SembolFM

Education Transformation

Mon, 16 Jan 2012 16:10:56 +0000

Do you remember life before the internet? Sometimes it can be far too difficult to think back to a time when you did not have everything right at your fingertips just a click away. I remember when the encyclopedia was the best tool for finding facts and information to answer all sorts of questions. Now, we depend so greatly on Google to figure out the answers to our questions and more. Yes, the internet has certainly changed up the way we do practically everything. One of the greatest impacts the internet has actually had is the impact on education. Think about all of the unique ways the internet had influenced and changed education.

Instead of actually having to go to a school building and sit in a classroom and attend class after class, now you can simply log on to your online courses and communicate with instructors, classmates, and complete schoolwork all from your computer.
Technology and similar classes have changed greatly to include a lot of the things that are now possible on computers thanks to the internet.
The way students research and find out information for papers and other school work is easier and more manageable thanks to the internet.

What ways has the internet changed life for you? Education really has drastically changed with the internet’s introduction, and the infographic below gives a more in depth look at all of the updates.

I Learn Online

Tue, 27 Dec 2011 16:24:04 +0000

Getting an education used to mean having to be at a certain institution at a specified time to learn what you were expected to learn. This goes for all ages and grade levels. School was school was school and there was not really any other option aside from homeschooling. Now, things have changed for the better. All types of students can get an incredible education right from their own home thanks to online school. Online education is not just for those learning at a college level though, oh no. Even grade school children are learning online for various reasons. So you can understand the types of people learning online and the reasons behind it, we took a survey to give you the best of the best asking, “Why do you choose to learn online?”

Emily S. ”I learn online because I am a mother and a wife who still has dreams of being well-educated and earning a degree that I worked for. The schedule allows me to be the best at home and in school.”
Troy W. “I learn online because I am an actor. Currently I am working in a Broadway musical and I can pursue my acting dreams while still getting my high school diploma. You really can have it all.”
Mark T. ”My son learns online because he was always ahead of his class during projects and assignments and he was easily getting bored which led to him getting into trouble. Now he learns at his own quick pace and has no problems with getting into mischief.”
Jennifer A. ”Both of my children learn online because of severe asthma. They originally attended schools but were so afraid of an attack that they were unable to focus and learn. Now they learn online and attend weekly meet ups with other kids who do the same.”

The reasons and the people might all be different, but online school works for all of them. It just might work for you too!

Apple University

Fri, 18 Nov 2011 15:11:28 +0000

Since the late Steve Jobs stepped down as Apple’s CEO in August 2011 there has been plenty of speculation as to how this changing of the guard will affect Apple going forward. Sascha Segan, PC Magazine’s mobile analyst, assures us that we need to all calm down because nothing is actually going to change. Apple University is believed to be the primary reason for this. Set up well in advance with planning from Steve Jobs, in coordination with top players at Apple, Apple University was designed to thoroughly train the top brass at the company on how things are done at Apple. Apple employees from the top down have been prepped for the future — a future Jobs clearly made every effort to remain involved in, even after his death.

Apple has always been a very online education oriented company, and this is yet another example of how online education is being used within businesses to prepare their employees for the future and keep their training up to date. What is unique here is that the entire structure was conceived in house. Perhaps this will become the gold standard for business online education models in years to come. Having a great home security team will surely help. Here is an infographic about Apple University:

Higher Education Can Be Yours

Mon, 26 Sep 2011 14:24:23 +0000

Surely you have noticed all of the commercials on television and ads online promoting higher education through online degree programs and courses. It is true that these types of advertisements are all over the place. There is even a television commercial with the famous actress Shannon Doherty, who you might recognize from the television show “Charmed.” It seems like everyone is embracing the fact that they can receive the higher education that they have always dreamed of while still living and working in their everyday lives as normally as possible. So you too can attain your degree while you continue with all of the current obligations and requirements in your life.

In the infographic that you see below, you will find out some really interesting facts involving online degree programs and the people who choose to take the online route when it comes to acquiring higher education. Some of the new things that you might be surprised to learn are:

Thanks to the recent year’s economic downturn, 75% of institutions for higher learning increased their online course demand.
Of students in school for higher educations, 30% are enrolled in at least one online class.
Based on projections, in the year 2018 61% of all college degrees will be earned by women.

Bill Gates On Online Ed

Tue, 06 Sep 2011 20:21:43 +0000

In San Francisco recently Bill Gates was speaking at a conference when an audience member asked for his views on education, comparing seated classes to online learning. He takes a very interesting approach to not only comparing the class styles for college education, but also looking into Kindergarten through high school online schooling. When you watch the video it is obvious how intelligent the man is, but you can also see how passionate he is too. After watching, let us know your thoughts on kids getting their educations through strictly online formats, hybrid settings, or strictly seated classes.

In our opinion here at SembolFM, we think that learning is different for everyone, and children especially might need to be exposed to different learning styles before you are able to pinpoint which type of environment will be the very best for him or her to truly be able to succeed in school. The thing is that online school is something that is so convenient and great for people who just need to have more flexibility in their life when it comes to their education and other things.

Online Education Makes Sense

Wed, 17 Aug 2011 20:24:18 +0000

For so many years I was struggling with trying to not only complete my college degree, but also raising my little boy, working part time, and helping my husband around the house. Planning a schedule where you have to attend class, go to work, and have a child at home is not something that is very easy to do. Trust me. After trying to manage my hectic life like this for a couple of years, one of my dearest friends told me that she was going back to school. I was so curious as to how she planned on doing that when she had more on her plate than I did. She worked full-time, had two little ones, and her husband was off in Iraq at the time serving our country. That’s when I found out about online education or distance education. She was going to be able to keep up with all of her life’s demands and go to school too.

After our conversation I found out that there are actually numerous programs out there at well-known colleges and universities. In fact, the college that I was currently enrolled in had a new program for obtaining a four-year degree in the major I was looking for. The next semester I began taking online classes to finish my degree. While staying home with my little one, I could log on and study, complete assignments, and more. I loved the freedom that I had. There was still structure and deadlines, but overall I got to live my life without making arrangements that revolved around having to physically be on campus.

Today, my friend and I both have graduated from our degree programs. I could not be any happier with my decision to attend school in an online format. There is no reason now for you to not finish up your education. For more information about online programs in your area, contact your current school or look online. There are even tv offers that give you more information about receiving an online education. No matter what is going on in your life, you can receive a quality education. That’s something that just makes sense.

Howard University Executive MBA

Thu, 23 Jun 2011 17:13:52 +0000

Howard University has just announced its inaugural online degree program. The Executive MBA program online is designed to prepare students for business leadership roles in the rapidly expanding global marketplace. The new, prestigious program is AACSB accredited, ranked very near the top of a list of U.S. Business Schools evaluated by Bloomberg BusinessWeek, and was ranked in the top spot for minority MBA Students by the Princeton Review.

The 18 month program is available via a flexible, online format. This makes it possible for the working professional to earn a valuable degree from a world-class faculty who have prepared business executives to take on leadership roles in the world’s corporate theater since 1867. As a brick and mortar institute of higher learning, this historically black college is a member school of the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund. The school is partially funded by the US Government, which donates approximately $235 million on a yearly basis. From its founding, Howard University has remained nonsectarian, open to people of both genders and all races. At its campus locations in Washington, DC, the Graduate schools associated with Howard include pharmacy, law, medicine, dentistry and divinity.

The emergence of Howard University onto the scene of distance and online learning marks a significant milepost for the college. Founded after the United States Civil War, this school has made great strides in traditional education in the liberal arts as well as in specialized schools. Most of the larger public universities and even many private colleges of any stature in the United States have had some form of online education for the better part of a decade now, so it should be a good sign to attendees of Howard University that the school is finally opening up to online education in a way that is comparable.

For faculty and staff, opening the door to online learning means a little bit of a learning curve. The administration of online learning management systems is technically the responsibility of the IT department, but academically, professors and curriculum specialists are needed to develop courses and online materials, evaluate student interaction and work, and administer relevant and commiserate exams and tests to determine successful completion of a course on the part of a student. But don’t expect to be too successful if you spend all your time watching Direct TV Sports Package.

Welcome to online learning, Howard University. To learn more about this degree program, visit Howard University Online.

iTunes U

Thu, 23 Jun 2011 15:55:29 +0000

On May 30, 2007, iTunes U was announced by Apple Inc in Cupertino, California. The new service, available through iTunes, would manage, and distribute access to educational media content and files for students of a college or university. Non-students and ordinary Internet users could also access the information, contributing to the “open university” project.

Schools and other institutions receive their own iTunes U sites nested inside of Apple’s iTunes Store infrastructure. There is no cost incurred for anyone who is either uploading or downloading material. Course lectures, foreign language lessons, science lab demonstrations, campus tours, and sports event highlights are all provided by qualifying “two- and four-year accredited, degree-granting, public or private colleges and universities in the United States, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and United Kingdom.” Apple is strict about the regulation of college and university involvement in iTunes U.

One distinct advantage iTunes U has over DirecTV.com and other, more typical pod-casting tools is that access to hosted content can be regulated since using the existing iTunes infrastructure. Security is built in, and authentication is handled by the colleges and universities. When a student sets out to download assigned course materials he is prompted for credentials that will allow him to view the material. Certain materials can be limited only to students who are actually enrolled at the college or university, or open to everyone who wants to view them, even people not enrolled at the institution.

Currently there are more than 350,000 files available to download from iTunes U. There is even a Universities & Colleges section, where users can search for specific colleges, and other institutions can be located through a special “Beyond Campus” section. ”In the Beyond Campus section of iTunes U, students and faculty can access a wealth of content from distinguished entities such as MoMA, the New York Public Library, Public Radio International, and PBS stations.” The style of distribution that remains most popular on iTunes U is the classic pod-cast, where lectures can be downloaded and listened to at students’ convenience. But other file formats are also capable of being implemented through iTunes, including slideshows, PDFs, books, films, exhibit tours, and audiobooks. A large swath of file formats is compatible for upload and download from iTunes U.

Online Education Hires Steve Poizner as CEO

Thu, 23 Jun 2011 15:33:56 +0000

The Encore Career Institute, is a new and emerging online education company. ECI this morning made an announcement that it has successfully raised $15 million in Series A funding. The company’s co-founder, Steve Poizner, will serve as CEO to the board of the new entity. Poizner is a well known American businessman and Republican politician. Elected State Insurance Commissioner of California in 2006, Poizner worked in Silicon Valley as a high tech entrepreneur, founding both SnapTrack, Inc. and Strategic Mapping, Inc. prior to his political career.

Other co-founding entities of the Encore Career Institute are The Sherry Lansing Foundation and Creative Artists Agency, which is a prominent entertainment and sports agency lcoated in Los Angeles, CA. CAA currently represents top stars in movies, television, music, and sports. Often cited as the world’s leading talent agency, some of its most famous clients include the likes of George Clooney, Meryl Streep,, Sandra Bullock, Julia Roberts, and Reese Witherspoon.

Encore plans to offer a range of professional certificates along with career counseling services geared towards baby boomers who are launching new careers, changing their career paths, or trying to remain viable in today’s changing job market. With powerful team players behind Encore, like the UCLA Extension, and the University of California, this company is poised to succeed in filling the need for educational enhancement for its target clients. The Los Angeles division for continuing and professional education will be the fully licensed provider of program content for Encore.

Development of programs and technology has already begun. Classes and services are expected to begin in fall 2012, which analysts hope will finally mark the beginning of the end of the country’s greatest financial recession. If the economy manages to being an upward swing after Republicans retake the White House in 2012, the market will be full of outstanding opportunities for educated professionals to pursue new careers once more. Private business will once again invest not only in financial instruments, but in people. This country will start moving again.

Among the many careers for which Encore plans to offer certificate programs and counseling are the fields of finance, education, healthcare, Residential Security Alarms, and environmental sustainability.

Direct TV Packages

Wed, 15 Jun 2011 13:11:37 +0000

Education is important. It may be more important right now than it has ever been before, and people’s television viewing habits reflect the growing concern of parents, government officials, and educators alike. Much of the programming available on cable and satellite television involves learning to some extent. Even channels not primarily aimed at younger audiences contain educational material.

D3Q points out that packages are available that contain PBS, the Discovery Channel, the History Channel, Biography, and National Geographic, among others. These channels contain valuable information about current global issues, basic education, sciences, arts, and history. Many young children are now brought up viewing these channels along with their concerned parents, and they tend to be more academically inclined than their counterparts who mostly use TV programming for simple entertainment.

The FCC established firm guidelines for what it refers to as “Core Programming,” or, shows that are “designed to serve the educational and informational needs of children aged 16 and younger.” To fit this description, a program must meet certain criteria:

The program is no fewer than 30 minutes in length
The program airs between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m.
The program is a regularly scheduled, weekly program

Shows that meet these guidelines are identified with an E/I symbol displayed throughout the entirety of the program. The “e” stands for “educational” and the “I” stands for “informational.” There are limitations in the amount of time allotted for commercials during programming denoted as being educational.

All digital broadcasters must air at least three hours per week of core programming on their main broadcasting stream, and only 10.5 minutes per hour on weekends can be used for airing commercials. During the week, the stations are allowed to broadcast up to 12 minutes per hour in commercials, and website addresses cannot appear during children’s core programming.