Kelly See, who completed her online master’s degree in special education about two years ago through Emporia State University, has experienced both the flexibility that online education provides and the self-discipline it requires.
“Even though you’re really tired at the end of the day, the perk of it is that you get to do it in your pajamas late at night, but you have to be motivated enough to get the work done,” says the 36-year-old Kansas special education teacher. “You have to be a strong, motivated student.”
In addition to understanding these aspects of online learning, experts say those pursuing the education field should be aware of the rigor of many online programs.
“It’s certainly not easier than attending face to face, in terms of engaging with the content,” says Tom Dana, a professor and associate dean for academic affairs in the College of Education at the University of Florida, which offers various online education master’s and doctoral degrees.
[Learn what to ask about flexibility in online degree programs.]
Of the most popular graduate online fields of study, education and teaching are third, following business and computers and IT, according to a 2016 survey published by Aslanian Market Research and the Learning House.
Here’s what online students might encounter in an online graduate program in education in terms of assignments, learning styles and student interaction.
1. Discussion board conversations: Discussion boards that foster conversation among students are common in online graduate education programs, though the extent to which faculty incorporate them into the curriculum varies, experts say.
Some faculty “set them up around different topics, so they can be for a week, for a few weeks, a unit, or they can be for the whole year,” says Gerald LeTendre, a Pennsylvania State University professor of educational leadership who also teaches online graduate courses at Penn State–World Campus.
Natalie B. Milman, associate professor of educational technology at George Washington University’s Graduate School of Education and Human Development, says she sometimes requires students to facilitate conversations on discussion boards, while in other instances, she poses the question for students to answer.
[Discover five ways to ace discussion board assignments in online classes.]
2. Group work: Experts say those who enroll in online graduate education programs might need to virtually collaborate with classmates, though the frequency can vary depending on the instructor and the course material.
In some of GWU’s online graduate courses in educational technology leadership, 90 to 100 percent of the curriculum involves group work, says Milman. Other classes might be more of a mix of individual and collaborative assignments, she says.
“I feel like I did more group work online, and I probably enjoyed it more online than if I were to do it in a face-to-face classroom,” says Jessica Levene, who earned an education master’s degree online through the University of Central Florida and then her doctorate online through the University of Florida.
Lucas Siebenmorgen, who earned two master’s degrees in education online through Emporia State and is an assistant principal at a Kansas high school, says for one group assignment, he and another student had to develop opposing arguments on the question of whether students should be allowed to retake tests. Then they wrote a joint paper on the subject.
3. Various types of assessments: Many faculty in online graduate education programs assess students through a range of assignments and projects, experts say, and some are more likely than others to give exams, depending on the content.
[Explore three ways online students might take exams.]
At Penn State–World Campus, for instance, assessments might include papers, blog posts and capstone projects with video components, LeTendre says.
Meanwhile, some Auburn University faculty who teach online graduate education courses give students tests at the end of each unit, says Susan Bannon, an associate professor and director of Auburn’s Learning Resources Center.
She says others might depend mainly on project-based learning, giving students constant feedback on a large-scale project over the course of a semester. During Milman’s Developing Multimedia Materials online class at GWU, for instance, students design online modules for actual clients.
4. Self-paced learning: As is the case in a lot of fields, many students pursuing an online graduate degree in education are working adults based around the world who turn to online education for its flexibility, experts say. Students enrolling in an online graduate education program should, in many cases, anticipate self-paced learning.
For example, Dana from the University of Florida says the school’s online programs as a whole are about 80 percent asynchronous, meaning students complete coursework according to their own schedules, and 20 percent synchronous, or live, requiring attendance at a certain time.
Still, there’s room for synchronous learning in some courses, depending on the content, says Bannon. For some online courses in education, Auburn faculty combine live and self-paced instruction.
“I find that gives them an opportunity to, for one thing, meet their peers kind of face to face in a way,” Bannon says.
Trying to fund your online education? Get tips and more in the U.S. News Paying for Online Education center.
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What to Expect Out of an Online Graduate Program in Education originally appeared on usnews.com
