Go to the Head of the Class!

Making the Grade: As a journalist, Bennett is a stickler for details. She recommends that you begin your online-learning quest by consulting recognized and respected sources of Internet-related information, such as ZDNet (www.zdnet.com) and CNet (www.cnet.com). She also suggests that you look carefully at each site before you buy into the lessons that it offers. "If a site doesn't link to other sites, then the people behind it probably think that they know everything, and they probably aren't trustworthy," she says. "Check several sites on the same subject and stick with those that work best for you."

What works for you will depend on how you learn. Bennett's approach to learning is visual and highly organized. She keeps extensive bookmarks and sorts them into folders frequently. She prints out the best information that she finds and -- if there's a lot of it -- compiles the printouts into binders that are divided into sections. She reads, makes notes in the margins, and highlights what's important to her. "Sometimes it's not easy to read a lot online," she says. "This approach isn't much different from old-style research, but it costs less than buying a lot of books, and it's more up-to-date than books are."

Finally, regardless of whether you're finding information online or tracking it down online, don't just stop at a Web site -- go to the people behind it. Two years ago, when Bennett started researching Web design and usability, she found Jakob Nielsen's Web site: useit.com (www.useit.com). His links and advice helped her to find the information that she needed, and she's been an acolyte of his ever since.

"I go to the Web every day to track down facts, but even when I can't find what I'm looking for online, I can usually find the name of someone whom I can call or email," she says. "The Web is still a friendly place. Hunt down an email link and submit a question. Most people love to share their expertise."

Coordinates: Ronni Bennett, ronni@jump.com

The Business of Distance Learning

Roll Call: With a degree in business and accounting from Wake Forest University, in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Ken Durand, 33, has been able to work in a variety of fields. After dabbling in HR, in payroll management, and in training, he signed on with Tactics Inc., a database-consulting firm based in Atlanta. About 18 months ago, when Durand was working on a project for Prudential, he decided to go back to school -- business school. "If I ever go back into traditional corporate life, it would certainly help to have an MBA," he says. "That's the most functional degree that I could get."

Core Curriculum: Durand knew that he couldn't enroll in a traditional full-time MBA program, complete with a campus, classes, and classmates. He was spending about half his time working on the road, and after being in the work world for 10 years, he couldn't stomach the idea of returning to the classroom and dealing with professor-student relationships. So he looked into business schools that offer online MBA programs, contacted City University (www.cityu.edu), in Bellevue, Washington, talked to an academic adviser about his graduate-education needs, and started class. One year later, Durand is nearly halfway through the program. He expects to get his degree by the end of next year.

While lots of graduate schools claim that they offer distance-learning or online-learning programs, Durand says that several of the schools that he researched simply mail out videotapes of lectures. "When I started looking at actual online class offerings, I found that City University was one of the few places that provides a truly online experience," he says. "It offers a wide range of chat rooms and Web-discussion forums, and professors can set up a chat room for a specific night so that students can discuss class material online."

But the City University program can sometimes be too flexible, Durand says. Students can start classes on the first of any month; to register, they need only call their adviser by the 20th of the previous month. Because students can take any class at almost any time, they might end up having only one or two classmates in a given course -- which can limit opportunities for chat sessions, asynchronous discussions on the Web, and other online class activities. "The only thing missing from the program is interaction with other people," Durand says. "I'm willing to give that up because I have plenty of interaction with colleagues at work, but I can see how some people might think that they're missing something."