My online classes were scheduled like traditional classes. There were due dates and timelines. Timelines were scheduled for initial posts and for responses to the posts of others. There was a similar format in most of the classes, read something assigned by the instructor, post a response to the reading, and then reply to posts by other students. There was flexibility within a week, but generally not beyond a week. People did post past these due dates, but I am not sure how it affected their grade. In any class I consider late assignments a cardinal sin. I hate nagging my students for assignments, and would be quite embarrassed if someone had to nag me.
There was no requirement about the number of replies a student had to post during a discussion. This bothered me. Some posts would hit a nerve with other classmates and there would be many replies. Other posts would get no reply and the class visibly ignored the response. There would be a zero in the column titled “replies”, and every person in the class could see the zero. It bothered me that instructors would not watch for this, and formulate their own written reaction. I did my best within my busy life to respond to everyone’s post. At the least, I could ask a question if I did not understand the post or did not agree with the post. Cognitive conflict is a productive experience, and at the graduate level I find it stimulating to discuss different points of view.
I have never been a class that allowed me to pace myself. In a previous entry to this blog I mentioned a freshman psychology class at the University of Milwaukee utilizing this approach. Ever since reading the article I have thought about this class and I really want to try a class with a similar type of format working at my own pace. I envision a summer when I am off, getting through a class as quickly as I can and then spending the rest of my vacation doing the other things I need (or want) to do.
My son is taking two online classes while he interns in a town away from his university. He worked ahead to decrease the workload during his busy internship. which started a month into the semester. I am not sure if the class encouraged this, but he could easily save his work offline and post it when the instructor asked for it. I used this same strategy when a just for pleasure trip magnetically pulled me away from my online class commitment. I stored the class work in a web based email attachment and posted far away from my home. Where I go, my online classes follow.
Posted by Jeff Davis on November 27th, 2008
One of my biggest fears before enrolling in an online college was that I would not have enough time available or maybe how I would juggle my time between work, family, and school. All I could imagine is that this could be quite stressful. After all, it is not always easy balancing just work with family time and adding school on top of all my other responsibilities seemed almost impossible. I soon realized that this was really not a problem. The key to overcoming this fear was being able to balance my time effectively. If done properly, you would be amazed at how much extra time you can squeeze into your day. For me, it was important to develop a routine, find a quiet place to study, leave work at work, and to take time away from school each week. Once I developed a routine, I was more motivated. Once I found a quiet place to study, I was able to concentrate better. Once I made sure that I got my work done at work, I did not have to bring it home and could focus on my class work. Once I made sure to take at least a day off from school each week, I was able to relax more and enjoy quality time with my family. You have to remember, that in all circumstances, there will always be sacrifices that you will have to make, but just think about the great reward that will await you at the end.
Another fear of mine was how long it would take to finish my degree. I was afraid that it might take forever. But the fact is that most online degree programs today are based on accelerated learning. This means that most will take less time to complete than in a traditional learning environment. Since the online courses are typically based on shorter semesters, they can excel at delivering a quality education as quickly as possible and without sacrificing your ability to learn and absorb the material.
I was also fearful that employers would not take my degree seriously once I had graduated. I was concerned that since my degree would not be coming from some big name university, that employers might not view it as credible. Realistically, however, it has been my experience that most employers today view online degrees as not only credible, but just as equivalent as their traditional counterparts. I believe that as the demand for online education continues to grow, that more employers are realizing the validity of degrees earned online.
It has been my experience that online colleges are not that much different from traditional colleges. Having done both, I can now say that, for me, online education is the solution that I was looking for.
Going back to school was a big decision for me. I decided that it was a good time to start - I was in my late 20’s, no kids, no significant other, life was easy. I wanted to finish school before my life got too complicated. While that sounds very neatly packaged, I had several fears about returning to school. Could I do the work? Could I balance the schoolwork with my work and social life? Could I afford it? Would I stick with it? What happens if I’m not good at it? I had to work through each of those quesitons (and still do have to work through them) as I am still working on my degree.
Could I do the work? I think we are all afraid of failure to some degree. While I enrolled in a PhD program, I wasn’t sure I was ready. My master’s degree program came relatively easy for me - I got a 4.0. One reason I selected the school I enrolled in was because they graded on a Pass/Fail basis. That meant I didn’t have to strive for the A’s, but could do the best I could and likely would pass. That took some of the stress off.
Could I balance the schoolwork with my work and social life? While I was working on my courses, I took every opportunity to do my schoolwork. I read chapters during my lunch at work. I often stayed late at work to post or write papers (I was more focused at work and tended to slack off - oops, I mean become less disciplined - when I got home. I found that discipline was the most important key to success. My social life took a hit, but I tried not to lose too much of that. I didn’t want to miss out on all the fun - then being in school might have been too much for me.
Could I afford it? Money was a big challenge. It was costly to return to school and I wasn’t making a lot of money. I took out students, but I knew that if I did that for the whole degree, I would run out of available loan money. I have always paid my way through school and wasn’t going to start asking for handouts for this degree. I did eventually move in with my best friend to save on some living costs - that was a huge help!
Would I stick with it? Honestly, this was where the discipline came in. My track record has been, if it gets tough, get out. Why put myself through the pain if there was an easier way out. It has continued to be a long, challenging road, but I am determined to finish. I want those letters (PhD) after my name!
What happens if I’m not good at it? This was another major hurdle. I did not get a lot of feedback on the quality of my work. I thought it was good, but was it PhD level? I really didn’t find out for sure until I completed the Comprehensive Exam and was successful. That was my validation that I was good at this. Too bad that came after several years of classes.
I’m still afraid - but now I’m afraid of not finishing. I’ve put a lot of time, money, sweat, and tears into this pursuit. I think if I stopped now, I’d be letting myself down as well as those who have supported me. So I must persist. It’s still scary, but it’s doable.
Posted by Jeff Davis on November 17th, 2008
Although it would be short and sweet if I were able to narrow it down to only one specific inspiration answer, I simply cannot do it since there were so many different factors that played an important role as to why I considered an online education. Don’t get me wrong, I have attended a “traditional” school (in the sense of the word) and came away with an Associate’s degree. However, I was not able to complete my Bachelor’s degree until years later when I attended online. My biggest problem with the traditional school was that with that type of learning environment, it simply would not fit into my schedule the way I really needed it to.
When I finally came to the realization that I needed to further my education in order to provide more career opportunities, I had decided to opt for a learning environment that would better fit my hectic lifestyle. This is where an online education really seemed to be the most ideal to me.
First of all, I liked the fact that while pursuing an online education, I would still be able to hold my regular job since so many of the online universities allowed for extreme flexibility in their class scheduling. I did not want education to interfere with my family life, so this type of learning environment really fit into my life schedule almost perfectly.
Next, I liked the fact that you could start almost immediately when considering an online education. During my research, I discovered that many online universities have rolling admissions and some even had classes starting every 4 weeks.
However, I would have to say that the biggest inspiration for deciding to pursue an online education overall was one of convenience. Since you don’t have to leave your home, there are no travel expenses and since you set your own schedule, you don’t ever have to worry about being late for class.
