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After your last long year of high school, you anticipated vegging out in front of the computer, IMing your best buds all summer long. What you didn't expect, however, was mom and dad hogging the computer to complete their homework e--assignments. After all, you shouldn't be the only one in the family getting a degree, right?

As the 'rents seem content to stare at the green screen and type merrily away, you wonder, "Why can't I get in on this onscreen study deal?" Now you can, because distance education in College is on the rise. According to the United States Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics, 44 percent of two--and four--year colleges offered distance education courses in 1997--98, in contrast to 33 percent in the fall of 1995.

See - you don't need to be 40 to get caught in the web of  

Online learning

 . So get clickin' - after all, this is not your mom's cyber education.

Cyber Flex
In addition to four on--campus classes, Diana Oravec decided to sign up for online classes last fall in Internet design and publishing. Why? Freedom, insists the junior marketing and e-commerce Double major at the University of Toledo (Toledo, OH, www.dl.utoledo.edu).

"I like the flexibility of working on things when I have ideas," explains Diana. And, since she seems to do her best work at night, the online course was ideal. She could log in and complete the text--based coursework at her leisure, as long as she e--mailed her homework modules each Friday and took an online quiz each Sunday.

But Diana admits it's not always simple to stay motivated. "It was easy for me to get into a routine and be busy during the week," she confesses. "I waited until Friday to do all my work. The hard part was disciplining myself."

Cyber Cakewalk?
Diana's not alone on the procrastination path, though. Pritesh Patel, a junior computer science Major at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Blacksburg, VA, www.iddl.vt.edu), found that he didn't take his online entomology course as seriously as he needed to, and ended up doing a lot of work the night before it was due.

"At first I wasn't doing any of my work," confides Pritesh. "Then I found myself cramming." He took the course to fulfill a core requirement, but once he realized it wasn't as easy as he anticipated, he got himself in gear. "You have to devote at least three credits worth of time," he instructs. "Remember, it's still a class - just because it's online doesn't mean it's easy. It's not like you're going to get away with doing no work."

After learning how to balance an online class with a traditional courseload, Pritesh decided to take another one this past summer, a required technical writing class. This time around, though, he was happy to study from the comfort of his New Jersey home, instead of on campus during his summer vacation. "It was nice to work on my own time," he says.

Cyber Pals
While freedom abounds in the online arena, you don't have to Stress about being left completely to your own devices. Even though you may never meet your cyber prof face to face, you can still receive as much or more attention from him or her as you would in your on--campus courses. "I communicated better with my [e--]professor than with professors in a class of 80 students," asserts Diana. "She was so friendly, and she really encouraged me. It's easy to e--mail, and she would e--mail me right back." Pritesh also found his professors "virtually" accessible. "The lifeline to the professor is e--mail," he insists.

Cyber Interaction
Although they maintained positive relationships with their professors, neither Diana nor Pritesh communicated with their classmates, though they had the option of posting notes on the course's online message boards."I didn't really mind it because I'm constantly interacting and busy with other people," claims Diana. "I didn't know anyone in my classes," admits Pritesh, "but [the courses] weren't too difficult, so I didn't need to use the message boards."

On the other hand, Diana recognizes the benefit of having friends to approach for homework help. "I didn't know who people were, so I couldn't turn to them and ask a question," she points out. "I'm not the most computer literate person, so it's difficult if I run into a problem, because I couldn't raise my hand." But with friends around who had already taken her course on campus, she felt her needs were covered.

Cyber Balance
While Diana enjoyed the flexibility of online learning, she wouldn't recommend giving up the campus experience altogether. "I think you would miss out on fun things at college like meeting new people," she remarks. "It's really important to be interacting and communicating. [Exclusive distance learning] takes away from building yourself up for the future."

She does, however, advocate blending online learning with on--campus courses, as she and Pritesh have done. "It's a plus for commuters, and it beats having to get out of bed at 9:30 a.m. if you're not a morning person and that's the only time the course is offered on campus," contends Diana. "Give it a try. College is all about new experiences."



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Robyn Tellefsen is a frequent contributor to The CollegeBound Network. Learn more about finding a school that's right for you.

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