On campus or online via distance education?

[Sunlight.]

So, I've been having difficulty trying to decide to study on campus or online via distance education.
I've thought about the pros and cons off each and I'm leaning towards online via distance education for History so I can become a History teacher and when I finish that degree, I can study Music on campus while I teach History part-time (if I get a job as a History teacher).
What do you guys think? On campus or online via distance education?

[Maloo]

Online is harder, and you need to be incredibly self motivated. Keep that in mind.

[kadyCHAOS]

like Lissa said, online is really a challenge. I've taken two courses online, because they were the only ones that would fit with my schedule. It was extremely difficult to push myself through them.

cons- my biggest issue was that I didn't have to get up and ready for school. I would wake up 2 mins before class, still in bed and sign in to the sessions. And then I'd wander off in my home, be it making a coffee, facebook, bathroom breaks. There was just not enough structure for me.

second biggest problem- lack of social interaction, sure you could chat to people and the instructors, but this meant I didn't get out of the house many days and that made me a little bit "stir crazy" so to speak.

another minor issue was one of the courses I took was in a different time zone so I'd sometimes be starting a class at 1130pm.

pros: online classes enabled other areas of my life to be more flexible time wise. I could keep my work schedule pretty much open, which was good. And I had time to take classes on campus.

a lot of the work was self paced, which was cool, because I could sit down and bang out 8-10 chapters of work in one night.

overall though, I wouldn't reccomend an online course. I'd much prefer an on campus setting.

[OMFG!You'reActuallySmart!]

I've never taken an online course but if you wish to be a history teacher where you would be in an active social environment, it may benefit you to learn in such an environment, otherwise you'll plunge head first into something new with little experience. A possible issue would be whether you can maintain part-time teaching and study at campus, especially if you are responsible for grading student assignments as that can take a while. One of the biggest challenges you'll face with online learning is there is no social interaction and you cannot go to the professor's office or see the TA outside class time and ask questions. If you're studying at campus, why not study history at campus as well?

When I was in fourth year in my undergraduate studies, I did some mentoring for first-year biology students for the 2 first-year biology courses. Basically, I would give a summary of the last lecture, help prepare for tests, review lab assignments, etc... . That said, it was volunteer-based and I was not responsible for any marking, so it didn't become too hectic with my schedule. Normally, I'd download the lecture slides and skim through readings the students were assigned, outline key points and review my notes and assignments when I took the courses back in my freshman year. It wasn't the same as teaching per say because it was usually with a few other mentors, so one of us would present an overall summary then we'd break into smaller groups.