While I will talk about things regarding distance education at any school I will talk more about Ashford University than any other because I am a recent graduate.  While logging into Blackboard this morning to participate in my induction into Alpha Sigma Lambda I learned that Ashford has just received quite a cool industry award.   I have been told by students that attended other online schools that they wish that their school had an online program similar to the one I experienced while in school.  All I can say is the Blackboard and Ashford University rock!

Ashford University is the first university in the nation to receive recognition by Quality Matters™ for its institution-level implementation plan. The 3 ½ year plan includes a formal Quality Matters review of each Ashford online course through a stringent, standards-based peer review process centering on the quality of the course design.

Ashford University is committed to implementing the Quality Matters standards for the design of online courses, and is systematically building and evaluating its courses based on these rigorous, research-based standards. The Quality Matters standards ensure that the online components of these courses promote learner engagement and provide students with the tools and information they require to be successful learners. Further information regarding Quality Matters may be found at qualitymatters.org.

Every student that takes classes online will have to write an introduction post to let the other students and the instructor know about you and a little of what makes you tick.  Think of the introduction as free points that you can get with little effort.

Points to include:

1. Your name
2. Where you are from
3. What you do for a living
4. Marital status
5. Kids or pets if applicable
6. Your major
7. Hobbies and interests
8. Acknowledgment of familiar students (Not applicable if it is your first class)
9. An interesting fact about you
10. Wishing the other students good luck in the class

Below is an example of a post that I did at the beginning of and Ethics class I took last year.  Keep the length between 2-300 words which can easily be accomplished in 2-3 well fleshed out paragraphs.

Hello class,

My name is Glen I am a 42 year old married father of three living in Little Rock, Arkansas.  If everything works out this will be the next to the last class I take before completing my degree in Organizational Management.  I am debating on continuing with the Master’s program it will depend on how I feel in December when they put that diploma in my hand!

I run two businesses from my home currently.  The first business is managing a blog for plus size women and big and tall men.  I will celebrate my blog’s four year anniversary in November.  The second business is that of a travel agent.  The great thing about attending Ashford and taking Web based classes is that I have been able to put the skills that I have been taught to immediate practice in my businesses.

The final part of my introduction involves a bit of self-indulgence on my part.  For the first time in my life I have done well academically making the Dean’s List Fall 2007 and Spring 2008.  That accomplishment is almost as fantastic as the anticipation of the birth of my first grandchild in December.  If all goes well I will be a college graduate and a grandpa all in the same month.

Good luck to everyone in the class I look forward to getting to know you all and learning a lot.

As you can see in the above introduction it includes 8 of 10 of the steps for which I received full points for the post.  In other words, if you include more than 50% of the items listed you will have more than enough information to meet the assignment requirements.  in conclusion, basing your introduction on the above template will guarantee success in your online class activities.

If you are like most of the people in the wolrd you are probably reading this blog post via Internet Explorer.  You probably did like you have always done and upgraded to the version 8 without much thought.  This is fine for most instances but when it comes to taking classes online there are a few additional factors to take into account.

The browser that you use will depend on the software platform that your school uses.  The two leaders in classroom software are Blackboard and WebCT.  During my time with Ashford University I used Blackboard.  When it came to browsers Firefox in all its versions worked fine for me.  There was one instance that Blackboard was being updated and there was a problem with Firefox requiring me to fall back on using IE to complete my assignments.  FYI: WebCT was purchased by Blackboard Inc. in 2006.  The name WebCT will soon be phased out and just the name blackboard will be used.

The browsers most used for online classwork:

1. Microsoft IE
2. Netscape
3. AOL
4. Firefox
5. Safari

When it comes to the version each school is different.  Most software is built with IE in mind but with Firefox and Safari becoming more popular among users online classrooms are being built or tweaked to support whatever browser students decide to use.  Regardless as to which browser you decide to use it is a good thing to have more than one browser installed on your computer to use in case of emergency.  During my two years at Ashford there were several times that Firefox would not pull up Blackboard on assignment day.  I had no problem with this because I had another browser to use and still get my assignments in on time.

I went to college the first time in the 1980’s when financial aid paid me more than I made on my $3.32 an hour job.  Fast forward to 2009, students are faced with shrinking grants, smaller scholarships, increases in tuition, and HUGE student loans.  Before you run away, here me out and don’t be afraid to get a loan if you think of it as an investment in your future.

In my case with Ashford they have what is called a pre-qualification system that you will be eligible for a specific amount upon acceptance.  It is not this way with every school, meaning that you will need to do research on the school that you pick.  Regardless of what type of aid you end up with  it all starts with filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

Breaking down the most common types of aid that students pay for college with include:

Grants

Federal Grants are free money from the government that does not have to be paid back.  As I stated before the amount of grant money awards today are not as much as they were 20 years ago.  Personally I would think of grant money as a way to buy books and tie up loose ends connected to continuing your education.

Scholarships

Believe it or not there are thousands of scholarships available every year worth billions of dollars.  The trick is that there are so many that advertising for them is tough.  Websites like Fastweb will help during your search, but good old fashioned leg work to your local library is probably your best bet.

Loans

The Stafford loan is probably the most common type of loan that students obtain to pay for their education, me included.  To obtain Stafford loan contact the financial aid office at the school of your choice to find out the guidelines and application deadlines.

In my case, financial aid was so seamless that I was three weeks into school before the paperwork caught up to me.  Today with online education becoming more popular financial aid methods are becoming more streamlined so that that you can concentrate on studying.