This post comes from the International Business Times.

“Online degrees are no longer causing redflags on resumes for employers. In fact, many attributes of the onlinelearner are what employers seek. They want lifelong learners,self-motivated workers, and critical thinkers — all of which apply toonline learners.

 In a new, free white paper titled “Online Degrees Make the Grade:Employer Acceptance Now Common,” researcher George Lorenzo, publisherof Educational Pathways, reveals that online education now receives widesupport among businesses. “As corporations continue to see an increase injob candidates who have earned their degrees online,” writes Lorenzo, “theword has spread among executives, human resource professionals and hiringmanagers that online higher education graduates are focused employees withstrong work ethics.”

Online learning has become widely accepted. Online courses and degrees arewidely available through both traditional and online universities. Bothstudents and employers are less apprehensive; hence, the quality of onlineeducation is seldom an issue. “If you ask employers about their sense ofthe quality of online education — is it of equal quality to traditional –the response you typically get is a growing adherence to it being of equal quality,” says Richard Garrett, a senior research analyst for Eduventures,an education research and consulting firm.” Click here to read the rest of this article.

This article is by Dr. Michael Hall of Ivy Tech Community College.

“Two common web-based surveys, “Is Online Learning Right for Me?’ and “What Technical Skills Do I Need?”, were combined into a single survey instrument and given to 228 on-campus and 83 distance education students. The students were enrolled in four different classes (business, computer information services, criminal justice, and early childhood development) on three different regional campuses of a mid-western community college. Multiple regression equations were developed with the survey scores and the type of class to determine the extent to which the survey scores predicted final semester grade percentages. Although distance education students scored significantly higher on the survey instruments than on-campus students, the survey scores explained only 8% of the observed variance in their final grade percentage. The course in which they enrolled (business, computer information services, criminal justice, and early childhood development) explained most of the variance in final grade percentage. There was no significant difference in survey scores between students that withdrew from their classes and those that remained to receive a final semester grade. Recommendations for further research are suggested.” Click here to read the rest of this article.

This post comes from the Arizona Republic. ”

“Scottsdale resident Linda Stuart knows what its like to have to unexpectedly resurrect a career.

The owner of LJL Consulting has been a career coach and consultant, helping workers find careers and companies find talent. She started her company in 1980.

In 2003, at age 50, Stuart suffered a stroke that paralyzed the right side of her body. OAS_AD(’ArticleFlex_1′)

She recovered, relearning to speak and walk. She rebuilt her business. “I had to reinvent myself, not by my choosing, but for my survival,” she said. “But, I turned out better than ever.”

These days Stuart is fielding frantic calls from clients who have lost their jobs and don’t know how to proceed.

It is a situation affecting many Arizonans. The state’s unemployment rate in September jumped to 5.9 percent, compared with 3.8 percent in the same month a year earlier. Service-industry and construction jobs have been hit, but so have white-collar financial services jobs.

Career experts say getting laid off can be nerve-racking, but it can also be a chance for reinvention. With careful planning and a clear head, the period of adjustment can be lead to a career in a new field and new skills. It can be a time that will test your mettle and ultimately teach you to welcome change.

Stuart sat down with The Arizona Republic and offered advice on how to thrive after a layoff.” Click here to read the rest of this article and to learn the five networking steps.

This post comes from the Financial Express.

“When the world is chanting the mantra of “Go Green”, do we consider the amount of carbon produced in the classic mode of imparting education? Be it traveling to the campuses, paper used and energy consumption, we are increasing our carbon footprints. But online education is one of the most effective ways an institution can reduce its carbon footprint.” Click here to read the rest of this article. 

OVERVIEW.COM — Career videos and government-based salary, career advice, and information have been added to our award-winning college and career website! In addition, hundreds of links to both campus-based and online schools and colleges, including technical colleges, vocational schools, and career colleges have been added.

Richardson, TX (PRWEB) October 22, 2008 — Since 1996, Overview.com has been building and refining its databases of career information. Career videos and government-based salary, career advice, and information have been added to our award-winning college and career website!

“With tough economic times ahead and the possibility of job layoffs,” says Ralph Greene, Overview President, “now is the best time to enhance the career skills and education that will make an employee even more valuable. Overview.com has exceptional value, providing prospective students and/or their parents easy access to one of the larger and more complete college and career databases of its type on the Internet.”

Online Schools and Colleges allow students to study at home using the Internet, on their own schedule. Millions of students are taking at least one online course this fall. The most attractive advantages are flexibility, convenience, and the ability to work at your own pace. Electronic classes allow students to participate and complete coursework according to their own schedules.

Campus Schools and Colleges offer evening and weekend classes for those that work during the day. They offer personal interaction with other students and are great for courses that require hands-on activities and training.

Looking for Online Schools and Colleges? There are 45 career categories from which to choose. Click and get a list of schools and colleges, and the individual courses and programs they offer in each category.

Looking for Campus Schools and Colleges? Click on your state or enter your ZIP code to find one near you. Search the list (arranged by the distance from your ZIP code) for the courses and programs of interest.

Looking for Technical Schools and Colleges? Find over 30 technical career categories, then list those that offer the desired training.

Find over 85 government-based Career Summaries, including earnings, working conditions, required training and qualifications, and future job outlook. Click Career Facts and Summaries to get factual insights.

Select from over 80 short Career Videos. Click Career Videos and select videos of interest.

After browsing and selecting a few schools or colleges of interest, free information from a counselor and literature from a school or college is only a mouse click away. Enrolling is just as easy.

“OVERVIEW.COM can be especially useful to parents with teens about to graduate from high school, to those in their 20’s and 30’s wanting to increase their skills and salary through promotion or career changes, and to professionals wanting to get advanced degrees or take specialized courses while still working full time.”

This post comes from Info World.

“In these uncertain times, who isn’t worried about job security? There are ominous signs aplenty: tech projects put on the chopping block, layoffs looming, and spotty full-time hiring opportunities on job boards. It’s good to have a backup plan in case you’re let go, and one plan is to prepare yourself to be a free agent.

A free agent has many names, among them “freelancer,” “contractor,” “temp,” “consultant,” and “contingency worker.” Basically, all mean the same thing: working without the benefits or obligations of a full-time staffer.

Of course, free agents aren’t in any better position than full-time employees during a downturn. Research firm Staffing Industry Analysts projects zero growth in IT staffing this year and a contraction of 5 percent in 2009. In fact, given that it’s much less traumatic to cut contractors than to lay off regular employees, free agents will be among the first to be fired, says Barry Asin, chief analyst at Staffing Industry Analysts. Generally speaking, companies don’t replace full-time employees with contingent ones, he adds.

Until the economy recovers, that is. On the upswing, free agents will be in more demand than their full-time counterparts, as companies typically use contractors to hedge their bets against a sudden market upswing going sour. This means IT workers facing potential layoffs should consider preparing for life as a free agent now in hopes of finding work in the future.” Click here to read the rest of this article.

This post comes from Information World Review.

“The annual Frankfurt book fair is where everyone in the world of publishing gets a chance to catch up on the newest developments. Since the last fair, Amazon has launched its Kindle e-book reader in the US, and Sony has started selling its e-book reader in the UK, so all eyes in Frankfurt will be on the 361 exhibitors including e-books in their displays.

In the academic sector, the pace of change has been faster than almost anywhere else. More than 90% of scholarly journals are now published electronically, a development that has revolutionised access.

According to Bob Campbell, senior publisher at Wiley-Blackwell, in the early 1990s a hard-copy journal would be bought by about 500 libraries. Now, as a result of changed pricing models, in which publishers offer bulk deals, or libraries join consortia to share the cost, the same journal (in electronic format) will go to about 7,000 libraries. He adds that the decision by many publishers to digitise back issues has resulted in large numbers of downloads and citations for articles that were previously gathering dust.” Click here to read the rest of this article.

 This post comes from the Cavalier Daily.

“Several universities have started implementing technology that allows students to take exams on computers while disabling other applications to prevent students from cheating. Some University of Virginia researchers are currently working to create a secure system that would allow students to take computerized tests in a similar manner.
Software Secure President Doug Winneg, whose company makes one such program, Securexam, said the software creates a secure word-processing environment that permits students to perform functions pertinent to their exams, such as spreadsheet analysis, on a computer. At the same time, the software restricts the environment to prevent students from chatting with their friends or consulting their notes.

Winneg also said the software has another component for distance learning that enables students to take exams in their dorm rooms and have a webcam monitor their exam environments. This, Winneg said, would “eliminate the need to go to a proctored exam environment” and would ensure that “exams administered online have the same academic integrity.”

University Asst. Mathematics Prof. Christian Gromoll said he, along with colleague Michael Hill, are currently using a University grant to experiment with a system where students can take exams online with the possibility of improving their work by reattempting problems answered incorrectly.”

This post comes from Policy Innovations.

“Jobs will be created by the transition from a high-carbon economy to an energy-efficient one, but the transformation will have to be rapid and global to make an impact on climate change along with poverty and employment patterns.

Such were the conclusions of Jill Kubit and Sean Sweeney of Cornell University’s Global Labor Institute, and Michael Renner of Worldwatch Institute, authors of a new ILO-UNEP “Green Jobs” report released late September. The report forecasts that millions of cleaner careers could be generated by 2030, with as many as 20 million new jobs in the energy alternatives sector alone. The authors presented their findings at the Carnegie Council on September 30, 2008.

“There is really no single definition [of green jobs],” said Renner during a panel discussion of the report. “But it refers to employment that substantially contributes to preserving or restoring the environment.” These jobs range from environmental research to housing retrofits to fuel-efficient vehicle assembly.

According to the study, having a green job means not only working in a green industry but also having a job that provides adequate compensation, job security, safe working conditions, and labor rights. “People’s livelihoods and sense of dignity are bound up tightly with their jobs. A job that is exploitative, harmful, fails to pay a living wage, and thus condemns workers to a life of poverty can hardly be hailed as green,” the report stated.” Click here to read the rest of this article.

This post comes from MarketWatch.

IMPACT Group, a WBE-global leader in career transition solutions, announced today the results from a study revealing how clients identify and land career opportunities.

The study is based on 419 recipients who successfully landed new positions through August 2008.

“The report reveals how our recipients are learning about and landing job opportunities including the impact of gender, age and income on job search techniques and trends in job search strategies since 1999,” said Pam Grosicki, VP of Product Development & Strategic Initiatives at IMPACT Group. “We believe our data presents a realistic picture of today’s job market for educated, salaried professional and executive workers.” Click here to read the results of this survey.