Archive for December, 2008
Hard Work Pays Better Than No Work
Posted by Nick Roy in Featured Articles, MBA Advice Monday, 29 December 2009 12:27 2 Comments
Whether or not you decide to pursue your education online or offline, at the end of the day there’s really one thing you’re going to have to embrace if you want to succeed: hard work. To succeed in online education, whether it be an online degree program like I am currently working on, is to prepare yourself for that hard work. Many people think that taking a course online is easy. No it is not! Not by a long shot! Online courses are equally challenging to their residential counterparts.
Hey, I appreciate the conveniences and cost savings that can be had through online programs, believe me. I love the fact that I can go to class on my own schedule, and that I can use the flexibility of the Web to achieve my degree goal. No question at all, e-learning offers some tremendous advantages. But those advantages absolutely do not negate the fact that it will still take hard work on each individual’s part in order to successfully complete the program.
For some reason, a lot of people think that online education is going to be so much easier. I’m not exactly sure where they get that impression, but believe me, as someone who has been through it, e-learning is just as demanding as regular, traditional, offline in-classroom learning. You may be able to attend class in your pajamas, or you may be able to take an online test during your lunch break at work. But again, that’s convenience rather than “easier”.
Instead, approach online learning as an opportunity, rather than an easier path. Consider the benefits of the e-learning experience, but don’t equate online learning with some sort of shortcut. In fact, for some people, electronic education is actually more difficult than classroom learning. It’s only an opportunity, not a gift. I like to think of a quote by Thomas Edison:
“Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.”
Take advantage of the opportunity.
Definition of Distance Learning
Posted by Nick Roy in Distance Learning News Sunday, 28 December 2008 12:21 No Comments
This post is for those of you that are new to distance learning. Distance learning is a form of learning where the instructor and the students are in physically separate locations. Can be either synchronous or asynchronous in nature. Can include correspondence, video or satellite broadcasts, or e-Learning. Usually implies the higher education level.
Asynchronous learning is based on constructivist theory where it places an emphasis on peer-to-peer interaction. Learners log into the learning platform at different times from different places all with the same goal in mind. Courses such as those a Liberty University use asynchronous form of learning. My group presentations last semester were an example of asynchronous learning. All members of the group logged into the discussion board of Blackboard to post their comments and their part of the project. This type of learning has been most prevelent at the graduate level, but now can be found at the undergraduate level and even in high schools with the emergence of homeschooling.
Synchronous learning is where there learners log in and are interacting with one another at the same time, although from different locations. Typical applications for synchronous learning includes problem-based learning, or learning through case studies. I could take that group presentation and make it synchronous in nature by asking my group members to login to a chat program that I ask them to download. We are now using the chat room as an online place to meet. You can liken this to meeting at Starbucks with your group members in the residential program. This type of learning has been prevelent at the undergraduate level, but the undergraduate level is becoming increasingly asynchronous.
Making The Decision To Go To LU
Posted by Nick Roy in Featured Articles, MBA Advice Sunday, 28 December 2008 10:08 No Comments
All of you who have been reading my blogs recently know that I have been actively searching for my next degree. I knew that when I completed my MBA from Hawaii Pacific University that my academic career as a student was not over or at least I knew I had enough vinegar left to do one more degree at least. I consider learning to be a lifelong pursuit but even I have to admit that enough is enough when it comes to actually obtaining that next degree. At some point it just doesn’t make sense to keep going, to keep sacrificing and to keep having your family make sacrifices. Sometimes you just have to know when to walk away. A day will come when you have to admit to yourself that you can’t keep doing this indefinitely. Fortunately this isn’t that day!
I have decided to attend online at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia. I will be working towards a Master of Arts in Professional Counseling with a focus on Clinical Psychology. Given that I have no psychology background, I still have to take a number of undergraduate psychology courses as pre-requisites. Anyhow there are a number of reasons I have decided to attend LU.
First, they are inexpensive. This is the one of the single most important things to me right now. It has to be accessible and to be accessible it has to be inexpensive. In fact the school has a payment plan that allows you to spread the tuition payments over 5 even sums at given times throughout the semester. How thoughtful.
| Estimated Costs 2008-2009 |
| Average | Local | Honors | |
| Tuition/Room*/Board/Fees | $21,234 | $21,234 | $21,234 |
| ScholarshipsChampion EDA Pastor Alumni Academic (average) Virginia Scholarship SBCV Virginia Tuition Assistance Grant Honors |
$1,000 $500 $500 $500 $2,000 NA NA NA NA |
$1,000 $500 $500 $500 $2,000 $1,000 $1,000 $3,200 NA |
$1,000 $500 $500 $500 $3,000 NA NA NA $3,750 |
| Total Scholarships | $5,000 | $10,200 | $9,750 |
| Total estimated cost/year | $17,234 | $12,034 | $12,484 |
| Total estimated cost/semester | $8,617 | $6,017 | $6,242 |
Source: Liberty University
Second, they are regionally accredited. This is a big deal because I intend to use this degree become a licensed psychologist and to immediately enter a doctoral program in psychology.
Third, with the 8 week sub-terms, I will still be able to complete my second Master’s degree by 2011 and then immediately enter a doctoral program. Also, I will be getting high quality Christian education and develop the ability to use the Bible in counseling sessions. Like most investments, it makes sense to diversify. This is the big winner over my second runner up, Nova Southeastern University.
Fourth, Since Liberty University has both residential and online programs; I can choose to take any course on campus if I feel the need to. Residential students can take online courses as well.
Now some cons that I have discovered, or at the very least some concerns.
First, the learning software is Blackboard. Since January 2008 was my first semester at LU, and I had never taken an online course before, I had to spend a few extra hours learning what Blackboard had to offer and how the courses are structured.
Second, most of the instructors for the undergraduate courses only have Master’s degrees, while for the graduate courses, the instructors all have PhDs. Many of the instructors at both levels have a lot of autonomy in how they work their online class even though many of them have many sections which means many student papers to grade. This can present problems from the student perspective as workload, assignment format, expectations, etc. will likely vary greatly from one professor to the next.
Lastly, taking an online course is not easy. It requires a lot of self-discipline. The semesters are still 16 weeks, but the courses are 8 weeks. In each course we go through the entire book. There are assignments due every week. For example, in my course on human learning, there was an essay and multiple choice exams every week, as well as a group presentation of learning theories. Every week there was three things due by 11:59 pm on Sunday night. Points were taken off if you missed this deadline, unless you had permission from the instructor. In week seven, there was a 10 page research paper that was also due to be written in APA format.
The multiple choice tests were extremely challenging. Whereas most multiple choice questions in undergraduate courses were mostly verbatim recall, these exams were applied multiple choice questions. You had to know the concepts. You could not get by just by memorizing key terms. Each question was a hypothetical situation with four choices to choose from. Choose the best answer. Bottom line is that online courses are equally difficult to the residential counterparts.
A Second Masters Degree
Posted by Nick Roy in MBA Advice Sunday, 28 December 2008 09:28 No Comments
So far that’s about it and LU looks promising, but there are still some things to be discovered, semester length, etc. Nova Southeastern University was another leading candidate. However, because my undergraduate degree was from a for profit institution, NSU was going to require the GMAT. LU does not require the GMAT, GRE or any other of these meaningless tests. Either way I’m looking forward to it. Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development
Posted by Nick Roy in Childhood, Featured Articles Saturday, 27 December 2008 19:26 No Comments
Jean Piaget, a Swiss Psychologist, believed that a child’s mind develops through a series of four stages. These stages consist of the following:
- sensorimotor stage – birth to 2 years
- preoperational stage – 2 years to about 6 or 7 years
- concrete operational stage – 6 07 years to approximate 12 years
- formal operational stage – 12 years and through adulthood
Infants in the sensorimotor stage have no object permanance, or the awareness things continue to exist even when not perceived. If you place a teddy bear in front of a 5 month old, the child will grasp at it, put it in his mouth, and play with it. If you take the teddy bear away, the assumption is that the child will think it doesn’t exist. They will grab another toy that they do see.
Children in the preoperational stage begin to use language to describe things. This is the stage where the child begins to say their first words. These words are one syllable, such as ma or da. During this time, parents begin to watch what they say around their kids. Say a bad word, and it can get picked up by the child as children continue imitating what adults say and do.
However, they will tend to have problems understanding another person’s point-of-view, called egocentrism. Children during this stage also have problems with the concept of conservation. For example, if you have two beakers filled with water. Both beakers have the same amount of water. Take one of the beakers and empty it into a shorter, but wider beaker. Present these two beakers to the child and ask them if they have the same amount of water. In this age group, they will most likely say that the shorter, wider beaker has the more water. At this stage, they can’t fully grasp the concept of the change in shape doesn’t mean a change in volume. This is typical of children during the play years as this stage normally represents.
Once children are about 7 to 11 years of age, they tend to think more logically about concrete events. An obvious result of what they are learning in school. This stage is called the concrete operational stage and is also dubbed the school years.
Formal operational thinking is where children begin to think abstractly and hypothetically. This begins at about 12 years old and continues throughout adulthood. This stage of thinking begins at about the junior high school level and progresses as they move through high school, college, and eventually graduate school. By the time the reach the college level, many students are beginning to master the art of metaphore and acronyms in their learning.
Piaget stated that children progressed through stages. Critics of Piaget say that children can progress more rapidly or slowly than the average child. For example, there have been cases of gifted children tend to be able to think and reason at an abtract, hypothetical level at age 9. Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development is meant to be a guidepost for a child’s development. It gives parents, educators, pediatricians, an idea of what milestones to be looking for at particular ages. Many pediatricians have been wise to tell parents not to worry if their child has failed to speak by a certain age. However, if a reasonable amount of time has passed without that milestone being reached, would be cause for concern.
Piaget believed that children of all ages are active thinkers who are constantly constructing their own knowledge. This came to be known as constructivism, or constructivist theory. Children from birth to two years old, through the use of their senses, are building schemas or mental models. It is quite common to see a five month old sitting up and grabbing at some toys dangling in front of him. In the beginning, children would form a schema that any animal that walks on all four legs is a dog. As they grow older, they will modify this schema and create additional schemas for other types of aminals, such as cats and other large animals. Schemas are how children on up to adulthood understand and make sense of their world. We all are constantly modifying our existing schemas and creating new schemas as we accomodate new knowledge.
Children with learning disabilities take a bit longer to progress through the stages that Piaget has laid out. Children who have been severely maltreated will also progress much slower through the stages. There have been cases where a child has been locked up in a closet in a room for many years. The child, having no contact with the outside world, has become severely retarded both physically and mentally. A child maltreated to this extreme would be said to have a mental age of a 5 year old, while their chronological age is say 12. The child has missed many critical periods of development. If a child were an infant locked in a closet until he or she was say 5 years old, the child would no doubt be blind as the optic nerves would have missed a critical period to develop.
Parents have the ultimate ability to help their children develop cognitively. If parents were to read to their children while still infants, or having their children observe adults reading a newspaper or a book, their children will be more likely to pick up on those things at an earlier age. Children are developing sooner than Piaget’s stages indicate. Two influences are the media, followed by both parents working which leave the children to be on their own and assume more grown up responsibilities. As a result, boys and girls alike are reaching puberty at much earlier ages. Girls are wearing make up and filling out at earlier ages. In one way, this is scary. The times are changing.
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