Should I go DL or B&M?

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by June, Mar 21, 2004.

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  1. June

    June New Member

    I'm looking for some advice/perspective from the folks here in choosing between the following:

    1. Full-time B&M BA in journalism (at Western Washington University), or

    2. distance BA from Northeastern Illinois U, concurrent with a series of internships and volunteer projects.

    My background, aside from the myriad crappy secretarial jobs I'd rather not talk about, is in magazine publishing, freelance writing and graphic design.

    I have the luxury of time, since both my kids are in school (I'm an at-home mom/part time cc student). But I'm not in a position to work full-time because of all the time off the kids get.

    I'm leaning toward option two, because it'll net me real-world connections and experience, and, I have to admit, it just sounds like more fun than sitting in class. For instance, this quarter I'm taking my cc classes online so I can work on an inventory of the county historical museum archives. But I worry that I'm passing up the chance for a "real" education.

    Any thoughts?
     
  2. Han

    Han New Member

    Not sure what you mean by this last sentence? What are you worried you will miss specifically?
     
  3. June

    June New Member

    What I'm worried about missing is the class discussions, the social aspects, the shared experience with alumni ("Hey, did you have Smith for history? Was he a jerk, or what?"). I don't know if those things are important or not, because I haven't experienced them. But I've always felt inadequate for not having a degree. I don't want to feel inadequate about how I get one. Maybe I should spend my tuition money on therapy, instead. :p

    I do know that my classes at the community college weren't very satisfying. I did not enjoy my class discussions with teenage airheads.
     
  4. anthonym

    anthonym New Member

    I learned much more in my DL classes than I ever did in traditional classes for this reason and never once felt I was missing anything.
     
  5. adireynolds

    adireynolds New Member

    In most online classes these days, the opportunity for meaningful discussions and social interaction is quite strong. A lot of this depends on the facilitation efforts of the class instructor. I just finished two online classes at Capella U., and while one of them didn't have much interaction, in the other I felt I got to know my classmates very well, better, in fact, than in many b&m classes.

    I think you'd find a more mature, hard-working group of classmates through DL. You can't be the "typical teenage airhead" and survive long in the DL environment -- it takes a lot of self-discipline. One other great plus to DL is that most of your classmates would also be working, and so would bring in interesting experiences and perspectives into the class discussions (as opposed to students straight out of high school that haven't learned much yet).

    It sounds, to me, like you'd really enjoy and benefit from a DL degree. A DL education is just as "real" as a b&m one -- different delivery format, different pedagogy, but still worthwhile education.

    Just my two cents,
    Adrienne
     
  6. Professor Kennedy

    Professor Kennedy New Member

    Hi

    What passes for 'real education' is often an illusion. Interaction is always a minority experience in any campus class. You can test this by keeping a diary (by minutes) spent interacting with other students and (rarer) faculty. Any group more than five cannot interact optimally. Some will speak more than others, and the majority is silent.

    People also learn passively. Our research shows that people learn differently, adults particularly have different learning styles.

    The 'campus experience' is strange - fopr some it brings back pleasant memories, for others the opposite, for those in the middle it is forgetable.

    Distance teaching is not distance learning. In DL all the different learning modes have to be present and substitutable. In this I agree with Adrienne.
     
  7. Michael Lloyd

    Michael Lloyd New Member

    If going full time to WWU is one of your options, then I assume you must live in the Bellingham area. Particularly if you are looking to parlay this into a job somewhere in the Pacific Northwest or in Bellingham, I suspect the B&M route at WWU would better meet your needs. Doing distance work from a university in Illinois will not get you any local contacts or networking.

    Regards,

    Michael Lloyd
    Mill Creek, Washington USA
     
  8. GUNSMOKE

    GUNSMOKE New Member

    A very personal very individual descision!

    DL is NOT for everyone!

    To do it well and actually accomplish something, you need a great deal of maturity, a high level of commitment, and a whole lot of self-discipline.

    I think if you are a stong individualist, a self-starter, independant your chances of pulling it off is probably better than average. If you need a whole lot of support, the classroom is probably a better choice.

    I suspect your ideas about combining your independant studies with volunteer work, and internships is a great plan and will provide you with lots of great networking opportunities as well as the opportunity to apply theory to practice and vice-versa.

    Why not try a moderate DL course load for six months or so and if you find its not working, tranfer into B&M. You can always combine a lower course load with voluteer and internships there too.

    Good luck and best wishes for your success, and please keep us posted on your progress and experiences!

    :cool:
     
  9. oko

    oko New Member

    Honestly speaking I am learning and making friends more in my online classes than I ever made in my B & M experiences ( I have lots of it). More than 50% of my program classes are (will be) live (real time) with professor doing the teaching and interacting with other students. Even those that are CD ROM with threaded discussions there are still ample opportunities to make friends with classmates. I have made friends with classmates online that have resulted in home phone, private email exchanges and more.
    Education (online or B&M) is sometimes what you make of it.

    The choice is yours. The value of the education is the same. The mode of delivery is not important. The quality is what counts. Good luck.

    oko
     
  10. Tracy Gies

    Tracy Gies New Member

    I think it was Mark Twain who said he never let school interfere with his education. You and he may be in the same boat. No matter what you decide, the internships and volunteer projects may be the only "real" education you could ever hope to receive.

    As for the more social aspects of the classroom (such as discussions, either on- or off- topic) you probably won't miss them because it has been your experience that they are mostly pointless. Really, a DL course with asynchronous discussion in some ways is superior to classroom discussion. No one gets left out, and you can probably participate more often and more effectively than you can in the classroom.
     
  11. DaveHayden

    DaveHayden New Member

    Hi June

    I guess my experience has been quite a bit different than others. I definately enjoy the independence and self-pacing of DL courses. At the same time, I desperately miss the in-class discussion and interactions. WebCT does NOT support the same indepth discussions that I have always had in class.

    At the CC it was mix of younger and older students which worked well. The University I am attending now has an average age of 37 and we get into great discussions that add a great deal to the depth of the class. I will be taking my first DL class there this term so it will be interesting to see if they can carry that over to the online class.

    If I was in your shoes I would be looking at WWU as my first choice. Whatever choice you make I hope it works out well for you!
     
  12. Bill Hurd

    Bill Hurd New Member

    Re: Re: Should I go DL or B&M?

    I tend to agree with Tracy. I have done both (DL and B&M), and found that the shy learners quickly lose that shyness in threaded discussions.

    I am teaching business courses (to adults) at a local university, and find that regardless of the techniques I utilize, some of the clams remain clams. However, macroeconomics isn't the most exciting thing to get into.

    Bill Hurd
     
  13. dis.funk.sh.null

    dis.funk.sh.null New Member

    Hi June,

    I have two engineering degrees from a B&M university and I am pursuing my MBA through an online program. I have taken two courses so far and am loving it! I chose the online interactive feature through which I get to interact with my class-fellows in discussions and the faculty is more than ready to guide me if I encounter any problem in the courses. Personally, I would have not have learnt as much in the B&M courses as I have through the DL ones.

    I think that getting "real" education is something that is up to you, regardless of whether you go through a DL or B&M program. More importantly, your work (and hands-on) experience is something that will be of value and will supplement your higher education/knowledge.

    Also, if you are eager to participate in classroom discussions, then I'd suggest you go for an online university that has the online interactive feature... a conventional DL (correspondence by snail-mail/courier) will not be suitable in that case, nor would be the online-independent mode of study.

    regards :)


     
  14. Jack Tracey

    Jack Tracey New Member

    Don't look now, but these same airheads will be your classmates in the 4 year school. Your internships are where you will make connections, meet your peers, etc. I generally agree with Prof. Kennedy. You should consider your personal learning style more than anything else. Some people need the structure of the classroom to optimize their learning. Others need the independence of DL. What works best for you?
    Jack
     
  15. SJEditor

    SJEditor New Member

    If your goal is to someday launch a full-time career in journalism, I would give strong consideration to the bricks and motor program.

    I went through a b&m journalism program, and distance courses just can't replicate the knowledge gained by having instructors and senior students look over your shoulder while you work. Also top notch was participating in "hell sheets:" weekly programs where the instructor went through assignments and the student-produced newspaper and magazine and praised successes, pointed out holes and missed opportunities, and flamed lameness. So while I'm a great believer in distance ed. (and have a degree that includes a couple of distance courses), I don't think journalism easily lends itself to the process.

    My advice: go b&m, only associate with other serious students (they'll soon be employed at papers across the country), throw yourself into anything that makes to your write and gets you published (student paper, freelancing, etc...), and pursue internships that pay something and let you do work that lead to clips for your stringbook.

    If you enjoy distance ed., save it for courses in history, social studies and mass communications.

    Best of luck,
    Dan
     
  16. June

    June New Member

    I appreciate everyone's input. I should mention that I'm not pursuing a career in journalism. I enjoyed working in magazine publishing, but I now live in a small college town that a)doesn't support many publications and b) is swarming with students who will work for free.

    I just think the journalism department sounds like a painless place to spend two years. It's the major that's most like having a job. I don't really know what I want to be when I grow up (which is pretty sad, given that I'm 40 :eek: )
     
  17. Jack Tracey

    Jack Tracey New Member

    Without wanting to seem too brusque, I'd say that given your statement above, it doesn't really matter what you do. You don't plan on using the degree and don't even know if your (grown up) interests coincide with journalism. So, I'd say, choose the least expensive program available.
    Jack
     
  18. DaveHayden

    DaveHayden New Member

    I would find out as much as possible about each program and then make the choice that feels right. I am not sure you'll find the Journalism program as much like a job as you imagine, but either way you should end up with a nice degree that you can build on. I definately wich you good luck with it!
     

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