After taking the online quiz offered by SJSU, the answer is yes. I am ready for online learning. I do have good technical skills and I am prepared to check my D2L account every morning (similar to the way I already check my email every morning). However, I’m going to have to change some of my habits in order to succeed. To know whether online is right for me or not, I answered the six questions in the “tips for success” category. My answers sum up my skills and reflections on whether online is right for me or not.
1. Do you possess strong time management skills?
Honestly, not really. When I need to be somewhere for a certain time or when I need to finish a project by a certain date, I usually think about what I have to do and organize when I will do it. I know what you’re going to say: I’m super organized. No… My little plan usually works for the first week or so and then I start falling behind on my schedule and end up cramming at the last minute. I’ve never been late on an assignment and am rarely late for meetings, work, and so on, but I always seem to be running late. I know I’m going to have to work on this point. I might have to start a project earlier than I initially said I would or lay out a week-to-week plan if I have to. I know that once I start a routine, it will be a lot easier.
2. Do you possess strong organizational skills?
I try! Sure, I think I’m organized but I could show you pictures of my desk at work, my car and my room, and you wouldn’t think so. I do keep an online calendar that syncs with my iPhone and my iPad. I also have a very good memory so I always know what I have to do, and I try to keep things in order. It usually works for the first couple of months, where all my papers and notes are organized in a folder all neatly, but then everything seems to get messed up again. It never affected my grades before, and everybody knows that the office of a genius is always a mess. However, I know that doing this master’s degree online is going to be more of a challenge and I’ll have to work on STAYING organized.
3. Are you self-motivated?
Right now? Absolutely. At this moment I have plans to work on my classes everyday and finish with As. However this usually doesn’t last. I usually get upset if I score lower than I thought on an assignment and then think, “What’s the use I’m not going to get an A+ anyway”. I am however very excited about this program and since I already work in the field, I’m highly motivated to finish it and get a good job.
4. Do you enjoy working independently?
YES!!! Could I write this any bigger? I’m the first one that moans and groans when a group project is announced and the first one to ask the professor if I can do the assignment alone. But now, thanks to Dr. Haycock‘s presentation, I know that I am not alone and others share my feelings. In Enid Irwin’s presentation, it surprised me that teamwork was at the top of the list of student’s fears. What? I’m not alone? On top of that, the reasons why people don’t like teamwork are similar to mine: Others won’t contribute, I have nothing to offer, I will get it wrong, and others will take over. I usually fear that my ideas will be stupid or that people won’t include me. It makes me feel a lot better that I’m not the only one with this aversion to teamwork.
In my bachelors, one of my biggest fears was that no one would pick me to be on his or her team. This wasn’t mentioned in either presentation, but I think it’s a common problem. I would like to share an experience of mine during the last year of my bachelors degree. I had to take a class with students I didn’t know. I knew the professor well (he was my supervisor for my thesis) and I asked him if I could do the group project and oral presentation alone. He refused and teamed me up with two other guys… can you imagine the horror?! It turns out that it was one of the best group projects I’ve ever done. It was easier being with strangers because we weren’t as afraid to say what we really thought and we were less scared about hurting each other’s feelings. I think the online world is a good way to work in teams for this particular reason. Most of the students don’t know each other and because we come from different towns, different countries and even different continents, each team member will bring something different and refreshing to the table. Dr. Haycock did mention that the better teams are when we don’t choose friends as our partners, and I completely agree. Even though I answered this question with a huge yes and do prefer to work alone, I will look forward to tying something new and working with a team.
Furthermore, as Dr. Haycock mentioned teams are an important part of libraries. By working in a bigger public library, I witnessed this firsthand. In the Moncton library where I work, there is a team for circulation, children and reference. Those teams don’t scare me nearly as much as a team of students! This made me realize that my fear was a little irrational and that I should give it a try. After all, since most students already share my feeling it can’t be so bad.
To get back to the question, “Do you enjoy working independently?” my answer remains yes. I would much rather work alone and do my own this. It was one of the main reasons while I chose to do this program online, and I am grateful that most of the work will be done independently. However, I’m starting to look forward to working in teams. After all, everyone’s been very nice so far.
5. Are you comfortable working with technology?
This question is an easy yes. I’ve been around computers my whole life. Actually I have two computers on this desk right now and an iPhone. Sometimes my iPad gets added to the mix. I look forward to learning new technologies, which I do almost everyday. The Internet is a wonderful thing and should be taken advantage of. The fact that I can do this Master’s degree online in a university in California from a small town in Canada is mind-blowing! I love technology and I’m absolutely not intimidated by it!
6. Do you enjoy a challenge?
Of course I do. I don’t however want my vision of this course to be difficult and time consuming. This online Master’s degree is very much a blessing for me. It would have been a bigger challenge to move away from my friends and family to get the education necessary for what I really want to do with my life. This is a positive challenge like running an extra mile on the treadmill or reading 50 books in 2013. In no way am I saying that this will be easy, I am just saying that I will tackle this challenge with enthusiasm and a positive attitude. It is much easier to say I like a challenge when this one is actually something I’m looking forward to doing.
Overall, three definite yeses! I know I have some things to work on to accomplish this Degree, but I know that I am quite ready to take this on. I know where my issues are and what I have to work on in order to be successful and I am ready to have an open mind and try to better myself!
gabylovesbooks 