On line education

[Yoga Face]

Any one suggest an on line school?

I am considering a creative writing course

 

[Rono]

Have you tried Athabasca.ca?

 

[buckwheat1]

many universities offer on line courses

 

[fuji]

For me the acid test is this:

Would the school count the credits you earn towards an "on campus" degree? If you go on to get an online degree, is it somehow different than getting a degree on campus?

If it's a good school and the online credits count the same as in person credits then you know the school is putting its full reputation behind those courses. That is some consdierable assurance that you're getting a quality education that is worthy of some respect.

If the school treats the online credits as inferior to the on campus ones, then it is likely not taking its online programme seriously, and an online student is getting some sort of "second class" education. It MAY be that these courses are still worthwhile, but there's some doubt about it, since it seems that the school's own faculty doubts the quality of the online credit too.

 

[buckwheat1]

FUJI is right however most universities in Ontario that offer courses are the same as taking them on campus and teh credit will be applied to your transcript with a mark.

 

[someone]

I am pretty negative when it comes to distance courses. It is not the same experience as on campus courses. In the case of creative writing courses, I would think it would be particularly bad. A long time ago, I went out with a girl who was a creative writing major. I gathered that class discussion of each other’s writing was particularly important as were other discussions. Regardless of the discipline, the delivery method tends to limit what is learnt to the textbook with little opportunity to relate what you learn to current developments in the real world (important in some of the things I teach).

However, all this being said, if the details of your personal life, prevent you from taking an on campus course, I can understand why you would pursue this option. Indeed, I respect the fact that you want to expand your horizons. As far as creative writing is concerned, I believe that York used to have a good program but I have no idea if it has a distance option and I am not up to date (my only real knowledge of the area is through the long ago girl friend).

 

[dj1470]

Almost every university and college in Ontario (and Canada) offer courses online. Go their websites and find out. No need to ask here.

 

[fuji]

Regardless of the discipline, the delivery method tends to limit what is learnt to the textbook with little opportunity to relate what you learn to current developments in the real world (important in some of the things I teach).

That's changing and is likely to continue to change, as it's now possible to stream live lectures to distance students.

Only some online programs are doing that, and I would agree that even still it limits the interaction--it remains harder for the remote students to ask questions, although they can.

I imagine the next five to ten years are going to see ground breaking progress in this area as net delivered content becomes richer, more fluid, and more interactive.

The ideal end-game to me would be an educational system where online and on campus students attend the exact same lecture, which broadcasts streaming to those at a distance, and where students at a distance can reply in voice and video with questions, making it interactive for everyone.

 

[someone]

That's changing and is likely to continue to change, as it's now possible to stream live lectures to distance students.

Only some online programs are doing that, and I would agree that even still it limits the interaction--it remains harder for the remote students to ask questions, although they can.

I imagine the next five to ten years are going to see ground breaking progress in this area as net delivered content becomes richer, more fluid, and more interactive.

The ideal end-game to me would be an educational system where online and on campus students attend the exact same lecture, which broadcasts streaming to those at a distance, and where students at a distance can reply in voice and video with questions, making it interactive for everyone.

True, but most students take distance not because they are not near a campus but due to work schedules and the like (assuming Yoga Face lives in Toronto, he would not be far from a campus). For them, the big payoff is what is often called asynchronous learning. Thus, most distance students are taking it because they cannot be available at a given time for lectures. I have been involved with some distance programs, and the student feed back in this regard is very clear.

 

[Aardvark154]

If you aren't limited to Canadian Universities, the University of Phoenix is accredited. However, I know nothing about their English Department, they seem to be heavy on Science, Engineering, and the Medical Sciences.

 

[shakenbake]

For me the acid test is this:

Would the school count the credits you earn towards an "on campus" degree? If you go on to get an online degree, is it somehow different than getting a degree on campus?

If it's a good school and the online credits count the same as in person credits then you know the school is putting its full reputation behind those courses. That is some consdierable assurance that you're getting a quality education that is worthy of some respect.

If the school treats the online credits as inferior to the on campus ones, then it is likely not taking its online programme seriously, and an online student is getting some sort of "second class" education. It MAY be that these courses are still worthwhile, but there's some doubt about it, since it seems that the school's own faculty doubts the quality of the online credit too.

I would also check to see if the institution is accredited by a legitimate governing body. There are a lot of legitimate distance learning programs, as well as 'diploma mills' out there.