The progress of technology is astounding. Mankind attained fantastic, unprecedented peaks during the last century: the invention of the phone, TV-set, radio, if to mention some. Could Newton or Einstein ever imagine that piles of their books and treatises can be stored in one, by the first sight rather small electronic machine called computer? The invention of the computer can be compared at least to the first step on the moon surface, which was a small step for a man, but a Herculean step for the mankind.

Technology is a power that drives the world. As lazy creatures, we have surrounded ourselves with the fruit of progress and enjoy our life effortlessly, taking advantage of convenient, helpful, indispensable and irreplaceable machines, created by our hands.

Nowadays we can’t imagine our life without these machines. Let’s take computers, for instance. We can’t get along without them anyway. Eating, drinking, and communicating via computers, at last living with them. They have become our obsession, perhaps because they armed us with the abundance of new, versatile possibilities or just because we’ve got used to them and they’ve become our mechanical toys.

However, computers, especially portable ones, can serve not just as funny toys, but excessively useful tools in our work and study. Studying with the laptop is a dream of every college student. In today’s fast moving world this tool is just indispensable and studying with it can become a real pleasure.

With a laptop one doesn’t have to carry piles of books and papers, have the risk of misplacing them, or searching everywhere for something lost. It’s very convenient to have all documents, materials, tutorials, manuals and what not arranged in order, in one place which is always in hand. Laptops eliminate the heavy backpacks straining on one’s back and can easily fit in a backpack. They are lightweight and can be operated on batteries. The main point is to charge them regularly.

Hence, it is your personal belonging; you don’t have to share it with anybody any longer, as you shared your big, bulky PC with your classmates. By the way, while working you are sitting at a nice clean desk without any loose papers flying around. And one more advantage is that you don’t need any stationery, which always gets lost in the most unsuitable moment.

Laptops give you advantages and privileges in learning and acquiring information. Studying with a laptop is like having the world of information at your fingertips. You become familiar with the equipment, software, data analysis, data base compiling. Your opportunities with a laptop are unlimited, they have nor boundaries.

However, advantages come with the responsibilities. Working with a laptop helps you become more organized and to categorize all information connected with your studying. By using laptops you learn how to use technology and remain up to date with what is happening in the world. Laptops make the process of studying more dynamic and fun. They can be passed among your friends, moved around the classroom, carried with yourself and taken to your field trips.

I didn’t intend to promote or to endorse the popularity of the laptops anyhow, but I just took advantage of using them myself and decided to share my experience with you. If it is possible to make our life easier, less laborious and more enjoyable, so let’s go for it and change it for better!

Successful operation of an educational institution requires competent administrators. Education administrators provide instructional leadership and manage the day-to-day activities in schools, preschools, day care centers, and colleges and universities. They also direct the educational programs of businesses, correctional institutions, museums, and job training and community service organizations. (College presidents and school superintendents are covered in the Handbook statement on general managers sssssEducation administrators set educational standards and goals and establish the policies and procedures to achieve them. They also supervise managers, support staff, teachers, counselors, librarians, coaches, and other employees. They develop academic programs, monitor students’ educational progress, train and motivate teachers and other staff, manage career counseling and other student services, administer recordkeeping, prepare budgets, and perform many other duties. They also handle relations with parents, prospective and current students, employers, and the community. In an organization such as a small day care center, one administrator may handle all these functions. In universities or large school systems, responsibilities are divided among many administrators, each with a specific function.

Educational administrators who manage elementary, middle, and secondary schools are called principals. They set the academic tone and actively work with teachers to develop and maintain high curriculum standards, develop mission statements, and set performance goals and objectives. Principals confer with staff to advise, explain, or answer procedural questions. They hire, evaluate, and help improve the skills of teachers and other staff. They visit classrooms, observe teaching methods, review instructional objectives, and examine learning materials. Principals must use clear, objective guidelines for teacher appraisals, because pay often is based on performance ratings.

Principals also meet and interact with other administrators, students, parents, and representatives of community organizations. Decision-making authority has increasingly shifted from school district central offices to individual schools. School principals have greater flexibility in setting school policies and goals, but when making administrative decisions they must pay attention to the concerns of parents, teachers, and other members of the community.

Preparing budgets and reports on various subjects, including finances and attendance, and overseeing the requisition and allocation of supplies also is an important responsibility of principals. As school budgets become tighter, many principals have become more involved in public relations and fundraising to secure financial support for their schools from local businesses and the community.

Principals must take an active role to ensure that students meet national, State, and local academic standards. Many principals develop partnerships with local businesses and school-to-work transition programs for students. Increasingly, principals must be sensitive to the needs of the rising number of non-English speaking and culturally diverse student body. In some areas, growing enrollments also are a cause for concern because they lead to overcrowding at many schools. When addressing problems of inadequate resources, administrators serve as advocates for the building of new schools or the repair of existing ones. During summer months, principals are responsible for planning for the upcoming year, overseeing summer school, participating in workshops for teachers and administrators, supervising building repairs and improvements, and working to make sure the school has adequate staff for the school year.

Schools continue to be involved with students’ emotional welfare as well as their academic achievement. As a result, principals face responsibilities outside the academic realm. For example, many schools have growing numbers of students from dual-income and single-parent families or students who are themselves teenage parents. To support these students and their families, some schools have established before- and after-school childcare programs or family resource centers, which also may offer parenting classes and social service referrals. With the help of community organizations, some principals have established programs to combat increases in crime, drug and alcohol abuse, and sexually transmitted diseases among students.

Assistant principals aid the principal in the overall administration of the school. Some assistant principals hold this position for several years, during which time they prepare for advancement to principal; others are assistant principals throughout their careers. They are primarily responsible for scheduling student classes, ordering textbooks and supplies, and coordinating transportation, custodial, cafeteria, and other support services. They usually handle student discipline and attendance problems, social and recreational programs, and health and safety matters. They also may counsel students on personal, educational, or vocational matters. With the advent of site-based management, assistant principals are playing a greater role in ensuring the academic success of students by helping to develop new curriculums, evaluating teachers, and dealing with school-community relations—responsibilities previously assumed solely by the principal. The number of assistant principals that a school employs may vary, depending on the number of students.

Administrators in school district central offices oversee public schools under their jurisdiction. This group includes those who direct subject-area programs such as English, music, vocational education, special education, and mathematics. They supervise instructional coordinators and curriculum specialists, and work with them to evaluate curriculums and teaching techniques and improve them.  are covered elsewhere in the Handbook.) Administrators also may oversee career counseling programs and testing that measures students’ abilities and helps to place them in appropriate classes. Others may also direct programs such as school psychology, athletics, curriculum and instruction, and professional development. With site-based management, administrators have transferred primary responsibility for many of these programs to the principals, assistant principals, teachers, instructional coordinators, and other staff in the schools.

In preschools and childcare centers, which are usually much smaller than other educational institutions, the director or supervisor of the school or center often serves as the sole administrator. Their job is similar to that of other school administrators in that they oversee daily activities and operation of the schools, hire and develop staff, and make sure that the school meets required regulations and educational standards.

In colleges and universities, provosts, also known as chief academic officers, assist presidents, make faculty appointments and tenure decisions, develop budgets, and establish academic policies and programs. With the assistance of academic deans and deans of faculty, they also direct and coordinate the activities of deans of individual colleges and chairpersons of academic departments. Fundraising is the chief responsibility of the director of development and also is becoming an essential part of the job for all administrators.

College or university department heads or chairpersons are in charge of departments that specialize in particular fields of study, such as English, biological science, or mathematics. In addition to teaching, they coordinate schedules of classes and teaching assignments; propose budgets; recruit, interview, and hire applicants for teaching positions; evaluate faculty members; encourage faculty development; serve on committees; and perform other administrative duties. In overseeing their departments, chairpersons must consider and balance the concerns of faculty, administrators, and students.

Higher education administrators also direct and coordinate the provision of student services. Vice presidents of student affairs or student life, deans of students, and directors of student services may direct and coordinate admissions, foreign student services, health and counseling services, career services, financial aid, and housing and residential life, as well as social, recreational, and related programs. In small colleges, they may counsel students. In larger colleges and universities, separate administrators may handle each of these services. Registrars are custodians of students’ records. They register students, record grades, prepare student transcripts, evaluate academic records, assess and collect tuition and fees, plan and implement commencement, oversee the preparation of college catalogs and schedules of classes, and analyze enrollment and demographic statistics. Directors of admissions manage the process of recruiting, evaluating, and admitting students, and work closely with financial aid directors, who oversee scholarship, fellowship, and loan programs. Registrars and admissions officers at most institutions need computer skills because they use electronic student information systems. For example, for those whose institutions present college catalogs, schedules, and other information on the Internet, knowledge of online resources, imaging, and other computer skills is important. Athletic directors plan and direct intramural and intercollegiate athletic activities, seeing to publicity for athletic events, preparation of budgets, and supervision of coaches. Other increasingly important administrators direct public relations, distance learning, and technology.

Work environment. Education administrators hold leadership positions with significant responsibility. Most find working with students extremely rewarding, but as the responsibilities of administrators have increased in recent years, so has the stress. Coordinating and interacting with faculty, parents, students, community members, business leaders, and State and local policymakers can be fast-paced and stimulating, but also stressful and demanding. Principals and assistant principals, whose varied duties include discipline, may find working with difficult students to be challenging. They are also increasingly being held accountable for ensuring that their schools meet recently imposed State and Federal guidelines for student performance and teacher qualifications.

About 1 in 3 education administrators work more than 40 hours a week and often supervise school activities at night and on weekends. Most administrators work year round, although some work only during the academic year.

Training, Other Qualifications, and Advancement

Most education administrators begin their careers as teachers and prepare for advancement into education administration by completing a master’s or doctoral degree. Because of the diversity of duties and levels of responsibility, educational backgrounds and experience vary considerably among these workers.

Education and training. Principals, assistant principals, central office administrators, academic deans, and preschool directors usually have held teaching positions before moving into administration. Some teachers move directly into principal positions; others first become assistant principals, or gain experience in other administrative jobs at either the school or district level in positions such as department head, curriculum specialist, or subject matter advisor. In some cases, administrators move up from related staff jobs such as recruiter, school counselor, librarian, residence hall director, or financial aid or admissions counselor.

In most public schools, principals, assistant principals, and school district administrators need a master’s degree in education administration or educational leadership. Some principals and central office administrators have a doctorate or specialized degree in education administration. In private schools, some principals and assistant principals hold only a bachelor’s degree, but the majority have a master’s or doctoral degree.

Educational requirements for administrators of preschools and childcare centers vary depending on the setting of the program and the State of employment. Administrators who oversee preschool programs in public schools are often required to have at least a bachelor’s degree. Child care directors who supervise private programs are usually not required to have a degree; however, most States require a preschool education credential, which often includes some postsecondary coursework.

College and university academic deans and chairpersons usually advance from professorships in their departments, for which they need a master’s or doctoral degree; further education is not typically necessary. Admissions, student affairs, and financial aid directors and registrars sometimes start in related staff jobs with bachelor’s degrees—any field usually is acceptable—and obtain advanced degrees in college student affairs, counseling, or higher education administration. A Ph.D. or Ed.D. usually is necessary for top student affairs positions. Computer literacy and a background in accounting or statistics may be assets in admissions, records, and financial work.

Advanced degrees in higher education administration, educational leadership, and college student affairs are offered in many colleges and universities. Education administration degree programs include courses in school leadership, school law, school finance and budgeting, curriculum development and evaluation, research design and data analysis, community relations, politics in education, and counseling. The National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) and the Educational Leadership Constituent Council (ELCC) accredit programs designed for elementary and secondary school administrators. Although completion of an accredited program is not required, it may assist in fulfilling licensure requirements.

Licensure and certification. Most States require principals to be licensed as school administrators. License requirements vary by State, but nearly all States require either a master’s degree or some other graduate-level training. Some States also require candidates for licensure to pass a test. On-the-job training, often with a mentor, is increasingly required or recommended for new school leaders. Some States require administrators to take continuing education courses to keep their license, thus ensuring that administrators have the most up-to-date skills. The number and types of courses required to maintain licensure vary by State. Principals in private schools are not subject to State licensure requirements.

Nearly all States require child care and preschool center directors to be licensed. Licensing usually requires a number of years of experience or hours of coursework or both. Sometimes, it requires a college degree. Often, directors are also required to earn a general preschool education credential, such as the Child Development Associate credential (CDA) sponsored by the Council for Professional Recognition, or some other credential designed specifically for directors.

One credential specifically for directors is the National Administration Credential, offered by the National Child Care Association. The credential requires experience and training in child care center management.

There are usually no licensing requirements for administrators at postsecondary institutions.

Other qualifications. To be considered for education administrator positions, workers must first prove themselves in their current jobs. In evaluating candidates, supervisors look for leadership, determination, confidence, innovativeness, and motivation. The ability to make sound decisions and to organize and coordinate work efficiently is essential. Because much of an administrator’s job involves interacting with others—such as students, parents, teachers, and the community—a person in such a position must have strong interpersonal skills and be an effective communicator and motivator. Knowledge of leadership principles and practices, gained through work experience and formal education, is important. A familiarity with computer technology is a necessity for principals, who are required to gather information and coordinate technical resources for their students, teachers, and classrooms.

Advancement. Education administrators advance through promotion to higher level administrative positions or by transferring to comparable positions at larger schools or systems. They also may become superintendents of school systems or presidents of educational institutions.

Employment

Education administrators held about 443,000 jobs in 2006. Of these, 56,000 were preschool or child care administrators, 226,000 were elementary or secondary school administrators, and 131,000 were postsecondary administrators. The great majority—over 80 percent—worked in public or private educational institutions. Most of the remainder worked in child daycare centers, religious organizations, job training centers, and businesses and other organizations that provided training for their employees.

Job Outlook

Employment of education administrators is projected to grow about as fast as average, as education and training take on greater importance in everyone’s lives. Job opportunities for many of these positions should be excellent because a large proportion of education administrators are expected to retire over the next 10 years.

Employment change. Employment of education administrators is expected to grow by 12 percent between 2006 and 2016,  for all occupations, primarily due to growth in enrollments of school-age children. Enrollment of students in elementary and secondary schools is expected to grow slowly over the next decade, which will limit the growth of principals and other administrators in these schools. However, the number of administrative positions will continue to increase as more administrative responsibilities are placed on individual schools, particularly related to monitoring student achievement. Preschool and childcare center administrators are expected to experience substantial growth due to increasing enrollments in formal child care programs as fewer young children are cared for in private homes. Additionally, as more States implement or expand public preschool programs, more preschool directors will be needed.

The number of students at the postsecondary level is projected to grow more rapidly than other student populations, creating significant demand for administrators at that level. A significant portion of the growth will occur in the private and for-profit segments of higher education. Many of these schools cater to working adults who might not ordinarily participate in postsecondary education. These schools allow students to earn a degree, receive job-specific training, or update their skills in a convenient manner, such as through part-time programs or distance learning. As the number of these schools continues to grow, more administrators will be needed to oversee them.

Job prospects. Principals and assistant principals should have very favorable job prospects. A sharp increase in responsibilities in recent years has made the job more stressful and has discouraged some teachers from taking positions in administration. Principals are now being held more accountable for the performance of students and teachers, while at the same time they are required to adhere to a growing number of government regulations. In addition, overcrowded classrooms, safety issues, budgetary concerns, and teacher shortages in some areas all are creating additional stress for administrators. Many teachers feel that the increase in pay for becoming an administrator is not high enough to compensate for the greater responsibilities.

Opportunities may vary by region of the country. Enrollments are expected to increase the fastest in the West and South, where the population is growing faster, and to decline or remain stable in the Northeast and the Midwest. School administrators also are in greater demand in rural and urban areas, where pay is generally lower than in the suburbs.

Although competition among faculty for prestigious positions as academic deans and department heads is likely to remain keen, fewer applicants are expected for nonacademic administrative jobs, such as director of admissions or student affairs. Furthermore, many people are discouraged from seeking administrator jobs by the requirement that they have a master’s or doctoral degree in education administration—as well as by the opportunity to earn higher salaries in other occupations.

If you decide to do a search just on the simple phrase free online learning, your computer will probably flip out on you, there’s only like 50,000 different search results that will come up, free online learning ranges from everything like online classes and courses to free online learning games.

Every web site is different when it comes to the concept of free online learning, one thing is for sure, you have to be specific when it comes to free online learning.’

There is free online learning for real estate, teaching, typing, and those are only the first few search results that I came up with. Isn’t that unreal just how many free online learning sites there are available on the Internet today?

And some of these free online learning web sites are game sites for pre-school children, as well as other game sites that are free online learning sites but for older students as well.

You can achieve free online learning for automotive and anything else you could possibly imagine, even how to pot a plant. I was astonished at all the free online learning results I received, and it was really cool to check some of the free online learning web sites out because I actually learned a few things I didn’t know and had to go back.

Free online learning believe it or not can also include actual college courses or special techniques to doing things like for instance decorating wedding cakes, I think that free online learning site was the best one I seen. Although I don’t think I would have the patience to learn how to do something like that. Either way, it was listed among the many free online learning sites I went too. I didn’t go to all of them obviously but what I did see was impressive.

The Internet can be used for so many things, and free online learning is one of the better attributes of the Internet highway. In my opinion, yeah there are some bad things that go on through the use of the Internet but free online learning isn’t one of those bad things. It just proves that the internet is useful as a tool as well as playing games and sending emails or downloading music.

Free online learning is also in e books that I seen, different things about free online learning you could read about, which sites were rated better than others and why.

I know there are a lot of sites for free online learning now, just about anything that is learnable, oh don’t get me wrong not everything if free on some of the websites we go to, although those web sites that are listed as free online learning web sites usually are, and the games your children can play and learn at the same time while on the Internet just shows that they can do something useful rather than sitting there for hours chatting or playing something they won’t learn a thing from. Free online learning offers a variety of web sites and a wide range of information for people of all ages.

In a 2009 ranking of the 50 best jobs in America, the information technology sector accounted for 17 slots. Of these, information security jobs enjoyed some of the highest job growth, seeing a 27% increase in jobs over the past ten years, which should not be surprising since security threats and consequently stricter regulations are emerging all the time, all over the world. An information security career basically involves protecting one of the most valuable assets of a company or organization: Its information. The threats are countless: from malware to hackers, and unhappy employees to natural disasters. The career requires fine skills and can be very lucrative, with the top IT security professionals able to command big paychecks.

One good thing about an information security career is that the barriers to entry are fairly low, since the skills can be self-taught. However, while a formal degree in computer science is not an absolute necessity, having one may prove to be a major factor in a firm’s decision to hire you. Many potential employers will also ask you for a professional certification in information systems security. But nowadays, the main obstacle to get into the Security field is experience. To be considered for any Information Security Job most companies will want several years of experience (around five is preferred). This might sound a bit like the chicken and the egg problem: how to have experience if you can’t get the job, and vice versa? As I said before, you just need to plan.

Fortunately, there are alternative ways you can start your information security career:

• One is to establish your credentials in a related information technology career before applying for information security jobs. For example, you can begin as a network administrator, gaining experience in how to secure networks as well as how they can be penetrated, before moving on to become an information security engineer. That’s exactly how I started my career around 14 years ago.

• You can also begin actively networking by joining a local chapter of a computer security association such as the Information Systems Security Association and by participating in activities such as forums and conferences. Many of these organizations also promote study groups to help members earn their security certification. This will bring up another dilemma frequently discussed among Infosec Professionals: Will a certificate grant me a job? My personal answer to that one is no, but the trick I learnt was:  If you absorb the information studied to achieve the certification rather than just memorizing it for the test,  you get a head start when pursuing the first Information Security job and demonstrates that you’re a self-learner and proactive professional, two qualities very appreciated by organizations nowadays.

• Another way to begin an information security career is to start your own security consulting firm. This is the route many former self taught hackers/crackers have taken after they’ve established that they have the skill set to do computer security. Even being convicted of a crime is not a bar (sometimes it even boosts your career ) to getting an information security job , since many of those who have served jail time have successfully gone straight and rehabilitated themselves, going on to become successful security consultants. Free-lance IT security professionals, in particular, should expect to see job growth, since many companies are trimming down their IT costs by outsourcing their computer security needs.

Once you’ve established that you have the qualifications for an information security career, you can begin looking for positions online. In my case, being an Information Security Professional with experience plus certifications opened some doors abroad, and that’s definitely achievable if you plan. If you don’t want to relocate, you may be able to find jobs locally by networking through your contacts in the security association that you have joined.

I would appreciate to hear your comments and experiences in the topic!

Good luck!

PS: Although using the words “Information Security”, the same rules apply when searching for IT Security, Compliance and Risk Management jobs.

The advent of the Internet has had a profound influence on our way of life. In the last two decades, it has grown from a fledgling new media to a worldwide information highway. It now affects the way we buy, the way we live and the way we learn. The personal computer and laptop computer are now our gateways to virtually everything we want to know. Moreover, the Internet now permits us to pursue the education required for a new or better career from home and at somewhat less cost than the traditional campus education.

The healthcare industry is growing by leaps and bounds and nursing is an important segment of that industry. In fact, nursing offers unusually-good job security, an excellent salary and benefits package and more, because there is a significant nationwide shortage of nurses. This makes nursing a great career choice.

A nursing online registered school provides a widely-accepted education

Nursing is a career with an outstanding upward mobility path due to the fact that you can train for higher positions as your career progresses while you are employed through continuing course education nursing online. You can gain your initial certification as an LPN (licensed practical nurse) or LVN (licensed vocational nurse), start in that position, progress to a bachelor of science in nursing (BSN) and then on to a master of science degree in nursing (MSN) at home, at your own pace through a college degree nursing online school. You save the time and expense of commuting to and from a campus institution and never have to leave your present job while you train for a more advanced position as a registered nurse (RN). Perhaps the best news of all is that hospitals, clinics, nursing homes and doctors consider your online training just as valuable as traditional training.

What it takes to be a good nurse

There are certain personal and personality factors that are required to be an effective nurse at any career level. These include:

-You should be a good listener, be unbiased and care about others
-You must be able to handle suffering, traumatic situations and death without becoming overly stressed
-You need to be detail oriented
-You should have stamina, endurance and good mental & physical health
-You should keep a well-groomed, professional appearance
-You should be willing to accept ethical and legal responsibility for your actions
-You must respect all people regardless of their race, age and social status, sexual orientation and religious beliefs
-You must be willing to work night shifts, days, evenings, weekends, holidays
-You must be able to remain cool in a crisis and never panic
-At higher levels, you will need leadership skills and be a take charge person
-You should enjoy a fast-paced work environment
-You must respect confidentiality and protect others privacy

If the above characteristics describe you, chances are excellent that you will find nursing a highly-rewarding career.