Distance Education (1 Viewer)

[micuzzo]

Does anyone know about taking subjects (Italian continuers or Senior Science) via distance edu... has anyone done it before... can you actuall learn this way.... what is the workload like... plz help...

thanks in advanced

 

[Caitlin63]

I did Indonesian Continuers via Distance ed. With a language, while I did learn this way it would not be my favorite way of learning and unless you have someone to practice talking the language with regularly then the speaking can be very tricky. The workload is no greater or less than other subjects but it is very very easy to get behind when you don't have a teacher present at each class.

Hope that helps

 

[micuzzo]

does anyone else have any input???

 

[coq]

Distance education is great if you are self motivated, i did DE ag this year and it was great. If you are planning to do a language though and dont have someone who is close to you that can help or come from a background of that language you will have to put in a bit of extra work.

 

[micuzzo]

hmmm... i was thinking of italian.... i can already speak it lol... but not 100% on reading and writing... so im unsure if this is the best option... i just want one of these subjects as a back up... what is best???

 

[*Baby-K*]

The best thing to do (if it's not too late) is what I did.
I did a Background Russian Speakers course through distance ed, however I did year 11 in year 10 and therefore completed my HSC course in year 11 leaving more time for other subjects in year 12. I received a Band 6 which also assured me that I had 1 good mark already.
I did fall behind alot because I focused on other work and felt like it wasn't important at the time because I didn't have a teacher pressuring me to hand the work in. If I needed help I asked my mum to check my work but normally she criticised it too much so I stopped asking for help and just used thesaurus' etc on the internet to check words.

 

[micuzzo]

hmm...well its for my hsc 2009... i didnt do it previously... but i qualify for the cource under some 'previous knowledge' thingo they have... so i am able to do it... in saying that... i will have 14 units if i do it...(actuall 16... but droppin 1)

 

[Kirsty Xx]

dist ed is a death sentence

 

[micuzzo]

dist ed is a death sentence

why would you say thaat?

 

[Kirsty Xx]

Alright sorry, I'll give you my real opinion:

1. You have to be seriously and without question motivated AND dedicated to the subject and the work involved. This means doing the work when you're meant to and not slacking off to give more time to other subjects.

2. Not having the teacher in your school has two sides - one being that you don't have someone to motivate and push you to complete your work and hand it in and the other being that without the teacher it is less stressful on you and therefore you complete the work at your own leisure.

3. If you fall behind on maybe one or two weeks worth of work, you can really fall behind. And I don't mean that lightly. This is were motivation, dedication and persistence comes in.

4. I suppose you'll have time set aside like any other class for this subject (this point depends on supervised study periods or not) and this is not a time to bludge! This time is set aside for this subject and therefore you must use it wisely. It is easy to be distracted and use that time for homework/study in other subjects instead.

5. Depending on how you complete your work (in which environment) you'll probably do more work at home with a Dist Ed subject than you'll realise. This also can eat out time required for other subjects.

6. Communication with your actual teacher varies depending on that teacher and the facilities at your school. Video conference equipment can regularly be used to talk to your teacher face to face and phone calls are also useful. However if you have a slack Dist Ed teacher than doesn't pull their weight then communicating with them and seeing them in person can be difficult. I had two different prelim and HSC teachers. I saw my prelim teacher once and I never met and therefore have no idea what my HSC teacher looked like. This is a matter of luck depending on your school and the teacher assigned to you. A risk you'll take.

7. I've usually heard that a language by Dist Ed is one of the hardest areas of the HSC to do, no matter whether you can already speak it or not, as there is so much involved.

8. Once again, MOTIVATION and DEDICATION are required to complete a Dist Ed course. If you're lazy etc, Dist Ed will eat you alive.

Just something to think about...

 

[gibbo153]

my friends twin brother is like a ballet freak. and he did distance education while he was in serious training.

he said it was good, but like someone else said, easy to let it get to the back of his mind and not a high priority, but as long as you keep your head above water its pretty good. also i reckon being able to set your own pace would be great.

ps he got accepted at the royal ballet academy so hes over in london now haha.

 

[verdades]

Only do it if you love the subject.
Also, it's so much easier if it's a theory based subject.

I started year 11 with Music 2 by distance ed. By the start of the second term, I met my teacher for the first time [who also happened to be the head of the distance ed centre I go through] and she more or less told me I should drop it.
I didn't do it because Music 2 is a partially practical subject, and it's just difficult to do if your opinion of it is only mediocre.

However, I now do distance Legal, and love it.

Language is harder to do through distance ed, I've got a friend who did Japanese this year, but she dropped it for her HSC.
Science, you'd have to find time to do the mandatory pracs, but if you wanted to do it, the theory aspects shouldn't be too hard, and the more you like the subject, the less likely you are to use your study periods for a bludge.
Alllso, study periods... Stay away from your friends in these D:

 

[Rockyroad]

Distance education is ok. I'm undecided. I imagine it would be hell doing a practical based subject like music or a language. I do Modern History. It's ok. It is easy to put the work off and fall behind as everyone else is saying. I find you don't get a good overview of the course/topics as you do in class where there is lots of discussion and questions. It will be easier if you really love the subject. Have a place to do the work, away from friends in large blocks of time. I use my school frees to do math hw with classmates who have frees at the same time and do my correspondence at home in peace in my own time. You should use more information then the stuff they send - read bos essays in the resource section etc - to get good overview. Its kinda good not to have a really strict timetable eg essay hand in on friday! like modern history at school. Because my distnce ed teacher is lax and i just email her if i need to. It is also good to have someone who is knowledgable in that subject to help you - eg i have my dad and my history ext teacher at school and the modern teacher at school. Abuse your teachers by making them read and mark countless essays if you really want to do well.