Advice from Students (GSU-DEED 607: Learning Support
Centers in Higher Education) Compiled by
Frank L. Christ, DEED607 Instructor
Here are some
of the answers that former students wrote when they answered
the question, "What advice would you give to
a colleague who is considering enrolling in this course?"
More than anything else-and this is probably the hard
part for working professionals-you have to get organized
early and keep up. Don’t fall behind or you’ll be eating
dust.
If you are not organized, then get some organization
and discipline in your life.
First, time
is an issue. I didn’t find that the course itself was
any more time-consuming than a traditional graduate level
course. However, part of the time commitment for a graduate
course is the time in class, and with the flexibility
afforded by an online course, it was easy to let the week
go by and not attend class.
According to
most research I have read and my own personal experience
as an online instructor and student, online courses are
more time intensive than face-to-face courses. Because
students don’t meet the instructor each week, a teacher
must demand that his or her students complete some sort
of weekly assignment to make sure that each of them is
keeping up with the course work. While these weekly assignments
seem like busy work, in reality, they are barometers on
a student’s comprehension and completion of the assigned
reading materials. In addition to weekly assignments that
most online instructors require, students are also expected
to meet the same requirements as face-to-face students,
paper assignments, tests, and other activities. Even though
the time to come to class and sit in class is eliminated
in an online class, keeping close tabs on an online class
web page can be time consuming, maybe even more time consuming
than driving to class and sitting in class because almost
every day a student needs to check the discussion board
to keep up with the discussion threads, correspond with
classmates and the instructor, check for announcements
and new assignments.
Allow plenty of time for this course. If possible, get
buy-in from your supervisor to release you from some of
your responsibilities and allow you time during the school
day to complete some of the readings and assignments.
Enlist at least
one colleague or family member to be your support team
to encourage you when you get discouraged, to help to
pick up the slack when you fall behind in your daily chores,
and to proofread/respond to your assignments.
Set up a quiet study area away from distractions and
establish a study schedule to allow for the short and
long-range assignments. Purchase a print reference on APA style
with easy references to utilize continually throughout
the course. If you aren’t directly involved in a learning
center, you should seriously consider contacting either
the director of the learning center at your college or
finding a mentor.
Be patient.
Do not get behind. Keep up with weekly reading assignments.
Do not hesitate to contact the instructor or to correspond
with the other students in the class.
Be prepared to devote several hours each week to reading
the assigned readings, answering questions related to
the readings, checking the class website, posting messages
on the discussion board, responding to email messages,
etc.
Be prepared
to spend a great deal of time on this course. You won’t
have overwhelming amounts of reading, but you will have
to do a lot of Internet research, and spend a lot of time
forming your responses to the weekly readings. Any distance-learning
endeavor is heavy on writing assignments. Think of the
weekly responses to the readings as a substitute for a
three-hour lecture in a standard course.
Next, students
were asked to list important skills and attitudes that
are needed by DEED 607 students. They recommended the
following which I have listed in order of their perceived
importance.
- Internet navigation & research skills
- Word processing/keyboarding competencies
- Reading skills
- Time management skills
- Academic writing skills
- Basic computer competencies including use of Windows
- Stress management
- Task organization skill
