The University of Phoenix is the standard by which online education is judged.  Here is a short article on this educational institution.  I have never  taken any of their classes, but have talked to some people who have.  My sister in law got a PhD from The University of Phoenix, and she liked the program and the staff.  Do you know anyone who takes classes or has gotten a degree from this institution?  Let me know what you think in the comments.

-Loren

As the demand, and supply, for online learning and distance learning of all kinds continues to increase, it's fascinating to look at what a fully developed and highly acclaimed online university is like.

The University of Phoenix is a relatively new institution. Founded less than 30 years ago (in 1976), it was not only one of the first accredited universities to provide complete degree programs as an online college, but it has now become the leader in the field in the United States.

The size of their operation is astonishing. They've developed into the largest accredited university in the United States. Here are some of the numbers they provide: more than 17,200 instructors, 163 campus locations and learning centers in 33 states, Puerto Rico, Canada and now Mexico, and over 171,600 earned degrees since 1976. They provide, naturally, world spanning online learning through the internet.

Their curriculums are developed by working with industry and business in order to provide the skills and knowledge that are in demand. Focused on providing not only the content needed by today's professionals and businesses, they continue to upgrade their formats and methods as well as their curriculums.

An innovative program put in place by the University of Phoenix is called FlexNet. Rather than being a purely online learning experience, a portion of each course is held at a campus or learning center location. For many this feature adds a sense of personal and community involvement, giving the student a chance to interact directly with instructors and classmates.

Courses at the University of Phoenix Online are concentrated. Students need to be willing to make a serious commitment.

While online learning courses vary they tend to have certain features in common. In today's hectic environment, the ability to flexibly schedule your hours is critically important for many prospective students. Being confined to fixed hours in a fixed location for a traditional offline course just won't work for many. The demands of work and family too often cause missed classes.

Traditional college education may also involve taking subjects with little application to the professional's working life. Online education can allow you complete a degree in two or three years.

In many online college environments, all your courses will be focused on your professional needs. Generally, you'll also be able to focus on one course at a time rather than having to split your attention among several over a long period. This intensity and focus can be a significant benefit.

Since most online and distance learning is oriented toward professionals, working people, generally the materials you'll study will be up-to-date and can be used immediately in your working environment. This combination of studying things that you can implement, materials relevant to your work, can make online learning a uniquely rewarding and pleasant way to earn a degree.

You do want to make sure that wherever you decide to study, that it is accredited and that any degree or certification in a field that requires licensure or state certification will be accepted by your state. If your employer has an educational reimbursement plan, be sure to verify that the college or university you chose will be acceptable. In some cases, part of your expenses may also be tax-deductible. Accreditation is important not only for employer acceptance, but also if you are going to seek scholarship funds to help with the cost.

The University of Phoenix is not the only place offering online learning, but it does give you a pretty good introduction to what's possible. They offer everything from AA degrees to Doctoral programs with a large variety of specialized Bachelor of Science and Master's degrees as well as professional certifications and non-degree courses. You can explore their offerings at http://www.phoenix.edu/ .

With today's demands for highly educated and specialized professionals, the value of online learning has never been clearer. The fast paced and mobile lifestyles so common now demand solutions that can fit into our lives, not ones that require us to squeeze into them and disrupt our careers and families for 3 or 4 years. The growth and acceptance of online education makes it virtually certain that you can find a program and a university or college that offers what you need to get ahead – and a way to fit it into your life.

Copyright 2005 Richard Keir

Do you enjoy writing online content?  Do you want to bring more visitors to your Website or Blog?  Then this video series is for you! 

Here is another great Online Video Learning Series from TheTeachingBox.  These 6 videos will increase your knowledge of writing online content.   

These videos are all in flash video format and will open up in a new browser window.  The author talks about making money online, but the methods for marketing and getting traffic to your are very good.

I you want to learn more about writing articles and publishing them online these 6 videos are worth your time to watch.  Let me know what you think!

If you are interested in your own Copy head over to EbookPackageDeals.com.

On to the videos!

	Video 1: Getting Started – What is Article Marketing In this video, you'll learn just that and how Article Marketing can boost your Search Engine Rank and save you time in the long run. Article Marketing is such a great way to get exposure for your product, Website or Blog!
	Video 2: What tools you need to get started with Article Marketing Before you get started, you will need to know what topic you will be writing on as well as where and how you will find the content for the articles. You may be one of those people who suffer from a case of "writer's block" and it may keep you from getting started. That won't be a problem anymore because you'll learn some tips that will allow you to get past this by using private label articles and where to find them.
	Video 3: How to rewrite PLR (private label rights) articles. PLR Articles give you a foundation to get over the "writer's block". Finding private label articles isn't hard, however taking the usual factual, dull articles and adding spice to them is more of a challenge. You see there is a trick to re-writing PLR articles correctly, because while you want to re-use these articles, you will want to write them in a way that it reflects you as the writer as well…but don't worry, you'll learn more about that in the video.
	Video 4: Finding Profitable Affiliate Programs to promote By now, you've come to realize that a good article can be used as a effective pre-selling tool. You'll want to use the article to gain the trust of the reader. If you can find profitable affiliate programs to promote that deal with the topic of the article, then you can increase the conversion rates of the reader and get them to buy the product. In this video, you'll learn a several step process to doing just that, along with a few tricks and shortcuts that can keep you ahead of your competition.
	Video 5: Creating a Resource Box After reading the article, the reader will want more! You've gained their trust by giving them something valuable that will solve their problems. But now they will want to know about you, the writer. Creating a resource box that is short and sweet will allow you to build your credibility as well as drive traffic to your site, your free report, free video, and more. This is where you get the one way back links or traffic to your website.
	Video 6: Marketing Your Articles While a lot of your time should be spent on the marketing end, it doesn't need to be a time consuming project. Submitting your articles to article directories can be very time consuming and there are many sites out there that take articles so you'll want to choose the ones that are most effective. We'll talk about Article Marketer, EzineArticles, ArticleDashboard, and much more. You will find that some sites allow you to have direct links to affiliates products, but there are some that don't' allow this. Knowing all of this beforehand will allow you to be equipped with the knowledge you need to choose the right ones.

You can have a successful blog without being a writer.  This e-book will help you get started.  A free download compliments of TheTeachingBox.

I ran across this e-book and found it worth my time to read.  It is less than 20 pages, so it is not a large commitment of your time.  It is in Adobe .pdf format, and you can download it free at EbookPackageDeals from the link below or just click on the graphic to the right:

Blog Without Writing

As the graphic says, "Not a Writer? – Not a Problem".  This ebook will walk you through creating a successful blog even though you may not be a great writer.  Blogging is not all about writing, actually a successful blog is about Content.  TheTeachingBox is all about Education and Technology.  Here is a quick way to get some new ideas! 

Web search engines love content, and if you have superior content on your site you will get a good ranking on the search engines.  There are many places that you can find content to place on your blog.  

• Guest Writers
• Article Directories
• Video and Audio
• Training Topics
• RSS Feeds
• PLR Content

Due to popular demand I have re-posted this article.  Note the new download location.

If you run a website or blog you need to have a basic understanding of PHP and SQL.  This free ebook is required reading for you.

No I don't think you need to be a programmer writing applications.  You just need general information about how PHP works and the syntax of the language.  This information is extremely important if you run Wordpress as your platform, as wordpress is a PHP based platform.

The author doesn't really HATE PHP as you will quickly find out as you read through this book.  I would consider it on par with the Dummies Guide on PHP and SQL.

I ran across this ebook a while back and want to share it with others.  I am starting my ebook and software store back up at EbookPackageDeals.

I am keeping track of the number of downloads through my eStore Application at the site so just follow the link and register as a user, add the book to your cart and follow the checkout to the end.  Then you will be presented with a download link.  (you must give a legit email address, this keeps down the spam and leechers)  This ebook is in .pdf format and is about 50 pages in length.  Let me know what you think about this book!  If you have any difficulties, just send me an email and I can get the book to you another way.  Give it a read and let me know what you think!

Another educational offering by TheTeachingBox.com

-Loren  

Download the file HERE or click on the Graphic above.

It is time for some Technology Education.  I have posted the basic  content of this post before, but the basics cannot be emphasized enough. 

I get lots of requests for my suggestions on software for antivirus and spyware.  There are many good programs out there.
These are the ones I personally use and have had success:

You need Anti virus protection AND Spyware / Mal ware protection, generally a single product won't do both.  You only need a single anti virus program, but as for spyware / malware no program has a 100% detection rate, so you need more than a single program.

I don't like to spend money if I don't have to, these days for me $$$ are tight, so I like FREE.

If you are running windows XP, Vista or Windows 7 I would recommend looking at Microsoft Security Essentials.  It is a good stand alone antivirus and spyware suite.  Since it is made by Microsoft it will integrate very well into your system.  I have found it to be pretty good.

http://www.microsoft.com/Security_Essentials/

Anti virus -
I have used AVG anti virus for over 2 years and have had good success. It is totally free, and will automatically update and protect you very well.

http://free.avg.com/

Spyware Protection -
First you need to protect your computer from even going to sites that are known to be unsafe. Use Spyware blaster to do this (you need to manually update the free version)

http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/

Second you need to use real time protection as well as scanning of your computer to prevent infection by malware or spyware. For this I recommend SuperAntiSpyware. The free version requires you to do updates manually, but it will do automatic scans and provide real time protection. (consider purchasing the Pro version…I did)

http://www.superantispyware.com/

The other free spyware protection I use is Spy Bot Search and Destroy. It does an excellent job finding the real insidious spyware and removing it if you become infected. It is free as well, and has a real time protection.

http://www.safer-networking.org

The combination of these programs will provide very good protection for your computer. The main thing to remember is that you MUST keep the definitions updated. Anti virus and Spyware protection that is not updated is the same as using Nothing at all.

If you need any other help, or have questions, just send me an e-mail.

I hope this information helps, be sure to pass this along to all your firends.

Good Luck!

-Loren