This article is from Examiner.com.

“The U.S. Department of Education, Center for Technology in Learning, recently released their latest report ‘Evaluation of Evidence-Based Practices in Online Learning: A Meta-Analysis and Review of Online Learning Studies‘.

“The findings revealed that on average, online students out performed those receiving face-to-face instruction. In addition, they identified that learners in the online environment spent more time performing a task than student’s offline. The research focused on the K-12 environment, but the findings are interesting for online education as a whole.

“This report is a milestone in the continuing search to validate the online learning environment. CSU Global Campus students have said that they prefer the online classroom not just because they save time by not driving to a campus, but because they can spend more time on the actual course work since it can be completed at any time of the day that is convenient for them. They are particularly impressed at how quickly their communication skills have improved, which is a skill set that can be readily applied to their day-to-day job.”

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This article is from The Christian Science Monitor.

“While she was a student at the University of Arizona, Patty Fernandez never had a chance to intern. But two decades later, she’s doing just that.

“Laid off from her copy-editing job last summer at Standard & Poor’s and seeing her freelance work dwindle, Ms. Fernandez applied for an unpaid internship at the website start-up company wowOwow.com, an online community for women. ‘I was really attracted by the possibilities and being able to do something that I didn’t necessarily have experience [in],’ she says of the Internet-publishing venture.

“Perhaps it’s a sign of the times. The internship role, once reserved for college students and entry-level candidates, is attracting mid-career professionals eager to retool their skills. With 7 million jobs lost since the beginning of the recession, internships are becoming a sought-after way to reenter the job market.

“‘There are a lot of adults who are out of work, a lot of adults who want to transition into second careers – and an internship is the best way to get a foot in the door and … learn about a new industry,’ says Lauren Berger, founder of InternQueen.com, a website devoted to college internships.”

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This article is from US News and World Report.

“Applying for financial aid is about to get a little less annoying. The U.S. Department of Education announced Wednesday that it would streamline the 109-question, six-page Free Application for Federal Student Aid.

“For many years, the FAFSA has been the subject of insults and curses from millions of parents and a bipartisan army of politicians. But it got longer and more complicated over the years as Congress and state officials added questions to qualify students for specific scholarships and as financial aid officials tried to prevent parents from hiding income in order to qualify for aid.

“Research shows that the form has become so complex and frustrating that as many as 1 million students are giving up in disgust, thus missing out on financial aid that would help them pay for college. In fact, many of the questions seem silly: After requiring students to enter their date of birth, for example, the 2009 form also asks students whether or not they were born before Jan. 1, 1986. Students also have to answer several repetitive questions about their marital status and the amount of school they’ve completed.”

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This article is from Memphis Business Journal.

“The federal government will offer $500 million in funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for competitive grants to prepare workers throughout the country for green jobs in the energy efficiency and renewable energy industries.

“Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis announced the grants at a press conference this morning from the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis.

“‘Emerging green jobs are creating opportunities for workers to enter careers that offer good wages and pathways to long-term job growth and prosperity,’ said Solis. ‘Workers receiving training through projects funded by these competitions will be at the forefront as our nation transforms the way we generate electricity, manufacture products and do business across a wide range of industries.’”

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This article is from delmarvanow.com.

“It’s a new world with new concepts. Isn’t that terrific? We are worried about our jobs, worried about money, and recently I read an interesting piece on a wonderful new concept: green jobs. Here’s what I found and some of you looking for jobs or ideas to start businesses should look into this.

“What is a green job? I certainly didn’t know. I researched this and found information on the Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration Web site. The ETA Green Job Act would support apprenticeship and job training programs to meet the growing demand for green construction professionals skilled in energy efficiency and renewable energy installations. According to the Department of Labor, this act envisions investments for 3 million new jobs by helping companies retool and retrain workers to produce clean energy including energy-efficient components or end products that will result in residential and commercial energy savings, industry revenue and new green jobs throughout the country.”

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This article is from South Bend Tribune.

“If you are looking to be retrained for a new and more stable career path, nursing is the way to go, according to Eric Jones, the region’s director of Manpower Inc.

“A recent national survey by Manpower, an employment services company, indicates that engineering, nursing, skilled/manual trades and teaching are the top four most difficult positions for employers to fill this year.

“And locally, Manpower is seeing similar results.

“‘We’re absolutely seeing similar trends in South Bend as we are nationally,’ Jones said.

“He said nursing in particular is seeing a boom as major hospitals are pulling out all the stops to recruit nurses.”

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This article is from Carolina Coast Online.

“As computers evolved from occupying a huge air-conditioned room to being so small they fit into the palm of your hand, how you use them has too.

“For example, communication with friends and family now zips through e-mail and gets posted on social networking sites, movies are rented online to arrive two days later in your mailbox, and grocery, gift and bargain shopping all happens on auction and discount Web sites — also to be delivered directly to your home, saving you time and gas money.

“But one of the largest growing fields for online usage is education. More than 3.9 million college students took at least one online course in the fall of 2007 — the most recent year with data available — according to an annual study done for the Sloan Consortium.”

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This article is from Delaware Online.

“After Linda Yenshaw lost her job as an administrative assistant in her company’s downsizing, it took her about a year to find another position. The job she found wasn’t as challenging as the post she had for 17 years but it paid the bills — until the company closed, leaving the 46-year-old unemployed for the second time.

“‘I took some time to re-evaluate my life and I said [the corporate world] was just not for me any more,’ the Wilmington resident said. ‘I thought if I worked in a spa doing skin care, it would be as beneficial for me as it was for the clients.’

“Yenshaw enrolled in the skin-care specialist program at Dawn Training Centre, a Wilmington technical school.

“As the recession swells the ranks of the unemployed, many of those workers are in turn boosting enrollments at trade and technical schools. Like Yenshaw, they are attracted by programs that are shorter than traditional college and targeted to a particular vocation.”

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This article is from Reuters.

“Jean Johnson is 81 years old and suffering from diabetes. But instead of relaxing in retirement, she recently started a new job.

“‘I need money. My social security check just doesn’t make it, with rent and the gas bill to pay,’ said Johnson, who took a job in March at a library in Danforth, Illinois. ‘I need to work.’

“Amid the economic downturn, shrinking retirement accounts, increasing costs for food and medicine, and stiff competition for even entry-level jobs, evidence is building that the dream of a comfortable retirement is dying for many Americans.

“The ranks of the elderly looking for work has swelled more than 120 percent to more than 1.8 million in the last year. Among that group, those who were 75 and older increased by 80 percent, according to data from the National Council on Aging.”

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This article is from eLearners.com.

“In an effort to educate, empower and employ adult Americans, the national Career Stimulus Package campaign will launch in Denver, Colorado on Friday, June 12, 2009.  The Career Stimulus Package is a direct answer to the need for adult Americans to retool their skills for future job and career opportunities.  The campaign will offer more than 100 full-tuition scholarships worth more than $4 million, job shadowing programs at some of America’s most innovative companies and a 38-city Empowerment Tour across the country offering free career counseling services and fund-raising for additional adult-driven scholarship dollars.

“The Career Stimulus Package and Empowerment Tour is the convergence of forces between eLearners.com and Flavia Colgan to help American adults kick-start their careers through education.  Colgan, a passionate advocate for education over the past decade, served as the first woman and youngest Chief of Staff in the country for Pennsylvania’s Lt. Governor Catherine Baker Knoll.  Most recently, she has appeared as a correspondent and commentator on several national TV networks including CBS, MSNBC and FOX.  Colgan and eLearners.com have joined forces with the help of participating schools and companies to help working adults overcome the barriers of time, money and confidence in pursuing education and retool their skills for the future.”

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