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Published On: Mar 17, 2007 02:40 PM
Total entries in this category:
Published On: Mar 17, 2007 02:40 PM
WineMaking and Online Classes
I briefly hinted out in my other blogs that I
have started to take an Online Course in Winemaking. If you would like to learn
about the UC Davis program and what the online course is like, read
on....
1) Why in the world am I getting a Wine
Making Credential?
2) How Online Courses work (i.e. how they have changed since I graduated from UC Santa Barbara in 1992).
So onto the first topic...
Why am I getting a Wine Making Credential?
I currently teach computer classes (HTML, Web Design, Database design, etc). The facility that I teach at also shares space with UC Davis Extension. As I happened to be meandering past the UC Davis office one day something grabbed me--it was a brochure about a "Winemaking Credential at UC Davis". Now if you know me, you know that I LOVE wine! (Especially deep, rich, full-bodied red wine....Yum!). And unfortunately I did not discover that I even liked wine until I was 23 years-old. (Oh, isn't it horrible the US law says that you cannot drink wine until you turn 21?! They have done many studies of wine and have found that alcoholism is usually related to spirits and stiffer drinks. But for some reason wine has still been maligned in our modern day American society.) Now I graduated from UCSB with my degree in English when I was 21. As much as I love to read and write--I must say that my degree in English literature has never once landed me a job. Oh, what a sorry state our society is in when a person with a degree in English Literature must languish in a job at Toys R' Us shortly after graduating from college! Ah! But I digress...! If I had learned how much I loved wine earlier in my life I would have actually chucked my English degree and headed straight for an Enology (study of winemaking) degree at UC Davis. I would have actually had a job waiting for me when I graduated! I could have kissed Toys R' Us goodbye! And I suppose more importantly I could have actually worked for a living doing something that I was passionate about.
So here I am 14 years after getting my B.A. looking into getting a wine making credential. It's $8650 for the entire set of courses and there is an immense wait list to get in. I have already taken the first course and I got an "A"! Now I am eagerly awaiting the next course, but at the same time wondering if my credit card can handle an additional $8000 being added to it! I wish Extension classes had financial aid! It's too bad that I can no longer qualify for Cal Grants!
Online Courses
Wow! I must say what a difference 14 years can make. When I attended UCSB I had some really great instructors but it was always difficult to get information from them. When I attended school they would stand at a podium in a classroom with about 200 other students and would lecture. Sometimes the lectures were rambling and my attempt at any type of coherent notes was often an abject failure. I was often frustrated by the disconnect between myself and the teacher.
Now we enter into the classroom of the 21st century! Every lecture for the online class had a PowerPoint outline that the instructor dutifully followed. I could actually take notes in a logical structure by following the PowerPoint presentation that was on the screen. And better yet the lectures were all delivered on DVDs! Not only could I watch them at 11PM while my daughter slept, but I could also forward and rewind things. I remember my frustration when I was in college, "What did the professor say...?" Well, it was too late and in a classroom of 200 other students they couldn't see my hand wildly waving and asking for a repeat because the students next to me were talking. There is no such problem with a DVD lecture. All I had to do was pause and rewind! And better yet, it was all on my computer. So if the instructor had a graph or diagram that I needed to have with my notes--no problem! All I had to do was print out the PowerPoint slide the instructor was using. I used to try to wildly copy down whatever the instructor was presenting as quickly as possible before the picture (usually a transparency on a projector) was taken away. Not only did I save time, but now I knew that I had an exact replica of whatever the instructor was using.
I was constantly amazed at how much information was being disseminated to me accurately. And if I ever had a question about what a professor said, all I had to do was look at the DVD again!
I suppose the biggest drawback to an online class is the lack of "community of students". However, since I live in a college town (Davis) I am already living in a community of students on a regular basis. All I have to do is hang out at the nearest coffee shop to get my fill of "student-life". In fact, I often find "the student community" extremely annoying when I am trying to find a parking space in downtown Davis. I even celebrate when the students leave during the Summer! So that downside is an upside for me.
The other downside is less interaction with your teacher. However, I must say that I never had much interaction with my real live teachers at UCSB. When they had over 200 kids in a classroom--interaction was minimal at best. So I really can honestly say that the student teacher interaction was pretty much the same as it was in real life (i.e. lacking). But I should also add that I had a wonderful professor this past quarter who took time out of his busy schedule to show me around the wine making department at UC Davis. I was able to see where they de-stemmed, crushed, fermented and cellared their wine.
Now all I can say is bring it on! I want to start making some wine! Preferably a nice Bordeaux blend! :-)
2) How Online Courses work (i.e. how they have changed since I graduated from UC Santa Barbara in 1992).
So onto the first topic...
Why am I getting a Wine Making Credential?
I currently teach computer classes (HTML, Web Design, Database design, etc). The facility that I teach at also shares space with UC Davis Extension. As I happened to be meandering past the UC Davis office one day something grabbed me--it was a brochure about a "Winemaking Credential at UC Davis". Now if you know me, you know that I LOVE wine! (Especially deep, rich, full-bodied red wine....Yum!). And unfortunately I did not discover that I even liked wine until I was 23 years-old. (Oh, isn't it horrible the US law says that you cannot drink wine until you turn 21?! They have done many studies of wine and have found that alcoholism is usually related to spirits and stiffer drinks. But for some reason wine has still been maligned in our modern day American society.) Now I graduated from UCSB with my degree in English when I was 21. As much as I love to read and write--I must say that my degree in English literature has never once landed me a job. Oh, what a sorry state our society is in when a person with a degree in English Literature must languish in a job at Toys R' Us shortly after graduating from college! Ah! But I digress...! If I had learned how much I loved wine earlier in my life I would have actually chucked my English degree and headed straight for an Enology (study of winemaking) degree at UC Davis. I would have actually had a job waiting for me when I graduated! I could have kissed Toys R' Us goodbye! And I suppose more importantly I could have actually worked for a living doing something that I was passionate about.
So here I am 14 years after getting my B.A. looking into getting a wine making credential. It's $8650 for the entire set of courses and there is an immense wait list to get in. I have already taken the first course and I got an "A"! Now I am eagerly awaiting the next course, but at the same time wondering if my credit card can handle an additional $8000 being added to it! I wish Extension classes had financial aid! It's too bad that I can no longer qualify for Cal Grants!
Online Courses
Wow! I must say what a difference 14 years can make. When I attended UCSB I had some really great instructors but it was always difficult to get information from them. When I attended school they would stand at a podium in a classroom with about 200 other students and would lecture. Sometimes the lectures were rambling and my attempt at any type of coherent notes was often an abject failure. I was often frustrated by the disconnect between myself and the teacher.
Now we enter into the classroom of the 21st century! Every lecture for the online class had a PowerPoint outline that the instructor dutifully followed. I could actually take notes in a logical structure by following the PowerPoint presentation that was on the screen. And better yet the lectures were all delivered on DVDs! Not only could I watch them at 11PM while my daughter slept, but I could also forward and rewind things. I remember my frustration when I was in college, "What did the professor say...?" Well, it was too late and in a classroom of 200 other students they couldn't see my hand wildly waving and asking for a repeat because the students next to me were talking. There is no such problem with a DVD lecture. All I had to do was pause and rewind! And better yet, it was all on my computer. So if the instructor had a graph or diagram that I needed to have with my notes--no problem! All I had to do was print out the PowerPoint slide the instructor was using. I used to try to wildly copy down whatever the instructor was presenting as quickly as possible before the picture (usually a transparency on a projector) was taken away. Not only did I save time, but now I knew that I had an exact replica of whatever the instructor was using.
I was constantly amazed at how much information was being disseminated to me accurately. And if I ever had a question about what a professor said, all I had to do was look at the DVD again!
I suppose the biggest drawback to an online class is the lack of "community of students". However, since I live in a college town (Davis) I am already living in a community of students on a regular basis. All I have to do is hang out at the nearest coffee shop to get my fill of "student-life". In fact, I often find "the student community" extremely annoying when I am trying to find a parking space in downtown Davis. I even celebrate when the students leave during the Summer! So that downside is an upside for me.
The other downside is less interaction with your teacher. However, I must say that I never had much interaction with my real live teachers at UCSB. When they had over 200 kids in a classroom--interaction was minimal at best. So I really can honestly say that the student teacher interaction was pretty much the same as it was in real life (i.e. lacking). But I should also add that I had a wonderful professor this past quarter who took time out of his busy schedule to show me around the wine making department at UC Davis. I was able to see where they de-stemmed, crushed, fermented and cellared their wine.
Now all I can say is bring it on! I want to start making some wine! Preferably a nice Bordeaux blend! :-)
Posted: Fri - September 29, 2006 at 12:35 PM