General News About Associate Degree Programs Online

Associate degrees typically require two years to complete. Earning an associate degree in a specialized area serves as an opportunity to get entry level jobs. Many associate degree programs are available online, supporting you to study whenever and from wherever you want. You can choose an associate of arts degree, associate of applied science degree or associate of science program online, according to your interest and prior schooling.

Online associate degree programs in business and management, aid you to get higher rewarding job options. Online degree programs take less time than a traditional degree program to complete. It trains you in business communications, financial management, marketing, business law and many other related topics. You can choose a specialized field like agricultural business, automotive management, e-business or international business.

If you have an interest in careers in the health industry, online associate degree programs in health science are right for you. You can learn how to manage medical records and health care facilities in the course. If you are interested in physical therapy or personal training, you can choose an associate program in health science with personal training specialization. You can find plenty of job opportunities immediately after earning this degree.

Online Broadcasting Education Opportunities

1. Most online colleges offer degree distinctions for dedicated individuals from an associate's to a bachelor's degree. Some schools go a step further and give the option for students to attend a graduate program. Many of the graduate programs allow students to obtain a master's degree in broadcast journalism. Through each level of education students will learn the ins and outs of news dissemination using audio and video to relay information to an audience.

2. Many of the online distance learning programs provide students with a thorough curriculum. Online broadcasting programs specifically focus their courses to teach students the foundations of the industry, and allow them to experience the fast paced world of technology as it relates to communication through broadcasting. Many of the courses will help students by training them in media issues, production of audio, entertainment, production of video, videography, editing, and more. These skills will help a degree holding individual in the job market because the broadcasting side of communications centers on the knowledge of technology to present news. The ability to use technology to present media in an interesting way is an important factor that online colleges teach in their programs.

3. Students can gain a bachelor's degree in broadcasting from a wide range of online schools. Some colleges specifically focus on the broadcasting degree making each class incredibly focused on the subject. In programs where the main focus is on the broadcasting side of communication courses may be longer, but the program will consist of fewer courses. A student may enroll in a program like this that has 14 courses. These courses can include radio and TV operations, broadcast journalism and news, public relation strategies, and more. Many bachelor's degree programs take four years to complete. However, online courses are taken at an individual pace and some students could finish the program in less time.

Education Reform May Provide Better Incentives For Those With Education Degrees

Students in education degree programs might enter professions that, in the long run, are the most important to a successful economy. That's at least how President Barack Obama, interviewed by Matt Lauer for the Today Show in September, described teachers. Students who are working toward education degrees might also enter a field that's very different by the time they graduate.

The difference has to do with education reform. Last year, the federal government announced a $4 billion "Race to the Top" program designed to award $4 billion in grants to states that encourage education reform. Much of the news with regard to education these days has to do with enhanced college and university readiness and improved science and math education. Students in education degree programs might learn that America's K-12 students lag behind other countries in these subject areas particularly.

The American Federation of Teachers is on board with education reform. Math and science, many say, can enhance innovation, help the economy and help the country retain its role as a world leader. But where Obama in the Today Show interview announced plans to recruit thousands of science and math teachers over the coming two years, American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten in an opinion piece on AOL News suggested that training and retaining teachers, as they do in Finland, might benefit the education system.

BBC World News America earlier this year reported on how representatives from throughout the world visited Finland to determine what makes the country's schools so successful. Finland's schools rank- highly on a worldwide scale, even though students there spend some of the least amount of time in class, according to the BBC article. The article explained about when students start school there and when they move to different schools and teachers. Among other things, the BBC World News article mentioned immigration and additional teachers who fill highly respected roles.

If you're pursuing an education degree, you might be keeping up with American teacher salaries. The National Education Association has proposed offering starting salaries of $40,000 per year across the board for teachers and $28,000 for school support personnel. The American Federation of Teachers has proposed what's known as "differentiated" pay, where teachers would start with adequate, locally negotiated base salaries and be paid more in instances where they take on added responsibilities. Obama mentioned to Lauer the possibility of creating a career ladder for teachers as a means of professionalizing the industry.

According to the National Education Association website, about 20 percent of new teachers change professions by the time they complete their first year in public schools and nearly half of public school teachers change professions within five years. American school systems as a result lose about $7 billion each year, Weingarten wrote. According to him, school districts should work with teachers to reform them and, through a relatively new model for evaluating their work, to help them develop professionally.

Whether or not you're working toward an education degree, it's likely that you've heard the saying, "It takes a village to raise a child." Weingarten and Obama agree that educating children is partly the responsibility of others as well. In Finland, the BBC World News America article noted, parents read at home with their children and communicate regularly with teachers.

Sex Education in Public Schools

I was making my rounds through the typical news sites this morning and come across an article on CNN quoting a Jack Cafferty (a CNN reporter) story reporting the results of a recently released "case study" suggesting an decrease in teen sex as a result of the $170 million spent annually in Abstinence education through the public school system. I reviewed the results of this case study and found that the reported 33.5% of Abstinence educated students and 48.5% of the control group who were projected to participate in sexual intercourse is an admitted estimation. The actual reported occurrence of sexual activity was 20.6% for the Abstinence only group and 29% for the control group with no published estimation for the margin of error for this study. Now for those of you reading this that are not aware of my standing on "case study" results please read the following paragraph, if you are familiar with my stance skip the next paragraph.

Any time you see a "case study" or "survey" referenced in an article or speech or memo supporting the authors theme or opinion you are being lied to. Any reference to "statistical data" means you are being lied to. Any time anyone interprets data for you, you are being lied too. Not to say the data is wrong in any particular way but like most things quoted in popular media today it is quite often taken out of context certain aspects are flat ignored or the results are interpreted in a fashion that suits the authors needs.