Taking online classes can sometimes seem easy, and sometimes they are. But, other times, they're not and can become an extreme struggle.
Here are some of the reasons why:
1. Your Professor
They're hiding behind a screen dictating what you do and how much you sit at your computer every single week regretting every single second doing something you absolutely hate. You can't look at them in the eyes to show them your disgust either, and they're chuckling at all the work your doing, but I guess the joke's on them because they have to read through it all.
2. Contacting Your Professor
HA. Yeah, right. That's nearly impossible to do, especially when you sit down to complete an assignment and realize you can't move any further until a question is answered and it will take them approximately 48 hours to respond, so there goes the time you set aside to do your work.
3. The Work
Not only confusingly structured almost all of the time, but also jam packed full of assignments that you know you wouldn't be doing if you had just taken the class. Frustrating, but also your own fault.
4. Time Management
You have an assignment due in a week, all week! That's so much time. Just kidding it's Sunday night at 11:34 p.m. and your assignment is due in 26 minutes, talk about pressure. Good luck, because if it's posted even a second after the deadline that's a letter grade off for said assignment, no kidding.
5. Grades
Online class grades are horrible, mostly because you have no idea why you got the grade that you did. If your professor is cool enough to post their comments on your assignment and send them back, you still probably won't know why you got the grade you got. If you want to email and ask, by the time you hear back it doesn't even matter anymore.
6. Withdraw or Fail
If all of these things become too much for you to handle and you decide to withdraw from the online class you have to go through the process of filling out paperwork to scan to that professor that isn't so speedy on their response, to print and take to the office of registrar. That's good and bad, because you don't have to face your professor to hear them tell you how poorly you did in their class, but also you can't just have them easily sign the paper. I don't know about you, but I don't have money to have a scanner, another thing that's out of the way.
And failing, well looks like you have to retake that class, whether you not you tried. Either way, bummer.
7. Responding to Fellow Students
Hi, I don't know you, but I'm required to respond to your post so we can all act like we give a shit about what each other has to say. Great, good one sided talk, keep up the good work.
NOBODY CARES. This is not real participation. It doesn't even make sense, if you want students to actively have a discussion about something, then do it. But to just say respond to two other students, it's like talking to a wall. Most students won't read their responses, and if they do they won't care enough to do anything about it.
8. Blackboard Layout
Blackboard is a very simple and easy to use tool for college, you can check your grades, receive announcements, even send out an email to the entire class with a click of the button. BUT for some unknown reason, online professors decide to set up their classes on blackboard like it's a maze you have to solve just to figure out what you need to do. Not all are like this, but the ones that are: you're rude. Don't do that, we have enough as full-time students with part-time jobs, figuring out our lives, why not set it up so even the most computer illiterate students can handle the class.
Honestly, you'd think that they're going to be easy, and when you barely survive the class, fail, or withdraw the hardest ones you question your whole thought process before entering the class. I personally have taken four online classes, was successful in two and withdrew from the other two so I'd say it's pretty much a crapshoot. Just because they suck sometimes, doesn't mean they aren't efficient if you can handle it and stay on task.
