I did online distance classes all last year, through a university in Newfoundland. A full course load. It was a great exercise in creating an awareness of my abilities. I didn't know I could own my education and balance working, child care provisions, and a band (of all things) on top of it. It was a good idea. I was very responsible and thought, distance education is a good thing.
So when I was registering for classes this fall and saw the language requirement on my program outline, I thought, French! Online! I did french in high school and found it not only valuable, living in Canada, but fun. French is beautiful, and I already know the phonetics, so GPA, up you go!
Online French, while still a good idea, is not as fun as anticipated. It saves me from the tedium of learning what I already know in a classroom setting. That would be a waste of time. But it doesn't save me from the tedium of our weekly online lab through Adobe Connect.
Adobe Connect is a brilliant program. Used largely for simulcast and business purposes, it also enables online education to add a distinctly personal element. This, however, undoes all of my selfish reasons for doing distance education. It's about me! It's only ever about me. Our weekly lab time, strips me of that anonymity and forces me into sad beginner French conversations with others students.
Last night, I had a massive headache going into the Lab, and as we completed the exercises and the 1200mg of extra strength Ibuprophen kicked in, I became increasingly hyper. I instigated hilarious conversation with my breakout-group partners, missed several points of instruction from my professor, and took these pictures. Note the despair that turns into madness that turns back into despair.
Online French, while still a good idea, is not as fun as anticipated. It saves me from the tedium of learning what I already know in a classroom setting. That would be a waste of time. But it doesn't save me from the tedium of our weekly online lab through Adobe Connect.
Adobe Connect is a brilliant program. Used largely for simulcast and business purposes, it also enables online education to add a distinctly personal element. This, however, undoes all of my selfish reasons for doing distance education. It's about me! It's only ever about me. Our weekly lab time, strips me of that anonymity and forces me into sad beginner French conversations with others students.
Last night, I had a massive headache going into the Lab, and as we completed the exercises and the 1200mg of extra strength Ibuprophen kicked in, I became increasingly hyper. I instigated hilarious conversation with my breakout-group partners, missed several points of instruction from my professor, and took these pictures. Note the despair that turns into madness that turns back into despair.
The answer is to avoid online classes with labs that feel like a bad internet dating site. Otherwise you'll end up with a series of strange pictures capturing how poorly spent those 90 minutes were.
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