When I had registered for the Pre-Health program, I was very excited and pleased to

know that they offered SALS for additional learning, as I had used the services previously for a

different program. To my surprise however, even though the program was offered as an online

course, there were no SALS courses offered specifically online. As a student that is very active

and therefore relies on the ability to pursue the courses online, I believe that this has been a

hindrance to my overall learning outcomes and better development. The two main courses that

I was looking forward to having access to a SALS platform for were Chemistry and Biology. Both

of these courses were my weaker leg in high school and therefore I wanted to ensure that I had

any and all resources to obtain the grade that I hoped to achieve.

When accessing both the Biology and the Chemistry SALS, the one benefit that I was and

am still able to utilize is the quiz aspect. This allows me to review the different systems or labs

that we are learning in the classroom and better instill them into my practices. The only

downfall of only having the quizzes is at times additional explanation or more understanding is

required and due to there not being a “chat” or communication option it often leads to having

to do additional research to understand the lessons. I truly believe that if I was a student

attending my classes at a Durham College campus that the SALS program would be exceptional

and a great resource for ensuring that you are fully knowledgeable in the course. However,

seeing as this is an online only course, I find that the option is slightly redundant. The one

benefit for taking an online program is that you inconsequently do not need to live within the

vicinity of that physical campus. That means that the numerous resources that they offer are

often out of reach. I believe that better developing the online program/ assistance would
benefit future students so that they can be more productive in receiving SALS program

assistance.

With regards to my journey though orientation I am full of many mixed feelings. I

applaud Durham for being proactive and even inviting me to participate in the Start Strong

through a phone call, however when I explained that I in fact am an online student and do not

reside close to the campus the level of inclusion did decrease. I do want to state that overall, I

found that it was easy to access all of the course outlines for each of the courses and navigate

the book store to in turn purchase all of the required texts that I needed. This aspect of the

program I felt was fully development and running at its best. Being an online student, I have

found has more challenges then it does positives. One of the main issues I have is that each of

the courses has an external program to apply labs and assignments to. By doing this it almost

creates an uncontrolled chaos as there have been numerous times that I have been unaware

that something is due on an external site rather than the school program site. The teachers

however have been a pleasant mixed bag to communicate with. I find that each teacher has

their own way of executing an online course and therefore it varies between the

communication boundaries that are set in place. I feel in an average classroom the dynamic is

more welcoming and understanding. Yet online it is hard to grasp or create that personal

connection unless the student goes out of the way to do so. A positive for the Prep course has

been the weekly email that outlines all of the “marks up for grabs”. I greatly utilize this tool and

wish that more teachers would participate in this aspect. By sending one overall outline it

ensures that I do not forget or misread any information given. It also allows me to have a better

organization on my time and my work load. If each of the courses did the same email outline, I
am sure that many students would find it beneficial as well as help with their overall

development and achievements.

I believe that in the future or on future endeavors so to speak if I was to return to

Durham college to pursue my Nursing Studies, I would make sure that all of my courses were in

class. Even though the ability to access and complete all assignments on one’s own time has

been greatly beneficial, I feel that the inability to access a classroom has greatly diminished my

full learning potential. By having all of the resources such as SALS, class interaction, peer to

teacher communication in person and all of the additional resources that Durham has to offer I

am sure that my overall academic performance would be substantially heightened.

Overall the fundamental core values of the online Pre-Health program have been great.

I am able to hopefully obtain a high enough mark that I will be accepted into a Practical Nursing

program in Ontario come next spring. It has allowed me the ability to provide the additional

support and care to my special needs son that is required and ensured that his medical and

therapy appointments are not hindered by my studies. It has taught me a vital point of self-

discipline as well as time management that I don’t think any other program could have, and it

also allowed me to grow and have a larger basis of self-confidence when it comes to the

sciences. I think even though the SALS program was unable to “help” me in the way that it is

set up to be, I believe the basis and structure of the Pre-Health program itself has taught me

more than any assistance program could.