Monday, January 2, 2012

Discussing The Online Masters in Education

Thanks to the internet, it seems that online learning has replaced distance education, and that it is here to stay. For example, you can now complete a Masters in Education without ever having to sit in an actual classroom Internet teaching is now so advanced that you can even earn a master's diploma online.

Part of the appeal with online masters in education programs is the flexibility in time as you can schedule your own classes. This freedom to arrange classes' means that anyone can fit the program into their daily lives - full-time mothers, professional and so on all have the chance. Apart from the fact that it tends to be cheaper than the conventional on-campus education, it lets students be taught in a more straightforward and personal environment.

Just as there are people who believe in online learning, an equal number of individuals stress that the design of e-learning for graduate education students has many limitations. Firstly, many students find it extremely to get motivated when they do not have physical pressure to attend class. The biggest negative possibility is the fact that you could get scammed.

If you are considering an online masters degree in education, it is vital that your chosen course is accredited. Accreditation is simply defined as a type of approval process that performs appraisal and evaluation on the merits of the education offered. The main purpose of accreditation is to make sure that the program has met an acceptable standard of quality, and is recognized and accepted from an accreditation-giving body.

If you sign up for any online program that has not been fully accredited, your degree may be worthless. This degree is of no use to you - employers don’t recognize it and you cannot get credit for it elsewhere. Also, your boss doesn’t have to help you with your tuition fees if you are not working on a recognized degree.

Remember that not all accreditations are equal, and some are government approved while others are not. In America the Department of Education has nothing to do with accreditation in these kinds of courses - a separate body figures out the standards. The Council of Higher Education Accreditation and US Department of Education do have the final say though.

Also, you should always check of the accreditation is limited to a specific field, region, or country. More often than not the general standard for graduate education is regional accreditation. Look for a school that shows their accreditation details on their home page.

Look out for diploma mills - these are schemes that pose as schools where you will receive a diploma in exchange for cash. A tell tale sign of such a scheme is the fact that they give little or no schoolwork. Also look out for scams that offer you course credit for work experience - this is indicative of dodgy practices.

To add, such a school’s admission standards often appear to be very lax or may tell students that they can complete the degree for a shorter time than what is normally required to earn the degree. For example, an online school that says their master's degree in education can be earned in one semester for a student with no past course credits should send red flags. Some scam artists even go so far as to set up false accreditation agencies to garner confidence.

Before you agree to any online masters in education, you need to do some thorough research so that you reap real rewards. Always check the URL of the site that you are consulting, as bogus schools cannot get a valid address. Take note, all legit academic institutes use the ‘.edu’ suffix on their URL.


When in need of reliable info about masters in education programs, do not hesitate in hitting the links.