Options for someone who's going to be on a ship for 9 months!

[dfrecore]

I have a friend who's going to be on a ship for 9 months, and will have a lot of downtime. He's like to actually accomplish something while he's gone. Like maybe getting some credits.

Does anyone have any ideas for what he could accomplish while gone? I know, it would be a prefect time to sign up for SL and Study.com and go crazy since he'd have the time, but he won't have great access to the internet, so those are probably not a great option. Or are they? I have no clue.

[tsimmns]

I think I've read that most ships today have teachers of some sort that offer classes in the way of semesters or terms. Of course your friend might not be able to knock out many classes this way, but some is better than none I imagine.

I think this is the exact article I read about years ago. Also, I'm not sure what the people are in the Navy, but in the AF there should be some sort of base education service he should be able to talk to about options while at sea.
http://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=62089

[docmarvin]

I wonder what he does on a ship to have a lot of down time. Internet access is very limited (assuming he's in the military). I believe there are courses afloat but i think those are traditional courses. I suggest, bring a lot of study materials for CLEP/DSST. When he's back in port, schedule those tests. I've seen a thread here before about this person who lives overseas, and no access to a test center. He studied for 6 months and when he was ready to test, he only have a week to test multiple subjects. I think it was a total of 60 credits. Maybe he can do that .

[dfrecore]

I think I've read that most ships today have teachers of some sort that offer classes in the way of semesters or terms. Of course your friend might not be able to knock out many classes this way, but some is better than none I imagine.

I think this is the exact article I read about years ago. Also, I'm not sure what the people are in the Navy, but in the AF there should be some sort of base education service he should be able to talk to about options while at sea.
Sailors Earn College Credits, Degrees at Sea

And the forum has delivered!! I just sent this to him. Thanks!

[dfrecore]

I wonder what he does on a ship to have a lot of down time. Internet access is very limited (assuming he's in the military). I believe there are courses afloat but i think those are traditional courses. I suggest, bring a lot of study materials for CLEP/DSST. When he's back in port, schedule those tests. I've seen a thread here before about this person who lives overseas, and no access to a test center. He studied for 6 months and when he was ready to test, he only have a week to test multiple subjects. I think it was a total of 60 credits. Maybe he can do that .

I've heard from multiple people - the main problem on board is boredom. There is tons of downtime, depending on your job. My friend anticipates that for himself, he's done it a couple of times already this year in shorter increments (1 month and then 4 months). So I'm guessing he has a handle on what's going on there.

I thought of the CLEP/DSST thing, I will definitely suggest it to him. It sounds horrible to me, to do all of that studying and then just go test like a madman. Ugh.

[SolarKat]

The ship will definitely have an Education Officer - that's a good place for your sailor to bring this question. My husband did a few of the afloat classes (this was some time ago), and on other patrols he didn't take the classes but spent a lot of time with the instructor outside of class hours. (The instructors are often civilians who join the ship for part of the trip, then leave at a port call.) Our experience was that the Internet connection in port was usually pretty good...and if there are going to be problems/restrictions, they knew in advance that there would be limitations. My husband said the classes afloat were generally good.

If your friend found a class offering paper exams, that might work OK because the Ed Officer would handle them. I wouldn't trust anything requiring ProctorU appointments because port calls & schedules can change unexpectedly, making several hours of scheduled 'net connection uncertain. The RPNow system might be a possibility, as he could test on the longer port calls, without an appointment. Again, the EO would be the one to work with. His command can hook him up.

He can also work on rank advancement, study for the service-wide, etc.

[eriehiker]

I think that it would be cool if a sailor earned credits at Saylor.

[eriehiker]

https://www.amazon.com/Prisoner-Educatio...013V4F11Z2

This is a link to a guidebook for correspondence courses for prisoners. It is very comprehensive and could be helpful in this situation. I bought it because I am at home most of the time with three young kids and travel opportunities are limited.

[bjcheung77]

https://www.amazon.com/Prisoner-Educatio...013V4F11Z2

This is a link to a guidebook for correspondence courses for prisoners. It is very comprehensive and could be helpful in this situation. I bought it because I am at home most of the time with three young kids and travel opportunities are limited.

That's the first time I think I've read on here about correspondence education for prisoners, or something similar.
I recall the other forum it was mentioned before, it's interesting that prisoners get free education vs regular civilians I think.

[Collegelady2]

That's the first time I think I've read on here about correspondence education for prisoners, or something similar.
I recall the other forum it was mentioned before, it's interesting that prisoners get free education vs regular civilians I think.

I think its rather messed up if you ask me.