UPOU Survival Tips

Taking an online course is a convenient way of pursuing a graduate degree and seeking professional advancement since it can be done anytime and anywhere.  However, as I entered the distance education program in UP Open University, I realized that it is not as easy as it may seem.  During those years, I have encountered several challenges that require a different set of strategies in order to survive this mode of learning.

 

Here are some of the ways on how I cope with the distance learning environment.  Note that these may be effective for both sighted and visually impaired students. 

1.      Always make a back up.  Make it a habit to store your files offline so that you can study even without internet connection.  Moreover, keep a copy of your requirements / outputs so that you will not lost your files in case something happens with the course site. 

2.      Always read the course guide and be mindful of the schedules.  At the start of every term, the faculty in charge provides the course guide containing the course objectives, requirements, references, calendar of activities, and the FIC’s house rules.  Always take note of the scheduled activities and plot them on your calendar in order to help you in managing your time.  As much as possible, prioritize the requirement that needs to be done the soonest. 

3.      Take notes.  Though I found this time consuming, it may still be helpful to take note of key words to easily remember the concepts while studying the reading materials.  It may also be helpful when you are composing your answers for the forum discussions or making your assignments. 

4.      Never memorize.  As I proceed with the program, I realized that memorizing would just complicate things since most of the requirements including the online discussion forums require a deeper understanding of the concepts rather than rote memorization.  In addition, reading materials were mostly journal articles and book chapters that might give you a hard time memorizing without understanding. 

5.      Reflect and internalize the lessons.  As much as possible, try to relate the lessons to your own experiences in order to fully understand the lessons.  Often times, the FIC would ask you to do reflections or projects to show them if you really understood the concepts being discussed and you are able to apply it to your own field. 

6.      Don’t read your classmates’ forum posts immediately.  Reading your classmates’ posts may have some advantages and disadvantages.  Apart from student-student and teacher-student interaction, one good thing about reading forum posts is that you’ll get to see different perspectives of the topic from different fields of specializations since the class is comprised of a variety of professionals from different fields making the discussion very engaging and enriching.  However, it might intimidate you or make you feel inadequate especially when a classmate posted an extensive discussion of the topic. 

7.      Make a draft of your forum posts.  There are some FICs who would require a certain word count in a discussion forum post e.g. 250 words per post and 150 words per comment.  I usually make a draft of my answers in a word file so that I could see the word count as I write my answers to the discussion questions.  It is also helpful when you are not so familiar with the features of MOODLE’s discussion board.  What I did was I’d just copy my composition to the edit field since I cannot do the formatting online. 

8.      Save your exam answers offline.  There are courses that give timed quiz or examinations online and students usually have two attempts to take it.  Prepare a draft of your answers on a word document and paste it on the provided area so that you can still have a back up copy of your answers when you encounter any technical glitch. 

9.      Maintain communication with your FIC.  This is helpful especially for learners with visual impairment like me.  Take time to contact the faculty in charge through email and don’t hesitate to ask for help when you encounter some difficulties with the requirements, but don’t forget to offer your proposed solution or alternative activity to fulfill the requirements that also meet the objective of the course. 

Hope that these tips will help you in studying via distance education.  Succeeding in this mode of learning requires a combination of discipline, determination, and motivation.  As long as you have these three, I believe that you will be able to survive the open university.