November 4th, 2009 by Robin Green

Many of the students currently enrolled in learning management system programs recently faced the sudden reality of the hypothetical question: If you were to suddenly lose your job, what would you do?

The possibility of being laid off or not finding work to begin with continues to plague people all over the map, and especially in North America and Europe. The IMF’s World Economic Outlook report for October identifies that East Asian and South Asian economies are leading the way out of recession, leading many job-seekers to pursue employment abroad.

Although you shouldn’t have to travel all the way to Asia to find a job, it is wise to take a look at which cities are hiring. A report shared on TechCrunch’s website identifies the best and worst cities in the U.S. to seek employment. Washington, D.C. was cited as the best, with a 6:1 ratio of job postings to the unemployed. Next came Jacksonville, Florida with 3:1, Baltimore with 1:1, Salt Lake City, New York, Sane Jose, Hartford, Oklahoma City, Austin, and Boston (with 1:3) as the best cities to take a shot at searching for job.

The worst ten cities to seek employment were as follows. The best of the worst, Buffalo, New York, kicked off the list with a job posting:unemployed ratio of 1:3, but worse still were Orlando, Sacramento, Rochester, Chicago, Portland, Los Angeles, Riverside, Miami, and finally, Detroit–with a crushing 1:18. One job posting for every 18 unemployed people.

But packing your suitcases and seeking greener pastures in the U.S. or abroad isn’t the one and only solution. Practice deep breathing and play your cards right, and you will find that even in a city like Detroit, you do have a chance. After all, someone needs to get lucky with that one job posting for every 18 unemployed.

What cards do you have to play? The cards I’m referring to are internet tools. Learn how to use them, and make them your lucky cards. With the internet–and I’m not just referring to learning management systems and online education, though we’ll come to that in a minute–all is possible.

First, use your personal contacts to get an in. Take advantage of social networks like LinkedIn. And not only LinkedIn.

Brad and Debra Schepp, authors of How to Find a Job on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Myspace and Other Social Networks cite the importance of branching out from only LinkedIn and taking advantage of other networks. Even though Facebook, for example, is designed mainly for keeping up with amigos, it also features many business-related groups.

“If you’re looking for a job,” the Schepps’s write, “group discussion boards are probably where you will want to spend much of your time. Searching out and joining groups can give you the inside track on job openings, inform you of upcoming professional meetings and conferences, and introduce you to people who can share what it’s really like to work for a particular employer–all highly useful stuff.”

And the other cards? You guessed it: Head back to school. Whether it’s enrollment in a technical or community college, an online certification program, or learning management system training, furthering your skills is likely to help you gain employment in a field you’re interested in. Take advantage of online courses hosted on learning management systems and/or offered by a technical, vocational, or community college near you to gain the skills and certification you need at a pace that’s right for you.

This is your time to beat the odds and face the challenges presented by a cut-throat job market. Even in such an inhospitable environment, play your cards right, and you will find that success is possible and not as difficult as you believed. For thousands of unemployed Americans, online networking and online education are the best cards in the deck.

—————–

Coggno.com offers premier e-learning education.

November 2nd, 2009 by Melissa

Online training has revolutionized the learning and training experience as we know it. Not too long ago we were still using windows dos, dial up, computers the size of an entire room, and big floppy disks. Now we live in an age where we have streamline laptops, portable computers that we can take with us. We have internet on our smart phones, and wireless internet connection. The internet has slowly but surely become an indispensible resource that most of us use continually throughout the day. It has been created into a streamline convenient instrument for us to gain minute by minute updates, and enable continuous communication with people all over the world.

So if we are able to take the internet with us, why can’t we take learning portable too? This advanced technology has enabled learning to take place in the home with various online training curriculums, whether it is for higher education, organizational or government training. The variety in courses is vast, making it easy to find credible courses that pertain to the need for any specific individual. Some specialty Colleges have based degrees on the online learning platform, and various content creating or eLearning companies are receiving government grants for organizational training as well as school training to educate them on health and safety via online training.

New advances within online training module’s are state of the art, bringing 3D graphics, interactive courses, quizzes, and videos with sound and picture into the mix, as well as 24/7 mentorship with highly trained instructors who are available at the learner’s disposal to ensure full comprehension is achieved. With so many style options that these courses provide, learners are exposed to different types of training that could enhance productivity, comprehension, and creativity.

Among the revolution of online training in the education systems, Organizational training is receiving revisions as well. Organizational training no longer means outdated, long, and uninteresting training videos that are played in an isolated room. Online modules and interactive curriculum enables employees to gain working experience as they learn new systems and make the mundane training something that is enjoyable and effective.

As efficient and convenient online training has proven to be, an additional bonus to this new method of learning is the varietal topics of courses made available on the web. For students looking for higher education, they have multiple options of language courses, science courses and math courses. For those in the IT industry they have various system training courses that stay current as new updates within systems and platforms are created. Certifications, such as A+, Network +, Security + in the IT industry, as well as driver, helicopter, first aid and safety certifications are just a few certifications that are offered.

Online training truly is changing the way we think about learning and the mundane training that normally is included when we enter into new positions in the workforce, new systems are implemented or those annually required safety or corporate training seminars. Just as computers and the internet has been streamlined and made portable, training and education is following suit.

———————–

Coggno.com offers high-quality online training courses.