Thread Rating:
  • 0 Vote(s) - 0 Average
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
Learning the Most
#1
Which do you feel teaches you the most? As in you learn the most about the subject? Which teaches the least? Just wondering your thoughts.

From these options:

-Straighterline
-Study.com
-studying for CLEP/DSST, etc.
-Shoomp
-Saylor.org
-Other
Reply
#2
For me Study.com is #1.  It offers the most repetitive information through the course; in a good way - it has a way of making you remember the subject.  And it has an entertainment quality (reminds me of SchoolHouse Rock; but for for adults, and without the song and dance: https://abc.go.com/shows/schoolhouse-roc.../season-01)

Straighterline probably 2nd, but in the end much of it was just reading a textbook on my own

ALEKS - I earned all my math credits through them, except Statistics. The price is right, and overall it is designed to teach the material.

I did only one course through Shmoop, I do recall the subject matter - but I recall the frustration with the format more; too much Shmoop'iness. Bad humor, bad links, conflicting lesson content, and very poorly worded content (I would never recommend them for anyone of any age). Even now they can't make a clear stand on their own format, either 'you're going to be proctored or you're not'. (Note: I took my course when TESU would still take their credits, TESU does not accept Shmoop anymore)

I have not taken any of the 'one and done' exams like the CLEP or DSST, that is just because I like that I don't have to leave my house for the other formats. Going to an exam center was not practical for my schedule.

Saylor, another of the 'one and done' exam options, I started some of their offerings, so cheap ($25 for proctoring is all) - but I just found quicker (although more costly) options for the credits I could have obtained through them.

I'll probably try out onlinedegree.com at some point - even though I don't need the credits at this point, but they're free (well, $9 per course for proctoring)

Most of my credits were brought in from B&M, and I can say that for many of my non-AOS subjects I  'learned' only what I needed to at the time.
Amberton University
- MS Human Relations and Business - 2022
Thomas Edison State University (TESU)
- BSBA General Management - 2018
- ASNSM Computer Science -2018

[-] The following 2 users Like allvia's post:
  • harrypotter, Zham
Reply
#3
Completely depends on what kind of student you are, and what you already know.
TESU BSBA/HR 2018 - WVNCC BOG AAS 2017 - GGU Cert in Mgmt 2000
EXAMS: TECEP Tech Wrtg, Comp II, LA Math, PR, Computers  DSST Computers, Pers Fin  CLEP Mgmt, Mktg
COURSES: TESU Capstone  Study.com Pers Fin, Microecon, Stats  Ed4Credit Acct 2  PF Fin Mgmt  ALEKS Int & Coll Alg  Sophia Proj Mgmt The Institutes - Ins Ethics  Kaplan PLA
Reply
#4
My opinion, YMMV depending on learning style and preference

Study.com format seems to give me the best retention, although this may just be from all the overlap in the courses. They all feel easy, even the UL ones, I usually half ass the assignments knowing that I'll score high enough on the exam to offset a mediocre assignment score, I could knock one out every day if I had to. I totally understand why they only give you two exams a month although the last month of my subscription I just paid the extra 70$ each for the extra exams (8 total taken, 2 from the plan + 6 additional) in 30 days.

Saylor I like for classes that I have a lot of previous knowledge in, they are harder exams but a fast and dirty 50 questions and I've got 3 credits for 25$
Reply
#5
I learned best studying for CLEP, DSST, Uexcel, TECEPs, etc.    Then I could use whatever resources worked best for me.  In most cases it was the flashcards/audio here on InstantCert.  I also used youtube and other video resources.
Denise


MS - Management and Leadership, WGU 2022
BS - Liberal Arts - Depths in Healthcare and Psychology, Excelsior College 2014
Certificate - Workers Comp Admin, UC Davis Extension, 1995
AA - Licensed Vocational Nursing and Selected Studies, Mesa College 1989
Certificate - Licensed Vocational Nursing (LVN), Mesa College 1977

Also, someday maybe a MS in Forensic Psychology, just for fun.   Oh, and a BS in Animal Behavior.  And, maybe when I'm 85 a PhD in something fun.

Reply
#6
(09-19-2018, 11:20 AM)natshar Wrote: Which do you feel teaches you the most? As in you learn the most about the subject? Which teaches the least? Just wondering your thoughts.

From these options:

-Straighterline
-Study.com
-studying for CLEP/DSST, etc.
-Shoomp
-Saylor.org
-Other

My answer is "other" but all my test out credit was CLEP, DSST, and TECEP. The way I learned the best was having a physical book (I prefer REA brand) that covers A-Z everything that I need for a subject- my skeleton. From there, I like to read for general interest, and then deep dive things that I find really interesting or don't understand. (from movies, wikipedia, youtube, learnerorg, khanacademy, etc) I like to understand the "why" behind things, and also the "big picture" if it connects to something else- like US History and American Literature- excellent overlap and both provide context for each other. From there, I'll memorize the minutia / trivial junk (which I hate and happily dump from my brain immediately). In my personal experience, I have always done best on tests that wanted critical thinking and done poorly on tests with tons of memorizing/recall. But, others will have different strengths - so ymmv.

While my KIDS have done it differently by using a lot of ACE credit, I can say as an observer, I wouldn't learn well using any of the resources you listed. I find them interesting, but they don't stick. In order for me to "learn" something, I have to be more active in the process and less spoon-fed.
Reply
#7
(09-19-2018, 11:20 AM)natshar Wrote: From these options:

-Straighterline
-Study.com
-studying for CLEP/DSST, etc.
-Shoomp
-Saylor.org
-Other

CLEP or Other (TECEP) depending on which exam. Some are much easier than others, like Lower Level TECEPs are easier than Upper in general, of course.

Never took an UExcel but I think that would be one of the hardest, especially if trying for an A. There are some exams that hardly anyone gets an A on.

Reply
#8
(09-19-2018, 11:20 AM)natshar Wrote: Which do you feel teaches you the most? As in you learn the most about the subject? Which teaches the least? Just wondering your thoughts.

From these options:

-Straighterline
-Study.com
-studying for CLEP/DSST, etc.
-Shoomp
-Saylor.org
-Other

So far I have probably learned the most from the first two since both required a lot of reading and making mental connections between concepts.

For the CLEP/DSST exams, I already knew quite a bit about each topic before I took them so the only studying I did was exam prep flashcards, etc.

For the Saylor courses I took, they were pretty much the same situation as the CLEP... I went into them with enough information to pass without study, so all I really had to do was read the provided material to look for differences between my perspective and that of the author of the course material.

The only Shmoop course I started I ended up abandoning shortly thereafter since I got tired of the broken links and annoying material presentation. In hindsight that was a good choice since TESU stopped accepting the credits, so I would have ended up wasting my time.
Working on: Debating whether I want to pursue a doctoral program or maybe another master's degree in 2022-23

Complete:
MBA (IT Management), 2019, Western Governors University
BSBA (Computer Information Systems), 2019, Thomas Edison State University
ASNSM (Computer Science), 2019, Thomas Edison State University

ScholarMatch College & Career Coach
WGU Ambassador
Reply
#9
I personally think that study.com is by far the best. The other ones listed are about memorizing facts, reading the textbook on your own or taking open book tests. As for actually learning the content, I think study.com does the best by teaching all of the content through interesting videos and providing 4 or 5 check for understanding questions at the end of each video to help review the content and to make sure you are ready to move on. It teaches you the information in bite sized pieces which has helped make it easier to digest. 
I felt like straighterline's questions did not match up well with the lesson activities that they wanted you to complete. Since students can take open book tests, I feel like other's appreciate that they can pass the class this way so some prefer this program. Again, if learning is your main goal then I recommend study.com.
Reply
#10
Studying on my own for CLEP/DSST. CLEPs and DSSTs aren't based on a specific textbook, PDF file, slideshow, or a proprietary series of videos. You don't know what kinds of questions CLEP and DSST are going to throw at you, so you need to actually learn the subject if you don't already know it. When studying for CLEP/DSST, you can select from endless options of college-level lectures and textbooks. With most of the other credit-earning options, you have to study what they give you because their exams are based off of their videos and reading materials, and those materials usually don't cover the depth and breadth of a subject compared to a textbook or a series of lectures from a college professor.
Graduate of Not VUL or ENEB
MS, MSS and Graduate Cert
AAS, AS, BA, and BS
CLEP
Intro Psych 70, US His I 64, Intro Soc 63, Intro Edu Psych 70, A&I Lit 64, Bio 68, Prin Man 69, Prin Mar 68
DSST
Life Dev Psych 62, Fund Coun 68, Intro Comp 469, Intro Astr 56, Env & Hum 70, HTYH 456, MIS 451, Prin Sup 453, HRM 62, Bus Eth 458
ALEKS
Int Alg, Coll Alg
TEEX
4 credits
TECEP
Fed Inc Tax, Sci of Nutr, Micro, Strat Man, Med Term, Pub Relations
CSU
Sys Analysis & Design, Programming, Cyber
SL
Intro to Comm, Microbio, Acc I
Uexcel
A&P
Davar
Macro, Intro to Fin, Man Acc
Reply


Possibly Related Threads...
Thread Author Replies Views Last Post
  TEL Learning Still Operational knaves 5 992 03-19-2023, 12:59 PM
Last Post: MrPanda
  Sophia Learning - New membership levels and pricing carrythenothing 26 6,159 04-22-2022, 07:47 AM
Last Post: Vle045
  Mobile App for Learning (on the go) bjcheung77 3 742 01-16-2022, 10:00 AM
Last Post: BitWiseGuy
  Sophia Learning, help me to decide, please. damarisrodri 11 2,073 06-14-2021, 02:32 AM
Last Post: damarisrodri
  Sophia Learning now just $79 Monthly OR $149 YEAR~! Prof.Gringo 77 15,670 11-26-2020, 02:47 AM
Last Post: innen_oda
  Cheap distant learning/online credits. 000 21 3,048 10-21-2020, 11:37 AM
Last Post: dfrecore
  SOPHIA Learning okikuma 52 7,504 08-03-2020, 08:59 PM
Last Post: ss20ts
  Took 6 Sophia Learning Courses in 2 months and passed them all, listing my thoughts tanc 50 25,352 06-09-2020, 10:28 PM
Last Post: warriortaupou
  deep learning @ statistics.com Zachcleigh 13 2,777 09-16-2019, 07:23 AM
Last Post: Zachcleigh
  Mobile Friendly Learning natshar 5 1,273 07-07-2019, 02:55 PM
Last Post: jsh1138

Forum Jump:


Users browsing this thread: 2 Guest(s)