Well, right off the bat I would have to say that there are some unexpected struggles that have occurred this year as an online learner, one is that the weather for the most part of Winter Term and now in Spring Term has been amazing. Is it awesome or what?? And two, when I say bat I mean my favorite time of the year – baseball season! When I can get outside working in the yard, on the boat, or watching baseball, it is a challenge to put those things aside and concentrate on my class work. These distractors away from my computer can be a problem whether on campus or online, but there is for me a huge advantage with online classes because I can for the most part choose when I want to engage with my class work.
Having been an educator for 18 years, I have had to attend school to keep my teaching certificate valid and to keep myself up-to-date in the changes in technology and I wish online learning had been available during those years. I started my first off-campus learning experience in 1988 with a class from Texas Tech University, a computer software class that utilized cd’s for the instruction and I mailed my completed assignments from Germany to Texas each week. The course the material was dry and boring and the inability to have contact with an instructor was brutal.
I struggle to identify any strengths that I didn’t already know existed prior to these last three weeks but I guess I could say that my ability to recognize my limitations and be able to make adjustments in my routines, is a strength. It also helps to have a caring and loving wife that is able to recognize when I am struggling and can offer the solution that works. In my lifetime I have never gone to school by myself, my wife has always been here giving me positive reinforcement when I have needed it most. We had two kids when I first started school in 1981 and three by the time I finished and she was always there sometimes working two jobs just to get us through to graduation, my wife is my greatest strength.
My greatest surprise was to find out that online learning has progressed enough to have the ability to have online group project requirements. I wasn’t too keen on this idea and dropped the class, but I do think that it is an interesting option. It must be a challenge for more students because at the end of the paragraph explaining the group project requirement, the instructor wrote that this kind of format may not be for everyone. I was clueless, I didn’t know that group projects were common place in online learning. I just didn’t want to take a chance of letting my group down if I were to have a busy week and wasn’t able to give my 100 percent attention to the project. Maybe I will feel up to it next term.
Overall, it has been a great experience and I am looking forward to the rest of the term.
Hello! Great post! I like how you mentioned the beautiful weather being a distraction. Currently, I am eagerly trying to finish up any last minute assignments, so that I can go outside and bask in the 75 degrees and sunshine. Lucky for us online learners, though, that we can take our classwork outside with us when we want to. That, and the flexibility, are definitely my two favorite aspects of ecampus.
I’m also fascinated on how you managed distance education without a computer? That sounds extremely difficult.
It was a struggle and worst of all is that they didn’t send me all the information I needed to complete the course. Being in Germany and working with the Army didn’t allow much time for classes especially ones that were experiencing growing pains.
I can relate to the weather problem. I was traveling for work last Sunday and went to the Rockies Cub game and it was lovely at 70 degrees. Unfortunately, I got stuck in the snow storm getting back on Thursday night and now I can’t enjoy my local 70+ degree weather because I didn’t have a computer to do my homework at the airport. Enjoy the term!
I completely agree with you on the baseball. My husband has to tear me away from the TV or my phone if I don’t get the game on the TV. I grew up in a huge baseball fan family and of course being from New York didn’t have much of a choice on which team I root for. New York Yankees all the way! What about you?
I am also a Yankees fan but the Mariners are a close second.
Recognizing your limitations and acknowledging that is a great strength. I struggled for the longest time because I refused to accept that I do have limitations. I thought that I would be able to handle anything that was thrown on my plate but that is so obviously not the case. Good for you for learning that about yourself so you can adjust:)
So I am not a fan of group projects either. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve had some great groups to work in. But have had more negative experiences working in groups than positive ones. I do realize that we are all busy, but if you make it a commitment to be in a class that has a group project, then you better get on it. It really isn’t fair to be graded down or to have to do most of the work on a project because your team members are flaky. I also feel like it is poor practice on an instructors part to hold the whole group accountable for another students lack of participation. Maybe some teachers like to see us struggle….that’s the only reason i could come up. That is why I don’t believe group projects have a place in on-line learning. We signed up for on-line classes so that it could be convenient and at our own pace. We didn’t sign up to be held up by some jerk that could care less about their class requirements.
Wow, thank you for the information, I will try to stay away from other classes that have a group project requirement.
I admire that you said your wife is your greatest strength. It definitely takes a lot of support when you work, have a family and go to college( on campus/online). Seems like great teamwork for the win! 🙂
I can not imagine distance schooling without the online aspect, whoa! I probably would of not wanted to come back!
I completely agree with you in regards to the group work. I understand that is the way to get “students” working together since we are not in a physical classroom. BUT, like Star pointed out not everyone participates and when you have “5 +/- peoples schedule who are doing online schooling(usually for a reason) it can be almost impossible. I just completed a group project last night that we had a week to do. Not even time was given, first off, and only one other person participated. Whereas, we were supposed to have 5 team members, it was me and one other. We knocked it out, the professor knew the others did not participate and we won’t be docked for their lack of effort. I think “weekly group discussions” are a great source for students to interact and get a sense of comradery. I do not think it’s fair to do huge group projects for online classrooms. Yes, they happen in classrooms but not everything can and should be the same when doing online classes vs in person. Sorry for my rant, group projects are just one aspect in certain classes that I dislike A LOT! 🙂
Good luck to you!
Thank you for the input, I have never had a group project while in school. When did group projects become a classroom educational tool at the post secondary level? I had students complete group projects at the secondary level most times it worked out but sometimes it didn’t.
My wife has also supported me through my years of schooling, through my bachelors and masters as well as my recent idea to return to school to further my career goals. I agree that its interesting to have group projects in a online learning environment. Naturally I am not a fan of group projects and currently adjusting to having to do a project online this term. The most difficult challenge I find, is not so much the project but the inconsistency in when my group partners check their emails or log onto the discussion board. In my opinion I think other peoples learning styles and discipline can truly impact how online projects come together.