The UK technology news is fall of talk of the crisis of under-representation of women in IT and computer science. Harvard University President Lawrence Summers recently for suggested that the difference between male and female brains make it hard for women to understand science, and that is one reason for the low number of women in computer science jobs. This claim may seem outrageous to many, but the suggestion does not seem so far-fetched in my house.

My husband is an IT consultant. I am a writer. I am fascinated by areas of technology, but only as a consumer. I see this behavior mirrored already in my six year old daughter, while my eight year old son likes to take things apart and put them back together. The truth is, however, that plenty of girls are interested in IT, but they keep hitting that old glass ceilign. Could online computer science degrees help redress these entrenched attitudes?

It's not often that Angelina Jolie is upstaged, but even she could not quite measure up to her virtual character Lara Croft. For women trying to make a name for themselves in computer science jobs, it may well seem that Lara Croft is destined to always be the most famous female in IT. As in the masculine world of the MBA, could online degrees in computer science make a difference?

According to the Computer Research Association, women's interest in computer science jobs fell 80 percent between 1998 and 2004, and 93 percent since its peak in 1982. So what are the reasons for this? Research suggests that male and female brains are different, but science and history has shown women can compete in any area where they are offered an equal footing. So is it the computer science jobs that are letting women down?

Analysts at the Labor Department's Women’s Bureau reported in 2003 that men held 69.5 percent of the nation’s 347,000 jobs in managing computer and information systems. Kara Helander, western region vice president at Catalyst, a New York-based nonprofit organization that advocates for the advancement of women in corporations, states that women are seriously underrepresented among corporate officers in computer science jobs. Her main reason is the exclusionary culture and the long hours. There is simply very little room for a woman who has family commitments. Lower down the scale, part-time computer science jobs are in short supply. So is it all about babies then?

It seems bizarre to me that IT - this most modern of modern technologies, should have such old-fashioned attitudes. Not all women stay at home with their children so this, in itself, is not reason enough to exclude them from computer science jobs in the 21st century. Online working offers another alternative. But what if a woman has difficulty with a computer science degree in the first place? This is where online study could help.

Maribel Gonzalez, a high-flying math scholar at high school, found herself quitting her computer science degree after a year. She believed that the masculine, sink or swim style of programming teaching did not suit her. An online computer science degree could offer a temporary answer to this massive problem. Male and female brains are different, as are our manners of assimilating knowledge. An online computer science degree would have allowed Maribel to learn at her own pace and in her own way. As it is, Maribel became a teacher, a traditionally more fitting job for a woman.

Both the US and UK governments have recognized that there must be changes to increase the chances for women in computer science jobs. Online degrees and working must play a part in this. Not all woman trawl the Internet just for the latest news on Angelina Jolie. And there are at least as many men on there looking for pictures.If you are a woman out there looking into online computer science degrees, take comfort from this, and the fact that you may be getting the best of the medium. All you men out there interested in computer science jobs watch out!

The horror of the events over the last few weeks in the wake of Hurricane Katrina has overshadowed everything else in the world's news. The sight of the glorious city of New Orleans submerged in water - and the growing horrors to be found as the water subsides, makes ordinary September discussion - new programs and new degrees, seem superfluous and crass. The only new starts I can think of are of those whose homes and livelihoods have been lost.

As a UK resident and educational writer, I do not feel qualified to discuss the political implications of Hurricane Katrina and the plight of New Orleans and surrounding areas. However, one thing seems certain. For both the displaced citizens of New Orleans and the ones that refuse to move, there is another potential tragedy - that of the severe threat to public health.

The growing threat to public health in New Orleans is one of the first that needs to be solved. For those in charge of public health in the area, the immediate and only guarantee for public health seems to be complete evacuation. As we are seeing, this seems to be easier said than done. One of the many images that stood out to me from the BBC's coverage of New Orleans was that of a doctor saying that he had been the only doctor in New Orleans for four days. For the people stranded in the area in the initial aftermath, public health management was non-existent.

In the surrounding states offering refuge to the refugees from Louisiana and Mississippi, we are seeing positive examples of public health management. In Alabama, the Public Health Department has been swift to come to the aid of refugees and to apologise to Alabama's citizens whose own public health provision has been temporarily compromised. Alongside medical assistance, Alabama is offering hundreds of beds in nursing homes, hospitals and shelters for the needy.

Meanwhile, public health professionals in Texas have been testing the water being pumped from New Orleans and have found dangerously high levels of contamination. This has ramifications both for those New Orleans citizens that refuse to leave, and for those residents who will eventually be able to return to their homes.

It is obvious that, alongside the rebuilding of houses, businesses and lives in New Orleans, that the ongoing task of maintaining and controlling public health in the area will be massive. There will be challenges for present and future public health professionals, and lessons to be learned on how public health in disasters should be managed.
There has been a great deal of talk about, and investment in, homeland security. Amid the present and future recriminations after the horror in Louisiana and New Orleans, public health will stand out next to wetland security. If you are planning to undertake an online degree in the near future, you may want to consider public health education. For the last few weeks have made it clear that, even in the richest nation in the world, there is a great need for dedicated and well-trained public health professionals.

The hit TV show Lost previewed here in the UK last week, and it was destined for me to become addicted. I only like to watch one TV show (I spend most of the rest of my evenings writing) and, as luck would have it, Lost began airing the night after the reruns of Sex and the City ended.

Lost is one of the growing numbers of TV series and movies that are gaining popularity - and momentum - through Internet marketing. As soon as the program aired in the US, Internet sites and forums began springing up to discuss the possible implications - and plot outcomes, of the program.

Channel 4, the UK TV channel that is airing Lost, has long since caught on to using Internet marketing to further their cause. One of their flagship programs - Big Brother, utilizes Internet marketing as part of their overall strategy to ensure virtually 24-hour media coverage of the event. In the case of Lost, the company responsible for the Donnie Darko website has produced a website for Channel 4 - www.channel4.com/lost. This offers viewers the chance to take part in interactive episodes and enter characters' dreams. Interaction with Lost characters will involve utilizing the Internet, email and even answer phone messages.

Internet marketing no longer has the dry, unpopular image of banners and pop-ups. For TV and filmmakers in particular, it can take fan support - and therefore advertising revenue to the next level.

Having watched the first three episodes of Lost in one night, I have to wait until next week for the next one. I might just go to the Lost website in the meantime, though - oh the joys of Internet marketing!

Progress is happening so fast these days; we are in danger of becoming engulfed - and ungrateful. The onset of the online degree is already making a difference to many people's lives. Subject options are still limited in online degrees, however, which means not all of us can yet fulfill our dreams online.

The majority of online colleges offer a core set of vocational, online programs, the most popular of which are usually online mbas, online paralegal studies and wireless computer networking. Should we be disgruntled or accepting, or can we expect the number of online degrees to increase in the future?

Cynics and critics of the online degree attack the blatant moneymaking strategies of many online universities, and the relatively small list of programs available - the rest of which are usually marketing, computer science, animation, computer programming, linux-unix, psychology, accounting, engineering, networking, teacher education and criminal justice degrees online. Personally, I can't see their problem. Online universities have to make money like any other organization, and they have to run profitable programs.

Vocational programs such as online mbas, online paralegal studies and wireless computer networking online make sense for several reasons:

Programs such as online mbas fit in with, and enhance, the students existing occupation.
The working student can afford the program, and the time spent on study is less likely to be wasted.
Students of vocational courses are more likely to stick to their degree as it has a real, demonstrable chance of improving their salary.
As a related topic, sticking to vocational courses allow the colleges to improve their course delivery techniques with popular programs before branching out into more unusual subjects.

There will always be some degrees that are difficult to carry out online, such as medicine and teaching. Fully qualified teachers and doctors can expect more postgraduate, specialist study to be offered online, but, for many new high school graduates, a traditional campus-based program will always be the best bet.

People who have an existing degree, or who have been working for a few years, have a good idea of the working environment - and of their goals for the future. Online mbas are particularly popular among women because they remove the potentially masculine classroom environment of the online mba, but allow them to compete with their male peers by gaining vital additional qualifications.

The computer based, vocational online degrees make particularly good sense. The top ten jobs in the US continue to be in IT, and IT professionals already skilled in programming will find online study such as linux-unix, animation and wireless computer networking a relatively easy and convenient addition to their skill-set.

It would be wonderful to think of a world where subjects from literature to law could be studied online - we are just not there yet. Online paralegal studies allow administrative staff to move into the fascinating world of law, and paralegal jobs continue to be some of the fastest growing. A full-blow law degree is a lengthy and costly process, however, one, which, I suspect, would be too much of a risk and undertaking for the current online colleges to consider providing.

Who knows? If the popularity of online degrees continues to grow and grow, the list of available programs is bound to grow. A word of caution, though; not all online degree providers are as good as each other. The big Universities - Phoenix, DeVry, and a few others, have gained good reputations by offering a core range of degrees which they have spent time improving. Some online universities are more unscrupulous, will promise you the world and deliver little.

Doing an online degree is all about being dedicated and realistic. If you cannot find the online degree you want, you will have to think hard about how you will gain your qualifications. If you are determined to stick with that area, you will have to look into conventional study, and hope that there will be an online program to suit your next level of career.

These days, it seems like every second TV show is about criminal justice. The success of programmes like CSI Crime Scene Investigation both glamorize and popularize this vital police work. In real life, any criminal justice career involves hard, painstaking work, and your failures are far more likely to be made public than your successes.

The aftermath of the the recent, terrible events in London have allowed us to see both the successes and failures of criminal justice work and careers. The rapid apprehension of the many of the bombers, using tried and tested criminal justice techniques, including CSI (crime scene investigation) are a symbol of all that is best about criminal justice. When law enforcement agents make mistakes, however, they often pay a high price.

A criminal justice career will sometimes be tough, but a criminal justice degree can contribute to the larger picture, and the greater good, giving you satisfaction above and beyond run of the mill careers. If you are already working in law enforcement, an online criminal justice degree specializing in crime scene investigation would allow you to take a major role in national and local security. The reality may not be quite as glamorous or popular as CSI Crime Scene Investigation, but it will be helping ordinary people, which is what is most important.

The summer vacations have barely arrived, yet - in my head, I am already thinking about the fall. Even now, in my 34th year, I still start to get that back to school feeling around August time - what am I going to do in September?

Actually, I hope that feeling never goes away. Having had several careers - marketing, editing, writing - and the ongoing career of motherhood, I still find myself wondering what I will do "when I grow up." Will I ever end up teaching English? Will I ever write that novel? Will I be marketing myself and newly gained skilled for the rest of my days?

I hope so - because I believe that the constant acquisition of new skills is what keeps a person fresh - in mind and body. In this - the ever-changing global workplace of the twenty-first century, our best hope to keep up with life and the workplace is constant education. That is why I am such a fan of online education - be it a degree, diploma or certificate.

Of course no one said this would be easy. I know myself - with 2 school-age children and one toddler, a messy house and a second income to earn, there just are not enough hours in the day. It is a fast-paced life we are all living in the developed world, but technology is here to make some things easier.

I am lucky enough to spend most of my time at home with my children, and for those who are in established careers, it may seem more difficult to change direction. many online degrees such as MBAs, marketing, psychology, health administration and computer science are designed to use your existing skills to help you move into another field. Surely this is a good enough reason to go back to school.

If you are interested in going back to school - online or otherwise, there is plenty of information on this and sister sites. Enjoy your summer and - if you go back to school, enjoy your new future!

It's official: we are now entering the amateur age of culture. The Internet and easily accessible digital technology has allowed anyone and everyone to have their say and reveal their art and talents to the world. These may be through blogs, podcasts, short films or animation, and the good news is that the phenomenom is growing. Not everyone thinks this is a good deal, but if Paris Hilton is allowed to be ubiquitous simply because of her money, should not ordinary people have a voice who might actually have something worth listening to? Enter the digital age...

These days, the trend seems to be growing for people taking things into their own hands. The lines between expert and amateur, celebrity and "nobody" are blurring. The truth is, nobody is a nobody. The downside of this is the endless serving of trashy reality tv, and the so-called "dumbing down" of society (there's that Paris Hilton again). But is society really dumbing down? The proliferation of amateurs using digital technology to post their skills on the Internet would say otherwise. The Internet has given a voice to many more people, and also the chance to change your life in the form of the online degree.

No one should have to stay in a job they hate forever, with no way out. Online degrees mean that people can work from home, in their own time, and still earn a salary. There is such a huge range of online degrees available. True, most of them are still career-oriented. Online universities tend to stick to programs that might actually get people a job (how dare they?) However, online degrees in subjects such as digital animation and web design present the perfect opportunity for career-changing, while giving something back to the medium.

For while the Internet and digital technology have enabled all of us to publish, we will always need innovators in web design, digital animation and computer programming to ensure our voice is still heard. The downside is, we will have to listen to Paris Hilton too.

No one has said it is easy of course. Online degrees mean a lot oa