By: Marissa Tijerina
Throughout my three years here at ENMU, I have taken a multitude of online courses. I’ve taken Art Appreciation, Astronomy, Applied Writing for Media, Human Growth and Development, and many more. Some classes were easier than others. Some required more time than others. Some were more interesting than others. I’ve learned a lot from taking online courses. The main thing I’ve learned is that they are not for everyone, but there are ways to help you get through them.
Some people told me not to take online courses because they require more work than in- class courses. Some people told me to take online courses because they allow you to complete all of your work from the comfort of your own home, o
r dorm. I personally enjoy taking online courses more than in-class courses. It’s more convenient for me to do my work from home because I do not live close to campus, or in Portales for that matter. I try to take as many online courses as I can every semester. For the record, it is not easy taking multiple online courses at once. They do require a lot of self-discipline and self-motivation to complete the assignments on time.
I would recommend finding out exactly what the online course requires of you. Some courses require you to login at certain times on certain days to complete assignments or tests. Other classes are more self-paced with specific deadlines at the end of the week or month. If you are not able to find out these details before the class begins, then read the syllabus as soon as it’s available. Most online instructors will tell you exactly what they expect for their course when it comes to time requirements. If they do not include this in the syllabus, then email the instructor to find out. You do not want to be overwhelmed with time requirements three weeks in and unable to drop the course without it effecting your transcripts.
If there is no getting around the time requirements for an online course because it is a class that you have to take for your degree plan, then there are still things you can do to make the class more manageable. When an assignment is due plan out time during the week to complete the assignment in small portions. Read for the assignment one day, take notes on another day, start the assignment a few days before it’s due if possible, and complete it on the day that it is due. If you break down the requirements for each assignment it makes it easier to complete before or on the due date.
If you are still having trouble with your online class, just email the teacher. Chances are they will be willing to work with you.
