My favorite thing about this class was being able to write our posts on our own time. Although some of the posts were more difficult to reach word count, it was still nice to be able to see other people’s posts and get ideas on what to write. One thing I did not like was the 12 hour separation. This was purely my own fault however, because some weeks I really procrastinated, leaving me to post my final topic a few minutes before midnight. However, my least, least, least favorite part of this class was the group work. It was extremely difficult to coordinate schedules, and get everyone’s motivation to the same level. I think with an online class, there is a huge mixture in the dedication of the students, making it challenging to find committed group mates. I think this class would be a lot better without the group work. Each individual should write his/her own papers. Also, instead of having to gather people to evaluate their arguments, students could view a video on YouTube or some other video site, which contains multiple course concepts and then evaluate and write about the general video.
I totally agree when you said posting 12 hours apart was a problem and sometimes a hassle. Many times I wanted to post all three at the beginning of the week because I would have a lot of work in other classes later in the week. Other times, I would almost forget about posting and would have to make sure I had 36 hours left or I would not have had enough time to post all three. It just would have been more convenient if we were able to post whenever, but I understand why she has the 12 hour restriction.
ReplyDeleteAt first the 12 hour separation between posts was a struggle for me because I would forget to write my blogs but I quickly got used to it and would always remind myself to do a post so I would not have to worry about it later in the week. I also struggled meeting up with my team and I really like your idea of the whole class viewing a video about the course concepts and writing our individual paper. I feel online classes should strictly be individualized because that is the reason people take online classes. People may be working a lot, taking a lot of other classes, or commuting so their reason for taking an online class is to not meet up with people and not work with others.
ReplyDeleteLike you, I also enjoyed having the ability to post on our blogs anytime within the week. Being able to choose the time that best works for you to get class work done is helpful when working a full time job and juggling other classes. It does take planning and dedication to make sure you post while keeping them at least 12 hours apart. Your least favorite thing about class, group projects, was my least favorite thing as well. It was difficult to get all the group members together and get everyone motivated to work hard on the assignments. I often felt that certain group members didn't deserve to get the same grade as other group members due to their lack of participation.
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