Hello! My name is Janissa Johnson and I am currently a KEF Board member. I was previously a KEF scholarship recipient and staff member and I am excited to continue to support such a great organization.
After taking a look at some of the blog posts by other students and mentors, one topic came to mind that I thought might be helpful for potential students.
I am currently only four classes away from graduating from the University of Alaska, Southeast with my Master’s in Business Administration. I commonly get asked why I chose this particular graduate program by a variety of people, as it is a Distance Education Program – meaning I never actually get to meet my professors outside of a virtual classroom.
To me, the answer is simple: it fits my lifestyle and learning style. For most of us, graduate school is something we pursue after we have started a career. My job can be quite demanding and travel is required. I’m an avid reader and am quite independent. Also, I’m not married and don’t have kids at this point in my life, so I have the time to devote to a distance learning environment. Classroom discussions can be useful, or a waste of time. Plus, let’s be honest, parking at UAA is a complete joke and UAF couldn’t pay me to live in Fairbanks.
One more factor to consider is the use of technology in today’s business environment. It is more and more common for organizations to enroll the use of teleconference or videoconference capabilities to conduct everyday business. Being able to convey a message accurately and appropriately to varying audiences via electronic communication is extremely important.
Some factors to keep in mind when choosing a graduate school:
- What works best for your family life? Do you live in close proximity to your university of choice? Do you have children and/or a spouse to consider?
- What works best for your professional life? Do you travel often for work, making class attendance poor?
- What is your learning style? Do you often times solve problems on your own, or do you seek the assistance of those around you?
- How much time can you commit to a program? Do you have the required ‘free’ time necessary to success in a distance education program, which usually requires more time than a classroom style program?
If you are considering enrolling in an online graduate program, just remember that the most difficult part is time management and self-discipline. You may not have much of a social life for a couple of years, but it will be worth it in the end!
Hi Janissa,
How does distance learning impact interaction with other students? Does (and how does) discussion of topics take place with a distance learning course?
Thanks for the insight! I have never done distance learning, but it is something I have been curious about. My name is Veronica Henson, and I am currently working on my clinical doctoral degree in Audiology, and I think many of the courses could be successfully taught via distance learning. One aspect that I feel like I would miss out on is the interaction with my fellow students, and being able to group up and discuss material. As I have zero experience with distance learning, I have ac ouple of questions
Thanks!
-Veronica
Hi Veronica,
I appreciate your excellent questions.
Before I address them, I should point out that my program is a Cohort designed program – in that a group of us started the program with the intention of finishing together. Similar to many online programs, we all met on campus at the beginning of our program for an initial face-to-face meeting. This proved to be extremely helpful, and I don’t imagine that an online program would work well otherwise. Some programs require multiple meetings throughout the duration of the program.
However, lack of face-to-face interaction is where Distance learning just doesn’t work for everyone. There is no face-to-face contact with your professor, or your fellow classmates. Personally, I’ve noticed that it forces students to increase the clarity of their communication in order to properly convey their message. The interaction with classmates is still very prevalent, maybe even more so in a virtual classroom. I’m guessing that my response to your second question can clarify a little more…
The virtual classroom (for most professors) provides an environment for discussion between the professor and the students as well as between the students. Many use a forum or a discussion board, which is very similar to a blog – in the sense that there is an original post and others can respond to this post with comments, questions, opposite points of view, etc. Currently, I am taking an Organizational Theory & Behavior class and in this class we are posed with discussion questions and each student provides an answer for all of our classmates to read and respond to. Not only are we graded on our response, we are also expected to respond to our classmates and provide insightful feedback to their response. In almost every class I’ve taken, I’ve had to participate in a group project which included a written paper as well as a recorded presentation. All of our group meetings were over Skype, and a live document editing website (google docs, ietherpad). Throughout the course of my program, I have met up with students in my cohort while traveling to their city and vice/versa. I’ve also been able to meet people from my own region and establish professional connections that may not have otherwise existed.
Obviously the situation is different in classes like Accounting or Finance, where your knowledge level can only be graded in one way – whether or not you know the material. In those classes, the interaction with your classmates is extremely limited. I can see how a student could be deterred from participating in an online program if all classes had this type of structure. I prefer interaction with my classmates, even though it may only be virtual. This situation provides an arena for students to really put thought into their responses and provide useful feedback and real-life scenarios and comparisons that are helpful to their peers.
If that sparked additional questions, feel free to ask!