This semester has been interesting. I realized early on that even the best-laid plans could get thrown to the curb. That just having a game plan for my academic success wasn’t enough. I needed to stay the course even in rocky waters. Unfortunately, I did not in this instance, but I feel I have learned from this semester and will be better suited for online learning and continuing my success going forward.

The strength that I bring to online learning is now and always has been my ability to learn independently. I am the guy who works tirelessly until I figure something out. However, and as I learned, there is a cost to this approach. Time is not of infinite supply, and sometimes you need to just throw in the towel and ask for help if a certain concept is taking longer to grasp. Numerous times this semester I spent too much time on a concept and didn’t ask for help. This was not the best approach to maximizing my already limited time. In the future, when I find that concept is taking too long to grasp, I plan on utilizing the tutoring services provided by school of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (“EECS”) to assist. The EECS program has several different options for tutoring in real-time. This will be invaluable to my studies going forward, and to assist in ensuring my time is being well spent.

My weakness in online learning, and, arguably, life in general, is my time management skills. I can easily underestimate how long something will take me, and it invariably can put me behind schedule. However, my biggest issue this semester was not starting to address work earlier in the week. I frequently left myself to address homework at the very last minute. Not only did this increase my stress level, but also it lowered the quality of my work product. This point was further hit home when I became ill mid-semester and fell behind in my work. This class taught me that I needed to be more diligent about treating online learning with more structure. Just because I can study whenever I want, does not mean I can just wait until this last minute to get everything done. I learned I needed to approach online classes the same way I would approach a more traditional class: blocking out time during the week for lectures and studying. It really is that simple. Putting myself in a position to succeed is something I did not do this semester. Thankfully, I am a fairly fast learner and will not make the same mistake twice.

My goal for this semester is a simple one: never wait until the weekend to start working on assignments for a class. My goal will be to sit down every Sunday night and get a head start on the week. I feel this will get me going in the right direction and allow me to put my best work product forward. This will sever me well going forward to allow me to better succeed in an online learning environment, and to decrease my stress level that comes with school. It all comes down to getting started early. Luckily, I usually don’t make the same mistakes twice. Let’s see if I really learned anything from this semester and can start putting my best foot forward.

I always felt I had a pretty good idea how I retain information the best. I had already finished an undergraduate degree, work full-time in a job that requires me to constantly think on my feet with new ideas…of course I figured I could just ease right back into school…..Yeah, not so much. These last few weeks have been eye opening on many levels. First off, I was under the impression that I could just hammer away for several hours at night after working a full day and retain information like I used to…Nope, not happening. I was also hoping that classes were not going to take up THAT much time so I can have some semblance of a personal life…….sort of, but not exactly.

The biggest things that I have taken away from starting school again is that I have changed. My circumstances have changed, and I have had to come up with a new game plan in order to succeed in an online environment. I learned early on that after working 10+ hours a day, the last thing I want to do is come home and study. I would come home and get myself prepared to do work, but would always find some other thing to distract me because I just couldn’t sit my self down to do more work. So the first part of my routine I changed is WHEN I work. Instead of trying to be up all night reading, I started going to bed earlier and waking up earlier (something I tried from my assessment). I have found that I am able to retain information better in the morning, and stay more focused, then I have after working all day. While this took me about a week or so to figure out, it has enabled me to stay on top of my classes better, and be more efficient and be able to stick to my game plan if set for myself to accomplish my work.