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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 14 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