biosman2's Blog

In this flagging economy, record numbers of students are applying for colleges all over the world. In 2008, the number of full time students rose by over ten percent over the previous year and this year the percentages are even higher. Many students are applying at overseas colleges both in the United States and in the United Kingdom. Female applicants rose by almost double what male applicants rose to and the largest percentage rise happened in the mature students sector. This sector includes anyone over the age of 25.

The percentages for 2009 are expected to continue to rise as young students try to build their ability to get a job in the changing workplace. Joining these young students both coming out of high school and leaving the job market to rejoin school,l are the older students who have lost their career and are going back to school in order to learn new skills to start a new career.

Many of the sciences are seeing a rise in student applications, chemists are on the rise and students looking to get into the energy field. Physics and Biology are also showing a growth period. People are seeing more and more worth in higher education as an investment in their futures. Even families that are lower income are registering their teen-agers fresh out of high school. These students that before might not have had a chance to explore their potential and their talent are being registered due to the state of the economy and the family's wishes to give them a better chance at making it in the world.

Colleges and Universities also attribute their rises in registration to their aggressive marketing schedules that they have recently undertaken. This marketing is done through many different medias including television and internet. With these medias the colleges and universities are able to tout what their school can do for it's students and invite them to see for themselves through visitations to the schools and talks with the schools advisory teams.

One thing is for certain, as the world economy keeps quaking with instability, more and more individuals are going to be looking to higher education for the remedy to their financial dilemmas. Registration will likely continue to rise and more and more students will be entering the workplace with higher levels of knowledge and skills.

The recession has had a significant impact on higher education in the UK, and has subsequently caused many to speak out about how degree courses are funded, and how much they are worth to both students and the economy as a whole. Specifically, the reason many are looking at the higher education system with a more critical eye is because of the sudden hike in enrolment numbers as many older people are applying for university courses to improve their employability, at the same time as many institutions suffer cutbacks in order to save on funds.

This sudden saturation of the education system (and the decline in jobs available for those who leave it) has caused the latest report by the Confederation of British Industry to call for both students and businesses to invest more in higher education. For the former this means higher interest rates, fees, and fewer grants to go round, whilst businesses themselves are being urged to integrate completely with institutions to ease the financial burden suffered recession-hit universities.

Unsurprisingly, many students will find the proposals hard to accept - and accusations that they are ‘offensive' and ‘retrograde' have already been heard. But whether or not the integration of business and higher education is embraced by the UK government, institutions and companies - individuals considering a further education course should not be put of by the notion that business may have a more significant implication on their studies. And that it does not necessarily mean that they will have to pay more.

The benefits of home study courses are worth a mention here, and are relevant not because they are controlled by private funding any more than traditional courses are - but because they can aid students in ways that the CBI are proposing better integration between institutions and private business can - and more.

Distance learning courses are not only cheaper for each individual student, but time is far more flexible meaning that students can remain in work while they complete their studies. This gives students ongoing skills development that is unique to the workplace, as well as continuing academic study - and there may even be room for integration between study and work depending on their subject and job. This will no doubt lead to an impressive and wide-ranging development of skills for students - as well as the obvious ability to time-manage independently in a busy and fast moving environment.

There is a conventional axiom that at any time you are presented with a snag or a challenge, you should turn it into an opportunity. Some of the people who have mastered this concept are; the United States Government, Large Corporations, Self Made Millionaires.

Was Y2K really a threat? Loot at all the companies that made a fortune helping you to become Y2K compliant. When it came right down to the wire nothing happened according to the predictions, we all remained on the Internet, our computers did not crash. Michelangelo virus was yet another example; mass devastation was forecasted, yet few really got hit with the virus, but the software companies raked it in with increased sales for anti virus software to consumers in a panic.

The most recent is the creation of email postage, as ridiculous as this concept sounds this is just yet another example of big corporations coming up with more and more ways to get the American public to bow to control. The general idea behind this is to charge email marketers postage on each email sent out. The bill died pretty quickly but now we have yet another bill called the Can/Spam Act just enacted. With this for an email marketer it would mean exorbitant rates just to have the privilege of reaching their recipients. Who is behind this? The answer should be obvious; it is big corporations like Microsoft and AOL. I believe Microsoft is charging approximately a $1400.00 licensing fee to email marketers if they wish to be able to deliver their advertisements with MSN or Hotmail email addresses.

If that'is not bad enough check out the latest with Identity Theft issues. It seems as though because of the problem being so huge, Credit card companies are now offering Identity Theft protection, yes you can get insurance now in case your identity is stolen, which of course you must pay for. Lets look at this concept for a minute, if you don'T want to lose a bundle getting hit by an ID thief and you cannot be guaranteed your information will stay private, though the Privacy Act demands it, you must pay for protection.

When you sign up for an relation with a Credit Card company and have to give them your personal information, they are supposed to guard that information from leaking out to those who could use it beside you. What is even worse is when it really does happen, it involves so many innocent people not just one, that law enforcement officers tend to misunderstand what is really going on and tend to re-victimize innocent victims. In some recent cases Victims have actually been accused of crimes themselves and had to defend themselves against judicial systems that are failing to recognize the problem for what it is. They are falsely accused and jailed in some cases for crimes they did not commit, all because a thief took it upon himself to wreak havoc on one persons life.

The character in Mel Gibson's " Conspiracy Theory" would have a field day with this information. So herein lies the evidence that every position has potential to be turned into opportunity given the right attention be paid, and the drive take the steps to make it happen.

E-learning, or taking classes and coursework using the Internet instead of in a traditional classroom, has been around for a while. In the early days, e-learning was awkward, with coursework presented online but much of the teacher's job still done offline. Papers were mailed to professors and tests were still done by hand. As e-learning progressed, more and more was done on the computer, but old programs had to be awkwardly updated and extensions had to be created to make this possible. Today, fourth-generation e-learning is a complete e-learning option, with all components built into a platform that is designed specifically for an e-learning environment. Features of Fourth-Generation E-Learning With a fourth-generation e-learning program, you receive the following benefits: - Ability to manage all parts of the learning experience, including forums, documents, and other non-course items. - Ability to tailor training content or course presentation based on a student's prior performance using "agent" technology. - Versatility to provide for self-study, virtual training, and online classroom environments in the same course. - Paradigms that allow the teacher to group students into categories, allow the categories to interact in a structured way, and manage students as a group when needed. - Technology that allows the teacher to manage training, whether live or not, at the same time, using the same tool set. - Supports discussion between teachers, learners, administrators, and even subject matter experts, in whatever matter the teacher or administrator sees fit. How Fourth-Generation E-Learning Is Being Used E-learning environments are most often thought of in the college or university market. Many schools are now offering courses and even entire degrees through online education. Instead of attending a traditional class, students take classes on their computers, making it possible to incorporate a college education into a busy schedule filled with work and family responsibilities. As e-learning technologies are becoming more and more precise, universities are turning to them as options for graduate and post-graduate degree programs as well as undergraduate programs. It would not be surprising to see a college professor in the next 20 years who earned his doctorate entirely online, because e-learning is quickly becoming a standard offering for many universities. Fourth-generation e-learning is not confined to the college setting, however. Employers can use these programs to train their staff, creating modular education programs that staff members can complete at the office, without the need for a set training time. This also allows one teacher to facilitate training for hundreds of employees, when appropriate. E-learning is also showing up in the elementary and high school settings. Some students who do not do well in a traditional classroom are taking their classes online. Home school families are able to provide their children with access to advanced science and math programs without sacrificing their desire to home school by taking advantage of fourth-generation e-learning programs. Will e-learning eventually replace the traditional teacher? Probably not, since teachers are necessary even in an e-learning environment. However, the future of education is going to rely on the computer more and more, and fourth generation e-learning software is paving the way.

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