Online classes

[NJpokahplaya]

So basically I went to a normal college for a two years then kinda dropped out the next year to play online poker. I was undecided the two years there and didn't really get many credits towards any particular major. After slacking off for the last year I realized I needed to get a degree because poker probably isn't a long term thing (for me anyway).

While thinking about enrolling in classes for the upcoming year, a friend told me about online classes and it seemed intriguing as I would be able to get a degree in a shorter amount of time and not have to go to class. I haven't been able to find much information about it however, so I was wondering if anyone here has any experience with online degrees. My main questions are concerning how it would affect getting a job once graduating (ie will future employers look down on an online degree as opposed to a normal one). Also, if anyone has personally taken online classes, how difficult did you find them and how much work is involved? Also, how does it work, do you get just assignments to complete every day or do you communicate with teachers in a chat room? What are the pros and cons of online vs normal? Any information is much appreciated, thanks.

[recondite7]

Whether you can learn as much from one is irrelevant, employers won't want someone with an online degree. Bite the bullet and go in debt if you have to for a degree from a known institution.

Somewhat unrelated, but a lot of people take classes like government, history, speech etc. from community college while going to a 4 year school. In almost every case I have been told the online one is more difficult due to the self paced format.

[elena_elphie]

Getting an online degree is probably a bad idea for credentialing purposes, but taking online courses that are offered by real B&M universities is not necessarily bad, there is no online distinction that will appear on your transcript.

I'm taking an online class in abnormal psych now through a community college, and while you lose something by not having interactions with classmates and a prof to make things come alive, it is very flexible. I'd recommend taking a live class first, unless you can't fit it into your schedule for some reason, and the online class could be an acceptable substitute.

[sfgiants]

This summer I am taking two online classes + three telecourses divided between two community colleges. I'm not doing it in an effort to earn an online degree, but instead I am hoping to save tuition $$ for my undergrad degree at USC. All of the classes have been extremely easy, and as long as you keep up with the reading it's a piece of cake. Both of the online classes have a bulletin board where students are expected to participate/discuss issues. One of my online classes had an open-book multiple choice mid-term - for the other online course were are required to attend class in-person for a more in-depth midterm. There are periodic quizzes on the text that we are expected to take. The hard part IMO is having the disclipline to read through the textbook on your own - sometimes it gets a little tedious and by the end of the summer I will have through a few thousand pages.

It's a great arrangement because I'm still able to work 30 hrs a week while earning a full semester's worth of credit in 8 weeks. I'll be happy to answer more questions if you have any.

[emon87]

If you get a degree from an online "university" it's gonna be a joke and not worth much.

Also, with your motivation problems do you really think you will do better in an online class?

[TheSalche]

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real B&M universities

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Gotta love poker terminology sneaking in to our everyday sayings =).