Obtaining an online education requires one to write quite a bit more than would be required in a traditional program. This is because reading/writing is the primary or sole means of communication in the online education arena. Real-time chats, message boards, and email are the ways students, professors and teacher’s assistance (TAs) interact with each other. Little, if any, phone calls take place. The benefits of this are obvious: refining such skills in the online classroom will pay dividends in one’s future work.
Unfortunately, not all aspects of this fringe benefit are positive. I found my ability to interact directly with people, conversation skills, verbal listening skills, and verbal speaking skills declining as I was engrossed in the reading/writing in my online education. Students can parry this potential, unwanted side-effect by investing some time for continued socialization with friends and family.
It is very difficult to formulate complex academic questions in written prose. Learning how to overcome this challenge is an yet another challenge of obtaining and online education. The online student will find him/herself reading emails to professors, over and over, listening to whether or not the question is actually interpretable. The dialogue that would have occurred in the professor’s office to help the professor understand what the student is asking takes place in the online student’s mind. The student must learn how someone might incorrectly interpret their written sentences and make adjustments to save time and quickly get the answer they need.
One of the many fringe benefits of obtaining an online education is the opportunity to enhance one’s computing and internet skills. In today’s information/knowledge based economy, the enhancement of such skills is critical to becoming competitive in the workforce.
Online education will require the student to upload/download files via FTP websites, create electronic submittals of assignments and exams, use email to communicate with students and professors, use web-based message boards to discuss technical subjects, use java chat applets to communicate in real-time with students and professors, etc.
These electronic skills will benefit the student down the road in his/her job. Learning these skills in the online education arena is especially crucial to baby boomers or others who are more likely to not have previously been exposed to this technology.
When I was an online student at the University of Maryland, I enhanced my electronic/internet skills in the following ways:
I learned how to use the drawing function within MS Word to create complex illustrations to illustrate design approaches.
I learned how to use MS Equation Editor to illustrate the solution to equations.
I learned how to embed spreadsheets within MS Word documents to allow a reviewer to manipulate and view solutions.
I enhanced my online search abilities in the quest to complete specific assignments.
After I graduated, I continually impress my superiors with my enhanced electronic skills.
One of the greatest things about taking classes online is the ability
to slow down a lecture and listen to it at your own pace.
TRUST ME.
I went back to school for a master’s degree in an entirely different field. I went from English and political science (liberal arts) to nutrition (science city). And I hadn’t taken any class resembling biology or chemistry since senior year…of high school.
Needless to say, when it comes to science (both the lessons and the language), I’m not the sharpest tool in the shed. Wait, I take that back! I am now. :) And it was due to my being able to pause a professor’s lecturing and write down everything he said. Being able to stall a PowerPoint slide and truly look at the diagram is priceless. Being able to re-listen to a lecture again and again can really help it sink in.
Of course, you can record a professor’s lecture on a digital tape recorder (if in person). But that requires extra technology, your getting permission from the professor to record him, your being the man/woman who slows down class to ask a self-serving, “single me out” sort of question. From the comfort of your own home, you can do anything you want: slow down a lecture to let it sink in, replay a lecture (repetition is a great tool), eat loud food (beta carotene-filled carrots is great brain food), and more.
Online classes are a great option for someone who is stepping out of their comfort zone academically (e.g., from liberal arts to math/science), or for someone who is stepping into a university-level classroom for the first time. It takes the edge off!
Many prospective online degree program students are under the impression that the time commitments of an online degree program are lower than their traditional-on-campus equivalents. Even though commuting time is eliminated, my experience has been online degree programs are actually more time intensive than traditional ones. This is especially true during the first couple courses, when the online student is acclimating him/herself with the course web interface. The main reason an online degree is more time intensive is because learning concepts independently takes longer than receiving more exam specific course instruction from a professor. The extra benefit of learning concepts independently is that overall subject matter knowledge is retained–not just that required to pass an exam.
Because family members and prospective students may not realize the large time commitments an online degree program requires, students and family members may not realize the huge sacrifices everyone will have to make in order for the students to be successful in their online academic endeavor. In order to prevent unrealistic expectations and future disappointments, I recommend the following steps be taken before embarking on your online educational journey:
Speak to family members and explain to them in detail why you want to obtain a degree via an online program. Tell them about your hopes, dreams, and how the education will enrich your life overall after completion. Tell family members how large of a time commitment undertaking an online degree may require (to get a good estimate of this, you can email professors and ask them how much time their current students are putting in).
Negotiate a schedule with family members that will dictate when you will normally study. Keep in mind that this schedule is not set in stone, as periodically more time will be required for completion of assignments and exams.
Open a forum to let family members voice any potential concerns they have about you enrolling in an online program.
Even after these steps are taken, there will, unfortunately, be painful moments when family and school time conflict. There will be times when you’re studying on a Saturday afternoon and your daughter wants to play with you. There will be times when your wife asks you if you want to go do something fun and you have an exam to do. There will be times when other friends and family bemoan the fact that they haven’t heard much from you lately. Deal with all of these potential situations in stride. And sometimes, on that Saturday afternoon, go play with your daughter and go back to studying after she goes to bed!
