10 Traps, Pitfalls and Shortcomings of Earning a Degree Online Part II (6-10)

Cajun — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 01:56:00 GMT

This is part II of a two part series. (Click to view part I.)

6.) Technology. Technology is an inevitable part of being an online student. Using new, unfamiliar software and mastering the art of using it skillfully will become essential. If you are still carrying a pager, use a rotary phone, are afraid of a fax machine and believe scientific calculators are still over $100.00 you may need to reassess your ability to adapt quickly enough to learning via an online format.

7.) Will power. Also called grit, guts, stamina or courage. You must have the ability to get knocked down and get back up. You have to be able to motivate yourself, likely nobody else will do it for you. If you get an “F” on an assignment you really worked hard on, it’ll knock the wind out of you. But you have to get tough, work harder, be objective and keep slugging away. Nobody is likely going to be cheering you on, nobody will beg you to do the work, nobody will care if you drop out or fail other than you and possibly close relatives. It’s up to you to get it done. You have to be able to accept failure and move on. You have to be able to overcome your shortcomings and keep growing. You have to accept the fact that you are nowhere near perfect and get over yourself enough to get better. You have to have will power. Campus based students will have to have some of this but they will also have the support of a peer group and the knowledge that their friends are sharing their experience. You on the other hand are going to go it very much alone by comparison.

8.) Self -discipline. Self-discipline is not will power, but it is a close cousin. The difference between will power and self discipline is that will power is what motivates you. Will power is the voice in your head that tells you go get up and keep going when you’ve been knocked down, the thing that keeps your feet moving underneath you when you don’t think you can run anymore. Self-discipline is the fore knowledge of what you need to do, making a plan and sticking to that plan no matter what. Self-discipline is the ability to delay pleasure in the knowledge that the sacrifice will pay in the long run. Will power is the drive where self-discipline is the map. One without the other is useless. You have to be self-disciplined. You will not have the peer support or pressure to show up to class every day like your campus-based peers will have. You will not be meeting friends in study groups at night motivating you to do so. Your success and reaching goals will depend 100% on your ability to envision what needs to happen and stick to the plan.

9.) Reading comprehension. You will have to read everything you learn likely. Where your peers can sit through lectures and hear the information, you will have to read it. Where your peers can reinforce the knowledge imparted to the class through discussions, you will have to read and write about what you are learning. It is likely that you will be required to have a higher level of reading comprehension than your campus based peers because it is the primary if not the only means of communication in online learning. You likely will not have auditory reinforcement of the information like sitting through a lecture. You will not likely have the visual of seeing the information being demonstrated on a chalkboard. With rare exception all the information relayed to you will be via text and graphics, nothing more. You will have to learn to comprehend what you read. This will include skillful note taking, learning your reading comprehension limits (we all have them) and develop a means of overcoming your shortcomings. For example, I find it hard to concentrate on a text for over 30 straight minutes without a break. Otherwise I am reading, but not comprehending the text. The more precise and dry the material, the shorter my attention span is. As such I take careful, easily referenced notes and take a break of 5 to 10 minutes at least once every half-hour without fail. That is what works for me, you will have to develop a plan that works for you.

10.) Communication through writing. This is a shortcoming for many, many people. I revise reports daily as part of my official duties in the workplace and I continually see people who struggle in the area of communicating effectively in written word. You would not be alone in this struggle. I too have spent and continue to spend minutes upon hours upon years developing my writing skills. It is an art form that few people if any, ever perfect, yet one that must be mastered to a high level of competence in online learning as this will be your primary if not only means of expressing your thoughts and engaging in the communication process. You may have a way with words and wit in person, but translating this onto the page is a struggle I believe most people, myself included engage in.

Well there you have it. I hope this post does not scare you off of attempting a degree online, but there are things you need to be aware of before committing your time and money to such a momentous undertaking as earning a degree online.

I welcome any comments, questions or suggestions you may have here or email if you prefer.

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What is the difference between various certificates? Academic vs. Professional vs. Licensure?

Cajun — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 22:10:00 GMT

I believe that a certificate program can be broken down into three categories. It is worth noting that these categories are not necessarily exclusive to one another but at times may overlap. It is also worth noting that these are my personal observations, there may be programs which do not fit neatly into my little categorization scheme as listed here.

The certificates, as I see them, are:

A.) Academic Certificates
B.) Professional Licensure Certificates or "Certifications"
C.) Professional Certificates or "Certifications" (non-licensure)

First there is the Certificate of Completion, the Certificate of Advanced Graduate Studies, Graduate Certificates, or Certificate in (name the discipline). Generally, these are for credit certificates which are based upon the completion of actual classroom work where semester credit hours are awarded per class and a transcript will be provided. Often times, these certificates are an abbreviation of a particular degree plans "major" coursework requirement.

A good example of this type of certificate can be found at Louisiana State University (http://www.is.lsu.edu/CreditCertificateProg.asp?nid=103&Level=CO&Online=1 or http://www.is.lsu.edu/ACCTCertificateProg.asp?nid=103&Level=CO&Online=1) and as a graduate certificate, Northcentral University
(http://www.ncu.edu/academics/cags/cags.aspx).

Second, there are professional certificates, commonly called "certifications" required for licensure, such as the Certified Public Accountant (which in Texas is) http://www.tsbpa.state.tx.us/ or the American Bar Association's "Bar Certified" attorneys http://www.texasbar.com/. Both of these certifications are perfect examples of professional certifications and are generally required for license to practice a given profession overseen by the state in which that professional works.

For example in Texas, you have to pass the Texas Certified Public Accountancy exam in order to be a CPA. You have to have a CPA in order to be a licensed Public Accountant. The same can be said for the Texas Bar Association. For example, in Texas in order to be licensed as an attorney, you must pass the Bar Exam and to qualify for the Bar Exam you have to have attended a school which is accredited by the American Bar Association.

Third, not all professional certificates or certifications are required for working in a profession within a given field, however. For example, you are not required to be a CompTIA A+ Certified Technician http://certification.comptia.org/ in order to fix a computer (sadly), but it does help you in the job search and provide a potential customer and/or employer with evidence that you have reached a certain level of competency in the field.

Another example can be seen at Rutgers University http://onlinetraining.rutgers.edu/, which offers professionals the ability to:

A.) obtain the minimum (clock) hours of education required for a certain exam to be "certified" such as the PMP (Project Management Professional) from http://www.pmi.org/CareerDevelopment/Pages/Our-Credentials.aspx which requires a set of clock hours to obtain which can be found at http://imed.rutgers.edu/Certificate-in-Project-Management-2007.htm and which will prepare you for the PMP exam. (This is one of many, many examples).
B.) Additionally these type of (clock) hour certificates can be recorded as continuing education to meet various licensure and certification requirements.

Conclusion
The basic premise of any certificate or certification is that it will display a given level of competency to a third party of your respective skills. Often times a certificate will require a certain degree or level of education in order to obtain the certificate, such as the Texas Bar Association's requirement of a Juris Doctorate Degree in order to sit for the State of Texas Bar Exam.

Some certificates are a way of proving a competency through merely testing and demonstrating those skills with no prerequisite for education, such as the CompTIA, A+ Certificate.

Some certificates are simply an educational supplement such as LSU's offerings.

Hope this helps define a certificate.

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My Ashford University Experience : certified

10 Traps, Pitfalls and Shortcomings of Earning a Degree Online Part II (6-10)

What is the difference between various certificates? Academic vs. Professional vs. Licensure?