According to an article by the Rasmussen College of Minnesota, one in four students take online classes as a part of an online program or mixed with on-campus classes. Online classes paint a picture of numerous perks. They offer you the flexibility to learn in your space and work comfortably on your own time. Online classes are a great option if you tend to feel lost in crowded classrooms. These courses give students the ability to pause and take thorough notes or even rewatch parts they didn’t quite understand the first time, but along with this flexibility you have to endure the difficulty of a vast course load.
People often ask, “are online classes easier?” The simple answer is no. It is not an easier route. You have to put in additional effort, like organizing your schedule to make time for every reading and assignment along with meeting the requirements for an online course. This increases the pressure. While your traditional face-to-face professors answer your questions in class, usually remind you about upcoming due dates on assignments, and will work with you if you are going to be absent, online professors, expect you to refer to the syllabus and email them if you have any questions, which can take at least one to three days to get back a response from them. This doesn’t help you make progress with your unanswered questions and your workload only builds in the meantime.
When I decided to take an online class for an elective course –that’s not even related to my major – I expected it wouldn’t be as demanding and tedious as my regular classes. However, I was disappointed because the requirements of the online course were quite unnecessary. Along with online quizzes, I had to participate in various off-campus activities and submit one article every week about it. It was extra effort, time consuming and inflexible. The time I had allotted for my readings and assignments for my traditional classes was then utilized at some boring activity I wasn’t even interested in. Thereby, I had to stay up late to do my readings and assignments which eventually ruined my sleep pattern. It felt like my one online class was draining my energy more than my traditional classes combined. I did pass the course with an A, but I didn’t feel that ‘A’ was worth everything I went through.
