Comments on: “I’ll probably be taking more courses online now”

By: Emily

Emily — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 14:14:37 +0000

I’m currently in a masters program for instructional design and I haven’t met anyone who has chosen the online learning setting due to economic hardships. Now this may be because they don’t want to admit these hardships; however, I’ve found that many people choose online learning because they can attend programs and/or universities despite the barrier of space and sometimes even time with asynchronous courses. In many circumstances if someone has the money to attend college, they most likely have the money to pay for the gas to attend these classes 1-2 times a week.

By: Bill R.

Bill R. — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 10:00:01 +0000

I believe that faced with economic uncertainty, students and families are forced to reevaluate choices they had previously made. This is especially the case for undergraduates seeking the “college experience,” versus graduate and professional students that are more focused on the education, while the classroom interaction is a distant second in their value decision.

By: Chadia Abras

Chadia Abras — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 12:36:04 +0000

Lisa, I think you are on the right track, economics are entering in students’ choices on whether to take online courses or not. The Director to the Graduate Programs in Education asked me whether we can start converting all the face to face courses to a hybrid format, just because she felt that students are worried about the long drive to school.

By: JRA

JRA — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 22:37:07 +0000

I earned my M.S. in a traditional classroom setting. I am completing my dissertation for my Ph.D. coursework, which was mostly online. I can tell you that I feel that the doctoral studies were as academically challenging as anything I have experienced in a traditional classroom. Online learning opens doors to educational opportunities that people may not otherwise have. Whether the conflicts are gas prices, distance, family, work, or other issues.
However, there is bad online learning just like there is bad traditional classroom learning.