn't have happened.
Since the final death of "New Math" in the early 80's, there has been no overriding mathematical philosophy for the country. Instead, different states--even individual school districts--have been searching for that perfect solution. (3) Some school districts returned to "skill and drill" by adopting the Saxon method. Of course, the problems that existed with "skill and drill" the first time still existed. Returning to a method that was unsuccessful before is not logical. Math people should know better. (4) In 1983, the University of Chicago conducted a great deal of research into why Algebra students were failing in large numbers. Then they created an entirely different approach to teaching mathematics. In 1988, I was very fortunate to have been working in Colorado Springs when my district (Air Academy School District #20) adopted the UCSMP (University of Chicago School Mathematics Project) textbook series. UCSMP was truly revolutionary and inspired. To learn more about how it came to be and how it was different, read my article "Frustrated With Everyday Mathematics/UCSMP? Why Is It So Different?" For the first time ever I saw large numbers of students improve both their basic skills and their understanding of mathematics. UCSMP continues to this day in various parts of the country, although the extreme difference in approach coupled with the fact that our society is now highly mobile have caused major difficulties, especially for parents. For UCSMP to have a positive impact on the country, it would have to be adopted by all schools. And we all know that will never happen.
Two other approaches bouncing around the country are (5) Project-based and (6) Activity-based programs. Project-based programs give classes a "situation" and that situation is worked on for weeks or months. The Pit and the Pendulum is the project I have heard the most about. This approach works well with certain students, but you haven't read anything about startling success because that hasn't happened. Activity-based programs are similar to project-based programs except for length of time spent on the activity. The activities might last a day or a week, and then change to another activity. In both of these methods, the math skills are taught as they are encountered in the situation. Classroom management issues arise with both of these methods. And, again, you aren't hearing shouts of joy over the positive benefits to mathematical understanding.
In addition to the philosophical changes, there have been many smaller changes in teaching techniques and classroom changes. Some still exist in some places, but most have been replaced with the newest and improved techniques. Cooperative learning was all the rage for a time and it is still a useful technique. I have lost count of how many of these teaching fads have come and gone over the past 40 years. You will notice, however, that the failure rate remains unchanged. So where are things now? Floundering. While school districts and states are bouncing around trying to find that magical solution, No Child Left Behind is slowly but surely destroying what little enthusiasm for learning still exists. No Child Left Behind may very well be the final death knell for mathematics education in this country.

Thursday, September 20, 2012

Good News If You're Considering a Career As a Court Reporter

With the tough times of today's economy, many people are considering a career change or a field with plenty of job opportunities and chances for advancements. If this is the case, a career as a court reporting professional may be just the answer you are looking for. Court reporters, or stenographers are in high demand, earn a competitive salary, and have plenty of opportunities to advance with extra training and certification. This makes this career an excellent choice.
If you are interested in obtaining a career as a stenographer, there are several different options you have. But you must first pass the Court Reporting exams. To prepare you for these exams, you will need to take courses at a school or enroll in a program at a community college or major university.
There are different licenses that a court reporter can hold and most states require you to obtain at least one. To obtain your license, you'll have to demonstrate that you can accurately complete the skills you learned in your education and training. The type of license you'll need varies depending on what kind of court reporter you have trained to become. Obtaining your degree as a court reporter will take approximately two to four years. In a court reporting program you will learn many of the skills that you will need to be successful in your career such as typing skills, courtroom language and terms, how to use a stenotype machine to transcribe what is said in the courtroom, and computer skills.
Once you've finished your formal training, there's still quite a bit of on-the-job education you'll need in order to be successful in your career. As much as you might have practiced during your schooling, there's nothing quite like going into a courtroom and trying to keep up with the fast pace of everything that's going on. Because this is such a demanding job, you're bound to make a few mistakes here and there. Learning how to handle these mistakes and improve your accuracy is something that your education can't always prepare you for, but is definitely one of the requirements most desired by prospective employers. When you're learning to be a court reporter, you need to be very observant and see firsthand how things are done in the courtroom. A good way to gain experience is to contact someone at the courthouse and get them to take you inside so that you can watch the proceedings. You could even talk to the reporter on the case and ask for tips on how to do the job more efficiently. This will also be beneficial when you are finished with your program because you will have established contacts that may help you in obtaining a job.
Becoming a stenographer requires a lot of skill, dedication, and education, in order to be successful. Good candidates must have strong typing skills, good grammar, and an interest in the legal system. If you're interested in becoming a court reporter, you might find it helpful to shadow someone in the field before beginning your training program.

Thursday, September 13, 2012

A Middle Aged Mother and Her Search For Education

Did you know that scholarships are available for mothers in any situation?
These scholarships exist to help women earn a degree and get a good job. Getting a degree, heck even a single semester of college, is extremely expensive.
Are you ready to take the plunge?
If you are considering education, are you ready to take action? Do you dream of a higher paying job? An education makes a higher paying job possible.
Whatever your situation, the costs of living make paying for education difficult. I believe many women would like an education but are unable to afford one because of other responsibilities.
Don't depend on others to support yourself. As you grow up you learn how depending on anyone else for our own well being is usually a mistake. Depending on yourself makes you strong and stable, the kind of person everyone should be. These scholarships help you to graduate and get a high paying job for yourself.
Making the right decision right now could improve your life.
Raising kids is very expensive. Not to mention all of the other costs we must take on. At some point you make the decision to move your life in the right direction, often that is a college diploma.
So we have the situation where the good jobs require a degree, but without a higher paying job now you can't afford to get that degree. What should you do?
Here is the good news...
Plenty of scholarships exist for mothers looking to cover the costs of education for themselves or their children!
To apply for this grant...
Take just a couple minutes and apply for this $10,000 scholarship right now! If you are a mother than this is definitely a worthwhile couple of minutes for you!

Thursday, August 30, 2012

New Roles For the Manufacturing Marketer

Marketing communications is going through a major shift. If you're an industrial marketer, you're probably more keenly aware of this than most. The shift is from traditional marketing methods (print advertising in trade journals; industrial P/R through trade journals; trade shows; direct marketing through the mail; hospitality events, etc.) to Internet based marketing tactics such as strategic website optimization; social media marketing; blogging; email marketing; online article and news release marketing; webinars and podcasts; and even video marketing through sites like YouTube.
People still go to both offline AND online sources for information, research, vendor sourcing, and networking. This makes an industrial marketer's job more challenging, and not just because you have to stretch your marketing dollars across a broader range of tactics. Convincing execs to give the thumbs up to less proven methods can be difficult.
If you can relate to this, it may be time to create allies and evangelists in other departments, including your bosses, if you want support for your online initiatives. If marketing is your world, you are probably more educated than those around you about the shift from offline to online marketing tactics. You also have a deeper understanding of the need to reach your target audience at as many "touch points" as possible in order to build brand awareness and credibility and achieve "top of mind" status. If you want to help your company keep a foot in both marketing worlds, you now have two more titles added to your job description: marketing educator and evangelist.
Gain more acceptance for a marketing plan that includes less conventional methods for connecting with customers and prospects by involving people from other departments in your initiatives. By doing so, you'll not only help to educate them but you'll also tap into a wealth of knowledge about your company's products or services that is rarely volunteered. Here are some examples:
1) Production / operation managers in your company can talk all day long about what you manufacture. Enlist their help in producing a short series of videos that you can post on your website, YouTube, and other social media sites. As you meet and work with them on the project, you will have teachable moments when you can communicate the impact that this kind of communication can have in terms of positioning your company as an "expert;" driving more traffic to your website; and improving your search engine rankings.
2) Spend a few days in the field calling on customers and prospects with some of your key sales staff. Take along a camera or video or voice recorder. This will enable you to do two things: 1 - document conversations with established, HAPPY customers that can be crafted into testimonials for your website, Twitter, LinkedIn, and other SM sites and 2 - hear firsthand how your sales team overcomes a prospect's objections or responds to their greatest challenges and then ties your products / services back to their solutions. If you have a voice recorder, you've got some good raw material for blog postings, tweets, even LinkedIn group discussion topics. (Of course it goes without saying that you need to request permission to video or voice record ANYONE.) Soliciting the help of your sales team makes them feel part of the marketing process and gives you opportunities to again - discuss the impact of various online marketing tactics.
3) If your company has engineers on staff, they are a goldmine of information for online marketing. Most engineers are more than willing to write a technical paper covering their area of expertise. Perhaps you could even convince them to do a series of papers dealing with the basics of a multi-step design process. Technical papers can be used for both off and online marketing efforts, so you'll get double duty out of these! Article marketing can be one of the most effective ways of building quality backlinks to your website. If your engineers aren't camera shy, they can also be great resources for webinars, podcasts, and even short videos explaining a certain technical design consideration. The key is to get them involved and while doing so, explain the importance of what they're doing to your online marketing efforts.
4) Educating executive management may be your greatest challenge. Busy VP's and CEO's may be hard to enlist for online marketing initiatives unless they've already started to buy in to the concept. A couple of ideas for including them in online marketing are: short video messages for YouTube and website posts; a blog written in their pen name (this will require you to interview them regularly for blog content); LinkedIn and Twitter accounts in their name (again, more writing for you, so you have to gauge whether or not this is feasible from a time standpoint.) The more they are involved in your online marketing efforts, the more support you'll receive.
It's human nature to want to belong to a group with common goals and to contribute to worthwhile endeavors. The job of the new industrial marketer is to make the world of online marketing a worthwhile endeavor that your whole company will want to rally around. That's why today, it's essential for you to not only implement the marketing strategies, but to also educate and build a community of online marketing evangelists within your organization. You're still being a marketer; but along with your company's products and services you're also marketing a paradigm shift. So much more fulfilling, don't you think?