An Online doctorate degree in education is a discipline-based doctorate earned online, that prepares the graduate for academic, clinical, administrative or research positions in the education field. Being a terminal degree, it is fully recognized by the National Science Foundation as equal to a PhD.

Learn more about Online Doctorate Degree in Education.

How do you earn an Online Doctorate Degree in Education?

Before you pursue your educational studies up to the doctorate level, you will need a master’s degree in a field related to education. If you want to be a policy maker, an educational theorist, or have a career in adult education or special education, the doctorate degree is ideal for you. A doctorate degree in education involves a rigorous and comprehensive curriculum that addresses topics such as education policy, human growth and development, statistics, experimental research methods, curriculum theory, and quantitative research methods. Because an educational program at the doctorate level will allow you to specialize in a particular field of interest, you can focus on such issues like history, reading, elementary school, science, math, secondary school etc. At the end of your course, you’ll be expected to write a doctoral dissertation.

What can you do with an Online Doctorate Degree in Education?

* By getting an online doctorate degree in education, you will without a doubt become a trustworthy source of knowledge to your peers, elevating you to a recognized leader in your field of specialization
* With an online doctorate degree in education, you’ll be able to implement pertinent instructional developments and make better the quality of education and life for your peers and students
* You will take pleasure in the prestige of being considered a leader and expert in your specific field, together with the satisfaction of fulfilling your educational dreams.

Salary and Career Potential as an Online Doctorate Degree in Education Graduate

Depending on the position you hold, years of experience, and your employer, a qualified doctorate degree in education holder should expect to earn an annual salary of approximately $50,000-$100,000. Career wise, this degree is very marketable as the society is always in need of more and more qualified individuals to hold high leadership positions.

If we are going to disagree with a cell-phone ban then there needs to be evidence to support why we disagree, with a few of our own personal reasons, research and examples. A couple of ideas that I shared around the use of cellphones were based on features that cellphones have(I added a few more here):

* Use photo feature to capture two blackboards full of writing that students were supposed to copy down after 100 minutes of class time by a history teacher. (Some old resentment here)
* Use photo feature – notes, PowerPoint, diagrams – anything that needs data archiving and retrieval
* Capture video of science experiments for labs and share the results with the teacher to annotate projects or use as part of the process.
* Videojournalist for purpose and product
* Students record notes from their classes by using the voice-mail features – or cell to podcast web tools.
* Use RMinder http://www.rminder.com/ to blast voice and text reminders to students based on assignments and due dates of different events. Can even match to events in outlook, google cal, ical and more.

One of the more obvious tools is Internet browsing and web sites that could be accessed for learning. eSchoolNews as pointed out by Dean, mentions Wink Site for creating web sites that can be accessed by mobile phones. It also has a nice little education section.

Pointed out the following article from What Can You Learn from a Cell Phone? Almost Anything!by Marc Prensky. Which includes some practical examples like the cell phone audio tours of Minute Man National Historical Park, test preparation tools, and mobile phone games.

I also pulled out the following quote which seemed appropriate to the article:

As usual, students are far ahead of their teachers on this. The first educational use they have found (in large numbers) for their cell phones is retrieving information on demand during exams. Educators, of course, refer to this as “cheating.” They might better serve their students by redefining open-book testing as open-phone testing, for example, and by encouraging, rather than quashing, student innovation in this and other areas. Let me state definitively that I am not in favor of cheating. I am in favor of adjusting the rules of test-taking and other educational practices in a way that fosters student ingenuity and creativity in using learning tools and that supports learning rather than administration.

Yes, you can. All you need to do is train yourself to speak English as comfortably and perfectly as you speak your mother tongue.

How do you train yourself? By inculcating certain practices in your daily lifestyle. These will get you closer to sounding like a native English speaker and equip you with a global accent — and you will speak not American or British English, but correct English.

This is the first step to learn any other accent, be it American or British or Australian.

Lisa Mojsin, head trainer, director and founder of the Accurate English Training Company in Los Angeles,
offers these tips to help ‘neutralise’ your accent or rather do away with the local twang, as you speak.

i. Observe the mouth movements of those who speak English well and try to imitate them.

When you are watching television, observe the mouth movements of the speakers. Repeat what they are
saying, while imitating the intonation and rhythm of their speech.

ii. Until you learn the correct intonation and rhythm of English, slow your speech down.

If you speak too quickly, and with the wrong intonation and rhythm, native speakers will have a
hard time understanding you.

Don’t worry about your listener getting impatient with your slow speech — it is more important that
everything you say be understood.

iii. Listen to the ‘music’ of English.

Do not use the ‘music’ of your native language when you speak English. Each language has its own way of
’singing’.

iv. Use the dictionary.

Try and familiarise yourself with the phonetic symbols of your dictionary. Look up the correct pronunciation
of words that are hard for you to say.

v. Make a list of frequently used words that you find difficult to pronounce and ask someone who speaks the
language well to pronounce them for you.

Record these words, listen to them and practice saying them. Listen and read at the same time.

vi. Buy books on tape.

Record yourself reading some sections of the book. Compare the sound of your English with that of the
person reading the book on the tape.

vii. Pronounce the ending of each word.

Pay special attention to ‘S’ and ‘ED’ endings. This will help you strengthen the mouth muscles that you
use when you speak English.

viii. Read aloud in English for 15-20 minutes every day.

Research has shown it takes about three months of daily practice to develop strong mouth muscles for
speaking a new language.

ix. Record your own voice and listen for pronunciation mistakes.

Many people hate to hear the sound of their voice and avoid listening to themselves speak. However, this is
a very important exercise because doing it will help you become conscious of the mistakes you are making.

x. Be patient.

You can change the way you speak but it won’t happen overnight. People often expect instant results and
give up too soon. You can change the way you sound if you are willing to put some effort into it.

Quick tips

Various versions of the English language exist. Begin by identifying the category you fall into and start by
improving the clarity of your speech.

~ Focus on removing the mother tongue influence and the ‘Indianisms’ that creep into your English
conversations.

~ Watch the English news on television channels like Star World, CNN, BBC and English movies on Star Movies
and HBO.

~ Listen to and sing English songs. We’d recommend Westlife, Robbie Williams, Abba, Skeeter Davis and
Connie Francis among others.

Because the needs of students who come to the Resource Room are so diverse, it can be challenging to structure the learning environment. I have begun managing my Resource Room in the following manner:

 

Setting Up/Getting Prepared

1. I created a chart with three columns. Each column has an arrow pointing downward (one orange, one blue and one green). I laminated the chart so that I could write on it with wipe-off crayons.
2. Each day, I decide how I want to group students. Generally, grouping by ability level or IEP objectives works best. I end up with an orange group, a blue group and a green group. Then, assigning one column on the chart per group, I write student names in the columns.
3. I then assign certain tables as work spaces by placing an orange marker on one table, and so on. My markers are simply folded pieces of manila that stand up. Using this system allows me to set up everything the night before. Students can come in, look for their names on the chart, and group themselves according to color. They usually look over the materials I have already set out. So far, this seems to increase their enthusiasm.
4. I have 1 or 2 paraprofessionals in my room most of the morning. I write brief instructions on sticky notes (the larger ruled brand) and stick the notes on the materials. This usually is sufficient explanation.

Rotation/Instructional Time

1. I provide direct instruction (mini-lessons on a skill or strategy; reading from a Linguistic Reader, etc.) to the first group of students while the other 2 groups work with paras. The paras do a lot of skills games, review and reinforcement/practice activities. When I finish my mini-lesson, the groups rotate.
2. Then, we rotate again! Simple! Sometimes I teach the same mini-lesson to 3 groups. Sometimes my instruction is more individualized. Likewise, paras may do different activities with different groups. It all depends on what the students need on a particular day.

Variation:

One group could do independent work or simple games (SIGHT Word Bingo, for example) if sufficient paraprofessional help is not available.

When putting together an academic program for Special Education students, the first thing one must keep in mind is to follow the IEP (individualized education program) for each student. Although teachers often feel pressure to follow the Course of Study for their particular school district, following the IEP is extremely important. Most learning disabled students need strong Language Arts and Math programs. On the IEPs, goals will usually be listed in these areas. Therefore, the major concern of a teacher setting up a program of this type the first time should be in establishing a strong Language Arts program.

Here are some basic ideas to keep in mind when establishing a Language Arts program for Special Ed students:

READING

The best thing one can do with special ed students in Language Arts is to establish a phonics program. As old as the idea may seem, teaching phonics to our students is valuable to the majority (but take care…it is NOT appropriate for all). I use Hooked on Phonics, but the Renee Herman is also good, especially for younger children.

If you use Hooked on Phonics, be sure that an adult works one on one with students. It’s much more effective in the classroom than having the students work independently with the tapes!

SIGHT WORD VOCABULARY

A sight word approach is especially important for those students who do not appear to respond well to the phonics approach. This method may easily be worked into spelling, history, math, science, and of course, literature.

READ GRADE LEVEL BOOKS

One should read grade level books to the students–even if they do not have the decoding skills necessary to read them independently. By reading to them, the students can still enjoy, comprehend, compare and contrast these books! Special Education students have a right to be exposed to literature that those without special needs are reading!

I use many of these strategies to help my paraeducators in the classroom. Frequently, it is difficult to keep them up to speed, since they are usually only there from start to finish of school (if we are lucky). Here are some things that I do to keep them up!

 

1. Weekly Meetings. We meet every week for 20-30 minutes to discuss new information, things teachers need, changes in schedules, etc. I also use this time to brainstorm on any problems that we or any students are having, to disseminate information to them in the way of articles or handouts, and plan modifications for certain activities.

 

2. Sit down with each para at least once a week, usually at lunch or right after school. This is very informal, and gives the para a chance to express any concerns or issues.

 

3. Model for paras. At least once, and for new paras, it is important to not only tell them, or explain things to them, but to be able to show them. This may mean asking your principal for release time, or using your own. I go into the classrooms and have the para watch and critique how I work with the students. It would also be a good idea to video them so that they may watch and critique themselves.

Today’s popular catch phrase for special education students is “full inclusion.” What no one seems to address is that some students are ready to attend regular education classes and some students need more individual attention to prepare them for entry, or reentry to the regular program.

“Full inclusion” assumes that with minimal assistance, a special education student will be successful in a regular classroom. This is true for SOME students, but certainly not all!

When thinking about moving a student back to the regular program, many issues must be considered when determining the most appropriate placement:

• Is the student on grade level, or near grade level, for everything? If so, and the student’s behavior is appropriate, full inclusion could be the best answer.
• Is the student on grade level for one or two subjects? If so, mainstreaming for only those subjects would be most appropriate, is the student’s behavior is not an issue.
• Is the student below grade level but able to help much younger children? If so, allowing the student to be a peer tutor will not only raise his/her self-esteem, it will also reinforce the basics for the student.
• Is the child so far below grade level that he/she can not tutor, however, the student’s behavior is good? If this is the case, this student can be mainstreamed for recess/nutrition, lunch, art, music and PE.
• Is the student’s behavior such a problem that it is extremely disruptive to others? If so, then this student may not be ready to mainstream, or may need to “earn” mainstream situations in his/her favorite area.

Whatever you choose to do with your students, be sure that you choose whatever is appropriate for each individual–DO NOT simply choose a system because it is the current “thing” to do! The 1970’s law, PL-91-142 has a statement about “least restrictive environment as appropriate to the student.” We must remember this when making decisions to help our students.

Our students with special needs often excel, or just feel good about participating, in all of the “extras” at their school. Music, drama, art, student council, sports, drill team, etc., are only a few examples of activities which may be valuable for our special education students. In addition, everyone benefits through greater understanding of each other as a result of this extra-curricular contact.

However, a couple of steps need to be taken in order to ensure that the special ed. student has a valuable, rewarding and successful time while under the direction of a regular education teacher in an extra-curricular setting:

• In order for these students to participate, everyone, including the students themselves, must be comfortable with the situation and behavior expectations. It is up to the special education teacher to prepare the student properly–especially with behavior expectations!
• It is also up to the special education teacher to assure the regular ed. teachers the appropriateness of placing the student into the activity.
• The students need to know that they are responsible for the requirements of the activity: practice, memorizing, asking questions, taking notes, etc. If they have trouble with any portion of this, they need to find a solution: practice with a friend, ask for help from their special ed. teacher, etc. An example: A friend of mine directs the Musical Theatre production group at a magnet school for the performing arts. Although the members of the group are almost always exclusively taken by audition from the magnet population, he also allowed two home school, special education day class students to audition. They both passed, and were let in as full performing members of the group. The only adaptation that the teacher had to make (and was fully willing), was to allow the two students extra time to memorize words of songs, (since their disability involved language processing). However, this adaptation was not a hindrance to the group, nor a burden to the teacher. An end result was one of these special ed. students had a singing solo at the major show of the year!

If all parties accept the expectations of the students, the teachers, and the program itself, success is almost always assured. These students in the special ed. program are there for specific needs…much, if not most, of their talents and personalities are the same as students in the regular education program. Therefore, why shouldn’t they participate fully whenever appropriate?

As we all know, a special education class needs a variety of behavioral systems. Here are some quick strategies/systems which work for me:

POINT SYSTEM:

Each student has a chart given to him/her at the end of the day with points earned throughout the day: reading, math, behavior, homework, etc. The student must have the chart signed by his/her parent and returned daily. I write notes to the parents on the charts, so as to be in constant contact with them.

Once a month, the students take their points and go “shopping” in my classroom “store”, which is full of school supplies, and little knick-knacks that the students enjoy.

RECESS/LUNCH TICKETS:

Sometimes our students think that our assistants have less authority than we do as teachers. An easy remedy is for the students to earn “tickets” for good behavior at recess and lunch. My assistant hands out the tickets which reinforces the fact that they must listen to her. At the end of each week, we hold a drawing for a prize.

INTERMITTENT REINFORCEMENT:

I tell my students that they never know when I’m going to catch them being “good” (on task, good citizen, etc.). If I do, they may get a compliment, a sticker, “free time”, or something else special.

Although these strategies may seem like a lot of work, I’ve seen my classes go from having the “store” once a month to only having it once in a semester. As long as you taper off the frequency, it works great! They begin to do their work, not only for the reward, but because it’s important to them.