I finished Bio 205 - Micro - online last week. I wanted to take it in person, but I couldn't get into a class until this fall. I decided to go the faster route, and took it through Rio Salado.
It was extremely well organized, and I had access to all of the needed materials, and I did pretty well in the class. But - now that the semester is over - I am beginning to feel that I didn't really retain that much. My other friends - who have taken the class in person - seem to have studied and worked much harder, and retained more. My friends who have taken it online feel the same way I do. Because of this, I'm opting to take Pathophysiology in person.
Anyway, my question is this - do you think a person can (in your experience with online class) learn just as much online? Are there any classes that you would never recommend someone take in person (like HCC 130), or any that you would NEVER take online? What are your thoughts? Thanks in advance.
Question, that Rio Salado Micro calss? Is it totally online? Do you ever have to go on campus for testing and labs?
The only two in-person requirements were the midterm and the final. Everything else is done online (essentially open-book!). Let me know if you have any more questions.
I have both a BA and an MA - this is a career change - and the online Rio classes are quite rigorous. The "problem" so to speak, is the lack of subjectivity in the classes - you are given huge lists of material to learn and no hints whatsover about what will appear on the exams. No helpful winks from the profs such as "I would know this for the exam." Also, memorizing 4 essays per lesson for the exams is not easy! So I find the studying process for exams to be very time consuming.
I felt the same way in Micro. I got the to point where I just memorized what I could. I also tried to learn the 'big picture', but many of our exam questions were on small details from the book (luckily, I read). That's why I feel that I would probably take the most important nursing classes in person (Pathophys, Pharmacology, etc).
There were a couple of posts about Rio's nursing program. I'm interested to see what the NCLEX scores are for people who go through their program. I would assume that they would either be much lower or higher. I guess that time will tell.
Very irritating all of the tiny details you have to memorize! That's why in Bio 201 and 202 for certain topics I chose what details I learned very carefully - as I said in the other post. So far, the strategy is working. Bio 205 seems pretty easy two weeks into the course...does it get much harder?
I felt the same way in Micro. I got the to point where I just memorized what I could. I also tried to learn the 'big picture', but many of our exam questions were on small details from the book (luckily, I read). That's why I feel that I would probably take the most important nursing classes in person (Pathophys, Pharmacology, etc).
There were a couple of posts about Rio's nursing program. I'm interested to see what the NCLEX scores are for people who go through their program. I would assume that they would either be much lower or higher. I guess that time will tell.
CrazyPremed
I talked to a councelor about the nursing program at Rio and she said out of, I think, 12 graduates in May, 8 or 9 of them had taken the NCLEX and all had passed.
I thought that Rio's 201/202 classes were challenging, but as long as I studied and kept up I did alright. I"m considering taking NS through Rio only because their clinical dates work with my schedule. I did miss the learning environment of a classroom so I'm taking my patho class in person. Even so it doesn't seem like there's a lot of interactive discussions so far, that may change though.
Quick question...I notice that Bio 205 "Lessons" are essentially summaries from the text. Did you just take notes off of those - or use those summaries with the book and go a level deeper on your own? What works best for this class?
Where is everybody taking pathopys? I need to sign up for it, but I'm not sure where to take it...? :)
There is a dynamite teacher at Glendale for patho. I currently have her for the ICU portion of med/surg in block 4. I know we can't post names on here, so her initials are DP. I highly recommend her.
Hey, I am taking Patho in the nursing program at Glendale right now. They break it out into two semesters (cuz for the part time program you start clinicals half way through the semester and stop taking classes). I do not have "DP"---the teacher Luann refers to but I do have "AC" and she is a great teacher. I took A&P at RIO and was lucky to get a B for both 201 and 202, but by the hair of my chiny-chin-chin. I am an auditory learner so being in class does wonders for me. I can't tell you how much easier it seems in a physical class!! I have barely touched the book and study only for about an hour or two before the tests and have made an A so far in patho. Plus, if you wait to take it in the program, I think it is BETTER!
I know, I know........all the advisors and teachers tell you to get all your co reqs out of the way but if you do take Patho at the same time, atleast at Glendale, they correlate the subject matter so that while you are covering Respiratory Interventions in Process, you are also covering Respiratory Conditions in Patho. I can't tell you how much this has helped me! Many of my fellow students took Patho over a year ago and don't remember a thing. Some are studying for days and days for the Process tests where I can study for a few hours and make the same grades. I think this is because of being in Patho at the same time. You all may want to consider that....:)
Oh, I will say though that I highly preferred taking my HCC courses at RIO. Those classes were soooo dumb and easy to learn. I felt that taking those classes at RIO was a huge time saver for me..Imagine the BORING lectures for those classes just droning on...and on....and on...
A&P? Patho? Micro? Any type of Math?? I would take all those in person from now on....:)
I took HCC130, HCC 145, Biol 156, Stat, FON and Psych at rio - all at once- and loved it. I still have to finish two of my classes, but the online format is so much better than the traditional classes. All but one of my prof's have been really great and thus far I have gotten really high grades.
You have a lot more papers to write online. Especially in HCC 130- there is an assignment every week. I took the eight week Biol class, and even with a BS in biology it was hard to keep up with. HCC 145 is great online if you have the discipline to study regularly and read the book. One of the greatest benefits is not having to listen to the know-it-all person in class who has someone in their family with every disease mentioned!!
Quick question...I notice that Bio 205 "Lessons" are essentially summaries from the text. Did you just take notes off of those - or use those summaries with the book and go a level deeper on your own? What works best for this class?
Initially, I read each chapter, then the lessons, then practiced the CD (it's GREAT!!!). I nailed everything! Once my CNA classes started, and I signed up for HCC 130 and HCC 146, and I worked 50 hours per week, I didn't have time to read everything. Then, I would read the lessons, review concepts that I didn't understand in the book, and made sure to stay on top of the homework. When the final came around, I knew that I should have read more (most of the questions were so specific that I would have only learned them by reading the book), but I still did OK. Does that help?
Thanks for the recommendations! I think I'll check out glendale for patho and maybe micro too. I'm barely making it with a B right now in A & P II online and I definitely want to take as many classes as I can in person in the future. :) I really only took A & P online because it's so difficult to get in to the live class...Thanks again!
CrazyPremed, MSN, RN, NP
332 Posts
The only two in-person requirements were the midterm and the final. Everything else is done online (essentially open-book!). Let me know if you have any more questions.
CrazyPremed