Pre-reqs online? Would like to hear of any experiences

sunnyjohn · Jun 12, 2005

I've taken MANY classes online, and I love it.

pros-I like the convenience of being able to log,on get my assignment, do my reading late at night or in the park and being able to finish all by stuff ahead of time.

Cons- You must stay on top of your work. Online classes often have more busy work requirements than traditional classes and it is easy to fall behind.

If you search teh distance forums here you will even find schools that offer science classes (Micro, A&P) online.

Good luck.

BoonersmomRN · Jun 12, 2005

I took English 102, Human Dev. Psych and now am taking the lecture part of A+P2 online ( I go to campus for lab).

The Pros:

Don't have to drive to campus/fiddle with childcare/ NO TRAFFIC! WOO HOO

All 3 had/have " message boards" where we must check in and answer certain things but none of them had/have scheduled " class" time...so I was pretty much on my own pace.

Cons:

There were none for English 102.

Human Development Psych the only con I found was that there were certain things not discussed/the teacher didn't get into them...and then they would be on the test. It wasn't that they were confusing, etc but the clarity wasn't the same as it would have been in the classroom. Plus, in the classroom as you are learning you can raise your hand and get the answer " right then" as where with online you have to write your question and then WAIT for a response. This was kind of a pain at times when I really wanted an answer " right now" as I was studying.

I just started A+P2 lecture online. I bought the powerpoints from my A+P 1 teacher so I have a really good structure to base my learning around. Plus, we utilize multiple websites, etc. The down side? I have to go to campus for my lab- my lab teacher is TERRIBLE and he's not the same as my lecture teacher...and we are pacing a lot faster in lab then we are in lecture. In lecture we are still on digestive..about to move to the heart...in lab we have paced through digestive, the heart, and about to move to vessels, etc. I really liked the structure w/ my A+P 1 where we basically paced "together".

If you are a strong auditory learner I could see how this would make it difficult or at least a LOT harder taking an online course. I am not an auditory learner so I didn't have problems with that.

Good Luck!

suzy253, RN · Jun 12, 2005

Make sure that your school will accept on-line courses. Good luck to you.

onehusbandsevenkids · Jun 12, 2005

Make sure that your school will accept on-line courses. Good luck to you.

Yes. These are classes offered by my school :)

Fun2, BSN, RN · Jun 12, 2005

This semester I'd be taking online:
Developmental Psych
College Algebra (which I anticipate using tutoring for)
Communications
and another relatively easy class that escapes me right now...
.

I took all the above classes online, and loved it!

You just have to make sure you are determined to not get behind.

If you are the type that needs extra pushing, make sure it is not a self-paced class. Sometimes deadlines help to stay focused.

A big pro: staying in bed and doing your class in your pj's :rolleyes:

A big con: falling asleep while staying in bed and doing your class in your pj's! :rotfl:

Hodge · Jun 13, 2005

Anyone find that often with online courses the workload is much greater when compared to the classroom version?

BoonersmomRN · Jun 13, 2005

Not in my experience but I have heard that. In my experience the workloads have been the same - but the "online" students I knew who were taking the same class as I was taking " in class" found it harder because you don't have the personal connection to your professor, you don't have the ability to ask and get immediate responses and you don't have the classmates surrounding you that may ask questions you didn't think of.;

Fun2, BSN, RN · Jun 13, 2005

Anyone find that often with online courses the workload is much greater when compared to the classroom version?

I haven't come across this problem yet. I wish all non-nursing classes could be offered online, and just go in when it's time for hands-on training and clinicals.

Serenyd · Jun 13, 2005

I'e been through a year of pre-nursing now.
I still have almost a full year of pre-reqs I need to/can take before
clinicals start Fall 06.
(my school has rolling admissions, with three criteria for a seat
in clinicals - I've already met two of them, just need at least a 70% on the
NLN and I've got a spot.)
So, this last year was crazy and I'd really love to spend at least this coming semester taking my classes online.
I would like to hear from those of you who have done so. Pros/Cons,
what you wish you had know going in, ect...
I think it will really work out well for me, as my kids are older and in school
all day. That gives me all day to get my classwork done. And no stressing about what to do when a child is sick, as I can be home, and not have to miss class, ect...
This semester I'd be taking online:
Developmental Psych
College Algebra (which I anticipate using tutoring for)
Communications
and another relatively easy class that escapes me right now...
Sounds like a good solution for me in reducing stress, and gas $$, and travel times, ect. But msybe there are isssues I am not thinking about.

I took statistics and medical terminology online. The med terminology was a breeze, cause I had already had AP I+II at that point. The only thing was the teacher kept throwing in inane assignments, like type me a page on tuberculosis, blah blah. I think they do load you up with extra crap just because they feel like you have "so much extra time" you need to make up for since you aren't in class. But that may not be the case with every class. My statistics class wasn't like that though, but we were expected to turn in homework every week and we had a quiz every week. I would get home in the evening and speed-read a chapter in an hour to take the quiz. I tend to push deadlines so more than once I was racing the clock to get it in before midnight. I even went over a couple minutes one night but he let it slide. DON'T BE LIKE ME! Oh, the one thing you can count on, like death and taxes, is you will have technical problems. Like, your internet connection will quit in the middle of the test. Actually this was only a big problem when I had AOL. Cause aol closes out your browser when you get kicked offline. I found with others that if you leave the explorer page open while you reconnect to the internet you can continue taking it after you get back online. Better get back on quick though because the timer keeps ticking. (lots of tests are timed to decrease book usage). Teachers hate it if you have to have them reset a test for you. They think you are trying to cheat and get extra time. I got lucky with the stats class, the teacher felt so bad at the end of the class about how lousy everyone was doing he let us keep taking the tests online instead of having a proctered final. But was his first time to do an online class so we were all learning together. If you know you're going to have a bad time with a class I wouldn't recommend taking it online. Like college algebra - but haivng the tutor will probably make up for not having a teacher.

My :twocents:

Good luck to you!

sddlnscp · Jun 13, 2005

My first year in school was actually aimed in a different direction, but it was all online and I absolutely loved it! I did really good online because I was able to do my "classroom" stuff when I felt focused and could walk away and then come back to it when I was overwhelmed. I managed to get straight A's with my online work simply because I was not in a traditional classroom setting. One thing I found was that Algebra was actually much easier for me online. I have always struggled with math, but for some reason (don't know if it was the online environment, my age, or both) it finally just clicked and I got through both basic & advanced Algebra with A's. Good luck - my suggestion through personal experience would be to go with the online, but I suppose it really depends upon what kind of learner you are. You might want to weigh your learning ability - are you visual or auditory, and can you discipline yourself to get your assignments in on time because nobody will tell you to do it or check on you, you just have to. Good luck & enjoy!