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Most Recent Articles
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- The Battle Between Click And Brick Universities
The role of contemporary universities is currently experiencing tremendous change due to the advancements in technology. Today, it is not just a matter of sound administrative decisions made by institutions, but rather a global realization that e-learning is a dynamically growing industry. Undergraduate and graduate students demand their universities to provide them with the latest technological tools available, so as to increase their efficiency ratios, elevate the quality of their studies, and acquire the needed business skills, which will later help them find the job of their dreams. For-profit or non-profit universities, among other things, produce professionals and need to serve their academic "customers" what they desire if they mean to stay in business. But, are all postsecondary institutions supposed to offer their curriculums through e-learning and what is the outcome of these technological "services" for the academic community?
According to different scholars, as the industrial economy gave its place to what is known today as the "knowledge economy," the academic world was bound to be impacted. A number of alterations in the university's form, the consistency of its faculty, the demographics of its participants, the financial resources available, along with the political and social changes that have emerged, caused higher educational institutions to reconstruct their model and redesign their identity. Continuing incorporating these changes and fostering technological innovations has become a major challenge for academic institutions; who wish to keep up with the global pace, or even lead the future course of action. Internet usage and what has come to be known as the educational model of e-learning have created the grounds upon which various stakeholders argue in favor or against the proliferation of a vast variety of technology-based educational tools. - Choosing An Online Degree Program
College degrees have long been available by correspondence but with the growth of the internet, students can now pursue college degrees online. There are hundreds of schools offering online programs for everything from Masters Degrees in Business Administration to advanced degrees in the fine arts. Because of the large number of schools offering online programs, it can be difficult to know what to look for in a quality program.
There are two basic types of institutions offering online degrees: Colleges and universities with physical campuses and online-only institutions. Online-only institutions do offer single courses, but tend to focus on degree programs. Colleges and universities with physical campuses offer both complete degree programs and single courses, which are often taken by on-campus students as well as online-only students. - Do Interdisciplinary Studies Promote Collaboration Between Professionals
All academic disciplines share a common and primary commitment to serving the society and working toward the ideal of education for all. Although each discipline has its own focus, the scope of collaboration and exchange existing among university students is today acknowledged by professors, organizations, and the society in general, as a prerequisite practice in a person's educational effort and as the necessary step one has to take before pursuing any type of career.
Collaboration emanates from the understanding and appreciation of the roles and contributions each student brings to the overall academic experience. This article argues that the professional socialization an individual will have to demonstrate at some point in life is a direct outcome of this individual's ability to be engaged in a flourishing academic relationship with others inside or outside a class. Being able to work with a variety of people so as to attain a common goal is the first step for someone to demonstrate and advance the qualities and skills that will later be used in the development of a career. The success of a soon-to-be professional is linked with the educational and practical experiences this person receives while in school. Thus, it is rather logical for a researcher to assume that the greater the discrepancy in students' backgrounds is and the more diverse the disciplines one studies are the more productive the academic exchange will be. Contemporary interdisciplinary programs offer the advantages of both. - Harvard University
Harvard University is the oldest and, arguably, the most prestigious university in the United States. In 2005, the Times Higher Education Supplement and the Academic Ranking of World Universities both ranked Harvard University first among the universities of the world. In addition, the US News and World Report rankings placed Harvard at the top of the list in a tie with Princeton. Moreover, with a financial endowment of $25.5 billion in 2005, Harvard is considered the wealthiest university in the United States and in the world.
Located at Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard was founded in 1663, incorporated as "The President and Fellows of Harvard College." It was named Harvard College in 1639 after John Harvard, a young clergyman and the institution's first principal donor. John Harvard, a product of Emmanuel College in Cambridge, left in his will several hundred pounds and a few hundred books to the college, which formed the foundation of its college library collection. On record, the first known official reference to Harvard as a "university" rather than a college was in 1780 in the Massachusetts Constitution. - Astronomy And Kids
During the clear night sky and as long as the city lights are not close or bright enough to interfere with your naked eye vision, it is always a good idea to grab a blanket and some candles and head to your house's roof or the nearest hill. Admiring the stars is not an exclusive activity kids are only allowed to perform, but it can be something you can share with them while introducing them to the unknown world of the universe.
If your child has already looked up gazing the moon and the stars and has asked you all sort of questions regarding their characteristics, their special stories and the interpretation of their slow movements, you should invest some time during a Saturday night to take your kids to the countryside and show them the stars while they awe and wonder on how these "pins" are stuck on the dark sky and why they are not visible during the day. Introducing your child to the marvels above their heads can be a tremendously educative experience your kids will love to repeat as soon as possible. Even your back yard is an ideal place to begin the learning journey that can last a lifetime. But parents support that most of the times getting started is the hardest part of this process. - The Misplaced Academic Values
Based on endless discussions upon the usefulness of University degrees, it seems obvious that undergraduate and especially graduate students around the globe constantly wonder what the outcome of their efforts will be. Since perceptions and goals differ, so does the interpretation of the word outcome, especially when the complex issue of knowledge and academic performance is evaluated. Inside the realm of a University's environment, the outcome for most students is the actual value of their academic performance, the product of their intellectual exchange. Monetary or spiritual, the discussed value is usually interpreted as a product ready to be consumed by the private or public sector after the completion of the academic effort by the subject. But, is this interpretation a misconception, or the only outcome of contemporary Universities? Are students misusing the term or have they misplaced some of the values that used to govern the intellectual world?
In fact, making more money Hand reaching a desired social status are the main reasons that drive prospective students to pursue a degree. Future gains are considered to be the basic motivation that urges people to strive for superior academic performance. Moreover, the fierce competitive environment of every discipline forces the individual to identify new ways of excelling and increasing his/her bargaining power before facing an interested employer. This capitalistic notion of today's reality has forced institutions to recognize the power of monetary gains and has made the academic world a microcosm of this obvious shift in values. Under this social transformation and having to deal with these strong socioeconomic forces, Universities are challenged to survive as intellectual entities. In this altered environment, the academic changes that many scholars have identified have transformed modern Universities into corporate agents. - The Problem Of Illiteracy
In general terms, illiteracy is an inability to use language -- an inability to read, write, listen and speak. Today, it is usually taken to mean being unable to read and write at a level adequate for written communication or at a level that will allow an individual to function at certain levels of society. In the simplest of terms, illiteracy is the opposite of literacy.
In some societies, the standards for what constitute literacy are different from others. For example, some cultures believe that only people with skills such as computers skills and basic numeracy may be considered literate. This takes into account the fact that there are people who can add and subtract, but can't read letters as well as people who can learn to use a computer to a limited extent but may still not be able to read text. One example is Scotland, which defines literacy as: "The ability to read and write and use numeracy, to handle information, to express ideas and opinions, to make decisions and solve problems, as family members, workers, citizens and lifelong learners." That's probably as specific as you can get in defininng what literacy is all about. - Do Contemporary Universities Suffer From A Type Of Cancer
Biologists and medical practitioners have proven through extensive scientific research and testing that every living organism renews its cells as it gradually matures. If we accept Proust's metaphor that "a nation is a huge organized accumulation of individuals," then when cultural norms change so does the nation as a whole entity. Based on this assumption, a nation, a country, or generally any type of society, can be characterized by its critics as "sick" if its constituent cells change their previous status with unknown consequences. Under this realm, the crisis contemporary universities have been experiencing must be the outcome of the detected changes in people's values, norms, priorities and ideology. Thus, as the individual cells change their role, critics have denoted a new type of "sickness" in the academic environment, a new type of "cancer," which according to scholars like Miller and Miyoshi, has to be treated adequately before it completely destroys the institutions' primary educational purpose.
Like a human organism is constructed by smaller portions of matter, the contemporary university is an accumulation of students, professors, administrators and many more stakeholders, like corporations. These groups share the grounds of an institution and strive to accomplish various goals. In the past, although different views existed and dissensus was present, the unity of the overall institution was not jeopardized. Unfortunately today, due to the socioeconomic changes fostered by the capitalistic hegemony, contradictory interests have divided the various university groups threatening unity under the broad academic umbrella. But is there something wrong with corporate intervention and why has it managed to create a crisis of this magnitude? Do universities suffer from "cancer"? - Ivy League Education
For many parents, especially those who reside in the northeastern United States as well as other places, the pinnacle of education is found in Ivy League schools. Their cherished dream and life-long ambition is to send their sons and daughters to these schools, believing that the higher standards of education and social connections available there will likely set up their offspring for life. They are impressed no end by the Ivy League, with its connotations of academic excellence and its reputation for social elitism, and with good reason.
The term Ivy League can trace its roots to 1935, but the term really gained national attention starting in 1954 with the formation of the NCAA Division I athletic conference. With the dearth of professional sports at the time, people became rabid supporters of their favorite college teams and the Ivy League schools were no exception. Today, the term Ivy League is no longer associated wholly with athletics but with educational philosophy as exhibited by the country's oldest schools. - The Protectionism Delusion
Economists through years of study and practice have concluded that through free trade, based on the principal of comparative advantage, the world economy can achieve a more efficient allocation of resources and a higher level of material well-being. On the other hand, protectionism measures-barriers to free trade-lessen or eliminate gains from specialization. Trying to satisfy diverse wants, nations shift resources from efficient (low cost) to inefficient (high cost) uses. This is the reason why, instead of promoting competition, governments turn up to face monopolies that harm the economy and do not fulfill the consumers' needs.
Furthermore, the costs of protectionism are hidden because trade barriers are embedded in the prices of goods. Thus, either due to misunderstandings of the gains of trade or due to political considerations, governments may impose trade barriers, with consequences such as higher prices, which can not be realized by the public at the beginning. - Man Builds Inventing Machine
John Koza has made a serious breakthrough when it comes to the computing power of today and our hopes for it in the future. Studying computers since his high school tutelage in the 1950s, Koza was a man who yearned to make advancements in the world around him. As a clear example of his ingenuity, he was unable to afford a computer while in high school, since the mainframes of the time took up entire rooms and cost far more than the modern day computer. To that end, John assembled bits and pieces from the gadgets around him, and with parts from old pinball machines and jukeboxes, he found himself with a computer that could accurately compute what day of the week a certain date would fall on.
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