Okay I know it seems strange for a guy who is all about distance education to write about the negative aspects of learning online, but for the sake of fairness sometimes it is necessary to look at the bad side of learning as well as the good.  After all it is important to make a well-informed decision when considering going back to college.  If you choose to become an online student sooner or later you will note some of the pitfalls, traps and shortcomings of learning online.  Personally it is my belief that you should go into the decision informed and with fore knowledge of struggles you may face.

So without further ado:

1.) A feeling of detachment and/or loneliness.  Often times a distance education student will not feel part of the school by which they are earning their degree.  I have experienced this myself at Southwestern College.  The school is a private, campus-based college with colorful newsletters highlighting student life, showcasing beautiful pictures of the campus and there was even a forum by which students could post questions to the College’s administration.  However online students really didn’t really have any representation in the literature or forums of the school other than what was provided on Blackboard.  To make matters worse going online to the bookstore to order a tee-shirt or something would inevitably lead to a phone call the next day stating that they cannot process your order because the bookstore didn’t update their page with current stock.  Instead you had to kind of blindly guess at what they did have and didn’t have at the moment making you feel just that much more out of touch.  Often times as an online student you just feel alone and detached.  Kind of like you are in an individual struggle and that you will make it or lose it by your will and determination alone.  Though this isn’t true at all, it may be a feeling that you experience as I did when working for years on a degree online, where there is little to no tangible gain as you progress.  Especially when the school is primarily geared towards campus based students and the online college is just an extension of a greater overall mission.  Ironically however upon graduation, being able to walk around a campus and meeting dozens if not over a hundred of my fellow online graduates led me to feel an unbreakable attachment and source of pride in my school that I had not previously experienced.  The very fact that there was this living, breathing organization that I was now a permanent part of, that I could see and touch just led me to a sense of belonging.  Meeting people that had experienced what I had experienced only bolstered the feeling of belonging.  Of course the faculty and staff made sure that we graduates experienced this even to the point of lining the halls and applauding us as we walked to our seats.  The very thing that can cause you to feel isolated during the process can also lead you to feeling a part of an overall larger picture upon graduation, in my case it was the campus itself that I had never seen.  I arrived a stranger and left as a part of a family.

2.) Distractions.  It is so easy to be distracted when you are not expected to show up to class.  All of a sudden hundreds of “more important” things will pop up that you have to take care of and before you know it, you are hopelessly behind.  You absolutely must be self-disciplined and be pragmatic enough to say “no” when you have to.  I know that at home we often have more distractions than anywhere else.  We have kids, spouses, chores, internet, television, video games, our hobbies, books we enjoy, cooking, cleaning, shopping, etc.  You have to cut things out of your life to go to school online, period.  Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.  Look at your life, is it full?  Can you cut back on anything or cut anything out altogether?  If you cannot, you will not be successful online.

3.) Fatigue.  I have found that the only way to stave off fatigue as an online student is to stick to a rigid schedule.  If you do not, you will get behind.  If you get behind by the time you catch up you will be behind on the following week’s work and it will become a exhausting cycle of stress inducing, sleep depriving and relationship busting work.  Once you become fatigued as a student online it can literally take months to recover if you do not get a break between classes.  Avoiding fatigue is no joke when you make this type of commitment so beware this potentially fatal pitfall.  Many students who hit the wall and take a “break” never come back.  

4.) A feeling of being overwhelmed.  Learning new things can be exhilarating yet stressful.  Wonderful and altogether overwhelming.  Most of the feeling of being overwhelmed is how you react emotionally to the stress of being forced to learn something new within a predetermined time frame.  I have felt it, you likely will to.  After a while though you just have to learn to control your emotions and not let them control you.  A feeling of being overwhelmed can spoil the experience for you, sabotage your work, destroy your schedule and quickly lead to our #1 enemy, fatigue.  Find ways to relax and calm down.  Learn to embrace change.  That sounds kind of corny but it is against our nature (for most of us anyway) to embrace change but it is absolutely vital for you to do just that.

5.) Venting.  Being an online student does not mean that you are free of the stresses that classroom students experience.  But it does mean that you are likely not going to have the same sort of outlet that your campus based peers will have like standing in the hallways after class complaining about the enormity of an assignment, or how your last grade was unfair, etc.  Instead you will likely complain to your spouse, who will quickly tire of it.  Then you may try your friends and coworkers who will likely tire of it just as quickly.  It’s not that they don’t care, it’s just that most of them cannot relate or just do not share your feelings.  Sooner or later you will have to find an alternate manner of venting and “letting go” of some of the pressure that can build up.  I find that forums like eLearners provide or blogging helps a lot more than I could ever explain.  Once you’ve experienced what I’m talking about, this will make more sense.  By the way, do not fall for the temptation of complaining on the discussion boards on Blackboard in your classes.  Trust me, it will not come off like you intended.  

Add to: