Flashes of Panic

Someone commented on a post a week or so ago asking for details about my course this summer, which is primarily WebCT based.

Yes, my professor has office hours, scheduled twice a week and more if we arrange in advance. I’d have to haul down to Westfield (just under an hour’s drive,) but I’d have to do that two or three times a week anyway if I was taking a “real” class.

Do I like it? I’m not sure. “Self-pacing,” for me, has so far meant “procrastinate.” Doing it at the computer is even worse, since that’s one of my primary procrastination tools. I’m making decent progress, but I suspect if I was going to regular class meetings (and therefore had more frequent milestones to hit) I’d be moving faster. I like not having to trek to Westfield on a regular basis, and I like being able to do it on my own time, but I think it’s hard for me to make the effort to get lessons done.

The whole WebCT thing has been a bit of a letdown. There is very little discussion on the “Discussion” board and the “course content” pages are actually hosted on the CS department’s network, as near as I can tell, and framed (possibly authenticated) by WebCT. There’s also a presentation issue with the content: very few college faculty can present an easily readable web page, CS professors included. I am frequently distracted by an urge to clean up his markup!

Now playing: A Letter To Elise from Wish by The Cure