Making the Grade

There's not much more frustrating than looking for a job as a liberal arts graduate. Best time this decade to be looking, they say. Lowest unemployment rate in years, they say. This may be so, but for the true liberal arts graduate with little more than a small library of tattered classics at their command, it's still a cruel world out there. We still hold on to those words of wisdom about a liberal arts degree being the best long-term preparation for just about any career. Nevermind that there's little advice on how to survive the short-term. My advice is a quick lesson in self-education, an emergence from the cave as Plato might see it. One of the best uses of Internet technology today is Distance Learning. Just as it was in its infancy, the Internet is still an excellent place to find educational resources. In fact, the past several years have seen a tremendous increase in the number of major U.S. universities offering career training and advanced degrees online. As with every presence on the web, Distance Learning is the result of a growing commercial interest in education. The impetus behind this market is part of the larger trend towards outsourcing in university operations. Most universities today already outsource dining and maintenance services, and in some cases, even bookstores. Following this path is Distance Learning , whereby disparate technologies are being combined into a unified delivery system with accompanying student support services. So far, the results look good, although it has its critics who believe Distance Learning cannot compete with the interpersonal learning of a traditional classroom. Given the predicament of the liberal arts graduate at the end of the 20th century, it seems as good a time as any to take a leap into the future by accessing the potential of distance learning. If there is one thing a liberal arts major should know, it's how to explain themselves to others. While this talent extends to any number of communications fields, I've choosen to explore technical writing as a career option. Likewise, while there are any number of institutions offering technical writing instruction, I've choosen the University of California as my resource. (http://www.learn.berkeley.edu) Over the next few months I will "attend" class over the internet and provide you with an account of Distance Learning from the learner's side of the keyboard, and hopefully a few tales about making the grade.

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