If you heard the news about the shipment of smuggled pills from China to South Korea recently, you were surely horrified by its main ingredient: powdered dead babies. Customs officials stopped a shipment of about 17,000 capsules containing the dried flesh from dead fetuses, which are thought to increase stamina. While these pills are seriously disturbing, this isn’t the first time that gross, unconventional ingredients have been put into capsules throughout history. Some of the ingredients are just as creepy — maybe even creepier — than the most recent discovery. Take these seven, for example, with a full glass of water.

1. Bear bile

   In China, South Korea, Laos, Vietnam, and other Asian countries, Asian black bears are kept in tiny cages and “milked” for the digestive juices in their gall bladders. The bile contains ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) which is thought to relieve a variety of problems, from fever to gallstones to epilepsy. To get the bile, the bear farms either legally make a permanent hole in the bear’s abdomen so the bile can drip out, or illegally, they insert metal catheters or rubber tubes into the bear’s gall bladder, a painful method that has been banned. You can find pills and other products made from this bile in traditional medicine shops across the region.

2. Tapeworms

   Because tapeworms are well known for their voracious appetites, taking nutrients and calories from their hosts, they have long been used by men and women desperate to lose weight. Pharmacists are rumored to have sold tapeworms enclosed in capsules in the early 20th century; jockeys supposedly used them to stay ultra-light as did actresses and models. Not creeped out yet? Just wait. Tapeworms can grow up to 20 feet long inside their hosts’ intestines and lay millions of eggs over several years. And the egg sacs can crawl — even out of your anus! You might lose weight, but that pretty much cancels out any attractiveness you gained.

3. Placenta

   It’s someone’s job to turn the placenta, that bloody sac of nutrients that feeds a fetus until it comes out when the baby’s born, into pills for the new mother to take. Based on Chinese medicine and the observation that most mammals eat their placenta, the idea has taken root in America, where placenta encapsulation specialists cook the placenta, dry it out on a jerky maker, and then make into a powder using a coffee grinder. Some people believe that this afterbirth helps energy, milk production, and postpartum depression.

4. Filtered feces

   A certain bacterium that’s found in your digestive tract, Clostridium difficile, can be a problem if it gets out of hand, causing symptoms as minor as diarrhea to the dangerous possibility of colon inflammation. If someone consistently has problems with the bacteria and doesn’t respond to antibiotics, they can consider a fecal transplant, a process where a donor’s stool sample is filtered and then injected into the colon of the patient. Another method, called Autologous Restoration of Gastrointestinal Flora, or ARGF, uses a stool sample from the patient when they’re healthy and stores it until they need it. If the patient develops a C. difficile problem, the filtered feces is freeze-dried and put into a capsule for the patient to consume.

5. Spider webs

   Ague, a form of malaria that caused the sufferer to shiver uncontrollably at times, used to be common in Britain, and local doctors would try all kinds of strange methods to cure it. One of these was recommending the patient take a pill made of compressed spider webs before breakfast each day. Another version of the treatment was to eat the spider itself. There are no records stating whether either method worked.

6. Antimony

   The chemical element antimony (Sb on the periodic table for you science nerds) is a metallic, toxic element with effects similar to that of arsenic. Back in the 1800s when people thought the best way to treat an illness was to just drain it from the system, those effects seemed positive. When people wanted to sweat, vomit, and relieve constipation, they’d take a pill made out of pure antimony. Since it wouldn’t break down in the system, it could be retrieved whole from the person’s feces and reused by that person or his family members, and passed on to future generations. Because of this, it was sometimes known as the everlasting pill.

7. Snakes

   Available all over the Internet, these China-made Trisnake Pills unsurprisingly contain ingredients from three different snakes: the long-nosed pit viper, the many-banded krait, and the black snake. The pills are supposed to help skin health, circulation, and the immune system, as well as aiding sleep and increasing your appetite. For the cure to be most effective, you’re supposed to take about nine pills a day. If consuming that much snake juice doesn’t make you feel creepy-crawly all over, nothing will.

Not so fast, Mom and Dad. Even if you’ve got the most wonderful parents in the world, they’re not always going to know what to say. And they’re probably wrought with insecurity that you’re not in diapers anymore. They probably feel like you don’t need them and, well, you don’t. Feel free to completely ignore these nine awful pieces of advice that parents often impart to their college student children.

1. Be Good

   It’s not that you shouldn’t be good, it’s that you shouldn’t listen to your parents when you make that decision. When you go to college, you’ll be faced with lots of choices and opportunities, both positive and negative. You’ve got to have an internal moral compass that guides you autonomously. There’s not much that you can’t get yourself into in college, but you shouldn’t not do something that you want to do for fear of upsetting your parents. It’s called adulthood. We welcome you.

2. Don’t Bother (or Hook Up With) Your Professors

   While it’s not the greatest idea to be a problem child to your professor, the squeaky wheel often gets the grease. If you don’t understand something, do your best to figure it out on your own, and then don’t be afraid to catch your professor after class (not before, as they’re probably still waiting for their coffee to kick in). You can also visit with them during their posted office hours, or by phone or e-mail. As for hooking up with them, it’s an ill-advised but extremely common phenomenon. And hopefully you’re mature enough to navigate the intricacies of academics and romance without having to call your mother for advice.

3. You Can Do Anything You Put Your Mind To

   In addition to being grammatically suspect, this statement boasts a bevy of problems. It’s simply the truth: you really can’t do anything that you put your mind to. While you should never sell yourself or your abilities short, and being humble has its limits (whereas focused determination has very few), make sure that you’ve chosen to study a field that brings you both happiness and success. If you’re not good at something, do a skills assessment to figure out where your talents truly lie.

4. Follow Your Heart

   Loving what you do is important, but your heart may be impractical. Find a balance between what you love and what you’re good at, and be methodological as well as creative when you’re making tough life choices. While your parents definitely want to encourage your interests, you might be better off majoring in something that you’re particularly talented at, whether it’s fun or not. It’s not too many people’s dreams, for example, to become an insurance adjuster, but the money’s good and can provide you with the life that you want. Follow your long-term-minded gut rather than giving in to every whimsical impulse that floats your way during your college years.

5. Work Hard

   And you absolutely should. But besides for killing yourself with classes, college is the prime time to figure out what type of adult that you’re going to be, and in what areas you can make work easier by working smartly. College is about deepening skills and knowledge in a field (or two), just as much as it’s about learning how to balance work and life with very little supervision. Don’t stay home on Saturday night to read if there’s a study group that meets on Wednesday. Take advantage of collaborative projects and do your very best, but don’t get wrapped up in overkill; you’ll eventually resent sacrificing your entire life to memorize textbooks. Note:This does not apply to graduate students.

6. Don’t Drink. Don’t Do Drugs

   Seriously? Don’t do drugs. But don’t let your parents make that choice for you. College campuses are ripe with parties centered around binge drinking and getting loaded on god-knows-what, but you’re old enough (and, hopefully, smart enough) to make decisions about your own health. If you’re struggling with whether or not experimentation is something that you want to try, don’t let your parents’ opinions shape your future. You’ll end up resenting everyone, including yourself. Be aware that your brain is still developing, and you can really screw it up by flooding it with substances that alters its makeup and function. Abstain from things that harm you because you respect yourself, not because that’s what Mom thinks you should do.

7. Get A Job

   While it can certainly be beneficial (and sometimes necessary) to work through your college years, that’s not a blanket concept that, um, works for everyone. If you’re a new college student, it’s important to figure out how well and quickly you can accomplish your academic goals for your classes, and it’s important not to skimp on study time. Don’t use this as an excuse to be lazy and to not diversify or augment your life, but make sure that you’re setting yourself up for success in whatever you do. Having to split brain power between a job and tough courses can take its toll, and you’ve got to make your education a priority. That being said, remember the words of The Big Lebowski:

8. Don’t Turn Out to Be Gay

   Unless you’re the star student at a backwards Bible college, this is absolute bar-none worst parental advice ever. It’s imperative to love and honor your parents, but you don’t have to agree with everything that they say. And if they’re encouraging you in any way not to be “different,” that’s cause for concern. If you’re struggling with your sexuality (or any identity issues), make sure that you’re kind to yourself — and understand that there’s an entire world of people out there who have the ability to love and accept you, just the way you are. Turn out to be the most authentic version of yourself, and take heart that you’re honoring your parents by being a well-adjusted, happy, super gay grown-up.

9. Move Home For The Summer

   Absolutely not. When you move home for the summer, you’ve got to deal with conflicting issues of your newfound independence and your old teenaged life. You might have a curfew, you might upset your parents, and you might just not have as much fun as you would doing something else. Consider getting a university job, studying abroad, or obtaining an internship to further your personal goals. Your mom might do your laundry best, but don’t cave and make her do it forever.

1. You Flunked All Your Classes

   If you forgot the part about bringing your brain back from Spring Break, you probably didn’t do so hot in Calculus this semester. If you need to boost your GPA, taking a few extra classes in the summer can prove a crucial step in getting you back on track. And be sure not to slack in the summer as you did in spring — summer school classes are faster paced and require attendance almost every day.

2. Because House Got Canceled

   Note: This also goes for fans of One Tree Hill.
   Another Note: Are there any fans of One Tree Hill?After eight great seasons, the doctor is now out. If your favorite show just ended and it won’t be coming back, now’s a great time to turn off the boob tube and knock out a couple of credits so that you can show your parents/scholarship board that you’re actually doing something with your life. Immersion in your studies is a great way to deal with the pain of losing some of your favorite TV friends, and the rag-tag set of summer school kids might provide more entertainment than the ones you know on-screen. (OK, probably not. But you’ve got a DVR for a reason. Get yourself to class.)

3. You’re the Best Student Ever

   Are you that freak with the 15 majors? Do you want to take Tai Chi while also studying International Diplomacy and taking Advanced String Theory? Wow, you are so smart and special. If you want to get ahead in school (and in life), studying while others play is a great way to do it. If you’re interested in interning, graduating early, or just want some extra credits, getting ahead is a great way to spend your summer vacation, you plucky little overachiever, you.

4. You Hate Sunshine and Vacation

   If you’re a mouth-breathing misanthrope that plays on the Internet at all hours instead of making IRL friends, summer school might be exactly your bag. If course workload isn’t your issue, but social awkwardness (or the lack of a beach bod) is, go ahead and get those extra courses out of the way. You get to be inside, and you don’t have to wear a swimsuit. You don’t even have to smile about it, because you’ll be in summer school! What could be better for the continually grumpy vampire? Note: If you’re an actual vampire, summer school is definitely your best bet. No one wants your searing flesh harshing on their beach party, dude.

5. You Want to Travel

   College is a perfect time to experience the world, more perfect still if you’re on someone else’s dime. If you want to travel, but you’re not sure where to go, try to make a summer-long learning experience of it! Many college kids have enjoyed their times abroad, and you’ll get to work and play in a completely new, international environment. Bonus: You avoid going home, staying put, and you’ll have some great stories to tell if you do it right.

6. Because It’s Cheaper

   If you go to an expensive private college, the smarter students will take easily transferable summer courses at more reasonably priced universities. And if certain classes are notoriously hard at your expensive private school, you could easily knock them out over the summer at a different place. While you may not be getting a tan, you could be saving some money and more than a little stress.

7. You Don’t Want to Get a Job

   If you don’t want to work through your summers, party study through it. If you’re not the type that wants to spend your sun-filled days gloriously lifeguarding or breaking your back interning, it’s OK to buckle down and get ahead in school. Beware of this, though: if you’re successful in summer school, it’s likely you’ll have a more demanding career in the future!

There are many reasons learners choose the cloud for their education. One of the biggest reasons being time.  We all need more of it and the abundance of time sucks on the web are never willing assistants along your educational path. The goal of saving minutes and flexible scheduling with online learning is often hard to meet if the learner isn’t self-motivated and armed with organization skills to make the journey a success.  Fortunately, there are many web-based tools that can help students get organized, thereby helping to fulfill the promise of online learning to save time and even lighten the stress on our shrinking stock of discretionary hours. Here are some of my favorites that I currently recommend to online students at the high school, undergraduate, and graduate levels.

Google Calendar
One of the best ways to keep your schedule tight and orderly.  If you are new to Google Calendar start with this useful introductory video from the folks at Google. Some of the best features include the seamless integration from PC to tablet to mobile phone and of course the sharing and visibility features we have come to love from all of the Google Apps. Even more, the ability to stack color-coded calendars on top of each other in one viewing frame makes it easy to organize your personal, academic, and career events in one place.  For an in depth look at Google Calendar check out this webinar from the Apps team presented by Vinnie Vrotney.

Evernote
This little gem of an app is perfect for gathering ideas, resources, notes, and more on the fly for your online classes.  Whether you are taking notes in a lecture, scouring the web for creative ideas, or quickly jotting down a phone number Evernote makes it happen.  It is also available in a mobile and web-based version, making access seamless and available almost everywhere. As a bonus be sure to check out Evernote’s Noteworthy blog to stay on top of new tools in the Evernote family such as Skitch and other great news in the web2.0 world.

Doodle
Even online learners will have to find times to collaborate face to face with classmates or instructors.  We’ve already reviewed how busy our lives are – now try to match that schedule with 5 others to meet. You can quickly be overrun with emails, attachments, text messages, tweets, and other other scattered pieces of information.  Bring everyone to one efficient and clean planning tool at the Doodle site.  You supply attendees with a range of time options and everyone gets to choose the slots that work for them making the scheduling process automated and getting us back to the goal of saving time. See Doodle’s video page over at Vimeo for more.

Google Alerts
The promise of the “new web” has been easier access to information and that means less work to get the data I want.  For me, that means automation and bring the news I need to me.  Another simple tool to save time for e-learners is Alerts from Google. This simple tool let’s you ask Google to send new search results to your inbox periodically so you can stay informed on the topic.  So if you are doing action research on flipped classrooms, tracking an oil spill, following news for a blog trend you are working on, or any other situation where having information delivered to you is beneficial then this simple solution is what you need. Bonus – check out this helpful blog post to set up Google Alerts that will track you and your name online keeping everything on the up and up for when you are looking for new career opportunities.

Below, we have gathered 15 surefire tips and tools to help you become a successful online student. Better than the old practice of going to the library, not quite to the point of having your own holographic computer, they can help you with everything from picking a school to cramming for a test.

Surefire Tips to Be a Successful Online Student

These expert tips are sure to help any student, especially those taking classes online.

1. Learn More About Online Learning
   If you are an online student, the last thing you may want to use the internet for is more learning. However, the expertise independent study teacher Jamie Littlefield brings to her blog makes it all easy and manageable. She has tips on how to find an online school, where to get bargain textbooks, and much more.
2. Online Strategy
   Because even in-person students have strategies, stop here for one just for online students. Provided by DistanceLearn, you can get advice such as what makes a successful online student, virtual training sites, and even email etiquette. There is also an FAQ with more.
3. How Students Develop Online Learning Skills
   Because online study skills have to be developed just like traditional ones, click here. It is a guide from Educause, which many teachers and students turn to for help. They give seven essential tips including time management, online discussions, and motivation.
4. Time Management for Online Learners
   Get a guide to time management from Project Working Mom. You don’t have to be a working mom, just an online student, to get surefire tips. However, moms who find themselves back in school can also use the blog to find loads of scholarships and other resources.
5. Create a Study Space
   Online students can often study on the same sofa they watch television or play video games on. However, you can find loads of tips for making a special study space online. This is one of the better ones from Grace Fleming, who urges students to tailor the space to their preferences.
6. Eliminate Distractions
   It seems just about every piece of technology has its own annoying way of disturbing you right when you get into the heart of your online studies. In this entry for Freelance Switch, Leo Babauta discusses how to eliminate life’s new and old tech ways of distracting you. There are also many other tips for productivity on the blog.
7. Check What’s New
   Just as new online study tips come out, so do new blogs about it. The experts at Online Learning Tips are already there. They have many blogs written by and for the online student. This one in particular has loads of tips, the latest of which includes “Find Your Niche and Apply it to Your Studies.”

Surefire Tools to Be a Successful Online Student

Use these free tools to make online learning easier than ever.

8. Student Planner
   Even online students need planners, but they can also find them online here. The site for students by students has an online scheduler that can be far more useful than just jotting down stuff. There is a free plan with loads of options, or you can subscribe for only $15 a year.
9. Treepad
   This freeware is essential for any online student or productive person with lots of tasks but little cash. It is used to store, edit, search, organize, and browse any type of textual information: notes, emails, articles, links, and much more. Download with a click, or learn more on their site.
10. Notely
    Need to store or share notes with another online student? To keep meeting IRL down, why not check out a site like Notely? You can store all your notes to your own account and share with others.
11. Note Mesh
    With a tagline of “collaborate to graduate,” this site is worth a visit. It is a free service that allows college students in the same classes to share notes with each other. You can even visit to see if your own online classroom is already featured.
12. Today’s Meet
    Take the above to the next notch with a visit here. Today’s Meet can create a virtual meeting space for you and other students. Simply Create a Room to begin..
13. My Stickies
    Post-its are so old school. Check out these virtual versions of the sticky notepaper that is totally free. You can put stickies anywhere on your computer’s hard drive or even on the web to view later or as bookmarks.
14. Quizlet
    Need some study tools but don’t want to drive down to your actual school? Then stop here to get one of the best online ways to study almost anything. Thousands of other online students stop by to create and share flashcards and other learning resources on every topic imaginable. Create your own or download your favorites from the site.
15. Dropbox
    The last thing you need when all your work is complete is to lose it all. Use the Dropbox site to upload all your assignments, documents, images, and more should the worst ever happen. Many schools even work with Dropbox and it is compatible with mobile devices and popular sites like Facebook and Twitter.

And the above 15 surefire tips to be a successful online student are just the beginning. There are also loads of answers on the internet for students interested in items such as where to get online college reviews and what to make of college rankings.

This collection was gathered from a wide variety of universities. Be sure to check for other collections available from these institutions.

Digital Collections

1. Appalachian State University: Free access to rare and historic material, including the Abrams Folksong Collection.
2. Brigham Young University: This digital collection is small, but there are links to partnerships with other digital collections.
3. Brown University Library Center for Digital Scholarship: Brown chooses their “Signature” collections for their comprehensiveness and uniqueness, as well as their significant public value.
4. Columbia University Libraries: This digital collection includes various items and information about their e-book digitization program.
5. Cornell University Library: Browse through this grouping of selected digital collections of historical significance.
6. Duke University Libraries: Digitized historic photographs, advertisements, texts & more from Duke’s unique library collections.
7. Harvard University Library: Browse through a selection of Web-accessible collections from Eastern Asian botanical images to over 1,000 digitized maps and atlases.
8. Jacksonville State University Houston Cole Library: This digital collection contains a number of items that might delight a family or social historian who focuses on this region.
9. Michigan State University: The Digital and Multimedia Center makes special items from the library available online. It is believed that all of the works in this digital collection are in the public domain and not restricted by copyright.
10. Ohio State University Libraries: The materials on this Website have been made available for use in research, teaching and private study.
11. Princeton University Library: This web site chronicles Princeton’s digitalization efforts and provides a way to search the library’s Digital Collections.
12. Rutgers University Libraries: This collection contains library projects, open access journals and links to two other digital centers.
13. Southern Methodist University: SMU’s Central University Libraries (CUL) includes the online digital collections from the six Central University Libraries.
14. Syracuse University Library: Gain access to a number of collections, including WWII songs from the Belfer Audio Laboratory and Archive.
15. Tufts University:This library carries collections to support teaching, research, and administrative needs.
16. University of Cambridge: This library offers several important image collections online, including the Gutenberg Bible.
17. University of North Carolina: These collections place an emphasis on North Carolina and the American South.
18. University of Washington: This site features materials such as photographs, maps, newspapers, posters, reports and other media from the University of Washington Libraries, University of Washington Faculty and Departments, and organizations that have participated in partner projects with the UW Libraries.
19. University of Wisconsin: Gain free access to digital resources that support the teaching and research needs of the UW community.
20. Yale University Library: The cross-collection search at this site retrieves results from over 500,000 images.

Library Access

21. Digital South Asia Library: The University of Chicago presents materials for reference and research on South Asia to scholars, public officials, business leaders, and other users.
22. Georgetown University Library: This university offers articles, databases and journals, rare books and archives.
23. HighWire: Stanford University offers journals published online with the assistance of HighWare Press.
24. Indiana University Digital Library Program: The Indiana University Digital Library Program (DLP) is dedicated to the production, maintenance, delivery, and preservation of a wide range of high-quality networked information resources for scholars and students at Indiana University and elsewhere.
25. Internet Archive: Search for university collections at this archive, including Purdue, Cornell, Tufts and Harvard.
26. Miami Christian University: Gain access to many of the largest online repositories of theological books, journals and research tools.
27. Scholars Lab: Formerly the EText Center, this University of Virginia Library resource is not fully operational yet. Some collections have migrated to other sources, many listed here. Also, many of the resources once available on Etext are now available via VIRGO, the primary access point for all U.Va. Library digital texts and images.
28. St. Stephen’s University: Online resources include free electronic texts, articles, history sourcebooks and reference resources.
29. University of Hawai’i at Manoa Library: Gain access to full texts of books, journals and collections through this library.
30. University of Texas at Austin: Some items are restricted to UT Austin users.

International Libraries

31. British History Online: Created by the Institute of Historical Research and the History of Parliament Trust to support academic and personal users around the world.
32. Carrie: Lynn H. Nelson, Emeritus Professor of History, University of Kansas, created this full-text electronic library housed at the European University Institute, Florence, Italy.
33. Nagoya University Library: This collection is small, but significant, offering items such as the Takagi Family Documents and the Ito Keisuke Collection (father of modern Japanese botany).
34. National Library of Ireland: View over 33,000 images from the Lawrence (Royal & Cabinet), Poole Whole Plate and Independent Newspapers (1912 -1936), Clarke, Eason, Keogh, Stereo Pairs and Tempest glass plate collections.
35. The British Columbia Digital Library: This link leads to collections of electronic texts preserved through libraries, archives, museums and corporate or private initiatives.
36. The Oxford Text Archive: View full texts of materials in this electronic literary and linguistic resource for use in higher education, research, teaching and learning.
37. The Swiss National Library: View items such as newspapers, posters, artwork and journals through this Internet-accessible library collection.
38. TITUS: This server is a joint project centered on Indo-European Studies (including Middle Iranian, Tocharian etc.) in electronic form.
39. University of Oxford e-Resources: This online university library contains a number of resources available to the general public.
40. University of Zurich: This university uses the Open Access respository ZORA for articles and journals.

Special Collections

41. Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library: The University of Georgia offers this collection, with links to other resources.
42. Historical Maps Online: The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign offers maps charting the last 400 years of historical development in Illinois and the Northwest Territory.
43. Lehigh University Special Collections: These collections include art, environmental education and other exhibits.
44. News and Newspapers Online: This is a free service of the University Libraries of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
45. Rutgers University Special Collections and University Archives: View photographs, prints, rare books and genealogical resources.
46. Tulane University Special Collections: This collection includes the Hogan Jazz Archive and Southeastern architecture.
47. University of Arizona Library Special Collections: This collection of rare books and unique archival materials make possible in-depth research on selected topics possible.
48. University of Michigan Human Rights Library: Use free materials that documents human rights globally in several languages.
49. University of Notre Dame Rare Books & Special Collections: One of the few university collections about the Inquisition, among other topics.
50. Vanderbilt University Special Collections and Archives: View rare books, manuscripts, photographs, and memorabilia.

The following list is categorized alphabetically by surname.

1. Emily M. Bender, PhD, is an assistant professor at the University of Washington. She received the 2009 R1edu Award for Distinguished Faculty Contributions to Online Learning and was recognized for her groundbreaking work in development of the UW online master’s degree program in computational linguistics. Her current research projects include the LinGO Grammar Matrix, an open-source toolkit designed to jump-start the diverse language development.
2. Curtis J. Bonk is a professor at Indiana University and adjunct in the School of Informatics. He also is president of CourseShare. Drawing on his background as a corporate controller, CPA, educational psychologist, and instructional technologist, Bonk offers unique insights into the intersection of business, education, psychology, and technology.
3. Sir John Daniel is president and chief executive offices of the Commonwealth of Learning in Canada. He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth for services to higher education in 1994 and holds 30 honorary doctorates from universities in 17 countries. His internship with the UK Open University in 1972 opened his eyes to the future of higher education, including distance learning.
4. Stephen Fireng is the president and chief executive officer for Embanet-Compass Knowledge Group, a non-profit university launching and growing only online programs. Prior to this position, Mr. Fireng managed a portfolio of almost $1 billion in revenues and led the launches of Career Education Corporation’s University and Art & Design Groups’ online universities, expanding them from 3,000 to 32,000 students in five years.
5. Anne Gaskell currently is based at the Open University’s center in Milton Keynes with a university-wide role as assistant director, Teaching and Learner Support. She is responsible for the support and professional development of the OU’s 7,800 part-time tutors and have a major role in ensuring that they are provided with appropriate skills and pedagogical expertise to work online.
6. Pam Knight provides a wealth of experience in educational training and instructional technology in her position as executive consultant for ISIS Multimedia in Austin, TX. She offers a client-centered focus on learning strategy, content and visual design and more in interactive media, including video and audio media elements.
7. Tanya Knight is one of the country’s leading experts on student retention, recruitment, college admissions and student motivation. As a past Senior Admissions Officer and Director of Corporate Development, Tanya has successfully helped many colleges retain and enroll students. Additionally, she has worked with parents and students in the process of college admissions.
8. Maria Kostina is a PhD candidate and online professor and developer at Blended Schools and an online professor at Kendall College. Her focus is on the Russian language, and she looks at both the language and its cultural identity for foreign students. She has served as a Russian instructor and also as an ESL instructor at Coe College.
9. Michael P. Lambert has served as the executive director of the Distance Education and Training Council, a national accrediting body for distance education programs, since 1992. He joined the DETC staff in 1972. Over the years he has served on more than 400 accreditation review committees in five countries. Mike also has taught, written and lectured widely on distance education and accreditation.
10. Steve Lawrence is a senior staff research scientist at Google. Before joining Google, he was a senior research scientist at NEC Research Institute in Princeton, NJ. Dr. Lawrence works in information retrieval and machine learning, and is the creator of Google Desktop. Dr. Lawrence has received widespread international press, and his research interests include information retrieval, digital libraries, and machine learning.
11. Trey Martindale is an associate professor in the Instructional Design and Technology program in the College of Education at the University of Memphis, TN. Dr. Martindale is also Director of the Instructional Design and Technology Studio. The Studio is a research and development center for the design of learning environments, performance support, and instructional resources. He also is the associate director of the Advanced Distributed Learning (ADL) Workforce Co-Lab.
12. Thomas Nixon is an author and online writer. His writings include Complete Guide to Online High Schools, Bears’ Guide to Earning Degrees by Distance Learning, Bears’ Guide to Earning High School Diplomas Nontraditionally and Bears’ Guide to the Best Education Degrees by Distance Learning.
13. Warren Redman is an author, counselor, life coach, trainer and facilitator. He founded the Emotional Fitness Institute (formerly known as the Centre for Inner Balancing) in England, and is now practicing in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. He holds a degree in philosophy, social science and psychology. He has authored fifteen books, including the Award-winning The 9 Steps to Emotional Fitness and his latest, Recipes for Inner Peace.
14. David Riklan David is a self-professed self-improvement junkie — and proud of it. He is the president and founder of Self Improvement Online, Inc., the leading provider of self-improvement and personal growth information on the Internet. He founded his company in 1998 and now maintains five Web sites on health, finances, relationships, spirituality and personal success.
15. Anne Marie Tharpe, PhD, is professor and Chair of the Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences (DHSS) at Vanderbilt University. She also conducts Central Michigan University/Vanderbilt University distance-learning doctor of audiology program, and the First Years distance-learning program for early interventionists working with children with hearing loss at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.
16. Brad Voeller founded the Global Leadership Institute, Inc. in 2000. Through this work, he trains young people around the world to use distance and accelerated learning methods to become the next generation of global entrepreneurs and leaders. He has participated in numerous projects designed to encourage creative learning, student responsibility, Biblical worldview study, and excellence in coaching.
17. Jenny Watt, MSEd is a certified online instructor and has been developing and teaching online courses for 9 years. She started developing online classes when she was working at her local community college. She has over 10 years experience in teaching at the college level and now designs classes for Interactive Online Classroom, led by instructors who are trained in the skills needed to teach students in an online environment.

1. An article that will make you think twice about college is “The Education Scam” at techrepublic.com. This is a place where the writer’s opinion is that lies have been circulating about the value of a college degree, 1) that granting everyone a college education would eliminate poverty (there simply aren’t enough jobs available to make this true), and 2) that a college degree is necessary to get a good job.
2. If you are thinking in very practical terms, you might want to see what the reasoning is here. An article by John Leo entitled “Do We Need More College Grads” is armed with statistics to show that college education, in many cases, has “come to nothing.” Out of 50 million college grads in the United States, 17.4 million are working in jobs for which a college education is seen as unnecessary. For example, the number of food servers with college degrees more than doubled between 1992 and 2008.
3. Meanwhile, President Obama is busy working on improving higher education in America. An article in the Huffington Post describes his appearance at the University of Texas to talk about his plan to increase the number of Americans between the ages of 25-34 with college degrees from 40 percent to 60 percent by 2020. He wants to make America the world leader in higher education again, as it used to be.
4. An article in the Chronicle of Higher Education has more statistics about those 17 million degree-holders who are working in menial jobs, offering these as evidence that we are “overinvesting” in higher education at least in this respect. There are 5,057 janitors in the US with PhDs, other doctorates, or professional degrees. The article does admit that higher education has a “consumption” as well as an investment function; students may enjoy college, and it may raise their self esteem. Still, college may not be a good investment.
5. However, another article states that the US must dramatically raise the number of college graduates to be remain a world economic leader. Other countries like South Korea, Canada, and Japan are significantly ahead of the United States in the percentage of the population that has graduated from college.
6. Another article mentions the “sky-is-falling” fact that the US has fallen to 12^th in the number of college grads but goes on to talk about the state of secondary education — the fact, for example, that 3.3 million Americans between the ages of 16 and 24 are not enrolled in high school, do not have a high school diploma, or a GED. This is supposed to be an argument against the College Board’s “college-going culture.”
7. The College Board’s website has a section called “Supporting a College-Going Culture.” This article states, “A college education provides a life of options, rather than of limitations.” The column is intended for high school guidance counselors, who are asked to “make your high school a place where college is the next step for everyone.” A college-going culture encourages the following values: “appreciation of academics, desire to succeed, and a drive to…become a life-long learner.”
8. But Mercator.net finds that while 70 percent of high school grads will have begun some form of higher education this past fall, most will not graduate, as in the past, most have not graduated. It simply is not true, for example, that all people have the same intellectual ability, or ability to handle college.
9. Ken Mondschein agrees that perhaps access to higher education should be limited. But he doesn’t think we should look at a college education in purely economic terms. Maybe those 5,057 janitors are making more money than adjuncts. And maybe slinging hash and reading Nietzsche are not mutually exclusive. It just isn’t all about profits for investors and big money for the grads themselves. Or is it?
10. An article in Slate informs us that law schools are spitting out too many lawyers, that they’re not getting jobs, and that they’re not happy. Many are unemployed and in debt, and feel they’ve wasted three years getting older.
11. An article in The Education Front agrees with Obama. A college education is a ticket to a decent job, even in these tough economic times, and being 12^th just isn’t good enough; we need more college grads. Easier said than done, though.
12. In Corporate Voices, the statistic is cited that unemployment for college grads is about half that of non-college grads. But Ben Bernanke, the chairman of the Federal Reserve, says that educational differences are not the root cause of employment inequality. Though a college education is better than no college education, still education is not the way out of the economic crisis.
13. But the Washington Post quotes Obama some more. The answer is to make college affordable for everyone. Preparing graduates to succeed in the bleak economy which is a given right now. To this end, the government has revamped the student loan system.
14. “College Graduates are Really Screwed,” says 24/7 Wall St. The impact of the recession will last well into the future, and college grads will earn 17.5 percent less per years than people who graduated in better labor markets.
15. A New York Times editorial interprets Ben Bernanke differently. “Educational differences” are a root cause of employment inequality. Still, “more college” is too easy an answer.
16. Ben Bernanke does an interview on 60 Minutes in which he cites the data he uses to come to the conclusion about employment inequality, as related to educational differences.
17. Another article addresses the question of whether entrepreneurs need college degrees. PayPal founder Paul Thiel is giving grants to lure high school graduates into business; will they be more successful than MBAs?
18. The Chronicle of Higher Education has an article called “More College Graduates Needed,” in which a study is quoted that concludes the Bureau of Labor Statistics forecasts underestimate the number of future jobs that will require college degrees.
19. Just for fun, you can read about the 20 Worst-Paying college degrees of 2010. You would have to have something other than money in mind to aim for one of these.
20. And finally, in a column called “It Just Ain’t So,” George Leef debates “The More College Graduates the Better?” He doesn’t think so.

It is entirely up to you to decide whose arguments are the more persuasive. If you want to make six or more figures, or you want to know the ins and outs of existentialism, college may be for you. But policymakers could pay attention too, and the availability of a college education could be affected as a result.

This list is ordered alphabetically by surname.

1. Andrew S. Clark is CEO and founder of Bridgepoint Education, deemed one of the fastest-growing private education companies in the U.S., as well as the fastest-growing private company in San Diego by Inc. Magazine. Formed in 1999, Bridgepoint purchased The Franciscan University of the Prairies in 2005 and changed the name to Ashford University. In 2007, Bridgepoint acquired the Colorado School of Professional Psychology, now known as University of the Rockies. Count on more acquisitions in the future.
2. Dr. Michael K. Clifford, a founding partner of Grand Canyon University, is an education entrepreneur. Inspired by Dr. Bill Bright, founder of Campus Crusade for Christ, Dr. Clifford bases his higher education philosophy on “Four Gospels of Higher Education,” including full and equal access to education, affordability, timely and relevant education and purposeful and ethical motivations for students. Grand Canyon Education Inc., which operates Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, went public in November 2008.
3. Bill Clinton is founder of the William J. Clinton Foundation and 42nd President of the U.S., but he also is an Honorary Chancellor of Laureate International Universities — a network of institutions of higher education in 24 countries. Luareate Education, Inc. and Laureate Education Asia, Ltd. own and operate the for-profit campus-based and online universities throughout the LIU network. The organization began in 1998 as Sylvan Learning Systems, Inc.
4. André J. Cointreau is not Madame Elisabeth Brassart, but he accomplished what Brassart did not — which was to expand the l’Ecole de Cuisine et de Pâtisserie Le Cordon Bleu, better known as Le Cordon Bleu, from one school in Paris into a multinational concern with nearly 30 schools in 15 countries. Cointreau, a descendant of the founding family of the Cointreau liqueur and Rémy Martin Cognac, purchased the school from Brassart — an old family friend — in 1984, and now serves as the president of Le Cordon Bleu International.
5. Dr. Herman A. Devry (1876-1941), an aviator and inventor, founded the DeVry Corporation and co-founded the DeVry Institute of Technology in 1931. Bell & Howell acquired the institute, which was then acquired by the Keller Graduate School in 1987. Renamed DeVry Inc., the company went public in 1991. Today, DeVry Inc. owns and operates DeVry University, Keller Graduate School of Management, Ross University, Becker Professional Review and Stalla Review. In 2010, Devry Inc. was added to Standard and Poor’s, replacing a bankrupt General Motors.
6. Major James P. Etter formed the American Military University (AMU) in 1991, which began operation in 1993 with 18 students enrolled in graduate-level studies. Two years later, the school was accredited and, in 1996, AMU introduced its first undergraduate programs. In 2002, AMU expanded into the American Public University System (APUS), also accredited. Today Etter serves as CEO, helping students find flexible education options.
7. Specs Howard, born Jerry Liebman, spent three decades entertaining audiences in Cleveland and Detroit via radio before he created the Specs Howard School of Broadcast Arts in Southfield, Michigan in 1970. In late 2009 the Specs Howard School of Broadcast Arts became the Specs Howard School of Media Arts and Specs opened a new film school in Farmington Hills, Michigan that same year. Specs has been honored with many awards for his achievements.
8. Stanley Kaplan (1919-2009) was a scholastic test preparation pioneer who founded Kaplan, Inc. in 1938. In 1984, Stanley Kaplan sold his company to The Washington Post Company for $45 million. The Washington Post Company subdivided the acquisition into Kaplan Higher Education, Kaplan Professional Schools and Kaplan Test Prep and Admissions and Kaptest Europe. In 1986, Mr. Kaplan and his wife established the Rita J. and Stanley H. Kaplan Family Foundation which supports education, health, the arts, social action and Jewish causes.
9. Ted Mitchell is the president and CEO of NewSchools Venture Fund and also serves as President of the California State Board of Education. Since its founding, NewSchools Venture Fund has made portfolio-level investments in 35 nonprofit and for-profit organizations, including nonprofit charter management organizations (CMOs), school support organizations, accountability and performance tools, and human capital providers. Their continued commitment to education has helped develop the field and support organizations with similar goals.
10. Stephen G. Shank, JD founded the corporate entity that would become Capella Education Company, the parent company of Capella University, which went public in 2006. A former CEO of Tonka Corporation, Shank joined forces with Dr. Harold Abel in 1993 to found The Graduate School of America, which became Capella University. Shank retired in 2009, but his vision to expand access to high quality education continues through the Shank Institute for Innovative Learning, a nonprofit organization that supports advancements in higher education.
11. Howard Shultz, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Starbucks Coffee Company, also has quietly invested in for-profit education through venture capital company, Maveron, which he also co-founded. Maveron was an early investor in Capella Education (see Stephen Shank above) and recently invested in other higher education businesses that focus on providing educational content, such as Latimer Education and the online-curricula-building entity, Altius Education, Inc.
12. Dr. John G. Sperling is credited with leading the U.S. for-profit education movement. His fortune is based upon founding the University of Phoenix, which is now part of his publicly-traded Apollo Group. Today, Apollo Group, Inc., through its subsidiaries, University of Phoenix, Apollo Global, Institute for Professional Development, College for Financial Planning and Meritus University, has established itself as a leading provider of higher education programs for working adults by focusing on servicing the needs of the working adult.
13. Yife Tien‘s father, Paul Tien, started the American University of the Caribbean (AUC) medical school in 1978. He lent $30 million to his son, Yife, to open the Rocky Vista University, which caters to osteopathic physicians for primary care. Yife zeroed in on Colorado as a good site because there are 5 million residents and only one medical school. Currently, the college has been granted provisional accreditation from the American Osteopathic Association Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation.

The good news is that online games do not necessarily mean brain decay. Indeed, you could actually get a little help boosting your brain power for your university assignments with a little help from the casual games you play online and via Facebook. Recent studies suggest that casual games can actually make you smarter.

A recent study from East Carolina University suggests that casual games could actually enhance your cognitive ability. The study was presented at the Games for Health Conference, held in Boston. After six months, researchers came to the conclusion that casual games were actually helping to increase the smarts of participants. If you want to boost your brain power, here are 10 casual web and facebook games you can play:

1. Bejeweled Blitz: This fun Facebook game is a favorite for many. The idea is to line up jewels, swapping them to make patterns. If you line up three, you get points, and you get even more for lining up four and five in a row. When the jewels are lined up, they disappear, and jewels above fall into the vacated slots, and can make new rows. The real trick is that you have to see how many points you can get in one minute. On Facebook, you can share your scores with your friends, and even have friendly competitions. The game requires you to think quickly, and engage in problem solving. A great game for improving your thought reflexes.
2. Snood: “Fire” blocks adorned with different faces and attempt to make groups of three or more. With Snood, when you hit a face with a matching face, everything that’s touching it disappears, meaning that you can clear out quite a few Snoods in one go. Snoods build up on the bottom, so you have to be careful to make sure that you are clearing them out. Otherwise, you end losing as the wall falls lower. Progressive levels make it more difficult, and the wall lowers faster. Engages problem solving skills and requires analytical thinking. As it progresses, you also need to be able to think faster and faster.
3. Minesweeper: A time sucking classic, Minesweeper requires that you carefully problem solve to avoid hitting a mine and being blown up. Your first couple of moves are always a crap shoot, but once you get beyond that, reasoning skills are needed. You uncover a number on a grid, which tells you how many mines there are surrounding touching that particular square. You have to figure out where the mines are not, and click on those, eventually clearing the area without clicking on a mine. It’s nice to know that this time waster has value for your brain, helping you make significant improvements to your deductive powers.
4. Word Challenge: If you are a wordsmith, you can boost your brain power with help from this fun Facebook game. The object of the game is to see how many words of three or more letters you can form using the letters provided. You get bonus points for using all the letters. You can play against your friends, and compare scores. Includes fun bonus round opportunities to allow you to guess friends names (and see their pictures). A great way to spend some time brushing up on your word skills. Requires fast thinking, creative thinking, and an ability to recognize words. A great way to improve your vocabulary, since you can see the meanings of words you do not know.
5. Blocks With Letters On: A fun anagram puzzle, designed to challenge your ability to make words, and solve problems. select a letter, and then move it to the left or the right. You can’t just drop it in place, though. You have to think about what order to use when creating the word from the give letters. There is a lot of sliding as you work to position the letters so that you can slide them into place to make a word. This game require you to think ahead, and solve problems. On top of that, you need to be able to unscramble the letters to make a word. A fascinating puzzle that can help you increase your thinking ability.
6. Tetris: Another classic favorite, Tetris can actually help you improve your brain. Tetris is one of the most popular casual games out there, an arcade style game that has provided entertainment for years. Now you can play it online. It is possible to play for free. The idea is to adjust shapes so that they fit together to complete rows. You can see what’s next, so it helps you figure out how to place things most efficiently. A great game for problem solving, spatial recognition, geometry skills and thinking ahead. Also, since the falling bricks speed up, it helps to be able to think fast as the game progresses.
7. Factory Balls: With factory balls, you are problem solving in a major way. A box appears, with a picture of the type of ball you need to make. There are pictures of different actions, and you drag the ball to the action, transforming it. Sometimes you need to complete multiple actions in order to properly get the ball to look like it should. Once you have completed your task, and the ball is properly transformed, it goes into the box and you get a new ball to change. Try to empty out your supply of balls as quickly as possible, changing them with precision and skill.
8. Space Invaders: Blow up nasty aliens in order to save Earth — and get a little brain boost. You get points for shooting certain aliens, and for shooting their ships. But you have to be able to avoid getting shot yourself. If you are worried, you can hide beneath barricades, but once they are destroyed, you are out of places to hide. And, of course, you can’t hit any of the invaders if you are hiding behind a barricade. Work quickly to get all the invaders before they get you. A classic game that is simple, yet forces you to think faster as the invaders speed up.
9. Pickies: Build these cute little guys by joining four different parts, with matching colors. You can use bombs to remove parts you do not want. You get extra points for getting more of the same colors. You only have a limited time, though since once the jars with the parts in them reach the top, you are done. Keep making the little guys, until you can’t make any more. A fun one for all ages, it is a good game for kids to play as well. This game requires puzzle solving skills and some creativity. A fun way to challenge your brain, and get a little smarter.
10. Perfect Balance: Stack different shapes on top of each other so that they balance. You can change their position. The idea is to get all of the shapes to remain on the screen, without falling off. The “Harmony” trial includes soothing music, meant to be relaxing. Just listening to the music, and meditating, can help you improve your ability to learn. But, when you stack the objects, you are exercising problem solving skills, since you can decide which order you stack them in. A great game that requires some serious thought.