Week 1- Being an Online Student

I love being an online student! At first, I was a little unsure about it, but this is my 4th quarter here at Kaplan and I love the flexibility of it. It is so much easier to plan my homework around other areas of my life, as well as plan my life around seminars and assignments. I like that class only meets once a week! It is easier not to have to worry about getting up and driving to a campus, worry about parking, worry about finding someone to watch my kids, as I had to do when I attended a traditional community college previously. I won't say that I thought it would be easier to attend an online school, but there is definitely the same amount of work involved, if not more work, some classes more than others, and at times it can get overwhelming. I have always been a shy person, for as long as I can remember, so I love the anonymity of it. I feel way more comfortable "speaking up" during seminar, as well as on the discussion board. I feel comfortable enough to offer help to others if they need it, as well as respond to questions without feeling like I will be embarrassed if I get the wrong answer. The self-directed style of the courses is great. Everything is laid out from the beginning, so if I have extra time, I can work ahead on any upcoming assignments. I know all of the assignments that I will have to complete from the beginning, which is nice. No extra work is added :) An idea for making the classes feel closer is one that I got from a teacher from my second term. My teacher Jennifer Claire had the idea to have all of the classmates send her a photo of themselves, and she included one as well, and she created a class photo album using powerpoint. She put everyones names with their photos and it was pretty nice!!