The Webs We Spin

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

Photos are by Lisa K Morgan Photography, www.lisakmorganphotography.zenfolio.com, www.mommysmumblings.blogspot.com