How to Manage the Work Load of an Online Class

Plan Accordingly:

Familiarize yourself with due dates; each class has certain requirements that you must meet in order to complete the course; calendars are provided with daily, weekly, and monthly tasks; your class homepage also has notices of due dates; use both to help you keep track of assignments; just as you would attend class, attend to these tools.

Organize early: set up a large ringed binder for course material; label each section accordingly; prioritize tasks; print out assignments as reminders; copy of everything you send.

Work Offline: download new messages, browse for new assignments, then log off; read through your email while off-line; messages can be read, created, replied to (to be sent later), printed mail and deleted while off-line.

The Unbearable Heaviness of Email: 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; later is too late; putting email off until later leads to feeling overwhelmed.

Use Your Tools:

Learn Your Email Program: some great programs exist that help with email organization; if you are unsure of how your program works, find someone who knows it well; don't let the computer be more important than writing and reading; most email programs have address books--use them so you don't have to type the same addresses over and over.

Learn Your Browser: Netscape and Microsoft Explorer have built in mail programs; configure your browsers so that you can send mail from them: use Netscape and Explorer during non-peak times in the day, so that your work will go faster.

Use Virtual Time:

Program Your Day: plan to devote at least two hours a day for class work; tell friends and family that you are in class during that time; set up a "study" environment, with your books and utensils in easy reach; work ahead of schedule.

Program Your Head: most students who fail online classes, do so because they think they have 'tomorrow' to do the assignment; there is no tomorrow--there is only Now; reward yourself after you have completed an assignment; when not busy on a class assignment, have fun visiting other sites on the Web.

Be the Creator of Your Online Destiny: if you don't understand an assignment, ask questions--we have set up the bulletin board for exactly that; your instructors check their email many times during the day, so jot a note to them, but don't stop there; write a note to one of the other members of the class; if that still doesn't help, contact one of the online writing labs -- for writing questions at least; no-one but you knows what you understand, so you must tell us; your success depends entirely upon you!

Contents within this site are copyrighted by both the author of essays and/or Jan Strever.
The contents within these pages are solely those of the author and S.C.C.
should not be held responsible.  ©1999-2009
Last revised: November 19, 2009 by Jan Strever -- jstrever@scc.spokane.edu
Personal site:  http://www.js.spokane.wa.us/