I’m in the process of taking my first completely online class and it’s actually kind of fun. A couple of things have been helpful. One is that the very first class I took in my program was partly face-to-face and partly online, with one or the other occurring about every other week. (This was especially helpful since the class was out of town..) I got used to going to the course management system and posting on the discussion board, submitting assignments electronically and so on (although I’m grateful my husband hadn’t left the country yet because I needed a little help with the assignment posting function). The other thing I think was helpful is blogging. I have gotten used to putting things out there for all the world to read, as well as commenting on what other people have written, so that has made interacting with classmates and the instructor on a discussion board pretty comfortable.
I also got a new laptop for Mother’s Day (after months of campaigning, whining, etc.) and having a new “toy” has made the class that much more fun. I’m still using the desktop from time to time, though, because I have a lot of information saved on here and my stepson is going to help me with a few things before I transfer some of that information. Also, I can’t find my flash drive right now, but I’m pretty sure it’s not as lost as my iPod. I’ve actually been cleaning and organizing a lot of stuff, and ironically, that’s when things start to disappear.
What I really like about the online class is being able to “attend” class in my pajamas while I have a glass of wine and come and go as I please. What I don’t like is there were some technical problems with getting the course up and running (on the institution’s end), and when organizing due dates for my assignment on a calendar, I discovered it’s one of those accelerated summer courses in which something is due constantly. (My other summer class, a face-to-face one, is longer). The combination of getting a late start on some aspects of it and the short time span means that I have a lot of catching up to do in a hurry.
Fortunately I have a couple more weeks off of work right now so I have time to get caught up, so I guess it’s time to get at it.
