I’m narrowing in on 20 years of advising students so, while I am always suspicious of experts, I suppose I have learned a few things worth sharing. The #1 best advice I can offer any student? Go to class. The moment you start considering class meetings as options rather than obligations, is the moment that you begin to drift away from the goal of graduation, or at the very least, learning. Woody Allen said that 80% of success was showing up and he couldn’t be more correct.
I would suggest that simply going to class will raise your grade by one letter, even if that’s from an F to a D. Holding out the option that you can just skip means that there’s no pressure to prepare for class so skipping class leads to skipping readings which leads to lesser understanding of future readings which leads to weak background knowledge which leads to confusion in future classes which leads to frustration and a lack of confidence in your academic pursuits. For many students, this leads to dropping classes and, for some, to just dropping out altogether.
What’s that? Online students can’t skip class? Sure they can, they just skip class mentally rather than physically. If you rush through your online material, aren’t you skipping class? What about if you view your online courses as a series of deadlines to meet rather than a learning process? Or, if you go to your discussion board and quickly post something that requires no thought? I’d say that’s skipping class because you’re not taking advantage of the opportunity in which you’ve invested your money.
Of course, Liberal Studies students don’t skip classes – this is just the #1 best advice overall. The #1 best advice I can offer you is to use eDocs. I keep repeating this in various formats so I must really believe it
If you don’t know, eDocs is an online document management system. All UIS students have 1 gigabyte of storage and all you need to do is log into the eDocs system to use it http://edocs.uis.edu If you’re comfortable with technology, you can probably figure out how to use the system on your own, but there is extensive training available online at http://www.uis.edu/its/otherservices/edocs.html
Why should you use eDocs? Simply put, to protect your investment. Each semester I hear from at least one student who has had a hard drive crash or a storage device that has been lost or stolen. They’ve lost everything related to their degree and their UIS classes. I would encourage every student to start an eDocs folder for each class they take and to put everything from that class into the folder: syllabus, assignments descriptions, readings, handouts, the work you’ve turned in, the feedback you’ve been given. Doing this will result in a neat portfolio of your learning. Even better, it will result in an off-site back-up of your learning.
E-Docs has a lot functionality and there are some really cool and useful things you can do with it but if all you do is use it like a hard-drive for your UIS classes, you may never realize how much easier you’ve made your life.
Become a contributor
Liberal Studies This Week is your chance to share your experience as an online student. Are there interesting things happening in your classes? Did your dog eat your laptop (and all of your homework along with it?) Is your spouse taking the kids on adventures so that you'll have quiet time to study? Did you just watch the funniest movie you ever saw?
Blog Archive
-
▼
2009
(26)
-
▼
September
(10)
- We don't need no stinking lists
- Friday Fun - Orsinal Games
- LIS major in the news
- A new tool in time for spring schedule planning
- Friday Fun - Cool and Refreshing
- Extracurricular or extra pain in the neck?
- Friday Fun - A-ha! Literally.
- The best advice I have to offer (plus eDocs.)
- Friday Fun - CNR
- A new way to make presentations
-
▼
September
(10)
Other UIS Blogs
Labels
- body (1)
- college success (1)
- Did you know (1)
- Frankenstein (1)
- Friday fun (14)
- Google (1)
- history (1)
- iTunesU (1)
- monsters (1)
- myths (1)
- Online course schedule (1)
- online learning advice (1)
- online learning community (1)
- online learning tools (1)
- Student athlete (1)
- Tools (1)
- welcome (1)
6 comments:
Here's my addendum to your very useful and great advice:
To make the most of the college experience, one must select a major/minor that best suits her/his life's passion. Know that it's fine to explore different options if a major isn't already selected. Be sure to develop a four to five year plan that maps out your academic goals and don't forget to leave time for extracurricular activities such as athletic sports, music, social clubs, etc. Devise a realistic plan each semester or two with your academic advisor to make certain that s/he is meeting her/his goals. Be specific when scheduling study time as it aids in the development of time management, which is crucial to college life and beyond. Aim high! Keep in mind that maintaining a high GPA will open a plethora of doors for future career successes as well as financial assistance. Enjoy class breaks, but also utilize them to get ahead in enrolled courses. Steer away from procrastination, toxic friends and family, extended social interaction, and substance abuse. Choose the school and program that best suits your integrity and keep in close contact with advisors and professors. Have fun on your educational journey!
Also...I love the eDocs system through UIS. I have to use it for class and I'm discovering so many cool features that it offers. This program is definitely a gem of a keeper. Thanks for sharing this info!
My only problem with eDocs is that I've already maxed it out and actually have to weed out files from business clients.
It is certainly a great tool however.
I wonder how most of my fellow online students can actually be involved in the extracurricular activities at UIS though, distance aside many of us lead lives that we have to fit schoolwork around, rather than the opposite (as sad as that is sometimes.)
@ ScottM...The extracurricular activities for online students could be anything from working out and playing sports at the local YMCA or health club to volunteering at a food pantry or homeless shelter to engrossing oneself in a hobby or catching the latest live concerts with family and friends. It could mean doing anything for enjoyment outside of the educational realm. Hope this helps bring further understanding.
P. R.
I'm not sure I classify any of these as college experiences, life experiences certainly and you are right about their importance.
However, as I mentioned geography doesn't allow us to really become members of UIS-based groups.
Unless there is a WOW group or a SecondLife community I'm unaware of I don't think this will ever really happen (& frankly I'd probably personally never join any club that would have me as a member.)
Well, I guess it just depends on the student and what they're willing to do or how far they're willing to travel to be a 'physical' part of the university's community. I, for one really miss the campus atmosphere living so far away from the school. However, that doesn't take away my school spirit and I still find time to do what pleasures me like I'd mentioned in my other post.
Other things that may not be as 'fun' would possibly include watching live webcasts, attending online workshops, occasionally visiting the university, or interacting with social networking sites such as Blogger, You Tube, Twitter, and Facebook to name a few. I will agree that it's not exactly the same as actually being on campus, but at least you'll have somewhat of an outlet to classes and coursework. Visiting your local community college may also be an option, which is what I do. I have been a junior college club member (Pride Alliance, LGBT group) and faithfully attending a feminist group (Reclaiming Eve) each semester, which provides a slight 'campus' feel, just in a different school. There are ways, you just have to be creative, which is a bonus for being a non-traditional student.
Hmmmmmmm. . . I have to admit, I like the idea of more community but it's a dual-edge sword. It takes numbers to make these efforts successful. Often, when we attempt these things, we don't get a lot of buy in from students. I won't go on and on here but you've given me something to think about for a future post.
Post a Comment