I've made it through week 1 of my first online course at the University of Phoenix. Ihave 2 weeks left for Professional Comunications and will then have a week of teacher orientation. Wile I'm happy to be enrolled in an online Teacher Education Prgram, a program my mom supports me in, not everyone is that thrilled for me. My uncle has raised a concern about me doing an online TEP. He thinks many school districts won't hire anyone who obtained an online teaching degree and conveyed that concern to my mother who then told me about it. I told my mom it's not like my degree will indicate it was obtained online and unless I tell people, they're not really going to know. In fact, I just read that online degrees are increasingly gaining acceptance among employers and many employers are even pushing professional development through the Net. So, I'm not sure if I should give my uncle's concern any real weight based on this information and this information alone. Do those of you who actually obtained a teaching online regret it and do those of you actually going through a program now think your chances of finding an an actual teaching job later on be hurt because you chose the online route instead of the traditional classoom route through a brick and mortar school?
I prefer classroom-style learning. I love being able to have real-time discussions and believe that my major field, history, is best learned when we're talking about it.
I think it might be harder to get a job, but its still a degree just the same. I think that while you take your classes you should try to spend some time in schools. Volunteer, get a job as a an aide, or something like that. That experience with kids will help out.
I'm opposed to it. It wouldn't meet the requirements for many state credentials. I don't think you can learn to teach this way.
Personally, I am not sure how someone can really learn to teach online. With that said, there is not any teacher-preparation program that truly prepares one for teaching. I would assume that you still have to student teach and do observation hours. While I advise the regular method of obtaining your credentials, I am not sure that this way will necessarily be all that bad. Online education is relatively new, and there are a lot of ppl who just aren't ready to accept it as legit (especially an entire program). You might still be able to land a job, but I can imagine that it might raise a few eye-brows and have people second guessing your ability.
I am a student on line. I think that a lot of people don't understand how these programs are set up, I still do student teaching. I still have to write papers on child development. I still have to write lesson plans. I still learn classroom management strategies. The only difference is that im not sitting in front of an actual professor. I researched a lot of information on my school before I made the choice to attend, My state has licenced teachers from my school and they are currently working in districts around NYC.
I think everyone knows University of Phoenix is online. I'm not sure whether or not it will keep you from getting a job, but I know people who have gotten masters degrees online and the hiring committees I was on considered those people just to be in line with bachelor's degree candidates. It did not give them an edge.
This is interesting. Was this also true for candidates with master's degree obtained the original way, or just those obtained online?
Agree, everyone knows University of Phoenix is online. I'd check with the states you want to teach in and make sure they accept UofP credentialing. As long as you end up with classroom experience, you should be okay. That said, I can see some old school admins (that will be doing the interviewing) valuing the old school education model and therefore not valuing your training.
I agree with Ku Aulm's last statement. I think Online education is going to take a while before it is respected by the masses.
The school I am at didn't even look twice at my degree. I did student teach here though and went to WGU. A few people i graduated with have already been hired or asked to sub at the schools they either student taught in or are in their area. BUT my school is NCATE accredited. They (now) require in classroom observations/experiences as part of your degree - but always locally for you.
I am having trouble respecting that type of degree. One of my close friends just got her bachelor's in business. She did it so fast!! I did a four year degree in 3 and that was fast. I went to summer school and carried 18 hours many of my semesters. She got her degreee in 2 years. That is just hard for me to respect.
This is a misconception. Univ. of Phoenix was founded in 1976, so clearly WAY before the internet! I did my Masters/Teaching Program through UOP, and I was not even offered the chance to take online classes - ALL my classes met on-ground, in-person. My program was 18 months, 4 hours of classes one night each week (except I doubled up classes occasionally, because I dual-credentialed), with real teachers and real students. We had 15 weeks of student teaching. We still wrote papers and researched and did lesson plans. Yes, a lot of what we learned didn't apply to the classroom, but it seems that that's common of many teacher preparation programs, not just UOP.
I called all the districts here before choosing whether to go to seat-classes or online classes to get my credential. All said they do not care where you got it, as long as it is a real credential. One particularly smart person told me it matters most what you learn - so choose wisely and get a good education. I went to the California State University alternative credential program and had all my classes online, plus four day-long on-site seminars, and student teaching all sixteen months with a professor evaluating my performance throughout. I got a job in a top district and no one cared a whit about where I got my credential. Stanford would have cost more, but would not have pushed me into this job any better than CSU did.
I think it will take time for the masses to start accepting online education as an actual education. Of course, there are many people who do accept it now, but as a whole population, it will simply take time.
UOP has been discussed MANY times here in quite a few threads...You could do a search. There are teachers on the forums who have had good experiences with UOP. I tend to agree with your uncle...there are school districts that do not look highly upon UOP...limits your options.
I'm doing a lot of certification courses online through a local university. A few of the classes were also for post grad credit. I felt that the classes were waaaaaaaaaay easier than when you have to go in person. Am I learning as much? Probably not, but I'm still learning. I also like that in an online course, you don't have to spend time doing get-to-know-you stuff or silly team-building activities. While these activities can be great to use in our own classrooms, I feel they are just annoying to do with 40 adults. I usually like to work ahead and waste no time at all. I will probably continue to work on my master's online after these certification courses are over. There are many universities that offer online courses or hybrid courses - online and in person. You just can't beat the ease of attending classes from home. If you're not already teaching, I'm not sure how it translates to getting a job. I would think that if you're attending a nationally accredited university (there are some that are only locally accredited and I bet that can hurt you - or at least not help), or well known school, you would be considered just as any other candidate. Most interviews I went on were more concerned about my experience anyway. If you're already teaching, it's a great way to step up on the pay scale or move forward without killing yourself. You can attend full-time and work full-time. You can't usually do that when you have all face-to-face classes, and attending school part-time while working can take for-ev-er.
I feel that I'm getting the same (if not more) education through Walden online then I would if I were sitting in a classroom. We have weekly discussions, research and observations, and weekly or bi-weekly papers. The topics are very in depth, and just like you would get in a physical classroom.
I've been to both a physical classroom - where you get lost in the shuffle and can pass with an A without doing any work - and an online school where i had to bust my ass to research and do work that i would have otherwise not done in a real classroom. I learned more during my online coursework than I ever did in a classroom and I had more of an interest in my own education.
I agree. In fact I'm sitting in my office right now looking out my window and looking at a UOP campus. It looks real to me. I did earn my MEdTech completely online at Northern Arizona University and I know their campus is real since my daughter attended there. I never set foot on their campus though and I consider online courses to be harder and more intensive than in person.
I am a student at WGU. They are the only online teacher's program with NCATE accreditation. I have found in my district they have a "I could care less where you got your degree as long as it leads to state certification" type attitude, although it was suggested to me that I ensure the school I chose had NCATE accreditation. I have to say, as a student at WGU I have worked 10x harder, and 10x more then in a brick and mortar school. The classes are SO much more intense for me. I feel like I have learned so much and I truly do believe it has prepared me to be the best teacher I can be. The thing I love about WGU is that it is year round- so I will finish much faster then in a school where I would have to either take the summer off or go 1/2 time. You CAN take breaks if you want- but if you're looking to accelerate your program you can literally work on school 365 days a year if you choose. It will have taken me 3 years and 1 month when I graduate with my BA in interdisciplinary studies. I have taken a one month break twice, for military moves. I plan on continuing with WGU for my Masters in Special Ed.
I think that's a BIG misconception about the University of Phoenix. They have an actual headquarters or main building, if you will in Phoenix and they also have extension sites or campuses across the country. Their extension sites occupy vacated buildings or take up space in larger buildings with other businesses. That's no different than how Columbia College out of Columbia, MO (where I got my Bachelor's) does it. Columbia College, like UoP, also has an Online Campus. And for the record, you can get get an actual teaching degree at a UoP extension site. That said, I had no choice but to obtain my Master's online from UoP, as none of the extension sites near me offered the Master's in Secondary Education via the traditional classroom route. I'm sure some extension sites offer it based on local demand, just not the ones near me. I can't help but agree with you Ms Z. I definitely think there's a lot of misunderstanding surronding how these things ares et up. I think if people had a better idea, I don't think it'd be frowned upon. Like you, I still have to do observations and student teaching. I still write papers, learn how to create lesson plans, and will learn what it takes to manage a classroom of my own. We may NOT be sitting in front of an actual professor, but what we go through is no different than what someone goes through if they obtained it via a traditional classroom setting. Ditto on the research. I found people working in IL as educators with degrees from UoP and even found a ROE that pushed professional development from UoP.
They charge $515 a credit hour. That is DEFINITELY not expensivea nd much cheaper than if I were to actually attend a local campus and sit in on classes. Besides, I'm not paying for it. My financial aid, or uncle Sam, if you will, is. My uncle doesn't have an issue with UoP. His issue was that I'm getting my education degree online as opposed to a traditional classroom setting. So, it wouldn't matter if it was through WGU or Walden even. My second week of Professional Communications is about to come to a close. There's times I feel as if I've had to work 20 or 30x harder and 20 or 30x more than in a traditional classroom setting. :lol: UoP allows us up to 4 weeks in between classes.
Yikes!! $515 a credit hour is definitely expensive whichever way you look at it. I pay $2,790 every 6 months with WGU, and you can do as many credits as you want (has to be at least 12) each 6 month term. So, my whole degree is costing me a little over 16,000 in tuition. I DO agree with online schools (obviously, as a student of one) I just haven't heard great things about UoP and their prices seem pretty outrageous compared to other schools who also offer online teaching degrees with more accreditations under their belt.
So even though there are those of us online students who feel we've had to work 10, 20, or even 30x harder and 10, 20, or 30x more than someone like yourself, you just can't come to respect that type of degree? I need 35 credit hours for my Master's in Secondary Education. By the time I'm finished, I'll be paying just a little more than you. If you do the math, it comes out to $18,025 total for the University of Phoenix. It's just a $2,000 between you and me. It may seem like a lot, but, in actuality, it's not. You will find some great things about UoP, if you look. I've read some great things about it here by current and former students. UoP may not be NCATE-accredited like WGU, however, after researching their accreditations, they seem to hold the exact same number as most other instituitions. As I said before, they're accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, a member of the North Central Association, and their education programs are accredited by the Teacher Education Accreditation Council. I think money shoudl be the least of someone's concern if they''re considering going the online route. I've tried blackboard and hate it. UoP uses something else that I like MUCH, MUCH, MUCH better! I think the online software is something people need to take into greater consideration. If you're not going to be comfortable with it, then you can't do well and excel in it.
Well it seems that you've researched it well, so I honestly wouldn't worry what your uncle, or anyone else for that matter thinks. I haven't read through all of your posts- but have you checked with your district to see how they feel about UoP?
