What is online education like, anyway? How does an online class work? I interviewed Angela, a New York City student who tried an online class, to find out about her online learning experience.

Why did you take this online class?

I took the class to beef up my resume and open doors for myself in my current field of publishing. When I started looking for jobs I quickly realized that I was perfect for them in every way, except for one thing: I was lacking HTML skills. By taking an online HTML class, I got total flexibility of time and I could get the knowledge I needed without disrupting my personal and professional life.

In your online learning experience, how much time per week did you study?

The class was broken up into sections and once you completed a section there was a multiple-choice quiz at the end, to test your knowledge of the material. If you didn’t do well on the test, you had the option to go back and re-read the section’s materials and take the quiz again. There was no time limit. So, given that flexibility, the hours I put in each week varied depending on my schedule. The first week I did around 3 hours, the second week around one hour, and the following few weeks I probably spent 4-5 hours studying.

What study environment did you set up for yourself? What study habits worked and what didn’t?

Working at home was really distracting; I found myself emailing, wanting to do dishes, or play online word games with friends rather than read the materials. I had the most success when I Ieft home and went to a coffee shop. It gave me a sense of structure - I knew I was there for the specific purpose of studying and I was also aware of being there for a set amount of time, helping me focus and be productive. Plus, there were fewer distractions at a coffee shop.

Looking back on your online learning experience, what would you do differently next time?

The class was self-facilitated - that is, there was no instructor. I just completed the learning units and took the quizzes one after another on my own. It was definitely not as motivating as an instructor-led class would be. If I take another online class in the future, I’ll choose one that includes an instructor to interact with.

What was most unexpected or most interesting thing you discovered through your online learning experience?

There was an interesting twist in my situation, which was that the very things that attracted me to the class - that it was a non-credit course and that I could work independently and at my own pace - were the same things that made it difficult. That said, the bonus of independent study meant that when I found something particularly challenging, there was no pressure to move forward - I could take as much time as I needed with a concept to really grasp it, which was effective. I had a solid sense that I learned something and that was a great feeling.