Before this class, I never really took the chance to find my “Inner Online Learner”. I was always the traditional classroom type of student. I had always been told that taking online classes were not as valuable as actually being in the classroom and that they would be a waste of my time. Honestly…I did not know what to think. Now I have had the opportunity to take a few classes online, I have learned just how valuable they can be. So far, I have learned a lot about myself and have learned skills that I can take with me and apply to other parts of my life. I have found that my “Inner Online Learner” is very visual oriented and hands on. Unlike my classroom counterpart, my “Inner Online Learner” takes initiative and stays on top of things. He likes the challenge of learning new material and researching to find out more. While exploring this new territory, I have also found how hard online learning can be as well. Depending on the type of learner you are and the amount of time you are willing to put into it, things can get a little hairy and overbearing. The biggest struggle that I have had and have seen other people have with online learning is procrastinating. It is a lot easier to just say “I’ll do it tomorrow”…or…”It isn’t that hard so I can do it later in the week”. It doesn’t take much and time will catch up on you (it’s not fun when you are up all night trying to make the deadline). This class has really helped me to stay on top of that and put things into a better time frame. I have really enjoyed this class and the things that I have learned in the first two weeks. As of right now, the only surprise that I have had is the amount of valuable information that I have gotten from this class. To be completely honest…I thought a lot of the stuff we would be going over in this class is stuff that I had already learned or that was common sense…but I was wrong. I have learned more about myself in two weeks than I have in my whole college career. All in all, it has been a wonderful experience and I look forward to the upcoming weeks.
I like the contrast between your on campus learner and your inner online learner. I find this to be interesting since I am the same way.
Inner Online Learner — that’s great! Your IOL sounds like a great student, though! Good for you.
I hear you, when you talk about the temptation of procrastination (sounds like a sin, or something sinister!). There’s always “later” until it is later and there’s no more time! Man, I hate that!
I think procrastination is a lot of people’s problem. It takes a lot of self discipline and determination to make yourself sit down and do the work. Unlike going to class where when you go you don’t have to technically “pay attention”, you have to put a little more effort into online learning.
Discipline, determination…and an internet connection!!! My isp decided to take the day off today. It’s the end of the week-long celebration of the Khmer New Year (Happy New Year, by the way – the 3rd and final new year I will be celebrating this year!), and a lot of people here in Cambodia are just not paying attention! Arrggh. Sorry about that. I wasted a whole day today unable to get online (I’m doing a computer science class — and that involves being online a bit!). Sorry to vent, you just offered the right outlet! I’m at a coffee shop checking emails. Anyway, sometimes, as in this case, waiting until the last minute can be catastrophic, especially if you don’t have a reliable internet connection! (Oh ya, I live in Cambodia.)
I do tend to push assignments off until the end of the week but I am not young enough to push them off until the wee hours of the morning anymore. The idea of spending all night to finish an assignment just doesn’t work for me especially when I have to work from 6 am to 3 pm Monday thru Friday. I love the flexibility of online learning.
I hear you on the wee hours of the night situation. I got stuck in an airport this week for over 24 hours. That was very harsh!
I understand there. I have a full time job sometimes working up to 50 hours a week and I have an 11 month old son. The flexibility definitely makes it a little easier.
Nice blog post! I also didn’t know what to expect when I started this class. I thought it’d be easy, basic information, too. But I was delightfully surprised. This class definitely gives a lot of valuable information and I’m glad that I’m taking it. It’s definitely helping me with that dreaded “p” word, too. Procrastination can be a real hurdle to jump over, but we just need to remember that sucking it up and doing the assignment now is a lot better than cramming it in 30 minutes before its due.
I can’t count how many times I have done that. Waiting until like 1 hour before the assignment is due to start on it. It has really caught up to me a couple of times but I have learned that it is a lot easier to just do it earlier in the week to avoid problems and stress.
I too struggle with the “I’ll just do it tomorrow approach.” Sometimes it’s just difficult to sit down and do school work after you have just gotten off work. What has worked great from me is not trying to stay up all night reading, but trying to go to bed early, getting a full night sleep, and getting up earlier to do work (something I picked up from my learning assessment).