Mary,

What is going well in the course:
We did well on our group paper! We had some difficulty in communication, but we got full credit, so I can't complain.

What is going not so well in the course:
We seem to have misunderstood the concept map assignment, so we will have to figure that out with you.

Your frustrations:
None this week.

Your accomplishments:
On to Module 3! Woohoo!

Your life as an online learner:
I'm still just not sure if an online program was the right choice for me. I hate to be a complainer, but I have really found this a challenging way to learn. I know challenges can be great things, but I'm not sure how to describe how I'm feeling. I think it is just out of my comfort zone, and I have mentioned before how I miss the face to face interaction.

Have a great week!

Niecy

Mary,

What is going well in the course:
I think my excel assignment turned out well. I haven’t used excel in some time, so I had to reteach myself a few things. I enjoy playing with numbers, so once I had it figured out, it was fun for me.

What is going not so well in the course:
I’m a little nervous about how our group paper will come together. I am all about the exchange of ideas in groups and learning from one another, but I inherently hate group papers. No one has the same writing style, so they never flow well unless one person does extensive editing. I have never had a group paper assignment go smoothly. I hope I am proved wrong!

Your frustrations:
Our group meetings move somewhat slowly because we only use text. I use a mic with a group from another class, and we are able to discuss so much more in less time by comparison.

Your accomplishments:
I'm hanging in there!

Your life as an online learner:
My life as an online learner changes daily. Some days I feel really good about it, and others I ask myself what I have gotten myself into. Some weeks are very overwhelming, but I am trying to keep up.

Thanks,

Niecy

Journal 2 for EDT 547

Dear Mary,

What is going well in the course:
Group work has continued to go well. I wish the rest of my group had microphones because it would make our meetings a lot more efficient, but I think we work well together and they seem to be knowledgeable people. We have also been good about setting group deadlines for the project, so I feel like we staying on top of things.

What is going not so well in the course:
The course work itself has been going pretty well this week, so I don't think I have any complaints.

Your frustrations:
Accessing all of the documents, due dates, and assignment descriptions has become a bit of an annoyance for me. I wish they were all in one place. For example, the links to the reading for double entry journal were only located in the module calendar, but the assignment requirements had its own link which did not include the due date or reading links, and the point value for this assignment was in yet another folder. This probably doesn't seem like that big of a deal, but when I have to look in several separate places for different pieces of the every assignment, it's a huge time waster. I am also always afraid that I missed some important aspect of the assignment because I forgot to look somewhere.

Your accomplishments:
I am very glad to be finished with the first module because it was kind of an adjustment to the class for me. I am optimistic about module two.

Your life as an online learner:
I have found that life as an online learner takes so much more self discipline than life as a classroom learner. I was expecting this going in, however it is always different when you are actually in the situation. I have had to be very careful with my time and VERY organized in order to get everything done, which has thus far been an interesting journey.

Be well.

Niecy

Journal 1 for EDT 547

Dear Mary,

What is going well in the course:
I feel our first group meeting this week went well. We had a little tech trouble at the beginning, but were able to figure it out for the most part. It was also really helpful that you already had the Elluminate rooms set up for us. It made Elluminate really easy to access. I think it will be really nice to have the support of the group for the rest of the semester.

What is going not so well in the course:
The Scholarly Writing Assignment has put me in a bit of a panic all week. I feel like I have put hours and hours and hours into it, and I'm not even sure if I did it correctly. I am not a natural writer, so writing this research paper was very difficult and time consuming for me. It doesn't help that I have another very similar paper due for my 567 class today as well. Needless to say, it's a little overwhelming.

I also feel like way too much is due this week. We have 3 rather large assignments, 2 chapters with responses, and this journal all due on the same day. It is just way too much. I haven't left my computer all week trying to keep up with it all. I realize we've had 3 weeks to work on the paper and such, but I would much rather have been given less time to do some of the other assignments so at least they were out of the way.

Your frustrations:
Vista still frustrates me a bit. I'm really annoyed that you can't have more than one part of it opened at at time, i.e. I can't have the module one assignments open in one tab and the discussion board in another. I feel like I waste so much time going back and forth. It also seems to be a heavy program and bogs down my computer, which just makes the navigation even more frustrating. I know you have no control over this, so sorry for ranting. :)

Your accomplishments:
Getting all of today's assignments in by midnight will be a huge accomplishment! Fingers crossed.

Your life as an online learner:
I'm on the fence right now about whether an online program was the right choice for me. I miss people! I miss talking with people and not having to type everything. I think I will probably never take more than one online class per semester again. I will take the others wherever they are offered locally.

Have a beautiful week.

Niecy