TOPIC 4: TIME MANAGEMENT
Many people who take online classes do so because of the flexibility they offer. However, if you plan on just fitting in time to work on your course whenever you can find a spare moment, you will likely feel overwhelmed and may end up getting less out of your course than you had hoped. You may find yourself feeling like you are falling short on other obligations as well. The following tips are relevant to students in any environment, but they may be especially important for online learners.
1. MAKE BEING A STUDENT A PRIORITY. Decide how important being a student is to you. The first step to a successful learning experience will be to evaluate your time and your priorities. Where will being a student fit into your life? We all wear lots of hats as we go through each of our days. Think about this: What are your professional and family obligations? Do you volunteer or take other classes? What about exercise, cooking, reading or having a social life? How much time do you need to sleep each night in order to be a well functioning and happy person? You will want to consider factors like these as you plan your participation in your online course. Figure out how much time you think you will need to compete the assignments and plan your study time accordingly. Figure out when you are going to study, whether it is in big chunks of time on the weekends, or some each day, in the mornings or at night. The point here is to PLAN.
2. STAY ORGANIZED. Whether you make piles; lists; write things on your hand; or in a date book; figure out what works for you and do it. There will be much to remember and to keep track of. Check out the private calendar feature in SWTJC's WebCT, BlackBoard, or Portal.
3. KNOW WHAT IS EXPECTED OF YOU IN YOUR COURSE. Early in the semester you should try to determine how much time you will need to do all the reading and required work. Use a calendar to keep track of your responsibilities. Make sure that when you are going to need extra time to work on your course, you have it. This will take some planning ahead and may mean trying to restructure your life or schedule during certain periods.
4. TRY NOT TO GET BEHIND. Be aware of course deadlines. Some courses require interaction in a discussion forum or taking quizzes and test by certain dates. Other assignments may have flexible deadlines. If you find that you are falling behind, do the things that have fixed deadlines first. Then do the current assignments and work backwards until you get caught up. If procrastination becomes a habit, you will get further and further behind. When this happens, you are most likely to do a poorer job on the work in your course and, in the process, feel more stressed and overwhelmed.
End of Topic 4
Continue to Topic 5
Topic 3: Succeeding On Line Topic 5: Computer File Management
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Revised August 2011