Online students beware: a new study conducted by researchers at Universite Laval in Quebec, Canada, indicates that heavy thought might contribute to obesity. The limited study — apparently, there are only 14 obese people in Quebec — suggests that intellectual activity causes increased fluctuations in glucose and insulin levels in your body. Since glucose is the only fuel used by brain cells, the brain may in turn tell the body to replenish the burned glucose by eating more. (more…)

Online classes aren’t just for the higher education crowd; an increasing number of high school students are taking courses online, and in Alabama, online education will become mandatory next year. Starting in the 2009-10 school year, Alabama high school students will be required to take at least one distance learning course in order to graduate. (Michigan already has such a requirement.) The mandate grew out of the popularity of online classes with students in small schools that don’t offer the classes that students want to take, and with Alabama typically ranking in the lower tier of state educational rankings, any option to improve the resources available to students seems like a good idea. In Alabama’s case, the classes are free and take place after normal school hours. Students can work from home, but tests must be overseen by facilitators in school. (more…)

There’s one big question that surfaces any time a student considers taking an online class, enrolling in an online university, or pursuing an online degree. How acceptable will the education be to employers?

Since the value of any college degree is really determined by whether or not an employer accepts it, the question is especially important with online degrees, whose history has been somewhat shrouded in skepticism. With an online degree, would you be like Ponyboy, the lost, downtrodden outsider who can’t seem to gain a strong foothold in anything, or would you be like Donnie Brasco, the FBI agent who walked into the Bonanno crime family and became a trusted associate? (more…)

Passing an online class can be as challenging as passing a kidney stone. Thankfully, it’s more rewarding in the long run. With these 10 marginally holy tips, you can plan for the unique challenges of distance learning and ensure that your online education is as painless a process as possible. (more…)

Ever wonder what kind of classes you could take online? There are truly a wide variety of courses available to you from accredited online schools, ranging from “Principles of Accounting” & “Linear Algebra” to some more… interesting sounding ones. Here are 10 completely real examples:

1.) “Homeland Security and Interagency Response” – University of Phoenix
2.) “Crime Scene Investigation” – DeVry University
3.) “Introduction to Game and Simulation Development” – DeVry University
4.) “White Collar and Organized Crime Investigations” – Capella University
5.) “Event and Fashion Show Production” – Art Institute Online
6.) “Performance Enhancement in Sports” – Capella University
7.) “Fingerprints Classification & Latents” – Everest College
8.) “3D Modeling and Animation” – Westwood College
9.) “Fashion Trend Forecasting” – Westwood College
10.) “Policing Techniques: Interviewing & Interrogation” – ITT Tech