What does it mean when it says arranged in the class schedule?

11/13/2009 6:26:38 PM

you arrange when you want to have class

11/13/2009 8:20:50 PM

really?^

11/13/2009 11:13:57 PM

the class either doesn't have a set schedule, only meets a few times, that will be told to you by the instructor, or it's a DE course that you do on your own.

what class is it?

11/14/2009 12:32:18 AM

eng 331

11/14/2009 11:20:07 AM

for eng 331 it means it's done online

[Edited on November 14, 2009 at 11:48 AM. Reason : it's online, but not "Distance Ed"]

11/14/2009 11:48:16 AM

oh well that is cool I guess. It will save me a trip to main campus.

11/14/2009 6:24:50 PM

i took it online. easy class.

11/14/2009 9:03:41 PM

I get the feeling that most of my fellow MEs would prefer to take it online. I did. I had Helo-Gonzalez. She's really nice!

Only thing to get used to (if you don't take online classes often) is the amount of sifting through the instructor's website. I know Helo-Gonzalez' assignments had us reading pages and pages on her websites at various links and downloading all kinds of word docs and pdfs for each assignment. Useful class, I just wish they'd organize it a little more!

[Edited on November 15, 2009 at 10:57 AM. Reason : extra info]

11/15/2009 10:55:28 AM

I didn't mean to sign up for the online class. It says it has a classroom but it says arranged under time?

[Edited on November 15, 2009 at 11:40 AM. Reason : .]

11/15/2009 11:36:10 AM

so is it like "eng 331-601"?

cause thats online

11/15/2009 12:00:04 PM

yea it is ^ so will this be harder than the regular class?

11/15/2009 4:56:23 PM

yeah bro.

imagine trying to teach yourself a class with zero help

I'm AstralAdvent and i approved this message.

11/15/2009 6:47:03 PM

yeah i was kinda getting that impression.

11/15/2009 8:03:08 PM

that's not necessarily the case. There could be plenty of class and instructor interaction through moodle or vista. And instructors still hold office hours, just like a regular class. Neither online nor distance ed. courses are meant to be independent study. I've taken all three at state, huge difference between the first two and the latter. Independent study courses require you and a supervising instructor to determine what you will do for the course and how you will be assessed, and then you do it entirely on your own. With maybe a little help during their office hours. HUGE difference there.


I think for some courses, online is definitely more difficult in some ways. For others, it's considerably easier. Like every other class, it varies for each course and each individual instructor. Another thing to consider is whether or not you actually care if you learn the material. Some material is just easier to learn in a group setting (at least for some people). Some of the difficulty for some online courses comes from whether or not you'll devote the necessary amount of time to the course. When there's no set time for class, this can be challenging for some.


I've taken several online classes. Some require a shit-ton of reading and posting short answer and essay stuff online. And typically you have to go through the responses of others and post follow ups to what they had to say. Some instructors are retarded about it and make you respond to everyone. That is extremely time-consuming, so most people post half-ass responses. Which doesn't do anyone any good. Others tell you to pick 2-3 and post thoughtful responses. Some courses also require actual class meetings on occasion. The last online course i took was a grad class and there were 2 of these for the class in general and then 4 which were group presentations led by the individual groups. It was required for us to attend these. I think you could miss one. Everyone gets online at the same time through an app that allows you to hear each other and talk, it has a shared space that users can write in, etc. It's very interactive.

On the other hand, some just require you to make a post once a week and then take an online quiz/test every now and then. Latin American history with Slatta was like this (online). It was possibly the easiest grade I've ever "earned." We had a 10-15 question quiz each week (which took 15-20 minutes to do with the book and google in front of you) and a short essay to submit. You didn't have to read anyone else's work or anything like that. The quizes were due on tuesdays and the essays on thursdays. I think I spent about an hr on this class each week, maybe 2 once.


NeuseRvrRat said ENG331 was an easy online class. Look up the grade distribution stats for the class. Or just ask him what the course entailed.

11/15/2009 9:02:28 PM

you don't really learn anything new in this class. there's nothing to "teach" yourself. if i had've taken this class in a traditional format, i honestly have no idea what the teacher could've lectured on. it was just like "communicate clearly, follow this format." that's really all there was to it. if you can effectively convey an idea with words and copy a memo format out of a book, then you can pass this class.

i had it with Sarah Egan-Warren. we had to post some mindless banter to the discussion board each week. we had one or two easy online quizzes. we had about 5 individual assignments. you could submit a draft early, get feedback, make the changes, and get an A on all of those. there were a couple group assignments that my group did over AIM. they were extremely easy. there was a group project at the end that my group never even met for and we got an A. for the final individual project, all i did was reformat a report i had turned in at work the past summer and turn it in.

[Edited on November 16, 2009 at 12:11 AM. Reason : an engineering student has much more important things to worry over than ENG 331]

11/16/2009 12:04:33 AM

that class was an easy BS class, you have nothing to worry about.

11/16/2009 9:13:51 AM

i was being 100% sarcastic when i said that.

well 90% some of my regular classes have better videos than the online classes i've taken, then again the only classes i'm taking are easy as fuck and maybe i just think the videos are worst because i have 0 interest in the topic


I'm AstralAdvent and i think its time for a smiley change

11/16/2009 10:57:42 AM

No - the class should Not be harder just because it is online. On the contrary, most online courses I took in college were a joke. I was a Business major and had to take ENG 332. I havent read the thread so you may have addressed this but I think ENG 331 is Communications for Engineering majors or something like that. You should have around 10 assignments. The assignments should look like this;

1. email the teacher
2. create a resume
3. create a cover letter
4. create a powerpoint presentation

Seriously. They are that easy. I can understand why your a little hesitant because of this being an online class but for real, your fine as long as you turn your assignments in on time. Also, from my experience, the people who struggled with these assignments were mostly old people going back to finish their degrees. If your competent with a computer you will get an A for sure.

11/16/2009 7:36:05 PM

Thanks for the input and insights. I wasn't sure what it would be like but now I am feeling like it is almost a waste of time. It will count towards my degree so that will make it worth the money if nothing else.

11/17/2009 5:17:59 PM