Saturday, June 24, 2006

A Break in Degree

Got a few days ahead in my "Just Barely Acredited Master's Degree Online Program" so I have some time to play.

• Cruising websites I found someone who wanted to post a picture of themselves, but didn't want it to be of themselves.

I can only ask "why?"

• And post this lovely "Pearls" (a strip I either get completely or find wildly boring) strip about my online existence (or lack thereof):



hey, the guy's computer is one of those nifty all in one Macs. Money is of no importance.

• And then some lyrics I know I must have post-posted before this post. From the brilliant early, Sugar, one of the many bands the cranky Bob Mould has complained in. Oddly, this is written by a different band member:

Wilhelmina remained convinced that her relief was waiting beyond
The suburban half-life she loathed from the shadows
She didn't know which way to turn until the carnival of freaks passed her by
And whisked her away to where diamonds are halos

Every little bit helps. Believe me
Every little bit helps. Believe me
Every little bit helps. Please help me.
Release me.

• At some point I need to post all my reactions to the online education deal.... I still have, saved, everything from the worst online undergraduate class ever and I think it's worth posting. And the Master's has been interesting. Very few real "teaching moments" in this program (OK, only three classes in). The communal teaching in a classroom cannot be over-valued. An instructor can make, on the fly, comments that touch every student's learning experience. Similarly, mistakes or triumphs of other students are out there and real.

Online, most responses are personal, so the class does not get the advantage of them. Also, in the two programs I've been in, there has been very little response to assignments. I get back grades, and occasional summaries of where I am and what I should be doing, but nothing like the extensive responses I got to papers at Cal, or even in high school.

I wonder if online instructors are paid less?

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