Interview with a Student: Procrastinating is the Biggest Problem with Online Learning

In this article I took a few minutes to have a conversation with someone who has an online degree already. In this interview with a student, the graduate reveals how long it took to earn her degree, how she is able to apply what she learned in her workplace and how procrastination was the biggest problem she had with online education.

Interviewer (Becca): Hi Stacey. Thanks for being here to answer some questions for me; our readers would really like to hear about online learning from the student perspective. Now, you already finished your program, right? Can you tell me a bit about the online degree and your school?

Student (Stacey): Hi. Thanks. Yep, I just completed my master’s of arts in education. I went to (name withheld) University. They are an online private school.

Interviewer: One of the biggest exclusively online, private schools.

Student: (nods).

Interviewer : So, how long did it take you to earn your degree and how many courses did you take each semester?

Student: I took one course a quarter, three quarters a year. But then I’m a teacher, so I took two courses in the summer, when I was not working. So, it took me about two and a half years to finish. I finished up about six months ago.

Interviewer: You must be thrilled to be done.

Student: Yeah. It’s nice to have my weekends to myself again.

Interviewer: Did you decide to earn your masters degree because your job required it?

Student: My job didn’t “require” it, but I’m a teacher, and they do encourage getting a master’s degree. I knew there would be a small raise when I was done.

Interviewer: You earned your undergraduate degree at a traditional brick and mortar school, right? So how did online learning compare?

Student: Online learning was different, and sort of the same, all at once. I mean, you read the book, think about it, answer questions… pretty much the same stuff. It takes a bit of getting used to, but not that much.

Interviewer: And did you feel that what you learned has helped you be a better teacher?

Student: Oh, definitely. I learned a lot of tricks for getting student’s attention and designing theme based curriculum that I apply in class almost every day.

Interviewer: That’s great. One last question… what would you say are the advantages and disadvantages of distance learning education?

Student: Well, the biggest advantage was that I could work from home. I sit in a classroom teaching all day. The last thing I wanted to do was sit in a classroom all night to learn. The biggest disadvantage is that I’m a huge procrastinator (laughs), I love to put everything off. So I spent pretty much all day long every Sunday getting all my work done. I hated Sundays. (laughs).

Thanks, Stacey, for answering my questions. And, readers, there you go, in this short interview with a student who has completed her online program you learned how you can earn a degree in a couple years without killing yourself, how you can get skills that you can use right away at work, and how if you procrastinate you may learn to hate Sunday. Now, if you have not taken the time to look around YourOnlineDegree already, please do so. We have some really great information waiting for you around every corner.