Reaction To The Online Class

My experience with the online class was mostly a very positive one. I liked that there were choices and it had flexibility. I liked that I could pick what was most in tune with my learning style.

I enjoyed the flexibility of the assignment. Timing is always an issue for me in life. There is always a lot to accomplish and it never feels like enough time. I knew what I had to accomplish for this class and was able to fit it in at different points in my week. I was able to start and stop and break it up into manageable pieces. I also liked that there were choices. I was able to choose the podcasts that were interesting and pertinent to me. The only issue that I had with the flexibility was that it feeds into one of my weaknesses. I am a terrible procrastinator and put off for a week getting started. I was on vacation from school for over a week and didn't even start the work until the very end.

Everybody learns differently. I know that I am a visual and social learner. I chose to watch one podcast, listen to one podcast and I did one interactive experience in order to see the difference. I really enjoyed the video podcast and the interactive experience. I was interested and involved with both of them. I found that with the audio podcast I was distracted way too easily and occasionally I had to rewind to get back on track. The topic was interesting but I needed some visuals that went along with the talking in order to hold my attention better.

The main thing that was missing for me was the social nature of being in a classroom. I learn by listening and interacting with others. Very often I learn just as much from other student's questions as I do from the professor's lectures.

In general, I didn't expect the online class to take as long as it did. Even though I am a procrastinator and even though I am easily distractable, I also become very involved in assignments that I participate in. I found at times that I got extremely carried away. The time that I spent was way longer than even 2 class periods. Alan Levine's expedition took me many more hours than it probably should have because I was so enthralled with the many interesting things that he presented. I also became very carried away with my blog.

I feel that the online class was time well spent but I don't feel that it is a good option for me in the future. I get too carried away with things that I'm interested in and would end up spending too much time on the class if I took an entire online class. I would neglect other things because I'd rather spend time on the classwork.