As we journey
through life we constantly make choices.
Each and every one of those choices has a consequence, which can be
positive or negative. Think about it,
from the very moment
you first wake up in the morning….
Jump right up
or hit the snooze one more time?
Shower or
not?
Hair up, down, curled or straight?
Breakfast
or not?
If breakfast,
then what to have?
What to wear
today?
Brush teeth
or not?
With these
choices we begin to spin a web, the web of this day in our life. It is part of a bigger web, the web of your life.
One of the
big choices we have all made is to make the journey to further our education in
Photography by way of an online degree at AiP.
Online learning is very different from traditional classroom learning,
in many, many ways. One of these for our
particular program is that classes are 5.5 weeks long. That is 38 days. THIRTY EIGHT!
ONLY!
Most
traditional classrooms are set up on semesters which are 16 weeks long. A premium wine take 6 weeks to make and
another 13 weeks (3 months) to be ready to drink. A full term human pregnancy takes 40 weeks (give or take). Noah took 40 days and nights, basically
non-stop to build the ark. It took 3
years to build the Titanic. It took 4
years to build the Olympic stadium in London.
Yes, 5.5
weeks or 38 days is not very long. Yes, it
is intense. Yes, it means tight
deadlines. Yes, it means setting your
education as a priority. But we all knew that going into this and it is part of
what helps us to finish degrees faster.
Like spider
webs, the webs of our life are intricate and complicated. They can be ugly or beautiful. And like spiders, we are in control of how
our web turns out. Let me give you a few
tips of how to make the web of fast passed, online class a AiP beautiful.
Tip 1.
In your Campus Common where you find your classes, there is also an “Upcoming”
tab. This will show the class(es) you are scheduled for in the next session.
About a week
before the new classes start, you can click on the “View Dash” big red button
and get some fun, preliminary information.
The most
exciting information is who your Instructor will be. Some Instructors will send an email before
class begins. They introduce themselves, give information that is useful ahead of
time (like equipment, software, etc.), and sometimes even send a video introduction and information.
You can also
see your Book Information and Course Description here, but these are not new
and can be found other places far ahead.
If you have not read them yet then by all means do.
If you get a
preliminary email, it is wise to respond with a kind, “Thank you,” and ask any
preliminary questions you might have.
Tip 2.
As soon as you have access to the class, open it. Then do more than just open it, READ
EVERYTHING! When you get to the “Readings
and Assignments” make note of all the important dates (they are in bold). Go one step further and PRINT this page and
POST IT by your computer screen! This
gives you a hard copy that you can always refer to even if technology is faltering.
If you love
technology and use an electronic calendar, I recommend going so far as to enter
due dates on it. Even set a reminder if
you would find it helpful.
Once you have
read all this you know all the expectations for the course. Both as set up by the school in the course
design as from the instructor.
Tip 3. Anticipate that more is expected from
higher level classes. That can include heavier
workload and or tighter deadlines. Both
of these help to prepare us for the work world we will face upon
graduation.
Tip 4. Complaining about course design,
assignments, expectations or anything else, especially to instructors or
faculty, will not change the reality of it. And do not forget, these are escalated
classes, ONLY 5.5 weeks, 38 days. It is
best to just say, “It is what it is,” and to be blunt honest, suck it up
buttercup.
Tip 5. Avoid having a “consumer mentality”
toward your education. Just because we
are paying does not mean we are “owed” anything (like a great grade). Grade are earned based on the work we do in
class.
Tip 6. Attitude is everything. Keep it positive and make the most of this
incredible experience and opportunity.
What does
your web look like today? Mine looks
like this:
Another
Manic Monday …..
Monday
Ambassador
