I’m going to go through the different requirements of the class and evaluate them each in terms of my enjoyment and what I gained from them.

Reflections
Reflections are biweekly (with the exception of this last week, hence my late response) and, while not difficult to write, do require a certain amount of thought and effort. The idea of the reflections is to explore further thoughts on the week’s topics, often applying them directly into your life. I tend to meander in mine; once I’ve figured out what I want to discuss, I simply write down my thoughts and let them flow.

Mini-Lectures
The mini-lectures are exactly that- miniature lectures, often enhanced with multimedia and links elsewhere. They’re short, down-to-earth, and introduce the topics that will be discussed in the forums and reflections. Again, they are biweekly, and only take a few minutes to read.

The Forum
The forum is really the hub of activity in this class; without them, you could probably forget the class exists until every other Friday, but since it’s almost always active and discussions are ongoing, you’re almost always involved in the class. I have the forum on RSS, updating me on constant new posts and keeping me in the loop even when I have no time to write without overwhelming me. There is a special section for off-topic discussions, and the rest of the sections appear biweekly as the next mini-lecture appears.

Papers
There are three papers and a final project, and I was pleasantly surprised to discover that while other classes tend to require papers that are dry or specifically on class subjects, these papers are really about us and who we are in terms of the class and learning. In a sense, they’re sort of a self-evaluation and are probably the most self-applicable assignments I’ve written in my college career.

Readings
The readings are sometimes fairly long, and they do take quite a bit of time. I’ve found that they enhance the class, rather than being necessary, per se, but most were interesting and enjoyable to read.

Quizzes
…

We have yet to have any. But I’m not complaining!

All in all, this was one of my favorite classes, and despite the amount of work I had to put into it, I haven’t regretted it once. To new students: don’t be discouraged by the signup process (which isn’t easy)- it’s worth it. 🙂

For those of you who are interested in this online class, I can truthfully tell you that it is a class that will provide you with an experience that is different from your average classroom experience. This is a class that studies learning, but through the course you will learn more about yourself than you will in any other. It teaches you self-discipline, communication skills, and most importantly, it shows you how to apply yourself to learning.

Let me start off by saying that this is not a class for everyone. Those who want to take the class must be adept at the Internet basics. This includes, using and browsing websites and checking email. If these requirements can be met, then you will have no problem fulfilling the requirements of the class.

If you decide to take the class, the first thing that will surprise you is the absence of a strict meeting time. What this means is that you can choose where and when you want to participate, as long as you have some connection to the Internet. You can participate at school, at home, at the library or even on the train at anytime that is convenient for you. Though it sounds like there is a lot of freedom, you will find out that this class will ask you to break your typical student habits of procrastination.

This class is demanding in that it asks for you to write. Every two weeks, there is a reflection due and every 4 weeks there is a 5-8 page paper due. These assignments are assigned at the beginning of the semester, so there is no excuse for late papers. If this seems like a lot, you are also asked to participate in the forums, adding in your thoughts and opinions on topics you and your peers bring up. Though this seems like a lot, don’t feel frightened by the work. Much of it is fun, and you will find that you can relate to the topics through your personal experiences.  Often you will find yourself browsing the forums and the website for fun, instead of feeling that the class is forced on you.

Another aspect of the class that will surprise you is how much you will learn by yourself. In a typical classroom, a professor lectures and guides a class through a topic but in this class, the opposite is true as students are set in motion by the professor’s guidance. Every two weeks, a mini-lecture is posted which asks us to explore a topic on our own. We give ourselves our own lectures and through the forums, we share our ideas. Most of the “talking” does not come from the professor but from you and your peers.

To give an overall evaluation of the class, I have to say that this was one of the most enjoyable classes of my semester. It was fun to contribute to discussions and to bring up topics that interested me. I liked seeing the class shift away from the professor and the topics were always enjoyable. I highly recommend this class to those who want to try something new.

So, what is this class exactly?

Alternate Worlds: Learning the Future is an online class combining science fiction texts with an analysis of possible directions education might take in the future, taking technological advancement into consideration.

Wait, what? An online class?

Yep, the class is entirely online. No classrooms, no notebooks, no chalkboards, no desks (unless you’d like to supply your own)

Well, how exactly does that work?

The great thing about the internet is that it can work in all sorts of ways. An internet class can be done by video, video-chats, podcast lectures, you name it. It’s far more flexible than a standard classroom lecture/discussion format. This particular class has mini-lecture blog posts (instead of long in-class lectures) a forum (for class participation) student blogs (for informal responses) and email for papers and other communications.

Isn’t it confusing?

It takes a little getting used to. It’s nice to have everything neatly stored in one place in a normal class, where the syllabus and all assignments can be tucked into a folder. On the other hand, everything in the class is accessible from any computer with internet access, which can be incredibly handy.

But, what about meeting people in class?

You’ll probably end up knowing the people in a well-structured online class like this one better than most of the people in a normal class. You have a chance to have longer conversations, and you have a lot more time to share and organize your thoughts.

On the forum?

Yep. It’s just easier in a lot of ways. If you like participating in class, you won’t be restricted as much by time, and if you hate participating in class, you don’t have to talk in front of anyone. You can properly take the time to share whichever thoughts you’d like to share.

Are there any disadvantages to using the forum?

It’s sometimes frustrating to have such a time stagger on your conversations – you might post on Monday and not get a response all week. And you do lose out on the human connection a little bit.

What about the workload?

Well, this class has a decent workload – it’s not writing-intensive, but there’s a lot of writing. A blog post every other week, three papers and a final project. Plus the forum. And new readings in tandem with every blog post.

Wait, blog posts?

I think of them like short, informal papers. They’re fun, normally. Interesting topics and thought-provoking.

What about the longer papers?

They also have great topics. It’s not just spitting back information, like many papers. The topics are all about your thoughts and ideas, so you really have to think about what you want to communicate for each paper.

In fact, a lot of the class is like that. You have to share your thoughts and ideas with each other, which makes the class a lot more dynamic, in my opinion.

Ok, what are the readings like?

Fascinating. A combination of thoughts on education and science fiction stories, but it all comes together quite well over the semester.

Do you like it?

Love it! It’s fun and interesting and I love learning about education, considering I’ve spent the vast majority of my life in the educational system!