Anyone take an online Micro course?

haris · Oct 19, 2009

I am taking it online this semester. Im not sure if you are familiar with online classes but here at Georgia Perimeter College they are all very similar. You have 3 timed exams which they give you plenty of time to complete. The exams are very easy in that I did not read one chapter that was included in the last exam yet I made an A this is because if you get the text it gives you an online book, where you can just type in the question and poof it tells you were most of the words come from in the book.lol Quizzes a bit harder and assignments are usually the clinical questions at the end of the chapters. Online classes in my opinion are easy A's only problem is that you really dont have to study which is good but you walk away not knowing much lol. The lab portions is a separate class here, which is in class.

Ladybug15 · Oct 20, 2009

Wow, that does seem pretty easy! I wish I lived around that school since the lab portion is on campus. I've been dreading Micro, too. Do you recall what book you used that had the CD with it? That sounds like a good tool to have.

It's nice to hear that people have taken this course online. I haven't seen many posts regarding online micro. I've posted a few others inquiring about the topic but no one ever responded so I was starting to get a little worried about taking this course online.

haris · Oct 21, 2009

the book is microbiology an introduction 10th edition authors tortora, funke and case. Most expensive book I ever purchased over 200$. It does not come with cd but it gives u access to this online place where it has the onlinebook and bunch of study things to help u prepare for test. Micro online is the way to go because this class is all about memorizing different bacterias and they have the weirdest names and many of the names are extremely alike. Therefore, on test u can easily refer to the book or any of ur notes, whereas, in class u cant.. Oh and the labs are the easiest things, u can do them at home, we finish each lab tops 20minutes.

Sand_Dollar, BSN · Oct 21, 2009

I took my course through ccconline.org. It was my favorite class and I got an A. All the exams were open book and online with a 2 hour time limit. You order a lab kit which you do at home and submit lab reports on. There are discussions to due and a 5 page lab report. It was an easy class but fascinating - I loved it!

Ladybug15 · Oct 21, 2009

Congrats on the great grade! I hear Micro is pretty challenging but you said it was easy. Do you think it had to do with the online format of the tests? How challenging are the labs since the instructor isn't there to help guide you?

I notice on CCConline that you need to select a home school first. Which school did you go through? Also, do you have to write a 5 page report for each lab? That seems very lengthy. Is it in an essay type format or is it more like small paragraphs that answer various questions? Also, do you need to submit photos of the labs and how is this achieved?

Thanks for the information!

Sand_Dollar, BSN · Oct 26, 2009

Hi Laydbug,

I originally thought it was a lab report for each lab, but instead it's only 1 'real' lab report and the rest are a page of easy questions. No pictures, just descriptions. Super easy labs compared to AP2 that I was taking at the same time (13-18 page reports every week!!) There was also a term paper, but you get to pick the topic (I did the Novel H1N1) . It was very interesting, I ended up writing it the day it was due and still got an A.

Now about the challenging/easy online part. I started to wonder if I was doing well because my classes were online. But when I went to the university info session for the NS I applied to, they said they welcome online classes. They had done studies that show online students learn just as much as the regular class students do. They have been doing online classes themselves for decades and even 1/3 of the nursing classes are online. And just so you know, this University has a couple of the top 10 Master's in Nursing programs in the US (so they must know what they are doing!)

I hope that give you some helpful info - Good Luck!! :)

ladybugme! · Nov 2, 2009

wow, micro online?? how does that work?? how do you do labs??

i would say...not a good idea!! i think this needs to be a for sure in class lecture course!! i love love love micro!!! sooo much fun! good luck!!

my advice dont take it online!

Spalding75 · Nov 5, 2009

Thanks Sand_Dollar for the information concerning CCC. I am thinking about taking classes the remainder of my prereq classes (A&P2, Micro, Chem & LifeSPan) at CCConline.org. They have to be completed in order for me to apply to the Accelerated Nursing Program in September 2010. I am currently taking A&P I....oh how challenging that is...... as well as my professor. He doesn't even give us a study guide or review & we don't even know what to expect on the exam. Oh congrats on your A in A&P 2...WOW!!! :yeah: I was hoping for an A in A&PI but now I'm praying for at least a B....I am so disgusted...... :crying2:

Ladybug15 · Nov 5, 2009

Spalding,

I took a great online AP1 course through SUNY Tech (Alfred State). The amount of information to learn is a bit overwhelming but the benefit of this course is that the exams are not proctored - you just have 90 min. to answer 60 questions. This prevents people from utilizing their notes/books too much during the exam but gives you the ability to refer to them on those questions that you aren't 100% sure on. Only issue people had is that once you answer each question you can't go back to review and you won't be told which answers you got wrong. There is a quiz every week but you are welcome to use your book to answer the questions. There is no time limit on those. The labs are all online as well through the use of 2 different programs, ADAM software for anatomy components and Physioex software for physiology components. They are actually really interesting and pretty easy to complete. I received an A, but I definitely put a lot of time in reading the book, the professor's notes and completing the sample quizzes/sample tests for each chapter on the accompanying website tool (given with the purchase of a new book). Some of the questions on the exam and quizzes actually come from these practice quizzes/tests on the website so if you do well on those and understand why you got them wrong then you should have no problem in the course.

You can always register for AP2 through this school if you aren't crazy about your current professor. I believe registration starts next week and it is easy to do if you are a non-matriculating student. I don't remember even having to apply to the school directly. I think you can just go through the online continuing education portal to register for any online course you wish.

After Sand dollars' suggestion, I believe I am also going to register for the CCC online Micro course for next semester. I am going to apply to the home college Pueblo. If you are going to do the same, maybe we can keep in touch so we can help each other out on the labs, etc if we get stuck!

Ladybug15 · Nov 5, 2009

Thanks for the information Sand Dollar! I am going to take your advise and register for the online micro course through CCC. :bow: I'll let you know how it goes! I can't believe the Fall semester is almost over!!! Time flies….

RADIATION_RN · Nov 5, 2009

WOW! It is crazy how different the same class can be at different locations. My online Micro class was great but I had wished I was able to take the lecture portion onsite. Ours was called a "hybrid" course. The lecture portion was all self taught while we met for labs every Fridays from 9am-1pm. Our exams were given in a testing center on campus and we usually had a time frame for which we had to complete it by. I chose to always take mine on Sundays. Our exams usually consisted of 75-100 multiple choice questions followed by 7-8 essays. It was a tough tough class but so interesting. I loved the lab meetings and my instructor was great!