Time Management for Online Classes

I am in the second to last quarter at Berkeley and I realize that now more than ever is crunch time. I am trying to do a million things such as blogging, tutoring and having a social life and I thought that having online classes would make things easier since I am on the internet via my phone, iPad or laptop most of the time anyway. As a result, most of my classes are online courses this quarter. I usually have have on campus classes and half online but this time I only have one on campus class(which is ALL the way in NYC but that's another story!) and 4 online classes which seems crazy to most of my friends/associates. Online classes require just as much if not more work and more importantly, you have to master the skill of time management.

Many professors that teach online courses require students to reply to the initial post on the discussion boards by mid week and reply to at least two other students on different days during the week. If you are like myself, you are used to doing everything last minute(trying to post all your posts Friday or Saturday night) and getting a good grade but with online courses, that is not possible. You have to plan accordingly throughout the week and make sure you set time out of your schedule to post, do the homework (which can be a written assignment or a quiz) and submit it on time and most importantly, understand the material. If you have a question about an assignment that's due Saturday night at 11:59 pm, if you email the professor that morning, you are most likely not going to receive a response in time. Professors  just like students have lives outside of school and are not anxiously waiting for your emails! Be mindful of this and look over the material earlier in the week so that both you and your professor are able to help each other out.

There are great benefits to taking an online course. You can have class from the comfort of your home/office without stepping foot inside an actual classroom. There have been plenty of times where I did my discussion posts on my laptop under my covers and I was in heaven! Also, just like on site campuses, many colleges offer online tutoring sessions so you can receive help on various subjects without going to campus(or paying out of pocket for a tutor!) Online classes may not be for everyone but since I have (almost) mastered the skill of time management, online classes are beneficial for me and my lifestyle.

If you have any questions/comments, feel free to post them in the comments section below.

Talk to ya tomorrow!