If you are looking for a course to broaden your strategies for taking online courses, ESLTECH 2011 is the perfect course to enroll in. There are many things to learn in this course, and below I have outlined a few.
1. The importance of time management and task awareness: Because this source is solely online, it is vital that assignments and their due dates are noted and scheduled. The task management is very individualized, and it is required that the student learn how to prioritize, manage, and be prepared to complete all assignments. This class allows for hands-on experience with task management, as you learn more strategies along to way. There are also several technologies and programs introduced to assist with this, such as Trello. Trello allows for the creation of detailed lists and boards of things to do, and it allows you to track your progress as you go. This is a tool that is helpful in this course and one that will be able to be used in other professional and educational experiences.
2. The ability to collaborate and communicate online: Before taking this course, I thought it was nearly impossible to collaborate and communicate personally with classmates and the professor of an online course. This was quickly proven to be a myth as I began the course. There are several ways in which to interact with the professor and other students. One of the main ways to interact was through the discussion boards, where we were able to post our thoughts and ideas, while also reading and responding to our classmates’ responses. There were several forums of communication introduced throughout the course as well, including CarmenConnect. This online classroom allowed for class-wide discussion, individual group meetings, and office hours with the professor. This was a way to personally communicate within the class.
3. The importance of a conducive learning environment: Throughout this course, the importance and characteristics of a conducive studying and learning environment were highlighted in various ways. Before taking this course, I would not set myself up well in proper environments to study and complete course work in a way that would allow me to retain information. With learning proper techniques about creating and choosing a proper environment, I have been able to be more productive and effective in my studies. Some techniques that have worked for me are being in a quiet area with some background noise, having the TV off, and sitting in a comfortable chair. Sometimes, I work best in a coffee shop! More of these things were discussed in the following article: