Online Schools (Colleges & Universities) & Online Degrees

Online Colleges & Online Universities

Earning an online degree is now generally accepted as a credible academic qualification, which has seen it grow in popularity in recent years. The trend has also resulted in a wide selection of online schools popping up to offer more varied online degree programs.

More established traditional schools and universities such as Yale, Stanford and Harvard may still receive universal praise for their standing in education circles, but a lot of online schools are quickly establishing themselves as key players in the education spectrum.

Below is a look at some of the best online schools around.

Popular Online Colleges & Universities

Capella University: The brainchild of Stephen Shank designed to create a platform for older students and working professionals, Capella university is highly regarded and has students based all around the world.

DeVry University: An accredited school of some repute, Devry seamlessly combines its campus facilities with its online capabilities to bring one of the broadest and varied lineups of online degree programs.

Kaplan University: Originally established in 1937, the university has undergone numerous transformations, but remains a mainstay in the online education field.

University of Phoenix: Founded in 1979 and offering hundreds of online degree programs, University of Phoenix is one of the best online schools around.

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Accredited Online Schools

The easiest way to ensure you are applying to a legitimate institution of higher learning is by checking their level of accreditation.  Accreditation is a process of certification of an institution of higher learning's academic credentials.  "Schools" that operate as diploma mills are usually not accredited by legitimate accrediting agencies or are not accredited at all.

The gold standard for accreditation in the United States is regional accreditation.  The majority of major colleges and universities hold regional accreditation by one of six regional accrediting agencies recognized by the U.S. government.  Credits earned by studying at a regionally accredited school are generally transferrable to any other accredited school.

Other valid accreditations in the U.S are national accreditation, which certifies a school on a national or worldwide level, professional accreditation which usually certifies a certain program or course of study, and religious accreditation for legitimate seminaries and schools of religious teachings.

While distance learning is a wonderful way to further your education, it is important to know what level of degree or certification you want to achieve.  It is equally important to ensure you are attending a properly accredited school as diploma mills often hold low or no academic standards and their degrees hold no value.  With this information in mind, explore your options and enjoy your educational endeavor.

Beware of Diploma Mills

While higher education can indeed pave the road to greater monetary riches and life enrichment there are some institutions that pose as legitimate colleges and universities but actually take students' money whilst providing fraudulent and worthless "degrees." These will have no real worth and will not help you achieve success in the job market and they generally provide little or no educational value.

"Schools" of this type are often known as "diploma mills."  While they are illegal in some countries and parts of the United States they are still able to exist by exploiting loopholes or maintaining charters in countries where prohibitions do not exist or are completely ineffective.  In the U.S. there is no federal law against an institution issuing "degrees" without merit.  While some states do have such laws, many do not.

Often, diploma mills are able to function by taking the identity of a well known school with whom they are not actually affiliated.  Another disturbing trend is a loophole that allows "schools" to declare themselves "bible colleges" or "seminaries" allowing them to exercise their "freedom of religion" as afforded by the Constitution of the United States.

Online Degrees vs Traditional Degrees

There are undoubted differences between a traditional and online degree, with the latter not restricted to a single location. However a closer look at both shows that despite the many advantages gained from pursuing a degree online, both mediums aren’t that different from each other.

• Both offer a plethora and wide variety of degrees and courses to choose from.
• While earning a degree online comes with an element of flexibility to it, the traditional approach may still hold more of an appeal to those who appreciate the social interaction a brick and mortar establishment comes with.
• It doesn’t matter if one earns a degree through traditional or non-traditional method with both now widely accepted as credible, so long as they originate from reputable and accredited institutions.
• The face to face interaction between teacher and student still exists within both mediums, albeit through technological aids when studying online.
• Open enrollment is another major reason to consider an online education. While campus based schools have a fixed open period of enrollment, one can sign up for an online degree at anytime.

However way you choose to look at it, the practice of e-learning can be split into three main categories:

Computer-Based Learning (CBL)

This is the practice of teaching with the computer as the primary tool to facilitate learning. It was hugely successful at tailoring the pace to individual students and was common place in the late 80s to early 90s. The main disadvantage of CBL was the limited level of interaction kids had with their teachers who in some cases simply left them in front of a computer to their own devices.

Computer-Based Training (CBT)

Sometimes called Web-based training, this is when training is carried out on a computer by way of specific programs. It is a mode that can be distributed via CD-ROMs or the internet and we have all at some point or another employed to get to grips with a new piece of software.

Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL)

This is the practice of incorporating technology as a means of facilitating learning amongst multiple individuals. Common examples of CSCL tools include blogs, media sharing mediums, wikis and whiteboards. Some advantages of Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning include its ability to increase student motivation, time saving as well as social interaction which helps develop critical thinking.

Free Online Tools for Students

Writing & Editing

• A.nnotate: Collaboratively give, collect and store detailed notes on documents and web pages.
• Google Docs: Free, collaborative web-based word processor, spreadsheet and presentation application.
• Zoho Writer: An alternative to Google Docs with free web-based wordprocessing.
• EasyBib: Easy-to-use bibliography generator. MLA, APA, Chicaco citation styles.

Researching, Collecting and Managing

• Delicious: Discover and save bookmarks online.
• Zotero: Firefox extension to help you collect, manage and cite research sources.
• Evernote: Capture, store and search notes, tasks, snapshots and web pages.
• Remember The Milk: To-do and task list management tool that can be synced with Blackberry and iPhone.

Online Resources for Students

Below is a list of some useful online resources designed to aid distance education.

Acronyms & Abbreviations

• Acronym Finder: Comprehensive dictionary of more than 750,000 human-edited acronyms, abbreviations, and initialisms.
• BABEL: Computer oriented abbreviations and acronyms.

Associations & Organizations

• Associations on the Net: Guide to web sites of prominent organizations and associations at IPL.
• Idealist: Listings of over 83,000 nonprofit organizations and groups. Internships, events and programs.
• UIA DB: Union of International Associations Database with 500,000+ records.

Biographies

• Biography.com: Database of thousands of famous luminaries from the world of history and media.
• Biographical Dictionary: Find regularly updated information on past and present personalities in world history.

Books

• ISBNdb: Unique book and ISBN database
• Project Gutenberg: The first and largest single collection of free e-books, electronic books.
• Questia: The online library of books and journals.

Calculation & Conversion

• Calculator.com
• Online Conversion
• Units of Measurement

Citations & Style Manuals

• Citation Styles: MLA, APA, Chicago, CBE and other styles
• Citing Sources: Documentation Guidelines from Duke

Dictionaries & Thesauri

• Cambridge Dictionaries Online
• Merriam-Webster: Dictionary and thesaurus. Use to find definitions, pronunciations, synonyms and antonyms.
• One Look Dictionary Search

Encyclopedias

• Encyclopedia.com:  A useful site for facts, figures and pictures on a global scale.
• Wikipedia: The collaboratively written web-based, free-content encyclopedia project.

Library Catalogs

• WorldCat: The world's largest network of library content and services. Use it to find books, libraries and articles.
• Internet Public Library: The first public library of and for the Internet community.

News & Current Events

• Google News: Keep updated on goings on both nationally and internationally.

Quotations

• Literary Quotes: Find a suitable quote for any memorable moment here.
• Quoteland: All the right words, for the right moment.

Reference Web Sites

• BASE: Bielefeld Academic Search Engine. Use to find scientifically relevant web resources.
• Infomine: Scholarly Internet resource Collections. A virtual library of Internet resources.
• ISI Highly Cited Researchers: Database of scientific researchers whose publications are most often cited in academic journals.
• Librarians Internet Index: Over 20,00 resources compiled and organized by librarians.

Additional Online Degree Resources

Related Pages on Academic Info

Colleges & Univ.
General Links
Digital Library
Education Tech
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