Mrs. Harvey’s long-term career goal is to pursue a career in information technology and to get started, she enrolled in Allied’s online Microsoft® Courses, which train students in Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Windows Vista so they can compete in today’s high-tech office environment.

Distance education has been a great fit for Mrs. Harvey, allowing her to study at home while taking care of her children. “(Allied Schools) is wonderful for military spouses because it allows us to ‘go to class’ whenever the time is right for us,” she explained. “Allied has opened the door so that military spouses can be a wife, a mother and a student all at the same time.”

When service members enroll at Allied Schools using Tuition Assistance, their spouse (or a dependent) is eligible for a military spouse scholarship under the school’s in-house Military Family Scholarship Program. In addition, military spouses at 18 select installations can also enroll at Allied Schools using Career Advancement Accounts (CAA) under the governments Military Spouse Career Advancement Initiative.

Allied Schools offers online and traditional correspondence courses in the medical field, real estate and business. Military spouses can train for careers like medical transcription or real estate sales, which are compatible with the military lifestyle. And beginning this fall, military personnel and military spouses can pursue an associate or bachelor’s degree at Allied American University (AAU).  

To learn more about career training for military spouse, visit www.education4military.com or call (888) 501-5221 to speak with a military admissions representative. 

About Allied Schools

Allied Schools, Inc., established in 1992, is nationally accredited by the Distance Education and Training Council (DETC), which is listed by the U.S. Department of Education as a nationally-recognized accrediting agency. Allied Schools has provided quality instruction to more than 825,000 students in the last 15 years. Students can choose from 25+ career training courses in the areas of real estate, medical and business or enroll in a high school diploma program. Online and traditional home study courses offer students a quick and convenient way to learn. Allied Schools is based in Laguna Hills, Calif.

The pricing simulation game that Acton built in late 2008 has been recognized with a recent award.  The 15th Annual Communicator Awards recognized Price Point in their Interactive Gaming category.

The Communicator Awards honors creative excellence for communications professionals.  We received the Award of Distinction, which we are quite happy to receive.

For more on the awards, go to:  http://www.communicatorawards.com/

To play the game, go to: http://www.actonsims.com/.  Registration is free (for now)!

Thanks to everyone that helped make this game what it is today!

The Rev’d Father Mitchell Baker, rector of Emmanuel Fellowship in Cleveland, Tennessee and Assistant Director for Degree Completion and CAPSOnline for Lee University, has graciously informed our diocese of two free theological education programs.  Both programs are available online through two well known and respected seminarys:  Covenant Theological Seminary and Gordan-Conwell Theological Seminary.  The programs are open to laity and clergy.  Links to the two programs are provided below.

Covenant Theological Seminary’s Worldwide Classroom

Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary’s Dimensions of Faith

To learn more about Lee University’s  Degree Completion programs and/or distance education opportunities, contact Father Mitch Baker at either 423.614.8371 or mbaker@leeuniversity.edu

“As colleges moved into distance education, many questions were raised about how they could serve this new group of students. And colleges responded, with new ideas about online learning resources, academic advising online and so forth. But what about after distance education takes off? At what point does the question shift from what a college does to offer quality online programs to how a college needs to change in its entirety when it reaches a tipping point in enrolments – and at what point does such a change take place? …” (more)

[Scott Jaschik, Inside Higher Ed, 26 May]

Distance education with a difference

Otago Midwifery students to learn

about birthing in virtual world

Today, for the first time,  New Zealand midwifery students began  to enhance their regular study programme with learning in the virtual world of Second Life.

The 27 first year students and 23 second year students were introduced to the Otago Polytechnic’s virtual “model” birth centre (Te Wāhi Whānau), on the Government-funded SLENZ Project’s Second Life virtual island of Kowhai.

The students will be joined by another 15 third-year students in June as the School of Midwifery further develops the “blended delivery tools” it is using in its newly-revised midwifery education programme. Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology (CPIT) and midwifery students will also join the virtual world part of the programme in June.

The students range in age from their 20s to 40s, with a variety of life experiences and varying degrees of computer literacy.

According to Dr Deborah Davis, the school’s principal lecturer, students will eventually access The Birth Centre from home via the Internet through Broadband links.

In February Otago Polytechnic in collaboration with CPIT began a new “flexible” programme which allows the students to remain in their home town or community while accessing course material on line and working alongside local midwives and women and meeting for face-to-face tutorials. Their virtual world experience will be part of this.

‘Intensives’ face-to-face

“They are supported by a midwife from their area who provides face-to-face tutoring and support,” Dr Davis said, adding that these students travel to the polytechnic for “intensives” (two weeks, four times/year) where they “focus on skills and other learning that is more suited to face-to-face” teaching.

Dr Davis said the virtual Birth Centre would also “provide an important learning opportunity for second-year students, who are currently focusing on the physiology of normal birth.

“While students are currently engaged in real life midwifery practice they may not have the opportunity to facilitate physiological childbirth in a home or home-like environment … we hope that the virtual birth centre will provide them with an immersive experience and one in which they start to feel the sense of responsibility and accountability that comes with being a registered midwife.”

Dr Davis said the virtual birth centre should also provide a useful opportunity for third-year students to hone and practice their midwifery decision-making skills while participating in an “apprentice” style year on clinical placements with midwives all over New Zealand.

The SLENZ Project, which is running two pilot education programmes in Second Life, is funded by the Tertiary Education Commission of New Zealand.

Consumers should know that the website scicourse.org is in NO way affiliated with reputable distance learning school Stratford Career Institute. This website is NOT a Stratford company, product, or affiliate.

Many blogs and consumer sites are incorrectly claiming that scicourse.org is Stratford Career Institute, most likely because Stratford’s initials are SCI.

Here is Stratford Career Institute’s correct contact information:

Stratford Career Institute
http://www.scitraining.com
1-800-363-0058

If you have any questions about the real Stratford Career Institute, please visit our website or call us. We are happy to answer any questions you might have.