If you could give a future online graduate student a word of advice to help them in the program what would it be? In an article written by Ryan Lytle for U.S News in 2013 the five tips he provided to succeed in an online course are "confirm technical requirements, connect with instructors early, create a schedule, stay organized, and have a consistent workspace". You can click here to read the article in full.
I completely agree that you should confirm technical requirements prior to the course so you are not scrambling to worry about it later instead of focusing on your work. Similar to a campus course prior to the course there is a check list of items that you should have prepared before class; such as a notebook, pen, textbook, and any other course materials required (for online having the proper technology and internet access falls under this list). Most professors provide this information weeks prior to class or the materials can be found on the schools bookstore website therefore there is really no excuse for being unprepared. You should also always have a back up and never leave an assignment for last minute since there are instances out of your control, such as a server being down or your internet crashing.
I would love to hear a professors input on the idea of connecting with instructors early as well as other online graduate students. I know personally I do not usually reach out to the professor prior to class unless I have any questions or concerns after going over the syllabus. Do you think this is actually preferred and beneficial to get to know your professor prior to class even if you do not have a specific question?
Creating a schedule and staying organized has definitely been crucial to my success in the program. If I do not set aside specific days and times to work on my assignments I notice myself starting to slack off. One tip I have that falls under this category is to keep a calendar of all your assignments and when they are due to stay on track. I keep the calendar at my desk at work since that is where I spend most of my time and it is always right in front of me. Everyone has different preferences so find what works best for you and your program.
I struggle with the idea of a consistent work space, while I think it would be nice I do not think it is always realistic for online graduate students. Online graduate students lead busy lifestyles and I am sure many of you would agree that you fit work in where you can wherever, whenever. Sometimes I do some reading or work on assignments at work on my lunch break, in my room, or at the airport when traveling. I might have a set time to work on these items, but the actual place and work space depends where I am at that moment. Sometimes it is not possible to find a quiet area when traveling, so the best thing to do is put in some headphones and do your best to zone out. Therefore if you are a busy online graduate student my tip would be to find your best practice to focus and drown out the background noise.
What are your tips or thoughts you would like to share?
Creating a schedule has been vital to surviving my grad school schedule! What I end up doing is writing everything down and then transferring my schedule to the calendar on my phone. I am able to meet all of my deadlines and allot the right amount of time to specific tasks.
ReplyDeleteI like to vary my work space. I have a home office, but find that working in the home office all day and doing homework all night is very draining. At night and on the weekend I like to bring my lap top to the dinning area and do my homework there, while my son does his. It is our bonding time, doing our homework in the same space and talking about our assignments.
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