My experience with traditional online as a student

After three years of teaching ESL in Shanghai, China, I returned to the United States. One of my options was to receive a teaching certificate and teach middle or elementary school. As a result, I enrolled in TE 100 at Saginaw Valley State University. The majority of the course was taken through Blackboard.?We didn't meet as a class that often but we spent a lot of time observing real middle or elementary school classes.

 Blackboard was used to communicate with the professor. We would use it to post our classroom observations and hand in other assignments.

 Complete Online Courses:

In the past few years, complete online courses have become more popular. Many universities have started to offer complete online courses along with their traditional courses. One such university is The University of Phoenix. I will now discuss complete online courses and their pros and cons.

 The pros of complete online courses

1) Time is more flexible: Unlike traditional classes, there isn't a set schedule.?You can do your coursework whenever you want. If you want to study at 4:00 A.M. or 4:00 P.M., you are able to.?You are able to work at your own pace.

2) You don't have to leave your home: The university you normally attend may be hours away from your home.?As a result, you might have to commute or live on campus. By taking complete online courses, you are able to save money on gasoline or housing.

3) You can study other subjects which your university might not offer. Through the internet and online learning you can study almost any subject.    

The cons of complete online courses

 1) Time is more flexible: Unless you are extremely self-disciplined and self-motivated, you might not be able to keep up with the coursework. Unlike regular classes, there isn't anyone who will remind or pressure you to finish your school work.

 Also, there won't be a set time for chat rooms or message boards for classroom discussions. On many message boards, students won't look at messages that are a week old,?or even a few days old. As a result, students will always seem to work alone.

 2) Lack of credibility:

 There is the idea that online learning is similar to buying a degree. One such example might be www.degrees-r-us.com. By paying $425 you are able to receive a bachelor's degree from an unnamed university "in 10 days or less!" If you want to graduate summa cum laude, you have to pay an extra $75.

3) Technology and ability to use a computer:

Some of the technological requirements might include a high-speed internet connection, an updated web browser, a large amount of RAM, anti-virus protection, and common programs used in education uch as Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Courses that have video presentations or live lectures require the latest multimedia software.

What good is it if you aren't able to use it? You need to be able to search the web effectively, attach documents to e-mail, and view PDF files.

Do you know what to do if your computer crashes, and all of your work is on the hard drive?

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