Let me first start off by saying, I am happy that this term is almost over and that I have survived so far! It has been so draining working, full time school, family, and life that I am so looking forward to having a week off. I will say these past few weeks have been the hardest academically this term for me. I have been more unorganized, had more frequent procrastination battles, and my time management skills are in need of serious repair. I almost feel like I did when I was in high school, fighting “senioritis”. With all that being said though, I have enjoyed and learned a lot from this class.
My strengths that will aid in my succession at OSU is my drive, persistence, and organization skills. I know that being an online student may challenge these strengths a lot, but I know in the end I will get my bachelor’s diploma. I plan on taking the helpful tools and resources that were introduced and taught in this class to improve my strengths and better my weaknesses. Having learned about the different learning styles and the helpful tools and tricks will continue to help me succeed as an Ecampus student.
I have learned the importance of having my own workspace and keeping it organized. While doing the learning styles test I learned that pictures, videos, and music are very beneficial for me. I hadn’t really thought to analyze myself to find my peak & valley times and appreciated the idea. I do not work really well in the morning (not a morning person), but really well mid-day and around 9-10:30 pm. After about 12:30 am, my brain and vision starts protesting and I usually have to stop to get ready for bed. I have enjoyed my blogging experiences in this class, and want to get myself in the habit of doing that more frequently.
I will continue to use the Library, Ecampus Student Success, and the Learning Corner websites in my online journey. I learned a lot from the Library Webinar and feel a lot more comfortable using the Library site. There are a lot of resources like the academic calendar, Ecampus advice blogs, time management worksheets, counseling and coaching information available on the Ecampus Success and Learning Corner sites. I found the Canvas calendar and course stream to do list very helpful. This helped me stay organized and on track with assignment due dates.
The SMART goal setting lessons and assignments were very useful to me. I have many goals, but I have never written them down. This week I printed out a picture of me with my boys, on the day I received my associate’s degree. I listed the goals under the picture and added some words of encouragement. I pinned it to the wall above me desk to act as a reminder of how proud they were of me that day. In 2017, I will take another picture like this, holding my bachelors degree and standing next to my boys.