In the 21st century, the most perceptive educational thinkers recognize that something new is happening to learning. Models of providing an education that developed to meet the needs of students of the last two centuries, while not irrelevant, are increasingly being transformed and infiltrated by the introduction and integration of new tools and technologies, and novel approaches to work, many of which are now commonplace in business and consumer spheres. The emphasis on collaboration and critical thinking to solve problems, and the flattening of the world of commerce are challenging the fundamental assumptions of what an education must provide to its young people in order for them to succeed or even cope in a complex world. Find out more here: www.pearsonfoundation.org

Leo Is absolutely the GO TO GUY for computers and technology.  I have been following him for years.  You may recognize his name from the show he had years ago on Tech TV called Call for Help.

His weekly Radio Show on KFI out of San Francisco is awesome.  I recommend that you download and listen. 

Here is a link to the shows web page.

http://techguylabs.com/radio/pmwiki.php

Enjoy!

-Loren

The Tech Guy for Sunday 14 February 2010 – Show 640

Host: Leo Laporte

Google Buzz and privacy, cable vs. DSL, new computer buying advice, the latest anti-virus software, and your calls.

For detailed show notes, visit techguylabs.com.

Bandwidth for the Tech Guy podcast is provided by Cachefly.

Running time: 1:59:47

More Info: http://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/twit.cachefly.net/ttg0640.mp3

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