I was reviewing Wikipedia’s New Year’s resolution overviewwhich includes the history of this tradition dating back to the ancient Babylonians. If you have time to scan it, you will learn that men and women tend to differ a bit in the way they make their New Year’s resolutions, and there are ways everyone can more successfully sustain their resolve. But you will also see that educational resolutions are 4th in a list of most popular resolutions at this time of year.
A degree earned through a U.S.-based institution of higher education continues to be a major draw for hundreds of thousands of foreign students… 764,495 in the 2011/12 academic year to be exact, according to the recently released 2012 Open Doors Report on International Educational Exchange (IEE). That number, they say, is up 6% and establishes a new high. What is motivating this interest? Here, from the news item about the report:
Recently, the flagship institution of the largest university in Malaysia conducted research to see if the online learning experience differed for males and females. More specifically, according to the news account, the researchers were focused on these factors: motivation, self monitoring, internet literacy, internet anxiety and concentration of students when engaging in online studying.
Think distance learning is a recent phenomenon? If so, you’ll want to examine a recent Forbes article that traces distance learning in America back to 1892. This is especially true if you have friends and family who say distance education is a fad, it’s too new, it’ll never last. (In Europe, I seem to recall, it may have started even earlier with correspondence courses to learn shorthand…)
A recent Boston Herald article by Rochelle Stewart Rubino features one of our own at UMass in a piece that projects the growth and importance of online higher education options with specific reference to UMass Boston’s own expectations. Here are just a few excerpts from Ms. Rubino’s report:
This story comes to us from The Times of India. It is an inspiration to any learner of any age, but particularly for elder adults who may think it is too late to continue their education.
It is about 77-year-old Binay Kumar of Patna, India, who, through the Open and Distance Learning (ODL) system there, has ...
Writing for the Associated Press (AP), Josh Lederman reports on recent comments by U.S. Department of Education Secretary Arne Duncan who wants to see traditional textbooks rendered obsolete in a few short years. The article, which has a decidedly K-12 perspective (more on that below) notes the potential economic benefits of textbook digitization. It also notes the importance of digital textbooks when it comes to keeping up with educational systems in other countries where this trend is well underway.
D.C. Denison of The Boston Globe recently penned a terrific article detailing the rigors of online learning in higher education. It is an important piece for two reasons. One, it debunks much of the mythology among some that distance learning is easy. Two, he got his information from some of the most reliable and knowledgeable sources: online students and teachers.
Inside Higher Ed has posted a summary of findings from the Education at a Glance report on global education trends as identified by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The formation of OECD dates back to 1960 and its principal objective is to …promote policies that will improve the economic and social well-being of people around the world.
by Jennifer Hernandez Marketing Manager
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
We all have lists, but what is stopping us from checking off our to-do list? Does this sound familiar?
“I just don’t have the time; there just isn’t room in my budget; I haven’t been to school in ages; work is too busy; I already have too many obligations with the kids…”
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