Online Education Review

I am actually a fan of online classes, though, as I mentioned in my earlier post, I think the grading is generally a little too lax. I did like that this class still challenged my creativity and my writing skills, while also letting my learn about a fascinating topic. However, I know that I would have worked harder had I felt it was necessary to obtain an A. God, I hope I don't get failed for that comment. I know that compared to the courses I took at Redlands, those at OU have been better. I enjoy the freedom to do the work needed at my own pace, which this course especially allowed for. I also enjoy not being forced to attend a lecture. As a future educator myself, I am actually firmly against attendance policies for college students, but I am firmly in the minority on this issue. I like that it is my responsibility to complete the assignments and seek help if I struggle with the reading or anything else. I prefer to do the reading on my own, whereas many of my classes assign reading but the professor proceeds to summarize every bit of it in class, making me wonder why I bother with the reading, knowing if I skip class too often I will be penalized. I took another online course, "20th century India," and that class allowed me to draw connections between this class and the more modern culture of India that I learned about. It was also a good experience of an online class, but I still felt the grading was very lax. The meme below is not related to online classes but accurately reflects and explains why I am wholly against group projects. I am the guy on the left. I'm also the person that emails the professor to explain exactly how much every one of my partners did, or did not, contribute.

(Meme taken from Pinterest)

Gen. Ed. Review

I think my perspective on this course is a little different, because it could have actually went towards my major--Religious Studies--but I chose to put it towards my second minor--International Studies. Considering my major, I haven't really had to think about the Humanities general education requirements because they were all filled by my major anyways. However, I do think having these humanities requirements is important because it ensures that students from all backgrounds have a chance to broaden their worldviews, something I place immense value on. I think the only thing that bugs me about the humanities is that so few professor grade very strictly, which contributes to the stereotype that the humanities are the "easy" courses. I don't think it benefits students to baby them, especially at the collegiate level. Not that they should be graded super harshly either, mind you. Personally, I didn't have much experience with gen ed classes at OU. I took comp one and two online via Redlands. I learned nothing, put in minimal effort, and received an A. My professor made no attempt at constructive criticism. I took Algebra one as a concurrent evening course at a community college near my hometown. That was fine, but the professor also had really low standards. He curved quite a bit and allowed note cards with no restrictions at all on content for every exam. I never memorized a single formula, but I had mixed feelings about whether or not this was a bad thing. I also took American History concurrently, via IETV, which is basically a professor standing in a (usually) empty room teaching to a webcam, which is streaming live to various schools. I sat in a room with one other girl, no monitor, listening to the most monotone man I have ever known in my life. I mostly slept. I got an A. Our final exam was one of those READ ALL INSTRUCTIONS BEFORE BEGINNING THE EXAM, then you read them and it says not to do the questions and just sign your name and submit it and get a 100. It bothers me knowing I learned nothing and still did well. I expect more from our education, but its my experience that smaller institutions as well as any non-traditional format (IETV, online, evening) all have lower standards of education.

(Meme found via Pinterest)

College Writing Review

I think my favorite thing about writing in college has been that I actually feel I have improved. In high school, I was already a fairly gifted writer. I am way too anal to allow myself to be bad at grammar. My classmates rarely put in considerable effort into their writing, so I was left looking like a super star. It was nice getting easy A's, but I also appreciate the challenge that some of my college courses have presented me. I took a course, "Violence and the Sacred" with Professor Scafe. Not only was the content we studies EXTREMELY interesting, but it also challenged me in a way that I had never been challenged. He was the most helpful writing professor I have ever had. He not only corrected grammar, he taught me how to research more effectively, improve overall structure, and present my ideas more clearly and concisely. This class, however, has helped me specifically with my dialogue punctuation, which I pretty much just made up as I went along before now. Below is my favorite grammar-related meme as of late:

(Favorite Meme)