When I was a senior in high school, I never would have imagined working toward a degree online. At that time the Internet was so new to me that I had to force myself to sit at a computer and learn how to navigate the myriad resources available at the click of a button. I had no choice if I was going to make it through college—and actually get something out of it.
Now, here I am a decade later, once again forcing myself to explore the technological advances that have become available since then. I have to admit, for someone like me who works at a computer all day long, this first semester of classes is challenging. The last thing I want to do in the evening is look at my laptop, let alone read post after post in discussion boards and formulate intelligent responses. But I do it because I thrive in a library setting and am now willing to do whatever it takes to get back there.
But at the end of the day when my eyes are tired and my brain zapped, when there’s laundry to be done, dinner to cook, dishes to do, etc., how much am I really learning? I often find myself skimming through my materials so I can move on to the next task on my to-do list. Then I shut off my computer and think “what in the heck did I just learn?”
Could I be learning more if I just quit working and relied on loans to make ends meet, or if I moved to a state where I could attend classes in person instead of online? How does it work for everyone else?
1 comment:
I know what you mean about the last thing that you want to do is to sit at a computer at the end of the day. Some of the advantages that you have while attending online classes is that when winter comes and you never know what to expect then it is nice to be able to work from home. I know that they do canx. live classes for bad weather, but sometimes they wait until the last minute to do that. I am not so sure that you might learn more from live classes. I think that so much depends on the instructor.
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