Online Learner Profiles: Angela M.
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Guide to Online Education > Online Education In-Depth > Meet Real Online Students > Angela M., Bachelor of Arts in Early Childhood Education
Meet Angela M.
Name: Angela Mullen
Age: 32
Marital Status: Married
Children: Four (2 boys & 2 girls)
Why she choose distance learning: "Children of course!"
School: National University
Target: B.A. in Early Childhood Education, December 2007
"No joke, he did all the legwork," recalls Angela. "He scrambled to get all the materials together and did in about a week's time what would have taken most people three months. The admissions office was amazed."
In no time, Angela was enrolled in National University's teaching program.
But after that, she was on her own. She confesses that it was difficult to resume her education at first.
"I started at National with two babies and now I have four, so I kind of picked up things along the way, and I don't just mean school-wise," explains Angela.
"When I first started, I just did what it said on the screen I was supposed to do," says Mullen, mentioning that she found the online platform to be generally well-organized, defined, and easy to follow.
She knew what her assignments and deadlines were, and the tools and resources available to help. "But after a while I realized that there were actual people behind the computer!" says Angela.
She discovered something else that is all too easy for a distance learner to forget: that the lessons you work with are developed by experienced professors who are generally just as accessible as any other online resource.
Angela developed a strategy of immediately developing a personal rapport with her professors at the beginning of each class, which she feels lessen the problem of anonymity associated with nontraditional classrooms.
"I'll email a professor and let them know a little about me so I kind of stick out. I'm not creepy or over the top about it, but I get a lot more out of each class that way," says Angela.
According to Angela, the motivation and organization required to stay on top of an advanced workload online is not intended for all students.
"I would recommend it to almost anyone but it's not for everyone," she remarks. "You might not know if it works for you until you've tried it."
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