Imagine rising out of a sleep every morning at around 7:30 a.m.--your heart is pounding and your first thought is, "Wow, I really need to practice my algebra." You climb out of your lofted bed, throw on some clothes, wipe a little deodorant under your pits, make a bowl of oatmeal, and sit down at your desk to begin the day's work.
Sitting there, I practiced my math problems until around 8:30 a.m., and then, I'd run off to my first class of the day--Math 114. To many, this class may sound like the easiest stretch of lectures possible, but that class forced me to work harder on math than I ever have in my life.
Going into college, I never expected to be as stressed as I was. I thought that I would be able to go out. I thought I would always make time to go to the gym. I had looked at pictures of my older friends who went to school, and they always made it seem like it was a good time. I had no idea how agonizing it could be.
As a result, I never went out, and I never went to the gym because every time I tore myself away from my studies--I felt like I couldn't breathe. At any point in the day that I wasn't doing homework, all I could think about was getting back to my homework.
This became especially apparent when my boyfriend came to visit me from up north. He would come to Madison on a weekend. I remember always being so excited to see him, but I could not bring myself to stop studying for more than an hour. At one point, we sat down on the couch to watch a movie. I couldn't concentrate on the film, and instead thought of how I had not yet fully understood the concept we were tackling in my math class.
I kept thinking about it and thinking about it until my breathing became heavier and then I started sucking in air hard and fast and crying. I remember him holding me and reassuring me that everything was going to be fine. These anxious feelings had me convinced that sitting down and watching a movie would be the absolute demise of my academic career. For me, I didn't care what grade I received in the class; rather, I was afraid that I would fail.
In Unit 3 of my Psychology 532: Psychological Effects of the Internet Class, we learned all about "educating via the internet." In other words, we learned about the benefits of taking classes online.
I've been taking online classes since high school, and I've always loved them for a few reasons. First, it gives me the freedom to complete the work when it works for me. Second, online classes typically don't have tests but short quizzes. Third, I don't have to walk through the Wisconsin cold to get to lecture three times a week.
My class presented actual research on how online classes may be a great answer for education. We were assigned readings that demonstrated a few main points.
1. The traditional lecture is dead.
A normal college lecture includes a professor speaking on a topic as the students take notes. Rhett Allain, an associate professor of physics at Southeastern University of Louisianna, stated that all lectures of the future must contain collaborations among students including answering questions and voting on the answers.
2. Math, science, and engineering classes almost always occur via live lectures. Some believe that lecturing through this medium may hamper student success.
Physics, chemistry, anatomy, physiology, and biology classes almost always include a live lecture rather than an online lecture option. In a national survey, 63 percent of lectures in STEM fields occurred in lecture hall rather than via the internet. Unfortunately, less than 40 percent of student who enter college with the intention of majoring in a STEM field end up graduating with a degree in a STEM field. Dan Berrett's article in the chronicle of higher education suggested that our country must increase the number of students who graduate from STEM programs, and in order to do this, perhaps an online education approach is necessary.
3. College is expensive. It has become 12 times more expensive than it was less than 40 years ago.
According to a Mother Jones article, 71 percent of the class of 2012 graduated with student debt. The graph below demonstrates that in past years, the cost of attending college has increased more than any other commodity listed.
Some suggest that an adjustment of live lecture classes to online classes could reduce spending.
If you're a college student, demand the best education that you possibly can from your university. Fill out your course evaluations so that your professors know how they can better the course. Go to class, and email your professor if you think that a simple change in their teaching style could help your learning. You are paying for your education, so it's up to you, the student, to advocate for yourself in order to obtain a good education.