2008 Woodie Awards
Online classes are a preferred alternative for some students
Brittany Sarrett
Issue date: 2/8/07 Section: News
- Page 1 of 1
Waking up at the crack of dawn, scrambling for a parking spot and trying to stay awake in class are just a few of the things students who are enrolled in online classes don't have to worry about.
Kathryn Brisbin is one of those students. She is completing her two-year mortuary science degree entirely online and never has enrolled in an on-campus class at Amarillo College.
But some students, such as Chris Eve, say taking only online classes ruins the college experience.
"The social interaction you get in a normal classroom setting, you can't find in an online course. This interaction is needed later on in life," Eve said.
Brisbin disagreed.
"Amarillo College is a high school setting, in my opinion," she said. "From what I hear, teachers still take roll, and the discussions really are irrelevant to the work being done in the classroom. I think that I can be more focused in the subject taking the class online than if I were in class."
Eve also wondered if online classes are more difficult than on-campus classes.
"I think that an online class would be harder because you have to teach yourself compared to being able to ask questions in a classroom," Eve said.
"It depends on the individual and the professor," Brisbin said. "Some people read really slow and they don't really comprehend what they read. I can learn the subject faster doing it at my own pace than if a teacher were telling me to read it by the next morning."
Unlike Brisbin's positive experience in the online world, Lindsey Stiner was enrolled in an online class last semester and still cringes at the memory of it.
"I was enrolled in a history class, and I hated it," she said. "The professor almost never answered my e-mails when I had questions, so that made it much more difficult to try to keep up with the material."
Brisbin agreed.
"Teachers that teach online classes only access their e-mail in their office, so if you have a question in the middle of the night they may not be able answer it until the next day at the earliest," she said.
Stiner had an even larger problem than her teacher not answering her questions through e-mail.
"My class was dropped during only the second week of class, and I wasn't told about it," she said. "It wasn't posted on the Web site or told to me through e-mail.
"I will never enroll in an online class again. It was just a horrible experience for me, and I prefer the classroom setting much more."
Though some students have had negative experiences with the world of online learning, Brisbin thinks it really depends on how dedicated the student is to the work.
"It takes much more discipline as far as completing the homework and reading the text," she said. "While you don't have someone breathing down your neck, you still have a responsibility."
Kathryn Brisbin is one of those students. She is completing her two-year mortuary science degree entirely online and never has enrolled in an on-campus class at Amarillo College.
But some students, such as Chris Eve, say taking only online classes ruins the college experience.
"The social interaction you get in a normal classroom setting, you can't find in an online course. This interaction is needed later on in life," Eve said.
Brisbin disagreed.
"Amarillo College is a high school setting, in my opinion," she said. "From what I hear, teachers still take roll, and the discussions really are irrelevant to the work being done in the classroom. I think that I can be more focused in the subject taking the class online than if I were in class."
Eve also wondered if online classes are more difficult than on-campus classes.
"I think that an online class would be harder because you have to teach yourself compared to being able to ask questions in a classroom," Eve said.
"It depends on the individual and the professor," Brisbin said. "Some people read really slow and they don't really comprehend what they read. I can learn the subject faster doing it at my own pace than if a teacher were telling me to read it by the next morning."
Unlike Brisbin's positive experience in the online world, Lindsey Stiner was enrolled in an online class last semester and still cringes at the memory of it.
"I was enrolled in a history class, and I hated it," she said. "The professor almost never answered my e-mails when I had questions, so that made it much more difficult to try to keep up with the material."
Brisbin agreed.
"Teachers that teach online classes only access their e-mail in their office, so if you have a question in the middle of the night they may not be able answer it until the next day at the earliest," she said.
Stiner had an even larger problem than her teacher not answering her questions through e-mail.
"My class was dropped during only the second week of class, and I wasn't told about it," she said. "It wasn't posted on the Web site or told to me through e-mail.
"I will never enroll in an online class again. It was just a horrible experience for me, and I prefer the classroom setting much more."
Though some students have had negative experiences with the world of online learning, Brisbin thinks it really depends on how dedicated the student is to the work.
"It takes much more discipline as far as completing the homework and reading the text," she said. "While you don't have someone breathing down your neck, you still have a responsibility."
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