Time Management

One of the biggest difficulties with taking an online course is managing your time in an effective manner. Since there is no scheduled time of day the course needs to be worked on, procrastination and lack of motivation occur. In order to be a successful online learner, planning ahead is important and working at the course at a certain time every day is important. Whether you are more free at night or during the day, giving yourself a block set of time everyday will ensure success and completion of assignments. It may be hard to balance an online course with all of your other courses, but with managing your time in an effective way and not waiting till the last, success is inevitable.

Task Management

With all of the assignments, quizzes, and readings due in a week, it can be very hard to manage all of your tasks. Making daily and weekly lists will help you stay on top of all of your work and ensure timely completion of all of your assignments. Being able to physically look at a list of assignments, you are more likely to complete all of your tasks. A great tool to help organize all of your assignments, tasks, and activities is the website called Trello. This app allows you to be creative with making a board with different categories of to-do lists. It offers a multitude of unique tools that will allow you to stay motivated and on track with completing all of your tasks.

Environmental Management

Finding that perfect study space can be hard when working on an online class. Whether that is finding a quiet room in your house or room with little distraction or going to the library, finding that space where you can get to work is essential. It is important to find a space where you will have a lot of motivation to complete your work and a place with little to no distraction. If working from home, turn off all of your electronics that are not necessary and make it known to other people living with you that you cannot be distracted. Also, finding a place that you enjoy and are comfortable in is important to learning efficiently.

With learning and collaborating with others online, useful technologies and resources are vital to being successful. There are so many beneficial resources, study tools, and websites that help make an online class more manageable.

Carmen Canvas

Carmen Canvas is the backbone of online courses at Ohio State. This technology provides students with all the information and resources they need to succeed in the course. This website and app is where students go to complete the course, turn in assignments, take quizzes, check grades, participate in discussion posts, and contact their peers and professors,

Carmen Connect

Carmen Connect allows you to have online meetings with your professor and peers. It is an easy to use way to have that face to face connection and communication with other people participating in the course. This technology is a great way to connect with people while working on a group project because you can have meetings with one another in a video conference setting.

Google Docs

Google Docs is a great place to write your papers and collaborate with other students. It is a great tool to use when working on a group project with others and turning in a paper because of the sharing feature it has. Google Docs is an easy way to keep all of your papers, notes, and assignments organized.

Writing Center Online Service

The Writing Center is the place to go when a student needs help with a paper, lab report, or resume and wants either  face to face help over video chat or communicate through chatting online. Students can schedule a session with this online service in order to enhance their writings and succeed in their classes.

Trello

Trello is an easy to use website and app that allows students to create to-do lists for themselves. Trello offers a variety of features that allows students to stay organized and on top of their assignments and tasks. Different to-do list categories can be created and people can really get creative with their lists. This technology helps with task management and motivation to get work completed and moved to the “done” category.

Group Collaboration

One of the main focuses throughout this course was working with a group. I learned so much from the group project section of this course in terms of group collaboration, communication, and completion. Working with a group online is much different then it is in person. Early communication is important in order to be successful and group goal setting is vital to the completion of a project. There are so many different ways to communicate with group members including Carmen Connect, Google Docs, and iMessage. I learned valuable information when it comes to creating a timeline to ensure that every group member stays on track, not being afraid to reach out to people and motivate them when they seem to be falling behind, and creating a presentation with people you have never met in person.

S.M.A.R.T. Goal Setting

Throughout this course, I have been able to practice and utilize the S.M.A.R.T. goal setting technique. In order to reach my goals and gain success, I need to make sure that goal is very specific. All of my goals should be able to answer the who, what, where, why, and which questions. My goals throughout this course and my life should be measurable in order for me to stay on track. I will be able to stay more motivated if I know if I am making progress. My goals also must be achievable to ensure that I will be able to reach them. I want to be able to reach all of my goals so making sure they are realistic is important. I also need to make sure that my goals are relevant to my life and are things that I actually care about. Picking the right time to reach the goal and knowing how much effort it will take is vital to accomplishing your goals. Finally, my goals need to be time-bound so that I can focus on reaching my goals in a timely manner. I need to make deadlines for myself to ensure that I do not fall behind and that I am going nowhere but forward.

Creating an ePortfolio

Before enrolling in this course, I knew nothing about ePortfolios. I never could have imagined that someday I would have my very own ePortfolio and be comfortable with adding and sharing my ideas to the public. I have learned so many beneficial tools and technologies while creating this ePortfolio that will help me in my future. I am now comfortable with navigating this tool and hopefully I will continue to create even more ePortfolios to share my ideas with my peers.

Welcome to u.osu.edu. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start blogging!