I am new to this as well. I’ve read the blogs of others, but never posted any of my own. It feels good to learn some new things and to feel like I’m taking some baby steps toward feeling confident in navigating online learning (Ah!- the purpose of this class!). I feel like I might miss out on some of the visual learning that helps me in classrooms, but videos might be just as helpful. Mostly, I need repetition and I need to write things down so online communication might be just the ticket in this matter. I realize that online learning will indeed take more time to do, but I also feel like I will be actually be working most of the time and that will help me in the sense of repetition. If I have to write something down first to figure it out before I post my answer, then I am at least going through that problem twice. Being at home has absolute benefits since I have a family and a job, but it also offers some extra distractions that I need to learn to deal with and have been trying to fiddle with the past couple of weeks. It is so easy to procrastinate when there are chores to do (even though I could normally let most of them sit until they absolutely had to be done!). I also appreciate feeling less intimidated because of the certain amount of anonymity online learning allows, depending on what instructors expect for their class. At any rate, I’m very happy to have this alternative opportunity to continue towards my degree!
You seem really in-tune with your learning style, your strengths, and your obstacles (I sometimes get distracted by checking my e-mail and Facebook!). I think that some of the online classes will work really well with your visual learning style… last term I took a class that actually had virtual tours of farms and another that used weekly videos from the teacher, as well as other presentation options. I’ve been impressed by the attempts by teachers to present information in more than one format so that those of us who have different learning styles can still do well:) I also noticed (you probably already know this) that when you look up a class, there is a description of how it is presented, and even usually an old syllabus explaining how class is presented, so you can choose classes that meet your learning needs:)
That’s good advice about looking up how classes are presented. I had noticed that, but hadn’t thought about applying it. Or, rather, I think I didn’t know *why* I considered it. Sometimes, there isn’t really a choice between classes, but I will probably pay more attention to that in the future in consideration with my learning styles, rather than, “I don’t think I’d like that.” This quarter has been great with supportive, understanding instructors and I can only hope that continues!
So, I’m reading all the blogs and responses in reverse order… and now that I’m reading your inaugural post I’m wondering, did you know that you would blog throughout the term? It seems like this blogging-thing fits your style… have you ever considered starting your own?
I had no idea! I guess I have occasionally thought about starting my own, but then thought maybe I really had nothing to say (and there are certainly enough of those around!). It might be interesting to incorporate my experiences in wildlife rehab if I were to try. Hmmm… now you’ve got me thinking 🙂