Online Education
Current Affairs May 10th, 2006For a variety of reasons, I may be taking courses from a (regular, brick and mortar) college online to supplement my Master’s degree. I am both intrigued and worried. I like the idea of doing things in my own time (which, since I work full-time, tend to not be during normal business hours). I also like the financial savings that are bound to occur. However, for me part of the college experience is the campus itself. Oh well, if I really get the urge, I can take my laptop here and be a big poser. I’d be interested in hearing about anyone’s experiences either teaching or learning online.
May 10th, 2006 at 10:57 pm
I am currently enrolled in 3 online classes. They are bad for me because they allow my procrastination to reach new, unprecendeted heights.
May 11th, 2006 at 9:19 am
My wife is doing her add on certification to teach gifted students through a program where there is some face time, but it is primarily done online. She seems to be doing ok with it. For people who work, it seems to be a good alternative.
May 14th, 2006 at 2:14 pm
I am finishing up my M.A. in Theological Studies (Church History) via Asbury Theological Seminary through their online campus. Some classes are good while others are hit and miss. It is really going to depend on how much effort you put in it. But classes that do have set time requirements do make it alot easier. I tend to find though that online classes take nearly 2x the amount of work an oncampus class tends to require. Expect to do alot more reading. Plus if yours will be anything like mine, then expect to give long lengthy responses more than you would in class. Some of my classes have recorded lectures while others have written and while others are like a seminar class where we interact with about our readings and research. Anyhow online learning hasnt really disappointed me, if anything it has forced me into becoming more a researcher. Your blogging skills should help you interact fairly well with your other classmates. Oh one real downside is that Ihave found the cost to be nearly the same since I now have to purchase the texts I need since I don’t have a brick mortar library to check them out of. But hey atleast it is building my library. So rock on.
May 31st, 2006 at 6:23 pm
I wasn’t particularly thrilled with my online classes. Mine didn’t have regular chat sessions or anything like that, though you could ask questions on a message board. For me, the main drawback was exams. You’d take a test and get your grade, and that was the end of it. Unless you went out of your way to see the teacher in his office and ask, you had no clue about where you messed up and no opportunity to learn from your mistake. Since I was also taking on-site classes, I never could seem to catch my online instructor in his office, so I ended up working in a vacuum. In a classroom situation, I’m a straight-A student, but online, I’ve never managed anything above a C.
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In short, online classes are great if you’re the kind who learns primarily by reading, but for those who also need to see and/or hear, they’re a disaster.