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Available Free Online Courses

June 30, 2011 By 1 Comment

Available Free Online Courses

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Online Courses You Can Take for Free

Sure.  There are hundreds of online courses you can pay tuition to take through accredited colleges and universities.  However, what you might be surprised to learn is that there are online courses that you can take for free.

Types of available free online courses include high school online courses, offered mainly through privately owned educational firms (e.g. Home Schooling Your Child, Connections Academy).  Some educational firms also provide online courses for elementary and middle school aged students.  Areas students learn about during the free courses cover a broad range of topics such as English, math, science, language and social studies.  Courses are taught by licensed teachers as well as by instructors who have received formal training from leaders at the schools and academies they are employed by.

You can also enroll in a free medical terminology online course and one or more medical billing and coding online courses.  You might have to join professional medical organizations like the American Medical Billing Association to take the online courses.  If you’re in the process of completing an undergraduate or graduate degree, ask the dean of the nursing department at the accredited college or university you attend if you can receive credit for completing the online courses if you earn a passing grade.  After all, by completing free online courses for college credit you save yourself hundreds of dollars in tuition money.  You also shorten the amount of time it’ll take you to earn your degree.

Online Courses for College Credit and Continued Education

If you take online courses through accredited postsecondary schools or respected professional associations and organizations, in addition to earning college credit, you’ll strengthen your job resume, possibly helping you to gain quality employment from top firms.  To keep the education portion of your resume updated consider filing certificates you receive for completing online courses in a folder where you can easily reach them.  Not only will adding recent training you complete to your resume show prospective hiring managers that you have the necessary training to fill their job openings, it also demonstrates to hiring managers that you value education and are committed to lifelong learning.

Major companies like technology firms, financial services corporations and government and science institutions also offer free online courses.  As with professional association training programs, you might need to be a member of the corporations and institutions to qualify to take the courses free of charge.  After you join the organizations, generally all you need is a login and password to access their training courses, materials you can download in a matter of seconds or moments, depending on the size of the training programs.

Sample courses offered include:

  • Getting started with Access 2010
  • Create tables for a new database
  • Build and publish web databases
  • Calculus for business
  • Personal financial planning
  • Money and banking

Independent contractors also offer free online programs.  For example, motivational speakers might offer free presentation or public speaking courses.  Some book writers and journalists offer free communication and editing courses as ways to build traffic to their websites.  Of course, if you work for an employer, your employer probably has a training intranet website that list dozens of free online courses you can take to strengthen your job learning skills.

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Applying for FAFSA to Defer Costs of Online College

June 27, 2011 By 1 Comment
Cost of Online College

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The cost of online degrees is seemingly on a constant rise.  If you are seeking a postsecondary online education but the prices veer you away, there are many options available that will allow you earn a higher education with a lower price tag.

Financial aid amounts awarded to college students

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, the average amount of financial aid awarded to full time undergraduates was $12,700, with dependants receiving an average of $13,100. Independent undergraduates were awarded $11,700, and part-time undergraduate received $5,800. The cost of online degrees varies by school, but any college education is a big financial undertaking, especially for recent high school graduates. Regardless of the total amount of tuition you owe, these are large sums of money that will help you pay for school at the current time. Keep in mind; you must re-pay the loans according to the terms agreed upon.

Percent of students taking online courses

An important figure to remember courtesy of the National Center for Education Statistics, 20 percent of all undergraduates took at least one distance education course. Four percent of those students took their entire undergraduate educations online. This being said, it is understood that these students were able to receive financial aid, so remember that whether you are attending a traditional campus college, or the ever popular online college, you should fill out the FAFSA form to determine whether or not you are eligible for a loan.

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Accredited Online Degree Programs

June 23, 2011 By 1 Comment
Online Degree Programs

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Students are going to the Internet now more than ever. Their priorities are slowly changing from play to business with the boom of online degree programs. Higher education is constantly being pushed so rather than letting their high school diplomas suffice, accredited online degree programs are being sought out by current and graduated high school students.

Is your potential online degree program accredited?

You want to make sure to check out your potential online college to ensure it is accredited. On the homepage of the site there should be an accreditation section that will inform you not only of the online degree program’s accreditations, but of the organizations and associations to which the school belongs. There are a plethora of popular online degrees available such as Bachelor of Arts in Communications, Bachelor of Science in Accounting, and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration. Finding the degree program is the easy part, it is searching for an accredited online college with accredited online degree programs that can prove to be difficult.

Checking your potential online college’s accreditations

It is very important that your potential online college is accredited as well as the program you are hoping to enter. Your potential online college’s Web site will supply you with this information in the same section that it would inform you whether or not the online degree program is accredited, which will help you make an educated decision whether or not to commit to the school. It will take you a few minutes, but make sure you add it to your favorites to keep tabs on it. Sometimes more accreditations, organizations, and associations are added over time. If you check this information before committing to any online school you will be in good shape. And remember that your degree from an accredited online college and an accredited online degree program will help with your future career goals.

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The Tablet Laptop

June 20, 2011 By 1 Comment

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With new items constantly being released onto the market, it can be hard to keep up with it all. You never know which items you should purchase, or which ones to wait for, but when it comes to gadgets having to do with school you want to make the right decision. A recent item that is about to take the market by storm is the tablet laptop.

There are many types of tablets on the market such as the iPad by apple. Now that laptops are becoming too much for online college students to carry around, tablets are the way of the future. But now to get a tangible keyboard attached so that students without baby’s hands can type at a normal pace. Considering the speed of the electronics industry, you should be well aware that they were working on this well before the tablet became big. This will be popular with online college students who rely on laptops day and night to receive and submit work. With Web cameras, it is also possible to engage in classroom discussions. It is everything an online college student could need minus the weight and $1,000+ price tag.

Some tablets will have a rotation feature where the keyboard will act as a cover and then as a keyboard once rotated around. Others will have a detachable keyboard so you will have the option of attaching your tablet to your keyboard to make it a fully functioning “laptop”. The next step to making it even better will be to stray from the Netbook concept with limited or no USB and to add more memory. With prices considerably cheaper than those of a laptop, people, especially online college students, will be sure to jump on the bandwagon once any and all kinks have been worked out.

Would you purchase a tablet laptop?

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Online Textbooks are the Future

June 16, 2011 By 2 Comments

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Remember the times in the high school when your backpack was so heavy from the printed text the school insisted you carry around every day in case they were needed? Those days are becoming a thing of the past because the eTextbook is where the future is headed.

The eTextbooks are online textbooks that students can download and keep on electronic readers, flash drives, smartphones, and/or laptops. These are great for high school students, college students, and online college students. Although online college students do not face the hurt of carrying books around all day, it still helps to save space and relieve your back of the times you may want to study at a coffee shop.

Not only will you be saving money on medical bills from visiting your chiropractor, you will also save money based on the cost of online textbooks. A regular textbook can range in costs. The average for a hardcover textbook is around $120. That same book can be purchased for $45 to $50 as an eTextbook. That is quite the savings, especially for college students who need to try to keep their loans in check.

Some professors are nice enough to scan the copies of the pages needed and send them via a PDF file. If that is the case, then you are saving even more money. Should your luck not be that great, then at least you can save by purchasing an eTextbook. Give it a try and calculate your savings just for fun!

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Earning Your Degree from Your Phone

June 13, 2011 By 2 Comments

Image courtesy of www.gizmag.comTechnology has made everything easier. Your cell phone can do just about everything short of raising your children… And I am sure there is an app for that! Did you ever think you would see the day when you could attend school from home? How about the day that you could attend classes and send work via your cell phone? Well folks, that day has arrived.

The Motorola Atrix is a smartphone designed to connect to your laptop using a dock. It has an application called Webtop where you can literally get your computer onto your phone. No time to send your work to your professor at home? No problem. Just sync your phone with your laptop and send it using the Webtop application. And if you are worried about anyone trying to steal your work, it has fingerprint technology in place of passwords.

Some courses require you to submit video footage, pictures, etc. With 16BG of onboard memory and optional 32GB card available, you have plenty of room to store everything you will need for school right in the palm of your hand. Also, with a dual-core processor, you will not have to sacrifice speed just because you decided to use your phone for coursework rather than your computer.

You can now access your desktop using Webtop to view, edit, and send word processing documents and spreadsheets using QuickOffice or other available applications. Sure, it might be easier to type full-length papers on your laptop, but if you have a free hour on the train on your way to work and want to touch it up or continue writing, you can feel free to do so right on your phone. Even for those students who need to use Web cameras for class, there is a program for that on the phone. You can take the classroom in your pocket everywhere you go!

Who knew earning your degree was literally in the palm of your hand?

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Loans and Grants for Mothers Going Back to School

June 10, 2011 By 1 Comment

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The government is making it easier than ever for all moms to head back into the virtual classroom. Now, when I say easier I don’t mean ensuring you have a babysitter, paying for the babysitter, and making sure you have well-behaved kids that will not bug your while you are trying to study. When I say easier, I mean helping you pay for your online college education.

The government and state recognize that by helping mothers go back to school, they will be able to provide better for their children as well as improve themselves. It can depend on each mom’s personal and financial situation as to which loan(s) they qualify for. Before applying, make sure you fit the requirements as to ensure you do not waste your time.

Obama’s Pell Grant – A federal government grant that gives incentive for moms and dads alike to gain a higher education.

 State and School – Your state and/or online college may very well offer loans and grants geared towards mothers returning to school. In order to obtain this information, please speak with your school’s financial department and search online for loans and grants your state offers.

Employer – If you are currently employed, you should speak with the Human Resources department to determine is your employer will help cover the cost of some of your online college expenses.

Make sure you stay on top of deadlines so money does not virtually slip through your fingers. Making the decision to go back to school will not only improve you as a person and employee, but your family will also be able to reap the benefits.

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Online Summer Courses

June 9, 2011 By 1 Comment

photostock / FreeDigitalPhotos.netTaking online courses is a great way to be proactive about your education. Many of you are parents, employees, business owners, andrecent high school graduates. No matter where you fall in the categories, there is always room for improvement.

Following the normal semester schedule is always fine; you can never go wrong following the semesters. But, what if you were to mix things up a bit and take a summer course? Summer courses are great for many reasons:

1. The actual length of the course is shortened by more than half.

2. Professors don’t want to be teaching just as little as you want to be attending so they tend to me more lenient.

3. You get ahead on your credits.

4. You can save money if you take courses at another school with transferable credits and lower credit prices. But make sure to check with your current school before going ahead

Look on your school’s Web site to see what courses are offered over the summer and whether or not they fit into your curriculum. If you find that they do match, consider taking one or two. With those extra credits you can either take it easy one semester by taking fewer courses or you can continue full steam ahead and graduate early. The decision is yours; make it a good one!

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