Online vs. Traditional face-to-face Coursework

When I tell people that I am working on my Master's degree online, I am met with mixed responses. However, the most common response is not exactly positive. "I don't know how you do that." "I would be too scared of working entirely online." "Ewww. How do you like that?"

Their reactions have forced me to evaluate why I like online courses. First of all, I think there is more collaboration as an entire class for online classes. For face-to-face classes, I might be able to see examples from a small handful of my classmates. For my online classes, I get to see the examples posted by ALL of my classmates. I think it gives me a more broad "bag of tricks" as examples to use in my classroom.

Second of all, I like the flexibility of online classes. I do not have the same day each week that is "free"...some weeks my free day is Monday...it's Wednesday for another week. I would have a difficult time devoting the same day and time each week to attending a face-to-face class. If I have time at 9:30 on a Tuesday night available to work or 11:30 on a Sunday morning, I can work on my course work when it is convenient for me.

In addition to these benefits, I like no having to devote time to drive to class, park my car, walk to the classroom. Yes, I do believe that there is a bit more writing that is designed to replace the classroom discussions that would occur in the face-to-face classroom. Yes, there are times in which something can be misinterpreted online because of the lack of face-to-face nonverbal clues. Yes, there are times when I feel less support because I cannot just stay after class to ask a question of the instructor. However, overall, I like taking online classes. They just fit my current lifestyle...after all, while taking three classes this summer, I was still able to go on vacation for two weeks with me family--a distinct perk! That definitely would not happen with a face-to-face class!