Online courses have gotten a bad rep due to COVID. That’s fair: they aren’t for everyone. Being forced into a learning environment that doesn’t work for you is awful. However, there are benefits that shouldn’t be overlooked.
I’ve taken online courses from three different institutions over three decades. Delivery of distance education has significantly improved.
In the mid-2000s, I completed my entire paralegal certificate without any lectures; that’s how it was done. Technology has improved the delivery of education; a lack of lectures is no longer acceptable.
At Camosun, I’ve taken both asynchronous (pre-recorded lectures) and synchronous (Zoom lectures) online courses. I prefer asynchronous for the flexibility of doing schoolwork whenever I want to during the week. The time-saving factor of Zoom lectures makes them more attractive than in-person classes.
I’ll let you in on a secret: I wear pajama pants to Zoom lectures. It’s what I wear at home; why change if classmates can’t see my legs? I’ve also attended lectures from bed on my iPad (I loathe all 8:30 am classes).
Taking an asynchronous online course can be a time-gap filler. This semester I wanted two courses that were on Wednesdays and Fridays but left a three-hour gap in my schedule. I couldn’t fill it with another in-person course, so I went with an online course.
Yes, I could have just done my homework for my two courses during the gap; it’s what most would do. However, by taking an online course, I was able to reduce the number of days I was on campus. That’s one less day I had to bus to campus, a savings of two hours each week. And that’s two hours I could spend on homework at home or have to myself.
However, life doesn’t always go as planned. This semester was completely derailed by illness, and I was faced with the option of taking fewer courses or taking my whole semester online. I’m grateful the option existed for me because I’ll still graduate when I planned to.
Attendance is always part of our grades. It’s the easiest mark we can earn—simply show up for class. Some days I’m too sick to get out of bed, but I can do a lot of schoolwork on my iPad. Not having to get ready for class and take the bus saves me energy that I can invest into my homework.
Now think about all the time commitments outside of school. Can an online course allow for more shifts at work? Can’t make the time of that in-person class? Maybe it’s offered online.
I’ll admit, online courses aren’t for everyone. I’m an introvert; being around people drains my energy and I find being on campus exhausting. I don’t need the socialization.
The lack of engagement is a big deterrent to online courses—that’s reasonable. It takes a lot of effort from instructors to get student engagement in Zoom lectures. However, if students aren’t answering questions or turning on their cameras, who’s fault is that lack of engagement? Why aren’t we using discussion boards more? We need to take some responsibility. If you have Zoom lectures now, please take part in discussions during class and turn on your camera; black boxes are annoying.
Consider the benefits of online courses when planning your schedule next semester.