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How taking classes online could be the next step in your career path

For thousands of years—over 90 percent of human history—the only way that it was possible to learn through a professional teacher was to be there in person whenever he was scheduled to teach. Only a small portion of the people in any community could attend classes in this way and of course, they had to be able to pay tuition.

How taking classes online could be the next step in your career path

Now things have changed. The introduction of the World Wide Web has made it possible for people to take classes from people they have not actually seen—watching the lectures take place through online videos and taking the test there too. Let us look more deeply into some of its advantages.

The advantages of taking classes online

Taking classes over the Internet is superior to taking them on campus in many ways. The most obvious is that having transportation, with the expenses that it incurs, is no longer a problem—you can watch the video lectures from the comfort of your own home. Thanks to the advent of tablets and smartphones, you can also watch them from wherever you are! Likewise you do not have to worry about having to pay the cost of room and board—another big savings.

Video courses have another benefit that real-time course do not have. If you find that you cannot take notes fast enough to keep up with the pace of the lecturer’s speech, you can always pause the video while you finish your writing. You can also back it up in order to get something that you may have missed the first time around. In this way you can get more of what you have heard and make the most of your online experience. Besides, you can always pause the lecture if you need to take a break. In short you are free to set your own hours and proceed at your own pace—something you cannot do on campus.

In many, if not the majority, of cases you can take courses from a university online without having to pay a cent! You can thus save a great deal of money in three areas—tuition, transportation and room & board.

Of course many people prefer to attend classes in person. They feel that they need to be there in order to form a personal relationship with the professors and ask any questions that they might have. Above all, they find that computers and the Internet are really no substitute for flesh-and-blood human beings. You should decide which format you are most comfortable with.

The steps to take

If you are interested in taking courses online from a university, you will first need to decide which institution you want to attend. You then want to find out if that institution offers any part of its curriculum online and if so, does that include classes that you are interested in taking?

One website where you can go to find out about an online study plan is collegeatlas.org—“a World of Higher Learning,” as they advertise themselves. Once there, click on “Online Colleges” on the far right of the bar at the top of the page. Here you can do a search for the desired institute by specifying the ZIP code, the subject you want to study (you can choose from one of two lists, generic and specific) and the degree you are aiming to get. A list of such schools will then come up and you can request that they send information about their online courses to your address.

This website also publishes a list of their editor’s picks for the top ten online colleges of the year—for 2011 their number one is Nova Southeastern University, with campuses in several cities in Florida.

It is important to check to make sure just what the requirements are. For example, I took distance learning courses at Spertus Institute of Judaica through videos sent by them, but I also had to go up to the campus and take classes at least once a year.

A series of online classes could be the gateway to an exciting and rewarding career which you could not have otherwise achieved!

A New Technological Advance to Healthier Smoking Habits

Today, smoking and tobacco use have earned themselves terrible reputations as poisonous substances that can cause disease and even death. Warnings to this effect appear everywhere including billboards, magazine articles, the television and even tobacco packages themselves. Because of this, many smokers are searching for ways to give up their dangerous habit. While some older methods exist, the newer technological advances in this area are sure to create healthier smoking habits.

Why Is Smoking So Harmful to the Body?

The United States’ National Institute on Drug Abuse, at at http://www.drugabuse.gov/drugs-abuse/tobacco-addiction-nicotine, lists nicotine as the most heavily abused drug. Nicotine is the key component of the tobacco in cigarettes and cigars and is exceptionally addictive. However, while nicotine can be dangerous, there are many other components of a cigarette that are equally harmful. The tar is proven to cause lung and oral cancers while the carbon monoxide in the smoke causes heart and circulatory issues. Many of these concerns exist even with second-hand smoke. Some smokers choose to give up their habit simply for the sake of those with whom they live.

Old Methods of Giving up Smoking Habits

Quitting cold turkey means giving up smoking immediately instead of quitting gradually. While some individuals have successfully quit using this method, it is generally not recommended because of nicotine’s highly addictive properties that cause physical and psychological dependence.
Nicotine gum or lozenges are oral supplements sold over the counter that contain nicotine. They work over a twelve week period. However, many report that they do not notice many benefits from these and still irresistibly crave cigarettes.
A nicotine patch is placed on the individual’s skin. It delivers a dose of nicotine into the bloodstream. These patches usually come in three levels with the highest level used first in an effort to wean the body from its addiction.
A drug called Chantix is often prescribed by doctors. It blocks the nicotine receptors in the brain. It is prescribed in a gradual stair-step pattern to break the body’s dependence on nicotine. While the price of Chantix is around the same as the price of daily smoking, many people find it difficult to remember to take medication.

New Technological Methods of Giving up Smoking Habits

Electronic cigarettes, also known as e-cigarettes or e-cigs, are newer devices that have been found to be quite helpful since they mimic the smoking of a real cigarette and also deliver some of the nicotine that the body craves. There are numerous brands of these cigarettes including Vapestick, Green Smoke, Luci and Apollo Cigs. A picture of a Vapestick can be seen at http://www.electroniccigarettedirect.co.uk/vapestick-v1-disposable-e-cigarette-review.html. An e-cigarette has a rechargeable lithium battery, a cartridge filled with a liquid containing nicotine and an atomizer to turn this liquid into a believable puff of smoke. Many people have found that these e-cigarettes are very helpful in their fight to stop smoking.
QuitKey is another technological advance in smoking cessation. This device can be placed on one’s keychain and begins a two-step process. The first step simply tracks how much the individual smokes while the second step gradually decreases the number of cigarettes he smokes each day. QuitKey is easy to understand and is quite motivational since it clearly shows how long it will be until the next cigarette and how many days are left in the process. This helps to break the psychological dependence on the smoking habit. Check out QuitKey at http://www.amazon.com/LifeSign-QuitKey-Smoking-Cessation-Computer/dp/B000EY3IUG.
Online communities are a way for those trying to quit smoking to connect with others in similar circumstances. The New England Journal of Medicine published a 2008 study at http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMsa0706154 that showed that people tend to want to quit in groups when there is adequate social support to do so. Blogs and other online communities can help in this effort and can inspire some to break their habit as they see others just like them doing the same.

Smoking cessation can be a long and difficult process. However, with some newer technological advances in this area, many individuals are beginning to find greater success. These technological products and features work because they are motivational and easily fit into people’s everyday lives.

Filed Under: GADGETS