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Online Degrees in Education - Why Study Online?   by Gen Wright

With the advent of technology, the Internet has provided a whole new world of ways for people to function and do the most common tasks we have. Time constricted but you need to buy some stuff? You can shop online. Need to get in touch with a relative, friend, or loved one who lives on the other side of the world? You can chat and E-mail. Want to go back to school but does not have the time beyond your daily work and household chores? You can get online degrees in education. A lot of people are turning into distance education to acquire knowledge, and for many good reasons.

Time management is the greatest advantage of getting online degrees in education. A lot of people have no time to do schooling traditionally, for example, mothers taking care of their family, others who may have a demanding full-time job, people who may have many responsibilities at home like nursing for sick family members. With the availability of the option to get a degree by studying online at your own time and at your own pace, anyone with a home computer, a high-speed Internet connection, and the discipline to make smart time management choices can now officially call themselves students again. Of course, that’s after you go through all the necessary registration procedures.

There are several reasons why some people prefer online studying, besides the obvious above-mentioned time management issues. For one, the student-centered approach of online courses allows students to learn and study with the style they like best and are more suited for. Also, resources and course materials are available online 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. There is no competition for checking out books from the library or any of those usual references problems such as encountered by university students. Moreover, online teachers hail from all over the globe, which has the advantage of sharing practical knowledge that sometimes cannot be found in books or other available materials.

Online learning is also less intimidating. With the discussion groups and lecture sessions occurring over the Internet, students will be less shy to participate. Anonymity helps especially timid students to be able to ask questions and share their ideas and contribute their thoughts on subjects. Bonding with other students, although they do not actually meet, is not an impossibility. Online chat rooms are available to facilitate student interactions. There, students can discuss both academic and nonacademic concerns. The use of modern technology in studying also opens doors for further improvement in terms of technological know-how.

There is also the advantage of disregarding time zone differences; anytime a student wants to ask an instructor questions or help in course requirements, they can drop an e-mail or messages and just wait for their questions to be dealt with. Students find it easier to approach teachers and thus have their problems with subjects better addressed. Unlike in a regular classroom, a student has the time to process the instructions and subject matter before participating in any discussion and this can only make the learning experience a lot more rewarding for everyone. Although regular classrooms still have much to offer, taking up online degrees in education is a good second choice.

Pai, Thailand, a Well Discovered Gem   by Jaxon Toh

Pai is just a 4-hours bus ride away from Chiang Mai, Thailand. Relatively unknown just a few decades ago, this sleepy, laid-back town within a valley has quickly become a favourite among both Thai and foreign travellers alike. There are many lovely traditional buildings in this town and there a few guesthouses that are just bamboo huts - great for those who are sick of concrete walls.

The first time I stepped foot onto Pai, one of the guesthouse owners shared with me that many travellers come and stay longer than they had planned. Some even stayed behind for years! They just fell in love with Pai.

Getting Here and Around You can either take the orange public bus or the private mini-van from Arcade Bus Station in Chiang Mai. Careful about the mini-vans though: many of these drivers think they are rally racers. Not good to have a heavy meal before your journey! But this journey will take you through many winding and twisting roads, passing through breathtaking views of the mountains. In and around Pai town, you can walk, cycle or rent a motorbike.

Activities and Sights Wat Mae Yen is an easy walk from the centre of town. From this temple located on top of a small hill, you can get a good view of the sleepy town and rice paddy fields below and the misty mountains.

Further away are Mo Pang Falls where you can swim or even water slide during the dry season. Worth a visit too is the Pai Canyon, located on the road approaching Pai from Chiang Mai. A short climb up the hill and you’ll get a panoramic view of the Pai valley and mountains. This is a good place to catch the sunset as it sinks below the mountains. Both places are best reached by motorbike.

Elephant rides and river rafting are other popular tourist activities in Pai. Most of the elephant camps offer riding bare back on the elephants either through the river or jungle or both. If you’re heading to the river, be careful to get wet as part of the program is a rodeo ride on the elephant! For rafting, you can join a two day expedition on the Pai River rapids.

Or just do nothing, sip Chai tea, relax and watch the day go by. That is also a favourite tourist activity in this charming town.

Urban development in recent years has seen Pai losing its small town charms somewhat. During your travel in Chiang Mai or Thailand, be sure to see Pai before it becomes yet another over-developed tourist spot.

Motorbiking Pai, Thailand

Thailand - Chiang Mai to Pai - Motorbike trip

 Pai Thailand - Waterslides (Waterfall)

Elephant Ride in Pai Thailand

Pai Thailand - 2008 Guide   by simon ramsden

Prepare to postpone any planned adventure activities, as this town 120 kilometres north of Chiang Mai has a relaxing effect on most people’s minds that often puts paid to planned itineraries. Activities available are river rafting (on bamboo rafts for a slow ride or on rubber rafts for the real-deal white-water thrill), elephant riding, yoga, rock climbing, off-road motor-biking, reiki and meditation. Due to the remoteness of the surrounding tribal villages a trek from Pai still offers an unspoiled experience of the subtropical rainforest and its colourfully-clad inhabitants.

The leeches are a significant nuisance - like we travel journalists, they are always after a free meal.

If you can’t be bothered to trek then maybe just hire a motorbike and go wandering around the country lanes surrounding Pai, which are edged by wild orchids and, in the green season, pretty deserted. If you feel a bit guilty about being too lazy to go trekking then hire a manual, rather than an automatic, bike - at least your left foot will get a bit more exercise that way. You don’t need to plan your motorbike meander too carefully, just wait and see what happens, but don’t forget your camera. Maybe the setting sun reflected in the rie terraces will take your breath away, or maybe it will take the sight of your beloved, posing as if to hold up a rainbow, to make you realise how lucky you are to be right here, right now.

A major activity in Pai, and one well-practiced by locals and tourists alike, is simply doing nothing at all. Somewhat surprisingly for a little town in the middle of nowhere, there is a thriving live music scene, with DJ’s, buskers and bands from all over Thailand and the world contributing everything from jazz to the blues and from reggae to rock’n'roll. If you like to shake your bits to different music every night and under a cool, starry night sky then this is the place for you.

Many male tourists in other parts of the country rapidly sicken of scantily-clad females calling out “welcome, handsome man, young man” as they hurry past a bar looking the other way, not least as they either know or suspect that the ‘ladies’ in question really mean “your money is welcome, so we’ll put up with your ugly, old face”. If you are one such then you will enjoy the absence of any girly bars in Pai. Whilst the town also lacks any 5-star resorts and gastronomes will bore quickly, for most people the town’s cooler climate and lovely atmosphere more than make up for the lack of truly luxurious establishments. Pai does have several resorts which are more than comfortable as well as having more informal atmospheres than many of the 5-star resorts elsewhere in the country.

Bob Marley - Is This Love? cover at Bee Bop in Pai, Thailand

Honeymoon seat TV Program - Pai Thailand