A week in the life of an online student

Ever wondered what it would be like to be taking college courses online? This entry will give you a flavor of how online classes are conducted and what you as the student have to do to be successful. Distance online courses are offered for Associates, Bachelor, Master and Doctorate degrees...

All distance learning is different depending on the instructor but the following is a flavor of how some are taught and what your day might look like.


Monday

You login into your schools online course software, for emails from the course's instructor. The instructor details the assignments needed to complete during the week, discussions to post, a review for an upcoming test, etc. While the list of assignments due this week is available in the syllabus some instructors provide a weekly reminder of what you need to complete this week.

You are able to see your grades as the instructor posts them and comments for future reference.

Tuesday

Read the assigned chapter.You may want to use sticky notes to mark important sections that you might need for a test later. Some people prefer to mark in the book directly with highlighters and some prefer stickies. Your course may provide Powerpoint presentations in addition to reading the chapter.

Wednesday

Some courses provide videos to watch and are usually available online or perhaps the instructor will provide a CD at the beginning of the course. 

Thursday thru Saturday


During the rest of the week if you are taking multiple courses you may want to schedule them accordingly so that all your work is completed on time.  Make sure your chapters are read, videos viewed, PowerPoint presentations viewed and written assignments completed.  Some instructors require posting to a discussion/bulletin board with the question of the week.

Sunday

Make sure you upload all assignments and receive a confirmation that the upload was successful.  Some distance learning courses are through Blackboard, WebCT or some other form of online distance learning software.

Some students prefer face to face classes and/or online courses.  It is an individual's preference.

Just remember make sure you allow time for yourself.  Time management is very important especially if you are working and/or have a family.


Best of luck to you. I used both methodologies when I received my Bachelor's and Master's degrees.