DISTANCE EDUCATION SITES TO HELP INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS PREPARE FOR AN AMERICAN STYLE EDUCATION  Steve Perry  Information Resource Officer  Public Affairs Section, U.S. Embassy, CAIRO  

MIT COURSES ONLINE:

MIT Courses with an Audio or Video Component

Can do an advanced search in the MIT SITE for courses with lecture notes

MIT Chemistry courses with lecture notes

Detailed Lecture Notes for a Physical Chemistry Class

Course on Sustainable Development at MIT

MIT Lecture Notes on Sustainability

ACTUAL SYLLABI FOR COURSE

ANOTHER COURSE ON THE U.S. CONGRESS IN THE POLITICAL SCIENCE SECTION: LECTURE NOTES FOR THE U.S. CONGRESS

RELATED RESOURCES FOR THE U.S. CONGRESS

TUFTS:

TUFTS HAS A SCHOOL OF DENTISTRY, MEDICINE AND VETERINARY SCIENCE

TUFTS SCHOOL OF MEDICINE: ONLINE COURSES

NOTRE DAME UNIVERSITY: OCW

International Economics Class at Utah State that can be downloaded via an MP3 player

OTHER OCW PARTNERS MORE UNIVERSITIES JOINING ALL THE TIME

YALE UNIVERSITY: (Yale not a member of the OCW concept)

Example of a class at YALE UNIVERSITY

FREE LECTURE NOTES

Actual Class Lecture

U CALIFORNIA BERKELEY courses on VIDEO via YOUTUBE: courses now offered: videos of actual courses can be played over and over again and show interaction of professors with students

What to expect of an IRC or American Corner?  Look to them for advice, networking and partnerships. Share useful print materials  While you subscribe to listservs, the IRC also subscribes to different listservs with valuable information – share the information and network!  Ask the IRC for presentations on free Distance Education Resources.

International Students need to know how to research so they won’t fail when in US Colleges  IRCs have college level research materials and IRC folks can teach them the correct way to research, to cite materials, and the most time-efficient way to use databases.  CAIRO IRC for example has JSTOR. Since most colleges in the US offer JSTOR, it is a good idea for prospective students to really get their hands on JSTOR so they can use it well as they start their studies.

There are a number of free, research level databases IROs and IRCs know about: these are in all fields.  Here are a few:  MEDLINE  SSRN  OPENJGATE  DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals covering 3000 journals in all fields.  Free Dissertation/Thesis Sites (full text)  Ask your IRCs for a good list of these.

SSRN: Social Sciences Research Network:

RESULTS OF SEARCH FOR EGYPT

Access to the Full Text of Articles from over 4000 Journals.

DOAJ:

Pharmacy Journals for Research and Reference – these articles are all free: can click on any of these journals to browse the issue and then click on any article to read it.

These are merely a few of the free databases that IRCs use – network to find more.  These databases will allow students to practice and refine their research skills that they will truly need at a U.S. College.  I will conclude with a few hints for you on what you might advise your students as they look for the college best for them.

CONSIDERATIONS IN APPLYING TO U.S. COLLEGES I’ve taught INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS for many years and this is what we’ve learned together:

HAVE THE STUDENT CHECK THE COLLEGE WEB SITE  IS THERE AN INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS SECTION with CLUBS, RESIDENCES?  LOOK FOR WHAT ENROLLED STUDENTS ACTUALLY HAVE TO SAY ABOUT THEIR COLLEGE – best are web sites where you can ask questions and get confidential answers

WEB SITE  LOOK FOR FAST FACTS or STUDENT PROFILE ON WEB SITE: HOW MANY INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS ARE THERE?  THE HIGHER THE PERCENTAGE THE GREATER LIKELIHOOD THAT INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS CAN FIND SOMEONE OF A SIMILAR BACKGROUND

COLLEGE WEB SITES  CHECK COURSE OFFERINGS: SUCH AS HISTORY, POLITICAL SCIENCE: DOES THE UNIV CONSISTENTLY TAKE A MULTINATIONAL OR A MULTICULTURAL PERSPECTIVE IN ITS COURSES? If so, a good sign.  LOOK FOR FOREIGN LANGUAGE REQUIREMENTS: A UNIVERSITY THAT HAS IS MORE LIKELY TO TAKE A BROADER WORLD VIEW –SAYS WE VALUE INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE. Study Abroad Programs?

WEB SITES  KNOW WHAT YOU (AS A STUDENT) WANT AND WHAT YOU VALUE - -DO YOU SEE THAT REFLECTED IN THE COLLEGE WEB SITE?  LOOK AT INTERNATIONAL CLUBS (MESA, MSA) AND ASK STUDENTS FOR INFORMATION – the clubs will often have an address.

ADVICE  START THE PROCESS EARLY  EMPHASIS IS ON GRADE TRANSCRIPTS, PERSONAL ESSAYS, TEACHER RECOMMENDATIONS  A WELL-WRITTEN REFLECTIVE PERSONAL ESSAY THAT REALLY TELLS ADMISSIONS OFFICERS WHAT YOU ARE ALL ABOUT WILL MAKE YOU STAND OUT.

BE PREPARED FOR AN AMERICAN STYLE EDUCATION  LOOK AT MIT WEB SITE: ocw.mit.edu  LOOK AT OTHER SCHOOLS THAT PLACE FREE COURSE CONTENT ONLINE:  LOOK OTHER DISTANCE EDUCATION COURSES.  YOUTUBE.COM/UCBEREKELY is one example showing the style of an American Education.  Check the free thesis and dissertation sites, such as U Maryland and MIT, for those students who will have to write a dissertation or thesis in the US.

ALL THE BEST!  GOOD LUCK!  STEVE PERRY    – personal