Story Time: Why I Love Online School

-I'm talking even prior to the pandemic.

My undergraduate education was unenthusiastic, to put it mildly. I quite literally played "eeny, meeny, miny, moe" and picked what I thought would be a good major for myself: advertising. I was very wrong. When I say I learned close to nothing, I mean it. I took a slew of courses where I studied and memorized facts from textbooks, took exams and passed, but really didn't retain much. In fact, I got away with barely attending college at all; I became so disinterested that I only showed up for midterms and final exams. I skipped classes and saw my professors about two times each, and they never even knew I was gone the rest of the time. I felt like a cheat who got a degree. I was also deeply disappointed that I commuted so much initially, plus paid so much money for what I thought was a subpar education.

Long story short, I worked for a bit and decided to go back to school. This time, I would go back to study what deeply interested me: teaching. -Plus, I would do it all online. A couple of decades ago, online learning was barely a thing. In fact, I was one of the first cohorts of graduates from USC's Master's in Teaching program that was fully online. Let me tell you--it was incredible. It was beyond incredible. Coming from someone who gets bored far too easily, I couldn't believe how much I loved going to class...and guess what? I never skipped one. My professors knew who I was. They talked to me in each and every class. I knew my classmates. It was a polar opposite experience from my undergraduate at a state college. I learned SO MUCH. The accountability was there, the communication was there, the bonding was there, and so was the inspiration.

I knew then and there that I wanted to teach online. Not too long after my teaching career began, I did. I got hired to work at a university in a teacher preparation program where I taught future teachers how to teach. The ironic part? This university's program was inspired by the highly acclaimed USC program I graduated from. The President was so impressed with what USC did online, they designed an entire university program influenced by USC's, and that program was so successful, it was featured in Forbes Magazine.

That is reason enough for me to be a super fan of online learning, because for many, it works--and it works really well. Education is so individual and there's not a one-size-fits-all option, but for learners and teachers like me, there couldn't be a better fit. I couldn't hide in the corner of the classroom hoping not to be noticed, or decide to not participate; I was present and engaged. Not to mention, it allowed me to work and balance my life outside of school. I saved hundreds of hours of commute time and learned more instead.

As an instructor, I know how important it is to engage students because once upon a time, I was a disengaged student. That's why I love online learning and teaching so much, and want to offer the same experience to learners of all ages.