Has anybody taken classes at an online college?

Question

How did you like it? How much time must you devote? Which one? Did you like it? Thanks I need all the info I can get.

Answer 1

I took one online class from my communitiy college. It was okay. You have to be self-motivated to set time aside to study, do your hw, get yourself ready for tests, you have to understand the material on your own because you're not going to a lecture and having the prof explain things to you.

Sometimes it was hard because I couldn't understand something, had to email and call the prof so she could explain it. But I got an A somehow. I like campus classes much better. You also had to get yourself down to the campus to take your tests, midterms, and final.

Answer 2

It is not informative, I think.

Answer 3

I have not personally, but my father got his latest Master's from Walden University, entirely online. It was quite easy for him, even with working a full time job. Took him less than 2 years, and it wasn't a lot of stress.

My husband is working on a degree online through New Mexico State University, and we think it's so much better than attending in person. Much more organized and information is more useful and attainable - as well as the professor being more accessible.

Answer 4

"How did you like it?"  I liked it just fine.  In some subjects I prefer doing the work online.  I don't need a grad asst. to read a textbook to me in a room full of people that just don't care.  I can read a textbook in the comfort of my home.  Some subjects are better done in person though.  Higher math is hard to learn at home without someone there to help.  Sciences need access to a good lab.

"How much time must you devote?"  Usually more time than if you had gone to the classroom course.  The material is the same but the delivery method requires that you actually read the textbook (many traditional students don't read the book in a regular class and many don't even buy one) and the assignments tend to be more papers than multi-guess quizzes.  If I'm taking a 3 hour class online then I plan for 6-9 hours per week devoted to that class.  If you get behind then you're done for.

"Which one?" More than a few.  Always via a traditional college that offers courses online such as Brigham Young and Louisiana State.  I've only taken one class online at a school that didn't also offer traditional classes (Excelsior College) and have taken many at traditional schools (from top-schools to local community college).  The hardest, but also most rewarding, are at the top schools such as Harvard and UC-Berkeley.

"Did you like it?"  Not always.  Sometimes online isn't the easiest way to take a class.  For the most part, yes.

"Thanks I need all the info I can get."   There's more information out there than you can get here.  You'll hear from a bunch of people who have never taken a class online who will tell you they're easy.  You'll hear from some people who don't know how to use a computer tell you they're hard.  Most people that have done it will tell you that it's really not that much different than going to class except that you can do your work from anywhere at any time.

Take a look at what's out there to study.  Harvard, Oxford, UC-Berkeley, Columbia, Cornell, UTexas, UMass, UFlorida, Florida State, BYU, and just about every other college in the US is teaching online these days.  It's not 1981 and anyone that thinks online is not a valid delivery method has their eyes closed.  

Distance delivered education and training is here to stay.  It's just the way things are now.  I've not taken a classroom course in over a year (I take at least 21 hours per year - every year) that didn't have some significant portion delivered online - some could have been done entirely online since the classroom session did nothing but discuss the online component.

Some really marginal (or even bad) colleges are teaching online too.  Try to pick the best college you can get into whether it's online or classroom.  Avoid those colleges that don't have at least a reasonable reputation.