User:Lpcalix/Temp/Online tips IP.doc
TIPS FOR ON-LINE LEARNING
Based on my own experience as an online student and, and with comments from some of the students with whom I’ve worked, here are some tips that may help you have a more successful online experience. They are not necessarily in order of importance. Are there any others you can add?
PRIORITIZE! You are studying in order to reach a future goal. You may have to give something up to reach it (besides money and sleep :-)). You may not know anything about the new television season or the new movie releases. Maybe you’ll have to skip a night out with friends. You may go a little longer between haircuts or without shopping for new clothes...some things are going to have to move down on your list of priorities in order to put your education way up near the top. And just accept it. You can’t do everything, so some things aren’t going to happen. Prioritize so that your coursework isn’t one of the things left undone.
SCHEDULE A REGULAR TIME FOR YOUR CLASSWORK. The “flexibility” that studying online offers us is an incredible advantage, but interpret that to mean “finding the time that is most convenient for you”. Don’t leave classwork to chance. You have to make the time. The best way to do that is to plan it into a daily or weekly schedule. Once you have prioritized your commitments and analyzed the time those take, find the hours that can be set aside for classwork and let nothing interfere with them. When making your schedule, take into account your personal characteristics and the needs of others in your household. Are you exhausted at the end of the day? Then maybe you should try getting up an hour earlier every morning to log into your classes. A night owl that has trouble getting out of bed in the morning? Then maybe your regular time should be after everything in your household has gotten quiet in the evening. Share a computer and your children or siblings need it for their homework after school? Well, maybe you can have exclusive rights on the weekend.
Remember, you need to set aside 8-10 hours weekly for each of your courses. In addition to a regular time to log in and check on your classes, you need to plan blocks of time (4 hours or so) to do your research and assignments. Can’t find time during the week? Then make sure you leave your weekends free!
BE CREATIVE ABOUT FINDING TIME. Most working adults, especially parents, are experts at multi-tasking. But studying requires setting aside additional time that has to come from somewhere. How about using public transportation to get to work instead of driving? Use the commute time to do some of your reading. Get off a few stops early and walk the rest of the way to the office and you’ve taken care of getting some exercise. Compose your discussion question response in your head while you are walking and you’ve taken care of three tasks at once! (With extra points for helping the environment!) Some people I know always carry something to read, and everytime they are waiting in a line (the bank, the supermarket, etc.) they read a few pages. Search for those hidden moments!
MAKE A MASTER SCHEDULE. Put everything on a calendar or some other schedule format, especially if you are taking more than one course at a time. List assignment and discussion due dates, exams, and any other reminders you want present. It will be much easier to plan your time and meet all of your deadlines if you can visualize them clearly.
TRY TO HAVE COMPUTER AND INTERNET ACCESS AT HOME. You will need to spend a lot of time online, both for your classes and for preparing assignments. You will be much more successful if you have the flexibility of working from home. If at all possible, get a high speed internet connection.
FIRST THINGS FIRST. It is very tempting, when you sit down at the computer, to check your e-mail, visit Facebook, get involved in a chat, do some shopping, play a game, or surf the web for any of the millions of interesting things you can find. But all of a sudden, you find you’ve used up all of your time and never did get to that class work. Log in and take care of your class work first, then you can relax for any time remaining.
PARTICIPATE! The more you put into your coursework, the more you will get out. This benefits not just your personal learning, but also your sense of feeling part of a learning community. Active participation can help relieve the feeling of isolation that some people experience when studying online. Log in regularly, everyday if you can. Read and reflect on your classmates’ responses to discussion questions and provide thoughtful comments to them. Praise and encourage your classmates. Constructive criticism is okay, too. Share articles or web sites you have found related to the topics being studied. Be brave enough to ask questions. The answers will help everyone!
ENLIST SUPPORT. Get your friends, family and co-workers to assist you in reaching your goals. Could they let you log into your class over your lunch hour at work? Could someone else at the house take over some of your chores once in awhile? Could your family schedule that party AFTER your final exams? Could someone get everyone out of the house for a few hours on the weekend so you can work without distractions? Let everyone know how important this is for you—and for them! Ask for their help.
COMPOSE YOUR WORK OFFLINE. Then you can keep a record of all of your assignments and discussion responses and if—heaven forbid!—you lose your internet connection right when you are ready to post, you haven’t lost your work. Copy and paste your discussion responses into the text box provided. Submit your assignments according to your instructor’s directions. Some prefer assignments submitted as attachments, and others like them pasted in the text box.
KEEP THINGS ORGANIZED. Establish a clear system for labeling your files and set up folders for your courses. If all of your records just say “assignment” it will be hard to find things. Try something like “MgtMod1assignment” (Management Module 1 assignment) or “Mgt Mod1DQ2” (Management, Module 1, Discussion question 2). If you are going to be submitting your assignments as attachments, help your instructor by including your name in the file name (“MgtM1Calix”).
BACK UP YOUR WORK. We’ve all had it happen. The computer crashes, the electricity goes out, a virus gets in and destroys some of our files... You don’t want to have an assignment ¾ complete and then lose it or not be able to access it. Save a backup copy every time you work on an assignment, e-mail important work to yourself, save it in Google Docs or in a cloud service!
USE THE RESOURCES AND TOOLS YOU HAVE AVAILABLE. Take some time to explore the College web site and the resources available to you as a student. And then take advantage of them! The online library, helpful librarians, tutoring, discounts on software, financial aid, your advisor... there are many sources of information and assistance that can help you succeed.
COMPLETE THE ONLINE ORIENTATION AND TUTORIALS. Everything will seem so much easier if you know where to find things and how to navigate through your courses. Before you even start your classes, take the time to complete the tutorials and online orientations. Can’t remember how to do something? You can check back into those same sources for a reminder. If you are really stuck, there’s tech support to walk you through. Or even ask your classmates. They can often be your quickest source of assistance.
BOOKMARK HELPFUL RESOURCES. Don’t waste time doing the same search over and over again. If you find a resource that is especially useful, put it in your favorites. That could even be a page from the college web site. Keep a list of helpful phone numbers and e-mail addresses next to the computer, too.
WE ALL NEED BALANCE. It’s okay to relax with your friends once in awhile. If you try to get to the gym regularly, set that time aside. If the whole family gets together on Sunday afternoons and you want to be there, block that out on your schedule, too. If you are miserable because you’ve given up too many things that are really important to you, you’ll be more likely to quit! Just remember your educational goals and priorities!
KEEP A POSITIVE ATTITUDE! Enjoy the experience! This is a time for growing and learning. It’s your “me” time. It’s exciting and can be fun! It’s a sure-fire investment in your future. You can make new friends. You are starting (or continuing) on a path of lifelong learning. And you CAN do this! Graduation day will be here before you know it!
