I'm currently unemployed and finding it hard to get any sort of job (overeducated/language "problems"/not cool enough/born in wrong country/too motivated). I decided that instead of having a massive hole in my CV I would try and find some sort of course to do that would be either fun or useful.

I managed to find a course that is business related and the bonus of being 100% distance learning (which will save me at least 3 hours a day). They marketed it as being designed and adapted specially for distance learning whilst learning exactly the same things taught on campus. Based on that marketing I expected a few things:

• short videos/audio/graphics of key information
• a different handbook to regular students (or at least some areas expanded)
• more than just a textbook that you can buy in the store
• access to the PowerPoints used in regular classes
• an active discussion forum

After all the bloody bureaucratic bullshit that seems to come along with signing up for tertiary education I finally got enrolled (although I'm still not 100% sure that is finalized), signed up for a few classes and ordered my textbooks/course material. And wow - talk about lacking. Lets call them course A1, A2, B1, C1 and D1. A2 is a continuation of A1.

For A1 I await a textbook. I have access to some PowerPoints which don't make sense to me. They really need audio - the slides aren't even summaries they are more cases with not explanation. Like if they were doing a lecture on Shakespeare the equivalent would be a slide with a passage out of Romeo and Juliet. Useful for if the lecturer is in front of you talking about it: useless if you were sick that day and couldn't make it to class. I at least get the answers to the questions - I am guessing the questions are in the textbook.

For A2 there is no textbook. I do have a 200+ page document which looks like a badly done summary. It is very concise. I am not a student who likes things too concise. Actually a brief skim makes it look like a document of bullet points.

For B1 there is a textbook that I refuse to buy and a heap of exercises. I actually know most of it (it's computer skills) I just have to learn to navigate the latest system in a different language. But no links to useful websites or any videos on how the exercises are to be done.

For C1 I had to buy a handout which then appears for free on the discussion board (always wait until you can log in online before you buy books apparently). It too reads like someone's course summary. There is very little info - it is mostly diagrams that I struggle to understand and abbreviations that are not explained.. No powerpoints, videos, audio, textbook, further referencing.

For D1 I await a textbook. I also have access to a few slides which are primarily pictures and what is 30 slides should have been about 10. Bonus points here for a FAQ.

Pretty much I'm pissed. Don't market your course as being specially designed for distance learning when the only thing I get as a distance learner is a 5 page course overview (first page is how to contact your teacher) which is just a chapter outline (usually teachers give that stuff to everyone here). Discussion forums are ghost towns, some of them have never had a ghost in them (it is the second semester -there should have been some sort of commenting in the first semester). If you like reading you're fucked, if you're an audio learner you're fucked, if you are a visual learner you're also pretty fucked. If you love memorizing lists - well you might do ok. I'm not (and never have been) a list learner. I need context. I learn from patterns, not rote memory.

My initial excitement for finding something to do that would be useful has eroded away. I hope I find it again because I need some way of motivating myself so I can get through my 600ish supposed hours of coursework.

I think SOTDRT would have been better

I forgot my fairytale.

Once upon a time in a land far away there lived a young maiden who searched for work. Finding herself virtually unemployable she decided to fill her time with useful stuff like learning. Her school was bright and colorful and she learnt a lot. There were powerpoints, gifs, cat pictures, coloring pages, videos and much much more to help her understand her lessons. She was very pleased with this and then found her dream job. She lived happily ever after. The END