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Online Animation Schools

It used to be that animators were a rare breed. But nowadays they are springing up like mushrooms, and animation companies receive thousands of applications from highly qualified individuals every year. They\’re able to pick and choose from the best talents.

As somebody in the position to hire such animators, before I pop the DVD reel in, I will usually scan through the resume to see where the graduate is from. If it\’s a reputable academy, I am usually more icentified to look at the reel. Because we receive so many applications, sometimes it is just impossible to go through every single reel, though we try our best.

However, not everybody can afford the time or money to attend a major animation school. A good alternative to consider might be an online animation course. There are currently some online courses that have garnered a good reputation and they do add some credibility when you submit your resume. it may be worthwhile to explore these options. However, you do have to excercise caution when choosing such online courses.

The first thing you have to look at is the course outline. You have to assess your own needs versus what the course is offering. You might be competent in certain areas already and do not want to spend time going through those subject matters. In which case, you might want a curriculum which is flexible and can be molded to fit your needs. You also want a curriculum that is up to date because the animation business is fast moving, and the techniques and tools that are state of the art today will be archaic two years later.

You will also need to choose a course that will allow you to complete a show reel. A show reel is essential when you are applying for a job as it is a testimony of what you can do. Make sure the online course covers guiding you through the production of your show reel and not just leave you to do your own thing.

You might also want to see if the online animation school can arrange for internship in animation companies. Remember, you go there not just to intern and gain some experience, you are actually there to network. If you can impress the animator during your internship, it may be the ticket to getting your first job in animation.

Be very wary of schools who do not have portfolios of students to show or only showcases their teachers\’ works. It either means they are very new or not great at teaching. Teachers with good portfolios mean nothing if they have not exhibited the ability to impart their knowledge. There are also schools who \’borrow\’ portfolios from animation companies from parts of the world who seldom surf English sites. Avoid these schools like the plague! If possible, try to get details for past graduates of the course and see how they are doing now.

Last but not least, you should make sure that you are comfortable with the schedule of the course. If you can\’t fit into the time-table or vice versa, either work your way around it or look for another school. Nothing will break down your resolution to be an animator faster than not being able to keep up with the course.

By observing the points I have listed above, I believe that you will be able to gauge which online animation course is the right choice for you.

I prefer not to make any recommendations to online courses as I personally have not taken any of them, and therefore cannot make any. However I have heard good things being said about Animation Mentor whom I heard is run by a bunch of experienced CG professionals. I have also compiled a list of online animation courses in my resource section. You can check them out in the Resource section found in the sidelink.

I hope that this article has been helpful to you and I wish you success in finding the right online 3D education.

Lean more about the animation industry! Click here to receive a free report describing how some businesses are using 3D animation to sell their products cum services and increase their revenue!

This article was contributed by Aldric Chang - a creative businessman who is active in music composing and production, internet marketing, casual games production, animation production, cartoon production and character licensing. He\’s currently intent on growing his already successful animation business - Mediafreaks - into a behemoth entertainment company.

What To Expect With Distance Learning Courses

Distance learning courses can be a wonderful way for anyone with a computer and Internet to pursue a higher degree. These classes are now offered by a variety of different institutions and really cover the gamut as far as study area is concerned.

But, what can students really expect to get out of distance learning courses?

The answer to that is a lot! If the idea is that distance learning is a “free ride,” an easy way to go or a snap to finish, get that out of the head right now. The truth is many of these courses are as difficult and challenging as their classroom counterparts and some are even more so.

Students who sign on for distance learning courses will find they are typically handled quite a bit differently than classes attended in person, but that doesn’t mean the course requirements are slack. The reality is for accreditation to extend to these classes, professors and students have to walk a very fine line to ensure the teaching is quality and the learning is, too.

Some of the things students taking distance learning courses might be wise to expect include:

* Actual lectures. These might take place during set times in chat rooms or they might be video recorded for watching on the Internet at a students’ convenience. Either way, some actual teaching is very often involved in these classes. If it’s not, students will be expected to do a whole lot of reading on their own.

* Books. These don’t tend to go away just because coursework is turned in online. Most universities still requires students get the books and read them, too.

* Homework. Papers, reports and even special projects will still all be required by these courses. Part of getting a degree is proving the material is understood and even mastered.

* Tests. Yes, these too are part of the online learning experience. Some tests will be taken online, and in some cases, all of them. Some programs might require students travel to a set location for certain tests along the way.

* Discussions, interaction. This is a very big part of college life. To ensure the flow of thoughts and information between students and faculty continues, many of these programs set up online discussion groups to fill this need. This can be vital for ensuring students understand the material, have done the work and get input they might need to take learning to the next level.

* Access to professors. Whether this is online, over the phone or in person, distance learning courses should not cut this factor out. It is vital in many cases for students to be able to ask questions of their professors. Programs that don’t provide some avenue for this might not be as good as they sound. Even if it’s only through e-mail, some contact should be available.

Distance learning courses can help busy people finish or even earn from start to finish their degrees. Although the setting is very different, students should still expect to actually have to “earn” those degrees.

For more information on distance learning, visit http://www.distancelearningopportunities.com - a website that specializes in distance learning resources including information on distance learning courses

When eLearning Doesn’t Work

Kind of a funny title from the CEO of an eLearning company but I know what I’m talking about. As proof, we delivered our first eLearning product in 1989. It was a CBT for learning Digital Equipment Corporation’s VAX/VMS operating system. It ran under DOS. In 1995, we delivered our first computer-based course builder and tracking system called Design-a-Course. Twelve years later we are still at it with our current offering of the same name, albeit completely rewritten and built for the web. So, I have been in this business as long as anyone and seen just about every type of eLearning customer.

There have been way too many customers who have purchased an eLearning system from our company to train a group of people who either:
A. Never get around to around to creating the courses. Or,
B. Never get their people to take the courses.

I’m not sure which is harder to believe. Why plunk down good money if you are not going to use the system? I’ll tell you why. It’s the same reason you don’t see training in a lot of categories for, “business type” when you fill out a background sheet for a news or magazine subscription. Training and/or eLearning still doesn’t have the importance it should. Training is always a good thought until something else “more important” bubbles to the top. “I got pulled off the new eLearning course rollout for something really important” is something we’ve frequently heard. I guess training and testing your computer operators to make sure they are doing the nightly backups correctly, which holds all your customer data, isn’t all that important.

It is easy to show someone all the research data about how successful companies are the companies that invest in their employees’ education. And they may appreciate it and buy the training product or service. But too often, after the excitement of the new purchase, the priorities shift. .

For the determined, cost conscious, and downright responsible users that actually develop and roll out their eLearning courses but never get anyone to take them, theirs is probably a bigger mistake. They spent the company’s money and used company resources to develop the courses. I have asked customers, “How has the reception been to your new eLearning courses?” I have gotten answers like:
- I don’t know, I haven’t checked.
- Not everyone has gone through them.
- Not everyone finishes them.

This problem of people not using what they paid for and created does not bode well for the eLearning industry. So, whose fault is it? The students will tell you the courses were not good or not stimulating enough so they lost interest. That could be true. Creating a good, engaging course is a skill. And unfortunately not all companies have instructional designers and great graphics people within their organization. Most organizations just have a need to transfer knowledge to the employees on information critical to their company and job function.

Like all other business issues that affect the employee, it comes down to management. Sorry bosses. Learning in your organization, eLearning or any type, is your responsibility. It is part of your job to make sure your staff goes through the courses you took the time to put together. It has to be a job-mandated requirement from the top down. Not completing or not passing the provided courseware should affect the performance review, which should affect the salary. Sounds harsh I know. But your company is only as good as the knowledge you have inside it. Training needs to be mandated and tracked.

So, if you have purchased an eLearning system and never used it, blame yourself.
If you purchased an eLearning system, created the courses, deployed them and your students never used it, blame yourself again. Until learning during the normal course of the business day becomes as fully integrated as checking email in the morning, the growth and, more importantly, the positive and profitable effect eLearning can have on your company will be limited. Worse yet, the potential for a better-equipped, more effective workforce will not be realized.

Louis Bernstein has been the CEO of MindIQ, http://www.mindiq.com, since 1986. Mr. Bernstein brought to market their first eLearning product, The Personal Traininer, in 1989. The current eLearning system offered by MindIQ was first introduced in 1995 and has undergone several versions. Mr. Bernstein is a recognized speaker on eLearning and sales training. He holds a BA in Psychology from Southern Illinois University. More information can be viewed on these ideas at http://www.mindiq.com/elearning/dac

Online Schools Gaining in Popularity

With the busy lifestyles we have today, is it any wonder that online schools are becoming a popular method to gain higher education? More and more working adults and “late learners” are turning to the Internet for their educational needs. The convenience of online colleges and online universities is the main reason, but there are many other good reasons to seek an online education.

Perhaps you are stuck in a dead end job, or perhaps your life took an unexpected turn and you just never seemed to be able to get back to college to complete your degree. An online course could be just the answer. Thousands of people are earning online degrees every day, while enjoying a flexible class schedule that can be accessed 24 hours a day.

Many people wonder if online degrees are as highly valued by employers. The answer is a resounding “yes!” But, accreditation is the key. By choosing only accredited online schools, you can be assured that your degree will carry as much weight as a degree from a traditional campus-based school. Be sure to ask the administrators about accreditation before plunking down any of your hard-earned money.

Another good question is “what level of degree can I achieve online?” Well, depending on the specific school and your particular field of study, you can obtain professional certificates online, as well as online associate degrees, online bachelor degrees, online master degrees, and even online doctorate degrees! The possibilities are endless.

Online certificates and degrees are available in almost every field of study, and most can be completed without ever stepping foot in a classroom. From Accounting to Yoga, online studies are readily available to help you achieve success. So, no more excuses. Get your online degree now and help yourself to a brighter future tomorrow.

If you would like to learn more about Online Schools, we invite you to visit our website where you can review hundreds of distance learning schools. Click the link now and take that first step towards a rewarding future!

DISCLAIMER: Above is a GENERAL OVERVIEW and may or may not reflect specific practices, courses and/or services associated with ANY ONE particular school(s) that is or is not advertised on SchoolsGalore.com.

Copyright 2007 - All rights reserved by Media Positive Communications, Inc.

Notice: Publishers are free to use this article on an ezine or website, provided the article is reprinted in its entirety, including copyright and disclaimer, and ALL links remain intact and active.

Michael Bustamante is a staff writer for Media Positive Communications, Inc. Find Online Degrees and Online Colleges, as well as Traditional Schools, Colleges, Universities, Vocational Schools, and Natural Healing Schools at SchoolsGalore.com.

Term Paper Quest – Every Student’s Tale

Term paper quest is something every student is always on to get better grades. Wait a minute. Doesn’t the term “term paper quest” mean the quest for the term paper written by someone other than the students themselves? The answer is: NO

The term “term paper quest” refers to the efforts such as research students put in to get their term papers written in a way that not only gets them pass their standards but also allows them to bring something kind of new to the human knowledge of the particular topic the term paper is written on.

Besides research, the efforts of students for getting their term papers written in the above mentioned way also include hiring the services of term paper writing services. Stay with me, I am not saying Yes to the question in the first paragraph after already having said No to the question.

Let’s get clear straight away by understanding what term paper writing services actually offer to students and how exactly students utilize them for getting their term papers written or more appropriately writing their term papers.

Ending term paper quest at a term paper writing service can be beneficial for students not only at getting the term paper written but also at the knowledge-growth. What term paper writing services do is, after receiving the fees for the costs, receive the topic and other relevant information from students and their team of researchers and writers start working on the term paper. When they are finished, they email the completed term paper with the suggestions of the areas where students can include their own writing to make the term paper one hundred percent theirs. This is to encourage students to thoroughly understand the term paper so as to make the term paper fully serve its purpose, namely making students understand the field of study thoroughly.

Harris Jhosta is well known in education field. He is working in LUMS university as a senior professor. Harris Jhosta wrote many articles on the benefits of online university. For more about Term paper quest please click here.

Online High School Myths

Myths about learning online are rampant. No where is this more evident than in learning at online high schools. Below are ten of the most common myths.

1. I should choose a school that is in my state. Unless there is a financial incentive, as with free public charter schools, there is usually no reason to choose one in your home state.

2. I should choose the most expensive school. Quality does not always equate with high cost. There are some quite good schools that are inexpensive and there are some quite good schools that are expensive. Cost has little to do with quality.

3. I should choose the least expensive school. Sometimes there are valid reasons for choosing the least expensive school. While that may be a reasonable choice, you should also consider quality of the school.

4. Prestige doesn’t matter with online high schools. For the most part, prestige does not matter. However, if your goal is to attend a well-known university, you might want to consider a program like Indiana University High School, University of Miami Online High School, or Laurel Springs School. These schools, and others, are known by many admissions offices. That can help the process.

5. Online high schools are all the same. Online high schools are as similar as traditional high schools. In other words, they can be quite different.

6. Online high schools are only for homeschooled students. While there is a segment of the online high school population that is homeschooled, this is the smaller segment. There are many more students who are not homeschooled, but who are learning online.

7. I won’t have a teacher. It’s all independent study. While there are the programs that are independent study, there are many where you are provided with a great deal of support from a state-certified teacher.

8. I won’t have access to college counseling. This may or may not be true. Some do offer college counseling and you should check with the school if that is a priority for you.

9. Students who go to online high schools can’t get into college. Not true at all. Any reputable online high school has compiled a list of the colleges that have admitted their students.

10. Online high schools are not as good as traditional high schools. In many cases, students find online high schools a better experience and that it does not suffer from quality because it is online.

While online high schools are not for everyone, they can be a wonderful alternative to traditional high schools.

Thomas Nixon is the author of Complete Guide to Online High Schools: Distance learning options for teens & adults. In it, he details how to earn a high school diploma online. The companion website, BestOnlineHighSchools.com, is the premier source of information on online high schools. His website is ThomasNixon.com.

The Online Learning Age is Upon Us - Part 1

Are you interested in online education?

If we have any experience at all with the Internet, we’ve all gone through some type of online learning experience, whether it be for our own business venture, for our children or even just to find out more information about a special topic.

The truth is that most of us will be learning online at some point in our lives, and our children will be all be involved with computers and online learning. We are in the middle of a transformation age, where the marketplace is evolving from real to virtual, offline to online, tangible to electronic. And the funny thing is, we don’t even feel it!

How many of us have already ordered something from an online catalog as opposed to the old-fashioned mail order process? Almost anything you can buy from a catalog is now available online, including antiques, lingerie, and pet food. We are embarking upon something that is no longer a fad or exception, but the internet is here to stay, and getting bigger by the minute.

As far as the learning experience goes, online learning has yet to take a real hold on us, which is why we still have the traditional classroom experience as our main method of learning today. But for how long? There are virtual classrooms being created left and right, and you would be hard-pressed to find a university today that does not have some kind of online learning system in place.

And what about for your younger children? When does the computer / online learning experience begin? For me, it was in the 8th grade, when the first Mac computer was a new addition to our school system. There was even a rudimentary “e-mail” system, where we could do the equivalent of today’s chatting with other people who were either sitting in the same computer room or linked through the school network system.

But those days are long behind us, and we can access just about any piece of information that we need with the click of a mouse button. We can communicate with several people at the same time in just as many countries, even holding a VOIP telephone conversation with one of them simultaneously. The next step, video-conferencing and chatting, is already beginning to take hold, and once that can be improved and simplified, it will probably also become the norm rather than the exception.

Today, online learning is already easy, with video teaching tools commonplace and online education becoming a household word. Our children are not learning as we did, and it is time to grasp and embrace that fact. Behold, the Online Learning Age is upon us!

If you’d like more information about online learning through an award-winning program, just go to my contact page and send me an email.

Best regards,

Robert Choi

Wealth Vision 2020 at Blueprint-for-Wealth.com
Contact page

Learn French - Like A Rocket!

Learning a new language does not need to take long, be boring or involve endless hours of frustrating exercise books. Find the right course and you can have fun while quickly and easily becoming fluent and confident.

You may be wanting to learn French for a variety of reasons.

If you could be comfortable around French speakers, how would that make your life easier?

If you plan to travel to a French speaking country, your holiday will be so much more stress free if you can be understood and understand people for example, at airports, hotels, in restaurants and while shopping. You will also be able to take in a French movie, read the paper and magazines. Not to mention actually being able to ask for and get directions you can understand!

Maybe you have a new French speaking friend, neighbour or work mate. You will be able to communicate more effectively and impress them at the same time!

Do you have to travel for your job? Being bilingual can be a big advantage over other employees. You will be able to close those business deals both at home and abroad. Your boss will find you are indispensable. Think what that might do for your pay packet! If you are looking for a new job, being bilingual will enhance your prospects. You will be on the top of the list.

If you are computer savvy, being able to speak, read and write French will open a whole new world of new websites and enable you to email French speakers and join French forums.

Learning a new language can seem an impossible task, especially when you are faced with a mountain of vocabulary and grammar, not to mention pronunciation, to learn all at the same time.

The best courses will do the following:

Be interactive. You will learn much quicker when you listen, speak and write, all in the same lessons.

Be fast, effective and practical. A good course has you up and running quickly with practical phrases and greetings. This is much more interesting than learning dull, unrelated words.

Has a variety of tools to match different learning styles. It should have choices so you can choose as you go along which method suits you best.

It should have a clear audio component which is also at a speed appropriate for the newcomer. It’s important to get pronunciation correct and listening to the spoken words when they are too fast makes it hard to get it right. Too slow is just as bad and boring too!

Any text in a course needs to be interesting, topical and easy to comprehend. Illustrations and a few jokes make the learning process so much more fun.

You should be able to go at your own pace. Everyone learns at different speeds. The course should also enable you to revise and revisit the components when you want a brief refreshment of something already learned.

A good course offers an extension programme, so once you are comfortable and fluent you can extend your vocabulary and become not just “able to cope” but become an expert.

Find the right program and you will become a functional French speaker fast. You will also have fun along the way and have a new skill that takes you to a new level in your social life, travels and even job.


Chris Williams

Chris Williams is a writer and researcher of digital information.

Chris recommends anyone serious about learning French easily and fast should check out the invaluable advice on this website today. Learn to speak the French language fluently!

Go Here To Begin Your French Learning Adventure

Want To Speak Spanish Quickly?

Would you like to learn to speak Spanish quickly? Here is your lesson plan:

1. Buy A Spanish Lesson Book

Choose a book that focuses on phrases that you can use to start speaking immediately. Grammar is important, of course, but the finer points can wait until later. Your first goal should be to learn how to communicate in the most basic ways. For example, you should know how to say hello and to ask where things are located.

It’s the most natural way to learn, isn’t it? A baby can communicate long before he knows what it means to conjugate a verb. If you want to actually communicate more than you want to analyze the structure of the language, start with the simple Spanish phrases.

2. Learn Phrases That Make People Your Teachers

Some basic phrases will get the native speakers to teach you. These are essential if you want to learn to speak Spanish quickly.

Some examples: “Cuál es el nombre de esto?” (What is the name for this?) and “Cómo se dice…” (How do you say…) are great phrases to know. You can point at something and say “Cuál es el nombre de esto?” It is even easier if the person you’re speaking to knows a little English. You can say, for example, “Cómo se dice ‘airport’ en español?”

Another good phrase: “Por favor, habla mas despacio.” (Please, speak more slowly.) Here’s one that I used often: “Yo no entiendo.” (I don’t understand.) You may also want to know the phrase “Cómo se escribe?” (How do you write it?)

People are generally happy to help you learn Spanish. These key phrases let any Spanish speaker become your teacher.

3. Speak Spanish In Your Head

Hearing and speaking Spanish in your mind is a powerful way to learn how to express yourself, even if you still have a very limited vocabulary. Imagine the conversations you are likely to have with people. When you put your thoughts into Spanish you learn not just words and rules, but specific ways to express what you want to say - a great way to practice and remember your new language.

4. Carry An English-Spanish Dictionary

Don’t just carry your dictionary, but use it often. It is more than an emergency back-up for when you are stuck for a word. Use it proactively to prepare for conversations. Of course, you can also use it when you are stuck for a word in your imagined conversations, and so teach yourself more quickly.

Make it a point to use your dictionary after conversation as well. You can look for other ways you might have said something. You can look up words that you heard but didn’t know. You can just randomly browse it and stop to learn the words that catch your eye. All of this will help.

5. Speak With Native Spanish Speakers

Perhaps the best way to quickly speak Spanish (or any language) is to start talking with native speakers. Talking in your new language will quickly show you where you need to concentrate your efforts. What if you can’t do this where you live? Start talking to people as soon as you arrive in any Spanish-speaking destination. Hopefully, you want to speak Spanish in order to communicate, so why not start communicating?

Steve Gillman has been working on his Spanish with his wife Ana, a native of Ecuador. Together they have built a website where you can get free lessons in Spanish.

Visit: http://www.TheSpanishLesson.com

Why You Shouldn’t Choose an Online High School

I can tell you that online high schools are a wonderful invention. I can tell you these schools suit many learners. However, I can also tell you that they are most assuredly not for everyone. Yes, students do drop out of online high schools and in numbers that represent a significant percentage of students.

I like online high schools. I have written a book about online high schools. And, yet, I get these heart-wrenching emails from parents wanting to “fix” their child’s education. Little Johnny or Little Peggy Sue has been kicked out of their third high school for poor behavior.

How can you know which is the right choice for you and your child? Take a look at these five “rules” and see where you fall. Nothing is absolute. All five of these could describe you and it still may be worth the effort. Only you can know what you are willing to do.

1. Don’t choose an online high school if you have trouble working independently. Online high schools are most successful for students who can get the job done. If it was hard getting the work done when you had multiple teachers, a guidance counselor, parents, and friends all encouraging you, how much harder will it be when you have to do all that yourself?

2. Don’t choose an online high school if you have been kicked out of many other high schools. The one caveat is that you have someone in your life who is willing to act like a school teacher for you and push you to get work done. Again, this is not an absolute. Evaluate what gets you kicked out of school. Is it something that will not spill over into your online high school?

3. Don’t choose an online high school if you are not willing to work hard. This is most decidedly not easier than attending class each day. The drop-out rate for online high schools is significant. You will work hard. You will likely work harder than most public schools require.

4. Don’t choose an online high school if you are not willing to choose an accredited school (no matter how much you may like the program). Why make your life harder than it has to be? Unaccredited schools are not typically acceptable to employers and colleges. The one exception would be programs authorized by state departments of education.

5. Don’t choose an online high school if you are using it to escape. I offer this one carefully because the word “escape” has many meanings. Escaping public schools by going online is an acceptable choice. Escaping five-day-a-week school can be more problematic. Often these students think that life would be so much more grand if they could only go to class in their jammies and wake up whenever they like. Be careful!

I still think online high schools are a great option for many students for a variety of reasons. Just make sure that you have thoroughly thought out all of your options before you embark on that new adventure.

Thomas Nixon is the author of Complete Guide to Online High Schools: Distance learning options for teens & adults. In it, he details how to earn a high school diploma online. The companion website, BestOnlineHighSchools.com, is the premier source of information on online high schools. His website is ThomasNixon.com.