This is my first time ever doing a blog or even reading blogs. Over the past few weeks I have learned a lot. I have come to find out first hand how unpredictable working can be. When I started this adventure of school I planned on taking one online course (this class) and a class on campus to get some prerequisites. My wife is going to school and taking a full load of classes herself. Not to mention that we are raising two kids and I’m working full time. My boss changed our office hours with only 2 days notice and made time management an impossible task. De-conflicting schedules was now a major issue. Just to make our home life manageable and cohesive I had to drop my class in the classroom. I have come to realize that in order for me to accomplish my goals of school it is mandatory for me to take online classes. It gives me the flexibility to accomplish my assignments and post any time of day and not be hand cuffed to one particular day and time. These challenges that have been put in front of me make taking classes the adventure. I would like to leave a quote that a mentor once told me. “Life Happens” meaning you can make all the plans in the world but some things are out of your control.

I am new to this as well. I’ve read the blogs of others, but never posted any of my own. It feels good to learn some new things and to feel like I’m taking some baby steps toward feeling confident in navigating online learning (Ah!- the purpose of this class!). I feel like I might miss out on some of the visual learning that helps me in classrooms, but videos might be just as helpful. Mostly, I need repetition and I need to write things down so online communication might be just the ticket in this matter. I realize that online learning will indeed take more time to do, but I also feel like I will be actually be working most of the time and that will help me in the sense of repetition. If I have to write something down first to figure it out before I post my answer, then I am at least going through that problem twice. Being at home has absolute benefits since I have a family and a job, but it also offers some extra distractions that I need to learn to deal with and have been trying to fiddle with the past couple of weeks. It is so easy to procrastinate when there are chores to do (even though I could normally let most of them sit until they absolutely had to be done!). I also appreciate feeling less intimidated because of the certain amount of anonymity online learning allows, depending on what instructors expect for their class. At any rate, I’m very happy to have this alternative opportunity to continue towards my degree!

This is my first blog as well.  I have followed some blogs in the past, but I don’t read any on a regular basis. I’ll be interested to see how this format differs from the discussion board.

In working through the assessments I was initially surprised to find that I am a multi-modal learner, although it makes sense to me now that I have thought about it.  I had always considered myself a kinesthetic learner, which is true, but I process a lot of information through reading/writing and through visual media. My scores for kinesthetic, reading/writing, and visual were pretty much even, which was the big surprise. According to the assessments I am not an aural learner which comes as no surprise. I often day-dream and am easily distracted when I listen. It’s very hard to stay focused and be present when I’m listening to a lecture, or when I’m listening to a friend or family member for that matter.

As I mentioned in the discussion board, time management will be the biggest hurdle. Like many here, I am a non-traditional student with kids, work, and other obligations. Finding time to juggle everything can be difficult. I say juggle rather than balance because truly there is no balancing everything that has to be done. There is no way to give all things equal time. Some things simply require more time and energy than others, and some things won’t get the attention they need. So instead of balancing I try to prioritize and then juggle the priorities, spending more time on some things then trying to make up the difference with other things later on.

Another challenge with online learning is the fact that it is so convenient. Knowing that my classes are always there to work on when I want makes it easy to do other things and put off classwork BECAUSE it is always there. It can be easy to be misled by the convenience.

Hi everybody,

This is my first blog.  What I have learned in this first two weeks is that I like to do all my classes online.  This is the second time I have gone to college.  I was able to get my Associate’s degree in Criminal Justice online.  So that is why I am here to get my Bachelor of Science  in Fisheries & Wildlife Sciences.  I found out I will have to take a few classes here in Colorado.  That will be a little different.  I hope  the classes I have to take here goes good.  I have not been in a real class room since I got out of High School back in 1980.  The one main reason I like online learning is I work full time and have a wife and three kids in school.  I don’t have time to go to a class room.

This is my first ever blog and so I’m completely new to this kind of communication.  The first couple of weeks have been an eye opener to learning online instead of a class room.  I’m leaning more to the classroom environment because I miss the interaction between teacher and other students.  I have not made up my mind just yet, but I’m giving this first two classes a chance, hopefully everything works out.  The upside to learning online is you get a lot of interaction with your computer and how to work over the internet and like with this blog I’m understanding more and more.  The only thing is, I don’t want to completely depend on my computer and lose the classroom environment feeling.  I feel that this type of teaching/learning is great for someone who is distant or someone who’s schedule is very busy, but for me, I think that actually going to class would be better.  I am retired and not working right now, maybe later when I need the money or when I’ve graduated.  If this does go well, then maybe I will stick with it and do more classes online.

What is a blog, anyway?  There  are lots of answers to this question, and depending on your use of blogs and whether you blog already, you may have your own opinion to share.  That’s good… sharing will be required in this class!

First, a few definitions of BLOG offered by a sampling of experts on the topic:

A weblog is a hierarchy of text, images, media objects and data, arranged chronologically, that can be viewed in an HTML browser.’ Source

‘A frequent, chronological publication of personal thoughts and Web links.’Source

‘From “Web log.” A blog is basically a journal that is available on the web. The activity of updating a blog is “blogging” and someone who keeps a blog is a “blogger.”‘ Source

I don’t know about you, but I learned from compiling these quotes where the word “blog” comes from!

In this class, our blog will offer an alternative playground for posting your thoughts and reflections. In addition to participating in the class Discussion Board, contributing to a blog allows you to gain experience navigating a blog site, posting and receiving comments, and getting used to the terminology used out there in the blogosphere.  You are asked to post two blog entries during this course and to read and respond actively to others’ posts.  While we are experimenting with blogging in a minor way in this class, some of your online courses at OSU will require blog entries as a primary means of posting and participating.

Your Week 2 assignment, Blog Post #1, is this:

In this class we have begun exploring what makes for successful online learning, how your readiness as an online learner prepares you for success and where potential challenges lie, and you have spent in-depth time investigating your learning styles this week. Reflect on all that has happened to you during your first couple of weeks of becoming an online learner.

In your first blog, please address the strengths you have identified in yourself, the surprises you’ve already encountered during your first two weeks, and the struggles that keep you mindful of the challenges of online learning.

Please do categorize and add tags to your post (see the video below for help).

If you’d like instructions for posting your blog, please see the video to help you get started: How to Add a Blog Post (this example is from a different class, but you will find it helpful).