By Katheryn Rivas
There are a number of reasons why online education makes sense for students. Among these factors are more course selections, convenience, and cost efficiency. Whatever your reason is for turning to online education, the transition can be a bit of a shock to your system. As online education continues grow in popularity, many students are taking advantage of this option. Since it is still fairly new, there are a few things you should consider before making this decision.
Literally, you will have to grow accustomed to not having the routine of actually going into a classroom. For many students, the act of going and sitting in class helps them grasp the content of a course. Sitting in a seat and absorbing the information your professor relays or listening to other students make sense of the material during a class discussion can be extremely beneficial. In an online course, the discussions generally occur in a message board format. Often, the professor will post his or her lecture and then open up the message board for students to discuss the material and readings for a given class. It is your responsibility to thoughtfully read and react to your fellow students’ messages. This is your "class participation." Professors will most likely grade you on your responses to others and to original threads you open up for further discussion.
Online courses demand that you have a strong self-discipline. Many students can fall into a routine when they know they have a class Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at noon. They know they need to have certain assignments completed. However, online courses will often run on a weekly schedule. For instance, every Wednesday you need to have participated in the message boards, submitted an assignment to your professor, and have finished the week’s readings. It is vital that you set yourself up on your own schedule so that you don’t put your work off until Tuesday night or Wednesday morning. To ensure you are getting the most out of this class, you need to keep up with the work over the course of the week.
One last note, your professor should be as readily available in an online course than in a "normal" course. Make sure you send an email to your professor at the beginning of the semester and introduce yourself. Open up the lines of communication early so that when you do have questions over the semester you feel comfortable emailing them at any time. Interaction with your professor and fellow students is just as important in an online class than any other class.