Any experience with on line classes?

[Pussycat]

I am looking into taking some on line classes to finish my degree, but feel very overwhelmed with all the options and by the thought of working completely independantly. Have any of you taken on line classes? Any thoughts or suggestions you could send my way?
Thanks-
Pussycat

[DiaperDiva]

Hi,

I don't have personal experiencec, but DH took a few classes online to finish his 2 year degree. He loved it. Of course I freaked out on him cause it seemed her rarely studied, by hey he received all A's.

Anyway, ,HE loved it because he could wait until he was in a real learning mode before sitting down to study.

I plan on taking a few classes this next semester. I think it will be much easier, especially with a toddler. I can wait until she naps before I get online.

Good luck with your classes!

[Mallory]

I like them too. But I think you have to be able to learn from reading. My dh really needs to hear lectures to learn and I think he would have a hard time with online classes, but our school also offers telecourses which suit him better.

[ladylee]

I took courses through NYU online & earned a management certificate. It was great!! I hope that my daughter can just learn online straight through her education.

[Chi-Chi Mama]

i think online classes are great for the right person.. if you're the kind of person who likes (or is good at) working at your own pace, it's great!

[Beck]

I haven't taken online classes, but I have taken correspondence courses. I did very well, but I am a procrastinator and did not schedule my time well. There were no assignment deadlines. I just had to complete each course within 9 months. I always left everything right until the end.

My instructors were very helpful. They welcomed phone calls and e-mail. I assume online classes would offer some type of communication with instructors. I've seen some that offer regular chat features.

[Pussycat]

Thanks for your responses everyone, it is nice to hear that others have done this and have had good experiences. One more question, how do you know if you are working with a reputable program? It seems obvious to me that if it is through a recognized University it is most likely reputable, but there are so many programs from places I've never heard of, how do I choose?
Thanks again-
Pussycat

[LaLaLuna]

My experience with online classes was not so great- I tried two; a writing class and a human developement class (think it was interpersonal communications) Maybe it was just these particular instructors, but I got the impression that in order to compensate for no class-room time they reallyp piled on the busy-work. It was annoying, plus I didn't realize going into it that INTER-personal communications meant communication with yourself so there was a lot of introspective, personal stuff you were meant to write about and then post online- to a bunch of people you don't know (hey- kinda like here! But not as cool. ) Also, one class used a format that was relatively straight-forward and simple to learn anduse and the other was just byzantinely complicated and took me more than a week just to find all the parts I needed just to complete assignments. The teacher freely admitted that she was computer illiterate so I think did a very poor job of organizing the information in an online format.

I'm not sure about legitimate places to take classes from- I took ours from the local college so they're credit classes; transferable anywhere. Maybe look for something credentialed like regular colleges are? This is a very good question; wish I had an answer.