Online Classes for Adults

I am teaching a Foundations in  Early Childhood Education course online at Granite State College this semester. It is a course that I have not taught before. Many of the people in the class are involved in the early childhood field, but need the coursework for their certification. Their first assignment was to introduce themselves and tell a little about their interest in the field of early childhood. It amazes me how many of the students talked about how much they love what they are doing. Almost every person in the class mentioned how much they love their job. Early Childhood education is not a high paying career field. It is also not an easy job, but it is one of the best jobs on the planet. Imagine working with young children who are excited about things such as butterflies in a garden, or clouds in the sky. Adults are usually too busy to notice the little things, but young children spend their time noticing these things. It is great to see so many people working in a field that they love and taking the time to improve their understanding of the field through online undergraduate education courses at Granite State that may lead them to an Associate Degree or a Bachelor's degree in early childhood, or even  special education teacher certification. 

The effects of alcohol on the brain are always interesting, challenging, and worth studying, as well as sometimes scary, sad and aggravating.  And my students at Granite State College love examining the subject. Alcohol strongly impacts the lives of many, and for everyone, studying about it adds to their learning about something that ultimately affects most in some way.  And maybe it will have an impact on them in the future, so it's good to have that knowledge in your back pocket!

In our Introduction to Psychology courses at Granite State College, we examine alcohol's effects on consciousness.  It's always interesting for my students to learn about the effects on the brain of alcohol and other potentially addictive substances.  And of course, not everyone becomes addicted.  Yet there are still some effects to examine.

My students learn about how those "filters" of consciousness get erased...for example, how alcohol relaxes anxiety-based responses - like what happens if you're kind of nervous about going to a party so you think it's helpful for you to have a couple of beers or glasses of wine to "relax"?  Is it a good idea to do that?  How does it work?  And what about how you may say and or do things you're less likely to do if alcohol weren't a part of the picture, and how the brain's neurotransmitters respond?  

Ah, "neurotransmitters" sounds like such a technical word doesn't it? But we learn the basics of how those little guys work in that great Introduction to Psychology course, and it's more interesting than terrifying!  My students - both adults who are returning to college and all students who are just hoping to increase their knowledge - are always fascinated by this topic.

Here's some information about how you can take this and other psychology courses at Granite State College  http://www.granite.edu/academics/degrees/bachelor/psychology.php

So here's a little about the study I described in the title of this article.  First a little background:  Alcohol is known to break down those little internal barriers...the ones that say, "Yikes!  I'd better not say or do  that!"  

http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-racial-stereotyping-exposed-alcohol-related-images.html

So, if you were in my class, we'd discuss how alcohol was found to make people more likely to express any "racial bias" they'd been trying to cover up.  What does that say about what's really going on in peoples' brains?

 You can join us in an online class or for a regular classroom experience.  Let's see if we can figure this one out!

I so often see students in my Online Classes for Adults at Granite State College who seem to struggle.  Sometimes they just seem to be adrift, not knowing how to begin.  Or they do okay at the start, but then get overwhelmed as they get more involved in their class.

Here's a video series I just discovered that offers some good stuff for students:

Video 1: Beliefs That Make You Fail…Or Succeed.

The first video examines common mistaken beliefs students often possess that undermine their learning. The video tries to correct those misconceptions with accurate beliefs about learning.

 

Video 2: What Students Should Understand About How People Learn.

The second video introduces a simple but powerful theory of memory, Levels of Processing, that can help students improve their study.

 

Video 3: Cognitive Principles for Optimizing Learning.

The third video operationalizes the concept of level of processing into four principles that students can use to develop effective study strategies.

 

Video 4: Putting the Principles for Optimizing Learning into Practice.

The fourth video applies the principles of deep processing to common study situations, including note taking and highlighting while reading.

 

Video 5: I Blew the Exam, Now What?

This video addresses what students should and should not do when they earn a bad grade on an exam.

We dream of our perfect career that we will land once we finish your degree and maybe we should be thinking about the type of degree we get, employable degrees. Employable, what a concept to think about what will get us a job instead of following our passions for fields we have dreamed about for years.  But the truth is, you go to school to get a good job, make a good salary, so you can get by and be independent; a well adjusted citizen in the community.

My daughter has a degree that is really in one of the most unemployable fields. She recognizes that and is going to go back to school.  School/knowledge are the key to getting employed and also experience.  When you are young, you really don't have the experiences to go back too, you just have your degree. But, when you are an older learner, a more mature learner, you have so much experience and so much knowledge of life. You go to classes eager to learn and to express yourself.

If you are close in proximity to Granite State College, well go there. If you are in another state, it is all possible too. Granite State College has on-line classes for adults.  I have done both. I lived in Merrimack for a short time and that is when I was introduced to the college. Then, I was relocated and got very familiar with on-line learning. I actually got my Associates Degree in General Studies on-line and received my BS in Mgmt on-line.

Now is the time...just do it!!
 

It's Christmastime, the decorations are out, the carolers are warming up, the shopping season is in full swing, and it's time to reflect on the challenges and accomplishments of the past year.  If I were making a list, the first item in both the Challenges column and the Accomplishments column would be the pursuit of a Masters Degree in Project Management.  

The challenge lies in the fact that I haven't been a college student in, oh, let's just say, a very long time.  Not only am I enrolled in the very first graduate degree program offered at Granite State College, I am in the very first cohort scheduled to graduate in 2013.  I am so proud and excited to be part of such an illustrious group of bright, dedicated and funny people...I really like this thing called adult higher education!  

In the accomplishment column I proudly include the completion of the first of ten terms in the project management masters program.  This term was made up of two six-week classes - PM 804 Project Management Seminar and PM 804 Leading Teams; both were excellent courses.  My preferred delivery method for instruction is face to face, on the ground at our Manchester NH campus.  Of course, for those of you who would rather operate completely in the digital world, you always have the option of taking any of our adult college courses online. 

It is interesting now that I am immersed in the world of project management...all that we do in life is a project in one way or another.  I see it all around me.  The applications, tools and techniques of project management can be applied to everything from planning a holiday party to putting a man on the moon. 

Now there's a thought...how might I apply what I've learned so far in my project management classes to make my holiday season just a little less stressful and a bit more organized? 

Project Scope:  Just what do I want to accomplish this holiday season?  I certainly don't want to bite off more than I can chew so I had better define exactly what I will and can commit to this year.

Project Team:  My family...who is responsible for what and can we accomplish everything we have identified in our project scope?

Project Planning:  Creating a task list (work breakdown structure in project management speak) that includes all of the typical activities (cards, gifts, parties, decorations, food, etc.) around the holiday would be helpful.

Project Risk:  Have you ever had your heart set on a particular gift for someone only to find the gift is not available, or that the cost exceeds your budget?  Contingency plans are always a good idea.

Project Close:  The holidays are over; now is the time to assess what worked and what didn't...lessons learned are a very valuable tool at the close of any project, but only if you use them.

So as you think about everything you have to do for the holidays, remember these four easy steps to help you along:  plan, execute, manage and close.  Wishing you a very merry and stress free holiday season!


GSC Factoid:  Granite State College offers the most affordable continuing education in the state and is the University System's leading online provider.

I never EVER liked school. EVER. Period.

I hated that these grownups would stand in front of me and tell me to memorize this information, and if I spelled a word wrong I had to write it out ten times.  How is this learning? It wasn’t. It was memorization at its finest, just using enough of my brain power to remember the information to get me through the exams and then I was free to forget everything I “learned”.  Why should I have learned it anyway? It did not apply to me. How is it that any time in my adult life would I need to know what year Spain traveled to the new world and enslaved the natives? It had nothing to do with anything. It related to me in no way and it didn’t apply to anything else I was learning at the time, so why did I need to know this useless information?

I started really thinking about this recently because of the way I am actually learning now, in my online classes for college.

All of my adult college classes, no matter what the information, actually pertain to me! Can you believe that? In human bio right now, I am learning about my body. More than just how I breathe and my organs and such, but how everything comes together to help me survive day-to-day, mostly without me ever needing to think about it. When was the last time you actually had to think and make a conscious effort to make your heart beat or to breathe in and out? You don’t have to do those because some of your body’s muscles and organs are involuntary. Without that, we wouldn’t be able to sleep or carry on a conversation without thinking about doing everything our body already does for us.

There is also some other information I found fascinating. For example, sweating. Did you know that you can get injections in your face and body to eliminate sweating? Did you also know that sweating is not only your body’s way of cooling you down, but also a way to get toxins out of your body? Could you imagine the nasty gross things that could build up in your body if there were no ways to release it? It’s absolutely fascinating all that I am learning in this class. It makes me want to take better care of myself, and to know how to do that.

I am truly lucky to be a part of Granite State College, a college where you don’t go to memorize things, but a place where you actually go to gain knowledge and become a better person!

I was sitting at the coffee shop this morning, listening to the news on TV and heard that college educations are not worth getting.  It aggravated me so much as I disagree.  Yes, maybe our economy is rough, there are lots of people who get degrees and can't get jobs. But, if you don't have a degree, do you have the knowledge or credentials to get a job if one were to come up? No.  Getting an adult education degree is so valuable, I don't care what the economy is like. It grows your mind, your soul, your personality and knowledge is power. It always has been and always will be.

Accelerated degrees are so available at Granite State College. With weekend intensive classes as well as online classes for adults, college is possible for anyone. I hope the young adults don't stop dreaming and stop learning. I hope that people who are ready for a change in life job choice, grasp the concept of going back to school.  Going back to school for me was the best decision I ever made and I will always be in the learning mode.