Guide to Online Education > Online Education In-Depth > Meet Real Online Students > Steve F., M.A. in Educational Technology Leadership
If distance education hadn't been available, he would have persevered. “I suppose I would have tried to find the fastest degree completion program, and then the Master's program most conducive to working adults. It certainly wouldn't have been as easy or fast, though.”
Name: Steve Foerester
Age: 33
Marital Status: Married
Children: Four
Current Location: Washington, D.C.
Advice to Online Students: "I specifically chose programs where I am familiar with the material [though] that's a double edged sword."
School: George Washington University
Target: M.A. in Educational Technology Leadership, 2007
One of the few drawbacks of his online education experience has been the group meetings. “I intensely dislike group work.”
“I find there are too many issues when it comes to fairly and accurately grading different students in a group who may have contributed unevenly,” he asserts. “Some people pull their weight and others do not.”
“I say that as one who has pulled the weight, and once or twice, the one who did not,” he says candidly.
“I can see why instructors like group work. I don't think that it's the best thing to do from a pedagogical standpoint,” Steve says.
Though he realizes that in the so-called “real world” it is unavoidable, he still deems it “inherently unfair.”
“Most people in the real world do work in teams,” he admits. “But they are not as geographically distributed. [T]hey do so at a conference table.”
Even when communication by e-mail is necessary, he presents a logical argument that it is still not the same. “Classmates are otherwise strangers. Co-workers are known to you. It's easier to establish peer accountability.”
His strategy is to just do his part. He opts not to struggle for a leadership role. “Usually there is someone who likes to tell other people what to do. I find it's good to just let them.”
Though there have been some ups and downs, he definitely feels completing his degrees has been worth the effort. He sees his formal education as a “third party validation.”
“Other people can look to it and feel confident. A prospective employer doesn't have to take my word for it.”
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