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success

Page history last edited by Laura Gibbs 14 years, 2 months ago

 

Orientation Week: Strategies for Success

 

I've been teaching online classes like this one for seven years now, and it is a great experience - overall, people in these classes do really wonderful work, have a lot of fun, and end up with a good grade. That gives me a lot of satisfaction as a teacher, and I have a great time every single semester.

 

At the same time, there are some students every semester who really struggle with the course, and every semester at least one or two students fail the class. That is obviously frustrating for the students who fail (they waste a lot of valuable time and money), and it is actually a frustration for everybody in the class. Even more than a classroom-based class, an online class is a collective experience. If some students in the class don't do the work, it has a negative impact on the class in general.

 

So, I really want EVERYBODY to succeed in this course - both for your own sake, and so that the course as a whole can be a success. To help you succeed, I've prepared this list of strategies for success. The list is based on my own experience working online, along with what I have learned from the hundreds of students who have completed my online courses in the past. I hope you will find some tips here that can be useful to you, both in this course, and in any other courses you are taking this semester.

 

Also, in addition to my tips here, you might want to take a look at the tips from students in the past:  Advice from Previous Students (at the end of the semester, I'll be asking you to add your advice here, too).

 

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Work ahead and avoid the deadlines. Do you get stressed out by deadlines? Then create your OWN schedule for this class, and do not let the deadlines determine when you do the work. Is it better for you to do all the work on the weekends? Do you have more time on Tuesday and on Thursday? Lots of time on Wednesday evening? Whatever your schedule is, you can come up with a plan for doing the assignments in this class based on the schedule that works for you - instead of doing your work at the last minute and getting very stressed out as a result.

 

Work ahead and finish the class two or three weeks early. Do you have a heavy schedule this semester? If you work two weeks ahead (or more, if you want!), this means you can be completely finished with this class two weeks before finals begin. If you do extra credit, too, you can finish as much as three or even four weeks early. This can give you extra time in your other classes to finish end-of-semester projects and get ready for exams. So, start now: if you can get one or two weeks ahead in this class early on in the semester, that could really help you out in your other classes at the end of the semester!

 

Make a weekly checklist. Do you have lots of things to do every day? Most people who take online classes are very busy, with lots of school-related tasks and work-related tasks and personal commitments every day of the week. To make sure you are keeping up with the assignments each week in this class, you should print out the weekly assignments list and check it off as you finish it - or subscribe to the Google Calendar for the class and use the Google Calendar Agenda to manage your to-do list for this class.

 

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Start webpage publishing assignments as early as possible. Is publishing webpages something new for you? Don't worry! Most students in this class are totally new to publishing webpages. If that is the case for you, then you just need to get started on the webpage publishing assignments as early as possible. I can give you all the help you need... but you need to give me time to help you. If you put off the assignment until the day it is due, I may not be available right then to help you, and you may get very frustrated as a result. So please make sure you do the technology assignments a few days before they are due, especially if you think you might need to ask for help.

 

Follow technology instructions carefully. Do you have a tendency to skip through instructions? That's okay sometimes - you may be able to figure out the assignments quickly on your own. If you do run into trouble, though, make sure you slow down and read through the instructions OUT LOUD. You might also want to print a copy of the instructions and check off each step as you complete it. If you're still stuck, let me know and I'll be glad to explain anything that is not clear - but you will probably find that the fastest way to complete each assignment is actually just to slow down and follow the instructions carefully, one step at a time.

 

Make sure you have antivirus software. Do you have up-to-date antivirus software installed on your computer? Especially if you are using a Microsoft-based Windows operating system, viruses are an extremely serious threat. Every semester, several students get into trouble because their computer is infected by a virus and they have to get the hard drive erased and the operating system reinstalled, putting their computer out of commission for several days. As an OU student, you can get FREE antivirus software and free updates. Just go to the OU IT website, support.ou.edu or call 325-HELP to find out how you can protect your computer from viruses.

 

Know your computer alternatives. What will you do if you suddenly are not able to use your computer or cannot get on the Internet? (If you use Cox Internet, for example, there are periodic outages - it's bound to happen at least once or twice during the semester.) So, especially if you are cutting the deadlines close, you need to have computer alternatives ready. Are you near an OU campus? If so, learn about the student computer labs and wireless access on your campus. If you are not near a campus, see what Internet access is available to you at your local public library. Another possibility: check out your local Kinko's or some other Internet access point, such as a cafe or bookstore, you could use in an emergency. If you do not have any kind of computer alternative available to you, then make sure you work well ahead of the deadlines, in case you run into unexpected computer trouble.

 

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Slow down and take notes. Do you tend to skim when you read? Many students get in the habit of skimming rapidly instead of reading slowly and taking notes - but in reality it is faster to SLOW DOWN and take notes! So, get a notebook to keep by your computer and take notes as you read. The act of physically writing out those notes will help you focus on the reading so that you can actually remember what you are reading. If you read slowly and take notes, you will be able to breeze through the reading quiz on the first try and not have to go back and look for information you missed the first time around.

 

Use a dictionary when you read. Do you look up words you don't know as you are reading? There are some great online dictionaries that you can use while you are reading. So, get in the habit of using the dictionary and writing down the words that you look up. There are plenty of online dictionaries you can use, and even a browser-based dictionary you can install in Firefox!

 

Proofread by reading out loud. Do you have trouble proofreading your own writing? The only way you can really proofread your work is by reading it out loud, word for word. If you have a 300 word writing assignment, it will take you approximately two minutes to read that assignment out loud. That is not a lot of time - but the benefits are huge. So, please, as a favor to me and to the other people who will be reading your written work this semester, proofread every assignment by reading it out loud first. You will be amazed at what a great technique this is for improving your writing.

 

Visit the OU Writing Center. Have you been to the OU Writing Center? The Writing Center is a fabulous resource where you can get individual one-on-one tutoring - FOR FREE - to help you learn better writing skills. Usually the best time to go see a tutor is after you have received written comments back from me but before you have started to revise the assignment. When you visit the tutor, you should take a clean printed copy of your current version of the assignment (you can print out your webpage and take that with you), along with a printed copy of the comments you have received back from me, plus a list of the specific writing problems you know you need to work on.

 

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Keep up with the class announcements. Do you prefer to get announcements by email, or would you rather see the announcements in Desire2Learn or at the course website or at the Ning? The choice is yours: just make sure you keep up with the announcements in class every day. There are daily announcements for this class, Monday through Friday. If you want to get the class announcements by email, it is easy to sign up for the email Announcements list.

 

Learn people's names. Do you have trouble learning people's names? In any class, whether in the classroom or online, it can be hard to get to know people's names. So please make sure you use people's names when leaving comments for them at the Ning - it's a very important part of interacting online and a good way to start learning everyone's names. If you start off the message with "Hey Alicia" or "Hi Josh," you will be able to get to know the other folks in class as individuals, which is really important in a fully online class like this one.

 

Be aware of communication etiquette. Have you ever gotten upset about something someone wrote you in an email... only to find out later on that it was just a misunderstanding? As you probably have learned from email and instant messaging, a written message has a different tone than a spoken message. So please be careful in the messages you leave for other people; read the message out loud to make sure it sounds okay. Also, please don't overreact to a message that someone leaves for you; it is easy sometimes to take something the wrong way, totally by accident. In general, OU students are really helpful and polite online, but if there is something you think is a problem, you need to LET ME KNOW right away, and I'll help get it all sorted out.

 

Save your emails for this class. Is your email inbox a total disaster? I definitely know what it's like to get flooded by email, and I spend a lot of time just keeping my email under control. To do that, I tag all my emails for future reference, keeping them in separate folders. You will find it a lot easier to manage this class if you create a folder in your email program where you can keep all the emails related to this class. You should save copies of the emails that you send to me, and you should also save copies of the emails that I send back to you.

 

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Reduce clutter. Does your work environment tend to get totally cluttered by the end of the day? If you let your real space or your virtual space get cluttered, every task will take you much longer to complete. If you can reduce the clutter, you will find it so much easier to focus and get your work done. So, clear off your desk, or put things into stacks on the desk. Turn off your stereo or TV or radio, and turn off your cellphone and any IM or phone applications you have running on your computer. If you spend thirty minutes focused on your study tasks you can then have time to watch TV or talk on the phone later... after you have finished your work.

 

Close your eyes and take a deep breath. Are you spending hours at a stretch in front of the computer? As an online instructor, I am in front of the computer all day long, every day. Ugh! When you are trapped in the front of the computer, it often happens that your whole body tenses up... and when your body is all tensed up, so is your brain. Get unstuck! Just just close your eyes, take a deep breath, and relax. Breathe very slowly, in ... out ... in ... out ... in ... out, letting go of all that accumulated tension. Then stretch out your arms, spread your fingers wide, and let your head drop back and STRETCH. Just taking a minute or two to relax in this way will make your whole study session in front of the computer so much more productive!

 

There's nothing like a good night's sleep. Are you trying to study while suffering from sleep deprivation? You need to try to get AT LEAST SIX HOURS OF SLEEP each night if you can - and most people really need more like seven or eight hours of sleep. Scientific studies have shown that sleep is essential for learning and memory. If you try to study while you are sleepy, you are probably not going to remember very much of what you learn! You may not feel like you have time for a good night's sleep, but the benefits in productivity the next day will save you time in the long run.

 

Whatever happens: DON'T PANIC. Have you read Douglas Adams's genius book, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy...? If so, you already know that the very best advice in any situation - including an online course - is: DON'T PANIC! Life is full of unexpected events - and the same is true of online courses. But don't worry: there is really not anything that is going to happen during this course that you need to panic about. If there is a problem, please let me know right away, and I am sure we can find a good solution. But whatever the problem is: Don't panic. Just stay calm and send me an email... we'll be able to find a solution before the world comes to an end, I promise! :-)

 

Don't Panic wallpaper

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