It is great being an online student!

I think that it is a wonderful thing that I am able to receive a degree with the convenience of being at home. I work full time and have the responsibility of making sure my grand son gets to and from school. This may not seem to be much of anything but it is. I do not think that I would be able to go to on campus classes. My day is full and then there are the family duties in the evening and sleep at night. Sometimes I do not get much sleep either. I am on call at work a few days a week and even when I am not on call I still get calls. For a person with a busy life online education is the way to go.


The only thing I would say that may cause someone difficulty doing online school is bad time management. The weeks go by fast, a person would have to be committed to a schedule and complete assignments according to it. You do not realize just how quick you can get behind. It just makes sense to get the better grade, which is dependant on your ability to complete your work on time. The work assignments are appropriate and accomplishable during the week. I like that I set my own schedule for each task even though I may have to adjust at times.

Communication is the key in every part of online courses. The discussion boards are your classroom. You need to read and pay attention to all the post that are there, at least the majority. I learn a great deal from my classmates. The instructor is there to assist so if the student needs help then they should ask for it. How does the instructor know you are having a difficult time when you do not express it? Because they are online, courses are many ways to communicate with your instructor. I have found email to work well. Each instructor will give the student a list of ways to communicate needs, questions, and concerns with times of their availability. Not actually visualizing your classmates and instructor I believe makes it harder to relate at times. I like it when the instructor will post their picture. At first I was concerned with letting people know me when I introduced myself but know I am more relaxed about it. I would like it though if the student was able to post their picture to their introduction. I think having a visual of the person would further help me in the discussion boards. I try to think of being able to discuss the topic in a classroom with them.

I thought if each classmate were to be paired with another and each week and someone else the next this may help in learning what was going on for the week. If the class was large than three people would be matched a week. It would be another assignment for each of the students. A scheduled study group you may call it. The student is not only learning good time management skills they are interacting more with their classmates.

Going to school is challenging when you have many other things to do in your life. I like being able to adjust according to my every day life. Each day brings more to do however; at the end, I will have the feeling of accomplishment and a chance at a better professional career!