For a while now, Facebook has been phasing out Groups… they were no longer listed in your profile, only findable by search (unless you were already in one). What have they had up their sleeves?

You may have noticed new groups popping up over the past few weeks.  While denoted by the same ‘ol icon, these aren’t your same ‘ol groups.

Facebook has revamped groups to serve their own purpose – no more toiling over whether you want to join or create a group or a page; they now have completely separate purposes.

Groups are a fantastic way to network with your classmates outside of class. They’ve been restructured to cater to small groups of people who want to network and share discussions on the popular social platform.

[Follow OLT on Facebook & Twitter]

Why is this useful to you, an online student?

Easy.  Chances are, you’re already logged into Facebook… well, now you don’t have to log out.  Connect with your peers and classmates, feel free to create a group for each of your classes.  The sky is the limit.  You can post discussions, images, etc.

Go ahead! Give it a try!

Read Next: Staying Engaged; both socially and scholastically

If you’re looking to hone your skills in technology, business and management, or creative aspirations then there’s a great site that may fit your needs. It’s called Safari Books Online.

A resource of over 30,000 books and videos available to you completely online. You can sign up for a free trial, but the membership is very minimal and more cost effective than some books. They have a range of topics including programming, graphic design, operating systems, digital photography, project management, human resource management. The great thing about this online resource is that you can personalize your account. Whether you decide to save the books to folders in your account for reading online, or highlighting text that you can print later, or just basic organization and categorizing.

Continue Reading

Online libraries are an incredible resource for students and lifelong learners alike. They range in sophistication from card catalog – type listings from small public libraries, to the virtually bottomless information from the Library of Congress, where you can download papers, photographs and other media. Continue Reading

American Public University will be hosting its next Virtual Career Fair from February 23 – March 2, 2011. This event will be hosted using NACElink. In order to participate, APUS students and alumni must register for a NACElink account.

Check out the 5 rules to participating in a virtual career fair.