This is my first term here at OSU so it has been a roller coaster for me in many different ways. This is also my first term in college where I am taking all online classes. From transitioning from a in class student to an online learner has been pretty challenging for me. I can honestly say that I kind of had the mentality that doing online classes would be easier for me. There are many pros to doing online classes, but it is still very time consuming and difficult to do. A struggle that I had for most of the semester was managing my time and knowing when I can do assignments and when not too. I have struggled and still struggle with having the tendency to procrastinate and the farther the semester went the more I realize how destructive it can be to my grades. I think that this transition for me from in class student to online learner has been good for me too. By becoming a online learner and taking this class I have realized that I have strengths as a student.

This class has made me realize and identify the strengths that I have as a student and strengths I have as a online learner. One thing that this class has made me remember about myself is that I am a very driven and hard working person. I was raised that way and I try and apply this to be a college student as well. Some of the work in the classes I have this semester has been very hard and frustrating for me. If it wasn’t for the hard work that I put into my work I could honestly say that I would be failing right now. Something else that I realized this term is that I am not afraid to speak up and ask for help when I need it. Taking college course in Ohio from Oregon is a bit distant and requires me to contact different people in order to get help. I am glad that this class has made me realize that this is a good thing to do. Just this week I had a problem with a professor and I emailed him and contacted my adviser so I could get other opinions form people. Overall I’m glad this class has made me realize and identify the strengths we have as students. I hope everyone got something out of this class the way that I did.

-Joey Cramer

When I started my online learning experience here at OSU, online classes were not a new thing for me; however things have changed quite a bit since I completed my last program. I now have a family, a career and various other obligations that I must be involved with.  So as a result, the experience of being a student has also changed.

In general, I am a very organized person. When it comes to taking online courses, I can usually plan my week out accordingly and stick with my schedule. I would consider this to be a strong point of mine; however I have found that it is not so easy to stick with a schedule when you have absolutely no idea how long an assignment might take. This term I am taking a computer programming class, in addition to this class. The biggest obstacle that I have discovered with the assignments in that class is the amount of time it takes to write, debug and test a program. For example, last week I spent about 20 hours on one assignment, where 15 hours of that time was spent testing and debugging. Obviously this doesn’t leave me with a lot of time for my other course work. After learning the hard way, I have decided to reverse the order in which I complete my work, starting with an assignment that has a predictable duration followed by the unpredictable work.

This class has helped me to focus on my time management a little closer; it has also helped me to look for ways to maximize my learning. One of the biggest eye openers for me was finding my peak and valley times. It’s interesting that this seems like such a trivial concept; however, it never crossed my mind in the past. Taking this into consideration, I have discovered that I retain more from lectures and reading, when I study in the early afternoon, as opposed to early morning when I normally try to study. I have also learned that it is okay to take frequent breaks, in fact it is beneficial. This term I learned that I am left brained and a multimodal learner. Learning this information has helped prepare me to adapt my learning to best fit my learning style. After using the OSU library’s academic search function, I was thrilled to discover a tool that tracks my sources. This is a tool in which I will use for any research I conduct from here on out.

Moving forward into future terms, I will be adopting these skills and techniques, as well as many other methods learned in this class.

My strengths for my success in an online learning environment has to be my tenacious. The reminders in this class have brought back memories of many tips that become useful in online environments. Being organized, not procrastinating and working off of your strengths just to name a few is what helps me get my work done. There are so many specific tools that can help with an online environment but the one I think I’m going to choose for right now would be ask a librarian. I guess this is because I don’t feel alone in trying to accomplish a goal. Of course I have to have the specifics down in mind that is very nice that they have suggestions for you and can point you in the right direction so that you can pinpoint what is needed for you to get your assignments accomplished. The resources that I need to take into account is trying to figure out what I want to be when I grow up. I need to talk to counselors and take some aptitude test to see what I would work best at in seeking a job. I also have to learn a new way of studying. I am one of those this still wants to print everything out and annotate in the margins. I want desperately just to download these files and save them to the computer or my notebook to read in a leisurely manner. Not being forced to stay at the desk for long readings. I don’t have a clear mind in the upcoming term because I am wanting to change direction to more suit my strong skills. The main goal that I do have is to learn Spanish and get a BA degree.

When I think back to the beginning of this class and think of what my goals were then I believe they are the same now, but they have become more refined, more outlined and I have become more determined to complete them. I have every intention of making the most of my education and completing most if not all of my goals: short and long term. I think when everyone starts college they have very vague goals in mind of graduating and getting a good job. Some are set on changing the world as we know it. I think as you go through college and start completing classes and finding what it is that is so completely you that your goals change. Maybe it’s very subtle, maybe it is extraordinary, but there will be some change to either your goals or how you complete them.

The goals I have are still the same and I still have the same skills I have had in order to do well in online classes, but I have learned, gotten new tools, reevaluated how I can complete my goals and turn my life into something I want it to be. This class has changed the way I see myself completing my goals and my dreams. I have more tools available, I know more now than I did before and I am grateful that I will be able to use these new processes to complete my classes and get the help that I need to reach my potential.

Some incoming freshman may not feel as if they need this class or one like it. They probably think they know how to use the computer and they know how to turn in assignments. More than likely they do not know all of the resources available to them. From your professors to your advisor to the financial aid people, there are resources all around you at OSU that want you to succeed and will do everything they can to help you. The online library, the student online tutoring, and learning about diversity at Oregon State will be the things I take with me to complete my next classes, and the ones after that.

Knowing my learning style has helped me a lot in my other classes. I now know that reading is my greatest strength in learning and that auditory is my weakness. Knowing this has changed how I do learn, instead of only listening to power-points or watching the videos I read along with them and I am able to retain more information and for longer periods of time. I have stopped cramming right before a test and started reading all of the written material as well go along and then review before an upcoming test. Just knowing about my learning style has changed the way I am learning and helping me with my goals.

If there was only two things I would recommend to incoming freshman coming into OSU it would be to first take this class or one like it and second, get involved in your community and diversity either in your school or online through blogging, discussion boards or any other interests you may have. I know that I feel better about my schooling, my goals and my ability to complete them after taking this class. I am so glad that I took the advice of my HDFS advisor to take this class.

This term has flew by!  It just seemed like yesterday I was trying to figure out what a google doc was (my wife is so patient with me) and now I am doing one of my final posts of the course.  As a new online learner, these past 9 weeks have shown me that I need to take the initiative and do the assignments as soon as they are available.  Next thing I know it is Friday night and I am trying to make weekend plans, but low and behold there is a discussion board staring me right in the face.  They say the early bird gets the worm, and my worm is a school-free, relaxing weekend enjoying life.  I am also not a great procrastinator, so I have to allot myself extra time to get over any speedbumps.  To all the successful procrastinators out there, I SALUTE YOU!  I have come to realize that my reading comprehension may need some work.  I have to figure out how to be a more proficient reader before I get into my core classes for Earth and Environmental Sciences.  From this class, I have realized the importance of goal setting and To-Do lists.  I utilize both in my professional life and it was a nice realization that the two just mapped right over to online learning.  I have to tell myself that if I write down a task and don’t complete it, that maybe I should break down that task into subtasks.  Progress is progress no matter how big or small!  My strategy of staying ahead of schedule has worked thus far for me, so I will try to continue down that path for as long as I can.  Having a 7:00am to 3:00pm work schedule, two dogs and no TV really makes me able to stay on top of school assignments.  Again to all the students out there who work multiple jobs, have children and work on school well into my bedtime, I SALUTE YOU!  I envy students who get to live on or be in such close proximity to the main Corvallis Campus.  I really missed out on “college life” when attending a traditional school way back when.  I heard it was just like Animal House!  No, but really, I would love to get involved with the KBVR-FM student radio and the Memorial Union Program Council.  Beaver Radio is pretty sweet to listen to as you are studying away (and I think you can make requests).  The Program Council puts on what seems like some pretty cool events on campus.  I think my long term goal is similar to most people:  GRADUATE!  As of now, I am only planning on taking no more than 6 credit hours each term, so my graduation date may be later than most everyone else!  I enjoyed the required reading from the textbook and the Ted Talk video this week.  It was a nice motivation heading into the last few weeks of school.  The speaker had some poignant words that I will keep in my brain bank:  “Choose Now, Choose Well.”  “Living an incredible life is no accident.  You have to do it on purpose.”  With this new chapter in most of our lives, dedicated to online learning, we must all remember that as long as we set clear objectives and goals and maintain positivity, we will all come out successful.  The textbook stated that “We must enjoy the journey of education.”  We have a similar saying in the Gaither household.  On a trip to San Francisco, my in-laws encountered a gentleman by the Golden Gate Bridge that gave them a piece of advice that we have now adopted and continue to pass when out in the world, “Wherever you go. Whatever you do.  Enjoy the journey.”

Cheers,

Justin