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Many people want a website but they don’t always know where to go. It sounds easy enough with all the template options available online, but making your site professional and legit is another obstacle. For more companies that choose to take the low budget route it’s often the visibly inexpensive route. It’s also a difficult category to break out of. Say for example a company starts off with remedial looking site. If they try to break off from the reputation as a small little business without taking a more dramatic step and investing in creative web design it can be difficult to move up the social ladder.

Determining a website to be a success is determining how much it is actually doing for you. A company doesn’t really necessarily need a virtual business card, but instead another entity that can continually produce marketing. That’s a necessity. In the Inland Empire web design is in strong demand. Working up from a small town business into a large scale and potentially globally well-known business is no longer possible by mere word of mouth. There needs to be more direct approach to collecting returning and potential customers beyond the immediate area. Online there are so many opportunities to retain more information about your customers and better understand what they want.

When conducting research, students tend to judge their success based on the number of relevant “hits” (or results) they get when searching. However, retrieving a large number of seemingly relevant results is only half the battle. Next, you need to evaluate these sources to be sure that they are reputable. Your research paper, article, or essay is only as good as the information it’s based on - so it’s in your best interests to stick to credible resources!

As you’re combing through your search results, remember that there are no guarantees! Think about it: the Web gives every Joe Schmoe with a bit of ‘Net savvy the opportunity to publish and distribute his work, regardless of its quality or truthfulness. There is no standard that Web authors must adhere to - and the end result is that there’s a wealth of fallacious and even malicious information to be found on the Internet. Even academic databases - those produced and maintained by information specialists and provided by your library - are subject to mistakes and biases! When reading through your sources, it’s imperative that you critically evaluate every word - even if the book or article looks scholarly at first glance.

Always regard your sources with a touch of skepticism. Even if they are from reputable news outlets or scholarly journals, they could contain mistakes or falsehoods, or even be skewed by their authors’ own personal biases. Just because something is written in print or available on the Internet, it doesn’t necessarily reflect the truth.

Here’s a list of questions to ask of each of your sources. Carefully evaluate all your resources, including those found in academic databases, journals, and newspapers. If you are suspicious of a particular book or article, either throw it out entirely or address your concerns in your discussion. When in doubt, do not be afraid to turn to your professor for guidance!

Traditionally, there are five criteria than are often used to evaluate print resources: accuracy, authority, objectivity, coverage, and currency. These can be adapted and applied to online sources as well those in print.

1. Accuracy

Does the book, article or web site contain a number of spelling and/or grammatical errors?

Does the source provide footnotes, endnotes, or citations, as well as a reference list or bibliography? If so, are the author’s resources reputable?

Does the author make any outlandish or inaccurate statements or claims?

Are the author’s views consistent with those you have already found in the literature? If not, does the author offer documented evidence that supports his perspective?

Do the author’s conclusions follow logically from the rest of her statements?

If you are evaluating a research article, does the author describe his methodology and results?

2. Authority

Does the author of the document plainly identify herself?

What are the author’s credentials? Are they clearly stated, or did you have to search to find them?

Do the author’s credentials include a degree? If so, is it in the field in which the author is writing about? Was he author’s degree granted by a reputable university, or a “degree mill”?

Is the author affiliated with an academic institution?

Does the author provide his contact information?

Who is the intended audience of the paper - the author’s peers or the general public?

In the case of web sites, what is the top-level domain?

3. Objectivity

What individual, group, or organization sponsored the publication of this source?

Is the sponsor of this research/publication clearly listed? Is its background and mission divulged?

In the case of journals, is it a refereed journal that has a peer review process?

Was your source written to sell something or support a particular point of view?

In the case of web sites, is the site a commercial, academic, or personal one?

Are the links contained on web sites appropriate for the material?

4. Coverage

Is the topic of the book, article, or site covered in detail, or is it just a superficial review?

Does the author seem aware of all the pertinent research in this area?

Does the source cover the same time period that you’re researching?

5. Currency

When was the source written and/or published?

If it’s an older source, have there been many major developments in the field since it was written that would render it outdated?

If you’re evaluating a book, has it been revised? If so, do you have the newest edition?

If you’re researching a current topic, is this the most up-to-date resource you could find?

If you’re evaluating a web site, can you tell when it was last updated? Does it have many “broken” or invalid links?

You should ask these questions of each of your sources. Even academics aren’t immune to personal biases, which can in turn affect their work. When used consistently and diligently, this checklist will help you weed out any suspect sources - and produce a quality paper yourself!

Copyright Kelly Garbato, 2005

Kelly Garbato is an author, ePublisher, and small business owner. She recently self-published her first book, “13 Lucky Steps to Writing a Research Paper,” now available at Amazon.com (http://www.amazon.com) or through Peedee Publishing (http://www.peedeepublishing.com).

To learn more about the author, visit her web site at http://www.kellygarbato.com.

During the early days at college, you will be setting the foundations for all your future studies. This is, therefore, a crucial time in tilting you towards success or failure. As with anything new, you will soon form habits, and it is up to you to ensure that those habits are good habits.

There are certain areas of college life and study in which establishing good habits early on can help you towards your goal of good grades and a successful graduation. It is well worth focusing your attention on these areas before arriving at college, and in your first few weeks there. By doing so, you can establish some good study habits, and make your college life run that much more smoothly and successfully. The following are some of the key areas of your new life of college study where you will need solid preparation and attention from the outset.

Acknowledging the Competition

It is the brighter students at High School who will probably be the ones who make it to college and university. You were one of those, but you will notice a big difference in your relative position at college. Whereas before you may have been one of the top students in your class, once you get to college you will just be one of many bright students.

By being aware of this increased competition, and being mentally prepared for it, you are more likely to shine again in your new environment, rather than feeling overawed by the other intelligent students. Also bear in mind that with the right preparation and improvement of your study skills, and by establishing the right habits, you can perform better than even the most intelligent student.

Scheduling Your Time

One of the big differences at college will be the amount of “spare” time you have. You may only have 15 hours of lectures in a week, and it is up to you to schedule the rest of your time. Whether you succeed at college or not may well depend on how well you are able to organize yourself, and schedule your time to best effect.

So long as you are aware of the dangers of wasting that spare time, then you will have a chance of scheduling it wisely. Time management skills are therefore worth acquiring before you even go to college, and there is plenty of useful information online about managing time. Regard time management as an essential study skill, and prepare accordingly. It will stand you in good stead for the future after college as well, as time management is just as important in business or working life.

Harder Work

One thing is certain, and that is college work will be much tougher than High School work. If, after a few weeks, you do not think it is harder, then the chances are you have not grasped what you really need to do to keep up with and on top of your studies. You should go to college expecting to work hard, and then ensure that you do.

Note Taking

Another major difference between the learning methods at High School and college is the need, at college, to take copious notes in the lecture room. You should be mentally prepared for this at a minimum, but, like time management, you can acquire skills on note taking to make yourself more efficient. You will be pressed for time at college, so in every aspect of your study, it is wise to improve your study skill. That includes note taking.

Faster Reading

In the lecture room you need to become efficient at taking notes. Outside of the lecture room, you will have an enormous amount of reading to do. Such a volume may seem overwhelming, but reading is another area where you can improve, and thus increase your ability to study effectively. Speed reading is a talent anybody can acquire, and if you can acquire it before you reach college, so much the better.

Memory

Once at college, you will be bombarded with information, facts relating to the subjects you are studying. Being great at reasoning and making use of facts is no use if you cannot remember those facts in the first place. Improving your memory is therefore something you will benefit greatly from. Even if you think you have a good memory, you can improve further.

I went back to studying, for a professional qualification, 12 years after leaving school. Not being academic as a student, and having a “poor” memory, I knew I would have great difficulty competing mostly against 21/22 year olds fresh from university. So, I focused on my memory, learnt as much as I could about memory techniques, and that was enough (plus hard work, of course) to not only help me keep up, but in some cases keep ahead of the competition.

Improving memory really does make a big difference to your study prospects, and also in later working life. It is another study skill that will always be with you as you move on to other things after college or university.

By preparing yourself in the areas of note taking, time management, faster reading, and memory, you should have a head start on other students, even if they are brighter than you. By such preparation and focusing on your study skills before going to college, it is you who will appear the brightest, as you come across as well organized, able to grasp and recall facts with ease, and able to get through a lot more work in a shorter time than those around you.

This study skills article was written by Roy Thomsitt, owner author of The Learning Straight web site.

Do you want to succeed at college and still enjoy the social life to the full? This new Audio Ebook will tell you how, step by step.

Whether your organization is large or small, there are lots of ways to raise money. Smaller non-profits can add leverage to their money raising efforts by holding events that encourage involvement from people outside their group, which would be easier than, say, a cookie dough fundraiser, which would be more difficult to garner outside support.

A talent show is a good example of a fundraiser that can gather participation from the entire community. People love the chance to show off their “skills”, and they love the chance to watch other people act silly on stage.

If a local school or hall is willing to donate the stage for a night, this will greatly increase your profits than if you have to rent a hall. Other than signs and tickets (and possibly the hall), there is little investment required for this fundraiser.

What is required, however, are participants. Getting the word out about your talent show is key. Even people who would normally pass at the
chance to get on stage will do so for a good cause. Ask local businesses to donate prizes that can be awarded to the winner of the talent show.

Another idea to increase interest in your event is to try and find local celebrities, such as local news anchors, to act as judges as well as master or mistress of ceremonies.

Because you want to stir interest in your talent show, contact local media well before the event to see if they would be interested in doing a story about the upcoming fundraiser. Remember to focus on the charity or organization that is going to benefit when pitching your idea to the press.

There are at least three ways to make money from a talent show:

1. Ticket sales for those attending the show.
2. Entrance fees for those taking part in the show. If you charge an entrance fee, there should be at least one nice prize given to participants.
3. You can also set up food (candy, cookies, snacks, etc.) and a beverage stand and sell videos of the show to raise extra money at the event.

What you will need for this fundraiser:

• A location. Schools are the best no-cost or low-cost option.
• A master of ceremonies. Think big. The bigger the local celebrity, the more validity - and attendance - your fundraiser will have.
• Signs. You want your talent show to look as professional as possible. This is key, especially if you plan to repeat the event on an annual basis.
• Participants. Scour not only your organization, but get the word out to the entire community as well.
• Prizes. It never hurts to offer the opportunity for participants to win a prize. Ask local businesses for donations.

A talent show is not only a way to raise a substantial amount of money in one night, but it is also a lot of fun for your group and for the entire community.

Distance learning has been defined by the United States District
Learning Association as the acquisition of knowledge and skills
through mediated information and instruction. Distance learning
encompasses all technologies and supports the pursuit of life
long learning for all. Today distance learning is being used in
al most every area of education including primary, elementary,
and high school.

Distance learning is also being utilized for college,
university, and technical training as well as home school
education, continuing education, corporate training, military
and government training, and telemedicine.

Distance learning has undergone a phenomenal growth in the last
ten years, primarily because of the technology of high-speed
Internet combined with the upswing in home computer ownership.
Both technological advances have allowed Americans to access
distance learning programs and as we all know the laws of supply
and demand mean that where there is a need or an interest,
business will respond by making more of the needed product
available.

But the other main factor in the growth of distance learning is
the continuing and seemingly insatiable human quest for
knowledge. It’s not just young people fresh out of high school
that are looking at distance learning to complete their
education through an online degree, but homemakers, veterans,
and even seniors as well. There is a desire of many Americans to
have the full American dream, live in peace and comfort, own
your own home, and get a college education.

Distance learning has grown as well because it works in both
helping people of all ages learn and comprehend even the most
technical subjects. Research has shown that distance learning
programs report similar effectiveness results as reported under
traditional instruction methods. In addition, research studies
have also pointed out that not only do students learn in
distance learning but that they are quite positive about the
experience itself.

Distance learning can be the sole training experience but many
teachers are using it as a support to their regular teaching
programs. They offer special courses and electronic field trips
for students to enhance their regular programs and to break the
monotony of sitting in a classroom every day of the week. They
also use distance learning to assist both rural and inner city
classes with student through enrichment, student courses, staff
development and in-service training for teachers and
administrators. In the field of higher education you can now
earn both undergraduate and advanced online degrees through
distance learning.