Online Education is at Your Fingertips
Have you thought about going to school, or returning to school? Have you wondered whether you should go to a regular "sweatshirt" school? If you haven't been to one recently, let me paint you a picture.
What you usually have is acres and acres of buildings, parking lots and students. You might have to commute for miles in awful traffic, and then find it impossible to get a decent parking place close to your classes. And then you may spend hours tramping back and forth across campus in rain and mud and snow or heat, lugging 50 pounds of books on your back. You stand in line to get your classes and then they are not available. Or if a class is available, it’s at 6:00 a.m. or 10 p.m., never convenient. If the kids get sick you get to miss classes. And most of the students seem to resemble your youngest child, making you feel like a dinosaur.
Does the above scenario strike fear into your heart? Could it be the reason you haven’t pursued further educational goals? What would you think if I told you that you could achieve your educational goals without leaving the comfort of your own home, and possibly even do it cheaper?
If this sounds good to you, you should consider getting an online education. All you need is a computer connected to the internet and a desire to learn. No traffic nightmares, no weather worries. No scheduling hassles or babysitter costs, and you can even go to school in your jammies and robe. Wow! My idea of school. Comfort and convenience. Half the struggles of going to a brick and mortar school can be alleviated simply by enrolling in a distance education program. You take the classes you need at the times you want, at your own speed, and still achieve your chosen degree.
Online education does not mean that the classes are easier, it just means that they are easier to take. You will still have to study, do homework, write papers, take midterms and final exams. Yes, you must earn your degree! But the good news is, you can do it in the comfort and convenience of your own home.
The advantages of getting an online education are virtually endless. No commute. No parking hassles. No childcare issues or expenses. No need to schedule your life around someone else's calendar. The only thing you have to do get your work done.
For many people this is all the motivation they need to get going. However it is important that you know your limitations. If it is impossible for you to have several hours per day of quiet time, if you find it difficult to focus with all the insanity going on around you, or if you just can’t discipline yourself to do the job, then distance education might not be for you. However, if you're good at managing the ins and outs of your home life, you should be able to juggle the extra balls that a distance learning program tosses at you.
During the past 10 years, online education has finally come into its own, and now many programs are even eligible for federal financial aid such as grants and loans. So it's entirely possible for you to attend school without breaking the bank.You can find classes and distance learning programs in a huge variety of topics, starting with a GED and going all the way up to Doctoral degrees.
Some online schools have brick and mortar campuses and some not. Some require occasional meetings with students and teachers, also called “limited residence requirements”. Many have no such requirements, meaning your education is simply based upon the classes you take and, of course, pass. Some schools have you attend online live or prerecorded lectures or interactive classes, while others simply give you the class materials online and let you take exams when you are ready.
It is important that you research your options thoroughly and carefully. Whether you are planning to take business classes, certification courses or any type of higher education, make sure the
online education program you chooseis accredited by the appropriate agency in your state. There's nothing worse than wasting money and time to get an education that you won't get credit for, unless of course you are doing it just for fun.
Once you decide you're ready to do it, you need to choose what subject you want to study or what career you want to pursue, then look for the distance learning program best suited to all of your needs. Whether you want to learn computer repair, culinary arts, engineering, business management or something else, you will be able to locate a online degree program that will fill the bill.
So there you have it. An online education is literally at your fingertips, just get out there and grab it.


Want to Make Language Learning Easier? Rhymes to the Rescue!
Learning a foreign language can be enjoyable - but exasperating. Anything you can do to accelerate learning or make language acquisition more enjoyable is a valuable weapon in your learning arsenal. Kathy Steinemann shares a helpful and unique approach to this challenge.

Take a look at the following two sections of text:

Version 1
The sky is blue today. I'm sitting on the beach. A bully kicks sand in my face. Too bad for him! Here come my bodyguards!

Version 2
One, two, a sky so blue. Three, four, a sandy shore. Five, six, a bully kicks. Seven, eight, he's sealed his fate. Nine, ten, here come my gunmen!

Now go back and re-read the verses.
Did you notice that you have already started to anticipate what comes next in the second version?
Conclusion: It is easier to memorize rhyming poetry than to memorize prose.
So what implication does this have for learning a foreign language?
If you memorize well-written modern foreign language poetry, you can accelerate your learning curve. (Notice the keyword 'modern'.)
Poetry written in the 18th Century may have deep cultural and educational significance. However, words penned to page over 300 years ago will utilize obsolete vocabulary, spelling, and grammar formations.
As an example: consider the popular King James Version of the Bible. If you started using 'thee' and 'thou' in your daily speech, people would understand you - but they would treat you like an alien in a time warp.
You can search the internet for poetry written by contemporary authors. Try searches like:
parallel translation poetry
parallel translation poems
parallel translation poems German English
parallel translation poems French English
parallel translation poetry Italian English
parallel translation poetry Spanish English

Substitute search terms as necessary with the name of the specific language you are studying. Review the webpages you find with a tutor, professor, or knowledgeable person to determine grammar and vocabulary suitability.
Attempt to have the poetry dictated and recorded by a native language speaker. Softly recite the poetry while you listen to the recordings. This will improve your verbalization skills. With luck, you may find online audio for some of the poetry.
Are you a budding poet? Try creating foreign language poems yourself.
No poetic talent? Attempt the following simple approach. If you are learning German, for example, you might produce a 'poem' like this:
the dog - der Hund
the mouth - der Mund
the air - die Luft
the scent - der Duft
to buzz - summen
to growl - brummen
little - klein
clean - rein
to brood - grübeln
to iron - bügeln
You don't have to worry about grammar - just definitions, pronunciations, gender, and spelling. Alcor (alcor.com.au) has several rhyming dictionaries that can assist you with this process.
If you have an audio dictionary on your computer, listen carefully to the pronunciation of each word. There are also excellent online dictionaries with audio.
Now produce your own poetry recording using audio capture software.
First, dictate each English word or phrase and save as an individual file.
Next, save foreign language audio clips from your dictionary or from the internet.
Now load your audio capture software and play the files in the correct order. Try to create short productions of a minute or two in duration.
Edit if necessary to eliminate excessive pauses or add definite articles.
Finally, convert to MP3 or WMA. Now you can use your iPod or portable media player for something besides music.

The 21st Century is a wonderful time to be learning a foreign language!

Author's Note:
Find parallel-translation German-English poetry at A-Language-Guide.com as well as other language resources. Kathy is a webmaster and author who writes for 1st Rate Articles and several other websites.


How To Get An Online Degree From Home
Nowadays, the decision to pursue further education, most commonly some type of degree is one with continually increasing benefits. Regardless of the career you are looking to pursue, the attainment of a formal degree gives you higher levels of recognition amongst employers due to a perceived dedication and commitment to your field, competitive advantage over other job seekers, and greater earning potential.
Becoming increasingly popular at the moment are online degrees. Basically an online degree is exactly what it seems to be: A full course of formal study conducted over the wires of the world wide web. The student logs on to access the information at the website of the appropriate online college, makes their way through the course material in their own time then completes formal examination to be assessed by the online college's faculties and voila, a degree is attained.
These new online schools allow students to obtain an accredited online degree over many fields just as they would do if they were to attend a regular campus. This option is perfect for students who because of their location or circumstances cannot afford the time or effort to make their way to a physical college.
Online degrees are offered by many organizations and the most difficult decision for students seeking to pursue this form of education can often be the selecting of the most appropriate one. Usually they are split up into physical schools that also offer a university online degree and schools that maintain programs only online. While the most reliable option will generally be to go with the more reputable already established offline school, the benefits of lower costs and faster attainment can be attached to high quality solely online schools.
One example of a popularly undertaken degree is a criminal justice online degree. This degree, in a relatively short period of time gives the applicant a grounding in basic principles of criminal justice and prepares them for a career in law enforcement or the option to pursue higher studies in criminal justice.
Similarly those seeking an online degree in education can pursue study in the same way. Numerous online schools cater for this popular field of study and accreditations can be obtained in far lesser periods of time than non online degrees in traditional colleges.
The quality and depth of online education now means that degrees taken over the web can be taken to the full extent of the academic curriculum from a bachelors degree right through to an online PhD degree or Doctorate degree in many fields.
Although it all began with an online IT degree as they were the easiest to carry out on line, the spread of degrees, not just IT but other degree options also, is now prevalent and to do the work online is becoming increasingly popular, particularly in the western world, and as systems improve and develop will continue to be a trusted source of formal education and training long into the future.
If you are diligent and committed an accredited online degree can prove to be a highly beneficial path of study and should be considered by all those whose positions make it worth considering.