The Birth Of Distance Learning

The World Wide Web has been used for many purposes since it was
created by academics to support military research and logistics.
At first it was solely the realm of academics and military
strategists. Then over time it became a source for gathering
vast amounts of information and providing that to select
individuals and companies. But the introduction and rapid
expansion of personal office and home computers with Internet
access quickly changed the Web’s focus to commerce and
communication.

Almost overnight the Internet became a primary tool for
communication, not only from the experts, but between ordinary
people as well. And of course, the amount of information
available grew as fast as the number of users. So what you ended
up with was vast amounts of information and the ability to
communicate back and forth with people all over the world. The
natural result was a need to try and bring the people together
with the information and the World Wide Web was the perfect
means to accomplish that task.

Like many other aspects of the digital revolution this
interaction was at first limited to the experts and academics
themselves but a personal home computer and Internet access
forced the academics to open up this process. After a while some
of them realized that if the technology and interest existed,
then why not utilize them to help people become better educated.
So they tried offering a few basic distance learning programs
online through various academic institutions and what they found
was that the public’s appetite for distance learning was almost
insatiable.

Women who were at home caring for their children still wanted to
get a better education. Veterans returning home from foreign
wars and assignments wanted to upgrade their skills to build a
new life after service to their country. People who lived in
remote areas or lacked the ability to travel to larger
university or college centers wanted access to the benefits of a
higher education. Even people who were already in the workforce
wanted to improve their skills or learn new ones to compete for
better jobs and a better future.

The result was an explosion of opportunities and programs that
offered distance learning designed to meet this growing demand.
Today millions of Americans are benefiting from this new way of
learning and even getting an online degree by studying and
learning online. They are fulfilling their dreams and building
better lives for themselves no matter where they live or even
how old they are.

Distance learning may be phenomena of the Internet age but it is
clearly rooted in the simple desire of human beings to learn and
improve themselves. In the long run that’s a very good thing,
not just for the individual, but for our country and the whole
world.

Try Educational Games

All parents want their children to grow up having lots of fun. Parents provide opportunities for their kids to participtate in sports and clubs of all kinds. If they are able, parents fill their home with toys and games to keep their children entertained and happy with things that are safe for kids to do. Parents should, however, see to it that their children have more than just fun. Childhood should be a time filled with learning and trying new things. Parents can combine their child’s desire for fun with their need for learning by choosing educational games.

Educational games are great because they are just what their name suggests: games that provide children with fun and promote their education at the same time. Parents who take seriously their responsibility to help their children learn new things and grow in important knowledge will be pleased to know that educational games are becoming increasingly available and popoular for kids of all ages.

Think about your children’s ages and the unique educational needs they currently have. A three year old should be learning different things than an eight year old. If you are unsure of what educational games to buy for your kids, do a little research to see what kinds of needs your kids have and then find educational games to fit those needs. Talk to your children’s teachers to get good ideas of the needs that each of your kids have. Teachers will likely be able to suggest specific skills and goals that you can work on at home.

Educational games are a great way for parents to get involved in educating their children. Consider substituting educational games instead of a sporting event or an after school club that your kids are involved in. Find ways to balance the things your kids love to do with the things your kids need to be learning. In no time you may find that your kids choose educational games on their own once their learn how fun the games can be. It is a great thing when kids begin to request that educational games be a part of family time or a game night. Families can spend hours of quality time together laughing as they learn.

You can find educational games at many stores or online. Many companies are creating a wide variety of educational games for every budget. The next time you are tempted to pick up the latest video game for your child or to enroll them in an after school club, consider instead teaching your children to love learning by purchasing educational games for them.

After raising four children and purchasing hundreds of educational games, Kirstine Pallette is proud to advise other parents in the art of combining fun and learning. See www.alleducationalgames.info to learn more.