Online Classes are for the Birds (or, what I learned in my first semester of grad school)
It would not take much for me to admit that my first semester of grad school was harder than I expected. Not because the classes or the content was too hard or difficult for me to understand, but because online classes are for highly self-motivated people who learn best by reading and as it turns out, I am not one of those people. I rarely read the text in my undergraduate nursing classes- only if I was looking for more information or clarity on a subject. I usually just paid attention and took really great notes in class, and that was enough to get me through. Online classes, it turns out, aren't good for people like me.
One of my classes provided me only PowerPoints and textbook readings. No audio accompanied the PowerPoints (at least not that I could discover) so it was up to me to do all of the reading and then extrapolate from the brief presentations what was important. Luckily, there were a few homework assignments that I did pretty well on, and I remembered enough from my similar undergraduate courses to get by on the exams. That class had a paper that was worth a fairly significant portion of the grade, and my writing skills are still pretty kick ass, despite the almost four year break, so that brought my overall grade to something I was comfortable with.
The other class I took this last semester DID offer audio along with the PowerPoints, but oh my goodness the woman's voice was so. terribly. dull. that I reeeally couldn't focus on what she was saying. She literally put me to sleep more than once. This particular class didn't have one textbook, but instead numerous writings and articles each week. I read a few of them, but not all. My writing really pulled me through in this class too. I began my loathing of online discussion boards in about week two. They really shouldn't be called "discussion" boards, but more like "posting" boards. I understand that the intent is to get people talking about that week's objectives, but since there are usually only one or two questions posed by the moderator- no one was actually interacting with each other, they were just posting their answers and moving on. I actually typically like in-class discussions, and willingly participate, and these boards feel nothing like the real thing.
I'm also very annoyed that I'm paying someone to "teach" these classes, when I don't feel like I'm being taught at all. So far, my professors have had varying degrees of interaction with the students- from way too much to literally none-at-all and it's frustrating to think that they're getting paid regardless. This is certainly the way for schools to get the most bang-for-their-buck, which makes it even more annoying to me.
But, I survived. It turns out that learning to balance school, a nearly full-time job, and a social life that includes the kind of community I've been craving for years took me a little longer than I expected, but I think I figured it out by the end. Mainly that I needed to find a place away from my DVR full of Castle to do my schoolwork or it would never actually get done. Luckily the Crofton Public Library is full of glass windows that I can stare out of while thinking about what I'm writing, and I actually get work done when I don't have friends around to distract me.
The other good thing is that starting in the fall, I'll be taking classes specific to my program, instead of required core classes for all Masters students. Hopefully that means I'll be more invested and will find more value in the education.
This summer school thing though... good thing I have a pool, that's all I'm going to say.
One of my classes provided me only PowerPoints and textbook readings. No audio accompanied the PowerPoints (at least not that I could discover) so it was up to me to do all of the reading and then extrapolate from the brief presentations what was important. Luckily, there were a few homework assignments that I did pretty well on, and I remembered enough from my similar undergraduate courses to get by on the exams. That class had a paper that was worth a fairly significant portion of the grade, and my writing skills are still pretty kick ass, despite the almost four year break, so that brought my overall grade to something I was comfortable with.
The other class I took this last semester DID offer audio along with the PowerPoints, but oh my goodness the woman's voice was so. terribly. dull. that I reeeally couldn't focus on what she was saying. She literally put me to sleep more than once. This particular class didn't have one textbook, but instead numerous writings and articles each week. I read a few of them, but not all. My writing really pulled me through in this class too. I began my loathing of online discussion boards in about week two. They really shouldn't be called "discussion" boards, but more like "posting" boards. I understand that the intent is to get people talking about that week's objectives, but since there are usually only one or two questions posed by the moderator- no one was actually interacting with each other, they were just posting their answers and moving on. I actually typically like in-class discussions, and willingly participate, and these boards feel nothing like the real thing.
I'm also very annoyed that I'm paying someone to "teach" these classes, when I don't feel like I'm being taught at all. So far, my professors have had varying degrees of interaction with the students- from way too much to literally none-at-all and it's frustrating to think that they're getting paid regardless. This is certainly the way for schools to get the most bang-for-their-buck, which makes it even more annoying to me.
But, I survived. It turns out that learning to balance school, a nearly full-time job, and a social life that includes the kind of community I've been craving for years took me a little longer than I expected, but I think I figured it out by the end. Mainly that I needed to find a place away from my DVR full of Castle to do my schoolwork or it would never actually get done. Luckily the Crofton Public Library is full of glass windows that I can stare out of while thinking about what I'm writing, and I actually get work done when I don't have friends around to distract me.
The other good thing is that starting in the fall, I'll be taking classes specific to my program, instead of required core classes for all Masters students. Hopefully that means I'll be more invested and will find more value in the education.
This summer school thing though... good thing I have a pool, that's all I'm going to say.
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