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distance learning question...?

i hope to do a distance learning degree and would like to know few questions about it. so if anyone here has done a DL degree online please explain to me do you have to self study throughout the course or do you take private tuition if available in your area for difficult subjects? did you self study throughout? or got any help from anyone? could you finish it on time? like if the degree was 3 years could u finish in 3 years or did it take longer or shorter than u expected? which institute or website did you use? what are good reference websites available on the net free? any other advice would be appreciated thanks

Public Comments

1. There are many different courses, offered by different institutes, and each works differently: some encourage online participation in forums, chat etc., in others you just get a reading list, a set of notes and and an assignment. Some involve a small number of f2f sessions with your tutor, but these are becoming increasingly rarer, as the internet becomes more widespread as a delivery mode. Doing an online / distance course is often challenging, as you will be responsible for setting your own pace, and it's easy to get distracted by more pressing everyday things. Support is not always available (although in some cases it may actually be easier to contact an online tutor, than a busy professor in campus), and many students tend to feel isolated from the rest of the academic community. That's why many students don't graduate from DL courses, or take a longer time than they had originally thought. It is always a good idea to set up a "study group" with other students from the same area, even if they are not taking the exact same course. Many colleges encourage this practice and offer support.
2. I have not taken a distance learning degree. But because a class was not offered during a time I could take it, I took a class on line. You meet in a "virtuial class-room". We had assignments we had to turn in on time...or earlier. We took tests on line, except the final...where I had to go to the school and take the final there. I got help from other students...on line. If I had tough questions I would seek out the professor by e-mail for further instructions. I lived close to the CC, so I would also go there and study. The pros of this type of degree or study is that you can do it at home...that is also the problem. Unless you have developed excellent study habits...it would be easy to just let things go. Because this was almost the last class credit for me...I had already established great study skills and applied them to this class. I treated it like a regular classroom study. I was always ahead of the materials, and the assigned readings. I turned everything in ahead of time. I got a 3.9 for the course. I graduated with a 3.7 GPA. What ;you will miss is the ability to ask questions in a classroom. Getting help with other classmates by studying together, and actually doing work in the school libarary. They say that your study time improves by doing it on campus. I have heard that an on-line degree is looked upon by employees as being "inferior" to an actual college campus. I hope this helps...and I wish you well. By the way...I promised myself, I would never, ever take another class, "On-line".
3. I did my Masters in Counseling through Texas Tech and am doing my degree Masters in Educational and Instructional design so I am really interested in this list. We actually have work on a web blackboard, but we study alone or in groups depending on who is willing to do wsaht. I finished ahead of time. I used california virtual campus when I did my degree online in sociology at chico state, chico, california I just used grad class but do not know the website, but will post it as I find them.