Lectures can be televised, with a lecturer at one location being displayed on large screens at some remote lecture theater, or even in industrial concerns or homes. The EuroPACE enterprise of the late 1980s was supported by a number of commercial organizations. International authorities were filmed, in studios, lecturing on their subjects. These lectures were transmitted by satellite to the subscribers, who typically recorded the programs at their site and viewed the material at their leisure. Those studying the material could contact the lecturer over the following months, if they so chose. The enterprise was discontinued after a number of years, though there have been attempts to resurrect this. It seems to have failed because of the extreme remoteness of the student, with no real ability to ask questions or other devices to engage the student in the process of learning.

One can introduce some level of live and intermediate interaction by enabling questions after lectures, for example, by introducing an audio link from remote sites back to the lecturer, rather like a television phone-m program. Some universities that work between multiple sites, like De Montfort and London University in the UK, can even do two way video links, building on the video conferencing model. Some success is reported anecdotally, though many lecturers are reluctant to use the facilities, and need training in their use.

Contact between lecturers and students can shift from face to face encounters in tutorials, to email exchanges. Individuals in technical departments of universities, like computer science, have done this for some considerable time, but for non-technical departments using email has been `unnatural’ and not favored.

Email has also been used to collect formal assignments set for assessment purposes. The UK Ceilidh project attempted to formalize this, providing services for collecting student assignments, recording their submission, arranging for lecturer comment and marking, collecting and recording these marks, and then returning the material to the student -all done electronically. A similar system is being piloted in the Open University, based around several commercial products, with the additional concern of authenticating the submissions to avoid possible fraud – always a concern in mass education.

Students need access to reading material to supplement the knowledge given to them in lectures. In some disciplines the consideration of alternative points of view manifest in different works may be an essential part of the study. Students have either bought or borrowed books, and libraries have been an integral part of any campus. With the rising price of books, and the need for a library to hold set texts in multiple copies, they have turned to digital libraries – see, for example, the special issue of the Communications of the ACM on this. Some universities are already using digital libraries.

Out of this use of telecommunications to augment traditional campus university education comes one style of distance education, where lectures delivered centrally are viewed remotely through television. Students can ask questions remotely using telephones. Students can interact with their lecturers and tutors using email, even submitting assignments in this way. They can access libraries electronically.

But is this really the way to do it? Is it the right way for developing countries?

The key thing that distinguishes online learning from conventional education is the situation that the learner, the student, finds himself or herself in. The student will be learning in isolation, without access to libraries, or local experts, or other students, to help with learning problems. To understand the full potential of networks in distance education, it is firstly important to understand online learning without networks. There are a great many institutions round the world that offer open and distance learning courses – the ICDL database of the Commonwealth of Learning lists 836 of these from around the world. All of these have much in common, and to illustrate what they offer, we will next look at our own institution, the Open University in the United Kingdom.

The key thing that distinguishes developing countries from developed countries is the level of infrastructure available, and the funds available to invest in capital intensive approaches to education.

Pharmacy Technician Degrees online are available at four levels – Associates, Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Doctoral and the Pharmacy Tech arena can vary depending on your choice of career endeavour. The majority of the pharmacy technicians out there work in retail pharmacies similar to the ones at your local drug stores or inside the larger retail entities (i.e. Wal-Mart). Other pharmacy tech’s fill prescriptions in hospitals, or work with government organizations or in online or wholesale pharmacies.

Benefits of Earning a Pharmacy Technician Degree Online

There are so many benefits to earning a degree online versus the traditional education methods. First and foremost is the freedom factor – the freedom to take what you want and when you want to take it. There is no schedule to follow and you can work at your own pace. Some online degree programs can be completed in as little as 9 months or up to 24 months.

Of equal importance is the fact that anytime you earn a degree, either offline or online, your are improving your chances of increasing your wages. In other words, as you progress up the degree ladder, your earnings will increase since you are compensated by the level of degree that you earn. Other benefits include not having to stand in line for registration, not having to worry about parking, and no crowded classrooms.

Becoming a Pharmacy Technician

If you have considered becoming a pharmacy technician, consider following these steps in order to achieve your goal:

Step #1 – Make sure that the Pharmacy Technician online degree program that you enroll in is with an accredited online college or university.

Step #2 – Take your state Pharmacy Technician Certification exam and take it until you pass (there’s no limit on the amount of times you can take the exam).

Step #3 – Whenever possible, try to schedule as many interviews for a Pharmacy Tech position that you can.

Step #4 – Once you have become certified, keep that certification current (you are required to take 20 hours of CE courses every two years when you’re a Pharmacy Tech).

Most Preferred Pharmacy Technician Online Degree Programs

There are a variety of Pharmacy Technician Degrees available online. What is most important is that they are accredited and it is the right degree to have in order to achieve your career and financial goals. Here are the most preferred Pharmacy Technician Online Degree programs:

• Associate of Arts in Health Care Administration-Pharmacy Practice
• Bachelor of Science in Pharmaceutical Sciences
• M.S. in Pharmaceutical Sciences
• Working Professional Doctor of Pharmacy

Two generations and only six decades later, their grandson the student received twenty years of formal English and French education, from dozens of specialized educators on three continents. Today, their grandson the teacher has many new resources, but the challenges continue. I have one class of ten-to eleven-year-olds, access to educational assistants, consultants, administrators, seminars for personal growth, and technological education tools to deliver information to my students in our small town of Penetanguishene, Ontario, from anywhere in the world.

Why is teaching still a challenge? Children are still children, with all the challenges of yesteryear – discipline, attentiveness, self-esteem, peer and parent pressure, and homework. Another significant challenge is that students today reside in a big global village, with big global problems. In this new world, information arrives at lightning speed from all corners of the earth. This high-speed digital highway influences most aspects of their society. Financial services, health care, the military, government services, and transportation are a few examples of where high-speed data collection, storage, and processing have forever changed the way we do business.

This technological tidal wave has now arrived at today’s schoolhouse, revolutionizing how teachers teach and students learn. How is this happening? Computers, cell phones, digital whiteboards, student-response systems, projectors, the Internet, portable media players, software, and email are tools now available to front-line teachers and students.

What does today’s technology allow us to do?

• Access information in various formats from anywhere at any time
• Translate words instantly from one language into another
• Enhance geography lessons with satellite images
• Tap into the world’s webcams to examine our living planet or to interact with other classrooms
• Assess student knowledge using digital tools and adjust lessons accordingly
• At a single touch, access the world’s news programs, newspapers, libraries, and museums

Preparing students to be citizens in this high-speed world is a significant undertaking. As a first step, educators must start teaching with the technology tools their students will use as future leaders and problem solvers.

To implement technology in classrooms, schools must prepare front-line teachers. 6 Steps to Success in Teaching with Technology helps teachers learn about, adapt to, and embrace technology.

Step 1: Understand Why Before an educator can begin to incorporate technology effectively into her classroom, she must be a believer. Step 1 outlines the benefits of incorporating technology into teaching.

Step 2: Adapt Two adaptations must occur for success in teaching with technology. Teachers must adapt to technology, and technology must be adapted to teachers.

Step 3: Plan Having a good plan is a key to success. Step 3 prepares teachers for the Teaching with Technology world by reviewing important planning questions.

Step 4: Do Your Homework Before spending money, teachers need to understand technology options. Step 4 overviews the most popular hardware and software used in today’s classrooms.

Step 5: Implement Effectively Having the latest tools in your classroom may look impressive, but you must be able to use them to deliver quality lessons. Step 5 explains how to do this.

Step 6: Keep Up to Date Technology changes daily. Managing this moving target is a challenge for busy teachers. Step 6 shows teachers how to stay on top of the latest changes in educational technology.

6 Steps also includes helpful tips from my own classroom experiences, and a glossary of teaching with technology terms to help you begin this new and exciting process. Let’s face it-our world is changing. It’s time to learn, adapt, and embrace teaching with technology!

Lucas Kent is an experienced educator and author of 6 Steps to Success in Teaching with Technology which in now available on Amazon.com, Barnes&Noble.com and many other online bookstores.