Get trained online and earn a certificate, too

JAKARTA (JP): A while back, a lot of people in the Internet community here in Indonesia had a good laugh as they read an official acknowledgement in the Website of an American university that one of its alumni had been appointed to a very high position in this country.

The reason we laughed was that we, Internet users, had often received spams that told us things like "A university degree is waiting for you."

And the bait becomes irresistible with the statement "We require no tests, classes, books or interviews". One of these spams provides a U.S. phone number that we can contact -- should we be interested in enrolling.

While, as we understand it today, a PhD or an MA degree does not mean much in a global world where true skills and depth of knowledge count more, a certificate from a credible institution may help a lot.

Just take a look at TOEFL scores, for example. A lot of universities outside the U.S. use the TOEFL score to determine whether an applying student can be admitted right away or some language training will be necessary before the student can start taking academic courses.

Companies and government institutions everywhere often look at a job applicant's TOEFL score before making their hiring decision.

There are now a number of institutions that offer online training and certification in a wide range of fields, including real estate, paralegal and insurance.

Even courses in second or foreign languages -- a subject that certainly requires a lot of interaction -- are also being offered online.

In the IT field, for example, online courses are now available to those who would like to become a project manager, Webmaster, Web designer, Web server administrator, CGI or Perl programmer, all the way to e-commerce builder. Thanks to e-learning, people can now train and earn certificates from the comfort of their home.

As to credibility, though, we need to be very careful. We would have no problem trusting an institution that is as established as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

MIT (www.mit.edu), for example, is in the process of putting all its course materials online. Starting next year, everybody can access the free materials, called OpenCourseWare (OCW), and use them to increase their knowledge and expertise.

While a lot of people all over the world have applauded the program, MIT makes it clear that it will not award any online degree to those using the OCW. Unfortunately, while anyone can sharpen their swords on their own using quality materials, he or she will still need certificates when applying for a job or asking for a promotion.

In most cases, one has to physically go to a certification center to take the test that will prove whether one is entitled to the certificate. Microsoft requires people to come to its designated testing centers to take the test, as do many of the other leading IT companies.

This may be caused by the fact that there is still no mechanism available to really ascertain that the person who is taking the test is indeed the person whose name will appear in the certificate. Yet, there are also a number of institutions that let us take the exams online.

One example is Brainbench. Brainbench (www.brainbench.com) specializes in online certification, and it proudly lists names such as Microsoft, Autodesk, IBM, PeopleSoft and Siebel as it customers.

It has also received ISO 9001 certification. You can take its online tests business writing, Java 2, Virtual Basic 6.0 and others to get certified, or you can take them just to see how expert you are.

Here in Indonesia, Computer First (www.computerfirst.net) is offering off-line classes to kids 4 to 13 years of age as well as adults. The good thing about this newly established computer learning center, which will offer courses in using encyclopedia and Microsoft Office products, is that it will be affiliated with Brainbench.

Thus, its students, which may also include housewives, will be able to earn certificates from this institution. Of course, to make this possible, Computer First will use English as the language of instruction.

One thing that you need to understand is that it is extremely important to make sure that you are seeking certification from an accredited institution, not just any institution. You need to check around.

Most important of all, you have to really have the skills and knowledge indicated by your certificates, otherwise, you will just be fooling yourself and you may end up becoming a national joke.(Zatni Arbi)