I'm thinking of taking a class online, but I have no idea how it functions. Some friends of mine has taken them online where the tests/hoomework, etc are done primarily online except for the finals where they had to attend a classroom and the final was administrated. So this blog is basically me asking you:

-Have you ever taken an online class? If so, any positive or negative experiences?
-How are the time? Is it flexible?
-How do the professors teach you, in terms of teaching you online and you taking down notes, and whatnot?
-How are the tests administered? Is it in classroom, by e-mail/website?

Thanks.

xBTx

Canada542 Posts

July 16 2008 22:45 GMT

I took philosophical theories and questions in high school. Obviously you'll end up spending less time than you would in a classroom, which may in turn result in a lower mark unless you have amazing work ethic. I found it was difficult for me to reach the teacher at some time, the timing was amazingly flexible though.
We were given assignments on monday, and they were due the following sunday night at midnight.
We were not taught so much as given things to read, but since that was philosophy there are probably different teaching methods for other classes.
We only had one exam, which was conducted at a specific time over the internet, and it was in essay form in a way that we needed to know our topic well enough to write it down as we didn't have enough time to look everything up.

United States2921 Posts

July 16 2008 22:46 GMT

It is flexible but if you are doing it because you are too lazy to go to school on a scheduled time, you will probably fail the class because you won't get in as many hours as you need on the comp. And in every class I took online, you still need to take tests at the school. I think it is only a good option if the school is far away and you want to save gas.

And how it worked for me is that the teacher had an assignment to do each week and he would have us post on a forum if it was done or not and then he would check the work and grade it. On the bright side though, it was easier then sitting in a classroom for 2--3 hours a week.

ydg

United States690 Posts

July 16 2008 22:54 GMT

Is it a calc class?
cus you know, you can learn it from sites :p

Nitrogen

United States5345 Posts

July 16 2008 22:56 GMT

im talking a class online right now.

it's really great, it's pretty open ended, all the homework is due at the end of the class and you just go in like once a week to take a test. i have the online version of the textbook and i just read that, there are also many videos and powerpoints explaining concepts.

United States2921 Posts

July 16 2008 22:59 GMT

On July 17 2008 07:56 Nitrogen23 wrote:
im talking a class online right now.

it's really great, it's pretty open ended, all the homework is due at the end of the class and you just go in like once a week to take a test. i have the online version of the textbook and i just read that, there are also many videos and powerpoints explaining concepts.

I wish my college did it this way

micronesia

United States24761 Posts

July 16 2008 23:04 GMT

I considered doing my masters online, but even if what I wanted is offered, I know I won't be able to concentrate on it in my house :p

Raithed

China7078 Posts

July 16 2008 23:12 GMT

On July 17 2008 07:46 G5 wrote:
It is flexible but if you are doing it because you are too lazy to go to school on a scheduled time, you will probably fail the class because you won't get in as many hours as you need on the comp. And in every class I took online, you still need to take tests at the school. I think it is only a good option if the school is far away and you want to save gas.

And how it worked for me is that the teacher had an assignment to do each week and he would have us post on a forum if it was done or not and then he would check the work and grade it. On the bright side though, it was easier then sitting in a classroom for 2--3 hours a week.

It's not because I'm lazy, one could say that I am, but my other classes' times conflict with one another and then I have work at a specific time so I guess this would be the best option as I do not want to not take a class because of responsibilities.

What class are you taking? And about time conflicts because I know some online classes want you to attend class to take a test, etc, are those usually schedulable or not? (If you know)

On July 17 2008 08:04 micronesia wrote:
I considered doing my masters online, but even if what I wanted is offered, I know I won't be able to concentrate on it in my house :p

Is it weird that I can't concentrate during the 12PM-9PM time but around 1AM and beyond, I can concentrate? Anyway, thanks to you guys for the input. I'm mainly more curious about the "attending class to take a test" because it says the time is to be announced at the moment, but I have already registered two classes(early in the morning 9:00AM and forth, and never past noon), I am just wondering if the time might conflict with one another.

Nitrogen

United States5345 Posts

July 16 2008 23:44 GMT

well in this class you can't reschedule a test, you just have to skip it. your final will replace 1 test score. it's a precalc class at a college near me.

but, if you go to the actual class, you will learn much, much more. it can be hard to do your hw when you're sitting at your computer for a few hours, too.