Late Fall Term in Retrospect

It has been a most eventful and stressful term. Due to scheduling foul-ups and miscommunication between departments, my student loans and financial aid from this term had to pay for my last term; I started work on my associates degree; I took (and probably aced) five courses; I ran out of money before the end of the term and am teetering dangerously between being penniless and being unable to pay for my car insurance. I have not paid my rent in two terms due to financial restrictions and my significant other has been feeling ignored and shoved to the back burner for 10 weeks which was the length of this term.

I have been sleep deprived; cursed the idiocy of certain administrative departments; railed against the inequities of social services and scholarships. I have argued against the over pricing at our book store as well as their practice of over-charging beyond their shelf price and vowed to never shop there again unless it was utterly impossible to obtain my supplies somewhere else. I have also met some of the most incredible instructors who changed my life in ways they probably cannot imagine.

Last term I took Legal Transcription, that instructor saved me by suggesting I double major in order to keep my financial aid and better my chances of employment; had it not been for her suggestion, I’d be working at McDonald's flipping burgers today, paying for my student loans out of a minimum wage job and going to school part time (for two more terms) to finish my paralegal certificate. You cannot imagine how many people I approached to try to solve the dilemma the schools class scheduling habits and the financial aid department threw me into; she was the only one who had a real solution.

My math instructor helped me learn how to learn pre-algebra and what it takes for me to transfer English to mathematical formulas. I have been attempting to learn that for over 36 years from mathematical geniuses, professors, web sites… her analytical approach combined with her adaptability and the use of the Hawkes program was what it took. As far as I am concerned, she is the most intellectual and well-rounded instructor I’ve ever met or heard of. No matter what your IQ is, no matter how smart you are in any arena; when there is something basic that you think you can’t do, it is impossible to have enough confidence in yourself about anything else. It invariably makes you feel like an utter idiot. At 52 years of age, I finally believe that I can do anything I decide to do.

My office technologies instructor taught me more than what was in the curriculum. She taught me that it is ok to not be perfect. Having OCD tendencies can be a crutch, it goes well with multi-tasking and attention to detail only if you can moderate it with achievement in a timely fashion and know when to decide that enough is enough. If a certain parent of mine had allowed me this information, instead of capitalizing on those OCD tendencies and exaggerating them further, I would have had a much different life in every aspect.

My power-point instructor not only allowed all of her students to excel with her unusual grading structure, but has such a calm manner in instruction that there is no way a student can feel overwhelmed in her class. No matter what the work load is, you know it can be done and you accomplish it with creativity and fun. The substitute she brought in during a personal emergency situation is a lovely, fun woman who obviously is not someone I can take a course from because of her high energy level. She clued me in on how to deal with my own problems in the school environment which flairs up my ADHD; small lessons can be the best.

My Civil Lit instructor gave me the necessary shove to really understand what several instructors kept telling me, "Do not over think it." Due to the bookstores foul ups, she changed the assignments so many times that I quit doing my over-kill research.

My internet instructor gave me the opportunity to have a lot of fun while taking her class. For me, that was a huge influence on my stress level. I do not think I would have made it through this term without her course.

I will not again take five courses in a term; I recognize my limits and the limits of those around me who are important in my life. That said, I’ve made it through without killing my grade average, or any one/thing else.

How to fully and successfully use an on-line college course.

On line courses are entirely different from classroom courses for a number of reasons. You are entirely responsible for your own success, there are no acceptable excuses. You decide how many hours you spend on preparation, typing your work up, research outside the assigned course book, and you are responsible for the time you spend on the ‘blackboard’ site.

Stay on top of your assignments; turn your work in on time. Participate in the discussion boards. Don’t procrastinate, try being early rather than late on any assignment/test.

Write using proper grammar and use correct spelling; you are in college, not third grade.

Do not attempt to plagiarize, you can get kicked out of the class and forfeit the tuition costs; you could even get kicked out of school. That kind of thing is information that goes with you from school to school, and even to possible employers. Simply don’t do it.

If you borrow something from an internet site, make certain you use the information to write your own sentences- do not copy/paste. One thing that can help is forming a document that is named differently from what you will use to turn in. I call my pre-turned in work, ‘homework’ and my post turned in work, ‘posted work’. I also use highlighting on all documents prior to a final copy. Use a specific color for research info you have copied from a site, use another color for text that you have not yet fully answered, and another color for finished text that you are ready to copy onto your posting work.

Another thing that is actually attempted is hiring someone else to do your work. People have been known to try to hire ‘ghost writers’ off craigslist and school bulletin boards. This is insane; it is cheating yourself out of an education and a future. You could, in all probability, get caught and can lose your right to attend any college/university. It is better to just withdraw from the class.

With all that ugly stuff out of the way, here comes the great part about on-line classes!

You control your environment. There is no one else in the classroom to annoy you by talking on their cell phone about how drunk they got last night. You can be as noisy or as quiet as works for you! If you prefer to work at 3am, it’s all up to you!

You control how much you learn. If the text covers general information, you have the ability to research at a library or on line to get more information. The more research you do, the more likely you will retain the information.

If you have problems, do contact your instructor. Do not try to just be chatty with them, be specific about what your problem is and ask directly if there is something you can do to rectify the problem.

On line classes require more attention, planning, detail control, and self-discipline than classroom classes. On line courses also provide you with more opportunity for success if you take the initiative.