The only context in which I can reflect on this question is my MET experience. I’ve enjoyed the variety of media I’ve been exposed to in the courses I’ve taken. Watching videos from time to time has made a welcome change from reading articles and is particularly useful as a change of pace in a distance-based program, where you’re actually not being lectured at all the time. I thought the Wimba exercise at the beginning of 565 was a great way to create community and I’m sorry I missed participating in it.
Despite being a very different experience from my other two degrees, I’ve found the MET program very satisfying. The wide range of ways we absorb information here – discussions, small group projects, hands-on experimentation, videos, audio, written assignments – overcome any initial concerns that it will somehow be a ‘lesser’ experience. It is, if anything, almost too rich!
And that, I think, is the only drawback. Now, as we swim in a sea of information rather than having to track it down bit by tiny bit, those of us who grew up in the age of information scarcity have to learn new skills and think new ways. The impulse to try everything has to be stifled; a different kind of mental discipline is called for, one that helps you ignore many tempting sideroads if you’re to finish what you need to get done.
Laura