Posts Tagged ‘distance learning’
Stress Free Online Degree
Friday, December 12th, 2008
Stress is a biological term which refers to the consequences of the failure of a human or animal body to respond appropriately to emotional or physical threats to the organism, whether actual or imagined. It includes a state of alarm and adrenaline production, short-term resistance as a coping mechanism, and exhaustion. It refers to the inability of a human or animal body to respond. Common stress symptoms include irritability, muscular tension, inability to concentrate and a variety of physical reactions, such as headaches and accelerated heart rate. Evidence shows that many of the leading causes of death in the United States — such as heart disease, cancer, stroke, injuries, etc. — can be prevented by improving personal health habits. As distance learners, staying healthy is especially important since we don’t receive the physical activity and interaction of a traditional campus. Fortunately for us, staying fit is actually quite simple and affordable. Just continue reading to learn the habits successful distance learners practice to stay healthy.
Stay in touch with friends. Humans are social creatures and there is a lot of value in our relationships. The people in our lives are essential to helping us feel motivated, encouraged, and solve problems. All of this leads to less stress and greater relaxation.
Organize your way to success. Another key component to being relaxed and reducing stress is to stay organized. When you are busy juggling work, school and family life, getting into the habit of writing everything down and maintaining a scheduling system will keep you accountable and drastically reduce stress.
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Health Tips for Distance Learners
Thursday, December 11th, 2008
Believe it or not, distance learners require health tips to achieve optimum performance in their studies. Below are some health tips that may be useful.
Schedule regular check-ups. Avoid waiting until you have annoying symptoms before visiting the doctor. Scheduling check-ups with your family physician, dentist, and chiropractor is an important step in preventing illness and injury.
Add vitamins to your diet. A busy schedule may leave you eating in a rush and making poor food choices. Now is a good time to get into the habit of taking vitamins and minerals to supplement your nutritional needs.
Medicate early. Uh oh, is a cold coming on? You know that feeling…the scratchy throat, plugged up nose and just all around feeling of being out of it. Act now and don’t wait for it to get worse. Try sucking on a zinc lozenge or some other stop-that-illness-in-its-tracks remedy like Airborne. You may be pleasantly surprised to find that you wake up feeling great and ready to tackle another day.
Hand wash regularly. Nothing wards off germs more than good hand washing with soap and water. Hand washing is the single, most effective way to stop the spread of germs and infections. Antibacterial gels can help in a pinch, but nothing beats scrubbing up and washing those germs down the drain.
To properly wash your hands:
- Wet your hands with warm, running water and apply liquid or clean bar soap. Lather well.
- Rub your hands vigorously together for at least 15 seconds.
- Scrub all surfaces, including the backs of your hands, wrists, between your fingers and under your fingernails.
- Rinse well.
- Dry your hands with a clean or disposable towel.
- Use a towel to turn off the faucet.
Posted in College Tips, Online College and University, distance learning, online courses, online education | No Comments »
Activities to Keep Kids Away While You Study
Thursday, December 11th, 2008
Getting one step ahead closer to your online degree is always a benefit of distance learning students. Here are some activities to keep kids away while you study.
Decorate a canvas pocket organizer. Pocketed canvas organizers that hang on doors can be a great way to harness those straying shoes, small toys or other items. Have your kids decide what the organizer will be used for and where it will hang. Then, give them fabric markers or paint to decorate the organizer using bedroom colors, favorite cartoon characters and anything else they can think of. After the organizer is thoroughly dry, have your kids place items in the pockets.
Holiday preparations and thank-you notes. Do birthday or holiday gifts need wrapping? Set out the supplies on the floor or table and put your children in charge of wrapping and decorating gifts. Remind them to stick nametags on the gifts! Recipients will love seeing that your kids did the wrapping all by themselves.
Trim and water plants. Kids will love being gardeners for a day. Show them how to use small clippers to trim bushes and snip off dead leaves and flowers. Have them put on bathing suits and use a hose or watering cans to water the garden. If your green thumb is the indoor variety, show kids how to water the plants in a controlled way. If you have plants with large, waxy leaves, have your kids”dust” off the leaves using damp paper towels.
Involve young children.Even young toddlers can grab a dust cloth and copy older siblings as they clean. Of course, everything including the dog may get dusted, but that’s okay. As long as your kids are focused and cooperative, they are getting the job done.
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Advancing Distance Learning
Wednesday, December 10th, 2008
Distance learning is a great and convenient way to advance your career and education. In fact, online courses are much like face-to-face courses in that they must meet the highest standards of quality design and instruction. But that also means they come with the same fears of “can I handle the coursework,” etc.
Visit the bookstore. Once you’ve logged on, locate the bookstore and order your books for your course(s). (Hint: Sometimes it takes 10 days to get the book to you, so you want to do this right away.)
Find the important offices and contact information. Locate any offices you might need, like the computer help desk, business office, the advising office, the department teaching your course, and the library. Lucky for you, you don’t have to learn about the dining halls (if you’re an off campus student) since your own kitchen will be your dining hall (and snack bar). Schools vary greatly in how their Web sites are laid out, but most provide links, numbers, and e-mails for all the services you will need as an online student. (Hint: Knowing where these things are will save you time and effort when you are trying to get information in a hurry.)
Locate the login and password for your course and the directions for logging in. Most of the time, your login and password for your class will match your login and password for the school. (Hint: you don’t want to find yourself without this essential information when the help desk is unavailable and you have your first assignment due, so make sure you can log in, even if you can’t access your course right away.)
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Handling Distance Learning Education
Wednesday, December 10th, 2008
Worried about being a newbie? There’s no need to worry if you follow these simple tips to ease your transition into online education.
Make sure you have everything you need to start. Locate the computer requirements document on the school Web site. Make sure your computer fits the requirements and you have the right peripherals (printer, speakers, microphone, etc) and software (Adobe Acrobat to read .PDF files, Microsoft Word for writing papers, etc). Once you have those things in place, make sure they all work!! (Hint: most schools provide the software as downloads from their technical support page, so check that out before you buy software).
Set aside an area in your room for your books and other class requirements and important school documents. It is important to have some organization, even if it’s just two folders — a physical one for important papers and a folder on your computer where you put all your final written papers. Put your books, some blank paper, a pen, and a highlighter all in one place. (Hint: if you are planning to use multiple computers like one at home and one at work, buy a backpack to keep all you stuff in so it is portable and handy).
Know the school landscape. Just as if you were walking around a new campus, you will need to “walk” around your virtual campus to learn where things are. Log into the school Web site with your assigned login and password as soon as possible. Click on different links to see what is available and get a real feel for your school. (Hint: Most schools hide important student information behind a firewall to protect you, so you will need to have a login and password to access it.)
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