Module+7+Reflection

Reflect on how you perceive yourself as an online learner. Are you well-prepared to be an online leaner? Tell us about what you need to improve in order to be a successful online learner.
 * Prompt**

**Description** For this module, I'm reflecting back on myself as a beginning online learner, and also how I have grown throughout this process. I will also refer to class activities.  ** Impact ** If I would've been asked this question before class started, my opinion would have been much different than it is now! This was my first online class, so I was quite nervous at first. I am a very busy individual, so the thought of having to make myself sit down and manage all of this content independently was extremely overwhelming for me when I first began. I had actually started my Master's degree last fall, and stopped because I couldn't handle the online classes. It was too much, and I felt I needed that face-to-face classroom environment. When I decided to give it a second chance, I chose a different University (Akron). I found Akron's online learning environment to be very user-friendly, unlike my previous school. Everything is well-organized, and easy to get used to. I am so happy that I gave this another try!

I find myself to be a good online learner after all. I am extremely organized, which plays a huge role in this type of learning environment. I feel that I manage my time pretty wisely, although I think I could get better at this. On Sundays, I print out everything I'll need for the week, and organize it in my binder. Then, I make a list of assignments that I need to complete for the week. I then break that list down into daily goals (which I don't always meet). Usually what happens, is the reading portion takes up a LOT of my time. I'm a very slow reader. I don't like to miss one single sentence, and I take lots of notes. I'm the highlighting queen! It also takes me awhile to process what I read. That's one thing I miss from face-to-face instruction....I like to get my instructor's point of view about what I read, because I feel that what I interpret something from a book to mean, can easily be misinterpreted if I don't have someone to explain it to me in a different light. But overall, I think that my organization and lists help me achieve what I need to in an orderly fashion.

I feel that now that I have a routine down, I'm prepared to be an even better online learner. I'm glad I started this in the summer, because my schedule is a little bit less hectic and I had more time to devote to getting acquainted with this style of learning. Like I said, one area I'd like to improve in would be keeping my daily tasks in check. I need to give myself more time for reading, and be realistic about when I can get things accomplished.

I plan to get a better handle on the time it takes me to read things. I am going to start adding chapters into my daily plans. I will set goals for myself, such as "read half of chapter 1 tonight, and the rest tomorrow. "That's a more realistic amount of time to get my reading done! This will help me not get as frustrated with the amount of time I have to spend reading, and will make my assignments less stressful all the way around!
 * Intent **