E-LEARNING – A GUIDE TO

ACCREDITED ONLINE EDUCATION

By Damon Slocumb

In today’s busy world, some people do not have the time nor the desire to sit in a classroom taking direct instruction from a professor, and then spend time at home completing assignments and projects. The answer for most of those types of people is Online Education. This is sometimes referred to as Distance Learning.

I have been busier than expected as of late due to the fact that I have returned to school and am currently enrolled in a distance learning program with American Sentinel University. Since May of 2007, I have successfully completed five online courses and am in the middle of my sixth. Due to this extra workload, finding interesting topics and time to write about them for my POV readers has been more difficult than I expected. I promise to be more diligent in this endeavor in 2008.

E-Learning affords people the opportunity to attend college, or in many cases, the opportunity to go “back to school,” while continuing on with their normal lives. Most adults (past the “recently- graduated-from-high school” age) cannot afford to attend school full-time or during normal working hours. With online education, this problem is addressed by allowing “e-students” the ability to attend class anytime. (Some schools/classes do have a requirement where students need to be logged in and “attending” class during a certain day/time of the week. Other schools/classes do not have this type of requirement and allow for the student to log in to communicate with the professors and other students as they wish.)

How do I get started?

The first step in getting started is to pick an institution of higher learning to attend. This is no easy task! There are a plethora of schools that have online programs available (a quick Google search for “online education” will confirm this). Most people have heard of the University of Phoenix, but they are just one of the many possibilities. Once again – choosing a school is rather difficult. According to the online website, www.educationwhiz.com, in their “How to Pick an Online School” article, some of the most important criteria include:

Accredited Programs

Sound Technical Capabilities

Proven Online Success

Quality Customer Service

100% Online University l Satisfied Graduates

Online Faculty l Satisfactory Graduation Schedule

Attractive Financing

Small Classes/Large Enrollments

From this website, you can start your search based upon your desired area of study, degree level, etc. This is a good starting point for those interested in getting some general information, as well as those looking to jump right in and sign up.

For employees lucky enough to have employers that offer tuition reimbursement, the most important criteria is choosing an accredited program/school. Check with your HR department to make sure that they will reimburse you for the courses that you plan to take, BEFORE you enroll.

As far as computer requirements, they are fairly basic. In general, the speed, amount of RAM, hard drive size, etc. is fairly unimportant. You need Internet access, an email address, and the standard software that any student would need: Microsoft Office, Adobe Acrobat Reader, QuickTime, Real Player, etc.

More than likely, assignments will be downloaded from the school website and upon completion, uploaded back to the site or emailed to the professor. Therefore, although high-speed Internet is not required, it may be beneficial because some documents may load slowly.

For answers to your questions, please call Damon Slocumb at PC Solutions and Training (413) 246-0436 or via email to:

povreaderquestions@comcast.net.