[Publib] Online classes

[Judy Anderson]

I understand the use of online classes for people, especially those who 
don't have a school near them, or who are working and raising children.

My library school classes were live (although I did use blackboard for some 
of them). But I have taken online classes (and in the old days, classes by 
mail). When I was a community college librarian, I helped a number of 
students taking online classes.

You do miss the connection (and networking) with other students. You also 
miss immediate feedback to questions. Imagine you ask a question. In class, 
you get an immediate answer and then can ask more if you still aren't clear. 
Now instead, you have to ask by email or posting or whatever the instructor 
uses. You wait sometimes days (depending on the instructor, maybe even 
longer) and then if you still don't understand you have go through the 
process again. By then, you've moved on to a new subject area in the class.

Some instructors are very good at quick responses to questions. The library 
school I went to just started online classes when I left. I heard a lot of 
students complaining about non-responsive instructors, in part because the 
instructors weren't used to teaching that way. I heard the same thing from 
students taking classes from an very large community college.

So in choosing a school, make sure they've done this for awhile and the 
instructors are used to teaching online. Check official and unoffical 
reviews of the instructors if available.


Judy Anderson
Oregon
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>From: Amy Bowler <amy_bwlr at yahoo.com>
>To: Sunnie Lovelace <Sunnie.Lovelace at gordon.edu>,publib at webjunction.org
>Subject: Re: [Publib] RE: Publib Digest, Vol 18, Issue 18
>Date: Fri, 22 Sep 2006 20:20:33 -0700 (PDT)
>
>I am also a student at Southern Connecticut State University. I'm starting 
>my last year of online classes. While I agree that there are a lot of 
>advantages, please also note that it is a very different way of learning. 
>Everything is in writing and it is so easy to misread or skip something 
>important. Also, you have to attend every unit, no missing the occasional 
>class like onsite courses. The last downfall is that they recommend that 
>you spend at least 12 hours a week per class on course work, which can be 
>very difficult to manage on top of a full time job.
>
>   That being said, I think online was still the best choice for me. I've 
>managed to do well in my courses while working full time and I have 
>improved my reading and computer skills every semester. I actually find it 
>very fun, but it is an acquired taste!
>
>   Thanks!
>

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