Is distance learning as effective?

CAtoDC · Jan 28, 2009

I am in the midst of completing my second and third online courses. The issue with online courses, for me, is that you are teaching the material to yourself. It's great because you can self-pace yourself, so you can control your schedule if you need more time or less. However, it's tricky when in hard classes because you have to wait for the professor to respond to your email questions and there is no one-on-one contact, which to me helps a lot when learning.

CandyMSN · Jan 28, 2009

Distance learning is as effective as YOU (the learner) makes it! As someone has pointed out, you MUST be self-directed and motivated. I was once skeptical about distance education. My ADN schooling was traditional classroom setting. MY BSN was entirely distance learning. MY MSN was a classroom/distance mix. I gained useful knowledge during all three programs. It is not ALL about the student. Choose a reputable college/university for distanced education. All college/university systems ARE NOT EQUAL in the respects of distance education. Some systems have it down to a science! University of Phoenix (expensive) and Texas Tech are two that I know of. Good luck to you.

smallwonders07 · Jan 28, 2009

thanks for the replies. CA to DC i have a lot of the same worries about distance learning that you have stated. But I guess if you are motivated enough it works. Can anyone answer whether it is generally cheaper?

CAtoDC · Jan 28, 2009

sorry but the answer is... "it depends." i found one A&P class priced around 1,000 and another at half the price. I find that most in-person classes are on the higher end, however, and you also get to pace yourself so if you run late, you don't get bumped from the class and lose your money.

cookderosa · Jan 28, 2009

Distance learning can be an excellent way for place-bound students to learn, but it can also have some challenges. I have a lot of undergrad credit (183 credits) and about 60 of those credits were through distance courses at a local and out of state college. My current grad program (not nursing) is a hybrid, so I do both on campus and distance- I'm in my second semester, and this is by far the best distance program I have done.

All that said- I would say "yes" you do miss some things, but on the other hand, you also develop some skills that you wouldn't develop in person. One example is writing. Distance (in my experience) uses a lot more writing- even informal chats on a message board can be (often are) graded and required. Distance completers are also going to be highly organized, good time managers, self- motivated learners, and certainly independent. That's not to say you couldn't be those things in a classroom, but you for sure couldn't complete a distance program if you relied heavily on the teacher to "teach" you everything, didn't manage your time, and needed the teacher to constantly explain or rephrase answers to your every question. Even in good programs, you are a bit "alone" in the process.

I will also say that when I do my class "in absentia" (my school's term) that I do wish I could stay after for group meetings, brain storm sessions, and access to the teaching assistants. I also wish that I could ask a quick question without writing an email to my professor (I am always self conscious that I might be asking too many or too few questions - and in this format- they are keeping count to be sure!) I view my course lecture via the web 48 hours after the actual class. In my case, those of us doing distance have only 5 days to complete our assignment while the "in person" group has a full 7 days.

All that said, I wouldn't hesitate to use distance learning in a program that knows how to do it. There is more to teaching at a distance than just accepting homework via email and finding a proctor. I have had 2 terrible classes, and in both cases, I felt cheated. I do think, however, that isn't unique to distance and can happen on campus too.

cookderosa · Jan 28, 2009

Re: cost

Most brick and mortar colleges charge instate or out of state tuition. Some college create a different rate for distance, but not all. The community college I teach at charges $89/credit instate, $160/out of state, and $130 distance. So, in this case, it would be more expensive for an instate student to take his class on line, but the out of state student can save big time.

On the other hand, some colleges use instate rate for distance. One college I considered for my master's (www.wnmu.ed) Western New Mexico charges EVERYONE instate rate as long as you are taking 6 or fewer credits per term! (I'm in Illinois)

I would say there is absolutely no correlation between delivery method and price at state schools. Private schools, typically, are always more expensive- in that case, private online school (UoP, Capella, Walden, etc) are almost always going to be considerably more expensive.

smallwonders07 · Jan 28, 2009

thank you all for the advice.

studentmom2007 · Jan 28, 2009

Frontier requires a year of L/D related experience. Also, if you don't have a BSN you will need to apply to the RN-MSN bridge program. If you have a non-nursing bachelors degree and the RN you can apply with a portfolio to the MSN. I am also an ADN student. I have a previous degree and hope to go thru Frontier in the future. Good Luck!

I have a question about your previous degree and acceptance into Frontier. You don't need to be specific, but were your grades from your previous degree competive? I ask because I am applying to both ADN and BSN programs. If I get accepted to an ADN program, I will go, gotta take that chance when you get it right? Hopefully I can get some experience as an RN and do a RN-BSN or MSN bridge later. My dream is to be a CNM, but right now I want to take it a few steps at a time. I also have a previous bachelors degree in a non-nursing field but my grades were pretty low. All my nursing pre-reqs are 3.8 so I have shown a VAST improvement from my college days of being a moron and not doing the work. Ugh...if I could only go back. I was just wondering if any of the Frontier students have a similar experience as me and how many times they maybe had to apply before being accepted.

mommy2boysaz · Jan 28, 2009

Just wanted to add that I work with 2 CNMs who graduated 2 years apart. One went to Frontier, one went to a traditional university. The one who went to the university said she thinks the Frontier grad was much better prepared for practice and had a better all-around education than she received. (And hers was a reputable program as well)

Just FYI...

CNM2B · Jan 29, 2009

I have a question about your previous degree and acceptance into Frontier. You don't need to be specific, but were your grades from your previous degree competive? I ask because I am applying to both ADN and BSN programs. If I get accepted to an ADN program, I will go, gotta take that chance when you get it right? Hopefully I can get some experience as an RN and do a RN-BSN or MSN bridge later. My dream is to be a CNM, but right now I want to take it a few steps at a time. I also have a previous bachelors degree in a non-nursing field but my grades were pretty low. All my nursing pre-reqs are 3.8 so I have shown a VAST improvement from my college days of being a moron and not doing the work. Ugh...if I could only go back. I was just wondering if any of the Frontier students have a similar experience as me and how many times they maybe had to apply before being accepted.

Congrats on your goals! First, I just want to let you know that you DO NOT have to have one year of L&D experience to be accepted at Frontier. You do need one year of nursing experience, but it doesn't have to be L&D. There are a quite a few Frontier students (myself included) who have never worked L&D. Although we may have a steeper learning curve in some areas, I think those of us with a different background offer some extra diversity and insight.

Secondly, I wanted to let you know that the Frontier website says that they require a 3.0 from the most recent degree earned. So, if you didn't do so well in a prior school situation, proving yourself this time will go a long way.

I am in the traditional (non-bridge) program, but from what I gather in talking to people, the bridge program is quite a bit more competitive than the non-bridge format in admissions. So, you might want to take that into account when making your plans...

Good luck!