The Online Classroom vs. The Brick and Mortar Classroom

In March of this year I started work on my second Bachelor's degree, in Business Management, at Ashford University, a school in Iowa that has an entire online campus alongside their physical one.  My first degree, a Bachelor's in English Literature (in case you weren't paying attention to the first blog), was from Heidelberg University (formerly Heidelberg College) in Tiffin, OH.  I spent half of my time at Heidelberg commuting to class and half of my time living on campus in the dorms.  I was miserable, sure, but I also wouldn't give up those experiences for anything in the world.  No, not even $40,000 in loan forgiveness.

Not every part of Heidelberg was great.  I simultaneously loved and hated being a music major.  Eventually the hate took over, which is why I switched to my next love - English.  When I switched majors, I also moved onto campus and I met some people I still hold near and dear to me today and I honestly don't know where I would be without them.  I had experiences, big and small, with them at my side.  I didn't go to college to hide in my dorm room and only interact with my laptop computer.  I interacted with my room mates, my neighbors, my classmates, my professors (the normal and the insane), and even the lady taking my Starbucks order.  Nothing beats human interaction.  Sometimes human interaction is all that saves you from that mountain of papers you need to write and the four novels that need read by Monday.  Sometimes that work is interrupted by the room mate and the slightly insane neighbor insisting that the work will all be easier at Denny's.

Having had an entire experience at Heidelberg, which is something more than most people ever accomplish, it is a little unusual for to go "back to school" in an entirely different fashion.  It is easy and convenient, that is for sure.  Ashford is entirely online, so all I ever have to do is log into the online classroom and do my work.  No travel, no changing buildings, no dorms.  The classroom is wherever my laptop is.  Sound amazing yet?  It was, at first.  The classes are one at a time, in continuous 5-week increments.  I have a quiz to do each week, two discussion board short responses each week, plus I have to interact a certain number of times with my peers on the discussion boards.  There is a final paper due by the end of class, usually about 5-8 pages in length, depending on the class.  Easy for someone with their English degree, right?

While the convenience factor is high and the cost of attending Ashford is a mere fraction of what it cost to attend Heidelberg, Ashford is lacking something very important.  Maybe I only notice it missing because I have already had my "college experience."  I don't have any attachment to my peers.  The discussions have all the cold, distant, pretentious behavior of an internet forum.  I am also really tired of hearing about peoples' kids and grandkids, as if they have some bearing on a 400-level management course.  No one will even consider my discussions on the board because they are actually about the course material and actually make sense.  I am sorry I don't have experiences akin to "Like, when i was 32 and had my fourth kid with my third different babydaddy i worked at this restrant and my manager was a jerk and that's why when youre a manager you need to understand youre empployees."  The frightening thing is, I see these same people in my next class...meaning that these ass-clowns PASSED.

Some professors bother to actually interact on the discussion boards, while some professors are clearing being paid to only log in once a week to input grades a computer figured up for them.  Have you ever had your essay graded by a computer?  It's no different than Microsoft Word's green and red squiggles.  Where is the motivation to write something even remotely intelligent if a human being isn't even going to read it?  I had a phenomenal essay written up for my first ever class at Ashford and a computer graded it, informing me that I did not have a thesis statement or a conclusion.  The computer knew this because I did not use words like "In my paper I will write about..." and "For my conclusion, I..."  I was given a C+.  If the woman with four kids, three "baby-daddies" and an inability to understand your/you're got an A I will just end it all now.

I knock Ashford, but it has its perks.  I couldn't go back to school now.  I have a full time job that I enjoy, despite its simplicity and it has nothing to do with my agree.  I figured it is time to grow up, though.  I need to work, pay rent, make my bills on time, and MOST IMPORTANTLY- make that car payment!  I'm ass-deep in credit card and student loan debt, but at least I am working hard and taking care of myself.  I can't play at school anymore.  I wish I could, but even at age 24, I'm pushing senior citizen status compared to those freshmen.  My time on campus is up, but I wouldn't wish an online-only experience on anyone.  My advice is this - if you have the time and the means and the youth, you should have this experience.  Don't squander it, either.  College is a lot more fun if you don't get kicked out.  There's just something different about hurrying to class with your printed-out essay, sitting down next to your best friend, and taking down pencil and paper notes.  Not to mention the most important bit of all - I haven't had any 2AM Taco Bell runs with any of my online classroom peers.