Kate is starting college, and she feels like a nervous-wreck already. She has no idea what to expect, and she doesn’t know anyone going to her school. There she is, trying to register for classes; however, Kate had never expected it would be so hard to figure out which classes to take and at what times. The College Writing class that she would like to take during her first semester is only offered at the same time as her Interpersonal Communications class. All Kate can think is, “How in the world can I be in two places at once?”
Schools are advancing in many ways, and now it is possible for you to take the desired class online so as to avoid schedule conflict. This might sound scary and foreign to you, causing you to ask many questions.
“What will an online class be like? How will I learn the lessons? How do I turn in homework? Is the teacher even a real person? How do I communicate with others? Do I have classmates in an online class?”
Your mind is rushing through these questions in panic mode. Although an online course sounds cumbersome, taking one gives you the opportunity to further your education career, as well as the freedom to maintain your other priorities.
The vast majority of high schools don’t offer online classes, as a result, most students feel afraid to take an online course. The familiarity of a classroom and classmates is a safe feeling to students. In the traditional classroom, you meet your teacher, and he or she tells you what is expected and required of you. Meanwhile your classmates surround you, and it’s comforting to know that they are as nervous as you are. When questions arise, the teacher is there in the classroom ready to explain. The routine is something that draws you in, making every weekday at 9:00 a.m. your hour to absorb and comprehend college algebra.
During your crazy and new adventure of college, a regular schedule seems like the least you can do for yourself; nevertheless, in-class courses have some very negative aspects. First of all, you have to spend multiple hours sitting in a classroom and listening to a teacher. When you are unable to attend a class, you need to ration out excess time in order to make up the work you missed. It is simply not possible to miss multiple hours of class so as to make up work and still maintain a good grade. Secondly, your schedule is limited by the number of hours your classes consume. If there are two classes at 11:00 a.m., then you need to decide which class you will take. Furthermore, if you don’t live within walking distance, you have to spend time commuting between your home and the school. This commute results in extra fuel costs, earlier departures from your home, and possibly missing classes on bad weather days.
On the other hand, you can avoid these problematic scenarios by taking a course online. In particular, these classes allow you to do work on your own time. Since your schedule is busy on different nights of the week, you can choose to work on the assignments and readings when you have the time. You might think that communicating with a teacher online would be difficult; however, questions can be messaged directly to your teacher. Oftentimes professors will be online grading papers and reply to your question promptly. Another very positive side of taking an online course is that you can complete the work from anywhere you’d like. You have the option to write your papers or complete the readings from the comfort of your own home or in a cozy corner of a coffee shop. In addition, assignments are due on Sunday nights for the majority of online classes. This allows you to have not only the week, but also the weekend to complete your homework. Having a Sunday night deadline gives you a break from the multiple due dates each week from your traditional classes. Moreover, it provides opportunities for you to invest more effort into completing your assignments. Because you don’t have to spend any hours physically in a classroom, your schedule is freed up to include many other things. You can have flexible hours for your job, take an extra class that normally wouldn’t fit into your daytime schedule, or be flexible to help your family and friends. Having a flexible schedule would greatly increase your ability to get a job during your college career.
Nonetheless, there are disadvantages of taking an online course. You may need to deal with Internet crashes, which would likely hinder you from being able to submit your homework and take online quizzes. However, many fast food restaurants are open twenty-four hours a day and contain free Wi-Fi access. Also, the majority of Internet providers are very quick to fix your connection problems. Another downside of taking an online course is that you can misinterpret what others are trying to tell you. It has been known to happen where students find their teachers to be very negative and harsh, oftentimes, after viewing the comments made on their work. As a result, students may become very stressed out and upset because of this class. However, after an instance where the student meets face-to-face with his or her professor, it comes as a surprise that the professor has a personality that is very different from the student’s perception. Taking an online class might result in the misinterpretation of people and directions. On the other hand, this can be avoided by being careful not to assume implications. Finally, a lack of structure in the online schedule may allow you to procrastinate, as well as allow you to develop poor studying habits. However, the lack of structure is likely to cause a student to be responsible with managing his or her time.
In reality, an online course is not so different from an in-class course. Either way you will have to complete assignments, study, discuss things with teachers and/or classmates, take midterms and finals, and most importantly work your hardest to earn a good grade. The big difference is in time spent physically in a classroom versus time spent on a computer doing work.
College is hard work, and that’s an undeniable fact. You will learn a lot in the next few years. Going to college will make you become mature and prepare you for a successful career later on in your life. You will be forced to make decisions for yourself and take on new challenges that are oftentimes unexpected. However, you possess the choice to get ahead in your career by fitting that last class into your schedule through the online option. Don’t stress yourself out over finding the perfect schedule where you can take Interpersonal Communications and College Writing in the same semester. That schedule already exists; it’s simply not in the form your mind expected to find it in.
Merciful Perspective 