I go to Brigham Young University and I am majoring in Advertising. During fall semester of 2010 I was looking for some classes I could take to fulfill my general education requirements and my brother suggested I take the Physical Science class online. He had previously taken the class and he did fairly well and enjoyed it, even though he procrastinated and did 75% of the class in the last few weeks it was open. I have to admit I was skeptical especially because I know myself and I tend to procrastinate and lose focus. Many people have this fear of online classes.
- The classes are fun and engaging. I have to admit after doing the first few lessons, I really enjoyed the class. There were games, animations and clips that accompanied the text. I enjoy science and this class helped me to easily learn the material. I found myself getting behind a few times, but I pushed myself and after a few visits to the library where I could focus and do a few lessons, I was back on track. It became a part of my routine and I never had problems getting my work done.
- There is help when you need it. All online classes have a good amount of support available if you ever have questions or concerns. My online class had a TA who was awesome and held optional review sessions where you could come in to ask questions and see him explain more difficult concepts. I never had a problem with not understanding the materials and I did very well on the tests and quizzes.
- Online classes help reduce stress. I really enjoyed my online class because it gave me flexibility. If I wanted to go to lunch with someone or I had a doctors appointment, I could easily get those other things done then finish my work later that evening. Even if you go on a road trip you can still stay caught up on your work, but let’s be honest, it’s highly unlikely that you will.
My point is that online classes rock. I am taking an Accounting class this semester online and my opinion still stands that online classes are easy, flexible, and you have plenty of support if you ever find yourself needing it. Be confident in yourself and work hard to stay on top of your work. You will find yourself enjoying the material more when you aren’t stressed out about getting everything done before the deadline.
Parker it’s great to hear that you took the “P-word” (procrastination) on head on with your online classes. The key to success in online college classes is to stay on top of deadlines! You should never equate “online” with “easy” and logging on 30-minutes before an assignment deadline is NEVER a good approach! Prepare for your courses well in advance and don’t ignore the fact that things like Wi-Fi being down, hard drive crashes, and email hang-ups do (and will happen). Work ahead…and fully enjoy the scheduling freedom that online college courses can offer!
Thanks Rishona! I completely agree. Online courses definitely are a great choice especially when you work hard to get them done before the deadline.
I appreciate this fresh and REAL approach to online education. Individuals need to realize that online education can work for them, they just need to figure out how they will utilize it correctly and how to manage their time!
I’m glad you understand where I am coming from Betsy. Time management definitely is a big part of online classes and many people doubt their personal time management skills so they avoid online classes for that reason. They really have no idea what they are missing out on..