Week 7, Activity 4: Experiencing Free/Open Source Courses

When starting this assignment, I really couldn't find any source courses that interested me, but then I tried another search and found an Autism course.  I love students with autism and someday I intend to be highly qualified in Autism.  

This course was different than any others I looked at.  It was shorter and I wasn't watching a video, I was reading.  Upon completion of the course I got to download/print a certificate of completion.  The class was titled Autism 101 and taught all about Autism, the spectrum, how and when it is diagnosed, treatment plans, how to find out what your insurance covers, how to get medical assistance if needed, early childhood programs, education plans, how to transition to adulthood, support systems, and how to get more information if you need it.

The major difference between this course and face-to-face learning is that I could read the material at my own pace and not worry about being bored or missing something that a professor would have told me.  I really learned a lot about the course of life for a child with autism.  

For me, online learning is the only way, but I don't think it's the way for all.  I think that it takes a lot of discipline to juggle life and school when going online.  I feel that I usually do a very good job of it, but lately it's becoming harder and harder to keep up with everything that I have going on.  I'm an adult and online learning fits my life, but I am against online learning for k-12 students.  I believe that only in special circumstances it is appropriate.  I believe that children need socialization in order to grow into a well rounded adult and children that are kept at home for school, loose out on that valuable part of childhood.