UK Must Look Beyond It's Scepticism & Accept Online Education

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Online education has gained immense popularity among both young and adult learners across the globe due to the wide range of benefits it offers. However, in the UK, eLearning is still considered in poor light. But I believe that it is now time to change our attitudes. With the student cap getting lifted and growing expansion opportunities, online learning provides an excellent solution for all UK universities to globally compete without the need for meeting capacity.

In the US, online courses have become one of the most preferred modes of earning a degree and it is no longer considered as a poor option. I think the UK needs to learn from the US experience and explore all opportunities for growth.

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 A Better Learning Experience

It is true that the student cap is one of the biggest drivers, but we also need to focus on the long term by catching a good share of the rising numbers of students worldwide looking for earning a recognised degree. According to the OECD, the volume of online learners will expand to 204 million from nearly 129 million by 2020. It also offers a solution to the challenges of reducing numbers of part time learners and developing the right type of higher education experience for individuals who are employed.

New reports from the Babson Survey Research Group reveals that almost 7.1 million US students pursuing higher education are studying at least one online programme as part of their desired degree. Experts predict that over 50% of the students in the US will pursue an online programme by 2018.

Moving eLearning To Mainstream 

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The Babson researchers discovered that those academic leaders who believe Online study courses offer the same or even better educational outcomes had increased to almost 74%. The fact is online diplomas and degrees are no more the domain of for-profit providers. In fact, more than 75% of all colleges and universities in the US are now offering options for online degrees. Now you can even find numerous online MBA and business degree programmes offered by leading institutes and business schools in the US as well as the UK.

But the debate rages on as to whether the academic standards in online education would ever be able to match the high standards followed by most traditional UK universities. The fact remains that the expansion of online learning has resulted from necessity. The opportunities for increasing the reach of education on a global level and for academic development is further boosting the demand for eLearning. This is further fueled by the cultural and social transformations brought in by technological advancements and and rising usage of mobile devices.

Overcoming Skepticism

As it is, UK institutions have an excellent history of online learning. The Open University has made a strong reputation for providing high quality and affordable online academic solutions and has emerged as one of the international leaders. There are also several traditional colleges and universities that have provided online learning opportunities for years. However, the courses offered by them was limited and was not seen as a part of mainstream education, but instead as an alternative.

But now it's time for UK to accept and embrace online education as fast as possible as the global higher education scenario is changing rapidly with further advancements in digital learning technology. We need to overcome skepticism by developing a clear understanding of regulation and retention of academic standards for all eLearning courses. Moreover, our students must also realise

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 the difference between non-accredited and accredited degrees.

Employers also need to recognise online business degrees so that learners will get excellent career opportunities. This will encourage aspiring managers and business leaders to pursue online MBA of other business degree from any reputed UK business school . It will help in making the learners a valuable addition to the workforce and also reduce the amount of student debt in the nation.

The Bottom Line

I believe that online courses offer a better option at earning higher education degrees as it offers high levels of accessibility, convenience and flexibility with affordable learning opportunities. There is no doubt that it is high time for the UK to embrace online education.

What are your thoughts about eLearning in the UK? Feel free to share your thoughts with us by commenting below.

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Strong Need For Developing Nations To Focus On Education Development

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Most of the developing nations are currently facing a serious challenge in the field of education. In these countries only a few students complete their graduation from secondary school, while most of the learners do not complete even primary school. For instance, in Ghana barely 50 per cent of the young children finish grade 5; and among them less than 50 per cent can understand a normal paragraph.

Education Challenges In Developing Nations

                 

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 Education for All, a programme initiated by UNESCO, is included as an important part of the Millennium Development Goals that is focused on offering open and free access to primary education. The initiative has been effective in substantially improving enrollment across the region. However, many students are still dropping out of school before they complete their education, as per the annual Education for All reports. But why?

There are several reasons for this, which include the cost of education and challenges in commuting to school. Even if the government offers free tuition, most families are unable to pay for expenses for examination fees, lunch, books and uniforms. Moreover, as the education delivered is usually of poor quality, most parents feel compelled to use and pay for supplementary tutoring to help their children successfully pass the exams.

Lack Of Quality Education

On the other hand, opportunity costs are also very high for most students. As the children spend most of their time in schools, they are unable to generate income for their family by working in the family farm or selling produce in the marketplace. It only makes sense that when even after investing heavily in education, children don't receive any quality learning or basic numeracy and literacy skills, parents often feel discouraged to keep their kids in school.

In case, learning outcomes are hardly sufficient, only a handful of learners further their education to secondary school. Furthermore, employment prospects are also rather poor in many developing countries. The fact is, the job prospects of students barely increase even after continuing education post grade 5 or through grade 10. Academic programmes generally follow traditional western education models with main focus on language, science, social studies and maths. These educational programmes allot limited resources to topics such as prime numbers, tectonic plate movement or Greek mythology, topics which offer intellectual stimulation, but are almost irrelevant to the impoverished children.

Need For Relevant Education 

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Education is currently failing to offer the financial literacy which the children will require to manage the insignificant resources in their control. It also does not provide any the guidance necessary to generate opportunities for creating a secured livelihood or accumulating wealth. Additionally, schooling is also unable to provide any assistance to improve the physical health required for developing standard of living and economic stability. Due to dearth of quality medical care, preventable diseases causes serious damages to the financial stability of people in impoverished regions. This can be significantly enhanced through training on basic health behaviors.

The learners in impoverished regions do not need any additional academic skills; instead what they need are life skills which will empower them to boost their financial and career prospects and overall health. These skills include entrepreneurial skills, financial literacy, management skills, health maintenance, and other administrative abilities like project management, problem solving and teamwork. This is undoubtedly the ideal time for us to not only redefine but also reinvent quality education across all developing nations.

What do you think? Add to the discussion by sharing your thoughts and opinions. We would love to hear from you.

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Online Learning - Why Should You Go For This ?

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There was a time when a classroom was defined by the presence of blackboard, chalk, benches, and a cohort of students, listening to the professor's lectures. But the picture in recent time has completely been veered. Today online learning has become the key to the future of higher education. Online learning, also known as E-learning is the most convenient learning process offering a variety of opportunities for both people as well as organizations in order to develop a new content programme. If you are a motivated self-starter and regularly active on any social networking sites, such as- Facebook, twitter etc you may find that online learning is the one which you are actually looking for. Teachers and professors can easily manage the focus as well as timeliness of the school and college curriculum, students can better fit learning time into their hectic schedules and firms end up spending less on training their employees as well. On the other hand, you should give time to your family as much as you give in your work and this is what helps in doing so. Most people are mistaken that online learning is a much easier way than regular on-campus classes.

With the rise in the population, the demand for online diploma courses is on the rise now-a-days resulting in very seats and less accommodation for all those young, aspiring students or professionals who desire to take up classes on campus. Motivation is the key to an online individual's success. It often seen that online instructors allot more studying materials than needed in a regular classroom to make sure that students are engaged in the work which they have been assigned.

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 Online Diploma Courses: The Benefits You Need To Emerge

In today's generation, lifelong learning is a part of everyone's career prospects. The time is nearing in good pace, when children in nurseries will be learning through MOOCs as the internet revolution has transformed the face of education. Dr Anant Agarwal, from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, states,

-“Today's two- and three-year-olds have been born with keyboards pinned to their fingers”.

One of the most essential advantage of doing a diploma online course is that no matter where you are located at present you will still be able to tap into the same course materials at your own convenient time and in fact, this more beneficial for individual learning process rather studying all together in a classroom. The chance of taking online classes and studying on your own without any external disturbances play a vital role in an individual's life.

Other benefits are-

1. Flexible time schedule 

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Due to the flexibility of time, working professionals can do an online diploma course at any time they want to. You can access from anywhere and at any time across the globe. You can also access diploma online courses free materials 24 hours/7 days a week. It is also an easy way to take exams and submit assignments online when you are ready.

2. Better retention

Multimedia, user experience and creative online designs has made online learning a far better way for an effective learning experience than the traditional method. You will be able to improve your capability to communicate effectively through the latest technologies.

3. Much cheaper than the traditional form

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Online diploma programmes are much cheaper than a regular bachelor’s or master’s degree program. Unlike a college or an university, the study materials for diploma online courses are readily available for download from the faculty portal.

4. Immediate Results and Feedback

Most online learning technologies combine online quiz portal and other online devices more drastically to assess the process of learning.

So, how are you preparing yourself for a career in an Online Diploma course? Share your and opinions about diploma online courses free for everyone by commenting below.

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Tech- Dependent University Life

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It amazes me how life has changed in the last 20 years. There are so many things at our disposal which we probably couldn’t even imagine would exist and be used by human beings. When I was in school, I remember carrying a knapsack and a brown paper bag with my lunch inside it. Now I see students coming to school with sophisticated gadgets and I look at the difference in their interests and the profundity of their knowledge. It truly is something that is worth admiring.

As an educator myself, I cherish the introduction and use of gadgets in the teaching- learning scenario. I have hand-picked a few and if you read this article, I am sure you will understand why they are appreciated by all in today’s classrooms.

Connecting With All Campus Wi-Fi

Students who are coming to the campus every day are bringing gadgets like tablets, smart phones and laptops. They need an uninterrupted access to the internet and what else is better than Wi-Fi? If the density and coverage is all encompassing, then it becomes so much easier for students to learn. Sometimes if it gets congested then the connection can be established with the help of wires. 17% are rating these services as very good and 30% of the institutions are adopting the latest Wi-Fi connections.

Using Social Media to Stay Connected

Social media is also being integrated in the social learning environment. The sites like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are enabling students to interact with people all over the world and they are gaining access to information from various sources. They can virtually meet many people.

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Dreaming of the Digital Badge

In recent times, a college is awarding digital badges to students so that they can be selected by recruiters once they look for jobs. They are slowly replacing degrees and diplomas. Those who are looking for better working places or are seeking higher education are favoring these badges very much. Some are getting special training as well.

Introducing Analytics in Education

Analytics is being introduced into the educational system as well. Learning analytics, decision making based on data driving and predictive analytics is what most people are focusing upon. There is great focus on business intelligence as well. Tools used by physicians for a proper diagnosis happen to be appreciated as well. Campus analytics is also very important since the student’s activities can be checked in the premises of a college or university.

Using Tech- fashion on Campus

There are many new trends in college campuses around the world. Students are using Google Glasses, smart watches, fitness bands, clothes, smart phones and other innovative gadgets that are helping them learn while making a designer statement when they are with friends. They are gaining access to information from anywhere since these gadgets help them find the latest information with a click or a tap. They are lightweight so they can be worn throughout the day in an uninterrupted manner. And it is fun too!

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Drone- in- Dorm 

Researchers are really favoring Drones since they are useful in taking pictures for close examination. These can also be done with the help of digital glasses and phones and it is very useful for students who are trying to perform an experiment in a lab.

Three Dimensional Art

3D painting is being done when students enroll themselves in art, design and engineering classes. This has been integrated in the courses in various colleges. The prices of 3D printers will be such that they can be afforded by students in each campus.

Learning has been revolutionized and been transformed into a brand new world of knowledge that inspires, satisfies the thirst for knowledge and provides new avenues for the spread of information. It is not restricted in classrooms and libraries any longer. Knowledge has become accessible to all who seek it thanks to technology.

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Getting Rich In America Depends On A Lot More Than A College Degree

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Getting educated is not the only factor in getting wealthy. It is traditionally believed that education will make one knowledgeable and skilled enough to get a job and excel through ranks, to achieve financial success. But, practically, if the demand is not at par with supply (i.e., if there are too many applicants for fewer posts), then getting a job in accordance with qualification becomes an unrealistic dream. Pragmatically speaking, the job market has to be there and, jobs and posts have to be created to employ many people of the same training and skill.

Traditional education and entrepreneurship

Traditional education, making a typical stereotypical practitioner of some specialization out of a person, was never good enough in making a successful entrepreneur. A person, who has creativity, innovation, originality and novel insightful assimilation, takes wise, intelligent and effective decisions that will always keep him special one, steps ahead & unreachable for the typical commoner.

Contradiction

Still the belief that education helps in wise financial decision-making in building a lucrative career, is taking the obvious and counter-intuitive hit from emerging facts in modern research that were previously carefully hidden, deliberately, behind some wishful popular utopic idea. In a recent research by researchers William Emmons and Bryan Noeth of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, it is shown that the family background, inheritance of wealth (if there is any) and factors emerging out of the accident of birth of the individual, play a crucial role in the upcoming financial accomplishment in life. Education "is important, but it's not the whole story," says Emmons, a senior economic adviser at the St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank. Family background factors, like : the class the person belongs to, the income of the parents, the educational environment of home- all play decisive roles in this inherently divisive class-based society.

Not all factors are in hand, when a first-generation learner goes to the school without any domestic help or environment for education in home, for example.

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 Racial disparity

Certain racial groups lag behind others in educational and consecutively subsequent financial achievements, due to socio-economic factors.

Hard fate for non-graduates 

In a country like US, where the government acts strong in enrolling maximum number of people in graduate courses, those who lag behind in getting a college degree suffer further in life in pursuit of a well-to-do status. An interesting piece of statistics says : the odds of becoming millionaires for a family headed by someone 40 or older without a high school diploma were 1 in 110 in 2013, compared to 1 in 2.6 for a family headed by someone with a graduate or professional degree.

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Gender difference in earning 

Gender difference plays a role as well, as women are doing better than their male counter-parts in every level of education. However, unfortunately they are not getting paid salaries matching their male colleagues, keeping them away from full participation in economic growth.

All in all, evidently enough, education is losing its determining status in achieving financial success, in social consciousness following practical facts of the reality in ground.

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Online Education & Its Environmental Benefits - A Distinguished Angle

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As the use of computers and electronic devices increase in telecommunication (for the purposes of education and office work), the issue of ergonomics is coming in the forefront more and more. Ergonomics is the study of machine (computer) – user interface, to make a user-friendly environment, that will increase productivity in office work and performance in education.

Online education, bringing the discussion of ergonomics in the use of computers and internet in educating people, can give one the preferential opportunity to read and learn on his or her own pace. It is convenient and gives a personalized experience. It is the same for education and professional life.

However, have you ever thought of the environmental benefits that online education provides with? Replacing the traditional classroom education, it makes the building and maintenance of physical infrastructure for education irrelevant. Today the online environment eliminates the toxic waste produced in the manufacturing of the mentioned physical infrastructure and reduces environmental pollution. Conserves natural resources as well, from unnecessary and avoidable use.

The following are the prominent environmental benefits of online education :

Preservation of natural resources

Building a building, which is an essential part of the physical infrastructure, requires a lot of energy for the generation and reservation of power and heat. Carbon dioxide generated by energy consumption for each of the classroom students is more than 22 times higher than that of an online student. The Design Innovation Group (DIG) of Open Universities in U.K. found that online education reduces the comsumption of energy upto 90 percent, compared to traditional education. The following are the list of a couple of more elements of or by nature, that can be protected and preserved from unnecessary use.

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 Gas

Students of traditional education, who use their vehicles for even a couple of classes in a distant educational institute, uses gas as fuel , even for improper causes like speeding or waiting in traffic, even during wandering in car in a park while texting simultaneously.

Less use of vehicles that is only possible availing online education, reduces vehicle damage and damage on local roads as well.

Paper

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Paper is an essential need for homework and classwork in classroom education. Online education reduces the use of paper dramatically. As long as the use of paper is there, the rate of acceleration in deforestation will remain astronomically intense. Online education with its virtual mode, makes the ‘necessary evil’ in education unnecessary.

Reduction of pollution

Materials like plastic, that are an essential part of building construction, can be avoided through opting online education, protecting environment from further pollution. Also, the reduction in emission of polluting gases emitted from vehicles used in transportation and commutation of students to educational institutes, reduces pollution.

Online education can be beneficial to students in many ways, and it can add to environmental protection as well.

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New advancement for Online Students, with the use of Apps

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In a natural evolution from printed books to online study materials, with the emergence of online courses, students are finding it much easier to continue their academic studies alongside other household responsibilities, even jobs. Simultaneously, they are taking the responsibility of daily practical life and remaining engaged in their own academic pursuit. Apps, the application softwares specifically designed to address the peculair case-based needs of users, are helping out college students in their studies in online courses. This is only possible in the virtual environment of the internet, be it via mobile or conventional computer, where information can be produced just by typing and due to elegant solution of information technology, can be transmitted just in a click of a button without the hazards of outdated print and distribution mode.

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Study and the use of Apps

Study has many aspects. First a standard study-material is given, based on that reference, new research and novel information opens up new information and the mind along with it. Synthesis from thesis, anti-thesis .. reconciliation between seemingly contradictory information, marks the progress in study and essesnce of it, for enlightenment. Apps, practically help in all that. Providing basic text and the management of it, along with research tools to investigate more, brings with it the need to manage all these in short time. That time management facility is provided by the same Apps as well. 

A convenient list 

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The following are the names of some of the most widely used Apps, that provide solutions of various obstacles faced by students .. making it a complete package all-in-all.

• Self-control

The first App that comes in mind is Self-control, that's appropriate for it's name. It blocks the distracting websites, and helps the student to focus on study, making it much more deep and efficient.

• Luminosity

Luminosity is designed by neuroscientists, for students, for honig their skills. In sharpens the students and keeps them in that shape, with continuous interactive games, that are scientifically designed specifically keeping in mind the improvement of thinking ability, focus, concentration and other cognitive necessities, that are instrumental in achieving academic success.

• Socrative

Socrative is a similar App, that uses riddles and intelligent questions to promote objective thinking, required for acquiring knowledge and understanding. It's also a made-easy, that allows posting of anonymous questions by students, simplifying complex theories.

• Knowledge

Knowledge is another one, that provides information on subjects starting from mathematics, to the core science of chemistry .. to the social sciences of arts. It lives upto its name, providing comprehensive knowledge that can be used whenever the time comes.

• Equate Formula Solver

Concluding the list, comes Equate Formula Solver, a personal choice,that's an encyclopaedic coverage of math fomulas, and related fields like chemistry and physics. Apart from confirming answers, it provides help when the problem seems unsolvable.

Apart from the mentioned, there are countless other that provide practical help in submitting assignments sometimes, or working as manual for Photoshop use. In it's current state, Apps seem an essential tool in this state-of-the-art age of online education.

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