I've done many online classes. Never for a "hands-on" thing like gunsmithing, but I think I can add a little advice. It amounts to "use the class to teach yourself".
In order to actually learn you need to try to learn the material. In an online class it's too easy just to do what's expected in order to pass without actually absorbing and understanding what is being taught. I took a marketing class once that was like this. Our professor quizzed us on a lot of vocabulary and memorization of basic marketing principals. It was too easy to regurgitate this on an exam, so the class never taught me how marketing works or what is behind it, etc etc. Not having to actually think about what as going on made for a very "in one ear out the other" experience. In order to counter-act this, you need to actually think, actually do the work, and actually try to understand what is going on in the class. This is hard for something people (especially busy college students taking classes not in their major
). This is how you don't use an online class correctly (but still pass the class).
That being said, online courses are extremely convenient and can be extremely effective. One of my most recent online classes was the NRA's Refuse To Be A Victim Instructor Certification Class. It was convenient because I could log in and do half an hour of work here, an hour there, etc etc. In this class, too, it could have been easy to just figure out what was expected and do that, but I am really interested in the subject matter so I actually watched the videos, thought about what was going on, did extra work on the assignments, even started thinking about how I would run my seminars. That class was invaluable because I used it correctly.
A couple tips on how to learn more from online classes:
Your professor is there to answer questions. They are probably used to the people in my first long paragraph; people just doing it for the grade. So if you e-mail them a thoughtful question they will probably answer it to the nth degree. Every lesson think of a question to ask your professor and email it to them. Even if you can't think of a question to ask, find something related to ask about. They will not only love you for it, but you will get some excellent information.
Find other
interesting readings that relate to each lesson. During my RTBAV training I would go out and find related and
interesting material to read. I has to be interesting so that you remember it. If we were doing the travelling safety section I would look up polite manner in other culture. This way, I can think of a very important point of travel safety: respecting local culture. For instance, it is very very bad in India to injure a cow because many people in India consider cows holy. Do not mention you eat steak, it is extremely bad form. This is interesting to me, so I remember that part of the lesson. This not only helps me remember the material but gives me actual stuff I can use in my seminars. This step can be extremely easy because many times your professor will provide you with supplemental readings. If not, ask them!
So the point of this long-winded post is that online classes are an extremely valid way of learning, but you have to be willing to put the time, attention, and effort into actually learning and not just passing a class.
