Kristi | Kristi

Video games have exploded in popularity, thanks to our high paced and pressurized world crunching down on individuals. People need a break from reality and video games provide that venue of escapism, and businesses have definitely gotten the message loud and clear.

Developing new games is a fierce industry and companies need people who can always bring on better games that stimulate all the senses at once. But how can you get into this rising segment and turn your interests in computers into something that’s a lucrative, fun career full of opportunity?
A degree in video game design is the training you need to break into a market where you can create fantastical worlds or develop settings that are so realistic, you can almost touch them. Individuals are demanding more and more from software companies, and only the top quality games will succeed in today’s competitive world. Investing your talents in a solid education that will give you the skills and know how to create high tech video games is a wise choice. The job opportunities will never peter out or become saturated, thanks to new technology that’s always being put into the market, and you can get into the gaming craze by getting the best training possible to send you into an amazing career.
You’ll have the chance to use your own imagination to create great characters that become popular household names. Remember Mario and Luigi? Well, those two characters were created by people with video game design skills and they earned their makers millions of dollars. What about Yoshi? The little dinosaur is another character created by someone with video game design skills that has made someone rich and famous. Why can’t that person who develops the next popular, fun character be you? Online gaming is another venue that has become a multi-million dollar industry and all you have to do is look up World of Warcraft to see how many people are hooked on video games, making the market a rich one for job opportunities.
So what’s involved in video game design? Educational facilities will provide you with artistic training to help you create visual images that snag people’s interest and keep them gaming, as well as the know how to apply that to animation and 3D modelling. Story development is a must, and you’ll be able to think up new ways of challenging people with tricks and traps or enemies to battle to become heroes and earn glorious rewards and treasures. Not only that, those who offer degrees in video game design will help you to put together a profile that will make you an attractive asset to software companies looking for talented 3D artists and gaming developers.
One thing is for sure: Without a degree in video game design, the competition to break into the industry is so stiff that you’ll never be able to get ahead. Great ideas and a creative imagination isn’t all it takes to open fantastic opportunities and set you into an amazing career. Top quality skills and training that keep you on top of the game and get you that perfect job are the only way to go about finding your place in the lucrative industry of video games. You’ll learn the practical side of design and animation to be able to develop games that bring in sales for businesses and earn the skills you need to be head hunted by companies. More than that, obtaining your degree in video game design won’t just be an important investment and career choice, it’ll also be a blast of fun as you expand your horizons and creativity, learning to think outside the box and come up with new, exciting worlds and characters.

Back in the late eighties and early nineties there was a push by local government to boost the number of vocational programs in high school.

The idea was to give those not planning on going to college a crack at earning a better living. While this program seemed to underpin the absolute need for alternative educational reform in the country, there still was a problem with people that didn’t want to fix cars, or be the next town plumber. For those that got stuck in the middle there was not much to do but make a choice between a vocational program or to attend college. Today there is the wonderful online associates degree that has been proven to lead towards a wide spectrum of jobs worthy of many 4 year degree program graduates. Those in high school, or in limbo after high school have a path to follow that is commonly referred to as obtaining an associates degree. This degree is known to provide valuable instruction to those that enroll in the program with the desire to land a job that is high paying, and as secure as any job on the market today.
For those wishing to make a better life for themselves and their family there is nothing like an online associates degree to boost their career. While there are still hurdles financially for those attempting to earn an online associates degree on their own, with no additional support, it also can be the catalyst that can lead to better opportunities in the future if they are able to gut out the hard times that come with attending any college program. This means that the sacrifices put in now will be translated into success later on due to the new opportunities that will arise from the degree. Any reputable online associates degree program will have a career services department that will help guide you in the right direction in order to best help those that are in need of a steady job with higher pay than the current position the student has currently.
Another benefit to enrolling in an online associates degree program in terms of the career possibilities is that the computer is becoming more prevalent in the money making business world. Think about how many occupations use the personal computer in at least some fashion? Is it not a benefit then that you will be gaining your education via this same device? Of course it is, and you will be better prepared to handle the computer, and online applications no matter what your specialty is, because the bottom line is your program is teaching you to learn online, and utilize a computer in ways other associate degree graduates do not.
Yet another great way that an online associates degree can reward those that enroll in the program is the specialty programs geared toward high paying jobs. In fact the associates degree is one of the most career focused degrees one can earn at any level of education. The online associates degree focuses on the aspect that the workforce is a commodity based economy that pays more for in demand jobs, and reacts to provide the student with such an opportunity to get training in any high demand field that exists today. The approval process for online associates degree programs is less stringent than other educational programs, and allows the institution to create a program in reaction to the needs of employers, which could mean that you will end up graduating with multiple job offers.

Pittsburg Schools Holds a Magnet School Information Fair
The Pittsburg Schools is holding an Information Fair aimed at providing parents with the information they need to provide their children with the best opportunities.

The Pittsburg Schools? Magnet Information Fair will be held on October 7th at the Frick International Studies Academy. Pittsburg Schools? Magnet schools and educational programs aim to provide students with the best opportunities in areas of special interest, talents, or future career pursuits. Enrollment in the magnet program is expected to lasts one year and students enrolled in the program must maintain proper academic progress, citizenship and attendance. If the student cannot meet these requirements the student will be transferred back into their assigned school.
The Pittsburg Schools? Magnet Information Fair is important because there are only a limited number of spaces available. Fifty percent of these places are reserved for students of African American background with the remaining positions for students of other races in order to preserve a racial balance. Faculty and students from the Pittsburg Schools? magnet schools will be at the Magnet Information Fair in order to help answer questions parents may have. Magnet options are available in elementary, middle and high school students.
A preferred registration period will be offered from October 9-20. Preferred registration in the Pittsburg Schools? magnet schools programs is offered to students who: are currently enrolled in the Pittsburg Schools? magnet program and wish to reenroll in the same magnet program; younger siblings of any student who is currently enrolled in the same magnet program in the same school where the younger sibling is applying; and finally a geographic preference is offered to certain students based on space and racial balance, students with difficulties in mobility will also be given geographic preference to the magnet program to which they apply.
General Information About the Pittsburg Schools? Magnet Schools
Pittsburg Schools? Magnet Schools program provides students the opportunity to pursue certain special interest and talents. Several of the Pittsburg Schools? magnet programs offer the opportunity to begin in kindergarten and continue on into middle and high school. General registration to the Pittsburg Schools? magnet program will be from November 1-15. When the student is finally accepted to the Pittsburg Schools? magnet program is based on the promotion to the grade that is being applied. Twins who are accepted to the same magnet school program will not be separated. Notification of acceptance to the program will be in January of 2007.
If there are too many acceptable applicants then a lottery may be used. This lottery will include all the applicants from both the general and preferred registration periods. Applicants who submitted their applicants after November 15 will not be in the lottery. A computerized system will be used to decide how the students will be arranged. Parents and students will be informed by mail. Only the grades of kindergarten, sixth, or ninth are entry grades and students must meet certain requirements for other grades.

Does an online degree meet the requirements of your employer? Are the educational standards needed for acceptance by your state department of education met by any and all of the online learning institutions? Getting your online degree is not by any means to be equated with getting your driver?s license from that famous catalog.


The quality of your education depends upon the specific provider and the amount of work you put into the program you choose. It will cost money, time, and effort; in the best-case scenario, it will only cost you time and effort; in the worst, it could be all of the above and perhaps a relationship or two. Some folks lurking in your constellation of friends and acquaintances may not take your online degree seriously; they may even make a disparaging remark out of their own lack of knowledge or understanding. That is when you can feed back some of that research and newly gained insight that you just acquired during your Web browsing.
If you want to go the distance, don?t stop with an associate degree or even a bachelor?s. Really ruffle their feathers and plan for the day you can wave your sheepskin in front of their noses; get a distance learning MBA. Choose a school accredited by your state board of education, take the classes, do your homework, and build a new rung on your ladder to academic and career success one subject at a time for the online degree. Remember, you own the ladder; make it the one that you want it to be with an online degree.

This year, the state’s new graduation requirements become “real” as students in Seattle schools in the class of 2008 receive the results of their first attempt at the 10th-grade Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL).

Passing the 10th-grade WASL will be the avenue most students take to earn the Certificate of Academic Achievement, one of the four new statewide graduation requirements. (Students in special education programs may participate in alternate assessments and earn a Certificate of Individual Achievement.)
The Seattle school district believes every student can learn and demonstrate the skills and knowledge tested on the WASL. While many students will be successful on all three sections of the test on their first try, some students will not meet standard in one or more sections. There is help available for all students in Seattle schools to receive the skills needed not only to pass the WASL but also further their learning in and after high school.
All Seattle high schools have developed plans to assist students in meeting WASL standards. These include adding a 7th period, tutoring in math and literacy and in class tutors. The Seattle school district has also committed to providing each high school with a building-based manager and additional instructional coaching services. Students at Seattle schools may also take advantage of school year credit retrieval programs, Evening School, Contract Learning, and the Digital Learning Commons. Parents can contact their local Seattle school for more information about these programs.
All students in the classes of 2006, 2007 and 2008 in Seattle schools who took the 10th-grade WASL will receive an Individual Score Report with a final and accurate score for every WASL subject they took. These reports will be generated by Pearson Educational Measurement, the testing company, and sent to Seattle school districts for distribution. (Students in the class of 2009 — this year’s ninth-graders — who took the 10th-grade WASL will get their results in late August/early September.)
Each score report will show a Seattle school student’s performance on the reading, writing and math WASLs. Science results will be included in a second score report scheduled for late August/early September.
Some Seattle school students, however, won’t receive any score report in June. Students in special education programs who used the two Washington Alternate Assessment System (WAAS) options, the developmentally appropriate WASL (DAW) or the portfolio assessment, to measure their progress will not have their work scored until the summer. Results will be available for these Seattle school students by late August/early September.
Because of the high interest in student results, OSPI will work hard after receiving the initial score report from the testing company to provide as much accurate information to the public as quickly as possible. By late summer, OSPI will share a comprehensive look at all 10th-grade WASL data after the science WASL and the WAAS DAW and Portfolio have been scored and after districts have had the opportunity to verify student data files. All of these efforts will help Seattle schools determine the strengths and weaknesses of areas students in the various core subject areas.

The Philadelphia Education Fund has been in operation for 20 years. A nonprofit organization, the Fund partners with school districts (including the Philadelphia schools), other nonprofit organizations, businesses and individuals to provide scholarships for students in the Philadelphia schools system.

Its purpose is to initiate and implement innovative educational programs, of which they have several. They work to improve the quality of teachers in the Philadelphia schools, conduct educational research, and engage the community in school reform. The Fund is one of the largest of 86 education funds that are affiliated with the national Public Education Network.
One of the programs that are sponsored by the Fund is the Philadelphia Scholars Program that awards Last Dollar Scholarships to Philadelphia schools students. In June 2006, they awarded $800,000 in scholarships to 285 schools students.
Over the last 16 years, the Fund has awarded more than $5 million to students, who attend 15 high schools of the Philadelphia schools system ? many of these youth were the first in their families to attend college. Scholarships range from $200 to $4,000, helping to fill the gap between a student?s financial aid package and actual college costs. Scholarships cover tuition, fees, books and transportation. They are renewable for a maximum of six years for students attending accredited, degree-granting colleges and universities across the nation.
Scholarship funding is from Philadelphia donors (many of which are the city?s most prominent philanthropists in the financial industry), but includes hundreds of individuals, businesses, and organizations. The most active donor is John C. Bogle, chairman of the National Constitution Center and former chairman and founder of the Vanguard Group. Besides wanting to make college a reality for Philadelphia schools students, Bogle hopes that these same children will one day invest in Philadelphia?s next generation.
Once such group, which raises funds for the Last Dollar Scholarship program, is the Scholars Advisory Committee. To date, they have raised $16 million. A. Morris Williams, Jr. chairs the committee, is the president of Williams and Company, and was formerly an executive of Morgan Stanley. He and John Neff, a committee member and former managing partner of Wellington Management Company, are the two driving forces behind the Philadelphia Scholars Program. Together, they provided the seed money for the program?s launch.
Williams wants to help the Philadelphia schools students reach their goals, hoping to inspire others to support higher education in Philadelphia. Neff wants to give something back to the community that has been so good to him, and sees supporting education as a way to give students an opportunity for a better life.
Most investors in the scholarship program for Philadelphia schools students recognize the something must be done to help the city?s youth succeed. Without the opportunity of a higher education for today?s students, Philadelphia will be left wanting for an educated workforce in the future. The donors? generosity helps the Philadelphia schools students have a better future, as well as helping the city succeed tomorrow.

Atlanta Schools? ?Wellness? Workshops Promote Nutrition and Physical Education
When Atlanta Schools opened at the end of August, a new project was initiated.

The ?Wellness? Workshop Project kicked off the school year with a workshop that included Olympic gold medalist Gail Devers, author Yvonne Butler, 300 students from the Atlanta School District, faculty members, and community leaders. This was the first ever Atlanta Schools? ?wellness? workshop. Atlanta Schools? Margaret Fain Elementary School?s Wings of Eagles dance troupe performed to illustrate how much physical energy is used in dance.
The first ?Wellness? Workshop was co-chaired by Dr. Marilyn Hughes, the director of nutrition administration for Atlanta Schools, and Billette Owens-Ashford, Atlanta Schools? director of physical education and athletics. The goal of the ?Wellness? Workshop Project is improve the health of the students by identifying health-related problems. It has been proven that health related issues can often have a direct affect on a student?s academic achievement.
The inaugural ?Wellness? Workshop for the Atlanta Schools had a variety of speakers and displays that provided resources on nutritional based activities and physical education activities. The keynote speaker was Dr. Yvonne Butler. Dr. Butler is a noted author whose book, ?Healthy Kids, Smart Kids,? discusses the impact of diet and exercise on learning and academic performance. Other speakers included Olympic track-and-field gold medalist Gail Severs who spoke about importance of exercise to health and how to stay physically fit.
Atlanta Schools? ?Wellness? Workshop Project is part of a broad program that aims to provide both fitness and nutrition strategies for students and staff in all Atlanta Schools. Innovative strategies that will be used include yoga classes for teachers and students, vegetarian cafeteria lines, and walking trails. The overall plan was developed by the Atlanta Schools? Board of Education. The Board of Education will offer guidelines on how to implement the program and how the schools will be evaluated.
A major part of the plan is establishing wellness councils. These councils will be comprised of teachers, parents, administrators, students, and community and business partners. The council will assist Atlanta Schools in integrating nutrition and physical education into the current curriculum. The wellness council will also have a presence at events throughout the Atlanta Schools.
Recently, Atlanta Schools? wellness plan received a boost from the involvement of an Atlanta Schools? parent. Linton Hopkins has two children attending E. Rivers Elementary School. Hopkins is concerned about the nutritional value of cafeteria offerings at the E. Rivers Elementary School but unlike other parents, Hopkins is the executive chef of Atlanta?s Restaurant Eugene and winner of this year?s Atlanta ?Iron Chef? competition. Hopkins has joined the Local School Wellness Council to help evaluate the school?s cafeteria. Hopkins isn?t the only trained chef to join the E. Rivers Elementary School?s wellness council. Elisa Gambino, owner of pasta emporium Via Elisa, has along with eleven other parents joined the wellness council. Parental involvement is an important element to the success of the wellness councils. Currently, approximately 90 percent of Atlanta Schools? elementary and 65 percent of high schools have parents actively involved with the wellness council of their school.

For many parents, especially those who reside in the northeastern United States as well as other places, the pinnacle of education is found in Ivy League schools.

Their cherished dream and life-long ambition is to send their sons and daughters to these schools, believing that the higher standards of education and social connections available there will likely set up their offspring for life. They are impressed no end by the Ivy League, with its connotations of academic excellence and its reputation for social elitism, and with good reason.
The term Ivy League can trace its roots to 1935, but the term really gained national attention starting in 1954 with the formation of the NCAA Division I athletic conference. With the dearth of professional sports at the time, people became rabid supporters of their favorite college teams and the Ivy League schools were no exception. Today, the term Ivy League is no longer associated wholly with athletics but with educational philosophy as exhibited by the country’s oldest schools.
There are eight private institutions that comprise the Ivy League: Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island; Columbia University in New York, New York; Cornell University in Ithaca, New York; Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire; Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts; Princeton University in the Princeton Borough and Princeton Township, New Jersey; University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut.
There are some characteristics common to Ivy League members, and these give credence to the perception that they are exceptional learning institutions. Ivy League schools consistently place among the top 20 in the US News college and university rankings; they rank among the top one percent of the world’s academic institutions in terms of financial endowment; they are a haven for the country’s top-tier students and faculty; and they are perceived to be socially elite.
All of the Ivy League institutions have financial endowments of over $2 billion each and are considered to be among the wealthiest private universities in the United States. Harvard, with a $25.5 billion endowment in 2005, is considered the wealthiest university in the United States and in the world. Incidentally, it is also the oldest university in the country.

So who accredits the accreditors?
One thing you need to know is that not all accreditation associations are legitimate. It is not uncommon to see a diploma mill creating its own accrediting authority and then granting itself ?Accreditation?.

This is an important issue to look at before you settle for the claim that your college is accredited.
How do you know whether a college or university is accredited by a legitimate authority? You should be able to tell that very easily because in the United States, there are two organizations that accredit the accreditors. These are:
The Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) which is a voluntary nongovernmental organization.
The United States department of Education
Over 70 accrediting associations in the United States are recognized by either CHEA or the U.S Department of Education. Sometimes the college or university may be recognized by both.
Established in 1976 CHEA was established through the efforts of a group of college and university presidents and it is accountable to its member institutions of higher learning. It also acts as a clearinghouse on accreditation for the higher education institutions.
For Canadian accreditation, all the schools are regulated by provincial governments as well as some agencies that perform this function for professional programs at both undergraduate and graduate levels. If a college or university is a member of the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada, then it is assumed that the institution is providing acceptable and credible education
So before you assume a college or university has the right accreditation, confirm with the respective accrediting authorities.

In May of 2006, the Texas Educator Excellence Grant Program was enacted by a special legislative session in Texas. Governor Rick Perry and several legislators sponsored the bill, which allocates state funds to underwrite merit pay plans in Texas schools across the state.

It is the largest incentive pay program in the nation.
The program essentially implements a long-standing business concept into the Texas schools, treating teachers as individual professionals rather than an educational team. Proponents of the program believe that mediocrity becomes the standard, when excellence and mediocrity are equally rewarded.
The legislature allocated $100 million for teacher bonuses for this school year, and another $250 million for the next school year. The program targets Texas schools, which have a large population of low-income students but also have earned one of the two highest state performance ratings of exemplary or recognized. Classroom teacher bonuses are only for those who teach in core subject areas and are based on student standardized test scores.
Grants for the program were awarded to 1,161 Texas schools this year, 15 percent of all traditional and charter schools within the state. Though such a program is mostly untested in public schools, the Texas schools has made it voluntary for qualifying schools. Teachers are required to give input at each school and ultimate approval of the program.
More than 24 schools already have rejected the program and grant money, some returning up to $90,000 to the state. Linda Bridges of the Texas Federation of Teachers stated that the backers of the bill never consulted the teachers before developing and passing the program. Critics of the program do not believe it will achieve what the proponents suggest it will, and teacher resistance remains high.
One reason cited is the animosity that such a plan will cause in the Texas schools, pitting teacher against teacher in order to attain the bonuses. It would dissolve the team spirit prevalent at many Texas schools, where teachers and staff all work together for the success of the entire school. This ?one big family? attitude is embraced by many educators. Under the state?s program, only core subject teachers are eligible for the bonuses, ignoring many teachers who add to a school?s total success.
Many Texas schools educators see the program as a disruption, distracting teachers from focusing on raising student test scores and improving their academic achievement. Instead, they would be focused on personal gain over the total success of the school.
Another drawback to the incentive pay program is the amount of paperwork required for a school to participate. Many Texas schools teachers would much rather spend that time working with their students.
Debbie Ratcliffe of the Texas schools said they expect at least 98 percent of the schools to accept the grant money and develop merit pay plans for their teachers.