The Pros and Cons of Taking Online Classes

A lot of posts exist online about the “pros and cons” of taking online classes.  However, these posts seem to be just full of generic information and do not give an actual student’s perspective, but rather a list of common sense facts. For example, one site says you will “experience benefits of learning new technologies and practicing the use of the Internet” … a joke.  So, since I have taken both online and traditional classes I thought I would give an actually useful student’s perspective.

How online classes usually work:

If you don’t know, online classes are usually taught through some sort online program, most likely blackboard or a MyMathLab type of thing.  Depending on the class, the teacher will usually post a long written version of their lecture for that week’s topic that you then have to read on your computer screen (which can be a pain on the eyes if the teacher rambles on.)  The rest of the class is just reading the entire text book and doing a lot of studying and homework.  The homework load seems to exceed the amount I have had in my traditional classes, it is as if the teacher is trying to make up for you not learning from real lectures.

Pros: 

You do not have to physically go to the class every other day.

If you are busy, you can do the class work on your own schedule.

They allow you to have an overall more open schedule.

They are great for classes that are review or classes that you believe will be easy.

You can move at your own pace (although, most teachers give out the assignments weekly, so you could not just do all the work in a month and be done with the class.)

Good for classes you do not care too much about, but still have to get over with.

Good for classes where you believe the lecture will just repeat what the book is telling you.

Tests are online.  That means they are open book, open note, and open Google search.

Cons:

They are less personal, and (in my opinion) harder to actually learn the subject.

In my experience they involve a lot more work, so they aren’t particularly “time savors.”

Not good for math, science, language or classes that you think you’ll need real lectures to understand.

Not good for visual or audio learners.

If you ask a teacher a question it may take them 2-3 days to respond.

It’s A LOT easier to procrastinate.

You are not really engaged in learning.

There is more reading to make up for the lack of lecture.

They are more tempting to drop.

I have taken four online classes now, at of only 11 classes total in college. I found that it is easier for me to take classes online just because I live a half an hour drive away from my college; however, I prefer traditional classes a lot more.  I only suggest taking classes online if you know the subject well and think the traditional class will be easy for you to understand. For example, if you are retaking an algebra class you had in High School or getting an English prerequisite at of the way.  Again, this is only my experience from taking four online classes; so, don’t base your decision of taking an online class solely off of this post. I would suggest reading the page about online classes on your college’s website and asking people from your own college about their experiences.

Taking Another Look At The Software Updates Monitor SUMO

I reviewed the Software Updates Monitor (SUMO) application for Windows in 2008 for the first time, and included it in the “battle of the software updaters” before that as well. Yesterday, version 3.0.1.143 was released by the developer of the program, and I decided to use that opportunity to take another look at the program, to see what has changed, improved and if features that needed improvement have been improved by the author.

I recommend you download the sponsor-free version of the program on the KC Softwares download page, as you otherwise will encounter toolbar and adware offers during program installation. The program interface has not changed a lot in the four years, but since it was functional then, it is not an issue at all.

Let me give you a quick rundown of the program’s functionality first. The application has been designed to scan the system for installed software, to check the installed version with the latest program version online. It is recommended to keep software up to date on the system, as newer versions sometimes improve a program’s stability, close security issues or add new features that you may want to make use of.

You can click on the Scan button in the program interface to scan the local system for installed software. Keep in mind that the scan won’t find portable software, but you can add portable software and other applications that have not been recognized manually later on with a click on the add button.

 

A click on the check button compares the installed program version with a master server online. Sump divides results into up-to-date, minor updates and major updates. You can sort programs by group, so that all major updates are listed on top, followed by the minor updates. The program lists the product name and company, as well as the local version and available update version in the program interface.

A double-click or the selection of an app and a click on Get Update opens a web page on the KC Softwares website listing the different versions, and links to a Google Search and various software portals (including Softpedia, Snapfiles and FileHippo).

There is still no option to download programs directly from within the application, or to initiate a bulk download of all program setups of applications that need updating. This was one of the suggestions that I had back then to improve the program.

You may also notice that some of the findings link to programs that you cannot update, for instance when they are listed in a folder that you have no control over. You can still enable the inclusion of beta versions in the application, which are then displayed as the latest version in the program interface. Keep in mind that you may see program updates in this case that are not really updates for the installed version. If you have Chrome Stable installed for instance, you will see a major update to Chrome Dev listed in the update listing. There are only a few update proposals that seem to link to a wrong version of the software. Sometimes you may see an update for a program that you do not want to update, for instance the next major version of a commercial program that you would have to pay for. You can report errors, or choose to ignore the update instead so that it is no longer displayed.

It still pays to go through the list once a month or so, to make sure all of your software is up to date on the system. It actually does not take that long to do that, even if you have to use a search engine to find a download link. You may even end up with a newer version than the one listed. This happened sporadically during tests.

The program itself is very responsive and fast both in the scanning of installed software and the checking of program updates on the Internet. It is surprising that the interface and functionality has not changed that much in the past four years. It is likely that a lot of work went into the program database and and data collection routines, as they are without doubt the most important parts of the software updater.

Sumo is a nice program to have on your computer to search for updates. It is more of a notification tool that it is a program that will do all the hard lifting for you though.

Have you tried Sumo or other updaters in the past? If so, which one would you say is the best of the pack, and why?

Is tech taking a jackhammer to Hollywood's middle class?

A recent piece in the New York Times paints a bleak picture for the non-gentry of entertainment. Don't expect things to improve soon.

(Credit: Greg Sandoval/CNET)

Foreclosures, bankruptcies, eviction notices, and tears.

That's the picture painted Thursday in a New York Times op-ed piece about a Hollywood film industry that is supposedly "contracting."

Hilary De Vries, a screenwriter and book author, writes about how Hollywood's middle class is hurting. We're not talking Brad and Angelina or Martin Scorsese. We're talking about the guy you might remember from a soap opera or the writing team for a lesser-known sitcom. De Vries offered anecdotes about how her neighbors--several cash-strapped actors and screenwriters--have lost homes to foreclosure. She described how popular eateries are deserted. Work is drying up. One of her neighbors laments becoming a statistic, just one of the millions across the country losing their home.

De Vries offers several reasons for Hollywood's troubles, including the ailing California economy. She also mentions falling DVD sales and the rise of Internet streaming services. That's probably closer to the nut. The California economy booms and busts, but new technology can have a lasting and (unfortunately for some) financially ruinous impact.

That's why I don't believe this is a lull that the film business will pull out of soon.

I'm not trying to spread fear, uncertainty and doubt. I grew up in Los Angeles. I have family and friends who make their living in the film sector. I've also covered tech for over a decade, and what's happening to the film industry is something I've seen before. Two years ago I wrote a piece titled "The end of the world as Hollywood knows it." My message was this: Not one of the media sectors restructured by the Internet or digital technology has managed to rebuild itself to its previous size. Not recorded music, radio or newspapers.

More and more it looks like it's Hollywood's turn to get a haircut.

The above chart illustrates the revenue generated by overall music sales for the years 1996 through 2010. Is the film sector headed the same direction?

(Credit: Recording Industry Association of America)

Back then, I wrote how Internet piracy and the popularity of Netflix had permanently reshaped the film industry. The arduous and time-consuming process of downloading movie files had begun to give way to convenient and instantaneous streaming via cyberlockers. That opened the floodgates. In the two years since, the public's appetite for pirating movies, or acquiring streaming video on the cheap (thanks to Netflix and its $8-per-month fees) has mushroomed. Over the past two years, the number of Netflix's subscribers has risen from 16 million to 24 million, or about 50 percent.

In addition, other revenue streams are ailing. Cable subscribers are more dissatisfied. Movie fans are even less interested in collecting DVDs.

So where does Hollywood turn? De Vries and her neighbors shouldn't expect much help from the government. In the battle for hearts and minds, Hollywood is losing.

Hollywood finds itself at times warring with its audience. To many consumers, the film industry is awash in cash (true or not) and greedy. They write on Twitter and Facebook how much they hate hearing about the studios' reluctance to license popular titles to Netflix or about police crack downs on file-sharing services, such as the arrest last month of MegaUpload founder Kim DotCom.

Don't overlook the significance of what happened with the Stop Online Piracy Act and the Protect IP Act. The film industry had enlisted support for the antipiracy bills from both major political parties and in both houses of Congress. President Obama was supposed to be a big supporter.

Pow. The tech sector fought back, rallied grassroots opposition, and quickly crushed any chance of the bills getting pass. Even the president turned his back on the legislation.

Despite everything, the film sector holds out hope. In what reads as a rebuttal to De Vries opinion piece, the Times published a giddy story yesterday about how Hollywood is "euphoric" about the Internet and the rising number of digital opportunities. Certainly, studio bosses are trying to make the Web work for them.

Critics once scolded them for not making their product more accessible and less expensive. So, they started distributing through Netflix and Hulu. They have lots of other opportunities coming.

But the studios have also saved the latest and most popular titles for their traditional distribution partners: theaters, pay-TV services, cable and broadcast. Those outlets pay more than Web distributors.

Many experts, however, doubt that the studios and networks have come close to satisfying the public's hunger for Internet access to cheap movies and TV shows. There's a lot of skepticism that consumers will ever collect movies again. Netflix's rental model and piracy sites have given the masses a taste for what Web distribution can be. Skeptics question why consumers would accept anything less now.

Of course, there will always be TV shows and feature films. Americans have been buying movie tickets for over a century. This year, theater owners are said to be seeing a rebound in the first quarter. But over the long term, all the signs indicate that the money that once surged into the industry will slow to a trickle.

There's no making up that lost DVD money anytime soon.

Do your own research. Start by looking at what happened to the music industry. The big record companies have fought file sharing for over a decade, ever since the emergence of Napster. They stopped one form of piracy, a new one cropped up. Last year, overall music sales rose slightly after seven consecutive years of declines. Still, revenue is now half of what it once was.

Maybe the digital efforts and antipiracy programs will eventually have an impact, but nothing is sure. If you're connected to the film business, you have to be willing to bet the studio chiefs can succeed where everyone else has failed. Be safe and sock money away.

I don't want anyone to lose their homes or become a statistic.

View the original article here