Obviously not all of us is allowed to work remotely as lots of careers require employees to go to their office or travel to undertake their tasks in person. But for those of us who can or want to work remotely then I thought it would be useful to share my experiences and share some practical wisdom by distributing it online with the sole objective of providing useful advice for adapting to remote working or managing remote workers.
I must tell you you that there are groups of self proclaimed ‘gurus’ on the net who will try and sell you guides for preposterous sums of money, believe me you don’t need to do this.
I am blessed to be allowed to work in whatever location I choose and just about everyone who asks me what I do for a living wants to know how I manage to work remotely. Don’t be fooled here I am still developing the art of remote working as everyday I discover persons on the net who teach me new ways and I am constantly discovering new technologies and approaches that make my life easier and increase my productivity.
Over the past 7 years I have steadily adapted my working methods to allow me to do all of my work remotely with a portfolio of internet tools and rigid self management. One afternoon whilst browsing the net I found Quickbooks online and this made me aware of what just might be possible. My encounter with ’cloud’ based ‘on demand’small business accounting software was a significant event for me and the launch pad of my ‘remote working experience.
I want to tell you up front that effectively working remotely is as much about the software as it is about self management. Working remotely also means stating to your colleagues, managers and clients as to what they can expect and how they will stay in touch with you.
In ‘Remote Working Part 2 – Fundamental behaviours – Basic discipline’ I steer you through how to focus.
Reiteration of other learning management students’ responses to questions, unoriginal assignment work, and copying information from the internet are all real dangers to e-learning. Especially when an online course stands alone, without a supplementary in-person aspect, these dangers of looking up answers, copying and pasting, and “being inspired” by others’ work are great hazards to real learning.
The truth is that online education is due for some renovation. In any technological advancement, growing pains are inevitable.
One surprisingly popular piece of feedback about online learning is that it is too easy. When tools like discussion boards are utilized for educational purposes, students are often unsure about whether or not their peers are actually posting original threads and comments, or if they have simply cut and pasted from some source. Student originality is brought into question. And if other students aren’t doing their work well, why should any student? Student ambition is thereby thwarted.
What is needed is better e-learning design, strategies and deployment. It can’t be enough for courseware creators to simply create content, put it out there, and expect students to get engaged with the material. The truly effective integration of e-learning programs and Web 2.0 tools requires a great deal of strategy and/or lots of built-in tools to ensure that students are learning the material.
Oftentimes such strategies are part of the course itself, in features like quizzes and tests to ensure understanding. They might also include tools like Coggno’s Activities feature, which tracks and monitors student progress in an online course.
When choosing a learning management system for training or other instructing purposes, choose one based on its ability to provide great training that ensures student understanding and progress.
School districts that use learning management systems to deploy e-learning courses are finding solutions to many problems that exist today, including teacher shortages, lack of funding, and budget cuts.
However, along with the benefits of e-learning systems come a few downsides, such as the increased likelihood of plagiarism and other kinds of falsity in student work.
Many of us in the e-learning community with the conviction that online education can be an effective and powerful way to teach and train students are also deeply concerned about the bad practices we see becoming more widespread. Unfortunately, many e-learning systems that are popular today are characterized by errors and a general lack of planning. And of course, the ones most closely affected are the students. It’s often difficult to know: when a student performs well on an online assessment, does that mean that he or she understands the material?
Studies indicate that around 70% of American high school seniors admit to cheating at least once in their high school career, and 95% of those students say they were never caught in the act. In other words, the majority of Americans cheat or have cheated at some point.
As online course developers, training instructors, and educators, it’s our goal to provide students with engaging and effective learning material in order to make sure they are both excited about and held responsible for their own learning experience. But how do we secure this objective?
A good learning management system should offer the services that help to ensure that students are putting forth their best efforts and original work. One aspect of these tools are those that prevent cheating and track student success in a course.
Employing Web 2.0 tools like discussion forums for assignments is a popular practice in virtual classrooms–especially at the university level. But it isn’t sufficient simply to tell students to answer questions and post them, and then to get engaged with the content. Without clear organization and a strategy for making the most of a Web 2.0 tool in the virtual classroom, repetition, plagiarism, and lack of effort on learners’ parts is unavoidable.
In order to prompt students to feel interested in the learning content, the best strategy is to use engaging and interactive learning content. Course creation tools such as podcasts and videos are simple ways to get and maintain students’ attention.
But even the most interesting course needs to be kept in check by a system of tracking and monitoring of student progress.
Automated tracking tools provided by a learning management systems system exist to help not only e-learning instructors, but more importantly, the students whose efforts are being monitored.
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Tuesday Jul 28, 2009
It is common knowledge the challenge of learning Spanish at any time can be difficult if you look on the negative side. I never really had the chance to learn Spanish as a child.
Today the leaning curve to speak Spanish for children is a simplified in many ways in fact for most people. In today’s modern world it is much more convenient to learn on line at home for children.
Learning to speak Spanish for children on line is makes life easier for you. With our busy life styles we feel obliged give our children as many things to get involved in as possible especially if they have the desire. It can make life very inconvenient from the football practice to karate, school events and if you are a parent you will understand my message here.
Learning Spanish for children is rewarding language to have command of. It is the second most spoken language in the world next to English. The benefit is leaning Spanish for children is ready available with no taking or picking up. Dad or mums taxi is not required.
Most children enjoy playing games right? The learning Spanish for children games are really fun and from my own personal experience with my own it’s a fun way to learning Spanish for children.
The fantastic way to learning Spanish for children it eliminates the boredom of the classes and can be more encouraging way to study.
There are very few negatives to learning another language but there are easy ways and hard ways. It is dependent to your desire to speak Spanish or write Spanish. If your desire is to write Spanish you will need to take more time to study this due the spelling difficulties. The sanity behind this is the way it is pronounced is altogether different to the way you would spell it in lots of cases. Recent reports state it is a straightforward task for children to speak Spanish if you compare it with writing in Spanish. If you have the time and the inclination to take on speaking and writing Spanish that is a great skill to have.
I found another way to learning Spanish for children is to adapt Spanish to the every day things in life. The ability to identify the time in Spanish is good fun way to learn. The ability to count in Spanish is pleasing. If you have a good Spanish restaurant in your area and you like Spanish food then get your children to order the food in Spanish.
This is just a few suggestions to learning Spanish for children I am sure with a little imagination you will arrive at lots more. Would you like to get your children started today and find out more of Spanish Games?
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Tuesday Jul 28, 2009
Did you know that those people who have bachelors degrees earn more money, and you can do it to with a distance learning bachelor degree, in fact, you do it by getting your AA.
Whether you’re working full-time or not, colleges today accept all individuals. This means that if you were to go to your local college, many of the people there are going to be older students who work full time and care for their family too.
This is because continuing education can actually earn you more money. Look at the stats, you’ll find that in all of the studies that are done, those with a degree are actually earning more in the same position than those without one.
With the Internet today it’s very possible, but distance learning bachelors degree education wasn’t always as easy. If you wanted a distance learning education before, you would watch VHS tapes and DVD’s that you received through the mail. Then, you would do coursework, send it back through the mail, have to wait for the test or the work to be graded and returned to you before you could continue on. This is why distance learning used to be a bit difficult, and took a long time.
Today, the Internet allows you to go to college and take Internet class work courses for your bachelors degree. You can actually graduate within the same amount of time as if you were a college every day.
This means that when you come home from work, instead of visiting with your buddies or taking care of other hobbies, you would sit down at your computer and go to class. No, it doesn’t necessarily mean that that is the time of the class; online classes are 24 hours a day. Usually, you will be given an assignment, have a certain amount of time to finish that assignment, post your finished work online, have it graded within 24 to 48 hrs, and start on the next assignment.
Believe it or not, it is that simple. You’ll take bachelor courses online, and get your degree. Just remember, it takes being committed to your bachelors degree and self-motivation, but if you can remember that you’re going to earn more income, you’ll find time to do it. The best part is that you don’t have to be in class every day on time, instead, you’ll do your course work on your time schedule.
It’s not difficult to get a distance learning bachelor degree, it might take time, you might have to go part time, but remember, those with a bachelors earn more money.
Learn more about the best way to get a distance learning Bachelor degree and other online education options by visiting http://www.schoolingmatters.com
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Tuesday Jul 28, 2009
More and more people these days are looking into the option of long distance education. There are a lot of good and bad that needs to be looked into carefully before making a decision. Here are some things to think about when considering this option.
Having the flexibility to work when the time is most convenient for you is the top reason many people choose this way of learning. Being able to have access online programs that they are studying 7 days a week makes it a great way for students to be able to balance all of the other things that they have going on in life, like jobs and friends. They still have time frames but you are able to meet them at times that fit your schedule well.
Being able to go to school without leaving your home is another huge benefit that people like about this type of learning. Log into the site from your computer and you are all set. You also do not have to worry about wear and tear on your vehicle or being late for classes.
There are a lot more options available when it comes to where you decide to study. The school that you want may be on the other side of the country but that is okay as you do not have to travel to attend classes when you are using long distance education.
There are some negative points that people need to be aware of. Finding help can be a bit of a pain if you come across a problem with the curriculum that you are taking. You may have to wait until the instructor gets back to you before you can carry on with your studies.
There is also the issue of no contact with other students. You are unable to have any of the physical contact that you would if you were to go to the local college. This can be a good or a bad thing, it depends on the person.
The most important one is whether or not you have the self discipline that is necessary to succeed with this type of learning. Having good time management and organizational skills are a must. If you do not have these skills, this may not be the best way for you to seek out your education. Think very hard about this.
These are just a few of the important things that a person should look into before they jump into something like this. Long distance education can be a great thing, but make sure that you are ready for all that it entails.
Learn more about the best way to get a long distance education and other online education options by visiting http://www.schoolingmatters.com now.
Discussion boards and other e-learning tools too often provide the opportunity for students to give unoriginal answers and to “get off easy” in an assignment. Especially when an online course stands alone, without a supplementary in-person aspect, these dangers of looking up answers, copying and pasting, and “being inspired” by others’ work are great hazards to real learning.
The truth is that online education is due for some renovation. Some growing pains are impossible to avoid in any technological advancement.
One surprisingly popular piece of feedback about online learning is that it is too easy. Using tools like discussion boards, students (not to mention educators) can’t be sure their peers are submitting original responses to questions. Student originality is brought into question. And if other students aren’t doing their work well, why should any student? Student ambition is thereby thwarted.
What e-learners truly need are better organized and deployed e-learning courses. It’s unrealistic for course developers to create a great course, deliver it to students, and expect them to self-motivate and put forth the required effort. A learning management system should use strategies to ensure that students are truly gaining the information, with built-in tools that track and monitor student success.
These strategies might be part of an online course–for example the strategic placement of tests and quizzes. They may also involve tools like Coggno’s Activities feature, which allows learning management system administrators to track student activity.
If you are choosing a learning management system to provide an effective e-learning experience, choose based on an LMS’s ability to deliver built-in strategic tools for helping students succeed.
Discussion boards and other e-learning tools too often provide the opportunity for students to give unoriginal answers and to “get off easy” in an assignment. Oftentimes a course serves as a complement to a traditional, in-person learning space, but when it doesn’t, these hazards of copying are especially dangerous.
The truth is that online education is due for some renovation. In any technological advancement, growing pains are inevitable.
One surprisingly popular piece of feedback about online learning is that it is too easy. When instructors use tools like discussion boards, no one can be sure that the homework responses posted there are original. Originality is in question. And if one’s peers are posting unoriginal or uninteresting responses, why should one exert any intellectual effort? Student ambition is thereby thwarted.
What the e-learning world needs are smarter course design and delivery. It’s not enough for learning content developers to create a course, deliver it, and anticipate a good response and correct usage. Strategies to deliver content and ensure effective training/learning are mandatory.
These strategies might be part of an online course–for example the strategic placement of tests and quizzes. Another is a tool like Coggno’s Activities feature, which allows instructors and LMS administrators to track student activities on the courseware to ensure that they are spending the appropriate amount of time on each section.
If you are choosing a learning management system to provide an effective e-learning experience, choose based on an LMS’s ability to deliver built-in strategic tools for helping students succeed.
In the not so distant past, when e-learning tools like learning management systems were purely experimental, people who wanted to create instructional material for training, school, and/or financial purposes, created paper-based material that was subject to the whims and profiteering of the publishing industry.
A handful of video and audio supplements may have been haphazardly added somewhere along the way in a course.
Of course, paper-based material and publishing houses still exist.
And the idea of developing and selling instructional material is still enthralling for many people.
But the traditional methods of creating instructional material, which involve the destruction of forests and wasting of money, are neither simple nor sustainable.
Textbook prices have increased dramatically. According to a report by the Government Accountability Office, textbook prices have outpaced inflation 2-to-1 in the past two decades.
Numbers aside, the effects on students of higher education are obvious. Especially for students whose tuition fees and other expenses must come from their own pockets, dependance on textbooks is financially difficult.
After all of these facts are taken into account, we can see that it’s not a promising or easy path for the paper-based instructional material developer.
More and more subject matter experts are taking their learning content online. Learning management systems (LMSs) and other elearning systems allow course content developers a full range of tools as well as complete power over their content. Simple video and audio tools, screen recording, podcast creators, and animation tools are just a few of the possibilities for exciting learning content available. Courseware creators can integrate Web 2.0 tools to provide learners with a collaborative space to communicate with each other and with instructors.
Unlike textbook writing, when you create learning content using a known elearning platform, you retain full ownership of and power over the fate of your learning content.
Of course, even course creators with the most expertise in their field require time and preparation to get their learning content ready for uploading to an online courseware platform. But the actual uploading and putting out on the market is quite simple, and depending on the LMS provider, free of charge.
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Thursday Jul 23, 2009
Have you thought silently, “hmm, is it time to get to the next level” in my life? You may want to look at how to to earn a bachelor’s degree online while there’s still time this year. And consider this. When Jack Welch, previous CEO of General electrical, was asked the question, “Would you hire someone with an online business degree?” his answer was disclosing.
“To count out a candidate based primarily on an online degree may be shortsighted,” he replied. “People working constantly and studying online all night have the kind of grrrr most companies could use.” the entire white paper provides more analyses, data, and actual examples about employer acceptance of net degrees. For more information about WGU’s online degrees, visit the internet site at. Convenience, flexibility, and dumping expensive commutes to a campus have broadened the appeal of getting an internet degree for busy adults.
Over the last five years enrollments in online courses and online degrees have been growing over ten times quicker than traditional higher education. What about employer acceptance? Are companies reluctant or hiring graduates of net schools? It depends, basically, on the individual job seeker. Will the applicant possess the requisite abilities and data to perform the job at a high level? Did she or he get the real education needed, not only a piece of paper? These days online graduates are no longer over a barrel, if they ever were. According to George Lorenzo, publisher of Educational pathways, hiring chiefs “have come to realize that the vast majority of online higher education graduates are adult lifetime learners who are self-disciplined, reliable and have an ability for applying practical, experience-based information in the workplace.” Lorenzo is the author of “Online Education Makes the Grade : Employer Acceptance Now Common,” a white paper funded by non-profit, award-winning Western Governors college ( WGU ).
According to a special report, “Most companies will look at possible employees who have online degrees on a case-by-case basis and won’t make a radical yes or no judgment just because of an education delivery mode.” Richard Garrett, senior research researcher for Eduventures, an education research and consulting firm based in Boston. He was quoted as saying, “If you ask bosses about their sense of the quality of online educationis it of equal quality to traditional education?the response you usually get is a growing compliance to it being of equal quality.” scholars should be even more anxious about quality than employers. They need to notice that the abilities and information they learn are way more vital than the diploma itself if they’re going to excel in their careers.”. Be happier at work. Get secret tips that move you ahead in the market today. Find out more.
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