There is a difference between taking an online college class and taking and online college class. If this simple statement makes sense to you, then you have probably taken one before. If you are scratching your head, then you should do a bit more research before you challenge what an online college class has to offer.
To be fair, I have never taken a campus course; rather, all my college classes have been online. Speaking from my experience from this learning venue, I can say in some ways it’s the best method of learning, and in others, it can make you nearly fail. This last semester, I was so distracted that I almost failed 2 of my classes, which I attributed mainly to these classes being online. Why?
Because first and foremost, online classes are never independent study, unless specifically stated otherwise. This means daily and weekly assignments are due, and since you don’t have a class schedule to physically adhere to, you can miss assignments so incredibly easy you don’t even remember you have them until 3 hours past the deadline (waking up in a cold sweat- literally). This happened to me this last semester, because hunting season took priority- I missed 4 macroeconomic assignments, and 3 assignments in math. I just…forgot. Had I had to physically be in class, would I have been hunting every single day? No. Not without repercussion.
Lesson to be learned is this- online classes mean online attendance, plain and simple. If you cannot discipline yourself to attend your online classes and dedicate time to them like you would a normal classroom, then just go to class. Otherwise, you’ll miss half your semester, risk getting kicked out of the course by your instructor, and even if you do pass, you’ll have cheated yourself out of actually learning a majority of the course. I’ve learned my lesson, but I also suffered a huge ding in my GPA.
The plus to online classes, however, is the freedom of study- for the most part. Yes, you have assignments due by midnight on such-and-such date, but other than that, your study time (and time in general) is yours. Aside having to take tests at campus, your schedule is very flexible. This allows a person to maintain a full-time job or go hunting for days on end (ha). This freedom obviously comes at a price if abused, as stated above, but online classes are a godsend if you want education but lack free time to follow a strict class schedule.
Another bust about online classes- your instructors will not allow a computer crash to be an excuse for missing assignments. Since computers seem to magically come down with viruses during the semester only (mine has crashed twice), you need to have a backup plan- be it your college campus, local library, or a friend’s computer, in the offchance your computer craps the bed.
If you tend to be on the social side, then online classes may be a big no-no turnoff for you as well. Sitting for hours on end doing homework assignments hunched over a computer does not a good time make. If you need to be around other people to suffer with you, then go to a campus class.
Another thing that people fail to realize about online classes (though not a bad thing, not by any means) is this- your instruction time and your homework time are all on that dang computer. This means you will spend an average of 2 hours a day per course on that computer, because you don’t have an instructor to cram it into an hour lecture for you. Online classes require twice as much study as regular classes do. You will notice this if you take one online class and have the rest of them be on campus. Imagine being a full-time online student? It wears you out.
In the end, online classes are not for everyone. They are all I know, and I abuse the privelege even with my experience with them. While they can be highly beneficial in trying to accomplish daily life on top of going to school, online classes are not an easy right. Should you take an online class? That is up to you.