Ed4Career Blog | Category: Online Education

January 2014 marks the 13^th anniversary of National Mentoring Month

National Mentoring month was organized to highlight mentoring and the positive impact it can have on both mentors and the people they assist.  Organizations including Harvard Mentoring Project, MENTOR, and the Corporation for National and Community Service have banded together to raise awareness of the benefits of mentoring as well as the positive impact mentoring offers.  Through this effort, they hope to increase the number of mentors and assure brighter futures for the nation’s youth.

President Barack Obama recently stated, “In every corner of our Nation, mentors push our next generation to shape their ambitions, set a positive course, and achieve their boundless potential. During National Mentoring Month, we celebrate everyone who teaches, inspires, and guides young Americans as they reach for their dreams.”

Whether designing a campus-based course or an online course, utilizing social media in the classroom can reap many benefits for both teachers and students alike.  Instructors benefit from feeling more “connected” to others across the country by developing a professional learning network outside of their classroom or office walls.  Social Media sites such as Twitter and Facebook are accessible 24/7, allowing participants to log on to seek answers, support and inspiration at any time throughout the day or night.  These tools allow everyone to expand their professional development easily and effectively.

For students, the use of social media can also have many benefits.  Incorporating some type of social media in your course can:

· Present students with the opportunity for frequent, open communication and the ability to exchange ideas not only locally but globally by connecting with others around the world.

In our recent poll, we took the opportunity to ask, “In your opinion, what is the BEST way to measure the success of higher education?” and the response was fantastic!  Those who took the poll were given the opportunity to select as many of the choices as they felt applied, and it’s evident that job placement, student satisfaction and graduation rates are all important indicator of success.  Many respondents left very insightful and eloquent comments expressing their viewpoints on the measure of success as well.  Please take a moment to view the complete r

I’ve always thought of myself as fairly competent in the time management department. 

However, ever since entering the social media forum, I’ve realized more and more how easily too many tasks can distract me. For example, while writing this post I’ve a) checked the company's Facebook account b) Re-tweeted two relevant articles c) straightened my desk…well, you get the picture. There are distractions everywhere!

We’ve already discussed how online courses can give students the flexibility to take their class anytime, anywhere. While it’s great that an online course can be worked around a full time job, kids and their activities, and so forth - without a set schedule or face time with instructors, the trick is staying on top of those courses.  An online student is left to set their own schedule.