OCEANOGRAPHY 1 ADVICE FROM PREVIOUS STUDENTS

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Just like with the content for Oceanography, the students who enroll are a diverse group. This course is not recommended for everyone. And each person will have a different experience. Some will love it. Some will find it too much work. Be sure you know what you're getting yourself into and choose wisely.

The following diverse and often contradictory comments came from
participants of Oceanography 1 from Spring 2015 to today

Video watching

• "I love the videos since they were super informative and help me visualize things better than just reading textbooks."
• "I learned more with the videos. I could rewind it or pause it whenever I needed to take down notes. In class you can't rewind or pause the teacher lol."
• "Must watch the videos multiple times in order to really understand it."
• "Each video has a script. I don't know why it took me so long to figure it out. However, it was helpful to have a copy of it while watching the tutorial videos. Eventually I started taking notes on the script, as well as, highlighting key parts to return and reference. "
• "I liked the access to videos. It helps to be able to read the closed captioning to check spelling."
• "Stop the videos OFTEN and take notes while watching."
• "DEFINITELY take the mini quizzes in the videos seriously and add those to your notes if they aren't already there."
• "Don't rush it all a few hours before the deadline."
• "It saves time to read the worksheet questions ahead of time, so that when an answer is given you already know you need it. Create a weekly regimen for this class, and do not slack on any videos. Learning how to take thorough notes while watching the assigned videos was key."

Workload

• "Do not underestimate the time needed to take a science class on line."
• "Start on work EARLY. The work isn't too bad if you give yourself enough time to do it."
• "STAY ON TOP OF THE HOMEWORK. Don't fall behind just because it's hard to catch up."
• "If I wasn't working 40 hours I'm pretty sure I would have passed this class."
• "I actually worked full-time myself while taking this class and I did just fine. It's definitely possible, but you need to make sure you set aside enough uninterrupted time for all the coursework."
• "I wish I had spent more time learning the material and at the beginning of the semester, tried not to overload my schedule."
• "Read ahead just a little if you can!"
• "Watch the videos multiple times and do your homework! It pays off."
• STUDENT-PROVIDED DATA: In online class (9 hours expected):
  • 16% of students put in 2-4 hours/week
  • 33% put in 4-6 hours/week
  • 29% put in 6-8 hours/week
  • 12% put in around 9 hours/week
  • 8% put in more than 9 hours/week
  • Average grade: 78% C *Note: in general, the more time put in, the higher the grade.*
• STUDENT-PROVIDED DATA: In face-to-face class, outside the normal 3 hours of class (additional 6 hours expected):
  • 29% put in 2-3 hours/week of HW
  • 37.5% put in 3-4 hours/week of HW
  • 17% put in 4-6 hours/week of HW
  • 8% put in more than 6 hrs/week of HW
  • Average grade: 76% C *Note: in general, the more time put in, the higher the grade.*

Quizzes, Exams, and Grades

• "I wish homework and participation were more a part of the grade. Tests counted for too much."
  Intructor's note: I do this on purpose. I give you lots and lots of low stakes assignments to get you to interact with and learn the material. But your grade comes from mastering that material (not simply trying).
• "Quizzes were much easier than exams."
• "Study beyond what questions are asked in the videos and quizzes."

Tips for Success

• "Take advantage of the discussions to ask for help!"
• "Pay attention to key points that are repeated each chapter and how relationships exist between subjects."
• "Do the workbook exercises at the same time as viewing the weekly videos and extra links."
• "Watch the videos and take notes before attempting to fill out chapter worksheets. Skip questions on worksheets that you don't see the answer for at first- you will waste too much time looking for it. Wait until the end to return to the questions you did not find the answers for."
• "Make sure you give yourself 2 hours to do the worksheet pages a week, and take notes in the beginning because it makes your life a lot easier when you get to the tests."
• "Set reminders for when work is due because there have been a few times where I remember two days later that I had an assignment due."
• "Use the lab hours as much as you need to! If you struggle with something, make the time to go onsite and talk to the professor about it."
• "I wish I was more clear and put all my notes in my workbook since the beginning of the course."

Things students liked:

• "I found a lot of the material very interesting, which always makes learning anything new more fun and more likely to sink in. I think the concept sketches were especially good. Thinking through recreating something definitely helped solidify info. Those are the things that I've been able to retain best."
• "I greatly enjoyed the peer-to-peer questions and answers. It is nice that students can become accustomed to critiquing other students work and helping them out."
• "I enjoy the diversity of the subjects covered. I didn't know there was so many different things going on in the ocean."
• "The online class is fascinating, challenging, and also easy to access!"
• "The fact that the homework was the same every week made it really easy to keep up with and not forget anything. Same with the fact that we kept to the syllabus exactly."
• "I enjoyed the flexibility of the class. It helped that you had a good amount of time to finish each assignment. Also it was well organized."
• "I liked that responses to assignments were quick."
• "I enjoyed the content and how the professor set up the work. I enjoyed the pace of the weekly work, it wasn't too much to handle but it was also just challenging enough. I like the workbook. I liked that we got keys to the worksheets, quizzes. That was incredibly helpful. I liked that we had access to the videos and the scripts."
• "One must be self-motivated and good at time management to take this class but ultimately it was fantastic!"
• "I've taken online classes before and I appreciated your involvement, prep work, layout of class work, active communication and the overall way you have set up your class. I felt engaged and in return felt your commitment to students and the coursework. In fact, this was the best online class experience I've had to date. (*Instructor Note: see below for contrary opinions!*)"

Grumblings and things students didn't like:

• "This course seems to go against the benefits of online courses. I have taken many online classes and this has been the worst experience with one. I wish the deadlines weren't so rigid. The reason I take online classes is to have some leniency on my work schedule because I only work weekdays. It was a huge inconvenience to have so much work piled on top of my job and on-campus classes. "
  Instructor's note: I put this comment in here to remind folks I really mean it when I say 10 hours per week of work is the requirement. If you do not have time in your schedule for this amount of work, whether taking it online or face to face, you will have difficulty doing well. Consider what a 10-hr-a-week class means if you work full time and can only get to it on the weekends. It means one 10-hr day (or two 5 hr days and cutting into both weekend days). In fact, I'm surprised to hear anyone say that the online class isn't flexible, because though I spread the assignment due dates across the week, they can ALL be completed weeks ahead of time. My experience, however, is that many students do work right before the deadline, so if I don't spread my deadlines out, they will have too much work at one time. Final note: ALL assignments can be completed in advance, but none can be completed late. Why? The keys immediately go out for students and we move on each week with new material. Late work gets in the way of continued work. Good to know this all up front, so you're sure you want to take this class!
• "The instructor is a very nice person, and passionate about what she teaches. She tries to help us succeed where she can, but on the flip side she can be very rigid with the students ability or lack thereof to comprehend the scientific information."
• "Homework being worth more would help me boost my grade."
  Instructor's note: I included these comments to make it clear that the class grade comes from understanding the material, not the amount of time put in. Everyone should be aware of that before starting the class. The homework is graded based solely on thoroughness and completion, not on accuracy. Homework is meant to be low stakes and help you learn the material. You really demonstrate your understanding on quizzes and exams. As such, homework grades have value, but not primary value.
• "If possible do not take an online class. It is too much of work and I believe sometimes better to understand if you have the teacher in front of you!