Online Courses --Easy? Hard? Meh?

[WENEEDLIGHT]

I'm thinking about taking a nutrition course online at a ghetto community college at home. Luckily, I found an online course (Thank you, God! Whew!). However, when I went to Ratemyprofessor.com, it says that the professor is:

Date Class E H C RI User Comments Professors add your rebuttal here
11/8/07 BIO001A 5 5 5 5 flag Great teacher!
11/8/07 BIO001A 5 5 5 5 flag Super hot!
10/4/06 biol28 2 1 2 3 :sad: flag


I know the dates are pretty old but I cannot judge if the course is easy or not based on vague descriptions of the professor (how does the teacher's appearance going to help my online class?). Anywho, does anyone have personal experiences of online courses?

Side note: In the past, I have crashed a couple nutrition courses in person but because nutrition is so broad, many teachers have their opinions on staying "healthy." I often drop the course because of conflicting ideas. I have never taken an online course and am a bit hesitant. eeh. hwell:​

 

[spazntwitch]

I have done several distance courses and absolutely love them. In fact, I am getting my Master's Degree this way right now. You need to know a few things, and by no means is my list comprehensive.

• You must have the desire to learn online.
• You must have strong initiative and drive.
• You must be able to cope with not being able to get face-to-face dealings with your professor. Most of the time you will be communicating via e-mail.
• You need to have a fast Internet connection if there is video and/or sound.

The biggest issue is YOUR ability to do well in the class. If you don't have the desire or initiative then don't even bother. I find that I work faster in these classes than I would a regular day-to-day course.

 

[WENEEDLIGHT]

Thanks for your input! I think I may have a problem with having the desire to learn online. I'm trying to cut back in going on the computer almost every day (kindof hard considering that class assignments, lecture notes are posted online). But we'll see.


Does anybody else have other warnings or positive experiences w/ online courses?

 

[DanC]

You're going to have to be motivated. If your main concern is how 'easy' the course is, I would question your motivation.
As far as your experience in the classroom, all professors have their own opinions, and sometimes the contradict the textbook, or even contradict common sense. When you get into the workplace, you're going to have bosses with the same problem. You have to learn to deal with people in authority who are dumb as a stump. Yes, I'm exaggerating a little.

 

[sun22beam]