That’s right, when you add your professor as a friend on Facebook, or follow his or her tweets, or tune in to their “extra” broadcasts on YouTube, it sends the message that you are invested in the wealth of information being offered.  Your professor will know you are serious about the course and about your future, and your participation in social media initiatives will be remembered when sitting in the back of each lecture or lab and quietly minding your own business is long forgotten.  That being said, you are probably wondering what the most popular social networks among college professors are.  At the top of the list is Facebook, followed closely by YouTube.  Check out the infographic for details:

We think that is taking it a bit too far.  Teachers are people, too, after all.  They need to stay in touch with others through social media just as much as other folks — but school districts beleaguered by complaints have had little recourse but to discipline some personnel over their indiscretions on Facebook, Twitter, and other Social Networks.  Here is a startling infographic featuring some of the worst offenders:

Masters in Health Administration – With a MHA degree it is likely that you could have the potential to earn almost two times the salary of a health administrator with only a bachelor’s degree.  That of course depends on a variety of factors.  It is typical to need a master’s degree in order to become a health administrator or a manger.

Master of Business Administration – An MBA will give you vast knowledge in all areas of business and administration.  It is useful no matter the industry that you wish to go into, but it is especially so in the financial and corporate fields.  Specialized MBAs are also quite helpful when it comes down to looking for a job.

Master in Computer Science – With this master’s degree you will be ready to pursue a career involving developing software or computer science and research.  The skills and knowledge that you acquire will be of great use in any computer based career.

Idaho was the first state to pass a law explicitly stating that, “No new employment contract between a school district and certificated employee shall result in the vesting of tenure, continued expectations of employment or property rights in an employment relationship.”  Voters in Idaho will vote in the fall of 2012 on whether to overturn that law.  In many states, this issue will not go to vote.  Measures tying teacher pay to performance and reducing the reliability of teachers’ positions within school districts has caused a mass exodus of teachers from the profession.  Some are moving to other states, while others are leaving the field of education altogether.

So who are the teachers we have left?  Or what does the face of teaching look like?  Here is an infographic that might shed some light on the subject.

Check out the data and see what you think.  We’d love to hear your comments.

In addition to the video, you should be aware that the RSA Animate video clip series presents some highly sophisticated ideas to young learners. The lectures have a visual aspect that keeps the attention strong and encourages analytic thinking. These are not only very entertaining videos, but also useful for education.  There are a lot of people in the field of education who are not interested in such engaging use of technology because it takes some updating and bringing oneself into the here and now with the modern tools of technology in education.  What these videos should show us is how easy and seamless it can be to take things up a notch in our education system to get our kids where they deserve to be with residential security alarms.

In today’s society, Internet learning (along with Internet everything else) is growing rapidly.  Online classes and lectures are a great benefit when perhaps a professor is out of town or for someone going back to school later in life and has a semester where they would prefer to be home with their kids too.  Making education more accessible is a huge benefit to our society and for the future of our country in order to be competitive with other nations.  But having felt so positively about my own non-online college experience, I can’t help but wonder if this trend may not be one that we want to dive into head first.  One aspect of college classes that was most beneficial for me was the interaction.  I was forced to be in groups with other students that didn’t think like me and stand up for decisions that I made in the actual presence of group members or professors, not just over email.  In a tough business environment, this is critical.  Are young adults who are taking over half of their classes online really getting this experience and this knowledge?

Another troubling fact that I have encountered regarding the effectiveness of online classes comes from some of the interns that have worked for me.  I hear them discussing their schedules for next semester and one person advising the other to take a particular course online since it’s so much easier.  Are the standards for these types of classes really being held as high as those for standard classes?  Is an online class made easier because the pressure of sitting in a classroom with no means of cheating on an exam isn’t there?  The natural pressure and situational factors of dealing with a professor and a class in person are incredibly beneficial in the real world.

I know that there are some colleges that don’t offer many online courses and students do it all the old-fashioned way.  Should the degree of someone who barely stepped in a classroom be valued equally?  I’m not saying that an online degree can’t have as much value, I’m simply stating that the system should have some way to note what type of degree a student has earned.