English 102 was my first experience with an online
course. I chose to take English
102 online after I took English 101 in person. My experience in English 101 was challenging and frustrating
at times. The teacher was good, but
the class felt unfocused and at times drove me crazy. I felt like half the class time the teacher spent trying to
get everyone to focus and the other half trying to get everyone to
participate. Often the work we
were given to do in class, was either work that could be done at home or work
we were already working on previously.
The class inspired me to seek out my first online course encounter in
English 102.
I
was a little worried going into the class, mostly because of my procrastination
and lack of discipline. I have
always experienced the benefits of taking classes in person. I found in-person classes helped me to
stay on-track and focused in the past.
I have felt if left to my own organizational skills and discipline that
I might easily fall behind. I am
proud to say I never fell behind in English 102 online, but I am also sad to
say I was never able to take advantage of getting ahead of schedule
either. In the beginning, I was
excited to see all the assignments and I eagerly thought that I would be able
to work ahead of schedule and not worry about deadlines, but It seemed Sunday’s
midnight deadlines were always looming over my head.
Online
learning is different than in-person learning, in that it requires the student
to be attentive to assignment deadlines.
It also requires students to take more initiative in seeking out the
necessary answers to any questions they may have about an assignment. Specifically, regarding the technology
we were asked to explore and use, I enjoyed the opportunity to do some things
other then writing, such as PowerPoint and videos, to demonstrate new things we
were learning. I thought some of
the technological alternatives to writing were very helpful and creatively
helped us learn in different ways.
In the future, I hope to imaginatively be able to use videos to share,
present, and teach things to others.
Overall, my experience was positive and proved all my fears to be
unnecessary.
Here is a detailed survey about on online education that might of you interest to you:
Hey Vincent, you make a good point, procrastination is a big factor, and it does take self-discipline, I feel it helps us strengthen some of our weaknesses when it comes organizing our assignments and prioritizing our time.
ReplyDeleteI did the same thing, thinking I would be able to get ahead of schedule in this class. I have in many other online classes, but this one was too detailed (or tough for me) to do so. I also agree with the fact that you mentioned that you must be disciplined in order to take an online class and pay special attention to detail. It was tough, but I'm glad I did it and hopefully made it through!
ReplyDeleteI liked how you talk about how an online class takes personal initiative and discipline. I too have always had a problem with procrastination and always thinking i will have time to finish things later. you mentioned having to pay attention to dead line which was one thing i can in particular i can relate to from my experience with online classes this semester.
ReplyDeleteHey Vincent, I am happy you chose the online class. It is a completely different world. Both in class and online classes have their pros and cons as anything does in this world. I wish you the best.
ReplyDelete