I have never been the 'studious' type : though I have always given my studies pride of place, and taken them very seriously. An avid reader from my early childhood, I have devoured books with the same relish as I would wolf down on Triple Beef Burger at McDonalds ! However, reading and studying are two wholly different ball games - and studying I must admit is difficult.
Anyone undertaking any on line course I think will go through their fair share of frustrations : and I thought I will jot a few of mine - and a few things that helped me : with the hope of offering anyone who braves the course a few helpful pointers.
1. Block your time judiciously ! : We all work. Most of us have families. We ALL have a life outside the self learning portal - and it is certainly extremely easy to put watching our Dearest Prof. Boak on the back burner ! So, when you commit to take the course, block the times you will commit on the calendar and guard it like Hades guarding the under world !!! NEVER break your time with your studies, and in some hopeless situation you do, immediately block that time on another day.
I personally blocked out half days on Saturdays and Sundays (from 6.00pm to 1.30am) as this worked best for me. Weekends are precious - and having spent time with the kids, I would lock my self out for this time - and not yield until my sessions were done. I also carved out 2 hours every other day for research on the topics covered for that week. One of the toughest challenges I had was to stick to it : when I did, it was great - when I did not, I really felt lost when the work had piled on !
2. Buy the books early ! : Buy the books early - as it allows you to really dive into the subject. Sadly Sri Lanka did not have most of the prescribed texts - so I had to supplement most : but buy the books - it is money well spent ! If you are able to read stuff on Kindle or any other new fangled e platform, then get yourself a hand held (or whatever they are called) and buy the e version of the books. Ofcourse, if you can read them through the e library then you are blessed. I HATED IT - and found the interface hopelessly cumbersome and unhelpful.
3. Do research every week : Don't let it pile up. I made this mistake for one of my subjects initially and was overwhelmed with the quantum of work I had to cover when the assignments came along. Do your research and further reading weekly.
4. Make citations and keep for reference : Whenever you read, paraphrase it, and keep the citations done. Once again, I learnt the hard way, but for the second set of subjects, I judiciously kept notes and the citations - and it was immensely helpful when the assignments came along. I had enough material piece things : and it was a true joy to know you knew where the stuff came from.
Read a wide variety of journals, periodicals and material. Don't stick to only the books prescribed. This always comes handy when writing the assignments. However, always remember to write the references and keep. I was lost for one subject as I did not do this - and found it near impossible to remember where I had got the material from !
5. Use the forum - for ALL the sessions : The forum is brilliant. This is the biggest regret I have of the program - that I could not get involved in the forum as I should have done. It is wonderfully enriching to read the posts and practical experiences of others : and it truly supplements for face to face discussions in a traditional class. If you really get involved in the forums you will realize that you actually have a lot more depth on the subject, and that you actually get a lot more than a standard lecture in a class room !
Need to run for a meeting - more tomorrow !
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