In a past online course I took, a political science course, I experienced some difficulties with online reading and notetaking.  The first challenge I faced was that I would get easily distracted when reading the online textbook.  The textbook material was incredibly dense, and the chapters were very long.  I found it hard to focus and keep my eyes on the computer screen for such a long time.  Another difficulty I faced was that I would get distracted by emails and iMessages on my computer.  I wasted a decent amount of time checking my email and iMessage.  As a result, I would lose my place in the reading.  A final challenge I faced was with regard to note-taking.  With the textbook chapters being so long and the material so dense, I struggled to take good, organized notes.  When I would go back to study from my notes, I found my notes were extremely long and crowded with a lot of unnecessary detail.

I think the first two challenges I faced with regard to online reading occurred because I failed to create a good reading environment and I struggled to read the long documents on the computer screen.  In “Online Readings,” Ryan Watkins notes that the third step in improving online learning skills is to create a good reading environment.  Watkins states that the internet provide us with a variety of distractions while learning online.  Therefore, we must turn off internet communications, (Watkins, 102).  In order to solve this problem, I should take Watkins suggestion and turn off my internet communications and create a good learning environment for myself.  Additionally, Watkins suggests to print a hard copy of long documents, or enlarge the print and highlight text on certain PDF Files, (Watkins, 97).  I can solve my difficulty reading lengthy e-books on the computer screen by printing out some hard copy pages, enlarging text, highlighting and engaging in more active learning.

I think the difficulty I experienced with organizing my note-taking occurred because I did not know what type or model of note-taking worked for me in this course.  Going forward, I believe the Outline model will help me to take more organized notes and help me to pull out the most important points from the reading.  This will help me eliminate a lot of unnecessary, little details I had in my old notes.  I can also use abbreviation to help me shorten my notes and save time while taking notes.

In a past course I took, my second year writing course, I experienced some challenges related to locating and managing information.  One difficulty I faced was not knowing where to find credible sources, such as academic articles, journals and books.  I was not familiar with the valuable OSU Library website and the WorldCat Search for sources.  For early drafts of my final paper, I used mostly websites, and I did not have any solid secondary or primary sources.

A second difficulty I faced while taking this online course was that I experienced technical difficulties with my computer.  I stored all of my files of notes, research, drafts and source information on my computer.  I managed all of my information on my laptop, and I did not have backup files on a flash drive.  One day, my computer crashed, and I lost an important set of notes for my paper that I had been working on that day.  I ended up wasting valuable time trying to figure out and fix my computer issues by myself.  I’m not very technically saavy by nature, so I struggled to solve this problem.

Going forward, I have come up with a few solutions to address these problems. With regard to the first problem, my professor ended up introducing me later in the course to the OSU Library resources, such as WorldCat@OSU.  I can use this search for books, articles, journals and other media worldwide.  Having access to this resource has allowed me to find much more reliable sources for papers and projects.  With regard to the second problem, I should save backup copies of important files on a flash drive and send copies to my own OSU email address.  In order to address future computer technical issues, I should visit the OSU BuckeyeBar, to receive personal consultation and fix my computer issues more quickly.

While taking an online food science course, I faced some personal challenges related to time, task and environment management.  The class had weekly assignments as well as several long-term deadlines, such as projects and exams.  With regard to time management, I found myself procrastinating on the long-term assignments.  I ended up not completing part of a project because I waited until the last day to finish it.  The project required more work and time to complete than I had anticipated, and I did not estimate the time needed for each assignment beforehand.  I was also having trouble balancing time spent on my other commitments outside of the course.  I did not set aside enough time each week for learning the course material and completing the assignments.  As a result, I frequently felt stressed about course deadlines.  With respect to task management challenges, I did not come up with specific goals or assign deadlines for completing my course assignments.  Therefore, I found myself putting off assignments that were difficult and I did not like until the last minute, such as the exams.  The exams were challenging and heavily weighted in the course grade.  I ended up taking the exams late at night and right before the deadlines.  I have trouble concentrating late at night, and that time is definitely not my most productive part of the day.  As a result, my exam grades suffered.  Finally, I also faced personal challenges related to environment management.  I did most of my learning for this online course in my bedroom of my off-campus house.  I was continuously interrupted by noisy roommates, music being played or the sounds of the television.  I would find myself easily distracted by the noise because I typically prefer a really quiet study environment.

Going forward, there are several resources and strategies I can use to overcome these time, task and environment challenges.  I can overcome these time challenges by taking time each day to plan and schedule my work.  I should estimate how much time it will take me to complete different assignments, and how much time I need for my other commitments.  This time schedule will ensure that I set enough time aside for my online coursework, and prevent me from procrastinating.  With regard to overcome task challenges, I can make a daily list of items that need to be competed, arranged in order of importance.  I can focus on completing the high-priority items first, and during the time of day I am most productive.  I can also utilize Microsoft Office 365 Calendar to manage important course deadlines.  I can balance my course and other commitments by blocking off periods of time on the 365 Calendar each week.  Lastly, I can overcome environment challenges by finding a location outside of my home more conducive to my studying.  For instance, I could go to the quiet floors in Thompson or the SEL library, or book a study room each week in the Fisher College of Business.  If I use these strategies and the Office 365 Calendar, I should be able to improve my online learning.

For the group project in this class, my group faced a few difficulties while trying to collaborate together effectively.  The main difficulty was due to not getting to know each other before attempting to work on the project.  According to “Getting the most from online learning: A learner’s guide,” by Carole Richardson, successful online group members need to get to know each other right away to become comfortable with each other’s online communication styles, and to be aware of the skills each member brings to the group, (Richardson, 146).  My group did not try to get to know each other before jumping into the project, which led to communication issues and role confusion.  My group initiated our first communication through Carmen Connect.  Two of my group members were having technical issues, and they couldn’t get their microphones to work.  These group members only typed out brief responses to questions posed by another group member and me.  This complication made it harder to get to know these group members and figure out what roles they would serve in the group.  The lack of communication with these two members and the technical issue also made me draw incorrect assumptions about these members.  I inadvertently assumed these members were not technically savvy or highly-motivated.  However, after taking our group notes and working on part of the project together on Google Docs, these members demonstrated they are hard-working individuals.  I jumped to the wrong conclusion because my group and I did not take the time to get to know each other.  Every issue our group has experienced thus far has really stemmed from not getting to know each other beforehand.

I have come up with some solutions to address my group not taking the time to getting to know each other before working on the project.  One thing we should do is to re-introduce ourselves over Skype.  Being able to see each other and communicate in a more personal way will allow us to more easily get to know each other and figure out each other’s skills and strengths.  Another solution would be to use Carole Richardson’s “friendly and frivolous questions,” (Richardson, 147).  These questions would help my group jump-start a conversation and learn more about each other.  Going forward, I can add in mechanisms, like video chat through Skype, to ensure my group can more effectively communicate, collaborate and stay on task for future assignments.

With regard to technology, Google Docs, Carmen Connect and Skype will help my group facilitate processes in the future.  I am very familiar with Google Docs.  I can practice using Carmen Connect in the group meetings and class synchronous sessions, and I can practice using Skype to talk to my friends.

With regard to my future “professional self,” I ideally want to be better at time management, and I want to become a Certified Public Accountant working as a manager for a big-four accounting firm.  I can break down my “professional self” goals into academic, workplace and professional skills categories.  Studying for and passing the Certified Public Accounting Exam is an academic goal.  Working for a big-four accounting firm and becoming a manager would be a workplace goal, and becoming better at time management would be a professional skills goal.  I am intrinsically motivated to better at time management, and I am extrinsically motivated by the cash bonus I would receive for passing the CPA exam and by the yearly salary amount for a manager.  With respect to challenges, the Certified Public Accounting Exam is a difficult four-part exam taken on the computer, which requires months of self-studying using an online review course and textbook.  Self-motivation will also pose as a challenge.  Passing the exam and trying to advance to manager will require a lot of self-motivation.

I plan to overcome these challenges by setting S.M.A.R.T. learning goals for myself.  I will set short-term and long-term goals to stay motivated and on track.  For instance, I will study six to eight weeks for each of the four parts of the CPA test.  Before I start studying, I will make a day-by-day schedule of what sections in the online course material and book I need to study.  This schedule will help me to improve my time management skills and help me to be prepared to take and pass the CPA exam.  Another learning goal I can set is related to my workplace category.  I can set a short-term goal to maintain a high GPA my last semester, so I can accept my job offer from PwC, one of the big-four accounting firms.  I can set a long-term goal to advance to a new employment level every three years, until I reach manager.  My objective for these goals would be to maintain my self-motivation and improve my time management skills by planning out my day-to-day study requirements and responsibilities.

Before this class, I thought I was a “self-regulated learner.”  I keep up with my assignments and plan ahead (Pintrich, 3).  Based on my responses to the Week 2 Survey, my perception of myself were fairly accurate, I do plan ahead for my courses and I keep up with my work.  However, the survey made me realize that I sometimes doubt my abilities and rely too heavily on memorizing material, instead of actually learning it.  I will make changes in my learning practices so that I can become my best professional self by having confidence in my abilities when I work and study hard.  I will also utilize other learning techniques instead of memorization, such as comparing and contrasting different concepts or taking my own notes on course readings.

Work Cited

Pintrich, P. (1995). Understanding Self-Regulated Learning. In New Directions in Teaching and Learning. Vol 63. (pp. 3-12). Jossey-Bass Pub.

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