What can you do to gain personal ownership over a course? To gain flexibility in your schedule? Ian Law has found the solution! As a 4th year Bachelor of Commerce student with a focus on Accounting & Transportation and Logistics, Ian has a lot on his plate. In order to gain flexibility in arranging his personal and extra-curricular schedule, while maximizing his study time, he opted to take an elective via distance education.
Ian Law is taking EOSC 315: The Ocean Ecosystem by distance education. This course is about Marine Biology and Ecology. Through discussions on ocean evolution, primary producers, and their links to the environment, this course introduces students to life in our oceans. Ian explains, “the course format follows a course guide… with the three assignments of short reflection questions to be posted and handed in online.” In addition, students are expected to complete a research project at the end of the course. There are imposed deadlines to meet for these assignments, which serve as reminders to students to stay on top of their studies.
Ian shared his views on what the differences are between online and on-campus courses. “The major differences between the two are that students need to be even more proactive in following the schedule and meeting deadlines. As there are no set meeting times, students need to take charge.” This need for proactive behaviour is a good lesson for students to learn while still in their post secondary education, as it’s an essential skill for excelling in any career.
Unlike what some may think, this distance education course does not remove student to student and student to instructor interaction. Ian’s primary form of interaction with classmates is through the discussion forums on Vista. Ian notes, “with the professor, we were able to discuss class topics and issues through email.” The dynamic interaction tools utilised through WebCT Vista, like specialized discussion boards and email allows for in-depth discussion with the luxury of filing away responses for later reference.
Ian views the advantages of taking a distance course to be, “added flexibility, reduced commuting times, and more personal ownership of the course.” Notably his mention of personal ownership of a course can be what encourages students to gain a more concrete understanding of their material as well as a stronger commitment to completing the course demands. The benefits Ian gained from his distance course are evident; “I enjoy learning at my own pace – so instead of having professors tell me when I need to learn something or being restricted to specific times, I have the flexibility of my own learning.” It appears that a distance course is a great alternative to on-campus coursework if you are an individual who prefers to learn at your own pace and around your own schedule. For him, this benefit of distance courses has allowed him to “learn at the most optimal time and schedule coursework around [his] other commitments.” Ian has embraced distance learning and used it to add convenience and flexibility to his undergraduate time at UBC.
Ian has also completed MUSC 103: An Introduction to Music Theory, ENGL 321: English Grammar and Usage, EOSC 310: The Earth and the Solar System, and COMM 486W: Business Writing via distance education.