Do you feel online courses are worth it?

Discussion in Books, eBooks & Audio Books started by Colebra • Oct 12, 2014.

  1. Colebra

    ColebraActive Member

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    I'm thinking about taking some online courses.
    Being able to make my own hours is awesome, but are those courses really up to normal standards?
    Are you getting stale information, or just very superficial knowledge perhaps?

    Ever took one? What website?

    Thanks!
     
  2. Mayvin

    MayvinActive Member

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    Right now I'm taking classes online and from my personally opinion online courses are worth it. I like being able to set my own hours of when I log into class and not have to work around the school's schedule. And the material is still interesting, informative, and just as good as if it were offline.
     
  3. Sweetkymom

    SweetkymomActive Member

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    Yes and No! I took online courses through CareerStep and felt very cheated and did not complete the course. I have severe hearing loss so when it came to listening and trying to transcribe, I couldn't do it. I could not hear or understand what was being said. The program was set on a standard volume and there was no way around that. I even asked the guy before I enrolled of the course was something a sever hearing loss person can do and he said yes. He was so wrong.
     
  4. lrd913

    lrd913Active Member

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    I think it really just depends on what kind of learner you are. I've taken online classes and I enjoyed them. I like to work on my own and they afforded me the ability to do so. I'm not always into learning with a group of people and I feel that I had more freedom to do my classes at my own pace. Though I have also taken classes on location with a group of people. I do enjoy interacting with my professor and sometimes it is easier to retain information and ask questions face to face.

    I don't know if I would take all my classes online, but it's nice for me to change it up once and awhile.
     
  5. Goat of Departure

    Goat of DepartureActive Member

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    I think they are. Compared to what you'll get in college in terms of technical stuff, online courses are definitely worth every penny. First of all the time, you're not bound with any schedule and you're free to do whatever you want during your lessons and you're not obliged to partake in any lesson if you're not feeling it. Next is the cost. If you enroll in a college or school it would take a lot of money and compared to online courses they're cheaper and a lot affordable.

    But online courses is not for everyone. Some people will have a hard time learning by themselves and since there a no physical enforcements for you to learn the things that you should you won't be motivated to do so not unless you really need it. So bottom line, if you really need to learn something go for it, but if you're not sure about it then just skip it.
     
  6. Theo

    TheoWell-Known Member

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    It depends what your aims are. I'm doing some on Coursera which are free and I have done some on edX which are free, but you can pay for a verified certificate. The courses I have done have been useful introductions, but many good Universities also do degree course online. Harvard does some and they are the same lectures as you would have in class.

    They are so many options and some courses offer onsite weekend classes like a section so people can meet and discuss.
     
  7. Denis Hard

    Denis HardWell-Known Member

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    A number of accredited institutions offer free online courses. In fact lots of Universities offer such free courses. There's a mammoth list here:

    Log In



    Most of these free courses though will not get you college credit. So if all you are interested in is learning something new just for the fun of it, then such courses can be great.
    I'm taking an introductory programming course on MIT.

    Log In

     
  8. JosieP

    JosiePWell-Known Member

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    As long as you make sure they're accredited, yes! I took some uni courses a while back and they were the same courses offered to their regular students, minus the lab work. Also, these free courses through well known schools will offer you certification for a fee. Well worth it! I think regardless of paid or free, it is very worth it. You aren't getting stale information.. in fact, you have the internet at your disposal to use your own critical thinking and back up what you're learning. In school, you learn one view.. at home, you can learn it all, from every angle. You have much more benefit at home if you aren't taking it for granted. Good luck :)
     
  9. Thejamal

    ThejamalActive Member

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    I think it's entirely dependent on how motivated you are to learn the subject. What's interesting about online courses is that while people think they're going to be less work because you don't physically have to go to class, but they are a serious test of individual motivation to get work done.

    One thing I would recommend though is to take an online course where you don't need as much teacher interaction, so like a history course or something of that nature where your own individual study is more important than the lectures. I took a Spanish class this summer and considered the online option. I'm glad I went to the physical class though where I got instant feedback from the teacher as I doubt I would have really learned anything from the online version of the class.
     
  10. xTinx

    xTinxWell-Known Member

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    It depends on the course. In fact, I've learned a lot just by reading online materials and browsing here and there, wherever keywords and search engines would take me. I prefer to pursue a course that fits my inclination, otherwise it wouldn't be worth the penny. Also, there are online courses that offer a varied range of subjects not usually available in regular universities.
     
  11. DesignerMum

    DesignerMumActive Member

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    Why Online Courses are Worth It (And How to Find Them)

    I have been taking online courses to improve my skills. There are so many online classes to choose from. There are so many choices, so we won't run out of options. What I like about the new courses that I found is that they are updated and maintained quite well.

    Those classes that I took was worth it, because they were more like sharing skills. Students are updated by the teachers, and we got leads to projects and potential ways to share our works with the world. We then get relevant feedback from other course takers. This peer evaluation system is one of the most valuable takeaways from an online course.

    In comparison to courses delivered in other settings, such as corporate trainings, university learning center, and workshops, the feedback brings back the focus on the students. The peer evaluation portion of the classes make up for what the courses might be missing out in other areas. There are assignments, too.

    I did some searching on these two educational search engines to find out the right course to take with:

    Log In

    and

    Log In

    .
     
  12. akiii123

    akiii123Active Member

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    I do think that online courses ate worth trying our as they are quite informative and useful. But I would prefer to pay their fees in installment just to be on the safe side. I would also love it if the courses were free for certain number of days so you can really judge the quality of teaching. Paying the entire fee at once looks like a huge risk.
     
  13. LuckyGirl08

    LuckyGirl08Active Member

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    I think it really all depends what type of learning best suites you. If you learn better hands on then online courses are not for you. I have taken campus courses and online courses and I find that online courses are better for me. When I was on campus, I did not like getting up early for a 8:00 class. With online courses, you can decide when you want to login to do your work. Also with online courses, you do not have to worry about taking lots of classes because they have you only taking around 1-2 per month which is great.