nov0caine’s posterous

Blogging for Educational Institutions

From an engagement perspective, it is a well known fact that any website with a blog in practice can foster an online community that centralizes its activity around your brand name. In business, blogging is a great selling point in conveying human qualities to your posts and promoting positive B2C interaction and encouraging feedback. But what about blogging for educational institutions...?

Blogging for your school or university is an excellent way to promote engagement online and also give an insight into life within your school, college or university. But there's no point in trying to convery the success of educational blogging without substance... Let's illustrate this with an example.

The International College of Management Sydney is a great example of educational blogging, click on the link and open up the site page. Let's run through step by step as to what makes the ICMS blog so ubiquitous and effective:

1. Posts are written by student and staff - Now, from a reader's perspective, you really can not get much more genuine than this. Having the posts written directly by the staff and students of ICMS allows the readers to directly relate to the writers, with a subsequent inclination to learn more about the college. Now, not only is this a good tactic for building rapport with other students of the college, it also makes potential students and college prospects feel more welcome - an outcome of which all educational institutions strive to achieve.
2. The posts add value - One common element you will encounter when trawling the vast expanse of the internet for decent reading material is the self-aggrandizing tone of business blogs, intricately laced with corporate jargon to the point where reading the first sentence will have that particular product or service ingrained in your mind forever. It is common with businesses, yes, but some educational institutions have also been notorious at blatant self-promotion. 

   What you will notice about the posts on the ICMS blog is that each adds value to the reader... But how are they adding value? That question is easiily answered. If the students and staff are not offering college advice or tips, they're adding value by making posts pleasurable to read. No post on the blog burdens the reader!

3. Visual Appeal  - The design of the blog does not divert the reader's attention away from the blog posts, but still maintains an amiable visual appeal. The brand name is bold, and college imagery is also displayed throughout the header. The effectiveness of this? The campus is visually marketing itself, but subtly, which is ideally what institutions should aim to achieve.
4. Call to actions - Any educational institution can benefit from social media, however in order to make these channel prevalent they need to be exposed wherever possible. By placing social media call to action buttons in an easily accessible place within the college blog, ICMS i effectively utilising the blogs function as an engagement hub and social media conduit.

So there you have it... In black and white, the illustrated benefits of running a blog for your educational institution. It's a great way to encourage engagement within your digital assets whilst subtly market your institution as genuinely as possible.

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Posted 1 day ago by Mark 

Silencing the Student Exchange Skeptics

"I want to study overseas" is a mantra constantly repeated by keen students worldwide, and no matter which university you go to, you will inevitably make friends with someone planning international study or someone's friend who is planning international study. It is human nature to be curious about global travel, and such is the nature of youth to be seek an adventure in a foreign land. Students also see overseas travel as an auspicious opportunity to seek achievement and acclaim for their premature Curriculum Vitae's - and it is perfectly understandable too, given the highly competitive nature of job hunting as well as the growing supposition of employers expecting candidates to have relevant degrees or some sort of tertiary qualifications in their desired job field.

So aside from the obvious career building accreditations, what are some of the long term benefits of international study? They say that student exchange is an investment for life. Here are some of the things you might take with you out of your study time overseas:

• Learn a foreign language
• Discover job fields and careers you didn't know existed
• Grow in self-confidence, independence, maturity and realize your hidden potential
• Make new friends and increase your worldwide network of peers
• See the world through your very own eyes - you will experience, and not just learn about it
• Take with you a sense of satisfaction upon completing challenges in another country
• Develop a deeper appreciation for world cultures

Traveling overseas may awaken that hidden passion you were oblivious to, and open up a desired career path. A trend that is rife amongst high-school graduates is having no clear sense of direction, and this is perfectly understandable. In Australia for example, the average student graduated from high school at eighteen years of age. The transition from the security blanket and routine of school life is a shock for many young students, and the pressure with-standing to choose a career or university is something many adolescents struggle to deal with.

For most students, an effective way to wean themselves out of the familiar comforts of high school life is the transition into university study, which allows students to warm into the reality of the work force. One thing that compliments this transition and of course breaks it up is international study.

If you’re an international business student looking to study abroad in Australia, the International College of Management Sydney (ICMS) is an esteemed university accredited Sydney Business College located on the northern beaches of the city of Sydney.  ICMS is home to students from over 60 international locations – so everyone is welcome! Follow one of the links to the ICMS site for more information.

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Posted 6 days ago by Mark 

Unearthing the PRINCE2 methodology

For developing project managers, one of the most frequently asked questions concerns the nature of the PRINCE2 methodology – what exactly does it involve and how can it better my project management practices?

The give you a little bit of insight into the history of the PRINCE2 course, the concept of PRINCE2 is a derivative of an I.T. project management methodology originating in the UK, which has since been adopted as a general project management methodology. Today, PRINCE2 is considered one of the most powerful and successful project management methodologies used in excess of 150 countries worldwide.

When observed in practice, the PRINCE2 methodology implicates a fascinating and meticulous hierarchical structure that places strong emphasis on process driven project management. The project is divided into manageable and controllable stages, providing an inherent contingency plan for achieving project completion in working under the assumption that not all resources will be producing maximum levels of output from the conception to completion of the project.

In Australia, PRINCE2 is one of two favourable project management methodologies, particularly for larger organizations. The PRINCE2 methodology is deployed across Australian state government bodies as a sturdy framework for controlling the output across a large expanse of organizational resources, and is also prevalent amongst companies with head offices in the UK and Europe. One of the primary advantages of the PRINCE2 framework is that it is highly malleable, so yeah, if you’re a small-medium business owner and you feel like you’re missing out on one of the best project management methodologies known to man – you can tailor your own PRINCE2 framework for your company, hence the warm acceptance and high demand of this methodology!

At PM-Partners, our PRINCE2 training sessions will teach you the mechanics of this methodology and how to effectively apply them in an organization of any size – we’ll also go one further and prep you for all you need to know to get your PRINCE2 certification in less time. With the soon to be released online student website PM Partners students will be able to spend less time in the classroom and more time preparing for the Prince2 Examination.

Thanks for reading! We hope you found this post helpful. Should you have any questions or comments requiring more of an explanation, or you simply want an in-depth discussions, feel free to give us a call on +61 2 9900 1400.

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Posted 15 days ago by Mark 

The Common Misconceptions of Online Learning

The Common Misconceptions of Online Learning

With the evolution of the internet, and the societal adoption of online culture, it was only a matter of time before the educational realm decided to start incorporating the online world into everyday teaching methods. But the adverse seems to have occurred, where traditional learning and teaching is being abandoned by students in favor of a more autonomous educational form – online learning.

Although there is a biased shift towards online learning trends as a means of receiving quick certification, there are still a lot of unresolved myths surrounding the online medium. Here a few misconceptions commonly made about seeking qualifications online:

Online learning is easier because it is quicker

A lot of students who seek online certification do so without properly doing their course research based on the assumption that because online courses present themselves expressly, with no face-to-face element coupled with the obvious availability of internet search engines at their alacritous fingertips, the courses will be much easier. The fact is, online courses, in particular the express online courses are far more demanding of the individual. Before you partake in an online course or degree that you have paid for, be prepared to cover a vast amount of information requiring a high retention rate. After all, they are tests… Designed to test you!

The quality of online classes is lower than traditionally taught courses

This is another assumption about online training that is simply untrue. Why? Well, as mentioned above, a majority of online courses require you to cover a lot of content within a short period of time, thus demanding a higher retention rate. Genuine online institutions and distance learning programs will normally have entire departments allocated to the regulation of course content, the design and the structure of academic criteria.

The only time online training courses will be of a poor quality will be if they are scams, and there are a number of indicators that give this type of thing away. Do your research before enrolling; check their affiliation with certified educational bodies, the accreditation of the institution and even some of their customer testimonials. If any of this seems bogus, the answer is simple – look elsewhere.

Take a look at this example: etrainu.com is an online training website with national accreditation in Australia. Take note of the references to the nationally recognised accreditation of their courses, as well some of the customer testimonials included throughout the site pages.

No help in cyberspace!

It’s a fair assumption that online education involves a high degree, if not a complete level, of autonomous learning. But again, this is another misconception preconceived by many students sitting on the fence with their decision to seek certification via an online institution. A lot of online institutions will provide you with study guides and comprehensive tech support both via the web and over the phone. Need to go higher than just a general enquiry? That’s ok; a lot of educational institutions will give you advisory contacts who can directly address your course specific enquiries.

Online education is only for people in remote areas?

Not necessarily. While online education is designed to reach people in the most remote regions nationally, you’ll find that most courses have been designed for students seeking industry certifications and course abridgments. A lot of online courses are specifically designed to meet industry needs, and should therefore be seen as career building, more so than remote schooling.

I need to know a lot about computers to do an online course?

No, you don’t. Online institutions understand that some of their users may only have basic web-based knowledge, therefore online course modules have been constructed to make life as easy as possible for users. Navigation is made relatively easy, and instructions are always specific to the point and highly lucid.

Thanks for reading, I hope you found this helpful in your decision making!

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Posted 1 month ago by Mark 

Stuff Up The Project? ...Take It On The Chin, Man.

I've been thinking a lot lately... And with a first hand insight into the manic activities of big business and large-scale projects, when something goes wrong and things get heated, very few people to volunteer to raise their hands and claim accountability for their actions in fear of reprisal from upper management. It's a scary situation, especially if you're the guy with the guilty conscience. As the old saying goes, if it was an honest mistake, your best course of action is to take it on the chin and be held accountable... But why do they say this? Where did the cliche come from?

I've been reading a project management article outlining the quintessential elements to understanding project management and the steps that need to be followed in order to carry out a project successfully from start to finish. One point that is made explicitly clear is this... If you are to successfully manage a project, you must ensure before you commence business that everyone in the team understands the concept of single point responsibility. This means unambiguous accountability.

The blame game scenario is seen time and time again within the corporate world, and even if you are guilty of a mistake and are terrified of coming clean about it, if you want what's best for the team and for the project - you should come clean as stalling on accountability only stunts the progress of your entire team.

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Posted 2 months ago by Mark 

Responsible Service of Alcohol in NSW - The Facts

Don't have much of a background when it comes to the responsible service of alcohol? Here are some interesting facts you may not have known:

The notion of the Responsible Service of Alcohol has been a part of the State's liquor laws for nearly 100 years.

The Responsible Service of Alcohol is enforced under the Liquor Act 2007. RSA certification is mandatory under the specified criteria as specified by the act, more information on mandatory RSA requirements can be found here.

Did you know that the NSW Liquor Act 2007 (S5) defines intoxication by the characteristics of a person's speech, balance, co-ordination where it is reasonable to believe that these characteristics may have been induced from imbibing and alcoholic substance.

There are 2 key intoxication offences in NSW liquor laws: permitting intoxication and serving liquor to an intoxicated person.

The effect of alcohol on the entire community was estimated to have cost Australia $15.3 billion in 2004-05 when factors such as crime and violence, treatment costs, loss of productivity and premature death were taken into account.

Did you know? The guidelines to maintaining a 'low-risk' level of drinking include no more that 4 standard drink per day on average for males and no more than 2 standard drinks a day on average for females.

A standard drink is defined as containing approximately 10 grams of pure alcohol.

For more information on the NSW state liquor laws, RSA course information and alcohol related facts check out the Hostec site.

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Posted 3 months ago by Mark