I am glad to have classes in these "chunks" of time. I feel like I can see the end without stressing about all of the bumps along the way.
This has been an interesting endeavor. Online learning so far has been good for me.
Yes, I would have preferred to have not taken my first vacation in two years and have all of this studying to do at the same time. It wasn't much of a vacation at all because every day I had to take a block of time and focus on ECE. I also made the dreadful mistake of staying in constant communication with my job. Big mistake.
As I begin to reflect on my study habits and my approach to online learning, I have already made a few changes changes:
- Turn the mail off and keep it off. Checking for email while working is a terrible distraction.
- Stay out of any room with a t.v. (no need for explanation)
- Use my home office. Hello. That's what it's there for. Nice desk, nice chair, quiet environment. (Ok, it is a little cold and I will have to work on that)
- STOP GETTING DISTRACTED BY SURFING THE WEB.
- I have to stop checking the discussion board while I'm supposed to be writing my application. It's another distraction.
I defiantly do some of the same no-no's as you do!! One thing I have found handy is on Sunday, I look at the following week and I set up my documents. I make one for the discussion (so I have my own copy) and at the very top I put the key things needed for the assignment, I just delete it afterward.
ReplyDeleteFor the Application, I re-used the same document (once I got the formatting right!) each time, but eliminated the bulk info., and had a place holder that said "title" "todays date in this format: august 4, 2012" "title in all caps" "references centered and double spaced, indented" ect. And again, pasted the key points to be covered just under the title. This way i was on point, and not always with my browser open, and I did not get lost in all the description of the assignments when they only wanted two questions answered!
For the blog assignments, I also used the same document each time, creating a blank that I would open up and "save as" week__ assign2_ ___"
Come to think of it, on my blog itself, I would save the document, titled blog assignment # and instructions on what to post, but would not publish until I was actually ready to submit it!! it has helped me stay focused and I did NOT work on school everyday (although I was always checking stuff on blackboard!) I usually worked on them on Mondays and Fridays, to give me a little room in case I wanted to change things for Wednesday and Sunday.
Great tips for keeping focused. I try to print out my assignments for the week on Sunday, somehow seeing it print helps me and I can write comments on it as I read the course material. I also found a website that helped me alot to keep focused in this house full of kids and plenty of distractions lol It is http://www.simplynoise.com Thank you for the comments and support throughout the class, I enjoyed and learned from you this class, I hope to have you in future classes. Best of luck to you!
ReplyDeleteAna