Online classes hard?

[Otaybw19]

I just graduated from high school and will be starting college in the fall for nursing. I know during my freshman year I will mainly be taking pre-req courses before I actually start my nursing major. I am wanting to take a couple of classes online such as English and Psychology. However, I have heard from some people that online classes are much more difficult than regular classes. Any of you students that are already in school or have graduated, do you think this is a bad idea?

[gumby1411]

Online classes will work for you only if you are disciplined enough to log on daily (or near daily) to do work. It's very easy to fall into the "oh, I'll get some work done tomorrow" trap when you're not going into a classroom.

As far as whether they are easier or harder than their "in person" counterparts...that's really subjective based on the person. If you're a self-starter who can learn well independently and who prefers flexible conditions, then you'd probably find the online version easier. If you need the structure of a classroom and more face-to-face interaction, then you'd probably find the traditional class easier.

But as others have said (and despite what others have said), don't think that online = easy A. You do a lot more writing in online classes than you do in traditional classes...you might not need to know the material off the top of your head for a pop quiz, but you definitely need to be able to understand it for those discussion questions!

Exactly! If you are self-motivated enough to do the work on your own and log on often, you'll do fine.

As far as being easier, I don't think so. I found that the online quizzes and tests are much harder because they're open book. The answers cannot be easily looked up in the text. They are much more comprehensive. I still did great in my online classes, but I definitely studied just as much if not more than for my "in-person" classes. Also, I found that there was a lot more work to do for the online classes - more papers, discussion posts/responses, ect.

[caliotter3]

Have read many instances where people state that online courses involve much more work than a traditional course. I have taken one online course and also found this to be the case. The weekly submissions had to be researched with citations provided. A lot of time consuming work involved. With regular courses, you can show up and just sit there without saying a word most of the time.

[caliotter3]

Thanks. :) I was also considering online classes because I've missed quite a bit of school in the past due to health issues I have. I thought if I took some classes online then I can do them on my own time and not have to worry about my health issues keeping me from earning credits.

A good reason for taking online courses and a good solution to your potential problem.