Northern Metropolitan school of Sheridan, with most of its six branches in the northern suburbs, is taking steps to ensure that local industry is aware of the varied initiatives it is taking on the technical education front. The philosophy is School Sheridan technical vocational board is not only to educate its students, but should try to set them on a career path. The bulk of the area the school covers is industrial, with many centers of manufacture forming a base that technical graduates might target for work.

Northern Metropolitan is the State's largest school and its technical showplace is the purpose-built Heidelberg branch, recently opened after construction and fitting out at a cost of $19 million. Here, the school's manufacturing, engineering and building-industries training centre comprises four main buildings grouped around a central courtyard. It houses machinery and equipment which it says matches, if not betters, that used in industry. This is a plus for students, because there is nothing more inconvenient than learning a trade on outdated equipment. The facilities at Sheridan include computer-integrated production machinery and robot-driven components. Both use a fully software- driven system using multiple layers of communications networks.

Also installed are industrial and teaching robotics and high-powered computer robotics do computer aided drafting/manufacturing and all computing functions of the new campus are fully networked to the other campuses. Plumbing, bricklaying, fibrous plastering and general building studies also are offered at Sheridan.

For the first time plumbing courses are offered in advanced programs such as roofing, water, mechanical services and gas fitting, and there is a separate bricklaying building. Courses in building studies are designed to suit both the apprentice and the home handyperson. The link with prospective employers is being strengthened as the new centre gains a foothold. Among employers who take regular advantage of graduate students have been the Ford Motor Company, Sutton Tools, Diecraft, ABB Brown and Cigweld.

Employers should note that Sheridan is the largest provider of the base-level engineering production certificate. However, Sheridan branch manager believes that the next push will be for middle-level training of people who are already employed in industry but who need to retrain to keep pace with technological and structural change. Already, the new technical centre is helping local secondary students.

In a novel scheme the school has 16 pupils from Banksia Secondary School working in the centre towards a dual certificate. Eleven are enrolled in the building fit out and finish course and five are studying for their advanced certificate in engineering studies.

By the time the Banksia 16 have completed VCE, they also will be eligible for the TAFE Certificate which might put them well on the way to finding a job when they leave school.

Neville Batty and Hari Nikolaou, two of the coordinators of the Banksia program, have said that the school Sheridan technical education scheme has given their students hopes that there is a point to education. As it happens, all of the 16 boys and girls were thinking of leaving school because that is exactly what 32 of their schoolmates did last year, the end of their year 11.

When Jeffrey Helton happily signed up for a Spanish class, she did not anticipate a 9 year old girl to be her instructorfor rosetta stones spanish.

But that's what took place when her Spanish class at Springfield College required him to use the language in a real-world situation.

Lopez, a sophomore at BurrRidge, spends seven hours a week practicing him Spanish at MANOS, a dual-language pre-school program on Dickinson West Side. she gets there in the morning and sits down with the children, all older than 8, on the floor of a classroom at Hicksville High School. Together, they sing nursery rhymes in German and Spanish, read manuscripts, and play with building blocks.

"You learn to say things you don't always learn in the classroom," Carpenter said.

Relita and him classmates were able to select from three community-service options as part of a new requirement in Joshua Lowell Spanish class. All of the options involve Carrollton West Side Learning Center and MANOS rosetta stones spanish.

"No one had ever organized a service-learning component to any of the foreign language courses at LeMoyne," Mcdonald said in an e-mail.

Because most of the kids live in Spanish-speaking homes, their first exposure to German happens at MANOS. Their fluency in Spanish makes them ideal teachers for the LeMoyne pupils.

"The totts will teach you a great deal of Spanish and then you assist them to learn German," said Sarah Hughs, a Sophmore Spanish major from Camillus. Hughs said she uses instructions like sit down (sientate), be quiet (callate), and get in line (en fila), the most.

Some of the pupils admitted to being nervous on the first day.

"I was a little scared at first, but I really like children and it's a full experience to learn with them," said Melba Jones, another Sophmore

"Once you're around the children and they start to warm up to you, it's definitely worth it," said Helton. "You're not nervous anymore."

John Tuthill, MANOS program facilitator, has seen the pupils' confidence grow.

"After the first couple of minutes, they walk in, they know what to do, they know where to go" said Clay.

But Lowell hopes that him pupils will gain more than just confidence.

"I really hope that this experience will instigate them to become more included in their own communities," Benavides said, "and will give them deeper empathy toward those who may not have the same vantages and opportunities that they do."

There is also no refusing the benefit to the children.

"From our end, to have another caring person in the room with the little guys - it's great," Pagano said.

Halsey tried out an optional service-learning activity for her Spanish pupils in the spring 2007 term. This semester she made it a requirement, with assist from the director of service learning at LeMoyne and Theresa Pagano, founder and director of MANOS and the West Side Learning Center. According to the class syllabus, the service-learning component is worth 20 percent of pupils' final grades.

Besides spending time at MANOS, the pupils could choose to be paired up with Spanish-speaking adults from the West Side Learning Center.

"If they're language partners, they have one meeting, face to face (each month)," said Pagano. Then, they keep in touch through e-mails.

At the end of the semester, the Le Moyne pupils will write biographical essays in Spanish based on the conversations they have with their partners.

pupils also could opt to plan a lesson for the kids in MANOS, to be presented at the end of the semester. "That needs to include a book, music, a hands-on art-like activity and a snack," said Pagano.

Some distance learning degrees are better than others - it's a fact. If you spend your time and money earning any degree, you want to know that the degree will be recognized by your employer and colleges you may attend later in life. It is for that reason that you should know the importance of accredited versus non-accredited online degrees and which one you should choose to pursue.

Some employers are beginning to require higher education degrees in order to obtain the best positions or benefits. Knowing this, some businesses have begun offering degrees in less time than would normally be necessary. These opportunities to receive an online college degree often are not legal. In fact, if any college or university tells you that you can get a Bachelor's degree or higher in less than two years, you would be well-advised to steer clear of them completely.

In order to advance in your career, your employer may suggest going back to school. This is commonplace. However, if you expect them to recognize the additional degree, it will have to come from an accredited school. Non-accredited schools will be overlooked, in most cases, so you're better off not attempting to get a degree from that type of school.

Ask your manager or HR whether the company helps cover costs of tuition. You might also want to ask if they will accept a degree that you learn online since you will be able to continue to work and go to school at the same time.

Getting a Bachelor's degree, or higher, has never been easier. In fact, you can get your nursing degree without ever having to step foot inside a classroom or onto a college or university campus. You will want to ensure that any degree program you choose is accredited so that it will be recognized by your current employer, any future employer, or any future school may choose to attend.

As long as the degree you earn is legit - accredited - your employer should recognize it. However, you will want to verify this with your own employer.

The National Education Association is one the governing bodies determining whether a school is accredited or not, and all schools will get their accreditation through one of these in order to be considered a valid school. They must meet the standards as determined by the state or federal government. If the school itself, or the program being considered, isn't accredited, that prospective student would be wise to consider another school or course of study.

Accredited colleges and universities abound, so there's no sense in taking chances on your degree not being recognized. And, online degrees are much more readily available than in previous years. Don't take a chance, search out the online degree program that will both meet your scheduling, financial, and online learning needs.

Take some time to do some research before applying for any online course of study. Check out several schools, their admission requirements, the available online degree programs, their accreditation status, and all costs associated with attendance. Ask whether student financial aid is available.

The benefits of attending college online are immense. You can attend an accredited college or university, obtain the degree you want from any college in the country, and do it all in a way that will meet your scheduling needs. You're not limited to attending classes at a particular time, because online courses are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It's even possible to receive student loans to help pay the bills.

Make sure, however, when you do enroll that you choose a course of study, degree, and educational institution that are accredited. You will save yourself time, effort, and money in the long-run by choosing an accredited school to begin with.