Online courses, experiences?

alonzomourning23

alonzomourning23

CAGiversary!
Feedback
26 (100%)
I've only been at my current school for one semester and, unlike my previous schools, the only time you can enroll for course is April 16-19 and after August 30th. Unfortunately nobody told me that (ya I should have checked, but I didn't since my last 2 colleges allowed it all summer). So all I was enrolled for is 1 course. Today is the first day I can enroll for night courses and I've picked 2. I also have been putting of a math course for a couple years since I suck at math. Since most of the courses I want are already filled (meaning getting into them later will be tricky) I'm struggling to get 5. So I really want to take that finite course now. Now I have a choice between going 7-9:30 p.m., but since I get to the college at 10 a.m. (and I live too far away to go home between classes) I really don't want to be there for almost 12 hours. The other option is an online course. I've never taken one before though.

Is it a good idea to take this? Is there usually a set time for the actual course (it says to be announced, which only the online ones seem to say)? Is this a good idea for someone who isn't very good at a subject? I do mental math very well, but am abysmal at formulas.
 
Almost everyone I know who has taken an online math course has done horrible. Online classes typically work the best when the course is heavy on reading material (english, history, philosopy) where grading is often based off simple quizes and essays.

Online classes typically don't have actual times, rather you'll be given of a list of assignments and a list of dates on which homework is due and dates with a few times given in which you can take your tests.

But again math is probably the most difficult course to take online since you won't have any easy, quick source of help on assignments.
 
I took an online course my first semester of college. I thought it would be easy because I could do everything at home on my own time and schedule (I just had to submit the assignments on time). However, after about two weeks, I started really neglecting that class. And, ultimately, I failed that class. If you can stay commited to the class, go for it. But, in my experience, it's alot easier to keep on track, if you have an actual class to go to.
 
I really don't like them, but it depends on what type of student you are. I prefer actual lectures. If you are not good at math, I would never take one of those as an online course. I'm taking Quantitative Methods during this summer semester, and it would whoop my ass if I had to take it online.
 
Last year (junior year in high school) I took the Physics Honors course at my school and it happened to be the online course offered at www.uccp.org

It was pretty retarded because the "lectures" are all flash animations that go way too fast. No one in my class cared so we just all played games on the computers. And we would just share answers because all the quizzes and tests were online (which they provide the answers after you take the test)

So yeah it was pretty dumb as no one learned anything.
 
What an online class boils down to is that you will basically be teaching yourself the course. I wouldn't reccomend taking an online math class especially if you aren't good at math.
 
Here's the deal. (I have to chime in because I just finished an online course, which was credit to finish off my undergrad entirely, because I lacked one of my core courses, but didn't want to spend 3-6 hours a week sitting in a classroom, so I thought it would be smart to take it online.)

Can you teach this to yourself? Because if you can't, don't do it. What will happen is that you'll find professors won't be responsive over e-mail, you'll have no fellow students to contact for group studies, and you'll slack on the course because (chances are) you've got a deadline to meet, so you'll wait until the last second (like everyone does with their essays and things).

A non-technical/science course such as history, geography, political science, etc is the easiest to take. I wouldn't recommend anything like math or physics because there will be concepts that can't be adequetely explained purely by books, so you really need fellow students and professors and TAs to go to.

If you choose to take one anyway, do it a little everyday. I didn't do that, but had I done so, it would have saved me some trouble. Even if you do only 30 minutes a day, it will help because, after a while, you're accumulating a lot of study time. Then do it for an hour a day on the weekends or something.

The deal is that even the most diligent of people will put it off and slack around and be lazy. So as long as you are prepared to do it a little bit a day and be highly disciplined about it, you're not going to enjoy it and you'll procrastinate badly.

I don't recommend them, honestly. The time you'd spend just half-awake in class - which will net you enough information to get a passing grade - is much better spent.
 
I've taken three of them and they have all been pretty easy. You'll run into some huge retards in them though. In one of my classes the tests were worth 120 points; I'd get around a 105, the class average was about a 70. Don't expect the teachers to be all too helpful either.

If you are very committed and self-disciplined, take them; if not, avoid. Don't end up like some of my friends who do all of their quizzes, message board posts, and tests during the last week of school, ugh.
 
For the most part they're extremely easy... and it's always open book. At times I wish I could have taken the classes in-class so I would actually remember everything I learned for big test. But yeah whatever.
 
[quote name='Strell']Here's the deal. (I have to chime in because I just finished an online course, which was credit to finish off my undergrad entirely, because I lacked one of my core courses, but didn't want to spend 3-6 hours a week sitting in a classroom, so I thought it would be smart to take it online.)

Can you teach this to yourself? Because if you can't, don't do it. What will happen is that you'll find professors won't be responsive over e-mail, you'll have no fellow students to contact for group studies, and you'll slack on the course because (chances are) you've got a deadline to meet, so you'll wait until the last second (like everyone does with their essays and things).

A non-technical/science course such as history, geography, political science, etc is the easiest to take. I wouldn't recommend anything like math or physics because there will be concepts that can't be adequetely explained purely by books, so you really need fellow students and professors and TAs to go to.

If you choose to take one anyway, do it a little everyday. I didn't do that, but had I done so, it would have saved me some trouble. Even if you do only 30 minutes a day, it will help because, after a while, you're accumulating a lot of study time. Then do it for an hour a day on the weekends or something.

The deal is that even the most diligent of people will put it off and slack around and be lazy. So as long as you are prepared to do it a little bit a day and be highly disciplined about it, you're not going to enjoy it and you'll procrastinate badly.

I don't recommend them, honestly. The time you'd spend just half-awake in class - which will net you enough information to get a passing grade - is much better spent.[/QUOTE]

I took a science class online and I couldn't agree with you more. Those types of classes are so hard to teach yourself in especially when the book is written so far above your head with very little examples.

I've also taken a criminal justice class online and, while I didn't care for it, it was easier than the science class I took.

Personally, I hate the whole concept of online classes. Yeah technology is great and all but come on what's the point of even having a professor if all you're going to be doing most of the time is reading the book and taking a multiple choice exam. If I wanted to read a book I'd go to the fuckin library.
 
Hmm, since the thread is here anyway, I figure I'd ask (sorry for hijacking your thread alonzomourning23!). I temporarily dropped out of Cal to work full time and wanted to take an online econ course at a JC for the fall. I was also considering taking a medical terminology course. I have a couple questions about this though...

1) I usually tend to skip lectures at the university anyway (bad bad habit...). I do best in classes that have webcasts because I can follow them at my own pace (I tend to lose my concentration every few minutes so I actually do better if I spend around 3 hours on a 1 hour lecture...I'm not kidding) so would this mean that online classes should be good for me? Will I be able to handle 2 or 3 classes while working 40-60 hours a week and participating in extracurricular activities?

2) If I choose no-grade for one of the classes, will the class still be on my college transcript?

3) Will taking online classes at a junior college hinder my chances of getting into med school? I heard that I'm supposed to avoid any classes at junior colleges but I'm kind of in an awkward situation here since I voluntarily withdrew from the university and am guaranteed readmission when I am ready to return. I'm not planning to take any classes that are required for med school (o-chem is quite tempting though...); I want to take econ so I use pre-pharm as a backup and medical terminology is just a refresher course since I'm currently working as a medical assistant.

I also want to take some fun courses; my strength lies in humanities courses (yes, science is my weakest subject...how ironic). Am I required to transfer all of my junior college units? My university has a set number of units you can have before you are kicked out and I don't want to hit this point but I'm tempted to take a course that I can enjoy without having to deal with all the competition that Cal has.

I'd go ask my advisor but she's either too busy or she's never there (she's on a vacation right now too, how nice.) So err...help :)
 
I once took an online class for Physics, back in my first semester, and it was fairly straightforward. We would get the lessons, open-book timed quizzes on certain days, and a 5-page term paper. I got an A in the class, but it wasn't easy. Just some flaws I noticed:
1) We had a choice of textbooks for the class, an expensive New book, and an older, much cheaper book. Sadly, in a few of the quizzes, there were some questions that were not in the cheaper book nor the lesson page. This made it somewhat difficult.
2) Errors on some of the quizzes, where the professor put in the wrong answer as the correct answer.
3) Poor communication: In a B&M classroom, if you have any questions about the material or want to notify the instructor of an error, you can talk about it right then in the classroom, and get a reply instantly. In an online classroom, not only is it more intimidating to e-mail the professor, especially if he/she lives in a different state, it may take a while to get a response, if you get one at all.

In your case, I'm reminded of something my math professor once said, you should only take an online course if you already have a good grasp of the subject. The workload varies between professors, and in some cases, it may be more strenuous than a regular class, since it is tougher to get the extra help.
 
It really depends on how much you'd be willing to literally teach the class to yourself and having the time dedication to sit at the computer and learn from it, I can't do anything school-related on the computer because of all the distractions and I always have Winamp on. There was also the annoyance of asking a question to the professor that would take random amounts of time to get answered.

But for me, I prefer to actually wake up and physically drag myself to class. At least I'll be face to face with a human being and taking notes, instead of having the "I'll do it later" mentality of having an online class.
 
Good online courses:

Literature
American Indian Studies (or similar courses)
Computer Applications (Excel, Word, etc)
Counseling/Orientation Courses
Pretty much anything philisophical/reading/writing



Bad online classes:

Math
Science
Engineering
Pretty much anything technical that requires in depth explanation/visual aid.
 
I've taken two online English courses. Both of the professors were very responsive to emails and the work wasn't too bad. As others have already said, the non-science/math classes will be the easiest because those classes are pretty easy anyway. However, if you don't think you'll be able to remind yourself to check everyday and keep up with it, don't do it.

It's really not that hard to keep up with the work and scheduling, but again, this is coming from someone who took two English courses online, not math or that nonsense.
 
I teach various online English courses. You need to be dedicated, follow directions and check the site every day. Then you'll be fine. Let me fill you in on the biggest mistakes my students make.

1. Emailing me two or three weeks into the class to see if it's "okay" that they don't have the book yet because they haven't gotten paid.

Uh, NO! I posted the syllabus with publication info 3 weeks prior to the start of class, so you should have the book. I don't give you a free pass because you're idiot enough to TELL me you don't have the book.

2. I specifically state in the assignment they need to use the link to submit, but they choose to put it in another part of the site. I don't grade it, because they didn't follow directions (seems picky, but if people don't submit it the right way, it throws off their reading my comments, keeping track of grades, etc.).

3. They don't check the site with regularity, and they miss deadlines (that I have up for at least five days), and they want extensions.

4. They go out of town for one to two weeks, and they think they aren't responsible for the work.

Don't do those things, you'll be okay. Remember too, online courses need to have a lot more reading or exercises, because there isn't that class discussion that took 40 minutes to an hour. So it's now replaced, in my classes at least, with answers to questions that must be posted in the discussion board. So where you maybe answered one or two questions in class, now you're answering four or five, and I'm looking at your answer for complete answer, complete sentences, good grammar, and if your responses to others are complete.

I think they're a lot more work than traditional courses, but they do afford the option of working when you want to.
 
Sorry to bump this old thread but I'm debating if I should get an online BA from Devry in Game & Simulation Programming or if I should go to a real college which would be Westwood. Anybody else have any similar experiences in online classes that they would like to share?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
bread's done
Back
Top