Posts Tagged ‘online education’
Managing Children and Studies
Thursday, December 11th, 2008
It’s difficult enough balancing kids with housework, so the thought of successfully pursuing an online degree may seem impossible. However, taking online education courses can actually be quite manageable for parents. If you think that children are always in the way of your education troubles, think again. It’s all a matter of proper children management. There are actually many ways in which having children could help you achieve online degree success. One of them is assigning them important roles in the house. Not only will you be able to concentrate on your studies, you’ll get to cut yourself some home chore slack.
Plan a dinner and shopping list. Give your kids dinner duty and have them peruse a cookbook or kid-safe recipe Web site. Have them stick Post-it® notes on or print out favorite recipes. Then have them vote on one entrée, one side dish and one dessert. Next, have your kids read through the required ingredients for the winning recipes and make a grocery list for needed items. Plan a night to cook together as a family.
- Increase the Fun: Ask a restaurant for paper chef hats for your kids to wear. After the dinner is cooked, have your children “play restaurant” and serve you.
Free choice chore duty. Kids like exercising some control over their choices. Have them be “Inspectors” and walk around the house with a clipboard, noting chores that need to be done. Then, have your kids hold a meeting and each choose two chores. After they complete the chores, let them inspect each other’s performance.
Tags: online class, online degree, online educationPosted in College Tips, distance learning, online courses, online degree, online programs | No Comments »
Kids in Helping You Study
Thursday, December 11th, 2008
In addition to everyday tasks (dusting, sweeping, picking up toys), there are many fun and often forgotten jobs that will make your house sparkle and get you closer to earning an online degree. What are they exactly? Have your kids do the following chores while you are doing your school work:
Clean mirrors and windows. Cleaning windows and mirrors with a gentle spray cleaner such as Windex® is a fun way to keep kids busy. As long as the cleaner is nontoxic, kids can spray it independently and wipe smudged surfaces clean.
- Bonus tip: These cleaners can also be used to clean appliance surfaces, such as dishwashers and refrigerators.
- Increase the Fun: Buy markers specially made for writing on windows. Let your kids draw pictures on the windows and then clean them.
Organize the pantry. If your pantry houses old pasta, vintage gravy packets and an antique peanut butter jar, you’re not alone. But you can set your kids loose on tidying up this unruly space. First, make a simple sheet of instructions. Otherwise, your children will have a million unanswered questions when you’re trying to concentrate. The instructions can be as simple as:
- Take everything out of the pantry and put it on the kitchen table.
- Wipe out the pantry with a damp sponge.
- Throw away all open pasta packages that are nearly empty.
- Group the pantry items by type (soup, pasta, JELL-O®, etc.)
- Line up the items back on the shelves.
Posted in College Tips, distance learning, online courses, online degree | No Comments »
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.)
Tags: distance learning, online degrees, online educationPosted in College Tips, distance learning, online degree, online education | No Comments »
Maintaining Your Study Space at Home for Online Classes
Wednesday, December 10th, 2008
Maintaining your study space for online classes can be a lot of work. A messy area can lead to coffee-stained papers, damaged textbooks, and misplaced notes. Give everything a designated area on your desk and shelves. Use an old coffee mug to hold your pens, pencils, and highlighters. Use bookends to keep your books stacked nicely on your desk. It is essential that you keep your notes up-to-date. Have a filing system, so that you can file away new papers, graded assignments, and exams. This will prevent lose papers and keep your desk tidy.
If you enjoy a cup of coffee with your daily textbook reading, be sure to take the empty mug back to the kitchen sink when you are done. Remove all dirty dishes after use so that they don’t pile up and consume precious space on your desk. Another consequence of leaving old dishes around? They might begin to attract bugs and other unwanted critters, as well as dishes getting smelly or moldy! By taking a few minutes every day to keep your work area neat and tidy, you can come home and start your work right away without searching for items or getting distracted by useless clutter.
For effective studying concentration, use your room for studying or your home’s quiet area - away from any distractions. Avoid the temptation to your home office for other projects. If you enjoy crafting, building models, knitting or anything else, do not bring them into your work area. Though these activities are great hobbies and smart stress-relievers, they will lure you away from your academic goals. Also, if you’re a parent taking online classes, try to dissuade your children from using the space. It is okay to have a place you can call your own!
Studying in a shared space? Not everyone has space or an extra room in their home just for their studies. If you are studying in your living room, den or another shared space, be sure to communicate your needs to others. Maybe put up a sign that reads, “Quiet, please – Working,” or “Reserving the Living Room from 8 – 10 Tonight.” If you are trying to write a paper in the kitchen, but you can hear the television in the next room, you may want to purchase noise-cancelling or noise-reduction headphones or ear plugs.
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