Online Course Community

How do you feel that you have benefited from the online community (peer to peer interaction) in this course?

Through the discussion board for this course, many people shared information and stories about their lives and their personal goals and challenges. I found this to be very reassuring. I learned that many other people are doing the same thing that I am- working, raising a family, and trying to improve their lives through education. To me, community is about finding commonality with others and supporting each other. The other students in this class were polite and encouraging, and they had new ideas and tips to share with me and other class members. The class would have felt very stale and shallow without the richness brought by the peer to peer interactions. 

How realistic do you think it will be for you to adhere to a schedule in order to devote the time necessary to complete the required work in your online courses?   What measures will you take to ensure that this happens?

The key to adhering to a schedule is to make one that is realistic. I love to schedule. I love to schedule so much that I tend to over schedule. At times my over scheduling leads to an unrealistic expectation of what I will be able to accomplish in a day, and it becomes too rigid to actually follow. I do adhere to the major scheduling blocks in my life such as work, school and childcare hours. In these areas, I am very consistent and reliable. The more nebulous items such as daily to-do lists, goals, kids activities, or meal planning begin to overload my schedule. I will need to be careful that I set my school work schedule with realistic expectations of what I can accomplish in that time frame, and to leave flexibility in my day, so that if something comes up, or I need additional time, I can accommodate those changes without throwing off the priority items in my schedule.