Get a Career Boost: Try On-Line Education

For most of us, Fall still creates stirrings related to starting back to school and brings back happy memories.  If you are too busy to take a course or two at the local college to brush up your skills, or want to pursue a different degree program, it's possible to do it online before work, on weekends or after the kids go to bed!  Here are some places that make it easy.

CASO Internet University (http://www.caso.com/iu/courses.html).  Cape Software uses their database software to index all the online college courses offered on the Internet (they claim).  Their extensive listing currently contains about 2,500 different courses from 59 course providers.  They also feature an index of categorized reference links that are study aids.

The University of Phoenix Online  (http://www.uophx.edu/online/).  The University of Phoenix was the first to recognize that the Internet would change the way people work and to offer fully accredited college courses electronically.   They offer several degree programs and the cost is about $135 per 8-hour block, including interaction with instructors and other students.  Best of all, the courses are "given" any time of the day convenient to you!

California Virtual University (http://www.california.edu/).  Governor Jerry Brown decreed that the universities of California should work together to create the first virtual university.  The concept ties together the online and distance education offerings of every accredited college and university in California. Degrees are offered, as well as continuing education programs covering a wide range of interests.  UCLA's extension university, for example, offers an extensive list of writing and communication courses, from poetry to advertising copy to writing effective proposals.  Courses vary in cost according to the type of program.

ZDNet University  (http://www.zdu.com/zdu/catalog/open.htm).  Ziff-Davis is the publisher of many prominent computer magazines, and their open classes are heavily oriented toward technology.  For only $5 per month, you can get continuing education courses that include marketing, advertising, web management, graphic design and many kinds of programming and network training.

• Wordmark's Building a Corporate Intranet
• Intermark's Intranet Learning Center
• Learn2 
• Strategic Management Group's Self Study Learning
• 3D Cafe's graphic tutorials

For an interesting discussion about ``distance learning" and the impact it is having on business and society, take a look at the transcripts of Richard Seltzer's chats from December, 1997 through February, 1998 on distance learning.

Copyright 1997 by Kaye Vivian.  All rights reserved.

Page last updated: January 4, 1999