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Saturday, February 16, 2013

Uniform Education


Introduction:
Education can act as a powerful tool for reducing poverty and unemployment and achieving a sustained human development. When we compared our country education with other developed/developing country, the education in our country is not suitable to the current situation/practical life. All over the world governments are strictly follow the procedure of generating libraries along with schools, colleges etc. because the emperor Napoleon said the "Build up libraries otherwise we would build up prisons".

Generally in all the countries are understand the importance of higher education. In 1980s American president Ronald Regan take several steps to improve the higher educations. In a survey, among the 10 world's best universities, 9 universities are situated in America. Most of the countries are including the basic education as a human right. In our India itself the education quality in corporation schools and private institutions are having huge differences. For instance the education system in institutions like IIM, IIT is differing from other institution. IIM an IIT institutes students are having more future benefits like employment, salary etc. rather than the other institutes. The syllabus difference between Tamilnadu and Kerala. We can give much more examples to prove in equality in our education system.

According to human resource development department report in our India only 77% of the students pursuing their higher secondary studies. In which 61.6% of the students stop their studies in between of higher secondary. The total no. of schools, colleges is increased slightly when compared to previous years but the education quality is down fall. Even though the students well educated they can't able to get a job because of non practical syllabus in many education institutions. It is the right time to introduce the "education revolution" through uniform education.

Uniform education:

In current situation only the richest students are able to get quality education in metric and private schools. The government of Tamil Nadu going to introduce uniform education system in eliminates the in equality in education. In 1960's Gothari commission insist government of India to introduce uniform education in every states and also the committee stressed to increased the allocation of finance to the education with that committee's recommendations the government of India introduced "Sharva Shiksha Abiyan". But the result is not up to the level. The Government of Tamilnadu comes forward to introduce the uniform education with the recommendation of Muthu kumaran committee. Uniform education will reduce the burden of the school children through reducing the no. of books and notes and also. It will make pull stop to the indirect collection of amount from the children by way of using text books. It is the good thing in one side but in other side the quality of government school not up to the mark of private schools.

Uniform education's other important content is crating or building near by schools to children's. But the government of Tamil Nadu doesn't give any matters regarding the nearest school systems. The Government of Tamil Nadu also failed to include the medium of instructions as Tamil. Because Mr.Muthukumaran committee strongly stressed about providing of education in the mother tongue. The education minister also failed to include the very important content of uniform education is appointing sufficient no. of teachers to each children in the Government Schools.

Recommendation:

From the point of view of us and also from the point of view of experts, we wished to suggest. Some recommendation and we expect something from the Tamil Nadu education minister to develop the rural children education rate.

1. The Government must develop the infrastructure facilities. The Government schools are not having enough infrastructure facilities like in private schools.

2. It most of the rural schools the teacher student ration in too low (5 classes: 2 teachers). Merely introducing common syllabus we can't expect uniform education development in all schools. The state Government should came forward to allocate more finance to the education development.

3. Most of the politicians like PMK leader Ramadoss expect the State Government should come forward to provide LKG & UKG education to all the rural students. Because, all the urban area students are going in the Ist standard after completing these courses. But most of the rural students are joined with out these courses. So far four committee are arranged to analyze Indians education position. All these committees are recommends one thing severally that is "nearby schools with mother tongue common schools".

4.A childe should get its education with out going long distance. For that Government should construct more no. of schools in rural areas. So for the Government didn't explained about the nearby schools construction.

5. Government school teachers are getting more salary than the private school teachers. But the pass percentage is too lower than the private schools. Government didn't give more attention to praise the teachers and also punishing then when they are mislead.

6. Every year Chennai Municipality receives Rs. 70 crores as education tax. As per I April 2009 situation the idle amount is Rs. 120 crores with his amount the Chennai municipality can improve the 250 corporate schools to star category. Government should concentrate on spending collected amount towards school education development.

7. Even though the Government schools are giving free lunch, no fees, free uniforms and free text books, still most of middle a low class peoples are interested to get the appoint form the private schools. The Government should give been attention towards this actions it should find the reason.

8. Most of the rural students are stopped their education in between (nearly 70% of the students stop their education with in 10th STD) classes. The reason is poverty and also the schools infrastructure education plan, test formation and also job opportunity from the education. The Government should try to change the education system of our state. The every student should be assured with job opportunity.

9. According to latest report from 1000 students only 50-60 students are having the capability of getting jobs. It arises due to non job relevance syllabus and also lack of library facilities in our schools. So the Government should increase the library facilities in each & every schools.

Conclusion:

Uniform education system may create an education revolution in Tamil Nadu and it will scatter over all the states. The Government also will make keen attention towards the education system in our country. We hope the uniform education syllabus will reduce the imbalance between the rural student's knowledge and urban student's knowledge. It is the time to create education revolution in our country. We believe our state forward its first foot step to wards education revolution. In uniform education, common syllabus is one of the foot step, still there are many foot steps are inform of us we have to cross them in order to get a quality education and also to provide quality education to our state students. Government may do and God will help them.

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Choosing The Right Degree Program For You


W.B. Yeats said, "Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire." If you want to be the one to light the fire for learning in the hearts of students, becoming an educator is right for you. But what degree program should you pursue? Because the field of Education is so incredibly diverse, you have many options to choose from. Here is a brief listing of just some of the career opportunities available to those that decide to seek a degree in Education.
Teacher Certification & Certification Programs. Looking to earn your Teacher Certification or credential? If you already have a Bachelor's degree and have decided to teach, earning your Teaching Certificate is the next step to take to launch your career as an educator.
K-12. Completing your K-12 education degree will put you on the path toward a rewarding career teaching children of all ages.
Adult Education. Graduates of adult education degree programs are given special instruction in adult learning to accommodate the unique needs of adult learners. With more and more people choosing to continue their education well into old age, opportunities for adult educators continue to grow.
Art Education. Become an art teacher! Get your degree in Art Education and combine your passion for painting with a talent for teaching. Teaching art to others can be an extremely fulfilling and rewarding career.
Business Education. Become a business teacher and learn the rewards of teaching business to others. From accounting and finance to marketing and operations, business teachers not only teach people how to succeed in business, but how to succeed in life.
Distance & Online Education Programs for Teachers. Earn your degree in distance learning education and be on the cutting edge of learning technology. Learn about the newest advances in online education technology and discover how to create innovative online experiences for your students.
Early Childhood Education Programs for Teachers. Thinking of becoming a preschool teacher? Start by getting your degree in Early Childhood Education. Early childhood teachers are the first to shape the minds of young children and mold the leaders of tomorrow.
English Teacher Programs. Teach English and help students discover the language arts. Earning a bachelor's or master's degree in English education is the first step toward a rewarding career as an English teacher. English teachers are needed to fill positions in public, private and English language schools.
Elementary Teacher Programs. Elementary school teachers work with children in grades K-8, giving them an introduction to a variety of subjects.
Higher Education Programs for Teachers. Interested in teaching higher education? Get your doctorate or master's degree in higher education and take the first step toward teaching at the college level.
History Teacher Degree Programs. Get your degree in history education and get on track to a rewarding career teaching history to others.
Instructional Technology Degree Programs. Get an instructional technology degree and be on the leading edge of learning technology. Instructional designers create new ways for people to learn by incorporating current technologies such as video and the Internet into a curriculum. Instructional technology is a burgeoning field with many positions expected to open up in the next few years.
Math Education Degrees. Want reap the rewards of teaching math to others! Then become a math teacher! Teachers are needed to give mathematics instruction at the elementary, middle school and high school levels.
Middle School Education Degrees. Get your middle school education degree today and teach children from sixth to eight grades.
Reading & Literacy Education Degrees for Teachers. Teach someone how to read! Become a reading teacher by completing your degree in Reading and Literacy Education.
Secondary Education Degrees for Teachers. Focusing on Secondary Education means teaching children in high school. Help shape the next generation by providing a solid education to young students before college.
Science Teacher Degree Programs. Science education teachers are high in demand to teach science in Elementary and Secondary schools.
Social Studies Education Degree Programs. Social studies teachers are needed to teach in both Elementary and Secondary schools. Get on the path to this rewarding career by earning your degree in social studies education.
Special Education Teaching Degrees. Special Education Teachers are some of the most in-demand teachers in education. Special Education teachers held a total of about 441,000 teaching jobs in 2004. The U.S. Dept. of Labor-Bureau of Labor Statistics expects the demand for qualified special education teachers to grow faster than average through 2014. This makes it a great time to get your special education degree.
TESOL (ESL) Education Programs for Teachers. Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) can be an exciting and rewarding career with job opportunities in both the U.S. and abroad. The U.S. Dept. of Labor-Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that the number of non-English-speaking students will continue to grow, creating demand for bilingual teachers and for those who teach English as a second language.
Curriculum & Instruction Programs for Teachers. Get your curriculum and instruction degree and improve your teaching skills while learning to create fascinating new curriculums that bring learning to life.
Education Administration Degree Programs for Teachers. Earn your Education Administration degree today and jump-start your career. This advanced degree, either a Master's or a PhD, will give you the leadership skills you need to manage large educational programs, both in public schools and the private sector.
Educational Counseling Degree Programs. Begin a rewarding career in school counseling by earning your education counseling degree. This degree is the perfect way to combine a love of education with a love of psychology.
Educational Leadership Degree Programs. Earn your Educational Leadership degree and prepare yourself for a new and exciting career as a school administrator or principal.
Library Science / Media / Technology Degree Programs. Get your degree in library science, educational media or technology and begin a rewarding new career helping children access information. Graduates of a library science programs are eligible to become a School Librarian. Graduates of educational media and technology programs have learned ways to incorporate new technologies, such as video and the Internet, into their classrooms.

Monday, February 11, 2013

Pros And Cons Of Online Education For The World Citizen


More and more young people are choosing non-traditional education to start and advance in their careers while completing and furthering their formal education. "Typical distance learners are those who don't have access to programs, employees who work during scheduled class hours, homebound individuals, self-motivated individuals who want to take courses for self-knowledge or advancement, or those who are unable or unwilling to attend class" (Charp, 2000, p. 10). Three key elements surround the online learner: technology, curriculum, and instructor (Bedore, Bedore, & Bedore, 1997). These elements must be keenly integrated into one smoothly and operationally functional delivery tool.
While an online method of education can be a highly effective alternative medium of education for the mature, self-disciplined student, it is an inappropriate learning environment for more dependent learners. Online asynchronous education gives students control over their learning experience, and allows for flexibility of study schedules for non traditional students; however, this places a greater responsibility on the student. In order to successfully participate in an online program, student must be well organized, self-motivated, and possess a high degree of time management skills in order to keep up with the pace of the course. For these reasons, online education or e-learning is not appropriate for younger students (i.e. elementary or secondary school age), and other students who are dependent learners and have difficulty
assuming responsibilities required by the online paradigm.
Millions of students use e-learning solutions in over 140 countries: corporations such as Kodak and Toyota and education providers like ExecuTrain, New Horizons, the Enoch Olinga College (ENOCIS), Phoenix University amongst the hundreds of schools and colleges.
Studies have shown student retention to be up to 250% better with online learning than with classroom courses. Several recent ones have helped frame the debate. The Sloan Consortium published a widely distributed report titled "Growing by Degrees: Online Education in the United States in 2005" that examined the growing prevalence of online education across U.S. institutions.
In addition, a study conducted by the Boston-based consulting firm Eduventures found that, while about half of institutions and more than 60 percent of employers generally accept the high quality of online learning, students' perceptions differ. Only about 33 percent of prospective online students said that they perceive the quality of online education to be "as good as or better than" face-to-face education. Ironically, 36 percent of prospective students surveyed cited concern about employers' acceptance of online education as a reason for their reluctance to enroll in online courses.
But what actually drives quality? A March 2006 report released by the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Postsecondary Education identifies six quality indicators: mission, curriculum and instruction, faculty support, student and academic services, planning for sustainability and growth, and evaluation and assessment.
The debate rages on while the Pros and Cons of Online Adult Education for today's international students are constantly analyzed to determine if this type of education platform can deliver predictable and measurable results.
The Enoch Olinga College (ENOCIS) is one institution which uses this type of delivery system. ENOCIS enhances their learning experience by offering many other "value added", cost reducing benefits to students. Online pupils can apply for scholarships available to students of excellence and other financial aid programs like the Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students (PLUS), with attractive interest rates. They also provide convenient payment facilities, on line banking, Western Union Quick Collect, bank cards and a student who is granted a loan can start repaying it after two months if they have a corporate guarantor.
Pros of Online Education:
The key advantages of the online education experience are briefly explained below:
1. Cheaper: Online courses may be more affordable than those offered at colleges or trade schools. You may also save on transportation costs like gas, bus passes, and parking permits because you don't need to commute to school and there are no housing or meals plans to worry about since you do not need to live on or near a college campus. Housing expenses and other costs associated with living expenses are usually the most expensive aspects of a college education, so by taking an online course you could save quite a bit of money.
The best part of online education is the absence of travel and immigration problems. Some students may prefer not to pursue traditional on campus education, as it involves traveling to attend lectures. With online education, an applicant does not need to travel. Courses simply require accessing the internet in order to begin the learning process.
2. More Convenient: By taking courses online, you're able to decide when you study and for how long. You are also able to schedule your studying around your work or social schedule.
Since you're not bound to a classroom, you may do your work wherever you have access to a computer and the internet. You'll be able to set your own pace and decide exactly how fast you want to go over the material.
Take online courses when you need them, not based on some college's annual or semester schedule. You can learn when you need it (Just-In-Time) A course is as close as a computer with an Internet connection.
3. Flexibility: with no set class times, you decide when to complete your assignments and readings. You set the pace. In some programs, you can even design your own degree plan. The online students can carry out their private or official work, along with the online education. As it provides the convenience of time flexibility, a student can login and logout as per his desire whereas, the traditional education do not provide such flexibility in learning.
Flexibility of online education allows the student control over their studies. They can allot more time in the topics, which they feel comparatively hard and vice versa. The speed of learning depends solely upon the students.
4. Technology: With the help of the scientific technology, students can do their online education at any place. The only mandatory pre-requisite is the availability of computer along with an internet amenity. Side benefits include the learning new technologies and technical skills
5. Availability: distance-learning opportunities have exploded over the past few years, with many accredited and reputable programs.
6. Accessibility: with an online course, you can work on the course just about anywhere you have computer access. Your learning options are not constrained by your geographic location. The new virtual classrooms have created a myriad of learning opportunities for global learning and education center. On line education is a new era experience adapting to the needs of the world citizen.
7. Self-Directed: you set your own pace and schedule, so you control the learning environment.
8. Time Spent in Classroom: now you can take a course on just about any subject without ever having to be in, or travel to, a classroom so you have very little wasted time. Note, however, that some distance-education programs still do have an in-class component and normally to receive a fully accredited US university degree an international student must spend one or two semesters on campus.
9. High Quality Dialog: Within an online asynchronous discussion structure, the learner is able to carefully reflect on each comment from others before responding or moving on to the next item. This structure allows students time to articulate responses with much more depth and forethought than in a traditional face-to-face discussion situation where the participant must analyze the comment of another on the spot and formulate a response or otherwise loose the chance to contribute to the discussion.
10. Student Centered: Within an online discussion, the individual student responds to the course material (lectures and course books, for example) and to comments from other students. Students usually respond to those topics within the broader conversation that most clearly speak to their individual concerns and situations resulting in several smaller conversations taking place simultaneously within the group. While students are expected to read all of their classmates' contributions, they will become actively engaged only in those parts of the dialog most relevant to their needs. In this way, students take control of their own learning experience and tailor the class discussions to meet their own specific needs. Ideally, students make their own individual contributions to the course while at the same time take away a unique mix of information directly relevant to their needs.
11. Level Playing Field: In the online environment learners retain a considerable level of anonymity. Discriminating factors such as age, dress, physical appearance, disabilities, race and gender are largely absent. Instead, the focus of attention is clearly on the content of the discussion and the individual's ability to respond and contribute thoughtfully and intelligently to the material at hand.
On line adult education can be more effective and better for certain types of learners (shy, introverted, reflective, language challenged, those that need more time). Distance education courses are often better for people who learn through visual cues and experiential exercises.
12. Synergy: The online format allows for a high level of dynamic interaction between the instructor and students and among the students themselves. Resources and ideas are shared, and continuous synergy will be generated through the learning process as each individual contributes to the course discussions and comments on the work of others. The synergy that exists in the student-centred virtual classroom is one of the unique and vital traits that the online learning format posses..
13. Access to Resources: It is easy to include distinguished guest experts or students from other institutions in an online class as well as allow students to access resources and information anywhere in the world. An instructor can compile a resource section online with links to scholarly articles, institutions, and other materials relevant to the course topic for students to access for research, extension, or in depth analysis of course content material in the global classroom.
14. Creative Teaching: The literature of adult education supports the use of interactive learning environments as contributing to self-direction and critical thinking. Some educators have made great strides in applying these concepts to their on ground teaching. However, many classes still exist which are based on boring lectures and rote memorization of material. The nature of the semi-autonomous and self-directed world of the virtual classroom makes innovative and creative approaches to instruction even more important. In the online environment, the facilitator and student collaborate to create a dynamic learning experience. The occasion of a shift in technology creates the hope that those who move into the new technology will also leave behind bad habits as they adopt this new paradigm of teaching. As educators redesign their course materials to fit the online format, they must reflect on their course objectives and teaching style and find that many of the qualities that make a successful online facilitator are also tremendously effective in the traditional classroom as well.
Cons of Online Education:
Briefly explained are some factors that could negatively affect your success with distance learning courses:
1. The Technology:
a. Equity and Accessibility to Technology: Before any online program can hope to succeed, it must have students who are able to access the online learning environment. Lack of access, whether it be for economical or logistics reasons, will exclude otherwise eligible students from the course. This is a significant issue in rural and lower socioeconomic neighborhoods and educating the underserved peoples of the world. Furthermore, speaking from an administrative point of view, if students cannot afford the technology the institution employs, they are lost as customers. As far as Internet accessibility is concerned, it is not universal, and in some areas of the United States and other countries, Internet access poses a significant cost to the user. Some users pay a fixed monthly rate for their Internet connection, while others are charged for the time they spend online. If the participants' time online is limited by the amount of Internet access they can afford, then instruction and participation in the online program will not be equitable for all students in the course. This is a limitation of online programs that rely on Internet access. Equity of access to learners of all backgrounds and parts of society
b. Requires New Skills/Technologies: if you're not computer-savvy or are afraid of change or new technologies, then online education will probably not work for you. The online students are required to learn new skills, such as researching and reviewing the internet. For the online students, they need to learn the techniques of navigation on an online library for necessary information. Technical training and support of learners and instructors
c. Computer Literacy: Both students and facilitators must possess a minimum level of computer knowledge in order to function successfully in an online environment. For example, they must be able to use a variety of search engines and be comfortable navigating on the World Wide Web, as well as be familiar with Newsgroups, FTP procedures and email. If they do not possess these technology tools, they will not succeed in an online program; a student or faculty member who cannot function on the system will drag the entire program down.
d. Limitations of Technology: User friendly and reliable technology is critical to a successful online program. However, even the most sophisticated technology is not 100% reliable. Unfortunately, it is not a question of if the equipment used in an online program will fail, but when. When everything is running smoothly, technology is intended to be low profile and is used as a tool in the learning process. However, breakdowns can occur at any point along the system, for example, the server which hosts the program could crash and cut all participants off from the class; a participant may access the class through a networked computer which could go down; individual PCs can have numerous problems which could limit students' access; finally, the Internet connection could fail, or the institution hosting the connection could become bogged down with users and either slow down, or fail all together. In situations like these, the technology is neither seamless nor reliable and it can detract from the learning experience.
2. The Institution: Many online education facilities are relatively new with many courses and hence, lack in modern instructors for instructing the new curriculum. Estimates show that there is still a need for an increase of more 50% of qualified instructors for online education.
b. The Administration and Faculty: Some environments are disruptive to the successful implementation of an online program. Administrators and/or faculty members who are uncomfortable with change and working with technology or feel that online programs cannot offer quality education often inhibit the process of implementation. These people represent a considerable weakness in an online program because they can hinder its success.
3. The Facilitator :Lack of Essential Online Qualities: Successful on-ground instruction does not always translate to successful online instruction. If facilitators are not properly trained in online delivery and methodologies, the success of the online program will be compromised. An instructor must be able to communicate well in writing and in the language in which the course is offered. An online program will be weakened if its facilitators are not adequately prepared to function in the virtual classroom.
4. Perceptions/Reputation: while slowly changing as more and more mainstream colleges and universities embrace distance learning, there still is a stigma attached to distance education to the student's interaction in the online education. Some of the students believe that, there are few opportunities with regards to face-to-face interactions and feedbacks.
5. No Instructor Face Time: If your learning style is one where you like personalized attention from your teachers, then online education will probably not work for you.
6. Little Support: students are expected to find their own resources for completing assignments and exams, which is empowering for some, but daunting for others.
There is little support and limited guidelines provided in online education system. Online students are required to search as per their own imaginations for completing exams and assignments.
7. Lacking Social Interaction: while you often interact with classmates via email, chat rooms, or discussion groups, there are no parties or off line get-togethers.
If you enjoy meeting new people and learn better while you're interacting with other people, you may want to reconsider online education.
8. No Campus Atmosphere: part of the traditional college experience, of course, is the beauty of the campus, the college spirit, but you have none of that with distance-education courses.
Since you're not on campus or in classes, you may lack opportunities to meet other students. You will not have many opportunities to interact face-to-face with your professors, so they may not have a real sense of who you are as a person.
9. Making Time: if you are a procrastinator or one of those people who always needs an extra push to complete work, you may have a hard time making time for your online classes. On line learning requires new skills and responsibilities from learners
10. Academic honesty of online students: requires a new mindset to online assessment. Most education experts agree that rote memory testing is not the best measure of learning in any environment and new measurement and evaluation tools are evolving.
11. Types and effectiveness of assessments: The importance of outcomes in online learning cannot be over emphasized. Does the program have measurable results? Are students learning what you say they should be learning? Then there are institutional outputs: course completion rates, job placement rates (if that's the goal of the institution), graduation rates, student success on third-party tests, and student satisfaction scores.
These factors, both the pros and cons, contribute greatly to making an informed decision about the direction of your career path and how you are going to accomplish your goals: on line, in the classroom or a combination of both.
Institutions and companies that use continuing education to meet their needs also face similar decisions. Institutions that deliver online education are confronted with a series of challenges, including the search for good faculty, use of technology, and provision of adequate student services.
The Sloan Consortium report "Growing by Degrees: Online Education in the United States in 2005" found that 64 percent of chief academic officers and faculty believe that it takes more discipline for a student to succeed in an online course than it does in a face-to-face course.
More and more major business and industry is turning to on line continuing education as a viable and cost effective resource for training its personnel. Hilton Hotel has 380 hotels worldwide and is represented in 66 countries.
When you weigh the benefits and advantages of on line adult continuing education the cost of study and flexibility of scheduling tip the scales of programs like the Enoch Olinga College, Capella and Phoenix University's distance learning program on line adult continuing education is becoming a world wide respected form of education.
However, as with any situation, there are both pros and cons with the concept of online education and the benefits of the virtual or global classroom. You may want to evaluate both before you decide on an online education program. By examining the advantages and disadvantages, you will be able to make a more informed decision. But, at the end of the day, online learning is independent learning. A lot of structure has been put into online programs, but it still comes down to a learner sitting in front of a computer by him or herself. The knowledge you receive or the benefits it will generate either in development of self esteem or increasing earning capacity will depend sole upon you the student.