I can't speak for the museum community, but I'm currently finishign up my
MLIS with a concentration in digital iamging in a program that is about
50% online courses.

I think I've gotten a lot out of my online courses, but it depends on how
*you* learn best and the structure and nature of the course.  I've gotten
a lot out of most of my online courses, but I think I've been successful
because I'm used to lots of interaction and communication online already,
and because this is my second Masters and I fully realize that in graduate
school, the learning goes on *outside* the classroom, and the classroom
times are mostly a chance for the professor to answer questions and guide
your learnng a bit before you leave class to dive back into your books and
articles and projects.

Class structure and content can affect it, also: the cataloging class I
took online this summer was (for me) pretty much a failure because it was
jammed into a shorter semester (8 instead of 14 weeks), and the nature of
the class meant that we didn't get a lot of one-on-one with the professor,
which I really needed for this particular topic. On the other hand, my
systems analysis course, my first database course, my reference course,
and my first digital imaging course all worked really well in the online
format.

I know people who took the same classes and had much harder times with
them, though, partially because they were still in the undergraduate mode
of focusing on the class time instead of the outside reading for the
primary learning, and partially because they are naturally more social
than I am and really need more personal contact than I do for effective
learning.

--Stephanie, resubscribing to the list for the first time in six years...

On Thu, 2 Oct 2003, Cecelia Ottenweller wrote:

> Hi All,
>
> I've been watching the discussion of the U.Ok. Program and saw the
> mention that it's 100% online. That's very tempting.
>
> I'd love to know your opinion of the value of an online degree. My
> schooling was all done when online classes were stuff of the far
> future. Does it carry the weight an in-class degree does? For those
> of you who have taken on-line classes, do you feel you got what was
> necessary from the class? I find I benefit a great deal from being in
> a classic classroom setting.
>
> Thanks!
>
> Cecelia Ottenweller
> Content Developer
> Southwest Museum Services
> Houston, TX 77040
> 713-462-7754
>
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