And I have her all to myself

I recently signed up for an on-line class with Ann Maulin of Australia at Lisa Risler's site. Today I received an email from Ann that said I am the only student in the class. I was quite surprised at this because I think she is a wonderful designer and I've heard great things about her as a teacher. But that said, now it's like getting a private class with her, I'm really excited about it.

Why would you want to take an on-line class? Many reasons - but my main ones are 1) ability to learn in-depth from designers I admire but know I will never meet in person for a class, and 2) to learn a specific technique with more than surface details. They are also great for tackling something that you may think is too complicated to do on your own.

Have you wondered how on-line classes work? They are all run pretty much the same way although the software used gives each one a different appearance. The classes are broken up into sections, usually one lesson a week. Those lessons are posted on a website, and may be in the format of a Microsoft Word file or, more likely, a .pdf file (Adobe Acrobat). Once you sign up you will receive a website address and password to use to access the class area. You go to the website, enter your password, and click on the week/lesson you are on. You can download (save) the lesson to your computer and then you have the choice to either print it or just read it on your monitor. I tend to print out the lessons and put them in binders. Don't be surprised if you end up with a book - these classes are way more than just a pattern and simple instructions. The best thing about these classes is the dialogue between the students and the accessability of the instructor. On every class I've taken there has been some sort of bulletin board to post questions to and to share pictures on. You work your way through your lessons and if you have a problem just post a question to the instructor. They usually check in daily so you don't have to wait long for help. The last class I took had 67 students in it and there were lively discussions on the bulletin board.

There are lots of doll web sites that teach classes, just do a Google search on "online doll classes". All the sites I've used show up - although you do have to go back about five pages to see them all.
Give it a go - you'll learn something, maybe make a new friend or two, and end up with an awesome doll!