What question do I hear the most from my online-MSW peers and online students in general?
HOW DO I STAY ORGANIZED IN THE WORLD OF ONLINE LEARNING?
I've developed tips and tricks through the almost 3 years of my online journey, which hopefully will help others stay on top of their online programs.
Put every deadline in at least one calendar, and check that calendar daily.
On the first day of every semester, the very first steps I take with every class I have are:
- read the syllabus; and
- put every deadline in my calendar.
I actually have two calendars, my phone/Gmail calendar, and a large desk planner. So, I put every deadline in both places. I also color-code my deadlines by class, on paper and in Google, and write a color/class key at the top of each calendar page.
I also ensure that my Google calendar entries remind me of pending due dates. For large assignments, like papers, I set a reminder a week before, several days before, and the day of the deadline. For routine assignments, like discussion board posts and responses, I set a single reminder the day of (though some people might need one the day before as well). I set my Gmail reminders to be emails rather than notifications. That way, when I wake up each morning and check my email (as I do first thing), I see if there are any pending assignments to complete that day.
Break large projects into smaller components
Many students seem to approach more significant assignments, such as research papers, as a single, large time commitment. They postpone work until they can do the entire project at once. This postponement often leads to procrastination and stress.
It is significantly easier to break each project into smaller components and give each piece a separate deadline. For instance, with a research paper, I'll break the assignment up as follows:
- Make a list of potential topics, and scan research article titles to see what exists on each topic. Use this information to narrow the topic list to, for example, the top three choices.
- Find and print or download the most relevant articles on the number one topic. Personally, I prefer paper copies of articles. Skim the articles to gain a general understanding of the current literature on the topic. Decide which papers you will use. I use my number one topic choice unless research shows it to be unworkable for some reason; and, in that case, I have my backups
- Number your chosen articles. I put the numbers in the top right corner of the front page.
- Having read the articles, make a general outline of how your paper will cover the topic. This is subject to change as you research further but makes a good starting point.
- Take notes for each article on the points or information that are relevant to your paper. Write the article number and page before each note for referencing later. (E.g: #3, p. 257, information pertinent to your topic...)
- Organize the notes into the structure you have created for your paper.
- If you notice any gaps in information that you need for your paper, find additional articles and add those notes.
- Write the first draft of the paper. Here the concern is getting all of the information into the paper, organized optimally not excellent writing. As you use each note, make sure to put the reference placeholder (#3, p. 257).
- Now is the time to clean up the writing and run the paper through Grammarly.
- Write your references page, adding all articles used in the paper. Go through your paper, find all in-text citation placeholders, and add the appropriate citations. I search open parentheses for this - "(".
- Give your paper one final run-through, and turn it in.
Broken up this way, each step might take an hour or a few hours, but I don't need a single marathon weekend to complete my research papers. Another advantage to this system is that if I get sick or something occurs to prevent me from working when I plan to, I'm much closer to completing a project.
If you realize you can't meet a deadline, reach out to your professor
Sometimes life happens, and you cannot complete an assignment on time. If this occurs, first reach out to your professor. They are generally very understanding and will work with you. Just make sure that you contact them as soon as you know that you are having difficulty, and always make sure to reach out before the due date!
Keep everything necessary for each class in one notebook, and keep all notebooks, textbooks, notes, etc., in one place.
Keep notebook contents organized by due dates, with the most urgent work on top. If you are doing everything on a computer, ensure your folder system is in a similar format. On my computer, I organize my work in folders named: MSW Program > Class # > Assignments (or Articles, Downloads, etc). Each assignment should be titled: Due-date–Name-of-assignment.
Back up everything that you are working on.
Either work on assignments in a Google drive, which backs them up automatically, or ensure that you upload each day's work to the cloud or an external storage device. I've known many students who lost a paper that they hadn't backed up and it is frustrating, to say the least, to have to redo all that work.
Connect with members of your cohort.
Exchange numbers with some of your peers in each class, and create text chats in which you ask each other general questions, brainstorm ideas, and, sometimes, vent when needed. No work, such as discussion board planning, should be done via text chat. Text chats are only for connecting with your peers. Online classes are missing some degree of camaraderie by nature, and you can bring that back by staying connected outside the discussion boards.
It's definitely different, and in some ways more difficult, to stay on top of work and assignments in an online program, but it is very feasible. Just be sure to do your organizing and planning upfront and the semesters will tend to fall into place.