My Experience Of Online Schooling

Online schooling can be a challenging job for some learners. Some students would rather attend traditional classes than learn online. Some students like the idea of the internet and becoming more independent in their studies. In most cases, online success can always be achieved, depending on many different factors. Two of those valuable factors are time- management and motivation. Time-management is crucial and easy to achieve. We all have 24 hours a day, which means, that it is not how much time we have, but how well we can manage it. In an online school environment where classes are only eight weeks long, course content and its assignments can be quite overwhelming at times. There is a lot of work material to cover in a short amount of time. Some students like myself are full-time students and full-time employees. Before we know it, our entire day is gone in a blink of an eye. It can be difficult to manage school and work, but it can be achieved with time-management. Time-management can be best mastered, in my point of view, by following a reasonable schedule.

Motivation is fundamental in regard to online success. It is a personal goal to finish strong and “as one student put it, “keeping your eye on the prize” is always helpful.” (Roper, A. R., 2007). Being able to commit myself to my daily schedule, in light of my personal responsibilities, and my personal motivation is so important to me while learning and keeping up with my online assignments. My personal success also depends on some outside support. Thankfully, my parents are extremely encouraging and supportive of my efforts and help me stay focused and keep my eye on the prize (Roper, 2007). I cannot imagine being able to complete my degree without the help of my parents, in other words, I could not do it without their support.

My Online Success Plan

Every successful student, whether is a traditional student and/or an online student requires commitment, motivation, time-management, and most importantly a schedule. I will outline my daily schedule for my online classes here. Please keep in mind that I had to build in time for my personal responsibilities to myself, my family, and my work. I considered myself a very busy person. My priorities are most definitely my family, my work, and of course, my education. Every morning I wake with a purpose; a meaningful purpose that helps me stay motivated throughout the day: Staying positive.

I have two part-time jobs; on weekdays, I work as a Spanish Teacher at a private school called Community School. I work with early learners and I also teach Spanish I to a group of middle schoolers. The reason, I decided to complete my teaching degree was because I fell deeply in love with Community School and its students. I have been working at Community School since 2018. I first started going to Community School as an intern from Virginia Western Community College. Then, I was offered an opportunity to work there as a part-time Spanish Teacher. I enjoy working there even if it is for a couple of hours; the short amount of time I spend there is a joy to me.

On the other hand, on weekends, I work as a part-time brand associate at a store called, Hollister; I only work there for only four hours. As much as I love working at my two part-time jobs, I love dedicating my time studying and working on my online assignments. I’ve decided upon the following schedule in order to stay successful in school and life. This will be a brief overview of the schedule. However, a detailed version of my online success schedule is attached on Page 6.

Mondays are very crucial on the schedule as it marks the first day of the week and most definitely new assignments. Starting strong is fundamental when it comes to focus and commitment. My Mondays begin with personal commitments/ responsibilities. Right after that, I drive to Barnes and Noble and continue my Monday by completing a Module review so that I know what to expect during the whole week. I begin my afternoon with a full hour of dedicated reading and writing notes. I’ve allocated time after this for personal responsibilities, my family, and helping prepare dinner at home. In the evening, right after dinner, I will review my notes and the chapter that I read earlier. I’ve designated this schedule to be productive during the entire day and yet, flexible.

I will start my Tuesday’s morning going to work. Right after work, I go to my usual place (Barnes and Noble) to study and for a full hour of chapter reading. Right after lunch, I will do a chapter review of what I have read. After personal time, that include moments with family and preparing dinner, I will do more review, and then complete my quiz (only when I feel that I am ready to do it.)

On Wednesday, I will start my morning going to work. Then, right after work, I will drive to Barnes and Noble to continue reading, then reviewing. Then, I have personal time to take a nap for a few hours. After my resting time, I will review more, and then take my second quiz (in case there is a second quiz.)

I will begin my Thursday morning by going to work. Right after work, I drive to Barnes and Noble to review of the discussion board assignment. Next, I will begin to work on my Discussion Board post and submit it. After some personal time, I will review the main assignment for the week and begin brainstorming some ideas and begin forming an outline for completion.

On Friday, I will begin my morning going to work as usual. Then, after work, I’ll complete my outline and begin researching and writing in a quiet place environment, Barnes and Noble. I will then take a break and help my mother prepare dinner. After dinner, I will review the discussion board posts of other classmates.

On Saturday, I will wake up early for work. Right after work, I will take a short break for personal time. I will then continue with my main writing assignment and complete a rough draft. Once the rough draft is comprehensive, I will help my mother prepare dinner at home. After dinner, I will complete and submit a reply to one of my classmate’s discussion board posts.

I will start off my Sunday morning going to work. Right after work, I will eat lunch and I will take a quick nap. After my personal time, I will analyze my writing assignment. I will submit the assignment after dinner and review. Later, I will submit my second reply to classmate’s discussion board post. Thankfully, that will effectively complete my week, one day earlier depending if I am not too busy on Sundays, sometimes, I will finish my last assignment on the due date.

Creating a meaningful schedule that will help me be proactive and flexible during the week is very important to me. It is very easy to fall behind when someone is not well organized. Self-discipline and motivation (Waschull, S.B., 2005) are absolutely required in order to be successful in an online schooling environment. My personal online success is dependent upon creating a meaningful schedule and staying ahead in all my assignments. All of the above, are my idea of online success.