Online Education Review

I've taken several online classes throughout my college experience and some of them have run incredibly smoothly while others were much less effective. I like taking online classes because it cuts down on the amount of time that I actually spend in class. As a science major, I take one or two labs each semester, and the majority of them require that I am in class on campus at least 7 hours per week. When I've taken two labs in a semester it doubles, and basically that is really just a lot of time to be in class. I like that online classes give me some freedom in that respect.

One of the biggest problems that I've found with online classes is that some professors of online classes don't seem to make themselves very available, and many don't really spend time into developing a class that is effective and engaging. I think it can be so much harder to be engaged in an online class because there is no face time, and it's really hard to get to know the people in your class, or to get to know you professor. When I struggle to feel engaged in a class, I typically don't do as well/don't learn as much than I do in classes or with professors who really seek to engage you in the material. The other problem that I've noticed in most of my online classes is the lack of feedback. In the majority of the online classes I've taken, when I turn in an assignment, I get a grade, and no type of explanation or feedback into what I've done well, what I did wrong, ways to fix it. It can be really frustrating and makes the class that much harder to succeed in and enjoy.

Something that I've really really loved about this class is the amount of communication. I feel engaged and connected to the people in this class. I've never really felt lost about what to do or wondered how I could improve on something. The feedback in this class really is awesome. I like that we get comments and feedback from both the professor and from our classmates. This class has just been so easy to be engaged in. Each assignment is so clearly laid out and explained, and I have felt like there were resources for every single little thing. Making a website, and setting up a blog could have been really hard and confusing (particularly for me because I am not technology adept) but there really were step by step instructions that were essentially dummy proof, not to mention Laura Gibbs (I feel like I should maybe just say "you" since you're reading this?) is so crazy helpful. It's seriously practically impossible to be confused in this class, and also practically impossible not to enjoy this class. There is so much freedom in this class, but it still manages to be so structured and easy to navigate. Honestly I talk to my sister MacKenzie about how much I love it all of the time (she is still mad that she graduated and can't take your class again) and have recommended this class to everyone that I know.

Please say you've watched Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. If
not, please do so immediately. It's hysterical.

Seriously this class rocks, and is hands down the best, most fun, and most effective online class ever. Honestly its probably just one of the best classes ever in general.

Week 15: OU General Education Review

Michael Scott (honestly do we even need a caption?)

Some of my very favorite classes that I've taken at OU have been to fulfill my gen. ed. requirements. As a science major and particularly as a pre-health student, I basically eat, sleep, and breathe science. Sometimes it literally makes my brain feel like jelly... if anyone else took O Chem II, biochem, microbio and microbio lab all in one semester, you know what I'm talking about. Being surrounded by so much science makes taking classes that are completely opposite of that so refreshing.

I really love european history and  have a particular fascination with ancient Greek culture. Most of my gen. ed humanities courses have been involving those topics. I took European history 1500-1815 with Judith Lewis. AWESOME CLASS. I could literally listen to her talk about history all day long. Her class felt like story time all of the time. I learned so much, and she made the class so enjoyable. Her tests were all essay based which I actually really loved because I felt like I learned more and I was able to express my opinion about so many different events in history, particularly about women's roles in European history. 

I also took Greek Tragedy in English Translation with Ellen Greene. Another totally awesome class with a totally awesome professor. Her class was discussion based, and I loved that I was able to get to know and interact with my classmates. It was really fun to hear other people's interpretations of different pieces of literature, and to understand some of my favorite and also least favorite (looking at you Agamemnon) characters from different points of view. 

This class has been another class that I've loved because there is so much interaction with the other classmates, and I have gotten to read so many different people's versions and interpretations of awesome stories throughout a variety of cultures.

My gen ed experience at OU particularly with humanities courses has been incredibly positive. These classes have been some of my absolute favorites and I feel like I've been able to broaden my horizons and really immerse myself in subjects that are very different from my chosen field. Because I had so much freedom in choosing my classes for my humanities credits, I was able to find classes that really interested me, and ones in which I would feel motivated to learn and participate, and as a result the things I have learned in these classes have and will continue to stick with me.

College Writing Review

As a second semester senior, I have done a LOT of writing throughout the last four years. Because I am a Microbiology major, the writing I do is often tailored specifically to scientific manuscripts. Writing in a class like this one is a lot different than writing for my science classes. Writing in microbiology is governed by an insane amount of rules. Sentences must be kept succinct and detached, practically everything must be cited within the text and in an intensely tedious manner. All of it is very formal, very informative, and really incredibly boring to do (haha, but really).

Most of my labs for my major have been pretty writing intensive, so I've had a LOT of practice with scientific writing. Outside of my major I haven't taken a lot of really intensive writing classes (because all of my other classes are already so intense and I don't fancy the idea of making my class schedule any more miserable than it already typically is, haha). This class and a classics class I took called Greek Tragedy (everyone should take this, Ellen Greene is the best and will change your life) are probably the two classes outside of my major that I have had to write the most for, and I've actually really enjoyed both. It is nice to get to escape from the monotony of science writing and get a chance to explore writing creatively.

I have especially loved this class because it has allowed me to explore and rewrite so many of my favorite stories. I don't often get a chance to be creative like this, so the storybook project has been really exciting, and such an awesome experience. I would love for everyone to have the opportunity to create a storybook like we have in this class. It is such a great way to explore your interests, your creativity, and to learn about stories all over the world.

On another note, I was actually thinking just last week about having a required writing class for science majors. We currently don't have anything like that, which honestly is pretty stupid. Science writing is really hard because there are so many rules, and it has such a distinct style (distant and terse) that most people are not used to writing with. When you have to write your first scientific manuscript, it's really hard, really scary, and you feel completely lost because you've never really learned what to do. Your professors give you a brief little presentation, tell you the title of some microbiology writing standard books, and send you on your way. It's really overwhelming, and not super helpful. I think providing a class that distinctly focuses on how to write science manuscripts, review articles, etc. would be so helpful, and an easy way to increase student success, especially because it is such an important part of classes and the real world of science.

Sheldon Cooper (also RIP Leonard Nimoy)