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Sometimes adult learners find it difficult to jump back on the college bandwagon. They may have spent years perfecting practical on-the-job or in-the-home skills without needing to master new information. If you're looking for tips on increasing your learning capacity, you may want to take a look at a new article from Pick the Brain. Here's a blurb:

"Although you may not be studying information to get good grades, retention of what you are learning can help your career, your parenting skills, your business, your relationships, your hobbies, and so much more. So it makes sense to acquire good learning skills sooner than later. Skills such as speed reading and good comprehension are useful for all the great information you want to take in."

The learning skills mentioned in this article are pretty basic, but they're a good reminder if you're about to start an online class.

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There's been a lot of talk about recession lately. But, some degrees are practically guaranteed to be in high demand - no matter what the state of the economy. Yahoo Education recently released a list of eight careers that are expected to grow like crazy. Here's a blurb:

"Do you really want to commit to a 4-year degree? While it can be intimidating to consider investing the time and money required to get a bachelor's degree, choosing the right degree could make it well worth your effort. Information on the following 8 careers is based on current projections by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), whose data indicate that these occupations will experience more growth than any others through 2016. Spend the next four years preparing for one of the following professions, and your job search could be a breeze."

Included in the list are: computer software engineer, accountant, elementary school teacher, personal financial adviser, computer systems analyst, market research analyst, and others.

Does this mean you should switch majors? Of course not. Life is too short to give up what you love for a little more stability. But, if you were considering pursing one of these online degrees anyway, now may be a good time to go for it.

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Love logging on to Facebook, but hate checking your assignments on Blackboard? A new Facebook application can help you combine the two. Wired Campus reports:

"Blackboard has created a Facebook application for students that brings their academic information into the social-networking site. For privacy and security reasons, the Facebook application does not actually pull academic data from Blackboard onto a user's Facebook page, said Karen Gage, vice president for product strategy at Blackboard, in an interview on Tuesday. Instead, it pushes a notification to Facebook users when something is new on their course Web pages, such as when one of the user's professors has posted grades. Then the student has to log into Blackboard to see the grade itself."

On one hand, this application may be very useful for keeping students up-to-date with their online courses. But it does seem like a rather unpleasant mix of the social and academic worlds. Sometimes people want to chat with their friends without receiving a lesson update on Facebook, getting a Twitter detailing their professor's latest thoughts, or engaging in classroom projects via cell phone texting.

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Last week I wrote a post about private online high schools. There are a lot of virtual private school alternatives, but they can really take a toll on your wallet. Instead, you may want to consider public online high schools. They are free to resident minors and usually have regional accreditation.

My latest About.com article, Public Online High Schools, explores some of the benefits and drawbacks of these state-run programs. Here's a blurb:

"Students attending public online high schools are often able to earn a regionally accredited diploma at no cost. Their parents don't need to worry about paying for expensive private virtual programs which can cost upwards of $1,500 a year. State-wide online public schools are generally working with the state's education department. Unlike online charter schools, they are generally not viewed as a threat by local districts. They tend to be more stable and receive less public scrutiny."

Check out the full article for more information and links to public online high schools.

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UMass Online is reporting record enrollments and revenue from its virtual programs. The Boston Globe explains:

"Matching last year's results, which were the best in three years, fiscal year 2008 at UMassOnline saw a 26.2% increase in enrollments, to 33,900 over 26,855 in fiscal year 2007, and a 31.9% increase in revenue to $36,977,854 over fiscal year 2007 revenues of $28,030,985.

According to the Sloan Consortium's most recent research report entitled 'Online Nation: Five Years of Growth in Online Learning,' online enrollments nationwide were growing by 9.7% as of the Fall, 2006 semester, while the growth rate in the overall higher education student population was 1.5%. In contrast UMassOnline's enrollment in fiscal year 2008 grew two and a half times faster than the national average for online enrollments.

UMassOnline CEO David Gray attributes the sustained growth, in part, to developments throughout the fiscal year that saw UMassOnline, introduce new "blended learning" innovations for online learners."

Just a few months ago, UMass Online announced three new online programs. Perhaps they're hoping to make next year a record breaker as well.

© functoruser

A number of teachers are adding cell phone features to their online classes. Today's cell phones can do more than store numbers and play games. Many students receive online class updates via programs like Twitter. Here are a few other ways the Teach 42 blog suggests phones can be used:

"1) Check the spelling/definition of a word
2) Research a topic
3) Look up reference images
4) Pull up maps (even with satellite imagery)
5) Document a science lab with built in digital camera/video
6) Fact check on the fly
7) Mail questions to the teacher that they might be embarrassed to ask"

Phones don't have to be a distraction - if used wisely they can actually be a learning tool. Take a look at the full post for other ways today's students are using their cell phones.