Monday, November 19, 2012

Expert Opinions on How to Succeed in an Online School



Success in an online school is similar to success in traditional schools in many ways. While there are some exceptions and obvious differences, many of the practices are still the same. Some of these may be easier to accomplish in a home setting with privacy and personal space being key components to comfortably managing your education. Here are a few ways that you can improve your online educational experience.

1. Time - As in a post about "How to Succeed as an Online Student" at About.com, time management can be crucial to your education. Choosing the perfect time for your studies when you are alert and not bothered by distractions will keep you on task.

2. Hardware - Keeping your Internet connected computer equipment at optimum efficiency will prevent downtime and lost school work, as per an article at DirectoryOfSchools.com. Proper maintenance is key in your equipment and you should be wary of anything that could jeopardize your online education such as paying the Internet bill or contracting a virus.

3. Motivated - One of the more difficult aspects of online schooling is keeping motivated to complete tasks and schoolwork. Remind yourself on a regular basis why you are continuing your education. A wise tip provided by OnlineSchooling.net emphasizes keeping your personal focus of a better life after completing the course.

4. Organization - Keeping your study area free from clutter and organizing your files is a good way to keep from losing valuable content. Another good tip by OnlineSchooling.net includes turning off distractions like television and such to keep your focus on the task.

5. Good Diet - Although the content at essortment.com is focused more on traditional schooling, the tips including eating a healthy breakfast still hold true for online students. A healthy breakfast can help keep your mind alert and focused throughout your day regardless of what kind of schooling you're attending.

6. Tech Skills - An important aspect of online education is the knowledge behind basic technical skills. As in the content provided by Radford.edu, the ability to create files and a working knowledge of documents and the Internet will help you further both online schooling and personal knowledge of your computer.

7. Sociability - Even though your online classmates may not know who you are, that is still no reason to be rude, belligerent, or crass. As in an article by The American Academy, you should always practice good behaviors and mannerisms. This could help you develop new friends, a productive study group, and a strong ethic for teamwork.

8. Procrastination - With online schooling, it is easy to fall into the realm of procrastinating when it comes to finishing the work. As in an article provided by online-education.net, you should never put off for tomorrow what can be done today. While this saying is true in all aspects of life, online schooling has a limited time-span and the finals can sneak up on you quicker than you realize.

Regardless of your field of study, these tips work in all situations. In fact, many of them may hold true in your career choice. An online school brings education to those who haven't the time to attend regularly scheduled classes, or are otherwise unable to be present due to environmental difficulties. Be comfortable in your education and practice good habits in order to succeed in your education.
Author Bio
Nancy Parker was a professional nanny and she loves to write about wide range of subjects like health, Parenting, Child Care, Babysitting, nanny, www.enannysource.com/ etc. You can reach her @ nancy.parker015 @ gmail.com.

Thursday, November 8, 2012

Challenging Languages


If you’re considering learning a new language for school, work or personal enrichment, it pays to know which languages are the hardest to learn. Rather than rely on apocryphal data, use this research-based list to learn which languages you should avoid if you’re not seeking a challenge. 

1. Korean. The United States Foreign Service Institute (FSI) trains federal employees for work overseas, including language preparation. The FSI has ranked Korean as the most difficult language for English-speakers to learn, due to the tonal structure and imported Chinese words. However, Korean uses a symbol-based alphabet, like English, making basic reading/writing easy to learn.

2. Japanese. Your vocabulary and grammar in this language are based on your gender, age and relative position of power compared to your audience, meaning you will have to learn many forms of the same words. The National Virtual Translation Center considers Japanese the most difficult language to world.

3. Navajo. Japanese speakers are excellent code breakers, partly due to the difficulty of their own language. During World War II, Navajo speakers were used to transmit classified information over the airwaves, and the Japanese never managed to understand the complexity of the Navajo language. Rather than using loan words from other languages, Navajo defines foreign objects by stacking multiple prefixes on to existing words, resulting in terms with nine or ten syllables each. Additionally, few native speakers of Navajo remain, especially compared to other languages.

4. Basque. Spoken by a few villages in remote regions of Spain and France, Basque is one of the few language isolates of the European continent. Unlike Spanish or French, this language contains few cognates, so learners will have no familiar terms to help them learn. The British Foreign Office considers Basque the hardest language to learn.

5. Arabic. As one of the most widely spoken languages in the world, Arabic has spawned tens if not hundreds of dialects. In addition, many Arabic countries experience triiglossia: One version of Arabic is used for religious texts and vocabulary, a second version is used for literature and media and a third version is spoken on a daily basis. Arabic learners will have to master each version of the language for full comprehension.

Luckily, you still have many choices for easy, widely spoken languages. Consider French, Spanish, German or even Hindi and you could be speaking a new language in a year or two. Stay away from the five languages listed here unless you want to spend a decade mastering a new tongue.
Author Byline:
Ken Myers as an Expert Advisor on multiple household help issues to many Organizations and groups, and is a mentor for other “Mom-preneurs” seeking guidance.  He is a regular contributor of “www.gonannies.com/”.  You can get in touch with him at kmyers.ceo@gmail.com. 

Monday, November 5, 2012

Looking At My Past Posts

The quote above generally describes the feeling that I have right now with regards to my blog and my past posts. Although I have to admit that I post things on the internet haphazardly without a grain of thought... in fact one might accuse me of blogging while under the influence of alcohol, and I don't even drink. Do I regret it? Not at all.

As I have repeated myself over and over again, blogging for me is a form of expression and is not to be used to publish scholarly-like journal articles. Although I have to apologize to the nursing profession for  including it in my blog description. I do not represent nurses out there as I can sometimes be a cruel, insensitive, person.

I should really start rebranding my blog and start to shroud it anonymously so that I don't become a target of hate or that people don't link me to the affiliations I belong to.

The internet has grown and has become a powerful tool to gain knowledge, gain support, and has even been used as a weapon against individuals.

I am rambling... incoherently at that. I shall end this post.

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Picture source: http://static.themetapicture.com/media/funny-look-back-past-quote.jpg

Goodbye Wisdom Teeth

Well so many things have happened in the past few months and I don't really think I'd like to condense my entire life into one small post. Not that anyone will be interested in my sad life story anyway, but I have decided to come back into the blogging world as I am slowly losing my mind.

I am currently on my fourth day of post-surgery. Although I only had three wisdom teeth removed, I feel like I've undergone a major surgery. My surgical wound is free of pain, swelling, or exudates which I wouldn't be surprised as my doctor has prescribed me antibiotics, narcotics, and an anti-inflammatory. Although my pain is under control, I hate how Tylenol 3's make me feel light-headed and just plain weird. I also dislike being unable to eat real food and am forced to eat pureed "no-chew" food as it hurts a lot when food particles get into my stitches.

Plain and simple, I am just whining and fussing over my sad condition. I sometimes ask myself, why on earth have I decided to put this upon myself? My wisdom teeth were growing under the gum line in an awkward fashion that it was pushing my other teeth out of place and it was a source of infection as food  particles would get stuck in the hard to reach crevices. Although this would help me in the long run, I kinda wished I decided to have the operation during the summer. Oh well, what's done is done.