My experience with online class

      One of the first online classes I ever took was American History 1865 to present. I had to take this class as part of my Military Science minor during my sophomore year of college. It was an easy class and great introduction to online learning. The lectures were simple and easy to listen to, and the homework and quizzes afterward were always the same format, so you knew what to expect, kind of like this online class.

     I have very mixed feelings about online classes. I love the freedom of being able to do listen to lectures and do assignments whenever I want. This of course can be a double-edged sword as well. I'm usually pretty good at planning out enough time to do these assignments, but sometimes life will just throw you a curve ball you weren't expecting. I also love having the freedom to do assignments anywhere as long as there is internet. I'm often able to my homework while I'm at work which is a huge advantage. The one caveat to this is never count on being able to do homework at work, because you never know when work will be crazy. 

     
I generally prefer in-person classes to online class though. I've found that I learn better in person than I do online. Now that I know that I usually try to take classes I believe are going to be harder or are directly related to my major in person. One thing I really don't like about online classes is how they always try to foster a sense of community through discussion boards and such by requiring long comments on other people's posts. This can be really difficult, especially if your classmates don't really care what they post. I never really felt any sense of community from an online class, and I prefer online classes that are just individual assignments and tests. I also don't like online classes that are so easy and open that you can finish an entire semester long online class in a week. It's an easy credit but it also feels like a waste of money.

I selected this picture because, if I remember right, it's actually a cropped picture of a screen shot I took during a zoom call for an online class. Occasionally when I had a big assignment my partner would drive, and I would do homework or have a zoom meeting in the passenger seat. This just shows the level of freedom you can have with online classes.