How to Manage the Work Load of an Online Class
Plan Accordingly:
Familiarize yourself with due dates:
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| each class has certain requirements that you must meet in order to complete the course; |
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| calendars are provided with daily, weekly, and monthly tasks; |
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| your class homepage also has notices of due dates; |
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| use both to help you keep track of assignments; |
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| just as you would attend class, attend to these tools. |
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Organize early:
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| set up a large ringed binder for course material; |
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| label each section accordingly; |
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| prioritize tasks; |
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| print out assignments as reminders; |
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| keep a copy of everything you send. |
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Work Offline:
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| download new messages, browse for new assignments, then log off; |
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| read through your email while off-line; |
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| messages can be read, created, replied to (to be sent later), printed mail and deleted
while off-line. |
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The Unbearable Heaviness of Email:
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| read your email then attend to it right away--read it, print it, reply to it (if you
need to), save what's important and then delete the rest--if you let it pile up, it can
become too daunting to handle; |
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| later is too late; putting email off until later leads to feeling overwhelmed. |
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Use Virtual Time
Program Your Day:
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| plan to devote at least two hours a day for class work; |
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| tell friends and family that you are in class during that time; |
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| set up a "study" environment, with your books and utensils in easy reach; |
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| work ahead of schedule. |
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Program Your Head:
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| most students who fail online classes, do so because they think they have 'tomorrow' to
do the assignment; |
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| there is no tomorrow--there is only Now; |
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| reward yourself after you have completed an assignment; |
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| when not busy on a class assignment, have fun visiting other sites on the Web or taking
a walk. |
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Be the Owner of Your Online Destiny:
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| if you don't understand an assignment, ask questions; |
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| your instructor checks her email many times during the day, so jot a note to her, but
don't stop there; |
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| write a note to one of the other members of the class; |
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| if that still doesn't help, contact one of the online writing labs -- for writing
questions at least; |
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| no-one but you knows what you understand, so you must be vocal; |
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| your success depends entirely upon you! |
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Use Your Tools
Learn Your Software Programs:
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| some great programs exist that help with email organization; |
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| if you are unsure of how a program works, find someone who knows it well; |
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| don't let the computer be more important than writing and reading;
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| use the tutorial that comes with the program -- an hour learning it now could save you
hours of frustration later; |
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| most email programs have address books--use them so you don't have to type the same
addresses over and over. |
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Learn Your Browser:
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| Netscape and Microsoft Explorer have built in mail programs; |
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| configure your browsers so that you can send mail from them; |
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| use Netscape and Explorer during non-peak times in the day, so that your work will go
faster. |
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