There are different schools of thoughts advocating either a traditional degree or an online degree. Whereas the goal of education and job marketability remains the same, the point of argument is over the ways in which the goal is attained. You will be better able to reach an effective decision if you weigh the pros and cons of both.
A traditional degree requires a student to be physically present for a class at a predetermined location at a specific time. An online education in an accredited institution like the University of Phoenix has been able to make this a non-requirement. You can be anywhere in the world and still access your learning material whenever you find time to do it, thus making it possible for you to pursue your career and maintain a full-time job.
A regular classroom allows a vibrant discussion and proactive learning process through face-to-face interactions with colleagues and guides. Although an online education is unable to ensure the vibrancy and spontaneity of a classroom, it allows interaction with guides and classmates in a virtual classroom situation.
A classroom situation is time bound and follows strict schedules, pressurizing students to meet deadlines and submission dates, unlike the online course that sets flexible time schedules according to students?requirements. Whereas this enables working learners to fit in education in their busy schedules, it could also prove to be deterrent for those learners who perform better under stricter timelines.
Although an online education might not be the same college experience as a traditional degree, it meets the most important goal of education and should be considered by aspirants who do not find more traditional colleges appealing. The University of Phoenix Online offers a curriculum that fits almost every student’s timetable, with the backing of a strong faculty.

Following the tragic events of 9/11 there is today a much greater awareness throughout society about such issues as homeland security, airport security, public safety and management, international terrorism, criminology and criminal psychology and many other related subjects. Interestingly these are all subjects you can major in or obtain specializations in through degrees in criminal justice/criminology. And more interestingly, such a degree in criminal justice/criminology can get you a job a lot more easily than a degree in a number of other subjects. This is because the US Bureau of Labor Statistics has identified careers in criminal justice as one of the top five careers in the coming years in terms of future job opportunities.
You can get degrees in criminal justice/criminology from both traditional schools as well as online schools. If you are a working adult, online courses will suit you a lot more than a traditional program since to complete an online program you do not have to give up your job or relocate or disrupt your life in anyway.
More importantly, if you are a working adult already working in the field of criminal justice, an online degree will get you that much coveted promotion or switch to a more well paying job. You can also get a degree much quicker than through the traditional route as most online criminal justice/criminology programs allow you to take credit for your working experience or any on-the-job training that you may have gone through.
A degree in criminal justice/criminology will open up many different careers for you at the local, state or federal government level as well as in the private sector. You can also get teaching jobs in various colleges and universities if you have a master’s or a PhD degree in criminal justice/criminology.
Within the broad field of criminal justice/criminology you can specialize in different fields such as criminal justice administration, criminology, criminal and business law, court procedures, policing, corrections, juvenile justice, domestic violence, court report writing, private security, homeland security, public safety and management, economic crime and fraud management, cyber crime, paralegal studies, forensic science, crime scene investigation etc.
Depending on your major or specialization, a criminal justice/criminology degree in any of these areas will make you eligible for jobs in local, state or federal law enforcement, law firms, agencies such as the FBI, banks and insurance companies, corrections facilities, law courts, organizations responsible for public safety and a host of similar organizations. The salaries in these careers are also quite attractive with median salaries for such careers being around $40,000 a year.

Tritium paint has been used on the hands and numerals of watches since the 1930′s. At first this technology was Top Secret and restricted to use on military watches.
Tritium paint on watches is a mixture of tritium and phospor. Tritium is naturally radio-active and needs no external source of light or charge to work. Tritium does not glow. As it decays, tritium emits beta radiation, which are a group of excited electrons that in turn excite the electron in the phosphor atoms making them emit photons, or light. As they return to their ground (non-excited) state, the phosphor glows. Phosphor can also be excited by UV light from the sun or other light sources. Thus, the tritium paint relies on tritium radioactivity to make the phosphor glow in the dark, not any charge from external light source.
Tritium, has a half life of 12.3 years, a half-life is simply the time it takes HALF of the tritium to decay. So as long as there is enough tritium in the paint, the watch will glow for years.
Due to the toxicity of tritium based paint, a new technology was developed by mb-microtec in Switzerland. This uses tritium gas sealed in vials. The principle is the same but the tritium gas causes the coating on the vial to glow. The levels of radiation are so small that they pose no risk to the wearer. This technology has been used in the Traser H3, Luminox and Marathon military watches. In recent years SRB of Canada have developed a similar system, this is used by manufacturers such as Smith and Wesson, Rescuer and NITE. SRB tritium is not as yet as well developed as the mb-microtec technology, only offering around 80 – 90% of the luminescence.
The main advantage of tritium in military watches is that there is no additional drain on the watch battery to power the night light source, however these watches do have a drawback in that they can be picked up at great distance by night vision equipment. It is therefore important that these watches are covered during military operations at night.
As the technology has become cheaper it is finding its way into the civillian market. Many sportsmen such as anglers and shooters wear tritium based watches with Luminox and Traser being the most popular.
Each year more and more manufacturers are bringing new tritium watches onto the market. As the tritium light sources from SRB become more popular and combined with cheaper production in China, it won’t be long before we see tritium used in purely civillian watches.
Copyright 2006 Trevor Rowell

In the last decade, there has been an increase in the
virtual job market. This is due to the major decline in
corporate jobs. Whether you have a college degree or high
school diploma, the higher paying positions just aren’t
there for the taking. That is why so many people have
turned to the Internet for employment.

It’s all about finding your niche` in business. Most people
take their prior experience on the job and mold it into a
lasting career. This then sets the guidelines of their
business structure and things are quickly transformed into
a work-at-home environment.

With the threat of a recession on the horizon, corporations
and small businesses are cutting back on health care
benefits and downsizing their staff. Although many jobs are
lost, virtual professionals benefit from this happening.
Now business owners are looking online for outsourcing
service providers and cost effective means of managing their
business.

The virtual industry is more profitable than most realize.
BUT…there will come a time when virtual customers will want
more than your WORD and PERFORMANCE GUARANTEE to consider
you for a job. By the year 2008, virtual employers will
require the same credentials of their virtual professional
as they would an employee. This means to have an advantage
over your competitors you need to become a Certified Virtual
Professional.

What is a Virtual Professional?
A virtual professional is often referred to as a Virtual
Assistant (VA) or Administrative Assistant in a conventional
office. The term ‘virtual?pertains to the online
ommunity. The assistant that services the online community
via computer is a virtual professional. Both types of
assistants?perform the same job duties.

Professional service providers supply services as needed.
Their business world is your reality. A phone call or
e-mail and you’ve set up a ‘work order? VA’s are self-
employed or an employee of a VA service offered by
a company.

The virtual professional is often a well-educated, hard
working, computer literate, and expert in their field.
In general, a virtual professional has the ability to
meet all of the outsourcing needs of a company.

Accounting/Bookkeeping
Business Writing/Correspondents
Data/Word Processing
Transcription/Research

The CVP program will walk you through the steps you need to
take in opening your virtual office. Each day material will
be sent via email and students will be expected to read the
material and complete the day’s assignment. At the end of
the week, a test will be given covering the material. A
passing grade will bring you closer to receiving your
certificate.

Why do I love to teach English as a Second Language? Let me give you ten reasons (and ten paragraphs about why this should matter to you):
One: I love to teach.
Two: I love English.
Three: I love language in general; discovering the connections between English and other languages is a bonus.
Four: I love to hear other people speak their native languages fluently, easily, and beautifully.
Five: I’m very patient and a good listener, and I love to practice things I’m good at.
Six: I love to travel-no, that’s wrong. I don’t travel. But spending time with people from other cultures enables me to imagine that I travel.
Seven: I love to feel like an ambassador to…whatever country my student is from.
Eight: I love learning about history, and most other countries on the planet have more history than mine.
Nine: I’m a writer; writing is my primary source of income, and I love to write. But writing is a solitary activity; teaching allows me to interact with people and adds another layer of richness to my life.
Ten: It gives me something wonderful to dream about. Please continue reading?
Why should you care that I love to teach ESL?
Here, in ten brief paragraphs, is my answer.
I tell my students, rather apologetically, that Americans generally don’t respect people who don’t speak English. (By the way, I don’t say this until I sense they are thinking it.) Why don’t we? True, the world is quickly becoming a global society, and English is becoming “the?international language. And perhaps someday soon every educated person in the world will have a working knowledge of English.
But how did we, as a nation, become so provincial…so arrogant…so smug? Even if your ancestors came here on the Mayflower-as mine did-or even if they are Native Americans, your people originally spoke some other language. Modern English has been around only a few hundred years.
And what a tragedy it would be if those other languages disappeared, or became ancient relics of lost civilizations, to be studied only by academicians and never used in everyday life. Think of living in a world where everyone had the same favorite color, or the same hobby…where every radio station played the same music…or every restaurant served the same food. How boring! Here’s an easy (and fun) way for each of us to do our small part for international relations: be patient with someone who is learning English, and while we’re at it, show an interest in their native language. We’re guaranteed to learn something fascinating.
Wherever we live, wherever our ancestors came from, our language is intimately intertwined with our history, our culture, our sociology…even our biology. Consider that whatever sounds are absent from our native language, unless we somehow learn them as young children, will be lost to us forever. We lose a big piece of our cultural identity if we pretend that Modern English is the only language that counts.
Now, my dream…for many years, I’ve wanted to travel to England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales-the lands of my ancestors. A few years ago, I began to study Italian, and became enamored of not only the language, but the food, the art, the architecture, and of course the history. Now I want to go to Italy.
More recently, as I worked with a student from Switzerland, I was soon awed by what I learned of the rich cultural history, the variety of natural scenery…the castles and cathedrals and trains…the large number of language groups for so small a country…and now I want to go to Switzerland. Given enough time and experience, maybe eventually I’ll want to go just about everywhere. But for starters…western Europe.
So I dream that some day I’ll be invited to stay with a family…perhaps a non-English-speaking family in an English-speaking country, or perhaps a family in Italy or Switzerland…and be a tutor and companion to the adults and/or the children in the family. While they learn English, I’ll learn about their culture…and travel! And I will be a goodwill ambassador, an example of the generous spirit of America.
I hope all my fellow Americans will find it in themselves to appreciate the languages of the world and the people who speak them. If you do travel, please make an effort to say a few words in your host country’s language. You probably won’t have to say much, for the people you meet will probably want to take the opportunity to practice English. But I believe they will appreciate the effort. If you don’t travel, just look at the people around you and notice the diversity of backgrounds.
Can we believe that something good can come out of every bad thing that happens? The Old Testament story of the Tower of Babel describes God’s punishment of mankind for their pride in thinking they could reach heaven by building and climbing upon this great tower. Suddenly speaking many different languages, they could no longer communicate and were unable to finish the project. The good that has come to all of us because of it is this: we have the immeasurable treasure of thousands of languages, and the social, cultural, and natural diversity that go with them.
Go out of your way to spend some time with someone who doesn’t speak fluent English. The joy of communication that transcends language barriers will be yours.

Do you have any plan to pursue your further education abroad? Will you need English for your career or your education? If so, you may wish to investigate your options for learning, or improving, your English skills.
The TOEFL Test: TOEFL (Test Of English as a Foreign Language) is a test used by many colleges, universities, government agencies and exchange and scholarship programs in the US, UK and Canada as a means of evaluating the language skills of a person whose first language is not English.
You can find TOEFL study guides easily online with other recommended resources listed. You may be able to access some of the sample tests and prepare with personal study. Or you may look for a class with an instructor to help you prepare for the test.
ESL Classes: ESL classes are a common means for students to learn English with group of classmates. These can be in the form of an evening class with various individuals attending or may be part of a college program during the day.
The course length and the topics covered will differ from country to country and school to school. Some summer programs are geared for international students to gain a basic grasp of the language before starting studies in English taught classes of the college or university.
Since the standards of passing a course, or the course material itself, will vary drastically, some students may feel that the language skills gained upon completing the course does not equip them to handle school work or social interactions adequately.
Some schools offer students and alternative of home-stay programs for students. Home-stay programs benefit the student by placing them for several weeks or months with a host family that speaks English. The student is then able to immerse him or herself in the culture and social speaking of the English country they are living in. There are also online ESL programs that may be suitable for distance education, especially if programs are not readily available in your area.
Private Tutors: Another popular method of learning English is with private tutors. The materials and methods used by ESL tutors will vary greatly and it is important to establish what material will be used and to feel comfortable with the tutor. Asking friends or other students for references can be helpful in finding a good tutor.
A combination of these English learning methods will be effective as well. You can take a summer course while staying with a home-stay host family and then arranging for private tutoring during the school year. Making an effort to use your new language skills regularly in social situations will improve your progress regardless of the program or course you are using.

Many current music educators grew up in a time when being in an ensemble was solely about playing the music for the next concert. I personally cannot recall ever doing a worksheet or any real music theory work while in high school. It seemed that all I had to do to get an “A” was come to my lessons, play at the concerts, and otherwise stay out of trouble. Outside practice was expected but not enforced. I did not realize until many years later that this method of teaching had set me up for years of mediocrity and frustration.
The primary effect of giving a student an A for doing very little work produces much the same effect that we see in society where people become dependent on entitlement programs. Being given something for nothing slowly undermines a person’s motivation and softens their personal initiative. In the music classroom this translates into producing a stagnant musician that has no driving force to improve his or her musical abilities. For many years I suffered with wondering why the members of my ensemble wasn’t improving the way I felt they should. Finally I concluded that it was my fault for not pushing them hard enough. I had fallen back into my mentor’s footsteps and had been cranking out the easy A’s to my students regardless of what they truly deserved.
The grading rule of thumb that is used in other classes should also be used in the music classroom. This rule of thumb states that an A is to be reserved for excellent work while a C is given for work that is simply average. If you were to take this rule and apply it to your students, would they get the same grade that you gave them on their last report card? How did they come to earn the A that they received? Was it simply for showing up to class or was there real, verifiable learning going on?
The day that I realized my mistake and started requiring more work from my students the ensemble seemed to blossom almost overnight. I began requiring two hours of home practice each week, weekly theory worksheets, and mandatory private lessons or group sectionals. By the next concert I was already seeing a difference. By the end of the third quarter the new scale memorization requirements I threw in had turned my jazz and pep bands into the best groups that I had ever conducted. The attitudes of my students also changed. They realized that they were improving and that their hard work was indeed paying off. This in turn made them more interested in performing and made them want to practice even more.
Perhaps most important of all, requiring more of my students also required more of myself as a teacher. I started reading educational journals again, determined to improve myself as a conductor and as a teacher. I started writing about my experiences to help other people improve and learn from my mistakes. These simple things breathed new life into a career that was on the verge of being consumed by apathy. I love teaching again, and it is all because I finally broke free from the bonds of being a mediocre band director. If you care for your students and want them to come to love and appreciate music as much as you do, never again give away and easy A.

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