When you log in, often times you have to acknowledge some sort of courseroom/faculty expectations.  Be sure to read them fully.  The last thing you want is to be docked for acknowledging an agreement you didn’t read.  In the courseroom, the required course materials, syllabus, professor expectations, and the expectations of the school, will be provided. I highly recommend that you go over each module so you know what to expect work-wise. If you need to, print it out. Printing out everything for the course, as soon as the room opened, helped me to plan out the weeks of work. Also, if there are additional materials that you will need, you should receive an e-mail prior to the courseroom opening so you can buy them in advance.  

When it came to writing, I would write a couple of discussion posts at a time on Word. That way, if there were any typos/grammatical errors, they could be caught. There is space to write a discussion on the platform, but it’s so much easier to copy-paste from your Word document. Plus, you will have a copy of all of the work you have done.

There are several ways of planning for the work you will have to do. If you are someone who prefers to use a planner, mark the due dates for posts and what they entail. I found it beneficial to write down the key points that were required per post. After marking my calendar, I would take part of the day during the week to research relevant peer-reviewed articles. The beginning courses for me were on general psychology, psychometrics, and psychopharmacology. I would read whatever was needed, take notes, and cultivate a discussion post based on the findings– making sure to cover all needed points. 

Time-management skills really come into play. You have to know what is due, when it is due, and at what time. For instance, I am on PST but the university is on CST. Anything due, of course, was due on CST time. I needed to account for that. Our finals were due at different times from regular posts, and meetings had to take place at a convenient time for all groups.

If a solely virtual approach works for you, then use the calendar on your phone and/or your computer. You should be able to customize any priorities by color (color-coding works wonders). I prefer a more tangible approach, so I always used a planner. Fun fact: I still do. You can make a planner or purchase a preset one. Customizable options are available as well, but are far costlier. 

In summation:

• Print out all necessary documents.
• Know and buy any additional materials prior to the course opening.
• Plan in advance. Mark your calendar (color-code if you need to).
• Note the time difference if there is one.
• Get a planner/use a digital calendar.
• Create a schedule.
• Time management and pacing are key.
• Don’t reference Wikipedia…ever.

Entering a digital class space can be daunting and overwhelming, especially if you’re not used to working online. If you get overwhelmed, take a breather. Everything will be okay. I would always finish a couple of weeks of work ahead, if I could, on Microsoft Word. Then I would upload as needed.

I am making a list of products that you may find useful. That being said, if you can, make sure to use what you have first. Do you have any suggestions? Let me know in the comments.

Peace & Love, always!