I have been seeing alot of online graduate programs lately from schools like University of Phoenix and Grand Canyon University.  I honestly never considered these real schools  but with the family growing soon and time shrinking, I was wondering if anyone had any experience with these schools and could provide some guidance.  I kinda like the idea of doing class online instead of fighting traffic or in this day and age, shot on campus, but still have my doubts.  Any thoughts or advice?

I am working on my five year renewal of my certification.  I had about three months to complete the course requirements.  The possible courses I found which would work for me either required a long drive ( I’m a country boy) or did not fit my time frame.  I ended up taking four online courses through Knowledge Delivery Systems (kdsi.org).  I  completed the courses, working on them when I had chunks of time.  The instructors of the courses I took were nationally known lecturers/authors.  Although the classes I took were for certification renewal, they may also be taken for graduate credit.  These were my first online classes but they worked great for me.

I'm not sure about them, but there are a lot of Universities that are working more Grad credit courses in to their regular degrees. If you're unsure of one of the online schools you see advertised, make sure you check your state's requirements. Some states will accept those, but some won't (I know my state won't accept one of them, but not sure which one).

You may also want to go to your state department of Education's webpage and see if you can find info from them directly on getting a degree online. I did a search for online degrees on ours and found a flyer printed recently from our state that gave info on how you can complete add-on licensures online. You never know what you'll find on there!

Good luck!

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"Make up your mind to act decidedly and take the consequences. No good is ever done in this world by hesitation."
Thomas H. Huxley

"Those who believe in telekinetics, raise my hand"
Kurt Vonnegut

I too had my doubts about online schools. I am currently working on an advanced degree at an online school. The minus is the face to face contact each time you are in the classroom. The pluses: I log on as often as I want to, no fighting traffic, there are 6 residencies where you attend school in person, better student to student collaboration, and a host of other good things to look forward to.
You must be well-disciplined to work independently. There are deadlines to meet, and the work is much more intense than in the classroom. However, having gone through so many years of the physical classroom, I would not give the virtual classroom for anything.
Make sure the school you select is certified.
Good luck

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Teaching is my passion

bluepikemon:

I am working on my five year renewal of my certification.  I had about three months to complete the course requirements.  The possible courses I found which would work for me either required a long drive ( I’m a country boy) or did not fit my time frame.  I ended up taking four online courses through Knowledge Delivery Systems (kdsi.org).  I  completed the courses, working on them when I had chunks of time.  The instructors of the courses I took were nationally known lecturers/authors.  Although the classes I took were for certification renewal, they may also be taken for graduate credit.  These were my first online classes but they worked great for me.

Great idea!! I'm sooo excited this, I also saw that they have salary increases as well! This is the perfect thing for me right now!

Thanks

J

I loved your comments concerning the courses. I have also taken some of them and they were so entertaining and informative. Not only can you get ceu's or graduate credit; your salary will be increased. This last school year I had a nice increase in my teacher's salary, because of the additional graduate courses. Signing up with Knowledge Delivery systems was so easy; just go to the website www.kdsi.org

Did you get my response earlier. If not, I am answering again to your comments about Knowledge Deliversy Systems. I also have taken the courses for recertification and loved all of them.

What impressed me about the courses I took online with Knowledge Delivery Systems were the qualifications of the instructors.  Donna Walker Tileston presented two of the  courses I took.  She has written fifteen books and is a frequent presenter at national and international conferences.  Her insights into children from poverty and teaching diverse learners are based on her own experiences in poor urban schools and on recent research of the brain.  She builds a convincing case for the importance of educating the growing numbers of children from poverty (which directly relates with concerns about the decline of the middle class in this country). Dr. Tileston provides practical information about the characteristics of these learners and effective teaching strategies - very engaging material when the connections between failure to educate children from poverty and the effect on the class structure of our society are made.

The Univ. of Phoenix offers 3 hour courses. These are much more expensive than taking a 1 hour graduate course or a course for ceu's. Please check www.kdsi.org for Knowledge Delivery System courses. I have taken them and they are perfect for ceu's or 1 hour courses needed to renew your teaching license or increase your status for a pay increase. The courses come to you online and you listen to instructors; who are very entertaining and present common sense information about education. There are questions to answer concerning the topic presented to complete the credit.

Make sure the online school you choose is accredited. Many of the online schools credits are not transferable.

Here are a list of unaccredited schools.

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~Teresa,
Student, mom, wife

ok  since I started this link I guess it would be important to update on where I am and what I have found.  After doing some more research I enrolled in Grand Canyon University for their online program.  Classes are 8 weeks long and are all online.  Cost was not the cheapest but they told me about this new TEACH Grant thing that seems pretty good.  The guy I talked to out there, Trey Loveless was a former teacher and very helpful.  Since they are a ground based campus (since 1950) or something like that, they are recognized in 40 something states and have regional accreditation.  The counselor's number there that I talked to is 866 920 9906. Does anyone know anything else about this school that I may have missed? I am very happy with it so far but always open to option.

I rushed to send in my paperwork for teacher recertification just before the due date.  Sadly, I received notice that I didn’t have as many credits as I thought.  I frantically scoured the internet trying to find quick, inexpensive courses accepted by my state, Georgia.  I happened across KDS (Knowledge Delivery Systems.)  I was able to get the credits I needed from the comfort of my own home for only $60 a course.  I watched an online video, took a quiz and proceeded on to the next lesson.  At the end of the course I sent in a “final” exam and was awarded the credit for that course.  I was able to get the credits needed for my recertification in the short amount of time I had.   Check it out at www.kdsi.org.