If you are considering getting an online college degree, you may want to experiment by taking an online course just for fun first.
You can decide to register for something that would be of interest to you, like cooking for example. Perhaps you have a great interest in Chinese cooking and would like to learn from an expert and cut down the learning curve in having to do it yourself.
My first online course was just for fun. It was about English literature and was more like an online discussion group led by a woman who was highly skilled in the subject matter. Basically, we were being guided through the information and being assigned projects to help us to familiarize ourselves with the material. It worked very well. We had some pretty lively discussions and got to read some amazing books. More importantly, it got me thinking more about online courses. I also got to interact in discussion sessions with the whole class on line. There are software programs that allow you to be in virtual classrooms and that is really a lot of fun.
I had been contemplating taking an online college class or two for about a year at that point. Even though I already had my master’s degree, there were other areas that I felt I could improve on that would improve my ability to help others in the area of career counseling. An online course seemed like just the way to go, but previously I had thought that I would not be able to really focus my attention on it. I thought there would be too many distractions with kids, grand kids, the laundry, snacks in the kitchen, etc.. I also thought I wouldn’t do well without having a professor looking over me at all times or without having a classroom setting to discuss things in. I could not see the hope of sticking with the subject matter.
However, after taking my English literature online course, I proved myself to be wrong. I found that if I was really interested in taking courses online, I would be able to focus and concentrate because I was truly interested in the subject and felt that it would add benefit to my career and life. I just had to shut the doors and make it clear that even though I was at home, sitting at my computer, I was going to college again!
After my first success, I started to think about other online degree programs. Taking more courses or even possibly earning another degree online made more sense the more I thought about it. After all, it would provide all the advantages of a college education without the drawbacks. I wouldn’t have to rearrange my schedule, the tuition would be lower, and I would still get a university degree that could help me get a better job in the future if I wanted one. If I didn’t like it, I could always quit after a semester with very little time or money lost. As it turns out, that first online course was one of the best decisions I ever made. It was a good experience and it has spurred me on to other courses as well.
