Online studying may be a platform where student independence can be practiced to the fullest. And this makes online schooling to be popularly known as a system where you can study at your own pace and in which discipline and time management are very important virtue that you need to have in order to succeed.

But as technologies in online education are continuously evolving, the technologies that are now being used by accredited online universities pave way to defeat the virtual barrier between the online students and their professors or instructors. It is now possible for online students to study with the close monitoring of their professors through the development of group forums and web conferencing tools.

And after I read this case study from Michelle Everson who is teaching introductory and intermediate statistics courses at the University of Minnesota, I realized that being a professor who teaches online classes is not an easy job. That teaching online requires continuous research and improvement. The case of Michelle Everson as an online professor is worth knowing because she is very diligence and responsible as an educator.

She takes her students’ comments and feedbacks as valuable tool for the improvement of her teaching methodology. And she too admitted that there are some aspects of online schooling that allows the professor to get a close overview of how students understand the particular lesson or topic. This is made possible with the availability of written records of every group discussion from start to finish. She also said that one main advantage of using online discussion groups is that the instructor can witness the full evolution of a group’s discussion.

How I wish that all professors who teach online classes are like her who teaches with commitment and diligence. And for me, this is also the same reason why it is better to enroll in an online university who are founded or affiliated in a campus-based university because these are the institutions that really put effort to create coursework and lectures that are designed for online classes.

The new Russian Language course will be launched this coming September under Global Business English at the University of Miami. This online program is composed of basic Russian courses that are headed by Svetlana Terminasova, the dean of faculty of foreign languages at Lomonosov Moscow State University.

It aims to provide authentic Russian language lesson to all people from all over the world as trade continues to expand globally. To know more about Vemics’ comprehensive outsourced solutions for the development and online distribution, please visit here.

Trusted Learning is marketing their online school system to those people or entities who would like to have their own online school, online center, online workshop or online tutorial center. Trusted Learning will provide everything you need to set-up your own online school/center. They will also be the one to host your online school at the web as well as accept and process the payments that your students will pay for your classes/courses. You of course, will pay Trusted Learning a certain royalty for every student who will enroll in your class.

All you need to provide is your course syllabus, lectures, exams and visual aids. Cool, isn’t?  I browsed their site and I found their concept quite good. If their system is really working, then, this would be a great opportunity for small or start-up schools/colleges to offer online classes without investing for any expensive system. This is likewise good for entrepreneurs, companies or independent instructors who would like to offer their classes/workshop/trainings online.

However, for students who want to take classes or training from Trusted Learning, remember that the programs they offer here may or may not be accredited. If the school that will use the web-based online school system of Trusted Learning is accredited by their respective region or industry, then the courses they will offer here will be likewise accredited. But, if you will take classes from independent companies, institutions or instructors who do not have any accreditation, then, it will also follow that their programs are not accredited.

So check them out first, if you just want to learn and does not need any degree or certification, I guess taking classes from independent instructors is fine because their classes are usually price at around $5 only.

The Sloan Consortium provides consulting services and workshops to help the educational institutions to continuously improve the quality and extent of their online programs. They also recognize the educational institutions that demonstrate excellence and effective practices through their annual Sloan-C Awards.

My attention was caught by this organization because of their extensive and quality surveys that pertains to the overall performance or status of online education. I like the way they present the issues because they provide comprehensive background of the issue and lay down the facts in the form of evidences.

Their surveys and publications are very worthy not only to the educational institutions and to the government but also to ordinary people who are interested to know the world of online learning.

Insight Schools is a network of online public alternative high school offering free education to students living in the state. The Apollo Group acquired the Insight School to power up their existing resources, management expertise, and national presence by tapping a new market.

And from this acquisition, it is clearly evident that online education is not only significantly increasing for adult learners because there are already several players from the industry that are taking their steps to offer innovative online high school education.

This was the outcome of the forum held at Manual High School by Trujillo Commission. The forum which was composed of 50 attendees was set to take the public comment on online instruction, funding, access and other issues related to Web-based education. The recommendations that were gathered will be utilized by lawmakers in formulating the online-accountability legislation.

This is a good move for the education or federal commission in creating an online accountability legislation that will assure the parents and students that they are getting quality online education. There is really no need to ban online schools from offering education but the law makers should see to it that these online schools faithfully comply to the law.

The top 10 cities for online learning that offer the largest selection and availability of campus-based alternatives were New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Chicago, Washington, Philadelphia, Miami, Dallas, Houston and San Francisco.

On the other hand, the e-Learners database showed that on a per capita basis, the top ranked cities for prospective online learners are Hinesville, Fort Polk South, Jacksonville, Fayetteville, Fort Leonard Wood, St. Marys,  Oak Harbor, Ketchikan, Warner Robins, and Killeen. More than half of these cities serve as the home base for members of the United States military which also validate the wide acceptance of online education as the most convenient way for service people to pursue their higher education.

This is very inspiring because it only proves that age is not a barrier for completing an online degree. Whatever your age, no matter how busy you are, as long as you have the will to study and perseverance to complete your course, you can really earn your degree online.

The story of Harris and how her career changed after earning her Master’s degree through AIU is something that could inspire a lot of people to seek advance studying for a life changing career. It is true that sometimes, our much awaited promotion does not depend to our long year of service. More often than not, we need to earn advance degree to get our desired career advancement.

But if you still find it confusing after hearing the feedbacks or if it is hard for you to solicit for other people’s opinion, the Internet is another best way to find reviews and student feedbacks about online universities. And I also cross upon a website that specializes in customized university or college search: FindTheRightSchool.com. This site offer students access to the information they need to make the right decision.

FindTheRightSchool.com allows you to search to a particular degree from associate to graduate degrees. Through this site, you could also speak directly to a academic counsellor or adviser of they featured school. This will also minimize if not eliminate your chance to land in unaccredited university. I would recommend you trying this out if you want customizable, hassle free and fast school searching.

But of course, just like the free online courses of UC Berkeley that are in podcast format, the free online courses of MIT OCW will not entitle you to any degree. MIT OCW is not a substitute for attending regular and online universities and OCW users will do not have any access to the faculty or professors.

These programs are intended to supplement learning through the program’s online courses and lectures. And for those people who want to self-study or learn something new without engaging in formal education program.

The MIT OCW has a total of 1550 published courses and these free online courses of OCW comes with syllabi, video or audio lectures, notes, homework assignments, illustrations and many more. And I can say that this is great online resources to supplement your studies and to feel how it is to study in an online university.