The first time I logged into Camosun Online I was in Salt Lake City in Utah. My wife and I had just started our three week vacation, a road trip across America with planned stops at the Grand Canyon, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Fransisco and Portland. I didn't know how often I would be able to log on and complete any of the assigned tasks but I had my textbook and lots of time to read it. Luckily for me, you can no longer escape the internet. Literally everywhere we stayed had internet access. I completed the first assignment while sipping a cup of joe at the Grand Canyon cafe....AMAZING!!!Throughout the rest of the trip I continued to log on whenever I could; usually in my hotel room after a good days sightseeing. Vegas was great, in Hollywood we got to attend a taping of the very funny Late Show with Craig Ferguson among other things and while in San Fransisco we even took a fascinating tour of Alcatraz. All in all a great trip but the icing on the cake was that because of the simple and easy way this course is presented, I did not fall behind on any of the assignments.
English 150 was a new experience for me in two ways. Not only was it the first university/college credit course I have ever taken, it's also the first online based course I've ever completed. After registering, I was both excited and nervous about what I had gotten myself into. It had been nearly 8 years since I had graduated high school and aside from completing a few self paced math courses to upgrade my dismal marks, the most educational thing I had done since was a silly online aptitude test. The marks I had earned in high school english were not very flattering and the idea of writing anything more than a post card greeting was unsettling to say the least. But when we were asked to set up a blog I thought "What a brilliant idea." and the fact that the first assignments were summarizations of short stories was extremely beneficial to me because it brought me back to high school book report mode and had me brushing up on my pre-existing writing skills.
I also loved the discussion board; thinking about the questions and reading my classmates opinions was fantastic. I found that when I wasn't quite sure about my own approach and thoughts, reading someone elses perspective often helped me to look at the question from a new perspective.
The schedule and checklist were both brilliant and extremely helpful in tracking my progress. Also the dropbox made it incredibily easy to submit my completed assignments. I really appreciated Laurie's timely responses to any of the questions that were asked in the general discussion thread and it was really cool to see everyone reading eachothers responses and commenting.
I don't really have anything negative to say about this course. I loved the delivery method and structure and would not hesitate to enroll in another online course offered. In fact I think I may just sign up for English 160 online this very day.
Thank you - Its been a blast
Richard
For this week's blog entry (#10), I'd like you to write a reflection on your learning in the class this term. What was the most valuable thing you learned or discovered? Which was your favourite of the readings? Least favourite? Was there anything you wish we had covered or spent more time on?
