This was my first online course and I have to say, I still prefer face-to-face interaction. That isn't to say I did not enjoy this course, because I certainly did. This is my fourth course with Rachel and I continue to learn from her and from my classes. I learned about theories I had never heard of before, even though I've been working in the field of ELL for twelve years. What I appreciated the most was the discussions. My fellow students always had interesting perspectives and I think the best learning comes from the discussions and interaction with your peers. This is a good thing to keep in mind when I am planning activities for my students.
What I found challenging about the online experience was the difficulty in communication. Sometimes I didn't understand an assignment, or had trouble with the site, and there wasn't someone I could directly talk to. Sometimes I find it harder to communicate with the written word, and I am not clear with my questions or input. But there were also times when I found the assignments confusing, unclear, or there wasn't enough instruction. For some reason, I was never able to view the rubrics, so I was often left wondering, "What does Rachel want? How is this supposed to look?" And since this was online and I wasn't in a room with classmates and an instructor, I felt alone in figuring it out.
The best part was working on the wiki with my team. I was really proud of the work we did and I think it was my most enjoyable, though time-consuming assignment. There were some frustrating moments, but it's the piece I enjoyed doing the most.
I thought taking an online class might save me the trouble of leaving my son in the evening. My husband is capable of taking care of him, but he's still at an age when he prefers Mama and he's used to being put to bed by me. But it was still a challenge to get online and do work on the computer while my baby was still up and that affected the timeliness of my posts. I think if I was taking a class in person, I would be better able to focus on the lesson without distractions, so I look forward to taking an in person class again.
