Back to School: Online learning
After a month of online learning, I have some good news and some bad news.
First the bad news: I missed sending the first lab assignments to the dropbox before the midnight deadline. It was a mere minute or less, but the result was a goose egg for a mark. I know how that unfortunate Canadian Olympic downhiller skier felt after he wiped out halfway down the mountain and was tagged with a did not finish.
The good news: It didn't happen again because I made some adjustments to my learning and my attitude to the course. The result was I passed the quiz on Excel and aced the assignment. I'm hoping for the same result, in other words a gold medal finish, for the most recent assignment and upcoming quiz.
Forgive me for the skiing metaphors, but I can't help but see some parallels to learning Microsoft Office 2007 and alpine skiing. Both require hard work and dedication, without which there is no chance for success.
For those who wonder what I'm talking about, here is a quick recap: I'm taking my first ever online course, in other words, sailing into uncharted waters. My biggest fear was technological snags and difficult course content. However, the biggest stumbling block was me getting the work done and not leaving it to the last moment.
The accompanying tome to this course has been very helpful, once I got into it and followed the step-by-step procedures. This was especially helpful when learning Excel, of which I knew absolutely nothing. Judging by the online comments of my classmates, a number of them were in the same boat. Oh, did I mention that everyone had to dig up a website on each aspect of Office 2007, read it, write a review and then also comment on others' discoveries? It was actually a lot of fun.
The one time we actually met our teacher during the first week of the winter semester, she indicated it would take about three hours a week. As I found out, that was a conservative estimate, but then again maybe as an older student, I'm just slower than my more nimble-minded counterparts. She was right though in noting that it's easy to fall behind if one doesn't keep up with the readings and exercises.
Actually, the lab assignments were easier than a lot of the procedures covered in the required readings and exercises. Where it became difficult, however, were the nine to 12 quiz questions that delved deeper into the ins and outs of the software. Even with 60 minutes time and the use of the textbook and Google searches, it wasn't as easy as I thought it would be.
To do better in the quiz, I'll have to get answers for the book's mid-chapter quizzes write them in the book and refer to them. Judging by the questions that were asked, this seems like a strategy to success.
What I do miss in this type of program is feedback from the instructor. It's always good to know where one has gone wrong or even getting a pat on the back when it's deserved. Yes, the marks speak for themselves, but don't always tell the whole story. Maybe this should be a course requirement for the instructors.
Bruce Langer is a student in the corporate communication and public relations program at Fanshawe.
Editorial opinions or comments expressed in this online edition of Interrobang newspaper reflect the views of the writer and are not those of the Interrobang or the Fanshawe Student Union. The Interrobang is published weekly by the Fanshawe Student Union at 1001 Fanshawe College Blvd., P.O. Box 7005, London, Ontario, N5Y 5R6 and distributed through the Fanshawe College community. Letters to the editor are welcome. All letters are subject to editing and should be emailed. All letters must be accompanied by contact information. Letters can also be submitted online by clicking here.
First the bad news: I missed sending the first lab assignments to the dropbox before the midnight deadline. It was a mere minute or less, but the result was a goose egg for a mark. I know how that unfortunate Canadian Olympic downhiller skier felt after he wiped out halfway down the mountain and was tagged with a did not finish.
The good news: It didn't happen again because I made some adjustments to my learning and my attitude to the course. The result was I passed the quiz on Excel and aced the assignment. I'm hoping for the same result, in other words a gold medal finish, for the most recent assignment and upcoming quiz.
Forgive me for the skiing metaphors, but I can't help but see some parallels to learning Microsoft Office 2007 and alpine skiing. Both require hard work and dedication, without which there is no chance for success.
For those who wonder what I'm talking about, here is a quick recap: I'm taking my first ever online course, in other words, sailing into uncharted waters. My biggest fear was technological snags and difficult course content. However, the biggest stumbling block was me getting the work done and not leaving it to the last moment.
The accompanying tome to this course has been very helpful, once I got into it and followed the step-by-step procedures. This was especially helpful when learning Excel, of which I knew absolutely nothing. Judging by the online comments of my classmates, a number of them were in the same boat. Oh, did I mention that everyone had to dig up a website on each aspect of Office 2007, read it, write a review and then also comment on others' discoveries? It was actually a lot of fun.
The one time we actually met our teacher during the first week of the winter semester, she indicated it would take about three hours a week. As I found out, that was a conservative estimate, but then again maybe as an older student, I'm just slower than my more nimble-minded counterparts. She was right though in noting that it's easy to fall behind if one doesn't keep up with the readings and exercises.
Actually, the lab assignments were easier than a lot of the procedures covered in the required readings and exercises. Where it became difficult, however, were the nine to 12 quiz questions that delved deeper into the ins and outs of the software. Even with 60 minutes time and the use of the textbook and Google searches, it wasn't as easy as I thought it would be.
To do better in the quiz, I'll have to get answers for the book's mid-chapter quizzes write them in the book and refer to them. Judging by the questions that were asked, this seems like a strategy to success.
What I do miss in this type of program is feedback from the instructor. It's always good to know where one has gone wrong or even getting a pat on the back when it's deserved. Yes, the marks speak for themselves, but don't always tell the whole story. Maybe this should be a course requirement for the instructors.
Bruce Langer is a student in the corporate communication and public relations program at Fanshawe.
Editorial opinions or comments expressed in this online edition of Interrobang newspaper reflect the views of the writer and are not those of the Interrobang or the Fanshawe Student Union. The Interrobang is published weekly by the Fanshawe Student Union at 1001 Fanshawe College Blvd., P.O. Box 7005, London, Ontario, N5Y 5R6 and distributed through the Fanshawe College community. Letters to the editor are welcome. All letters are subject to editing and should be emailed. All letters must be accompanied by contact information. Letters can also be submitted online by clicking here.
