As a college student, online courses are becoming more and more popular. The convenience for commuters, distance learning, or those that live out of state and are trying to get an online degree are blatantly obvious. But for me, a senior in college as well as an education major, online classes are more of a pain in the butt than anything.
First of all, for college students to choose to take online classes over on-campus classes, it's definitely taking the easy way out of getting a decent education. In my personal experience of online courses, I am way less motivated to actually read a textbook, respond to a discussion board, and take online quizzes in comparison to my on-campus homework/responsibilities. My online classes are put on the back burner, because I make my on-campus classes more of a priority. It all depends on what type of learner you are as well. If you are motivated to learn and teach yourself, online classes are the way to go. If you learn better by being in the classroom, interacting with other students and teachers, your best bet is to take classes on campus.
For me, I prefer the latter. I don't learn a single thing from taking online classes. Do teachers honestly think that the entire class roster will read the chapters assigned and put 100% effort into weekly discussion boards? Not to mention, the pointless expectation of responding to two other students' discussion board posts. Our responses include: I agree/disagree -insert copy of initial discussion board here-. What do we gain from that? I guarantee that none of us go back to our initial posts and read the responses.
In contrast, I totally understand why online education is offered. There are adults with full-time jobs and families who want to further their education or pursue a higher degree. Those people rely on online education to learn and progress. They are dedicated to their work, because they are the ones paying for it and let's face it: higher education courses/degrees are extremely expensive. For traditional college students, we don't really think about how much classes cost. We rely on scholarships, loans, and our wonderful parents to handle the financial aspects of college.
Lastly, as a Special Education major, I have come to find out that the majority of my classes are online or hybrid courses. Hybrid courses are a mix between online and on-campus courses. The majority of the class is online, but you're required to meet for night class either once a month or once every other week. As an education major, one would think you would want to spend as much time in the classroom as possible to get a better first-hand experience from your professor. I find it appalling that schools offer education courses online, because I will not teach special education students through an online platform.
Although some people may have different opinions, I do not think that online classes are beneficial to college students. I cant say I have learned a whole lot from those classes, and I bet the majority of other students taking them will say the same thing. As a future teacher, I have learned that students learn best by doing. Students learn best by working with others, working in hands-on situations. Online classes are not the ideal way to learn and colleges/universities across the nation need to take that into consideration.
