What are your experiences with online college courses?
Question:
Answer:
the school you go to and program you choose will determine what pre-requisites, if any, you have to complete
here are some things to consider when looking into online classes:
- make sure the school is accredited
- very important: most of the reading/work will be done on your own so you have to be a self-starter and be self-motivated, you have to be able to learn from what you read and shouldn't be a person who prefers to be "taught" the material
- you should be 100% comfortable with computers and the internet
- you should have a reliable computer and DSL access from home
- you need to make sure that you have "alone time" to dedicate to your class... doing schoolwork while the kids are around or when you are at work or when the kids settle down (at 11pm) will never work
My sister did the online college thing, and it was a big succsess. As long as you are motivated enough to get online to do school and not have ather distractolins around you.
I did take a few on-line courses. I found that the quality of the course and the quality of the experience is directly related to how experienced the instructor of the course is in on-line course delivery. There are some courses that really do well on line - like marketing or computer design. I found that often the amount of work for an on-line course is very very heavy, but I was able to squeeze the work in around full time employment - a long commute and a family. The flexibility is what makes it work. I found that a high level of organization on my part, good communications with the instructor and participating in the on-line forums was important to do well. It was as good experience for me, especially for courses not directly related to my major but required for my degree. Go for it and good luck.
More Questions & Answers...