When I think back to when I was completing my Bachlor degree, and the amount of time I spent on campus in class and in the university library, it's unbelievable to think that I've completed a MSEd degree and begun a PhD program without setting foot in either a classroom or a university library. Despite the fact that I have never physically travel to these locations, I still spend the same if not more time in my "classroom" and in the "university library". My time is spent much more productively as well.Virtual learning offers many tools that add to my productivity level The discussions boards in my virtual classrooms are much more reflective, and I believe this adds to a greater understanding of the material presented. I now have the opportunity to see the material from all of the class members perspective. The online library gives me better access to larger amounts of resources, and the tools with in these data bases give me the capability to focus my search on my topic. This saves me a great deal of time that I can then spend on the task of reading an synthesising the material.
When I have questions, I no longer have to wait for an instructor or classmate to be available. I can rely on the knowledge of my classmates, and read their discussion responses to help facilitate my understanding. I can use the online library to access additional resources, as well as use other search engines such as Google to find more information on any given topic.
Hi Jen,
ReplyDeleteIt is curious that we can do this whole thing without ever going on to a university campus, as you say. However, with the advent of all the podcasts in our online classroom now, if I did have to commute somewhere, listening to these podcasts (maybe even over and over)while waiting in traffic would be a great way to spend that time . :-)
Ginger Harper
Jennifer,
ReplyDeleteI wholeheartedly agree with your view on how much time was wasted on college campuses while working on the Bachelors degree. I only wish that I could have taken mine online, but even today that is pretty difficult since my B.S. was in Mechanical Engineering. Some classes are offered online today, but you have to spend a considerable amount of time in a physical lab. In the end, it is counterproductive and it defeats the purpose of having it online. Maybe one day, LOL!!
DJH
Hi Jennifer!
ReplyDeleteIt is hard to believe the effect that all this technological development is having! I knew when I was younger that we were headed in this direction, but I never expected to see anything like this develop so quickly. I wonder what it will look like in a decade or two!
For those who are just out of high school and entering college to pursue their Bachelor's Degree, I would not agree with online learning simply because those students need to have the "college experience." For those who are older and would like to pursue a Bachelor's degree, then online learning would be better. It's interesting to see how social networking sites would effect whether students out of high school would want to pursue a degree online or not.
ReplyDelete