If you absolutely must commit the cardinal sin of taking an on-line class, remember this one little thing: Get a good internet connection!

I should have been sitting in a classroom with my peers, but I was too busy. I should have been having lively discussions with my professor, but I was too tired. Instead, I got a good deal on an on-line version of the same class: Literature Theories. It was the start of the college's on-line program, but it was the end of me.

My internet was new as well. Freshly online - via dial up. My first assignment - a five page paper on rhetoric. I was up with my pot of coffee and chips. Taping away on the online submission field. I was about 4 1/2 pages in when...CRASH! My internet connection went down, taking my 4 1/2 pages with it. I never did get my internet back up that night or for the rest of the month. I had to drop the class and ended up changing my major anyway. So much for new ideas.

I'm sure with the advent of lightening-speed internet connections, there would be no further problems with on-line classes, as long as you aren't using dial-up. But I don't know, I've lost a few pieces just trying to write for Helium. Nothing really beats real class room time.

So...my advice for participating in on-line classes...DON'T!

Learn more about this author, James Frizzell.
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