Michael Gage
2011 Graduate
Advance Diploma in Life Coaching
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Keys To Becoming A Successful Online Learner
I run across both prospective and existing students every semester at Light University Online who actually fear the idea of using a computer. If you are one of those students — don’t worry! You will be surprised at the basic level of computer skill that is necessary for most online programs. Here are few of the basic skills:
- You should be somewhat proficient at using email.
- You need a basic understanding of Microsoft Word so you can successfully complete any required written work.
- How to open, create and save files is another important aspect of virtual classroom literacy. This might also include uploading or downloading files.
- Make yourself familiar with your school’s learning management software. This software is the platform for course
delivery. Components might include discussion boards, chat rooms, learning modules, and tests.
A couple pieces of advice include:
- If you are still have “cold sweats” about using a computer to navigate the virtual classroom, try to find a tutorial that can help ease some of that anxiety. Visit your local Best Buy or go to Amazon.com to see what is on their shelves. I have found that Keystone Learning (www.keystonelearning.com) is one of the most comprehensive computer-based training libraries out there.
- Make sure that you are comfortable with your school’s learning management software. Most schools, including Light University Online, offer online tutorials which walk you through the various features and benefits and teach you basic navigation. At Light U, we even allow our students to navigate in and around a makeshift class. Make sure that, if this is
available to you, you take full advantage of it. If you are still not comfortable, ask an enrollment counselor to walk you through some type of demonstration.
About The Author
Shaun Redgate is Vice President of Enrollment Management at Light University Online. He has been in distance and online learning for 25 years and has seen this industry evolve from its humble beginnings to where it is today. He is widely recognized as a leading expert in his field. He has witnessed firsthand, as a student, faculty and in various administrative roles, how online learning changes lives. Shaun holds his undergraduate and graduate degrees from Liberty University.
Read MoreDo Not Disturb — Online Learning Taking Place
With a growing student population from 44 states and 10 countries currently enrolled at Light University Online, many of whom are new to online learning, our team of enrollment coaches is seeing an increase in the number of questions about time management, and how to be successful in the online classroom. It is not an easy question to answer since each learner is different.
When I have been asked about how to be successful in the online classroom, I often start with what online students, in general, struggle with the most – DISTRACTIONS. My advice is simple — find your best available time and place and make those your “personal” college classroom.
If you are still finding that unexpected interruptions or unusual settings make consistent study patterns difficult do not panic. Do the little things that can pay big dividends — fully engage during your personal classroom time(s), place something on your computer or at your study area that remind you of your long-term educational goals, and use aides to help you focus – (e.g. “Do Not Disturb –Learning Taking Place” sign in your study.)
Read MoreLife and Times of The Abundant Life Coach
Aya Fubara Eneli, M.A., J.D.
Earlier this week, an acquaintance asked me, “Who coaches the coach?” A simple question; but one that I pondered carefully before I answered. Who coaches me? Why is it so important that a coach has a coach? His question conjured up images and stories of people in high places who had taken great falls because (in my opinion) they no longer sought out or heeded wise counsel. They did not submit themselves to be coached by a person or persons of wisdom.
I thought of all the times I had been too lazy, too cheap, too arrogant, too scared, to confident, too disorganized, too depressed to seek wisdom in my affairs; I crashed and burned each time. It is as a result of all the lessons learned the hard way, coupled with my desire to be the best I was called to be for Christ, that I have committed to always submitting myself to be coached by persons or persons God leads me to.
The decision to be coachable and be coached is particularly important for people who are making in a difference in the lives of others and can be lulled into sin by a false sense that their skills alone are bringing them the success they see in the lives of the people they touch. A few days ago, I had my first sessions with two clients. It was such a rewarding and honestly a heady experience. I mean, God showed up in his glory and I had an insight and clarity into their lives that was surreal. I remember hearing questions come out of my mouth and I actually looked around to see who was feeding me lines! One client was so moved that she had uncovered the source of the biggest stressor in her life, she couldn’t stop crying. I had God-bumps as Shannon Ethridge would say. Those kinds of experiences, while wonderful, can easily lead to a false sense of self. I have chosen to surround myself with people whom I have permitted to always keep me grounded.
I thank God for my coach, Dwight Bain, who is also on the faculty at Light University Online. I thank God for my parents who were my first coaches and continue to positively influence me today. I am fortunate to have mentors such as Pastor Gary Grogan who reaches out to me and makes out time to teach me and reveal biblical truths about specific situations in my life. I thank God for my training at Light University Online. I still refer to my class notes and am excited at continuing my training there. I am so blessed to have a husband who is not only a wise man of God, he is also a certified Health Coach and he often lends insights where I have blind spots.
Are you a coach? Who coaches you? Who speaks into your life and helps guide you to become more of who God wants you to be? Are you still buying into all the reasons why you don’t have and will not have a coach anytime soon? Well, ponder this: How can you lead a person where you have not been and are unwilling to go?
Of course, Jesus and the Holy Spirit are the ultimate coaches. However, God often speaks to us through fellow men; consider David and Samuel, Ruth and Naomi, Joshua and Moses, Timothy and Paul, the list goes one. The greatest coaches have coaches. The most successful people work with coaches. Get a coach!
Aya Fubara Eneli is a best-selling author, Christian Life Coach, Motivational Speaker, Attorney, and Life Coaching student at Light University Online. Her life’s purpose is to empower and equip people to live up to their highest potential. For more information on her seminars, coaching or to book her for your next event, visit http://www.ayaeneli.com, or e-mail her at info@ayaeneli.com.
Read More5 Reasons To Choose Light University Online Christian Counseling Courses
Five Reasons to Choose Light University’s Online Christian Counseling Courses
Choosing the right online university for Christian counseling courses can be difficult for anyone. As a faculty of Light University, I have been very impressed with the quality and value that our courses can offer students. Below are five reasons why I believe that Light University is a great choice for any student looking to get Christian based training online.
1. Quality Instruction From Top Experts
Light University Online is blessed with some of the most prominent Christian counselors and writers of today. When I first began facilitating courses at Light University I was pleasantly surprised to see a lecture hosted by one of my former professors. I remember being incredibly impressed by his teaching while studying at a top graduate Christian counseling program. I am delighted to see that Light University Online is committed to providing the absolute best in online Christian counseling courses. This expert instruction of the highest quality, and is offered at an incredible value.
From university deans to best-selling authors and accomplished public speakers, Light University Online has the best of the best. Take a look at the faculty page to learn more. You will be pleasantly surprised with what you see!
2. A Flexible, Engaging Format
With five-week courses and 24-hour online classroom access, the flexibility offered through Light University Online is unparalleled. Courses last long enough to engage the student and provide the opportunity for in-depth discussion, but are short enough to allow for a faster progression through the program. The format allows new students to start every five weeks, so there is no waiting around for a specified annual start date.
In addition to flexibility and convenience, the online format allows students to experience the course materials in an engaging way. Pre-loaded video lectures from the expert faculty allow teaching to be presented directly to the learner. This offers even more flexibility than a DVD curriculum, as the entire collection of the course’s lectures is housed online. These lectures engage the student and foster deep online discussion within the student body.
3. A Highly Engaged Student Body
Through years of involvement in higher education, I have had the privilege to encounter many students through my roles in administration, instruction, and as a student myself. While I value all of the students I have come in contact with, I have found something special in the Light University Online community. A learning community that is fueled by a desire to learn and a love for God is bound to set itself apart, and that is exactly what I see in the LUO community.
The student body of Light University Online has a unique makeup of students with varying educational levels and professional backgrounds. Bound together by a Christian worldview and appreciation for God’s truth, the student body engages in thoughtful and heartfelt discussions based on detailed course material.
At Light University Online, every student is welcomed with open arms into the rich learning community regardless of educational or professional experience. As someone with experience teaching for multiple institutions, I can honestly say that Light University students are top-tier students.
4. Affordability
While maintaining extremely high standards for quality education, Light University Online is still able to keep its online Christian counseling courses highly affordable and accessible. Comparable programs cost much more than Light University Online. Remember the professor I mentioned earlier in the post? It cost me over three and a half times what a Light University Online student would pay to be under his instruction at my former school!
5. Uniquely Christian Focus
“What has Athens to do with Jerusalem?” Tertullian’s question of the compatibility of Christianity and scholarship still applies today. While the Christian faith and psychological principles have a somewhat sordid past, each area of knowledge represents a portion of God’s revelation to man. Psychology and counseling, like all forms of knowledge, belong to God. Therefore, the best way to study and utilize this knowledge is through a Christian perspective. Light University Online offers this perspective, exploring the wisdom of the helping and healing profession while removing the dross of the secular bias. The instruction at Light University Online can provide a foundation for someone newly interested in people-helping, or it can help a studied and experienced counselor to deepen spiritual roots or learn the Christian truth ignored by a secular training program.
Additionally, an education from a Christian perspective offers more than head knowledge. Light University Online aims to foster spiritual transformation and exhortation for its students, helping them to develop not only in knowledge, but in character and relationship with Christ Jesus.
If your goal is to develop professionally from a Christian worldview, Light University Online is the place for you.
Light University Online is a truly special place. From the flexible, convenient format to the best-of-the-best in instructors, Light University Online excels in helping you to help others. If you have not already, I want to personally invite you to come join a community of believers committed to Christ and brought together.
About the Author
Kevin Van Wynsberg is Light University Online course facilitator, and has years of experience in online education as a student, professor, and administrator at various institutions. He currently holds a Master of Arts in Professional Counseling from Liberty University, and is pursuing a Ph.D. in Counseling, also from Liberty. Kevin also works as a counselor at an outpatient Christian counseling agency. Kevin believes in both counseling and education as powerful mediums for advancing the cause of Christ.
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