When I first took a test for one of my community service
classes, I ran into trouble. You had to click
on a button to “Begin Quiz.” A box would
open for the test. However, it failed to
open. With the university’s help desk I
downloaded another version of Netscape and unblocked the popups. This would allow the test window to open.
Halfway through the test, which was timed for thirty
minutes, I discovered that several answers hadn’t been saved due to popups
being blocked. I then had to stop, go
back into the browser, and unblock popups again. Valuable time had been lost, and thusly I
didn’t do well on the test.
The reason for using DSL or cable over a phone connection is
the speed. With a phone line I couldn’t
have completed a test in time and possibly would’ve been disconnected. When you have thirty minutes to complete a
test the worst thing that can happen is to have to wait forever to download a
question or be disconnected.
Another problem I discovered while taking online courses had
to do with communication. Sometimes an
instructor phrased instructions that to certain students weren’t terribly
clear. Along with this were
communication difficulties between students.
In two classes I was involved in groups.
It was unclear just what exactly was expected of each of us. Because most communication was done by
leaving messages, you really couldn’t tell what was being accomplished. If this had been done in a classroom you
would see the person and get the information firsthand.
Yet another problem with online classes has more to do with
the student. There are some who lack the
discipline to accomplish what’s required.
In order to take online courses a student must make him/herself do the
work. If a student slacks off then the
work will quickly overwhelm that person.