My Online Learning Experience
Personally, I’m not a huge fan of online learning. I have found that for me to best comprehend new material, I need to be in a classroom setting with the ability to receive in person help. While there are pros and cons to every situation, I have found that the cons outweigh the pros for me. First off, the biggest con for me, being a kinesthetic learner, is that I don’t have the ability to be as hands on or work with other students face to face. Secondly, as someone who does not have good WiFi in their house, I find myself getting frustrated when dealing with technical issues that could be avoided by in person learning. Also, being on central standard time as opposed to eastern standard time, I have to wake up an hour earlier than the set time for class. On the other hand, there are some positives of online learning. I enjoy the convenience of being able to wake up and open my computer and joining class. I also enjoy the organization of only having online assignments and not having to keep up with binders, pencils, and loose handouts. Along with the organization of materials, I appreciate the simplicity of turning in all of my assignments online as opposed to handing in assignments. Over the course of my online learning experience, I’ve been able to determine what the most important factors are for a successful online learning environment. First, I make sure that my phone is on silent and is not close enough to distract me from my work or class. I have a specific spot in my room that typically has better connection than the rest of my house, so I make sure to sit there. I have also found Google Calendar to be my new best friend, providing organization and reminders whenever needed. Overall, while online learning is definitely not my preference, it isn’t all that bad if you stay focused and patient.