Study advice for the new online learner?

Hello, everyone! This is my first post here, but I have searched the forums before and have found the information very helpful. I have decided to go back to school and earn my bachelor degree! I am very excited!

I already have an associate's degree as an Occupational Therapy Assistant. (I have no desire to obtain a bachelor in OT.) I graduated from that program in 1990. I am very happy with my job and my profession, but I love to learn, and miss school. Online distance learning is my only option at this point in my life. I am interested in a liberal/general studies program. I am not looking to advance my career, just to increase my knowledge of a broad spectrum of courses.

I have done quite a bit of research, and I am leaning toward Fort Hays State University. I like the program outline, and the tuition is very reasonable.

If you have followed me so far, thank you! Here is my question..... Since I will be new at online learning, I was wondering how many hours a day you dedicate to your studies? I think I would like to take the full-time route at 12 credits/semester. (4 classes)

Is this doable? I don't want to set myself up for failure, but I am very motivated and excited to learn. Is it hard to juggle four classes at a time? Or, should someone start with 1-2 classes first? Did you dedicate certain days for each class, or try to do a little all at once?

Thank you in advance for your input!

Julie

 

You should start with 1-2 classes first; which requires about 15 hours per week to study. It depends on your job and family. If you are married with kids, that would be tough. But do not start with 4 courses, and later you have to drop them all. Motivation, organization, and dependability are the keys.

 

I did four classes at once while still doing the Navy thing - it's doable, but be prepared to be stressed a bit. It's a big commitment.

 

Tekman gives good advice. Start with something reasonable like English Comp or History or Psychology. Take one class over the summer term to get yourself back into the groove. If you work full-time and have a family, I think three undergrad classes would be the max any one person could handle.

For my Masters, I only took one class at a time and spent 25-30 hours a week studying and writing. I read the textbook on my lunch break at work and on the bus to and from work, and answered discussion questions at night after work and then extra time on the weekend. I would read before and after my kids sports games. I wrote research papers in the car on the way to vacation.

Hints and tips: Some textbooks have podcasts that you can download to your iPhone or iPad or PC. These are good to buy ($15-20) if you are an auditory learner or if you like that method of delivery or need extra help. Some schools and/or instructors post videos of lectures or YouTube videos.

Stay ahead of the work...getting behind on an online class is the kiss of death. And when writing a paper or a discussion post, save your work and email it to yourself often so that you don't lose all your work if disaster hits (power outage, stolen computer, crashed computer etc.). Don't wait until the last minute to do a quiz - internet problems, computer problems, illness etc can pop up when you least expect them to. And check out used textbooks on comparison sites for the best prices.

Good luck!

 

Thank you all so much for the great advice. I would rather start out slow and not get in over my head. I would like it to be an enjoyable experience. I look forward to getting to know everyone better!

 

I agree that starting slow is the best. Beyond that I would suggest that you schedule your study times and then be fairly rigid about sticking to that schedule.

 

Thanks, Kizmet!

 

I absolutely concur with the advice about going slowly at first. Especially if this is your first online experience with courses. You don't want to begin lifting weights by grabbing a 300 pound weight for starters. You will get discouraged and the fun of learning will be taken out of it really quickly.
You will overwhelm yourself. Your intentions are good, wanting to jump in all at once, but the advice about slow going----that makes the most sense. You can get a feel for this new learning environment, pace yourself, then if you like it and can manage it well, you can increase it in ever-increasing doses!
Good luck----but just the fact that you are asking about it is a good thing, rather than being like the person who just does it no matter what advice comes his or her way.

 

dcb188, thank you for your advice. Yes, I want it to be an enjoyable experience, and I am in no hurry to obtain a bachelor degree. It is something I have wanted to obtain for many years. I didn't realize just how much time one can spend on just one course. It's been so many years since college, lol!

 

Like everyone else suggested - start slow. I have considered taking some classes again and I was looking at doing one or two a semester. Besides all the work you must get used to, you have to spend time to learn the platform (delivery method such as Moodle, eCollege, Angel, Blackboard, etc. or what ever they use). That can be confusing when you are getting started.

 

I really appreciate everyone's feedback. It is greatly appreciated! I am waiting to hear from Fort Hays regarding acceptance. I have also enjoyed reading all of the posts on DegreeInfo. This site is extremely informative!

 

If I were starting out all over again with online learning, I would probably find a site like straighterline (or any school that offers single I.S. courses) and take a course to see how I like the independent study format, and then go take a single course from a different school that offers single courses that are instructor-led with set schedules and an average 8-week course length. Then I'd compare and contrast the methods until I come to a conclusion on which one I'd go with.

By doing that, I would've been able to more quickly decide what method was best for me. Over time, I realized that I prefer self-paced independent study, although I've been very successful with all of the methods as well including the online/offline mixed courses that you might find at a school like Medaille or West LA College. But you have a lot more options than I did when I started with online learning, because back then it was still considered a new thing with few adopters.

 

As for what everyone else is suggesting above one thing to keep in mind if your going to try to get financial aid (grants or loans) is that you will have to take at least a part time load which is 2 classes per semester in order to qualify.

I think how you start and what you need to do will depend entirely on you and your personality and preferences. Are you a fast learner or a slow learner? How much computer/internet experience do you have? Questions such as these will give a rough guide as to what you will need to do and how much time you will spend on your studies.

To give you an example from someone who doesn't work a full time job but I do have a family and I am currently enrolled in a Masters in Counseling program and taking 3 courses (9 credits) I spend about an hour or two nightly reading before bed (textbooks) , 30 minutes nightly reading over discussions/responding to other students, catching up on grades/emails within my courses and if I have a paper coming up I spend 30-45 nightly working on that (research if needed etc otherwise if its more of a personal paper I write it the day before if it is under 10 pages) and I have assignments due 3 days weekly. I very rarely even though I don't work get to work on my homework during the day as I have a 4.5 year old aka no free time. If I had to guess how many hours weekly I spend on my classes/homework I would say depending on the week 10-15 hours total and I have high A's in all 3 courses. But I am a quick learner and I work fab under pressure.

In my undergrad program I completed 72 credit hours in one year and 2 months...and at times I was taking 6 courses at a time. I managed to do this while still only doing my work in the evenings and I made the majority of high A's with 2 high B's thrown in there. My point in telling you all this is that your experience will be different because you are. While we can give you an idea you will get into your own groove and figure out how to do what you need to do to get it done. You might have to spend 4 hours a day (not likely) to do your work or you may only spend an hour. Will depend on you and your program.

All I can say is if be committed and don't let yourself get behind, ask a lot of questions, interact within your courses as much as possible, interact with your instructors as much as possible and soak up any extra knowledge you can as it does help in your courses. Good luck to you....and sorry I wrote a book....

 

eilla05, thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to share this wonderful information with me! Your advice is very helpful.

 

Great advice given so far...so I only have one more thing to add...

Schedule your online class as though it was a brick and mortar class. In other words, block out specific time 3x a week for your class as though you were attending.

Good luck!

Shawn

 

+1.

I'm taking 9 hours this semester. A 4-hour math course (Linear Algebra), a 4-hour philosophy course (Critical Thinking) and a 1-hour lecture series, part of the university's "Engagement" requirement.

Some weeks I go through the work so quickly that I think I really should have added another course; other weeks I get so busy that I'm really glad I didn't. Early in the semester I was only doing schoolwork two nights a week, for a couple of hours each. Now, with six weeks left to go, I'm looking at a quiz next week, and deadlines on two papers the week after that, and I'm wondering how I'm going to find time to get everything done.

 

Shawn and GeeBee, thank you for your advice and feeback!

 

I know I'm a bit late to the party, but I can't emphasize enough how much I agree with the advice already given to start out slow. I've done my share of crazy course scheduling...at one time I was taking 5 undergrad courses at the same time while working full-time, and then I took 3 graduate courses at once for several semesters while again working full-time, and that's probably the reason for the jump in stock prices for Miller Lite. :bandit:

If online learning is new for you, I would advise you go EXTREMELY slow at first, and just take one course to begin with. That will "get your feet wet" and give you an idea as to how much time you're going to have to invest for each course, which will allow you to budget your time. Keep in mind that online courses are just more convenient, they're NOT easier by any stretch of the imagination.

Also, be sure to check our section on credit by examination (CLEP, DANTES, etc.) which will allow you to shave off considerable time from your degree program for short money.

 

Bruce, thanks for the great advice! Yes, I see from all of the posts that it is best to start slow, especially since I am new at distant learning. If you see another jump in the Miller Lite stock prices, you will know that I got in over my head!

 

C'mon Julie, the least you could do is drink GOOD beer.:wink1:

http://www.degreeinfo.com/off-topic-discussions/40719-beer-thread.html