I love to take online classes. It's a great opportunity to learn something new and do it when I have time. I also like the fact that I can do it at home rather than having to drive anywhere. It's a complete win. Mostly.
In August, I had an awesome class on the hero's journey and tarot. One of the things I loved most about it was the class size was limited. Not only did that encourage me to participate, it meant I wasn't overwhelmed by emails. I was able to keep up with the lessons, although because of copy edits for In the Darkest Night and then my short story, The Troll Bridge, I wasn't able to keep up on the homework. It was a totally positive experience and I would do it again in a heartbeat.
Then there's my September online class. I don't think there was a size limit for this one, and if there was, it was a big one. The first day of September, as I was at the Evil Day Job, the deluge began. By lunch time there were half a gazillion notes in my inbox. I had to jump over to Yahoo Groups and switch to a different email address to keep my default from being inundated.
I create folders for every class I take and setup mail rules so that it downloads directly into that folder. By the time I got home and was able to get email, it was overwhelming. Because of that blizzard of email on the first day, I have yet to read a lesson. It would take a lot of work to find them in the sheer volume I have waiting for me. I keep thinking I'll do it when I have time and it keeps getting worse and worse.
This class sounded totally awesome when I read about it, but it'll be a long time before I know if it is or not, because I shy away from approaching that folder. And if it's this overwhelming for me, someone who can just ignore the other class members' notes, I can't imagine how the guy teaching it is keeping up with it all. It must take every waking minute he has.
The experience has made me appreciate my August class even more. Nice and relaxing and fun. That's what I like in my online classes. :-)
