Make the post transformative

Try and understand what the transformation is that you want your audience to have after they read your blog post that you’re going to create, it’s about how they are before and after they read it, how they feel and what they got out of it, the transformation. This is a good way for you to outline your blog post for the rest of it. How To Do Your Best Content Creation | 10 Tips

Outline your thoughts

After you have your transformation in mind, working backwards off of it is how you create your outline. Now it doesn’t matter how you end up creating your outline, you can do it using a mind map, I like to use sticky notes. However you chose to do it just make sure that you take the ideas in your head about these particular transformation and just put them all out there and that will help you organize for later, this will be the skeleton for your blog post. Try to have your outline in place before your start writing, it will make life much easier, trust me.

Start by engaging readers

It doesn’t matter what kind of content you are creating, a blog post, an article, etc. The number one thing you have to realize is that you need to start strong. People are gonna go there either because of you or because of the topic and unless you hook them in the beginning they are not gonna want to continue on. The purpose of the intro of your blog post is to keep people reading, the purpose of the first sentence is to get them to read the second sentence and so on. So start strong, well how do you do that? There are a lot of ways to do that but personally I like to start with a story. Human beings love stories and seem to engage more when a story is involved. Make sure the story is relatable to who your transition audience is.

I also love to ask and induce certain questions that may bring out the audience’s curiosity, or you can start out with a really interesting fact or concept that might have been unheard of before. All these things are going to help your readers continue to read on and feel as if there is something worth reading on.

Don’t write in WordPress

OK, you might be wondering what I mean by this and ask yourself, well where do I write my blog post? I recommend against writing in WordPress because of not being able to save your progress frequently and the tendency for it to crash and well what happens then? You will lose everything you have just spent time creating, sad huh?

Be safe with your content creation by using Google Docs. Google docs is free and has an auto save feature which is awesome. It’s also easily accessible and shareable, you can organize your content into separate folders, separate categories and all the sorta stuff to make it really easy to find later and it’s all there in your Google Docs. Another thing when you start is to just write, don’t start editing while you write, just write all you can and clean it up later, that’s why it’s called editing.

Relevant and interesting title

These are very important because these are things people see before they get to your blog post, make sure they are eye catching and appealing to your audience. This has to do with SEO – search engine optimization, truly one of the best ways for organic traffic and very important in content marketing. It will give you the best chance to be found organically through search engines such as Bing, Google, Yahoo, etc. Make sure your title is relevant and makes people want to click by bringing out curiosity. If your title and description are not interesting nobody will click through.

Make your blog post scannable

Don’t make your blog post one big paragraph, give your readers time to breathe by adding white space, which are breaks in your paragraphs. Different section adding to your outline is more eye appealing and makes for better mind bookmarking in a way for your readers.

Use images to break up text

Try to include visuals in your blog post like images, graphs, charts, and all kinds of things to support the points that you’re making in your blog post. Do not go overboard with this, it is very easy to do that so make sure you use your preview button to actually see what this thing looks like in the eyes of your readers, it’s a good way to see if they are placed correctly and if it makes sense.

Do not just add random images, they have to support the whole concept of your post. This is also a text breakup that makes your post easier to read and gives people something nice to look at on a subconscious level almost something memorable. People learn in visual ways now a days so doing all of these things is really beneficial for you in helping you stand out amongst the rest of the bloggers in this world.

Include a call to action

OK, tip #8 is a massively important tip especially if you want results from the blogging that you’re doing. Make sure to include a call to action, it doesn’t necessarily have to be at the end but I do recommend it. Although your call to action can be mentioned throughout your post, at the end seems to be the most rewarding for me when it comes to making money online. Try not to go overboard, 2 call to actions are enough per blog post.

Proofread before publishing

Please proofread out loud, I cannot stress enough how important this tip is. I swear I catch so many mistakes when reading out loud vs when I’m just reading to myself in my own mind. This is the best way in my opinion, your audience will be like hawks, picking apart your mistakes, post by post, day by day. Nobody is perfect so give yourself the best chance to come out with the best quality post you can by proofreading out loud. Also, having someone you know help edit can be to your advantage, highly recommended.

Don’t be a perfectionist

There is no such thing as the perfect blog post, you will hurt yourself by delaying your content from being put out there by trying to strive for perfection, your best bet will be to learn as you go and evaluate your posts later with analytics. I continue to make mistakes to this day as you will not be perfect, so just do your best and experience will come. Take all these tips and put them into action to give yourself a better chance with blogging for whatever your need is. After doing all this, hit publish and do not worry about being perfect.

If you have a comment to share please do. Thank you for reading.

The whole world is running after development, success and career. As on one hand, this speeding world is helping many of its inhabitants to lead an epicurean life, but on the other hand, the same world is becoming the root cause of all their problems in their life. Day-by-day we are sinking into the mire of depression and frustration. In recent years, the term catching phrase is the Post-nuptial depression or PND But what is this Post-nuptial depression or PND. Let us try to illustrate this and find the reasons behind it.

PND can be defined as the mental disorder or the depression that either of the spouses goes through after a certain time of marriage. But doctors say regarding PND that in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, a publication by the American Psychological Association, there is no such word in it. According to the psychologists and psychiatrists, it is only the adjustment problem that creeps in the relationship between the newly married couples. Adjustment problems among the couples are not new but now it is just given a name of PND.

Marriage for a girl is a sacred thing and she cherishes this wish in the heart of her heart for a long time. She always dreams of getting married to a handsome and caring person. She finds her D-day, the happiest moment in her life. Moreover, marriage per se is a very long and hectic process. From the time the marriage fixes to actually it takes place, both the bride as well as her family members go through anxiety. Everyone remains busy with the arrangements and preparations of the marriage. But the girl faces a different kind of anxiety. She remains happy for going to embark on a new life as well as worried to think about those unknown people she is going to live with. For that single day of her marriage she becomes the centre piece of attraction of all people and suddenly after the marriage she gradually loses this attention from everybody starting from her husbands to her in-laws. Then, in most of the families, the bride’s faults are given more attention rather than to her qualities. It seems as if the bride sans any virtue. This change in her life also creates a storm in her mind that destroys her from within. Thus from this point of time, she finds herself alone despite the people around her, and gets depressed and frustrated. Of course, there are variations also.

Similarly men are not spared from this onslaught of this mental trauma. The tremendous work pressure of men is taking toll on their marital bliss. Couples where both the partners are working, due to high job pressure, try to throw household responsibilities at each other. Men start suffering from many diseases like heart troubles, blood pressure, insomnia, angina, ulcers, over eating spells etc. But after battery of tests, the result confirms him to be suffering from depression and nothing else.

This emotional and psychological breakdown can be interpreted as PND. In urban areas the cases of PND is rapidly spreading like an epidemic. Now two career people are getting together through the sacred thread of marriage but both are bringing home their work tensions, which is finally leading to clash, depression, frustration, emotional breakdown and in some cases, even divorce. Both the working couples find themselves unable to strike a balance between their personal and professional lives. A crisis occurs immediately after the wedding bell stops ringing. This is the period when the couples confront an entirely new set of situations which they feel they cannot cope with. The number of cases of depression is on rise every year. A World Health Organization report predicts that by 2020, the depression will become the most prevalent global illness.

The stress of the modern world is the most significant reason for the hike in the cases of PND. Today’s hectic work culture consumes most of the time from an individual that the couples are left with no time to bond and understand each other’s feelings.

PND is seen mostly in the high-income group people. They have more work pressure and stress that gets into their marriage leading to depression, trauma and frustration. In some cases, they even go on the verge of breaking their holy and sacred tie.

Loneliness, like depression also causes PND. The Couples where the bride is a house-wife may find her in the lap of all kinds of luxury, but she misses the most sought-after company of her dear husband. To lead a luxurious life, the husband works very hard whereas he overlooks that on the other hand, he is pushing his wife into a dark well of depression and frustration. Besides there are the excess amount of household and child bearing stress for the wife. In such cases, sometimes the wife becomes withdrawn and uncommunicative and needs a psychological help to get out of this and to restore to the normal life.

PND has no gender bias. It can happen to both male and female. Medical reports suggest that 90% PND patients are from IT and other sunrise sectors where the is a high job pressure.

In these days all are bothered about their own career and thus especially in urban areas, people get married at a late age. Such couples have greater expectations and less adjustment ability. And this, along with the modern day stress, results in sure conflict between the couples. Now young professionals seek social and emotional support at the workplace rather than from their spouse. So this leaves no space for bonding and adjustment between the couples. Moreover, there are huge ego problems leading to clash over petty matters.

Girls who are economically depended over their husbands have own set of problems. Many married women cherish a sense of lagging behind in their sub-conscious mind and this comes out with the slightest spark. Perhaps they feel humiliated in front of working ladies. Despite of her education, her unemployment diminishes her status in today’s society. After their marriage, women want their own space and identity intact. But in some cases, this is hampered. Both her husband and her in-laws want the girl and her habits to change overnight. Moreover, all the duties, sacrifices, adjustments are asked from the newly wed bride. All these combine together lead to tension, clash, depression, frustration etc.

Such psychological problems are decreasing rapidly the tolerance level of the urban society. People make small issues into huge fight. It seems that they have almost forgotten the word “adjustment”.

So it has been noticed that, for many couples, a grand wedding is an invitation to huge problems, just after the wedding bell stops ringing.

A diagnosis of osteoarthritis of the hip generally progresses to the likelihood of requiring a hip replacement in the near future. As the degenerative condition advances, it causes a decreased range of motion, pain, muscle weakness, gait changes, and tight muscles. Specific exercises designed for hip arthritis can help maintain range of motion at your joint, prevent loss of muscle, stretch muscles that will become tight, and lubricate the joint to decrease stiffness and pain. In addition, performing exercises prior to surgery will speed up your recovery post operation.

Goals of a Hip Arthritis Exercise Program – Pre Operation:

There are two main goals to target with a pre operation hip arthritis exercise program. One is strength of the gluteal muscles and the other is to maintain range of motion by working within your pain free range. There are exercises that work both of these goals simultaneously. The gluteal muscles are extremely important to strengthen pre operation because they comprise the stability of the joint. Ironically, arthritis causes pain, decreased range of motion, and therefore less weight bearing which all contribute to atrophy, or shrinking, of the gluteal muscles. Therefore, it is paramount to actively engage in specific strength exercises that target these muscles. Although strength and range of motion are highlighted as the priorities here, cardiovascular or aerobic conditioning is also extremely important. Usually due to pain and decreased range of motion, both walking and overall activity are reduced drastically which negatively lowers an individual’s aerobic capacity. Using stationary bikes or participating in water classes are excellent non weight bearing options to keep your cardiovascular conditioning strong.

Hip Exercises Post Surgery

There are a series of exercises your physiotherapist will guide you through immediately post operation. They will guide you through an exercise program that will be safe with the goal of returning you to full function in daily activities. This program will last up to 6 to 8 weeks post operation. A lot of patients stop the exercises once they are discharged or released from the supervision of their physiotherapy. It is imperative that you continue hip strengthening exercises in a progressive format for at least one year post operation. Patients that have continued with an exercise program consistently for a full year post operation, receive amazing results in functional ability.

Goals of Hip Arthritis Exercise Program – Post Operation:

Follow the exercise program guidelines given to you by your physiotherapist for the first 6 to 8 weeks post operation. The post operation exercise program varies from the pre operation program on three aspects which include the following: range of motion stretches have to be modified to follow restrictions that protect your joint from dislocation, strength exercises will progress to weight bearing, and one leg balance exercises along with gait retraining become a priority. Post surgery, the goal of your exercise program should be to progressively advance your strength exercises, when your body is ready, from isolated muscular endurance exercises to dynamic, functional exercises. Again, the most important muscles to strengthen post operation are your gluteals. Your exercise program should also include quadricep strengthening and core stability exercises. When you are selecting exercises, it is highly advised to select unilateral or one limb exercises in order to make the strength equal across limbs.

The journey your muscles have endured from the pre surgery pain through the operation leaves them tight and contracted in a shortened position. Therefore, stretching is equally important to include in your post operation exercise program. Often the hip flexors, hamstrings, and quadriceps will be tight post operation and need to be stretched. The very exciting aspect of the post operation exercise program is that you are pain free and therefore can gradually increase your cardiovascular training time and intensity to your pre arthritic conditioned level.

When you are disciplined at consistently keeping up with your exercises and gradually progress through incremental stages of exercises, you will notice huge improvements in your cardiovascular, strength, flexibility, balance, gait, and overall functional ability. The importance of engaging in a regular, consistent exercise program both pre and post hip operation will impact your full recovery greatly. A hip exercise program is the best single action you can take to encourage a highly successful return to function post surgery.

From soldier to “disordered.” From warrior to “outpatient.” From hero to “dischargee.” Too many of our military folks, our upstanding Canadian citizens and role models of patriotism and sacrifice are returning to us from overseas different in a way that is earning them labels like “mentally ill” or “mentally disordered.” They are referred to psychologists to talk about their depression, anxiety and their PTSD. They are taking medications and hoping like hell they can ascend from the depths of their memories, shut out the fury of their recent horrifying experiences and descend into a peaceful sleep routine sometime in the near future.

Most military personnel in Canada didn’t ask to go overseas to fight someone else’s war and none of them planned to come back with the haunting memory of it negatively affecting their lives. Are they “disordered, clinical, diagnosable?” Much research supports the fact that the human brain, like the horse’s brain and every other animal brain, has a universal response to life-threatening circumstances. The “different” way that veterans have come back may be “normal” considering where they have been.

At the time of a threat, the human brain reacts similarly to that of a “prey animal.” Neuroscientist Mobbs (2007) conducted a fear-based experiment at the Medical Research Center in Cambridge, England. Mobbs (2007) had subjects play a video game in which they were being hunted by a predator while they were lying in an fMRI scanner. Mobbs found that people experienced a “freeze” response when they first perceived a threat and at this time, the frontal lobes of their brains showed the most activity. Forebrain activity prepares our bodies to act and thinks and strategizes ways to avoid being harmed. It also keeps our midbrains inactive which keeps us from moving so we can stay still and think.

In the experiment, when the predator came closer, the forebrain functions were shut down and the midbrain functions were activated. The midbrain activates our “flight or fight” responses. Our fight/flight response is also controlled by the Sympathetic Nervous System which triggers over 1400 different physiological and biochemical changes in the brain when we perceive a threat, whether real or imagined. Psychological changes include feeling more aggressive, angry and fearful and a long term fight/flight response keeps us in a heightened state of fear and anxiety.

In the brain of a horse, we see the same brain patterns at play. Horses are prey animals and have had to survive in the wild. Whenever a horse experiences anything that it perceives as threatening it triggers into a “freeze” response. This can be anything from a piece of flying plastic to a bicycle on the road. Their ancient brain circuitry results in them being easily startled and when they are, their heads go high into the air which triggers a chemical rush into their brains. The horses freeze and their synapses stop firing. They react by either running away or kicking, biting or stomping the object. They fight orflight. They are keenly “survival skilled” and this served their species well in the last several hundred thousand years.

Hyper-alert veteran and instinct-driven horses are both actively engaged in their primitive survival minds. They are on high alert and share a common understanding for the need for safety. Horses are great mirrors for human emotions. A sensitive horse will feedback feelings of fear, anxiety, sadness or anger in their body posture, movements, position of their heads, breathing, licking and chewing and much more. If people are hiding their true emotions or are incapable of understanding them horses will react to what is really happening and with the right informed and sensitive human helper, people can be assisted to address and deal with what is really going on inside their bodies. The process is not easy, foolproof or immediate but through working with horses, people in “war brain” mode can learn to understand that their condition is a normal response that requires understanding, awareness and a return to peace time.

Since 2007, the United States Department of Veterans Affairs has provided grants for qualified professionals to run equine assisted programs with returning troops from Afghanistan and Iraq. Preliminary results are suggesting that there are statistically significant rates of positive change for those involved in these programs (Wassom, n.d.). The Equine Assisted Growth and Learning Association evaluated treatment of members of the Georgia National Guard where deployments averaged two years or more. The study revealed that 100 percent of soldiers who completed equine assisted therapy had dramatically reduced stress levels. There are many reasons why horses are effective at helping veterans gain insight and understanding while decreasing the negative symptoms caused by combat zone experiences. This topic will be discussed in a follow up article.

Another alternate method for helping soldiers deal with the after effects of war is dog-assisted therapy. Dogs are being recognized as a comfort and support to warriors who have trouble sleeping, nightmares and other fear-based reactions that assisted them in surviving the war zone. The U.S. Defense Department funded a $300,000 study at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington in 2009 that involved partnering servicemen and women who were still exhibiting survival reactions with trained service dogs. 39 people who were exhibiting “survival symptoms” were given service dogs and 82 percent reported a reduction in symptoms (Love & Esnayra, 2009).

There are now more than 100,000 service dogs in the United States some of which are providing assistance to the Nation’s warriors by nudging them when they begin to show signs of panic attacks, calming them by reacting calmly to something the person perceives as a threat or validating the person’s heightened awareness if an actual threat is present. The dogs’ natural reactions to the environment help the combat survivor relearn how to interpret real from imagined threats and give him or her the immediate feedback s/he needs to either relax and calm or fight/flight.

Pacelle (2010) describes the specific benefits of the service dogs to veterans’ as allowing for decreases in medication, increases in sleep and increases in social integration. Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT) is being recognized as an effective therapeutic modality for helping veterans positively readjust to peace time so much so that the first AAT symposium was held at Fort Myer army base in Virginia in late 2009.

Animal assisted healing methods are non-intrusive, non-medicated, natural ways to help our human brains return to balance. It is a fact that when some veterans return home from extended tours of duty there are sometimes unexpected feelings of isolation, anger, fear or grief. Their brains have been soaking in a hormonal bath for months, keeping them “on their toes” and in “high alert” to ensure their survival. Animal assisted programs run by qualified professionals are plentiful in Alberta. There are at least 25 such programs that have been in existence for as long as 15 years. If animal and equine assisted therapies have been researched and found to be unintrusive, effective helping techniques in the United States, then perhaps it is time that the awareness of this helping medium is brought forward to provide further assistance to our Canadian Forces personnel.

Being diagnosed with any cancer nowadays is not necessarily a death sentence but it is certainly life altering. The drugs and treatment protocols that will be pumped into your body along with biopsies, operations and complications take there toll on your bodies ability to muster up the energy that you may have once had for program adherence for a strict exercise routine.

Some people go through several months of staging and grading depending upon the type of cancer and their actual diagnosis. You can imagine is quite an interruption to any normalcy their lives might have resembled Pre diagnosis. Then comes the treatment options, the path to take, financial considerations and for some family planning. Obviously fitting in exercise, meditation or walks all seem like luxuries during these times but should be fit in just as urgently as their treatment protocols when possible for strength building and stress relief.

Once chemotherapy has come into play and hospitalizations often become necessary exercise usually takes a back seat. Unfortunately, most hospitals don’t have a system to integrate exercise into these patients treatment protocols. Even the worst off patients can benefit from mild exercise i.e. walks, relaxation techniques, restorative yoga, chair exercises, light weight lifting, or some form of cardiovascular activity to aid in the reduction in fluid retention and muscle atrophy.

After getting out of the revolving door of multiple hospitalizations the weakness in ones body is immense not to mention a lot of these patients are sent home with aftercare and are still truly ill and incapable of fending for themselves. Medical visits continue for many months if not years. For many patients blood building shots like Neupogen and Epogen are common and painful. Regular monitoring of blood levels called CBC’s are taken to check the status of the white and red blood cells along with other important cells that are informative to the hematologist monitoring the cancer patients prognosis.

So when, how and what kind of exercise does one partake in? There are cancer exercise classes popping up allover the place. Yoga classes for the cancer survivor, swim classes, movement classes but what about a mind body class that can address the emotional turmoil along with building the body back up at the same time. Strengthen the mind and the body will follow!

A whole new level of fitness practitioner needs to be created for cancer survivors who are faced with an aftermath of side effects from Lymphedema after having lymph nodes removed to blood issues such as neutropenia or anemia, Epstein Barr, Chronic Fatigue, or even Recurrent Meningitis or histories or Encephalitis from insulted immune systems.

These Practitioners will be faced with more and more medically challenged people who truly need knowledgable guides to help facilitate their journey back to wellness.

The holiday season is officially upon us, and while this can be an exciting and magical time of year, it can also be a stressful time, especially for parents who have recently gone through a divorce.

Most parents struggle the first few holiday seasons after a divorce or separation occurs as they get used to new schedules and holiday traditions. It can also be very difficult to spend the holidays away from your children. This is especially true around Christmas time.

However, it is important to remember who the holidays are really about: your kids. An article from the Huffington Post recently provided some good tips on how to put the children first and manage parenting time during the holidays and holiday season. A link to this article is posted at the end of this article for you to read.

First, the article said to make sure that the children remain the No. 1 priority. It can be easy to get caught up in your own emotions, wants and needs, but putting the children first means allowing them to spend time with family on both sides of the family and keeping them out of any parenting disputes.

Second, if there is any confusion over who should have the children when, consult your divorce decree. Chances are that the decree provides specific instructions as to what was determined to be in the children’s best interests for dividing holiday time. If you forsee or experience problems it would be wise to talk to your Orlando family or Orlando divorce attorney about your concerns.

Next, it’s smart to start planning out a holiday parenting schedule ahead of time. in advance. With Christmas just a few weeks away, now is the time to establish a holiday parents schedule if you haven’t already done so. Then make sure to let your children and family know what the holiday plans are so that they can feel prepared.

Finally, don’t make the holidays about competing with your ex husband or ex wife. Divorced parents have a tendency to want to “out do” the other parent during the holidays by buying more presents or celebrating more extravagantly, but it’s never a good idea to try to buy your children’s love in any situation including upcoming holidays.

These are great tips for divorced parents to keep in mind over the holiday season. Even though this can be a tough transition in the beginning, rest assured that it will get easier over time after you have created new traditions and memories.

Article link – https://www.huffpost.com/entry/5-tips-for-coparenting-du_b_6136216

With the Internet becoming such a prevalent part of life, it is no wonder that it is steadily becoming a part of the educational experience. This article focuses on online learning how it developed, what factors to consider when developing an online course, the rationale for creating an online learning environment, the different types of online learning and tips for maintaining and optimizing an online course.

Online learning is the use of multimedia tools and technologies (i.e. computers, videos, kiosks) through electronic means to demonstrate and/or teach a concept and/or skill.

Did you know that when you insert a keyword into a search engine that is a method of online learning?

Over 70% of people, use online search sites as a way of conducting secondary research. However, it is up to the web user to determine which information is considered important and reliable. When the results appear on a webpage after a keyword search, most people view results from the first two pages. Using online search is seen as an “unstructured learning environment” since there is no set agenda or sequence for learning (As opposed to a structured learning environment in which the resources (including text and hyperlinks) are in a comprehensive format, such as a webpage or a compact disk (CD).)

Someone may be searching for a particular product. There is no “pre-determined” path or procedure, as long as they find the product. When consumers visit different sites to compare prices, it is a method of online learning. Some people refer friends and relatives to their online “wish-list”. Why? So that they can learn what gifts they want to buy for them.

There are two types of online learning. The first is hands-on synchronous learning environment. This is also known as live, real time learning. Examples of this can be found in online seminars, live chats and conferences.

The other type is asynchronous learning. This type of learning happens at the pace of the computer user. Learning can happen beyond classroom hours. Forums in which that can be done are by emailing the instructor to tips and guidance, by a discussion, bulletin board or submitting assignments by posting then online.

Despite the resources available in today’s world, instructors and institutions alike are not using online learning to its full potential. Close to 90% of educational institutions have access to the Internet ; however only a fraction of instructors are implementing it as part of their curriculum. Another challenge is the “Digital Divide.” Lack of income, limited or no access to a computer and lack of Internet access are factors that contribute to the “Digital Divide.” Students that are on the short end of the divide are may be reluctant to work in a new environment.

Institutions are also not immune to the “Digital Divide.” There is an increasing strain on educational budgets that technology is sometimes considered an afterthought instead of a necessity.

Online learning is not a medium left only for academia. Corporate environments use online learning tools to train employees. Many continuing education, adult education courses and seminars are also held online. Software companies often give periodic training sessions for clients on how to use their products.

To ensure the success of online learning, one should begin planning an online course by establishing the goal and objectives for the course. Once the goal is set, determine how having the course online will help to enhance the class experience in terms of reaching the goal. Is the online medium a tool in which the student will be using actively, or is it a medium, which would be used to display items of interests, i.e. charts, graphics, or video?

Before creating and teaching an online course, it is important to obtain first hand experience in the resource. If one has not taken an online course, it is suggested that one does so. Online courses can last anywhere from half-an-hour and hour to an entire semester or year. When taking an online course, here are some questions to consider:

o How easy and/or difficult is it to navigate (to get around) and explore the website?

o Were you able to access the materials you needed in order to complete tasks/assignments?

o Were there additional resources listed?

o What are your likes and dislikes regarding your online learning experience?

o How responsive was the instructor?

o What aspects and factors can you take into creating your own course?

After you have taken an online course, you then have first-hand primary research as a student in the online learning environment. You can now take the experience and focus on making the online learning environment for your students enjoyable as well as informative.

The first step is to plan the content. What type of content is going to be on the course site?

What content is needed for the course?

o Syllabus

o Assignments

o Lectures

o Assessment Information

(Exams/ Quizzes)

o Submission protocol

o Measuring Student Progress

o Confidentiality Issues

o Instructor’s Information

o E-mail address

o Office Hours

o Credentials

o Phone/ Voicemail

o Resources

o Hyperlinks

o Videos

o Books

o Periodicals

According to the Web Teaching Guide , a good method to use is to take index cards and write on each one what kind on content should be on the site and organize it in an easy to navigate sequence of events.

Once you have the materials organized, its time to figure out how to make the course accessible on the Internet. Below is a listing of routes one can take to get their course online:

o Internal Resources (Institutional/ College/University)

o Equipment (Computers with Internet Access)

o Computer Lab facility

o Publisher Resources: Examine your textbooks.

Some publishers do have online resources that are available to instructors, such as websites and CDs that may be free to use.

o Web space may be available for instructors at their institution. Check with the educational department and/or with the MIS department at your institution.

o External Resources

o If web-hosting space is not available, there are web-hosting packages starting off as low as $5 USD per month. Most web hosts have easy to build templates where all one has to do is insert text, documents and/or images.

o A domain name is also necessary if you are hosting with an independent company. Domain names are typically around $9 USD per year.

When you have the course online, there are still factors to consider.

How receptive will students be to the online format?

Some students may not have the experience learning in an Internet based environment. If this is the case, recommend hands-on training. Many libraries and community centers offer free “Introduction to the Internet” courses that cover the basics from e-mail, searching to surfing.

Does the instructor have adequate time to dedicate to the course, beyond class hours?

If the instructor is not responsive and engaged in using the online medium, how do they expect students to learn to be comfortable in the online environment? It is also recommended to have a variety of methods in which students can communicate in addition to the telephone and office hours. Bulletin Boards, Online Forums, Real-Time seminars, an e-mail group are practical examples. This will train and encourage the students to check the site and participate in bulletin boards and/or forums on the regular basis.

Below are some closing tips that will help in the maintenance and management of an online course.

Closing Tips:

o Take an online course at least once a year.

o Keep your online material updated.

o Be accessible online as well as offline – students tend to ask more questions via e-mail than in the classroom.

o Be open to student feedback, they are helping you to improve the online experience for themselves and other students to come.

Over the last couple of years, many Americans have become buried under a mountain of debt. Most people want to avoid filing bankruptcy at all costs so they make minimum payments and kick the can down the road. At some point in time, it’s inevitable that bankruptcy filing is just around the corner. Why are people waiting so long to file, when deep down they know that there is no other way out? But now there is an alternative to immediate bankruptcy from the US government. These are the same folks that brought us Affordable Healthcare, the IRS, the United States Postal Service, massive debt and the deficit that is impossible to dig ourselves out of. Last week, it was announced that the federal government is going to use the Post Office for payday loans. Now, you don’t have to go to one of the local loan shark payday offices, they just go down to the local post office and sign your life away. If you ask me, it’s complete craziness. Everything the government touches ends up benefiting the few that don’t deserve it and costing Main St., America dearly. The group behind the idea believes the financially strapped Post Office will be able to get themselves out of hock by going into the loan shark business.

In American culture, planning has become a big part of our lives. You see financial planners on TV talking about preparing for the future with a 401(k) or an IRA. Nothing’s wrong with planning, but when you’re in debt the only financial planning a person should be considering is filing bankruptcy, not getting payday loans to get by. Now that the government is planning on making it easier for people to go further into debt instead of out of debt, you can throw all financial planning to the wind. Most Americans are optimistic and always look for short-term solutions rather than the ones that cause them pain and their spending habits. That’s another reason for the popularity of payday loans as they provide an immediate solution and allow the individual to kick the can down the road for another week. The sad thing is, these 300% loans end up taking the individual’s entire paycheck just to pay the interest at some point in time. At that point in time, this person is almost too broke to even file bankruptcy. The good news is, payday loans are dischargeable in bankruptcy so the debtor can get away from them if necessary. At least this is as of now. It wouldn’t surprise me to see the government change the payday loan regulations to something similar as student loans where it is next to impossible to discharge it in a bankruptcy.

When someone becomes overwhelmed with unsustainable debt, instead of using a financial consultant to see what could be done, they should be speaking with a bankruptcy attorney about other debt solutions. Filing Chapter 7 bankruptcy will wipe out all unsecured debt including payday loans and leave many individuals virtually debt-free. This is pretty powerful financial planning when considering that the outcome only takes about 4 to 6 months. There is no other program in the world that offers this kind of results. These results come at a price as most people know that it will take a heavy toll on one’s credit. If you consider the alternatives and already know that an individual filing bankruptcy probably doesn’t have very good credit anyway, it starts looking much better. Before making any kind of decision of what to do, one should add up all of their bills and figure out how long it would take to pay them off if they stop charging today. If it takes longer than five years, the person should seriously consider the possibility that a bankruptcy filing might be around the corner.