5 Time Management Tips - Elearning

Posted by katiejekel on June 25th, 2008

Online degrees are great for people who have jobs or families to juggle. I have already completed 10 hours towards my online master’s degree and I am enrolled in 9 this summer alone. What I am finding difficult is managing my time. A lot of people love the freedom of online classes because they decide what to do and when. Staying on top of things can sometimes be forgotten. When I took my first ten hours, it was before I had children. Now that I have two under two, I really need to balance work, family and my classes. Here are five steps that I find helpful.

1) Read the syllabus: This will explain what the expectations are for the class and will provide a schedule of when things are due. If there is no real schedule, you need to set one for yourself.

2) Email your professor: Introduce yourself and explain your situation. For example, my son battles chronic breathing problems and sometimes his needs need to be met before my school work. Because my professors know this beforehand, they are more apt to be flexible with due dates. In fact, they will begin to see you as human. One of my professors has a son who also has chronic breathing problems and, now, he is able to relate to me.

3) Buy a planner: Think high school. High schools around the country require planners for students and for good reason-they keep your organized. Write down reading assignments and due dates.

4)Visit class every night, even if it is not required: Look at what is going on in classroom discussion boards and just visiting the site will remind you of the work you need to do.

5) Study every day: I know it seems daunting to devote 8 hours a day to school. That is why you are looking at online school as opposed to traditional school, but if you devote time every day (before work, after work, when the kids are napping) then you won’t be faced with a huge reading assignment or project at the last minute. I always study when my kids nap.

Tags: Colleges and Universities, online learning, study tips for elearning

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 25th, 2008 at 11:26 pm and is filed under Online Education. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.