I love the Internet, and if I could be on it everyday all day I most definitely would ;-) When I learned a couple of years ago about being able to attend classes on online, I was ecstatic!!!!!I have a best friend who is attending as well and she agreed ed that Kaplan was the place to be. Being the go-getter that I am jumped in and took my desire for my education and let it lead the way. I enrolled in the University and am very happy with the choice I made. I feel that the experience that I have had thus far with how the curriculum is set, the teachers and their tremendous help and to the students who always make learning fun with the ideas they share and morale boosting. All of these extras when attending college has truly made Kaplan the best college I attended. I'm not sure if it is because we have the comfort to learn from distance, or the choice of what days we want to take classes, the non physical presence, or just the pure drive of love I have for my child and family pushing this, whatever it is, I am enjoying the experience.
I wish at times I were able to actually smile at one of my classmates in front of them rather than a smiley on a screen, or even ask my professor a question verbally. My boyfriend is also a student finishing his last year at Alabama State University, and there are times where he'll talk with me about projects that him and his classmates are going to be working on and meeting up to put together and I will want to do the same and can't. I think that seeing how the community is online and we as students and professors are all over the place it would be hard to bring us together in that way. I am not too sure just what could make the learning environment feel more close, other than to be able to see each other directly.
I love the online enjoyment and now that I have started to blog, I really enjoy writing a lot more, it's starting to loosen me up, which could be great for my coming paper ;-)
Hi Shannon,
ReplyDeleteYou can ask me a question verbally if you have Skype, and if you are really, really needing to talk to me I could send you my cell phone number (I do not give it to all students; you can imagine why). I wonder if some day Kaplan will require students to have Skype and we can interact that way.
I have thought of doing a proposal to take a group of Kaplan students to Chicago to participate in an urban cultural experience they have that introduces students to the urban experience in Chicago and possible internships in their fields.
Take a look and tell me what you think:
http://www.chicagocenter.org/
I must agree about face to face and group study but have to tell you a little story. When I was on the train last week I sat in the dining car with a very pleasant couple (it is true you meet the nicest people on the train) and the gentleman was a professor at the University of Washington (know as the UDUB locally)and I took the opportunity to ask his opinion about online unibersities. He was in favor of online learning if it was with the right University (he approved of Kaplan). One thing that really got my attention was when he said his class has about 720 students in a class - I would freak out in a class that large. In the vitual classroom no one knows if your are older (that's me) or what age you are. I feel I relate to my fellow students and believe they relate to me.
ReplyDeleteI think there are a lot of pros and cons for being an online student. Sometimes I really like the fact that we do not see other students and the teachers in person, because then I am able to focus more on the actual work rather than getting distracted. But I think the social part would be nice also, but I feel like I never have alone time to begin with so it all works out well for me :)
ReplyDeleteI'm from Montgomery Alabama and I wanted to go to ASU but I knew it was a partying school and I wouldn't get far so I chose the military and went from there. I chose online classes because it was very convenient and not crowded with a bunch of other students. Online classes are fun as well but they can be very difficult if you don't pay attention but we will prevail and come out on top.
ReplyDeleteHi Shannon,
ReplyDeleteHave you ever attended a webinar? KU Faculty attend faculty meetings and workshops through webinars. They are conducted pretty much the same as our seminars. We hear the facilitators and type in our questions and comments. However, I think eventually everyone will have some kind of "Skype" feature that will allow more face to face interaction. Also, I think we should develop more opportunity for students to come together physically for financially sponsored and supported workshops, internship opportunities and perhaps field trips. What do you think?
Professor,
ReplyDeleteI agree with having skype to interact with the students. A couple weeks ago I came across an ad over the televison which advertised a highschool for qualified students online. I do believe it was for Colorodo residents and it was interesting to see that they did stress that the enviorment would also include class field trips, and different projects even that the students were required to do with other classmates outside the online enviorment. Do you think that it is just hard for us to have that beind we all are in so many different places, where this school even though not a college was within that particuar state? Thanks for sharing about the Webinar, I hope to be able to attend one soon.
Professor,
ReplyDeleteAlso I had a chance to look within the website for Chicago, and I think the proposal for such an experience is great! I really hope it goes far. After I searched through the site I must admit I was ready to pack my bags. ;)
Good luck on your classes.
ReplyDeleteI remember as early as '02 when I originally had ideas of continuing my education and someone recommended online classes since I worked all the time. I kinda shrugged it off. I honestly didn't see the point of it all. That is, until years later and some relatives of mines took a few classes and til this day always refer to it as a great idea and even greater experience.
So, do your thang!