Now all kinds of materials are available — from text to audio to video to interactive and non-interactive presentations to podcasts to workbooks to checklists to cheat sheets, etc. But a fundamental question needs to be answered before you go on with an online education program. Is it worth it?

Is it worth it?

It is worth the money invested, but if you are looking for real-world classroom interaction than you will be a bit disappointed because the nature of interaction here, at best, is virtual. You may exchange text messages, talk on microphones, or see each other on web cams, but you cannot nudge the fellow student or tap on his or her back. This experience you will miss.

Real world or recorded?

It does not matter as long as the content is structured. But my personal favorite is recorded session replayed in presence of the one who has recorded it, so that students can stop him and ask him questions to clear their doubts.

Forum participation

A course that does not invite forum participation is not worth going for because learning is always limited if there is no peer-to-peer interaction among people taking the course.

Study material

Every course comes with a guide book, and so does courses offered on the Internet. Make sure the study material is comprehensive enough, and you must read it to take full advantage of the course.

These are some of the prerequisite of an online course, if a course meets these criteria, then it is worth the money and effort.

Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) is a digital TV service where the content instead of being delivered through cables, is transferred through technologies used for computer networks. It is a platform entirely based on interactive TV software and videoconferencing so the day is not far when you can actually respond to the game shows on your TV with your TV remote. IPTV can be bundled with web access and VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol).If you have ever watched a video on internet, in broader sense, it is the same technology. But for IPTV to work you need to have very high speed internet connection, a slow connection just won’t work. That’s why lots of telecommunication companies are eyeing this competitive market to make hay will the sun shines as they have their own local networks, a must for reliable IPTV, and all of them are getting ready to provide a triple play (IPTV, internet access and VoIP).Set top boxes are here to stay but with many modifications and advancements as it is not always possible to have a running PC beside your TV.

IPTV has many possibilites. Video on Demand is a reality with IPTV. You can browse online the movie catalogues and select a movie to playback. Interactivity, program guide, picture in picture are some of the other enviable features, which although is still possible with many satellite TVs but to a certain extent. Using wireless phones to schedule a recording of your favorite show, accessing photos, music from PC to TV are other features that can happen.

It comes with its own limitations as well. Since it uses Internet Protocol which transfers video stream in the form of packets, it is liable to loss of packets on the way and can cause delays, so is unreliable. Channel switching may take time because of the delay time in flow of packets. Internet connection has to be fast enough to prevent any breaks in the relay.

The deep pockets of telecommunication industry have already started pumping in the money to make it a success. Although many big challenges lie ahead for IPTV but with the way the technology is surging, high speed broadband reaching people and efforts being put into overcoming its limitations, IPTV is surely the next big thing in the league.

There are however other sides to the Internet that many at times turn a blind eye. While information opens our horizons to think and to reason at a more advanced level than our ancestors, such information if not censured can dreadfully carve certain behavioural patterns that leave an indelible mark in our lives. The busy rush hours and constant deadlines to meet, have caused parents to unintentionally forget their parental duties towards their children.The result is a generation that grows craving for attention, affection and at times finding it through the wrong outlets. Parents should therefore take the time out to censure the information that their children are being exposed to.

Windows Vista comes equipped with certain gadgets that help curtail the exposure to risky information and people that children may encounter and also limits the possibility of them downloading files to the computer that may contain viruses,Trojans etc. The gadgets allow you to control the sites the children visit, the time they spend on these sites, which video games they can play etc. To turn on Parental Controls using Windows Vista go to Start, then Control Panel then User Accounts and finally Set Up Parental Controls from there you establish the controls you wants to set for your child.

For traditional users of Windows XP this comes through the web service Windows Live Family Safety at www.fss.live.com and from there you follow the given instructions. The Internet should be seen as a cyber library but care at all times must be taken to control the information that we take in and give out from our favorite chair.