Online class vs in-person class?

Parents Forum
1

<p>Hi there, </p>

<p>I'm considering swapping an in-person writing class with an online one for next semester, but I've no experience with online courses and so would appreciate some advice. I also need to act quickly because there's only one seat left for the online class. </p>

<p>Here are my reasons for wanting to switch:</p>

<p>1.) The professor of the online course is phenomenal (I have him right now) and I will also have an in-person class with him next semester, too, which means it'll be easy to clarify something with him. </p>

<p>2.) This writing course is different and less-specific than the other one, which I actually think is a good thing. It's just advanced writing as a whole whereas the other one is about a specific genre, and frankly, it's one that I don't really like. </p>

<p>3.) I was told by faculty that the professor of the in-person class isn't the best. I know you always have people saying stuff, but it was said (probably unprofessionally) by someone I think I can trust. </p>

<p>4.) Though I haven't had an online course, I did have a once-a-week course with online components, and I 4.0ed it. I did everything at my own pace and loved it! I'm assuming an all online class will be similar, so can I assume I'll be able to flourish in this one, too? </p>

<p>I've really tried to think it through, and both classes count as the same requirement for my writing major. However, I'm naive with online courses, so is there anything I should be warned about or consider? </p>

<p>Thanks! I appreciate it.</p>

2

<p>I’d think a writing course would be one that you wouldn’t want to do online, but you make a good case for yourself. Sounds like you should do it. What do they do about peer feedback and discussions, I wonder?</p>

3

<p>Well, most of our writing courses are in-class MW and online F (some are Tu/Th, like the one I’d be dropping), and we usually end up posting our papers to our online classroom site (Moodle, kind of like BlackBoard) and comment on them. For some of the major projects I’ve had in my other classes, my professors had us schedule a conference with them after the first draft and then advised us that way. </p>

<p>I don’t know if professors can require you to make appointments with them if it’s an online class, but either way, I’d probably ask him to look over a draft and make sure I’m on the right path. He encourages us to do that for all things, and he even cancels some of our classes so we have time to make appointments with him. </p>

<p>I think it’d help that I’ll have him for a different class where I’ll actually see him. I’m sure it’d be easy to get some verbal explanations or advice from him since I’d see him in class anyway.</p>

4

<p>Actually, I think that writing is something that lends itself very well to online format. Especially if everyone does contribute to the online discussion.</p>

<p>Since you know the instructor, why don’t you ask that person about this particular class, and what the expectations would be like.</p>