Ari here! Here's some distance learning tips from me, a student worker at the music library! Online courses and keeping up with them might seem like such a hassle sometimes, and that’s because it is. Keeping yourself organized and working in a timely manner is the hardest thing, in my opinion, to do while in these online classes.
I found myself struggling to actually study at home because I was so used to being on campus. Part of the reason many of us feel like we are being given more work is because we are, but also, we don’t really have a stable schedule for classes anymore. There are a few recommendations I have, however, to help ease the stress a bit. I like to remind myself though that everyone is different, and if you have ways that work for you, by all means keep up the good work!
One way I’ve kept myself on track (for the most part) is doing homework for classes at the “scheduled time” it would be at. That is, of course, if you don’t have virtual classes (Zoom/WebEx) at the time. Doing so has created somewhat of a schedule for me. Any work left after that doesn’t necessarily need to be finished at the time can be saved for later.
Another issue I’ve run into, even before online classes, is having to look at all my syllabus schedules to see what assignments are due when. One solution I had implemented was straight up putting everything into my Google Calendar. This gives you the control to set a time and day for when you want to start working on things and lets you know the due date. Using all the different colors as well to coordinate is helpful.
My ultimate tip for syllabus schedules though is to throw all of the dates and assignments into a Google Sheet and organize them by due date. This gives you quick access to them rather than searching for the syllabus you’ve probably downloaded four times. Color coding also comes in handy with this.
In the end, I think that there’s so much coursework to make up for lost “in person” class time. We really have to be our own professors sometimes. It is very difficult, and sometimes frustrating. You’re allowed to feel like that!
Not to be corny, which I probably will be anyway, but if you take the time to schedule everything out, you’ll thank yourself in the end. Don’t put too much pressure on yourself either! A little breather and a break will do wonders.
