Online biology?

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Has anyone taken biology 2 online? How was it? I have the option to take lecture and lab online, I just had a baby so the more time I can be at home the better. What about microbiology online? I have taken many classes online, but never a science one. Any advice would help.

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Specializes in ICU.

Make sure your program accepts online science classes. Many do not because of the lab component. Science classes online are not like a psych class or math. For this reason it is better to take them in person.

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I took microbiology online (offered by my local community college and transfers for my BSN). I made an A so I definitely think it is doable but you have to have to self-motivation to do the assignments, read the book etc. My program had a lab program that went with it and while I know it wasn’t like being in a real lab it wasn’t bad. At least with my lab program, it made sure that you still followed lab protocol. For example before you did an experiment, you had to follow the hand washing technique, if you clicked on the wrong thing or missed a step, points were taken away.

I, too, have young kids and it was nice to be able to take the class online and just go to campus to take the tests.

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Some online courses, like regular courses, are easier than others, for the same reasons. It depends on the instructor and how they present and run their course. You can get a somewhat vague idea about different courses by doing some research here, but bear in mind, people are not allowed to post the names of the instructors here.

In general, one can expect an online course to entail more work. Even for science courses, the instructor might require online interactions with other students that require time and effort. You are never allowed to post "I agree" to an online discussion and expect to get full credit. Normally, you have to do research and some instructors will require citations to back up your answers.

For the most part, online courses are described on your transcript the same way as a regular course, so there is no way to know that you took the course online. However, if you are applying to nursing programs in CA, and they see that you took your science courses from, say, a school in NJ, they can usually determine that you didn't travel to NJ to attend a community college. It is always best to find out if a particular course will transfer and be accepted by the prospective nursing program, before you spend money on taking the course.

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I would be taking the course through the school I'm hoping to attend for my RN so that shouldn't be an issue. I've taken many courses online and they do seem to be more work with research and the discussion board.

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I hated the extra work, and particularly the discussion board, in one online course I took. It was a course I was repeating for recency, and I easily did 3-4 times more work and wasted a lot of time. Made me rethink my decision about taking online courses.

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