New Year, New Semester

In the past I have mentioned that I am a college professor.  I started with teaching introduction to psychology classes in a face to face format.  That is a traditional classroom format that includes weekly meetings of the class but also some online content.  More recently I have been teaching online classes.  These classes are asynchronous classes where there is a weekly "session" with learning objectives and assignment deadlines.  I still teach psychology but have added Abnormal Psychology and Social Psychology as additional courses.

Throughout my doctoral program I wrote several papers on my love/hate relationship with online learning.  As my students do, I love the convenience of online learning or teaching.  As we joke about online classes "You can go to college in your pajamas!"  In spite of the convenience you do need to meet your deadlines and course goals.  As I told my students today in the start of the semester announcement "Do Not Get Behind In Your Work!"  There is no leeway for bad days, family issues or anything else.  Going to college in your pajamas means you must keep up on your assignments.

As an instructor I love the convenience of teaching online (Yes I can Teach in My Pajamas!) but I do miss the face to face interaction with students.  In the traditional classroom being part of a really great class where everyone participates is total magic.  I learn from my students as they learn from me and their peers.  Online learning waters that immediate interaction down to discussion board posts.  There is no immediate challenging of ideas just mostly polite interaction.

Learning is learning to me.  Whether you take college classes online or face to face you are still working toward an educational goal and moving forward in your college career.  It does work for many of our students with busy lives.   So online learning has its place.  Yet there is nothing more fun, or more frustrating, than jumping into the fray of a group of young people and exchanging ideas and vision.

If you are thinking about going to college, or going back to college, please pursue your goals and do it.  You will not regret your experiences.