Is It Just Me?

[KindlySpirit88]

I am on my second semester at UMPI- YourPace and I find that some of the professors have a hard time with online teaching vs traditional classroom teaching.

For example.... my biology professor wants us to spend 45 min outside in nature taking photos to identify the biome for one of the milestones. It is the dead middle of winter, we just had a snowstorm where I live, and also it gets dark when I get off work at 5pm. That kind of assignment doesn't make sense for an online course that is supposed to be geared toward working adults.

I had a journalism professor ( Dr. J and the girls ), who was not coherent in her assignments. For example, before the first milestone all of the activities talked about AP style writing and how to do an interview but for the milestone, the assignment was to write an article and when I wrote the article the whole thing was wrong, but she never taught us how to do that assignment. It is not a good use of someone's time to have to keep doing assigments over because she lacks instructions.

If I weren't a transfer student and so close to a degree, I would leave this school. Some of the assignments the professors want doesn't make practical sense for an online course. 

Has anyone else had this issue?

[LevelUP]

Did you say biology?

[KindlySpirit88]

Did you say biology?

Okay, so her class is just ridiculous. Rodger that!

[bjcheung77]

Ouch, I guess it was for BIO 105? It was highly recommended to take the Sophia.org plus lab instead of this class... Furthermore, you should review the WIKI for the degree plans to transfer as many as 90+ credits into the degree program and only take classes that can't be transferable towards the degree residency requirements.  You should fill in the addendum and template, follow the WIKI for degree plans, create a spreadsheet for reference and tracking purposes, share the spreadsheet with us by making it viewable and not editable in your google/one drive.  We can comment on the classes and recommend changes if needed...

Take your time reviewing posts, threads, evaluations, spreadsheets, WIKI, and go accordingly with a plan in place.
Addendum & Template: https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...Area-works
UMPI Gen Ed & Plan Links: https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Category:UMPI

[RJ77]

I can't speak for UMPI, but I took an art class at TESU that required us to visit an art museum or gallery and then post about the experience for one of the classroom discussions. So field-trip type assignments aren't completely unheard of in these online schools.

[OldLadyScholar]

...For example.... my biology professor wants us to spend 45 min outside in nature taking photos to identify the biome for one of the milestones. It is the dead middle of winter, we just had a snowstorm where I live, and also it gets dark when I get off work at 5pm. That kind of assignment doesn't make sense for an online course that is supposed to be geared toward working adults.

If I weren't a transfer student and so close to a degree, I would leave this school. Some of the assignments the professors want doesn't make practical sense for an online course. 

Has anyone else had this issue?...

Hello! I am currently surviving this biology class. I am in California and we just had that rain system come through and quite frankly I was very worried that the nature reserves near me would 1. gone 2. roads blocked by mud slides or 3. habitat flooded. I emailed the professor and she was very understanding. I think somewhere in the instructions it says something about weather permitting, so I'd email the professor. Also, within a week it was warm and sunny (it is California after all) and my son went with me as I ran around trying to take pictures of fleeing animals. lol I finished the assignment just fine (though it was quite terrifying... the area has rattlesnakes). Good luck! 

[OldLadyScholar]

***An aside... obviously I need to figure out how to quote. Sorry for any confusion.

[ss20ts]

We've said for many years not to take science courses at UMPI, but instead to take them from anywhere else. Sophia's currently are the easiest and most online friendly with virtual labs.

Many of the courses at UMPI and other online programs were not actually created by the person teaching the course. Quite often they have very little say - if any - in the course material and the assignments unfortunately. Most of the time, they're just there as graders and nothing else unfortunately for all involved.

[LevelUP]

It's not just the course is hard, the course takes a LONG time to do, sometimes the full 8-week term.  If you don't finish, you get an F. It's a DFW trap.

[bjcheung77]

Hmm... What's a DFW trap? Dallas-Fort-Worth? DegreeForum Website? Haha, I just don't really know what those three letters stand for...