on-line vs "real" class experience-pros & cons?

[Angela in NC]

What are the advantages and disadvantages of these different experiences?
Thanks, Angela

[Jmac]

I detest online classes. I love the interaction and instant feedback of a live class. I love learning firsthand from that really amazing genius professor and I love the comradere that comes with working with other students. While you can create your own schedual to an extent in an online class, you have to be very very disciplined. It is way to easy to fall behind. I think students are less likely to ask a question online and there is much less bouncing around of ideas. In a live class I think there is more learning beyond the material whereas in an online class you are just trying to get the work done. That being said, I have to adapt to online classes quick because my masters will be done completly online.

[titianmom]

There are pros and cons to both, IMHO.

I think it depends on the student. The other poster said she'd rather interact with other students and the instructors instantly, etc. It sounds like she's the sociable type who enjoys that.

But if you have an introvert who is self-motivated and enjoys self-teaching more, or can keep to a sched, then an online class would work just as well.

I took classes at college and in many classes there wasn't much interaction at all. The instructor drones on and the students sleep and the instructors hand out assignments and people split up and went home. EOS.

I also had instructors who did the class mostly online and we only met a couple of times before the final.

I work pretty independently. I found that group projects were a real pain in the b*tt because I basically did 80-90% of the work while everyone else sat there and said, "I dunno", and I was constantly checking with the others about their progress because I wouldn't hear back from them. We split up the responsibilities and some of them (okay, most of them), did very little while your part of it shined. It was very ANNOYING. These were adults, too. There are a lot of people who look to others to pull them through life and never take the initiative for themselves. I'm sorry if I sound negative, but this is the case in these group activities most of the time.

My husband had the same experience in college. He HATED group projects because of it. The others in the group love it because someone else does all the work while they get the A along with the one who does all the work. Get the pic?


If anyone else has had a different experience, I'd like to hear it, honestly. :)

You also have to drive to the school and pay parking, often.

Now, before you think I prefer online, not nec. I enjoyed the classroom environment, myself, and I enjoy school a great deal. I could go to school forever and be quite content. My child thinks I'm weird. :)

But I also enjoy learning on my own. I fit in both worlds.

The academics is comparable, so that isn't the issue IMHO.

Kim

[Kathie in VA]

We have only done one so far and I have both pros and cons from it.

ONLINE CLASS
Pros:
I love that we can be anywhere and still attend the class. I love not having to drive or prep the house. I can participate and really see what is going on IF I WANT TO or I can leave them alone to take the class ... best part is I can bounce between these two options! I can even allow siblings to listen in to the class if I wanted to do this (although the levels are different enough that we don't do this). Actually, now that I think of it, Grandma could check out the class also!

Cons:
The kids are more shy to participate because it shows their typing skills and spelling skills which are weaker then they should be. This class didn't require the kids to have a mic and so none have one. So reading literature together doesn't work. Sometimes the kids get bored and drift off to another window to read email or play a game.... the online teacher/tutor can't see this. This particular class is having the kids post their work on a class website for all to see. We like seeing the other's work but sometimes my kids don't want to share with the whole class.... but that is not an option. Most live classes, work is handed in to the teacher.

LIVE CLASS
Pros:
Interactions between kids and instructor is easy to do. Technology can't get in the way. The also get to make friends and learn how to deal with all sorts of personalities face to face (this is different then online connections). This helps them learn how to deal with visual clues. They get to hand in their work or show it directly to the instructor.

Cons:
Requires driving time & gas which takes me away from other kids. Class is then dependent on the weather. Family travel is restricted, we can't go away because they have classes to attend.

hth

[Nan in Mass]

We opted for live (for CC). The administration advised us that it wouldn't be a good idea start with online classes, that most students who did that didn't do well, and that it would be easier to do live classes. We wanted to use the occasion to teach how to learn in a classroom and how to go to college, not just learn the subject material. We wanted to begin doing this with classes that would be a positive experience for our son. The administration made some suggestions of "starter" classes and my son chose drawing and speech, two which would not have been as satisfactory if they weren't live. It was a good decision. I was surprised at how much extra he had to learn aside from the subject matter - everything from how to get a parking sticker to how to buy books to how to go through a cafeteria line. He could have learned that when he actually went away to college, but 4-year college was such a change from what he had done previously that anything learned ahead of time was helpful.
-Nan

[kpacademy]

We've done a little bit of both so I would have to answer with a firm "it depends!" lol

We have done some online classes with Potters School and Veritas Press. My 4th grader is currently in a short term (4 classes) little science class with Curriculum Click. My 10th grader did a Write at Home class when he was around 6th or 7th grade - can't rem for sure. The 10th grader is also currently in a homeschool tutorial for one day a week for a couple of classes - mostly because he wanted some "social time" with "in person" people around his age.

"It depends"

1. On the teacher -- My 10th grader has taken Omnibus I and III online with Veritas Press with Bruce Etter as the teacher. I promise you he would walk through fire if Mr. Etter told him to because he would assume that somewhere in the fire Mr. Etter would have something relevant and amusing to say or something fun to do! After almost every class, I get a report of what Mr. Etter said or discussed in class. My son has developed a love for history, classical books and has a yearn to travel to some of the places he studied in Omnibus I. Usually I sell our materials at the end of the year. I am banned from selling any of the Omnibus I or III books because my son NEEDS all of them -- lol.

I also like the fact that Veritas Press' high school classes are 1 1/2 hours twice a week so the students receive double the opportunity to ask questions or clarify homework.

2. On the student - now while my 10th grader seems to enjoy most of his online classes, I have noticed some concerns.

-Organization: He's not very organized so I find papers for all his classes strewn here and there around the house and on his desk. It doesn't matter how often I have shown him "how" to keep his notebook, provided him with school supplies, hinted, threatened, etc. For the "in person" classes that he is in with the homeschool tutorial he actually has to keep his work organized because the teacher expects to "see" it all organized in a notebook.

-Attention Span: My 4th grader can barely sit still for 20 minutes. He asks me the entire time of his short term science class, "How much longer."

I have Network Magic linking all of our home computers together and occasionally when I take a "screen shot" of my 10th grader's laptop I find that he is on Facebook or some type of online game when he is supposed to be paying attention in his online classes. Needless to say, that doesn't go over well. However, just because he is physically present in a "real live" classroom doesn't mean his mind would be there either!

3. On the parent - The online classes require a LOT of my time. Some of them require me to check work, give grades and upload scores. I typically help then edit all of my sons' papers before they go to the teacher -- to me that's partly my job, too. I proctor tests, help with homework, and nag, nag, nag them to get their work completed before the last minute. However, the tutorial operates by pretty much the same policies, so I don't think there's that much difference in those experiences for us. So if a parent is hoping that online classes or even tutorials will lighten their load -- that's only been somewhat true for me.

[Yolanda in Mass]

It really does depend so much on the student. My younger son absolutely loathes the idea of doing classes via computer, so I wouldn't even entertain the idea of signing him up for one. He says it is the most impersonal thing he can think of. Clearly, he's a people person. My older son, who does like using the computer, has come to dislike on-line classes intensely as well. He said that it's a lot easier to figure out what's due when in regular classes. He also likes to be able to chat with his professors in person rather than via email. All his on-line classes have been college courses.

Yolanda

PS - And of course there's a difference between synchronous and asynchronous courses as well. My older son did all asynchronous courses. Was not interested in having to be at the computer at a specific time.

[Mary in GA]

We've done both. In early high school, 9th/10th, ds took a couple of online classes and he took a chem class at a local academy for homeschoolers which was only 5 minutes from home. Unfortunately, he thought the chem class was a waste of time on something he could have learned faster from the book for himself. I wanted him to write lab reports for someone other than Mom. He liked the online classes because they left plenty of time for work and his other activities.

Later he did dual enrollment classes at a U about 35 minutes away. This was his intro to driving in terrible traffic and waiting ages between classes because he couldn't get a better schedule. If he had been given a choice to do some of those classes on line I'm sure he would have taken it.

The dual enrollment was EXTREMELY valuable experience before bigger, more competitive U. This ds would have had a really rough time getting his studying act together if he had gone straight to large university!

I'd say the choice between on line and physical all depends on circumstances and goals.

Mary

[transientChris]

My dd did two online classes and didn't want to do anymore. She thought they gave lots of busy work and tremendous pressure. She loves her in person classes whether she has had them at a CC or co-op or homeschool academy. In the online classes, there was no interaction except with the teacher. Yes, one could read the message board but that was boring and not particularly relevant. She only did that when she was forced by the class.

[dirty ethel rackham]

I think it depends. I don't like online classes that do not have class interaction or live meeting times. These can get boring and require the student to be very diligent and self-starting. However, there are some excellent online classes that have live meeting components. These can be great provided that the teacher works at having class participation. We have had good luck with Regina Coeli and Scholars Online. Not good luck with CTD's Gifted Learning Links - HUGE waste of money.

Live classes can really depend on the teacher as well. Good teachers can make a subject interesting or interminably boring:).

[Violet]

Great question, Angela!

My dd 13 started taking online classes this year with Regina Coeli and Lukeion. It's a pro for us that they are highly interactive. It is not at all an isolating experience for her. And we never have to leave the house for the classes. The con is that you have to be online at a certain time but that's the case with face to face classes, too. I would think correspondence courses would be okay for a class or two, but I don't think they are interactive in the same way that classes are that have actual live class time. I would like to add in some cc classes down the road, but not until she is at least 15, closer to 16. She has said that she likes the fact that with her online classes, she knows others are in the same boat she is in. This is comforting to her I think. I know that a face to face class is not always ideal, either. Think of those college freshman lectures with hundreds of kids in them.

So, for us, there are lots of pros to the online classes and very few cons so far.

[Mejane]

My dd did two online classes and didn't want to do anymore. She thought they gave lots of busy work and tremendous pressure. She loves her in person classes whether she has had them at a CC or co-op or homeschool academy. In the online classes, there was no interaction except with the teacher. Yes, one could read the message board but that was boring and not particularly relevant. She only did that when she was forced by the class.

This has been my daughter's experience as well. She was very disappointed with her online english class.

[KAR120C]

I guess personality and subject matter probably makes more difference than age, but as others said if this is a first outside class situation I might lean toward "real" just to get the extra logistics of classroom learning.

For myself I greatly prefer online. In some classes (in lots of classes...) the interaction is seriously minimal anyway, and I'd rather schedule it myself than have to show up at 9am every Tuesday and Thursday just to listen to a lecture that could have been taped.

For DS though... we're doing a mix next year, which will be his first time with this. He'll have a "real" Spanish class, and online (live) Latin and math. The way I understand the Latin and Math is that they really are extremely interactive. But of course he's not started them, and I'm only going by others' recommendations. So... ask me again in 8 months? ;)