Starting out this term, I was not very comfortable with participating in online discussions or forums. I can write well enough, it’s just the process of opening up and sharing thoughts and ideas that was problematic for me. Well, with feedback from Brandi and many of you, I think I have been able to find a way to do this – I take on another version of me, someone I imagine who’d be open to sharing, and let them participate. I still have to work at it and I find it difficult to be spontaneous – everything must be proofed and reread! But this is something that will be more and more important the further I get into my degree. The ability to, not just communicate, but to openly communicate in a casual, open manner will be very important as my classes begin to involve more group-work (which, I understand from the computer science TAs, is going to happen!). So, participating in this class’s back-and-forth in discussions and blogs has been very instructive and helped me realize how to still set boundaries without being closed off.

I consider myself fairly organized, but have had some serious challenges (especially in May)! I learned that all the planning and scheduling doesn’t mean a thing if you can’t get online. Being able to complete assignments and access online resources has been a huge challenge for me – not just in this class, but also in my computer science class, in which we have to write and compile programs on an OSU server. (That’s very hard to do with weak/no internet!). I’ve worked to resolve this a number of ways, but finally had to break down and pay for a premium internet package (over $2k a year for internet). I’ve arrived at the conclusion that this is just another expense of going back to school…an unexpected but, nevertheless, necessary one!

All that to say, I haven’t been as focused on my learning style lately as I would have liked. It’s been more about finding internet access, getting things downloaded to work at home, and then finding time to steal back out and upload assignments. Not so easy in Cambodia!

A new strategy I learned in class and started implementing is to start the week with a planning session. I use the first part of the hour to review and update “to do” lists and calendars. Of course, there are constant changes happening throughout the week to these two items, but my Monday morning session helps me get in my mind what schoolwork is coming up and to give it the necessary time it needs during the week. I find this very useful!

I have also adopted the use of the “priority to do list” that we heard about in Randy Pausch Lecture back in week 4. It is so obvious and so simple. Sometimes it takes a little time to determine what is important and what is not, but I find thinking through that a useful exercise in understanding what my tasks are. I have found this to be super useful and will continue to use this for everything in my life.

I am quite excited at the prospet of participating in some undergrad research, especially in the end-user software engineering field. I plan to use the next term or two to find some research money and become acquainted with my the professor I want to be my mentor. I can see applying for that in the next several terms, so I have that to work toward.

Many of the goals I have developed over the past several months are still valid – I want to finish this degree in at least 1.5 years, I want to find a mentor, I want to participate in research, I want to maintain a 4.0. However, this term has proven to be a lot more difficult than I anticipated. This is primarily due to the internet situation. But even still, I have found that not being able to check in on the class (or look at assignments) has really taken a toll on me – it’s really exausting being so anxious all the time. So I am going to try and roll with it a little more and be a little more relaxed – this is something my wife and kids have mentioned and I think they’re right. I’m still going to be doing my best, but will try to also recognize what I can and cannot control.

Anyway, I wish you all good luck and maybe we’ll meet (virtually) again.

Ok, two hunters are in the woods when one of them suddenly collapses. He isn’t breathing and his eyes looked glazed. The other guy grabs his cell phone and calls for help. He shouts at the emergency operator: “I think my friend is dead! What do I do!?”

“Calm down”, the operator says in a soothing voice, “I can help you. But first, we need to make sure he’s dead.”

The phone goes silent for a second. Then the operator hears a gunshot. “Ok”, says the hunter, “now what?”

I know, I know, pretty bad. But sometimes while working through an online course I feel like that hunter who calls 9-1-1 and then shoots his friend. Yeah, the operator’s intent is pretty clear, but the hunter standing there with a gun misconstrues the intent. I have found that sometimes I misconstrue the intent of directions/assignments in my online classes. Nothing too dire or lethal, but I don’t always process everything in the directions.

In my mind, I follow directions pretty, well. At least as well as most. But I have found that in this online education universe, I don’t always catch every detail. It might have to do with information being posted in different places, a book vs. a module vs. a discussion vs. piazza vs. email. But I think it has more to do with my personality and my preference for dealing with people. Sure, I understand the assignments. But it’s talking it over with the instructor or students in that casual way that happens in hallways or over coffee that I thrive on. I do not get the same from discussion boards or emails, or at least not yet.

I am definitely a people person, this is no surprise (at least to me or anyone who knows me). But the lack of human-to-human interaction is more difficult to overcome than I had thought it would be. My VARK results were not all that surprising, I learn best through Reading and Visualization. I learned this while doing my first college degree, the need to repeatedly rewrite and review, to use flashcards, and to create flowcharts or other graphic interpretations of how concepts tie together is what kept me in the library nights and weekends.

My results from the Multiple Intelligence test revealed that my strongest intelligences are Linguistic and Interpersonal – again, no surprise there. One of the recommended strategies for learning is “Engage in Socratic method.” Ha! That’s me to a T. But how to do that in an online setting? Is there a way to post “stimulating” questions and answers on a message board without sounding like a know-it-all? Am I doing it now?

So, what does this all mean for my future online education career? Obviously, the interaction aspect is not going to change (unless any of you want to come out to Phnom Penh and help me study!). So I expect I’ll be organizing myself better to systematically verify assignments and requirements. This is no biggie – I now repeatedly check these things to make sure I have no more … miscontru-ations(?). I see it as another form of organizing: organizing my online life. And though messaging isn’t the same as talking with someone, I am doing my share of sharing!

And if I ever need a healthy dose of human interaction, I’ve got a 3 year old girl and a 5 year old boy both bursting to give me all the human interaction I could possibly want!

Now, when’s this blog due…?