I have been taking online courses throughout my college experience starting back when I was earning my degree for Police Science and Corrections at Zane State seven years ago. Over this time online learning has come a long way.
At first I took web classes because I was a new mom and the classes seemed slower paced and convenient for my new schedule, however, I did not take much away from them. To be quite honest I did not learn much. In the past seven years my online classes have changed dramatically. My first web classes included homework set up like Wheel of Fortune to learn vocabulary words; in turn that is all I was tested on. Now my homework consists of detailed outlines and tutorials that guide me through the actual homework where I apply what I have learned in a simulated interface. Not only am I getting much more information now, but I have aspects from the classroom like hands-on learning and one on one guidance available to me on my schedule.
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Online classes have come a long way, especially in the past few years. When everything at COTC was switched over to Angel, it made things so much easier. I remember when I started at COTC in 2007, and how every online class used a different service depending on what type of class it was. Since everything has been moved to one system, you don't have to re-learn the interface every time you take a class.
There is one other thing that I really like about Angel, it is great that even classes that aren't online can put class materials, lectures and other resources online. This has helped me so much in such a short amount of time.
I don't mind ANGEL and I have never really had problems using it. There are definite areas some instructors could do to make online classes more interesting. Having the same routine every week gets dull. If you are new to online learning, it can be nice for staying on task. however, Retaining information from classes like Marketing, Microeconomics, Salesmanship, etc. can be difficult because it seems everything is monotonous and robotic. You complete your task and go onto the next without any real life application of what you are learning. A few ways to add flavor to those classes would be video lectures, meeting team members through Skype, or possibly a project that you may enjoy instead if feeling like you paid to be punished; each would be a great change to the cardboard flavored classes.
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